Scripture of Days Past

On the morning of the half-yearly examination, Chu Qiguang stood in the secluded courtyard that housed the giant boulder, thinking back to the events that had unfolded in the archive building the night before.

***

A small oil lamp illuminated the darkness of the archive building as Chu Qiguang and Lin Lan slowly made their way down a walkway, walking close to each other.

Ever since their physical struggle, Chu Qiguang could clearly sense that Lin Lan's attitude toward him had changed.

Could it be that she really enjoys fighting? Chu Qiguang wondered. Why else would she have thrown herself at me like that?

Lin Lan's cheeks appeared slightly flushed under the lamplight. As the two of them continued walking, she gradually drew closer to Chu Qiguang until her shoulder brushed against his.

Chu Qiguang recoiled slightly with a puzzled expression and asked, "Why are you walking so close to me? You're barely leaving me any room!"

Lin Lan's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red, and she hurriedly stepped back and lowered her head as she explained in a barely audible voice, "It was an accident... I'm feeling a little faint so..."

"I don't think that was an accident at all!" Chu Qiguang said. "I'm not fond of physical contact, so please give me some personal space."

Lin Lan nodded obediently, then began, "Brother Chu, about what happened last time—"

"I forgive you for what happened last time," Chu Qiguang said with a dismissive wave. "Just don't attack me again. Otherwise, I'll have to retaliate, and we might not even be able to remain friends."

Lin Lan stiffened slightly upon hearing this, then lowered her head in disappointment.

"Where's the gatekeeper today?" Chu Qiguang asked. "I haven't seen him around."

"Grandpa Hai left the archive building to help prepare for tomorrow's half-yearly examination," Lin Lan replied.

Chu Qiguang's eyes lit up upon hearing this. With the gatekeeper absent, he began trying to convince Lin Lan to take him to the second floor.

Initially, Lin Lan naturally refused. As the bookkeeper of the archive building, she was duty-bound to deny others access to the second floor.

However, under Chu Qiguang's persistent persuasion, her resolve quickly began to waver.

"I'll only be up there for a short while, and I promise I won't touch anything," Chu Qiguang said with an earnest expression. "I just want to go up there to take a look. I've been feeling really uneasy lately, and I just want to see what the second floor is like. Otherwise, I feel like I'm about to undergo demonification!"

Ultimately, Lin Lan gave in and agreed to his request.

The two of them arrived before a wall, where Lin Lan activated a mechanism. The wall slide aside, revealing a spiraling passageway that led upward.

The passageway was lined with statues, which Lin Lan explained were guardians of the archive building. They could be activated to slay any intruders.

Upon reaching the gate to the second floor, Lin Lan activated another mechanism, and the gate began opening one layer at a time. Only after all twenty-one layers had opened was an enormous space revealed, stretching farther than the eye could see.

The moment the final layer of the gate opened, Chu Qiguang felt an unprecedented burst of heat erupt from his Ring of Ignorance.

Lin Lan raised the oil lamp in her hand as she explained, "The second floor is divided into the Heaven, Earth, and Human sections. The books in the Heaven section are the most dangerous, and they're only accessible to the Demon Vanquishing Envoy. The books in the Earth section are the next most dangerous, and they can only be accessed with approval from the head instructor or a thousand-man commander.

"The books in the Human section are the least dangerous on the second floor, but even so, any one of them could easily cause a major calamity if it somehow found its way into the outside world."

Chu Qiguang took a few steps toward the Heaven section, and the Ring of Ignorance immediately grew so hot that it felt as though a ball of molten lava had formed inside his chest.

"I'm assuming all the pages from the second floor that I've been shown so far came from the Human section, right?" Chu Qiguang asked, and Lin Lan nodded in confirmation.

How powerful would I become if I could read every book in here?

The moment Chu Qiguang and Lin Lan stepped onto the second floor, the gatekeeper abruptly turned his gaze toward the archive building from afar.

He had just felt an icy sensation from the jade pendant hanging from his waist, a clear indication that the second floor of the archive building had been opened.

Who's up there? There shouldn't be anyone going to the second floor today...

A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart, and he immediately hurried back to the archive building.

Despite his advanced age, his was still a fifth-state martial artist, and his speed remained extremely impressive. It didn't take him long to return to the archive building.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the second floor, he heard Lin Lan's pleading voice from inside. "You promised you wouldn't try to read anything, Brother Chu!"

"Alright, alright, I won't," Chu Qiguang replied. "What if I just touch the books a little? Is that alright?"

"No!" Lin Lan cried. "You promised, Brother Chu!"

"It'll be fine," Chu Qiguang coaxed. "The gatekeeper isn't here anyway. As long as neither of us says anything, no one else will ever know."

Veins bulged on the gatekeeper's head as fury surged through him. He stormed into the room and caught Chu Qiguang red-handed, fighting with Lin Lan over a box that contained one of the books from the second floor.

***

Chu Qiguang let out a forlorn sigh as he recalled the events from the previous night.

He had been so close to the knowledge that his Ring of Ignorance so intensely desired, only to be thwarted at the very last moment.

To vent his frustration, he unleashed his Heavenly Demon Vanquishing Palms, raining palm strikes down upon the granite boulder.

After enduring months of continuous abuse, the boulder finally reached it's limit and shattered into several massive pieces that fell to the ground.

It was a bittersweet moment for Chu Qiguang. On one hand, he had finally accomplished the monumental feat of destroying the boulder, a testament to his newfound strength. On the other hand, the boulder had served as a loyal training aide for him for several months, and now, it was no more.

As Chu Qiguang stared at the shattered remains of the boulder on the ground, the sun began to rise, bathing the courtyard in a warm glow.

With the morning light heralding the arrival of a new day, Chu Qiguang turned and made his way toward the training ground.

By the time he arrived, the training ground was already packed with trainees, and Yang Ling stood before them, announcing the rules of the half-yearly examination.