He slept soundly all the way until morning.
He slept so well that he'd swear it was the best sleep he'd gotten in his entire life so far.
There were no mosquitoes around, he didn't need to worry about matches the next day, and there was no need to wake up to practice swordplay in the middle of the night just to ease all that tension.
As for that dull, dreadful ending from the day before, he had completely put it behind him after being dejected for a while.
Death was unable to completely do him in, so he thought nothing of that minor setback.
"It's just the Inner Yard after all," he thought. "And maybe I'm just not ready for it!
Urgent knocks were heard at his door again, waking him up. He went over to open the door.
"It's you?"
The person before him was none other than a staff member from that waiting room who had delivered him the Red Gold Pills from Xiao Qixiu.
"Please be quick. Elder Xiao is waiting for you." He deliberated for a moment. Then, afraid that Xu Xiaoshou would take his sweet time getting ready, he added, "You're the only one who hasn't shown up yet."
Today was the day he would head inside the Spiritual Library Division to pick his [Spiritual Technique]. It was already noon, and was indeed getting late.
"Alright, lead the way."
Xu Xiaoshou simply waved his hand and told the staff to lead the way, as he had nothing to pack anyway.
The staff member immediately rushed to get ahead of him.
"By the way, are there any special rules, written or otherwise, that I should know about before getting into the Spiritual Library Division?" Xu Xiaoshou took out a bottle of Red Gold Pills.
Again?
The staff member was startled, and immediately waved his hand in the negative.
"Nothing of that sort. Elder Xiao will personally explain the rules when he sees you all." He pushed the Red Gold Pill bottle back, then drastically lowered his voice. "I've already broken the rules once, so I really can't do this again."
Xu Xiaoshou frowned. "Take it!"
The staff member looked like he was about to cry. "There really are no hidden rules, and even if I took this, I wouldn't be able to tell you anything. I've never been to the Spiritual Library Division."
"Oh, that so?" Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for a bit, realizing that he wouldn't be able to fish anything out of the other man.
The last time he went there was about three years ago, and it actually wasn't his soul that had been in control then, so he'd forgotten everything.
Furthermore, he was rather dumb back then, having picked the "[White Cloud Sword Techniques]," which he was unable to master more than the first move of, even after practicing for three years.
He was determined to be smarter this time.
But then again, he had little confidence in his potential and figured that it wouldn't quite matter what he picked anyway.
Sigh.
Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned dull, and he had no intentions of taking that bottle of Red Gold Pills back.
The staff member took a deep breath, as if he were about to make some very, very important decision, and said, "I cannot take this!"
Xu Xiaoshou looked at the staff member, surprised that he wasn't actually backing down but was instead glaring at him with his teeth clenched.
Shing!
Xu Xiaoshou then drew his black sword out of his chest.
"Take it."
Sigh. The staff member then took the pills and shoved them into his sleeve.
"Lead the way."
"Very well."
The sun was hot, and the leader of the staff members looked up, trying to let the sun dry his tears.
"Oh, elder," he sighed inwardly.
"It's really not my fault. Xu Xiaoshou just insists on bribing me. Wuuuuuuu.
"I'm sorry for breaking the rules again…"
[Cursed, Passive Points +1]
[Impressed, Passive Points +1]
Xu Xiaoshou was amused, wondering what could've possibly caused such ambivalence.
…
The Spiritual Library Division, Inner Yard.
The Inner Yard had a concentration of Spiritual Energy several times that of the Outer Yard, which enabled one to be invigorated as soon as one entered the place.
Every disciple who first joined the Tiansang Spirit Palace would get a chance to enter the Spiritual Library Division once. While this was mainly to let them select the techniques they would soon practice, having them experience the difference in Spiritual Energy concentration between the Inner and Outer Yards also served as a way to encourage them to be diligent in their training.
Furthermore, it was said that every Inner Yard disciple would get their own private compound, which had an array that, when opened, would increase said concentration by several times over.
Private compounds were hard to come by.
Not everyone was like Xu Xiaoshou, who'd managed to get himself a private compound when he was still training at the Outer Yard.
Some even had to sneak up others' doors just to train.
Xiao Qixiu brought eleven others with him, walking as he talked.
"Although you've all been here before, I'm about to reiterate the rules one more time."
"Each of you can select an [Innate Level Spiritual Technique]. Once you're done, get to registration right away. Be careful not to cause a scene, and fighting inside is absolutely forbidden."
He turned around and locked eyes with Xu Xiaoshou. "Got it?"
Exasperated, Xu Xiaoshou asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
"Heh."
Xiao Qixiu's expression seemed to say "you of all people should know why," and he added, "I'm not going to be discreet about his. What I said was meant for you!"
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.
Everyone else around laughed their lungs out.
[Ridiculed, Passive Points +11]
Xu Xiaoshou immediately felt rather exhausted, and he shot a look at Xiao Qixiu that seemed to say, "I'm not talking to you." Then, he walked to the tail end of the entourage.
He then found Zhou Tianshen in the entourage as well, and that piqued his interest.
He recalled Xiao Qixiu having said that only the top ten would get a chance to visit the Spiritual Library Division again, but he remembered having eliminated Zhou Tianshen when they were fighting for one of the top thirty-two places.
"Wait a minute," he thought.
"Under-the-table deal then?"
Xu Xiaoshou went up and put an arm around Zhou Tianshen's shoulders. "Why are you here too?"
The other man wanted to say something but decided not to.
Xu Xiaoshou then chuckled. His look seemed to say that he understood, and he dragged the man out of the entourage and whispered, "Just tell me, how did you manage to get here. I swear I won't tell anyone."
Zhou Tianshen tried to think up a way to go about this.
He had taken Xu Xiaoshou to be his friend after that battle, so he felt that he couldn't do anything to provoke him.
However, by the look on Xu Xiaoshou's face, he seemed to be urging him to speak the truth, so he had no choice but to be honest with him. "An opportunity given to me after making it into the Inner Yard."
Xu Xiaoshou's smile froze.
"Okay, sure!" he thought. "No problem. My own fault for putting salt in my own wound."
"So umm… they all can pick two techniques each?"
"Yeah." Zhou Tianshen nodded. "They can pick one now, and then they can come again to pick another after they master that one."
"D*mn, that's convoluted," he thought.
Xu Xiaoshou took a deep breath and left.
"That middle-aged guy was right. I'm better off not talking at all."
[Disturbed, Passive Points +1]
He was stunned for a moment, then turned around to see the worried look on Zhou Tianshen's face, as if he were worried that what he said had hurt him.
"This is one straightforward guy indeed," Xu Xiaoshou chuckled inwardly.
…
"We're here."
A building that was three stories tall appeared before their eyes after they took a turn on the winding path.
The building looked plain and was sparsely decorated. There weren't even any carvings to be found on its pillars. Other than the huge crimson pearl that seemed to be emanating heat on the roof, nothing about the building seemed to be out of the ordinary.
The plaque hanging above the door said "Spiritual Library Division" in black lettering.
The writing looked rustic and magnanimous.
It seemed to suggest that it was a good place for studying.
Xiao Qixiu took out a reddish-black Elder Token and placed it on the array printed at the door, which then opened it.
"Get in there. The first floor contains [Acquired Level Techniques], the second floor contains [Innate Level] ones, and no going to the third floor.
"You have six hours to pick your techniques. Don't get too engrossed, and be mindful of the time allotted. Get to registration once you're done."
He then took a look at Xu Xiaoshou and said, "Remember what I said on our way here."
Everyone was having a good laugh again. As the student who was specifically picked on by the "instructor," Xu Xiaoshou had no choice but to walk inside with his head hung low.