Scripture of Days Past

Over the past few days, Yang Ling seemed to have spent a great deal of time instructing Chu Qiguang. This led Chi Shude to believe that Yang Ling was very fond of him, so he hurriedly denied the insinuation that was trying to defeat Chu Qiguang.

However, Yang Ling easily saw through his ruse. He smiled and said, "I have just the thing for you. There's a finger technique in our Demon Vanquishing Department called the Star Plucking Finger. It condenses all of your power into a single point, so it's perfect for your needs."

Chi Shude was ecstatic to hear this.

"Can you teach me this finger technique, Instructor Yang?"

"I certainly can!" Yang Ling replied. "I'll personally instruct you this month, and once you've mastered the Star Plucking Finger, you'll be able to defeat that friend of yours with ease!"

***

In the courtyard, a string of resounding thumps rang out incessantly. From afar, it sounded like someone was pounding away at a mountain with a giant hammer.

Chu Qiguang had stripped down to his underwear, and he was throwing his body into the boulder over and over again.

As time passed, pieces of skin began to molt off his body like snake sloughs, and the new skin that emerged appeared fairer, finer, and more resilient.

As he continued cultivating the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts, Chu Qiguang could sense his rate of molting and recovery slowly increasing.

At this rate, this molting ability will be useful in battle as well, not just in cultivation.

Being able to cultivate alone was a very calming and cathartic experience. After his afternoon cultivation session, he ate dinner on his own before making his way to the archive building.

He was slowly elevating himself while living this peaceful lifestyle, and it was everything he wanted from this trip to Jade Face Mountain.

It's been a long time since I've been able to live such a simple and peaceful life.

***

As he entered the archive building, the gatekeeper greeted him and immediately asked, "Did you bring the sweets?"

Chu Qiguang was a little surprised to see that the gatekeeper cared so much about Lin Lan, and he replied, "I managed to buy some sweets from the chefs on the mountain. I have some preserved crabapple and osmanthus syrup. I don't know if they'll be to her liking."

The gatekeeper nodded, and a faint smile appeared on his gaunt face.

"You can give everything to me, and I'll pass it onto her."

Seeing the hesitant look on Chu Qiguang's face, the gatekeeper explained, "It's not good to eat too many sweet things at once. I'll keep them for her and give her a little each time."

This arrangement still felt a little strange to Chu Qiguang, but he obliged nevertheless.

He then arrived at the familiar desk and found several stacks of books from different categories waiting for him. Clearly, all of them had been picked out by Lin Lan at his request.

The burning-hot sensation emanating from the Ring of Ignorance immediately told Chu Qiguang that he had hit the jackpot, and he was very pleased with Lin Lan's work.

However, as he sat down at the desk and began sifting through the books, he discovered that the Ring of Ignorance was only interested in a single one of them, a book called the Chu Dynasty Assassin Saga.

Before the Great Han Empire, there had been a century of chaos in which dragons ruled over the central plains. Before that was the Xia Dynasty, and before the Xia Dynasty was the Chu Dynasty.

The Chu Dynasty was known as a very tumultuous era. Its founding emperor heavily exploited the people for his own gain, and as a result, uprisings took place almost every year.

In the end, the Chu Dynasty lasted less than forty years before falling.

The Chu Dynasty existed over one thousand five hundred years ago, and the Chu Dynasty Assassin Saga recounted several major assassination cases that took place during that era, all of which were somehow connected to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

As Chu Qiguang read through the Chu Dynasty Assassin Saga, a sense of absurdity soon welled up in his heart. As it turned out, all kinds of people had attempted to assassinate the emperor, including generals, officials, eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial concubines and princes.

Over the less than forty years of the Chu Dynasty's existence, the Chu Emperor had been targeted in over fifty assassination attempts, and the assassins were often people very close to him.

It seemed that Chu Qiguang wasn't the only one who found this absurd, and that was why people had begun investigating why so many people wanted to assassinate the emperor.

According to the Chu Dynasty Assassin Saga, every assassin who made an attempt on the emperor's life had used a streak of sword qi as their weapon of choice. This cultivation art was very reminiscent of the Divine Light Qi Sword, the orthodox art possessed by the Heavenly Sword Sect.

There was no concrete evidence implicating the Heavenly Sword Sect, but all of the historical materials and leads that the author was able to unearth pointed toward them.

After finishing the Chu Dynasty Assassin Saga, the same sense of joy was released from the Ring of Ignorance. This time, he was rewarded with a familiar boon as a list of cultivation arts surfaced in his mind.

