Cheng Guang was unaware of the events happening outside, but he had long anticipated that Qing Luan would follow in his footsteps almost immediately.
He had no illusions that his visit to the Book Collection Pavilion could be kept secret from her.
For Cheng Guang, whether Qing Luan knew or not was no longer of any significance, for his survival now depended on himself.
Should he continue to heed Qing Luan's words, she would likely at best only collect his corpse.
Furthermore, Cheng Guang wasn't seeking death, and while the Book Collection Pavilion, as one of the most important buildings in Duke Zhen's Mansion, surely harbored unimaginable powerhouses, what of it?
Not to mention the Different Treasure, Restraint Pearl, he carried with him, even without it, he had long decided to take his chances.
Upon entering the Book Collection Pavilion, he was greeted by ancient-looking bookshelves that resembled a forest.
Cheng Guang's gaze swept around the room. Apart from himself, there was not a single soul in sight. The pavilion was deserted.
Cheng Guang thought about it, and indeed, it should have been so. The Book Collection Pavilion wasn't a place just anyone could enter; as Princely Heir, he had unimpeded access, but ordinary guards or servants had no right to step foot here.
Now, the only one with both the right and reason to enter here was likely only himself.
Moving to a bookshelf, Cheng Guang casually lifted a scroll of scripture and began flipping through it without much attention.
The text of the scripture registered in his eyes, but before he could read in depth,
"Creak..."
a faint sound of a door opening reached Cheng Guang's ears.
Until the day before, Cheng Guang would have been unable to discern such a subtle noise.
In just one night, he felt as though he had undergone a transformation, with his senses becoming much sharper.
Surely, even if he were to forsake Spirit Dao and pursue Martial Cultivation, his talents would be equally astonishing.
Cheng Guang turned his head, looking in the direction the sound had come from.
Before he could react, he saw a hidden door within the Book Collection Pavilion swing open, and an elderly man in plain clothes with sunken eyes slowly emerged. His wrinkled hands rubbed at his eyes, drowsy and half-closed.
As the man walked halfway out, he seemed to sense something, paused in his steps, and then raised his head, his gaze settling on Cheng Guang.
At that moment, the morning sun was rising in the east, and the golden dawn light streamed through the pavilion, falling upon Cheng Guang's body.
The already handsome Cheng Guang, under the glow of sunlight, appeared like an Immortal descended upon the earth.
The elder, however, wore an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
He remained stunned in place for a while, seemingly unable to comprehend why Cheng Guang was there.
After a long moment, he vigorously rubbed his eyes again.
He walked towards Cheng Guang with amazement and bewilderment, "Princely Heir, what brings you to the Book Collection Pavilion today? Did the master send you to find something again?"
Cheng Guang shook his head, replying softly, "Elder, my father has not returned yet. I just came here to browse on my own."
The elder seemed to understand and nodded slightly, his hands clasped behind his back, "Very well, Princely Heir, feel free to look around. I shall not disturb you. I was wondering who would come to the Book Collection Pavilion, and it turns out to be the Princely Heir."
With that said, the elder shook his head and walked away.
"I will head back to sleep some more, Princely Heir. Just notify me when you are done," he added.
Cheng Guang acknowledged and watched the elder leave.
This elder was no ordinary individual.
Qing Luan had once told him that this reclusive Elder from the Book Collection Pavilion wasn't just any old man, but a Cultivator with an extremely high level of Cultivation Realm.
What he practiced wasn't Martial Cultivation, but rather a path known as The Way of Star Observation, observing the stars and drawing strength from the celestial bodies of the nine heavens.
Although The Way of Star Observation wasn't as limitless as Martial Cultivation or Spirit Dao, unable to break through the extreme boundaries of heaven and earth to reach the Heavenly Human Realm, in terms of expertise, it was in no way inferior to Spirit Dao and was even vaguely stronger than martial practitioners of the same level.
This Elder was one of the few at the pinnacle of The Way of Star Observation in the contemporary world.
