Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 751 - Book Collection Pavilion

Chapter 751 - Book Collection Pavilion

The atmosphere in the room was heavy, mixed with awe and longing. The family gathering only ended late into the night before everyone retired.

When Liu Wuxie returned to his quarters, he replayed his grandfather's words in his mind. He knew it wasn't sustainable for him to stay in the Liu Clan.

Though the laws in the Central Plains provided better cultivation conditions for him, the clan's environment was far too comfortable. Under the protection of his grandfather and parents, it would be tough for him to obtain much growth. This wasn't what he wanted, and his goal in coming to the Central Plains was to search for his parents and explore the grandeur of this continent.

"I must join the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy!" Liu Wuxie vowed to himself. He obtained critical information from his grandfather; the Astral Domain Path had to be unlocked to ascend to immortality.

There were no immortals in the True Martial Continent, and they could only be found in astral realms. He would have to join one of the two academies if he wanted to leave the True Martial Continent to the astral domain. This was a deadlock unless Liu Wuxie abandoned his dream to return to the Celestial Realm.

The minimum recruitment requirement was the Nascent Transformation Realm, and recruitment was open to prodigies from the entire continent. This meant intense competition.

The True Martial Continent was brimming with talent, and there were also geniuses capable of challenging those with a higher cultivation than them. So, he could foresee it wouldn't be easy for him to stand out from the masses.

Time was slipping away for Liu Wuxie. With the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy’s recruitment set for the following month, his chances of reaching the ninth level of the Astral River Realm—let alone the Nascent Transformation Realm—were slim. The clock was ticking, and his only viable path forward was to enhance his combat power.

Since he couldn't make a breakthrough in his cultivation, he could only increase his combat power to the point where he could easily defeat cultivators in the Nascent Transformation Realm.

The Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy would naturally value personal strength over artifacts, so he couldn't rely on treasures such as the Earth-Binding Chains and Heavenly Dragon Seal. As for the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, it was too dangerous for him to reveal it.

After all, there were experts from the astral domain in the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy and experts in the Heaven Profound Realm. Thus, it would be dangerous for him if it revealed the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

The assessment for the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy was likely not focused solely on combat but on comprehensive ability—something Liu Wuxie knew he lacked compared to the prodigies of the Central Plains. Starting cultivation late had put him at a disadvantage in knowledge and mastery of martial techniques, areas where others had decades of preparation.

For example, the top-tier disciples in the Liu Clan were groomed from birth to enter the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, and Liu Feng, the eldest son of Liu Wuxie's second uncle, was one of them. If Liu Wuxie wanted to catch up with them, he would have to race against time.

Liu Wuxie spent the entire night in deep thought. First thing in the morning, he sought out Liu Xing to visit the Book Collection Pavilion. His first task was to immerse himself in the books to deepen his understanding of the Central Plains.

Though he had read some along the way, they were only fragments compared to the knowledge in the Book Collection Pavilion. The Liu Clan had a long legacy of over ten thousand years and a collection of many precious books with secrets unknown to the outside world.

"Big Brother Wuxie, you'll need the patriarch's approval if you wish to enter the Book Collection Pavilion," Liu Xing said. It was fine if they were ordinary books, but Liu Wuxie had to obtain the patriarch's approval to enter the Book Collection Pavilion.

"I have already asked Grandfather about it, and here's my permit," Liu Wuxie waved the token as they left the courtyard for the Book Collection Pavilion.

Liu Wuxie was shocked to see the Book Collection Pavilion's scale. It was a six-edged pavilion with nine floors, and an engravement of a guardian beast was at each corner.

"Big Brother Wuxie, ordinary disciples can only gain access to the first three floors without the approval. The next three floors are reserved for those in the high levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm, and the last three floors require the patriarch's token," Liu Xing explained.

"Big Brother Wuxie, why didn't you make him kneel after he lost?" Liu Xing asked as he caught up to Liu Wuxie quickly.

"Do you think he'll kneel?" Liu Wuxie replied with a question instead.

"That's impossible!" Liu Xing replied. He knew Liu Yan wouldn't kneel even if he were killed.

"Exactly. Why waste the effort if he won't kneel? We must learn to endure before our strength surpasses theirs, and it's only a temporary solution for us to rely on our grandfather's protection. We have to work hard to cultivate and increase our cultivation to receive true respect," Liu Wuxie explained as they walked.

Liu Xing nodded, deeply moved by Liu Wuxie's words. In the past few days, he had gained many valuable insights into life from Liu Wuxie.

Although Liu Yan didn't kneel, he had been utterly embarrassed by Liu Wuxie before so many disciples, and he could only roar out in frustration.

"Boy, you're dead even if you enter the Book Collection Pavilion!" Liu Yan roared, and his words drew weird gazes from the surroundings.

When the two entered the Book Collection Pavilion, they dove into the ocean of books. While Liu Wuxie had visited many libraries, including the one in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he had already read through all the materials.

"Big Brother Wuxie, where should we start?" Liu Xing asked. He had only read half of the books on the first three floors.

"I'll stay here for the next few days to read all the books. You're free to do as you please," Liu Wuxie replied. He had already shifted his focus to reading.

"You want to read all the books?" Liu Xing exclaimed in shock. There were millions of books in the Liu Clan, and it would take decades for someone to read through them normally, but Liu Wuxie planned to read all of them in the next few days.

Liu Wuxie's words naturally drew contempt from the surroundings.

"Such impudence! I have never seen someone so arrogant before!" Some of Liu Clan's disciples didn't conceal their mockery of Liu Wuxie, feeling that he was too arrogant. After all, no one had managed to read all the books in the history of the Liu Clan, including the grand elders. They had only read ninety percent of the books at best.

"Let's see how he explains himself later. I want to see how he is going to read all the books in the next few days," many people said, lowering their books and turning to look at Liu Wuxie.

Hearing the discussion from the surroundings, Liu Xing looked embarrassed, as he was also shocked by Liu Wuxie's declaration.

"I have a special method to read books, so there's no need to worry," Liu Wuxie said. He walked over to the first shelf and began his reading.

To everyone's astonishment, he flipped through the books rapidly and finished one in just three breaths. Once he had finished one, he set it aside before picking up the next and repeated the process.

"That's it?" Liu Xing was dumbfounded as he stood by the side. How was that reading? That was merely flipping through the books.

There were millions of books, and since Liu Wuxie planned to read through all of them, did that mean he intended to flip through all the books and mark them as read?

Seeing Liu Wuxie's actions, a burst of laughter came from the surroundings.