Another cultivation art modification opportunity? Looks like the Sumeru King Scripture, the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique, and the Undying Seal still can't be selected.

After some thought, Chu Qiguang decided to try putting all of his attribute points into one skill, and he chose the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts once again.

However, this boon wasn't a cultivation art modification. Instead, Chu Qiguang felt as if his entire body had been set alight.

His blood and flesh seemed to scream, his bones felt as if they were melting, and all of his internal organs felt as if they were being roasted over an open flame.

Thankfully, the excruciating agony faded just as quickly as it came. By then, Chu Qiguang's entire body had turned green, indicating that he had progressed to the second level of the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts.

So it's a breakthrough this time instead of a modification? I suppose that's not bad. I could've gotten there myself in a few days, but this is fine.

At the same time, Chu Qiguang could sense that he was now able to molt at will.

This must be an ability unique to the Primordial High Zenith Demonic Arts.

However, given that he was in the archive building, he chose not to test it out for now. Instead, he decided to give it a try when he returned to the courtyard with the giant boulder to cultivate.

As the green coloration of his skin faded, he turned his attention back to the Chu Dynasty Assassin Saga and began reading it a second time.

Halfway through his second reading, a voice suddenly rang out from the darkness without any warning.

"Th... Thank you. The sweets you brought me are very good."

Chu Qiguang was so startled that he almost jumped out of his chair, but he quickly composed himself and replied in a gentle voice, "I'm glad you like them. I should be the one thanking you for finding all these books for me."

"You don't have to thank me," Lin Lan replied shyly from the darkness. "I have to sort through the books anyway, so it's not like I had to go out of my way to find them."

After a brief chat, Lin Lan suddenly asked, "Are you interested in the histories of cults?"

"I am," Chu Qiguang confirmed with a nod. "I want to learn more about cults, but the archive building closes too early every day, so I'll have to keep troubling you from now on."

"I can do that for you, but there aren't many books on this subject on the first floor," Lin Lan replied. "If you're really interested in this topic, you'll have to go to the second floor."

Chu Qiguang nodded with a thoughtful expression.

The Ring of Ignorance may be even more interested in the books on the second floor. I wonder if it'll give me any different boons.

However, the gatekeeper had previously warned him against going to the second floor, so he knew that accessing the books up there most likely wouldn't be easy.

"I don't think I have permission to go to the second floor," he said. "Would you be able to pick out some books from up there for me?"

Lin Lan was silent for a moment, then replied, "I can't do that. If you don't have permission to go up to the second floor, then I also can't pick out any books from there for you."

Before Chu Qiguang had a chance to ask Lin Lan what was so special about the second floor, she was already gone.

Looks like I have to get closer to her if I want more answers.

***

Over the past few days, the trainees had been taught lessons in history, fiends and demons, cults, ghosts, pills, martial arts, and the Heavenly Master Religion. These seven subjects comprised the entire curriculum for the month.

Chu Qiguang was able to establish a fixed routine of lessons, cultivation, reading at the Daoist temple in the morning, and reading in the archive building at night.

All of the lecturers and instructors quickly learned that Chu Qiguang was a non-believer. Zhong Shan'e was sorely disappointed by this news, but he didn't give up on Chu Qiguang.

Instead, he fully supported Zhao Lingxiao's quest to convert Chu Qiguang into a believer.

***

Grand Secretary Wu Siqi was practicing calligraphy in his study in Divine Capital City, while his eldest son, Wu Yang, ground ink for him.

As he did so, he reported to Wu Siqi some notable pieces of news from the imperial court and across the empire.

He was particularly pleased to talk about the water-powered spinning machines and looms that had been developed in Azure Sun County. Thanks to these business ventures, Wu Wei had been able to send ten thousand taels of silver to his father in the capital, and that was certainly a very timely injection of funds.

Expenditure was extremely high in the capital, and Wu Siqi was currently being targeted from all sides, so this injection of funds from legitimate business avenues was very welcome.

However, Wu Siqi's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he sighed, "I'm just worried that he's going to overdo it. Send a letter to your brother and tell him not to forcibly convert grain farmers into cotton farmers. Also, tell him not to excessively exploit the low-level textile workers, and definitely not to manipulate grain prices."

Wu Yang nodded in response, then began speaking about the recent events on Jade Face Mountain. Clearly, they had connections in the Demon Vanquishing Department.

"Chu Qiguang is most likely going to suffer a lot of discrimination from his peers in the future as a non-believer," Wu Yang sighed.

However, Wu Siqi smiled and mused, "Being a non-believer isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Wu Yang turned to his father with a surprised expression, unable to understand the sentiment.