Chapter Eight: The Pavilion of Hidden Classics

“What did you just say? That Luo Tian beat you?” Shen Lingfeng looked at his younger brother’s face, twisted in pain, and though his voice remained cool, a flicker of anger surged beneath his calm exterior.

“Yes, that bastard. I don’t know what trick he used, but in one move he—”

Before Shen Lingbo could finish, Lingfeng’s hand shot out and slapped him hard across the face.

With a sharp crack, a large red handprint blazed on Lingbo’s face, already full of grievance and confusion.

Shen Lingfeng was thin and sharp-featured, his expression remote. There was a hint of something shadowy and violent between his brows as he withdrew his hand with a slight shake. “Useless,” he spat.

So accustomed was Lingbo to his brother’s stern authority that he didn’t even dare rub his stinging cheek, let alone protest. He simply stood there, dumbfounded, awaiting his brother’s next move.

“You’ve brought disgrace and shame to the Shen family!” Lingfeng shook his head in disappointment. “If you’re not absolutely certain, don’t go looking for trouble. Useless thing. Still, if Luo Tian thinks the Shen family is easily bullied, he’s sorely mistaken. I may be in the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm and already twenty, so I can’t personally intervene—the sect rules forbid contestants with more than two realms’ difference—but this won’t be left unsettled. Go back for now. I will handle it.”

“Yes!” Lingbo hurriedly nodded in agreement. Despite the slap, he was secretly pleased at the thought of Luo Tian suffering a setback—after all, a quarrel between brothers was family business, not for outsiders to witness.

“Luo Tian, hmph!” Shen Lingfeng watched his brother leave, dusted off his long robe, and strode out at his leisure.

With the map in hand, Luo Tian soon located the Scripture Repository. This sprawling, three-story building, though not especially tall, nevertheless possessed a certain solemn grandeur.

But for Luo Tian, such things held little interest.

Upon entering, he immediately noticed a kindly, plump-faced old man nearby, who beckoned him over.

“A new outer disciple? I don’t believe I’ve seen you before,” the elder remarked.

The words startled Luo Tian. There were hundreds of outer disciples in the Eastern Quarter of Mount Ziyang—could this old man truly remember every single one?

“The stronger one’s cultivation, the more profoundly the body is enhanced—not just in strength, but also in sight, hearing, memory, and so forth,” the old man said, as if reading Luo Tian’s mind. He smiled. “I am Han Li, custodian of the Scripture Repository. You may call me Elder Han. And you, young man—what is your name?”

“Greetings, Elder Han. I am Luo Tian, newly admitted to the outer sect. I’ve come to select a cultivation method and martial arts technique.”

Luo Tian bowed slightly as he spoke, surreptitiously probing with his Spirit Eye ability. Yet he could glean nothing—the old man, Han Li, was at least an inner disciple, likely a cultivator of the Pulse Flow Realm.

Unlike the mostly youthful outer disciples, the inner sect was dominated by middle-aged and elderly members. The few young faces among them were invariably prodigies with notable backgrounds and talent. Thus, encountering an inner disciple in the Scripture Repository was nothing surprising to Luo Tian.

“Very well. Go ahead. If you have confidence, you might consider trying a secret body-forging technique,” Han Li advised, his gaze meaningful.

Luo Tian paused, uncertain. “A secret body-forging technique?”

He glanced around—the hall was empty, no other outer disciples present. Was he about to stumble upon some rare opportunity?

“That’s right. Cultivation methods enable faster absorption and refinement of spiritual energy. Body-forging techniques, on the other hand, use this energy to strengthen the body. The two are distinct, but deeply interconnected,” Han Li explained, his tone grave and concise.

“Which is more important—cultivation methods or body-forging techniques?” Luo Tian asked, frowning in puzzlement.

“To put it simply, the human body is like a cup, and spiritual energy is the water within. To hold more water, both the cup’s sturdiness and capacity matter. Body-forging techniques enhance these qualities. In the early stages, they strengthen basic abilities—raw strength, coordination, stability of breath. Later, they even improve the resilience of your meridians, bones, and flesh.” Han Li’s expression was serious, though his eyes hinted at something left unsaid.

Luo Tian grew more suspicious, questions bubbling up within him. “Elder Han, if that’s true, wouldn’t body-forging techniques consume a great deal of spiritual energy? Are they really worth it?”

“The body is important too. As for how to balance your choices, that’s a lesson every cultivator must learn,” Han Li replied ambiguously. With a wave of his hand, he indicated that Luo Tian could proceed and make his own selection, saying no more.

Though Luo Tian believed he’d received some guidance, Han Li’s manner left him more perplexed than enlightened. After a respectful bow, he moved on, venturing deeper into the Scripture Repository.

Such subtle hints served to outline the uses of body-forging techniques, fulfilling the sect’s requirements, while also increasing the chances that this boy would avoid choosing them—thus appeasing the major powers within the sect. Han Li smiled to himself with satisfaction, watching Luo Tian’s departing figure. It was no small feat to conceal his true status, lest these common-born outer disciples catch on to the true significance of body-forging methods. Indeed, much thought had gone into this little performance.

Luo Tian, oblivious to these calculations, pulled out his outer disciple’s handbook and carefully read the sections on cultivation methods and martial arts, committing them to memory.

Both cultivation methods and martial techniques were divided into lower, middle, and upper grades at the human rank, spanning both the Qi Condensation and Pulse Flow Realms. For their first free selection, Qi Condensation disciples were limited to lower-grade human-rank skills only. Body-forging techniques, however, were exempt from such limits.

This struck Luo Tian as odd. The position of body-forging techniques in the sect seemed awkward and rather ambiguous—he couldn’t imagine why.

There must be a secret behind this!

Luo Tian was certain. Only a fool would do something pointless. Clearly, the current state of body-forging techniques was the result of hidden machinations—though their motives remained unclear.

No matter. Since there were no restrictions, he might as well take one!

Confident in his Spirit Eye, Luo Tian had no worries about his cultivation speed. Even if it cost some spiritual energy to try a body-forging technique, it would hardly matter; it might even let him slow his pace a little.

He soon arrived at the lower human-rank section, where row upon row of books lined the shelves in dizzying profusion. It was hard to know where to begin. Not far away, a sign pointed out the area reserved for body-forging techniques.

Curiosity piqued, Luo Tian decided to take a look at these so-called secret body-forging methods.