To have such a person stationed at the Book Collection Pavilion was indeed astonishing.
If it were not for acquiring the Restraint Pearl, Cheng Guang wouldn't have dared to set foot in the Book Collection Pavilion, let alone approach its vicinity.
In the presence of such a powerhouse, he was nearly as exposed as if he were facing Emperor Zhou himself.
The other could easily see through his identity.
It was also for this reason that Qing Luan, having seen Cheng Guang entering the Book Collection Pavilion, had been so agitated.
In Qing Luan's opinion, Cheng Guang's visit to the Book Collection Pavilion was tantamount to seeking death.
With a dismissive chuckle, Cheng Guang then focused his attention on browsing through the books.
The Book Collection Pavilion housed an extensive collection, and Cheng Guang, unable to review all at once, could only initially identify a few broad categories, then search within them for sections that interested him.
The first destination Cheng Guang headed to was the section with books documenting knowledge pertaining to Spirit Dao.
He casually picked up a volume and began to flip through it carefully.
Perhaps due to the fusion of the Great Xia royal bloodline, his memory had been greatly enhanced; although not quite eidetic, it was nearly so.
Thus, he could skim through the books swiftly, finishing an entire volume in less than a quarter of an hour.
After flipping through several books about Spirit Dao, Cheng Guang felt somewhat disappointed.
Most of these books merely touched on the surface, discussing generalities.
They stated things that were common knowledge to everyone.
Besides mentioning the fighting techniques of cultivators who practice Spirit Dao, there was nothing deeper.
Let alone any knowledge on how to cultivate Spirit Dao.
Cheng Guang sighed, realizing that to learn how to cultivate Spirit Dao, he would have to start from the royal family.
Yet, the royals seemed not so easy to fool.
How could he acquire the methods of Spirit Dao cultivation from the royals without alerting them to anything amiss?
Cheng Guang was considerably troubled by this and, after some thought, suddenly remembered Wu Ling.
Right, how could he forget Wu Ling, the scapegoat?
Now that Wu Ling had been appointed Crown Prince by Emperor Zhou, she would soon begin her path of cultivation.
In the near future, she would definitely obtain the methods for Spirit Dao cultivation, or perhaps she already had.
Although Wu Ling's status had improved a little with her appointment as Crown Prince, it hadn't improved much.
In a certain sense, she was even more ostracized by those around her.
Under such circumstances, with his identity, it would likely be easy to obtain the methods of Spirit Dao cultivation from Wu Ling's hands.
Even if Emperor Zhou or anyone else with an agenda found out, it wouldn't matter.
He didn't have royal blood, and it was well known that royal blood couldn't be stolen; therefore, no one would suspect Cheng Guang was inquiring about Spirit Dao cultivation methods for the purpose of practicing it himself.
Cheng Guang now had a plan for acquiring the methods of Spirit Dao cultivation.
He didn't leave the Book Collection Pavilion immediately; instead, he stayed for a while to research some materials, most of which were related to Duke Zhen's Mansion.
Since he was determined to completely replace the Princely Heir, he needed to remember every single detail, no matter how trivial.
The current situation of Duke Zhen's Mansion, and the possible enemies...
The everyday character and lifestyle of the Princely Heir...
And all the surrounding interpersonal relationships and so on.
Although Qing Luan had already explained these to Cheng Guang, her explanations were not very detailed.
In the Book Collection Pavilion, specialized individuals had made detailed records regarding these matters.
Cheng Guang took another look at them.
First, to reconfirm everything to prevent any potential oversight by Qing Luan that might give him away in the future.
Second, to better immerse himself in the role of the Princely Heir.
To genuinely consider himself as the future successor of Duke Zhen's Mansion.
The highest realm of acting, as they say, is when it doesn't seem like acting at all.
Cheng Guang was not an actor, and his acting couldn't be considered good.
The only thing he could do was to truly immerse himself in the role so that the behavior he naturally exhibited would be that of a true Princely Heir.
......