The moment Li Yun and Hua Fu entered the ten-foot radius of the Martial Library, they noticed many disciples going in and out. However, when they had previously observed the front, there were only a few disciples they had seen.
This sudden change surprised Li Yun and Hua Fu, causing them to glance at each other.
"What did I tell you just a moment ago?" Li Yun smirked at Hua Fu as he walked through the wide-open entrance of the Martial Library.
"Whatever." Hua Fu shrugged and followed him in.
As they entered the Martial Library, they were immediately greeted by a large number of disciples shuffling around and reading through the many books placed on rows and rows of shelves.
"This is cool," Hua Fu remarked lightly.
Li Yun agreed. It was definitely impressive.
"Let's go and choose our techniques," Hua Fu said as he pulled out his two tokens.
"Two of them?" Li Yun was surprised. "What rank did you get?"
Hua Fu said proudly, "I was ranked 8th."
Li Yun looked at him closely before shaking his head. "You don't seem that strong."
"Says the one who's a level below me in cultivation." Hua Fu sneered.
Li Yun shrugged. "And yet I won first place."
"Heh," Hua Fu chuckled and asked, "What techniques are you thinking of getting?"
Li Yun replied, "I want a movement technique and a body-strengthening technique." He had already thought about what two techniques he would select from the Martial Library.
The first weakness he had noticed was his speed—it was too slow. If he had a movement technique, he believed the combat assessment would have been much easier.
The strength he often relied on in difficult situations—Heaven Raging Chaos Art—had also become a glaring weakness due to the backlash. He couldn't use the first stage of Heaven Raging Chaos Art—Raging Heaven without blood, making it difficult to use his strength despite having it.
Therefore, his main priority was to make his body strong enough to handle the Raging Heaven as long as he wanted.
"A movement technique is fine, but a body-strengthening technique will be difficult," Hua Fu said.
"Why?" Li Yun asked.
"You'll understand eventually," Hua Fu replied before heading in a random direction. "Well, I'm going to choose mine. See you at the entrance of the Martial Library afterward."
Li Yun frowned as Hua Fu left without explaining anything. He needed a body-strengthening technique the most and couldn't compromise on that.
"Let's check first," Li Yun sighed and began searching for both techniques.
He started by choosing a shelf and took out books, reading their titles one by one. He came across many sword techniques, spear techniques, fist techniques, and even some movement techniques, but for some reason, he didn't like the movement techniques on this shelf.
They were for short-distance movement and only applicable in one direction, whereas he wanted something more versatile.
"Oh, you broke through to the second level of the Qi Training Realm," a surprised voice said, reaching Li Yun's ears. He turned toward the source.
"Elder Qin," Li Yun's eyes brightened when he saw Elder Qin and immediately headed toward him.
"Greetings, Elder Qin," Li Yun said, cupping his fists respectfully when he reached him.
"Come, follow me," Elder Qin nodded and led him to a room. It was a very empty room with only a chair, and some scrolls were scattered on the ground.
"Do you know why I summoned you here today?" Elder Qin asked, sitting on the chair.
"Isn't it because of the bet you lost?" Li Yun replied.
"Heh," Elder Qin chuckled and brought out another chair, gesturing for him to sit.
Li Yun sat down without hesitation, waiting for Elder Qin to explain the reason behind his summon.
"I did summon you because of the bet I lost, but that's not the main reason," Elder Qin said before taking out two books and handing them to Li Yun. "Take these. They're a top-grade human-rank cultivation technique and a martial technique."
He added, "Let me warn you, kid. These two techniques are a pair. The martial technique was designed for the cultivation technique, which means you can only use the full strength of the martial technique after mastering both techniques to the sixth layer of perfection."
Li Yun's eyes shone with excitement as he eagerly took the techniques and began skimming through them.
The cultivation technique was called Blazing Inferno Mantra, and the martial technique related to it was Blazing Dragon Fist.
Li Yun was a little disappointed that it was a fist technique since he already had a top-grade Earth-rank fist technique.
'The Earth-rank technique is still a little far from me, so this is better than nothing, I guess.' He put them away after checking them, then looked at Elder Qin gratefully.
He had thought Elder Qin might go back on his word after losing the bet, but it seemed he was wrong.
"Elder Qin, I'll keep your warning in mind," Li Yun said, cupping his fists again.
Elder Qin nodded before pulling out a badge. It looked similar to the outer sect identity badge that Elder Zhao had given Li Yun, yet it appeared vastly different.
The badge Elder Qin took out was bright blue in color and emanated a calm, serene aura. Li Yun, sitting in front of Elder Qin, could feel his mind become quiet, with all distractions swept away, just by sensing the aura for a moment.
"This is an identity badge for a core disciple," Elder Qin said before tossing the badge to Li Yun, who was shocked at seeing something so precious being handled so casually. He caught it carefully.
"Elder Qin, what does this mean?" Li Yun asked solemnly.
As much as he wanted to become a core disciple of the sect, he understood there were no shortcuts. He had to earn it through his own strength, so receiving a core disciple identity badge so casually made him suspicious.
"It means nothing. It's yours—you've earned it," Elder Qin said with a smile. "Anyone who reaches the fourth floor of the Combat Pagoda on their first attempt is always welcomed as a core disciple by the sect. You're no exception."
Li Yun was shocked by Elder Qin's words. He hadn't known there was such a rule in the sect.
'I hit the jackpot and really did find a shortcut!' He exclaimed silently, feeling astonished.
But there was one thing he still couldn't understand.
"Elder Qin, I've heard that when a disciple becomes a core disciple, it's announced to the entire sect," Li Yun said, voicing his thoughts.