Inside the room.
Lin Fan flipped to the last page of the book, a smile appearing on his face. After this period of hard work, he had finished reading ten books.
He felt his speed was pretty good.
Moreover, the books he read were all very interesting, and he had memorized their contents thoroughly. He just hadn't cultivated any of the techniques. However, what Lin Fan found strange was that he didn't feel like any of it was difficult.
It was just that he hadn't cultivated.
He felt it wasn't necessary.
According to the descriptions in the books, the power attained at the highest level of cultivation was still not as strong as a casual punch from him.
Therefore, learning or not learning was the same.
Lin Fan went to the Scripture Pavilion as usual. He was very low-key. During this period of quietly reading, he hadn't interacted with anyone, like a ghost.
He didn't pay attention to others.
And others definitely wouldn't notice this inconspicuous little guy.
When he returned the books, no one paid him any mind. However, the old man on the second floor slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the retreating figure. He had been observing this young man for some time. He basically came to the Scripture Pavilion every few days to exchange books and then left with new ones. This had been going on for a while.
He was very interested in this diligent disciple.
If this child truly had perseverance, he would be willing to help him. However, what disappointed the old man was that the boy was too weak. From a month ago until now, there hadn't been a single fluctuation in his cultivation.
Could it be that after cultivating for so long, there hadn't been any progress at all?
The old man stroked his beard and shook his head, feeling very regretful. He had perseverance, but his talent was probably extremely poor. It would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in the Qian Yuan Palace. Alas, alas, he hadn't expected to misjudge someone.
Gradually, the old man stopped paying attention to Lin Fan, letting him be.
As for Lin Fan, he had naturally noticed someone observing him for a long time, but he didn't pay it any mind. Perhaps it was the person in charge of this place, checking to see if anyone was stealing anything.
How could someone as rule-abiding as Lin Fan do such a thing?
After choosing a book, he looked at the piles of books around him and felt a bit worried. He wondered when he would be able to finish reading them all. There were so many books on the first floor, densely packed, not to mention the second floor.
On the way back, the people around him were all talking about one thing.
"Have you heard? Our sect's Eldest Senior Brother has already broken through to the Earthly Immortal realm. The Sect Master is very likely to pass the position of Sect Master to Eldest Senior Brother."
"Ah, that's amazing! How long has Eldest Senior Brother been cultivating? All in all, it's only been fifteen years."
"This is what it means when they say comparing yourself to others will only make you angry. Eldest Senior Brother entered the sect at ten years old, and now he's only twenty-five, yet he's already reached this level. We should continue to work hard."
The things the surrounding disciples were talking about didn't pique Lin Fan's curiosity.
But he knew the cultivation realms: Qi Refining, True Essence, Divine Ability, Five Elements, Yin Yang, Earthly Immortal, Void Piercing, Great Power, Heaven Seizing, Void Spirit, and Great Emperor.
Lin Fan pondered, cultivating to that realm in fifteen years was truly amazing. It seemed Eldest Senior Brother was worthy of being called Eldest Senior Brother. However, it still had nothing to do with him.
He still wanted to continue reading.
He remembered a phrase Old Zhang had said:
The sea of learning is boundless, continue to strive.
He didn't know if Old Zhang actually said this, but thinking about it, maybe Old Zhang really did say it.
On his way back, he heard many interesting things and also understood for the first time that the competition within the sect was so fierce. With Eldest Senior Brother's breakthrough, others were also catching up.
Some were envious.
Some were jealous.
Some worshipped him.
But in Lin Fan's eyes, these weren't things he cared about. Reading was the most interesting thing.
Several months later!
Knock, knock!
A knock came at the door.
Lin Fan put down the book in his hand and rubbed his temples. Some books were so complicated that they made his head hurt. He often encountered content he didn't quite understand and needed to ponder for a long time to figure it out. Fortunately, he had developed the habit of reading in other places before, otherwise it would be really difficult to understand.
He opened the door, and Wang Kai stood outside with a beaming smile.
Lin Fan was a bit surprised. They hadn't seen each other for several months, and he didn't expect the other party to come looking for him. This made him very curious.
"Is there something wrong?" Lin Fan asked.
Wang Kai patted Lin Fan's shoulder, "Although we haven't seen each other for a while, can you not be so cold? I'm here to tell you something. My cultivation has reached the True Essence realm, and I've passed the assessment to become an outer disciple. I'll be moving out of here soon, so I came to say goodbye."
"Congratulations," Lin Fan said with a smile.
He could feel Wang Kai's inner joy and was sincerely happy for him.
Wang Kai laughed loudly, "Hey, I didn't expect myself to be so amazing. I'm not trying to lecture you, but don't just read books all day, okay? You have to cultivate diligently. Only by improving your status in the sect can you cultivate higher-level secret manuals. Right, let's not talk about that. These are my remaining pills. These pills are no longer useful to me."
"I don't really have anyone I particularly like, so I'll give them to you. Cultivate well, and I hope you can become an outer disciple soon. Then we can be neighbors again."
