Two days later.
In a spacious and bright room, bookshelves crisscrossed and were filled with various ancient books. An elderly man with white hair and beard was slowly flipping through the materials in his hands, and the entire room was enveloped in a quiet atmosphere.
The crisp sound of the door opening suddenly broke the silence, and a voice came into the room: "Vice Dean, Lin Yuan has arrived."
"Come in."
Not long after the voice of Hu Qian fell, a gentle-looking young man walked in. Upon seeing Hu Qian, he took a couple of steps forward and bowed respectfully.
"Since you are here, I won't beat around the bush. Lin boy, this is a rare opportunity; make sure to seize this chance."
As he spoke, Hu Qian stood up and walked to the wall behind him. He casually patted it a few times, and a low rumbling sound echoed. Soon, a dark passage appeared before Lin Yuan.
"Follow me." Hu Qian waved his hand at Lin Yuan and entered the dark passage first, with Lin Yuan following closely behind without hesitation.
Once inside the passage, Lin Yuan noticed that the walls were embedded with large luminous pearls, casting a faint glow that made the passage somewhat hazy. After walking for about half an hour behind Hu Qian, a glimmer of light finally appeared at the end of the passage.
As Lin Yuan stepped out behind Hu Qian, he was greeted by a vast open space. In the center of that space stood a large, ancient building.
The Library!
The ancient plaque indicated the place.
"This is the true Library, the real foundation of our Canaan Academy," Hu Qian said proudly, looking at Lin Yuan, who was visibly astonished.
"Follow me." Hu Qian led Lin Yuan slowly toward the Library. However, when they were about twenty meters away from it, he suddenly stopped and cupped his fists toward the Library, saying, "In this session of the Casting Elite Plan, an exceptionally talented individual has emerged, whose strength far exceeds the scope of the inner academy selection. Therefore, he has qualified for early entry into the inner academy and to receive rewards. Please, the two elders, open the door!"
"Oh? That is indeed a rare occurrence." A voice echoed in the air, and then two figures in gray robes, sitting cross-legged on the ground, appeared before Lin Yuan and Hu Qian.
They were the guardians of Canaan Academy, the Nine Star Dou Zong—Qian Mu and Bai Lie.
"The fluctuation of space, is this the power of high-level Dou Zong manipulating space? Truly marvelous." Although Lin Yuan had already known, he couldn't help but be surprised to see the way the two appeared. These two were the strongest individuals he had encountered since arriving in this world.
"Lin Yuan." After the two appeared, Hu Qian called out softly and gave Lin Yuan a knowing look.
Lin Yuan understood and stepped forward, cupping his fists and bowing respectfully, saying, "Student Lin Yuan, greetings to the two seniors!"
"Dou Wang?" One of the gray-robed figures stared at Lin Yuan's somewhat youthful face, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of surprise as he looked at Hu Qian.
Hu Qian replied respectfully, "Reporting to Elder Bai, the details are as follows..."
After listening to Hu Qian, the two looked at Lin Yuan with a hint of inexplicable meaning in their eyes.
"A seventh-grade peak pill, the Devouring Life Pill. I didn't expect such an opportunity. A fifteen-year-old Dou Wang, a fifteen-year-old fifth-grade alchemist—this young man is formidable. It seems the Casting Elite Plan has finally yielded good results."
Bai Lie looked at Lin Yuan and said solemnly, "Kid, do not waste your talent and opportunity. The side effects of the Devouring Life Pill are not that terrifying. There are ways to counteract it. There are countless extraordinary people and methods in the Dou Qi Continent; I believe there must be a way to resolve the side effects of the Devouring Life Pill. If necessary, you can go to the Dan Tower in Zhongzhou. If you can gain the favor of an eighth-grade master, this problem can surely be solved. Given your talent in alchemy, this is not impossible."
"Thank you for your guidance, senior!" Lin Yuan cupped his fists and bowed in response.
Bai Lie nodded, then he and Qian Mu began to unlock the spatial seal.
"Go ahead. Remember, no matter what you want to obtain, do not be greedy. You can only take one item out of the Library, so do not be greedy; otherwise, in the end, you will only end up with nothing."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan nodded and then walked toward the Library.
After Lin Yuan entered the Library, the door closed behind him. He followed the passage to a very spacious room. Around the walls of the room, there were nearly a dozen energy shields, which were slowly pulsating with light, illuminating the room as if it were daytime.
After a moment, a loud sound of rushing wind echoed again, followed by a torrent of energy balls of various colors and shapes being spewed out from the energy shields, swirling chaotically in the large room, creating a whistling sound.
"Dragon Capture Hand."
With a light shout, a vortex of Dou Qi swept the energy balls toward Lin Yuan. He easily broke through the energy layer and saw the items inside, "High-level Xuan rank martial art, Qingmu Gong?"
Shaking his head, Lin Yuan let it go, allowing it to transform into a stream of light and fly away.
Then, Lin Yuan released his spiritual perception to envelop the entire room, probing the energy fluctuations of the flying energy balls. Upon sensing a large energy ball, he used the Dragon Capture Hand to catch it.
As time passed, Lin Yuan handled many good items: low-level Earth rank martial arts, low-level Earth rank Dou techniques, and high-level medicinal materials. The Library of Canaan Academy had an extremely rich collection.
During one instance of breaking an energy ball, a thumb-sized gray stone appeared in Lin Yuan's hand. This small stone was smooth as jade, without any flaws. Within its core, a faint blue light slowly wriggled, resembling a small worm with life.
Looking at the small stone in front of him, Lin Yuan felt a surge of joy.
Naling, a rare item that can only be found in the central position of the highest-grade Naling stone, is extremely rare and essential for alchemists to recover异火 (strange fire).
"There's Naling! I can't believe it! This is truly a windfall. It seems I won't need to take chances to buy or scheme for Naling from Gu He anymore."
Then, Lin Yuan released the fire-based mid-level Earth rank martial art "Nine Heavens Fire Decision" that he had been holding and stored the Naling in his spatial ring, turning to walk back into the dark passage.
As Lin Yuan left, the flowing lights in the room also flew back into the energy shields, which then began to slowly shrink. Moments later, they transformed into a small point and completely vanished with a faint cracking sound.
Lin Yuan followed the passage out, stepping through the large door at the end.
As he exited the door, one of the gray-robed figures suddenly moved his sleeve slightly, and Lin Yuan felt a vast and powerful invisible energy scan over him. After about ten seconds, the energy receded like a tide.
"Time's up, it's time to leave. Remember, what happened here today, including the information inside the Library, must not be disclosed to anyone," an old, hoarse voice slowly echoed at the door.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan slightly bowed his head.
Seeing Lin Yuan come out, Hu Qian, who had been standing in front of the building, smiled and asked, "Did you obtain the rewards you desired?"
Lin Yuan smiled and nodded.
"That's good." Seeing this, Hu Qian smiled and slightly bowed to the two gray-robed figures, who resembled old monks, saying, "The matter is concluded, so we won't disturb the two elders' cultivation any longer. Farewell."
He then led Lin Yuan away from the Library.
As the two left, the figures of the two elders also dissipated in the distortion of space, and tranquility returned to the front of the Library.
**(End of Chapter)**