Chapter 429: Acquiring Knowledge

"Greetings, Elder!" Yi Chen said with as respectful a bow as possible.

"Mhm." The Elder nodded with a smile and said, "I haven’t seen you here before, so you must be one of the new Outer Sect Disciples."

"Yes, Elder. Since by tomorrow we need to choose our respective occupations, I’ve come here to learn more about Pill Refining since that’s what I’m planning to take." Yi Chen said with a humble attitude.

"Pill Refining, huh? Looks like you’ll be spending the next half of your life with books then hahaha!" The Elder let out a light chuckle and asked, "How many hours are you planning to stay here?"

"It’s afternoon now, so I’m planning to be here till the sun sets." Yi Chen answered, planning to skip lunch for today.

"Mhm, that would be six hours and will cost six contribution points. However, since your mission hall would have opened just today for your lot, I can’t expect you to have much or any contribution points, so that will cost you 24 High Grade Spirit Stones."

As the Elder said those words, a playful expression formed on his face as he asked, "How about it? Would you like me to reduce the hours, or are you willing to pay the required Spirit Stones?"

"Neither." Yi Chen said with a confident smile and continued, "I’ll be paying with my contribution points instead."

A frown instantly formed on the Elder’s forehead, but before he could raise any questions, Yi Chen put forward his identification beads, and a panel stating the amount of contribution points he possessed appeared right above it the next second.

[Contribution Points: 100]

[Send]

[Receive]

"I think I have more than enough Contribution Points to stay for six hours... right, Elder?" Yi Chen, with a smile, relished each fluctuation on the Elder’s face.

"Y-Yes. That’s more than enough! Haha, to think there was someone like you in the new batch. Good lad!" The Elder praised with an impressed smile as he soon received the contribution points from Yi Chen.

With that done, he pointed towards the far end of the corridor and said, "You’ll find the books on Basic Pill Refining starting from Shelf H12 to Shelf K76. For the ones you want to take to your quarters to read, an additional price of half a contribution point per book will apply. Any doubts?"

"No, I understand. Thank you for your help." Yi Chen said with a grateful smile after glancing in the direction of the respective shelves.

"You’re welcome. Later on, if you have any doubts with regard to any book, feel free to approach me. Learn well then." The Elder nodded with a smile and gestured to Yi Chen that he was free to leave.

"I’ll keep Elder’s words in mind." Yi Chen said, and with a respectful bow, left in the direction shown by the Elder.

’Fine lad, at 19 years old he’s already at the Ninth Meridian Refinement Stage,’ The Elder nodded to himself with a subtle smile before closing back his eyes.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen continued to make his way inside to find the particular rows of shelves.

"H12...H12...H12..."

Yi Chen kept muttering while looking for the respective shelf as he crossed dozens of shelves that were filled with books and texts on various subjects.

"There it is!"

He exclaimed when his eyes fell on the shelf which was filled with various books related to Pill Refining that someone starting their Pill Refining journey should know.

"Advance Herb Knowledge..."

"Basic Herb Knowledge..."

"Practical Refining Example Compendium..."

.

.

.

He slowly went through all the topics that were present on the first shelf before taking out a few interesting ones which he felt would help him start his journey.

A couple of minutes later, with five books in his hands, he settled on a nearby table and started going over their contents in a deliberate fashion with great interest.

Time continued to pass as the pile of five books soon turned to ten and was nearing fifteen by the time it was nearing sunset.

’Damn... to think my reading speed would have increased by so much.’ Yi Chen thought to himself in an amazed manner.

Initially, he kept his speed slow and deliberate, but as he kept it up, his reading speed increased exponentially to his very surprise, making it possible for him to read the fourteen books completely in a little more than five hours.

With eyes filled with excitement, relish and curiosity, Yi Chen kept going through the contents of the last book, completely unaware of his surroundings.

Meanwhile, outside the entrance of the Library, Huo Xun had been standing alongside two Inner Sect Disciples while gnashing his teeth in frustration.

"That bloody old man! Can’t he understand basic reasoning?! Since he has committed a crime, isn’t it only natural for the Enforcement Hall personnel to take him to trial!"

Huo Xun exclaimed with folded arms while looking at an Enforcement Hall disciple with irritation evident in his eyes, "Senior Brother, isn’t it enough?! We’ve been waiting for that bastard for the last five hours, and he has yet to come. Can’t you try to reason with that Elder once again?"