After he finished speaking, Wang Kai took out a bottle from his bosom. These pills were the ones distributed by the sect every month, used to help disciples get through the Qi Refining realm. Now that he had cultivated to the True Essence realm, these pills were naturally useless to him.
"For me?" Lin Fan said.
"Of course they're for you. I'm going to report in now. I'm leaving. Don't miss me too much." Wang Kai didn't stay long. He had already noticed the problem, which was that Lin Fan's talent might be really poor. He had entered earlier than him, but his cultivation was so slow. Continuing to stay here might put pressure on Lin Fan.
As if he was showing off.
"Don't see me out, I'm off." Wang Kai came and went in a hurry, waving his hand without taking a single cloud with him. As he walked, he held his head high, his bearing dignified, walking with the air of a dragon and the stride of a tiger.
Lin Fan waved and said, "Thank you."
He found Wang Kai to be a good person, but because he was focused on completing the task, he hadn't interacted much with others. Thinking about the previous dream scenarios, he felt that after getting to know them, watching them leave one by one was truly heartbreaking.
It was better to honestly read.
He would strive to finish reading all the books in the Scripture Pavilion as soon as possible.
Back at his desk, a porcelain bowl sat beside him, filled with pills. He usually treated them like candy. Reading for a long time was tiring, and eating a pill at this time felt especially good.
"Wang Kai, I hope you get better and better." Lin Fan blessed him, then picked up the book and continued reading. These secret manuals were all very ordinary, just as he thought. Even cultivated to the highest level, they were not as powerful as a casual punch from him.
Sometimes he would wonder, what was this task all about?
Previous tasks were so simple. He always firmly believed that the world was round, with reincarnation. As long as he waited long enough, he would definitely be able to wait for that person.
But now, this task wasn't so simple.
It felt really annoying.
He could only continue to work hard.
Every time Lin Fan went to the Scripture Pavilion, the old man would observe him and ultimately shake his head helplessly.
Before, he just thought his talent was lacking.
But now, his evaluation had been upgraded to…trash, a once-in-a-century, top-grade piece of trash.
Fortunately, the Qian Yuan Palace was very humane.
As long as one entered the sect, they were a member of the sect. Even if they were trash, the sect wouldn't kick them out. After all, supporting one person wasn't a problem.
At this time, Lin Fan borrowed another book.
"Heavenly Star Shifting Hand"
Walking on the road…
"Make way, make way, Eldest Senior Brother is passing through, ordinary disciples step aside."
As a disciple shouted, the surrounding disciples cleared a path.
Whispers spread.
"I didn't expect to actually see Eldest Senior Brother. A few months ago, I heard that Eldest Senior Brother had already stepped into the Earthly Immortal realm, and after consolidating his cultivation, he left the sect after coming out of seclusion. I didn't expect him to come back."
"After Eldest Senior Brother came out of seclusion, he returned to his hometown and brought his family to our Qian Yuan Palace."
"This is truly a case of one person attaining enlightenment and ascending to heaven with their chickens and dogs."
"Who is the woman next to Eldest Senior Brother?"
"Who knows?"
Lin Fan looked at the Eldest Senior Brother walking in the middle of the road and nodded. Indeed, he was not bad. Just based on his appearance, he was someone who could fight him.
This wasn't Lin Fan bragging.
But what Old Zhang told him, "You are the most handsome."
Lin Fan kept Old Zhang's words in his heart because he knew Old Zhang would never lie to him.
"Eh!"
At this moment, he saw Wang Kai, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, following behind Eldest Senior Brother's group. He waved at Wang Kai. The other party had given him things and was considered the person he was most familiar with in the Qian Yuan Sect.
At the same time, Wang Kai also saw Lin Fan and waved with a smile. He pointed at himself, his lips moving, as if saying, "I'm doing well now, I've successfully joined Eldest Senior Brother's camp and become a follower. You should also work hard on your cultivation. When you become an outer disciple, I'll introduce you and we can become followers together."
With Wang Kai's cultivation level, by Eldest Senior Brother's side, he was merely a servant-like existence.
Simply put…cannon fodder.
But for Wang Kai, this was already a very good opportunity, a rare chance. Others who wanted to become cannon fodder had to see if they had this opportunity.
Because Eldest Senior Brother was present, Wang Kai couldn't talk to Lin Fan alone, but waved discreetly.
Lin Fan also waved back at Wang Kai.
Then, as if remembering something, he raised the book in his hand, indicating that he was still reading, and it was very interesting.
Seeing this, Wang Kai covered his face with one hand, wanting to give Lin Fan a good lesson. "Brother…stop reading, can we please focus on cultivating? At this rate, becoming an outer disciple is basically hopeless for you."
After Wang Kai's figure disappeared in the distance, Lin Fan returned to his residence with the book and continued reading at his desk.
The task was arduous.
Wanting to finish reading all the books in the Scripture Pavilion…
was probably a very, very difficult thing.
What he had read so far was just the tip of the iceberg.
No…perhaps not even the tip of the iceberg.