Ling Xiao flipped through the summaries of a few books, hoping to find some clues.
“Monument-Splitting Palm”: A fierce palm technique, overwhelming like a mountain, relying on sheer force to triumph. Requires a strength of at least 300 pounds to cultivate.
“Blazing Fire Fist”: Condenses true qi to unleash a powerful punch like raging flames, with terrifying explosive force. At the Gang Qi stage, it can even produce blazing gang qi. Suitable only for male martial artists, as it may harm female practitioners’ bodies.
“Swift Wind Leaf-Chasing Steps”: Once mastered, greatly enhances movement speed. As the saying goes, “In martial arts, speed reigns supreme”—a testament to its prowess. Generally better suited for slender individuals, especially lithe women, who can achieve optimal results.
“Iron Cloth Technique”: A defensive external training method. When mastered, it can block sword and blade attacks and significantly reduce bodily harm. Requires a steadfast mind to succeed, or one risks giving up halfway.
…
“They all sound so incredible. I want to practice every single one, but I can only pick two—what a headache…”
Though he couldn’t discern the tiers of these techniques from their summaries, reading the descriptions still thrilled Ling Xiao.
For someone who struggled to even access low-tier techniques, each of these martial manuals made his mouth water.
That damn Ling Jiu—everyone else gets to take four books, but I’m stuck with just two.
Sure, taking on too much wasn’t ideal, but not every technique needed to be mastered to perfection.
Take “Iron Cloth Technique”, for example—most people would be satisfied just cultivating it to boost their physical defense.
One or two core techniques, supplemented by others, would significantly enhance one’s strength.
What a pity—he could only choose two. If he could take more, with the Mountain and River Martial Soul, his cultivation would progress rapidly. Practicing multiple techniques at once shouldn’t be an issue.
Hm?
Suddenly, a thought struck Ling Xiao.
The Mountain and River Martial Soul could analyze and simulate martial techniques—could it also simulate the techniques in these manuals?
When he’d entered the pavilion, he’d avoided activating the Mountain and River Martial Soul, fearing Ling Jiu might notice something off.
Activating and deactivating it was simple—just a matter of channeling true qi, much like using a martial skill.
With that in mind, he hurriedly activated the Mountain and River Martial Soul.
In that instant, the clouds on the Mountain and River Diagram parted further, and another building appeared in the village.
It resembled the Ling Clan’s library pavilion, though shorter and only one story.
Most astonishingly, when Ling Xiao probed it with his consciousness, he discovered that all the martial manuals he’d looked at were now stored in this library within the Mountain and River Diagram.
When he opened one to check, a figure—his own—appeared on the diagram, practicing the very technique he was examining.
“This… this is too incredible!”
Ling Xiao was stunned, but what followed was overwhelming ecstasy.
To think the Mountain and River Martial Soul had such an ability! Didn’t that mean he could claim every manual on the second floor for himself?
Even if he didn’t practice them, he could let others use them—or sell them for money.
He didn’t see this as betraying the Ling Clan. After all, they’d never treated him as one of their own.
Ling Jiu had even openly threatened to kill him—why should he guard their secrets?
Besides, the best stuff on this floor was mid-tier at most—probably obtainable outside anyway. The real core of the Ling Clan’s secrets likely lay on the fourth floor.
With that realization, he stopped hesitating and sped up, flipping through the manuals. He only glanced at each summary before tossing the book back onto the shelf.
Reading the summaries of nearly ten thousand books in one hour was no small feat—he had to pick up the pace.
Ling Jiu, you restricted me to just two books? I’ll steal every manual here and make you choke on your rage!
Faster!
Even faster!
A wild, unprecedented fervor gleamed in Ling Xiao’s eyes.
At first, he checked each time to ensure the library in the Mountain and River Diagram had copied the manual. But later, he stopped bothering.
He didn’t need to verify—every time a new book was added, he felt it in his mind.
“Hahaha… Amazing! Too amazing! Mountain and River Martial Soul—what kind of soul is this? It’s insanely powerful!”
Unable to contain his excitement while flipping through the manuals, Ling Xiao burst into laughter.
His outburst drew the attention of the other disciples studying nearby.
“Is this kid nuts?”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen anyone pick books like that!”
“Just a country bumpkin. Let’s ignore him and focus on our own stuff.”
An hour wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either.
By the time Ling Xiao had “copied” nearly all nine thousand-plus manuals on the second floor into his diagram, only a quarter of an hour remained.
He hadn’t left yet because a few books were still in the hands of Ling Clan disciples who hadn’t put them down, and he hadn’t gotten a chance to see them.
Notably, the haphazardly arranged manuals in the Ling Clan’s pavilion transformed once inside the Mountain and River Diagram.
They were neatly categorized and organized on shelves—palm techniques, blade techniques, sword techniques, internal energy methods, movement skills, body-strengthening arts, and more.
Each type was sorted onto its own shelf.
Not only that, mid-tier, low-tier, and basic techniques were ranked from highest to lowest, labeled clearly for easy identification.
This left Ling Xiao dumbfounded yet exhilarated.
The library in his Mountain and River Diagram was outright superior to the Ling Clan’s pavilion!
Time was running out, but he couldn’t exactly snatch books from the other disciples’ hands—his strength wasn’t on their level yet.
So he kept wandering the second floor, hoping to spot any manuals he might have missed.
He’d been so excited earlier that he might’ve overlooked something.
Hm? What’s that?
Ling Xiao suddenly noticed two paintings hanging near the entrance to the second floor.
One depicted a bull-headed, human-bodied figure wielding a giant axe. The other showed a monkey-like figure with a stick in hand.
Most intriguingly, the bull-headed painting bore three characters: “Bull Demon Technique”. The monkey painting had three as well: “Soaring Cloud Steps”.
Were these paintings martial manuals too?
With that thought, Ling Xiao reached for one of them.
“Stop!”
Before his hand could touch it, a Ling Clan main branch disciple blocked him.
A third-level Martial Vein cultivator—stronger than Ling Xiao.
“Go tell Ninth Master someone’s tampering with the guardian paintings!” the disciple ordered another nearby.
The second disciple darted downstairs and returned with Ling Jiu in tow.
“Ninth Master, this brat’s messing with the guardian paintings!”
“No need to fuss, no need to fuss. The guardian paintings are indeed part of the second floor’s martial manuals. Let him touch them,” Ling Jiu said with a smile. “They may look ordinary, but they’re sealed with restrictions.”
He turned to Ling Xiao. “Ling Xiao, if you’ve got the skill, go ahead and take the manuals hidden behind them.”