Hearing Huo Xun’s words, the Inner Sect Disciple shook his head and said, "Junior Brother, you’re saying this because you’re not well aware of Elder Un Jing. However, regular Enforcement Hall staff like me are well aware of his reputation.

There have also been a few other similar cases before where the disciples who were to be called for a trial were inside the library. Each time, Elder Un Jing had remained adamant and didn’t let a single Enforcement Hall disciple take the accused disciple away.

Therefore, even if you want me to help with this situation, I have no way of actually helping you as my hands are tied."

"Shit! That sly bastard must be aware of this, and that’s why he rushed straight inside the library the first thing after the duel was over!" Huo Xun gnashed his teeth in frustration.

Elder Un Jing, who had been sitting silently inside the library with his eyes closed, snorted a couple of seconds later and muttered, "Accused of hitting a brat like you? Even I would have done the same after seeing that behaviour of yours.

Never in my life will I allow rascals like you to impede a genuine disciple’s knowledge-seeking process."

As he muttered those words, using his spiritual sense, he checked on Yi Chen, who had been fully immersed in reading the fifteenth book of the day.

’For his cultivation level, this boy has a monstrous comprehension level. I just can’t get enough of watching him.’

The Elder thought with a smile while sensing the pile of white sheets scribbled with notes which Yi Chen had made while going through the earlier books.

At first, he had thought that Yi Chen was just skimming through the books and wasting his time and had personally arrived there to admonish him, only to realise that it wasn’t the case when his eyes fell on that pile of sheets.

Luckily, Yi Chen had been too engrossed in going through the book to realise his presence at that time; as a result, he was saved from embarrassment.

’Half an hour more and his time will be up. When he comes, I’ll warn him about those Enforcement Hall disciples waiting for him outside.’ The Elder thought to himself before retracting his attention.

Fifteen minutes later, Yi Chen closed the fifteenth book with a satisfied expression, "Well, that was more interesting than I expected..."

He thought to himself, still wanting to read more, but his desire for dinner outweighed that craving.

’I’ll just take a few from here and read them back at my quarters...’ Thinking along those lines, he walked towards the shelves he had yet to explore and started picking out the books on topics that pulled him.

’On second thought, I’ll take enough to last a few weeks. Coming here again and again to read would be a waste of time when I can easily read them in my room.’

With this thought, he started collecting one book after another as the table was soon filled with a fresh pile of books which totalled 242.

’Let’s see... the Elder said that it was half a contribution point per book, so that will be 121 contribution points.’ A bitter smile appeared on Yi Chen’s face when he realised that his contribution points weren’t enough.

"484 High Grade Spirit Stones it is then..." he muttered, feeling ever so grateful to Gao Zhen for the spirit stones as he placed all the books inside his storage ring the next moment and made his way towards the reception.

"...You want to borrow them all?" Elder Un Jing asked with a surprised expression, seeing the pile of books on his table.

"Yes, Elder. I’ll be using Spirit Stones for payment, so you don’t need to worry about me not having enough Spirit Stones." Yi Chen said with a smile as he took out the gold card which he received from the Red Velvet Pavilion.

"Very well then." Seeing the gold card, Elder Un Jing realised that Yi Chen truly was capable of paying the required stones and didn’t say anything further.

Once the payment was done, the Elder Un Jing waited for Yi Chen to place everything inside his storage ring before informing him, "Once you go out, you’ll find disciples from the Enforcement Hall and an Outer Sect Disciple named Huo Xun waiting for you.

They wanted to catch hold of you just an hour after you had entered, but I’ve been preventing them from doing that. I can only do this much for you, so take care of the matter carefully.

Complying with some rules can be difficult at times, so even if things don’t go your way in the end, don’t forget that the main reason you entered the sect is to get stronger and nothing else. You understand?"

"Ah..." Yi Chen’s eyes widened in realisation when he heard those words, and he thanked the Elder the very next moment. "Thank you for your help, Elder! I’ll keep your teachings in mind."

With that said, he bowed respectfully towards him before making his way towards the exit.

’Let’s see what you’ve prepared for me then, Huo Xun.’

Yi Chen’s eyes narrowed as he stepped out of the library, his eyes instantly falling on three individuals who had been waiting for his arrival for the last several hours.

"He’s here! Quick! Catch hold of that bastard before he escapes!" Huo Xun exclaimed the very next moment and mobilised the two Inner Sect Disciples into action.

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