After leaving the training hall, An Ruoxi handed her disciple medallion to Mo Huaiyu.
“Senior Sister An, what is this for?”
“With my medallion in your possession, others won’t dare lay a hand on you, Junior Brother Mo.”
Others?
Hearing her say this, Mo Huaiyu’s lip twitched slightly.
It seemed Senior Sister An’s circle of suitors within the Spirit Imperial Sect was a bit more extensive than he had anticipated.
He just hoped there wouldn’t be any “fanatical” types.
He’d heard stories of obsessed suitors who, upon finding out their crush got married, would show up at the door with a blade to deliver a “heart-piercing” surprise.
The moral of that story: if a stranger knocks, never open the door.
To be safe, Mo Huaiyu dutifully accepted the medallion.
Mo Huaiyu followed Senior Sister An to the Pavilion.
To enter the main gates, one had to pass through several formations.
Once inside, the sight was filled with dense rows of books.
The first floor alone was massive, packed with books of every color and a constant flow of disciples moving to and fro.
“Junior Brother Mo, you may select three techniques,” An Ruoxi said.
“What is the elemental attribute of the technique you currently practice?”
Attribute?
Mo Huaiyu blinked. His technique seemed to have… no attribute at all.
Noticing his awkward expression, An Ruoxi asked in surprise, “Could it be that your cultivation technique is attribute-less?”
“Um… yes, that’s correct,” Mo Huaiyu nodded.
“In that case, take your time here to pick something suitable.”
An Ruoxi then gave him a brief tour of the first floor.
Given his current cultivation level, the first floor was sufficient; the second floor was reserved for those in the Dharma Image Realm.
“Once you’ve finished picking your techniques, we’ll meet back here.”
Just then, An Ruoxi’s communication jade glowed with a message; something at Hundred Flower Peak required her immediate attention.
“No problem, don’t worry about me, Senior Sister.”
With so many people around in the Pavilion, surely no one would try anything.
Mo Huaiyu watched her depart and began to recall the sections she had introduced.
“I think she said the North District has sword-cultivation techniques. I’ll start there.”
After all, having come to the world of cultivation, how could one not practice the sword?
Sword cultivators could be summed up in two words: cool as hell!
The problem was, his swordsmanship was mediocre at best.
Sister Yuyun was too lazy to teach him, claiming that “all sword cultivators eventually become ‘sword-people’ (jian-ren, a pun on ‘despicable person’),” and she didn’t want him becoming one.
Bullshit! Mo Huaiyu could tell with half an eye that Sister Yuyun was just being lazy.
For other techniques, she could just toss him a manual and let his own comprehension do the work.
But sword cultivation required not just manuals, but a master to demonstrate forms and guide one into the “Sword Intent.”
Given Sister Yuyun’s habit of lying in bed half the day refusing to move, getting her to provide hands-on instruction was harder than ascending to heaven.
However, as the saying goes, “one wrong step leads to another.”
The moment Mo Huaiyu opened a sword manual, his head began to ache.
“What is this? What am I even reading?!”
The first page of the manual read: With no woman in your heart, your sword-draw will naturally be divine.
Uh…
Startled for a moment, he decided to keep flipping.
But when he reached the last page, he completely lost it.
People say women only slow down the speed of my draw, but today I realize that’s not quite right.
There is a kind of woman who will give you a sharper sword.
Therefore, I am going to find the person who can give me the sharpest sword.
This manual ends here. I’m done writing.
The collection in the Spirit Imperial Sect’s Pavilion… certainly had “personality.”
He flipped through a few more.
Fortunately, they weren’t like the first one, but the writing was still incredibly obtuse and difficult to grasp.
Without realizing it, he wandered into the Alchemical Pill Section.
Among alchemists, formation masters, talisman masters, and blacksmiths, the alchemists were undoubtedly the wealthiest.
As he browsed, he overheard the surrounding disciples whispering:
“There’s less than a year until the Trials begin. Time is flying.”
“Yeah, feels like the last Trial just ended. I’m not ready at all, what should I do?”
“Psh, what can you do? Just deal with it. Or, find a ‘thick leg’ to cling to. I heard Senior Brother Qin’s team is short-handed; we could try our luck there.”
Mo Huaiyu listened to the gossip with great interest.
Before coming to the Sect, he had looked into these Trials.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the item Sister Yuyun wanted was likely hidden within.
The Trials were held every ten years in a specialized secret realm filled with treasures.
However, anyone above the Cave Mansion Realm or over fifty years old was barred from entry.
From the way people described it, it sounded like a classic RPG “dungeon crawl.”
As he was listening intently, a slender, delicate hand entered his field of vision and snatched the manual right in front of him.
He turned around to see a mature woman wearing a veil.
She was tall and curvaceous, her figure marked by voluptuous lines that traced a sexy, full silhouette.
She wore a pink-and-white dress with wide sleeves and a gold belt cinched at her slender waist, decorated with swaying tassels.
Her black hair was pinned high with a “bu-yao” hairpiece, its lifelike petals accented by a single ruby.
Her beautiful eyes were three parts gentle and seven parts seductive, brimming with a smile.
Although her face was hidden, it was clear she was a top-tier beauty.
Mo Huaiyu was dazed for only a split second before his eyes cleared.
Luckily, he had been “tempered” by Sister Yuyun’s god-tier beauty since childhood; otherwise, that one glance might have sucked his soul right out.
He instinctively tried to put some distance between them, but the woman spoke immediately.
“Are you the mysterious young man everyone’s been gossiping about—the one by Junior Sister Ruoxi’s side?”
Snap! Mo Huaiyu went on high alert.
Seeing the boy’s defensive posture, the woman let out a soft laugh.
Her voice was as gentle as water, yet carried a hint of intoxication.
“Why so guarded? Are you afraid I’ll eat you, Junior Brother?”
Mo Huaiyu caught the faint scent of medicinal pills in the air.
It seemed this “Senior Sister” was an alchemist.
“You joke, Senior Sister. I just feel that there should be a proper distance between men and women.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
The smile in her eyes deepened, turning playful.
She began to walk toward him, step by step.
…!!!
Something’s wrong! Something is very, very wrong!
Mo Huaiyu was certain this woman was targeting him specifically.
Behind her veil, her smiling eyes looked like a charming, dangerous flower.
She definitely did not come with good intentions!
Just then, a cold, magnetic female voice rang out.
“Junior Brother Mo.”
Mo Huaiyu turned his head.
A cool, elegant figure was walking toward him.
It was Senior Sister An!
Upon hearing An Ruoxi’s voice, the mysterious woman paused.
She said with a giggle, “Let’s leave it at this for today. Junior Brother, we’ll meet again if fate permits.”
By the time he looked back, the seductive woman had vanished, leaving only a lingering, medicinal fragrance in the air.