Chapter 9: The Book Storage Pavilion

  "Step, step"

  In the silence of the crowd, Xu Hua disappeared on the stairs and entered the second floor. At this time, looking at the empty staircase, the many talents on the first floor just woke up.

  "It seems that San Shao... No, I must inform the young master immediately!" A person in the corner put down his book and quickly left the first floor of the library. As he left, several others followed him out, leaving only a few people on the entire first floor.

  "Who is it?"

  As he stepped into the second floor, a hoarse voice sounded in Xu Hua's ear. The voice was not loud, but it seemed extremely sonorous to Xu Hua, and his whole body shook as he looked in the direction of the sound. In a secluded corner opposite the entrance to the second floor of the book pavilion, Xu Hua saw a person with disheveled hair sitting on a futon, unable to see their face, but judging from the hoarse voice, they should be quite old.

  "Junior Xu Hua has seen senior." With a slight bow, Xu Hua paid his respects to the man, who then said: "Xu Hua? I've never heard of that name! Which house are you from, and why have I never seen you before?" As he spoke, the man suddenly raised his head, and in the dimly lit room, two sharp gazes shot out, staring fixedly at Xu Hua.

  Staring intently at the person, not flinching under the two sharp gazes, only to see that the person's face was rugged and weathered, with wrinkles announcing a long existence. Especially on the left half of his face, there was a long scar that looked quite frightening.

  "My father is Xu Lin." If such a situation were to occur, some timid young men of the Xu family would certainly be frightened out of their wits. However, Xu Hua was not afraid in the slightest. After all, this was the Xu family's stronghold, and those guarding it must also be important figures of the Xu family; they wouldn't dare do anything unfavorable to them. Most importantly, after gaining power, Xu Hua had confidence in his own abilities. The old man's aura was strong, but he wasn't afraid. Moreover, the distance between the old man and Xu Hua was less than thirty zhang, and Xu Hua could sense that the old man's life energy was much weaker than his own - at most, it was comparable to that of the masters of the Zhou and Qian families.

  Upon hearing the name Xu Lin, the other party withdrew their imposing aura and looked at Xu Hua with a smile on his face, nodding repeatedly: "You're quite impressive, you're the first junior in our family to appear so natural in front of me."

  "Thanks for the compliment..." Xu Hua was about to continue, but the man interrupted him and said: "What's with this 'senior' business? I'm your grandfather's sixth younger brother, so you should call me Sixth Grandfather."

  Xu Hua's mouth was agape in surprise as he stared at him, his mind numb. Before the old man could get angry, he said, "I've seen Sixth Grandfather."

  "Hmm" The man finally smoothed out his long beard, nodded in satisfaction and said: "I've been staying on the second floor of this library for years and don't go out much, but I still know something about you. It's just that you've never come here before, so I didn't recognize you earlier. But I used to hold you when you were a kid! Ah, it's been ten years now."

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Liu Ye's face was filled with desolation and sorrow. Xu Hua stood beside him, also silent. As for the events of ten years ago, he didn't remember them at all - after all, he was only four years old back then. Ten years had passed, and most things were no longer remembered. Seeing that Xu Hua wasn't speaking either, Liu Ye got up from his cushion, stirring up a cloud of dust. It seemed that Liu Ye had been sitting there for a long time, or else so much dust wouldn't have accumulated.

  "You little brat, I heard you don't like martial arts and instead focus on literature, even spreading some nonsense about all living beings being equal. At first, I thought of going out to slap you to death to avoid losing face for the Xu family." As soon as these words came out, Xu Hua immediately felt a deep sense of gloominess, seeing that Sixth Grandfather's eyes were filled with stupidity.

  Sixth Grandfather looked at him with a faint smile and said, "My Xu family is based on martial arts, don't you dislike the way of martial arts? Isn't it a loss of face for my Xu family? However, you are after all Third Brother's seed, so I spared your life. But now it seems that you have come to your senses, otherwise you wouldn't be here!"

  "Yes, my grandson has come to understand that this is a world of warriors, and without strength, one can't even protect oneself, let alone others?" Xu Hua looked at the genuine delight on Liu Ye's face, and his dissatisfaction dissipated, responding thus.

  "Hmm, as long as you understand, but after all these years of neglect, your current strength has only just entered the early stages of a warrior. You've been left far behind by the other young masters, and it'll take a lot of hard work to catch up with them. That Xu Ting kid has already become a martial artist, and he's expected to become a great king in the future. You can't be inferior to him."

  "Grandson knows that this time he came to find a suitable martial art to strengthen his own strength, and the 'Shuishi Fist' grandson has already practiced it quite well."

  "Have you mastered the 'Shuishi Fist'?" Sixth Grandfather's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, although the "Shuishi Fist" was only a low-level martial skill in the yellow rank, after all, it was still a martial skill. It was rare for a warrior to master this technique at an early stage. "Hmm, not bad. There are countless martial skills here, you can choose whatever you like. Remember, it doesn't have to be the best one, but it must be the most suitable for yourself. I won't be able to help you with choosing a skill, you'll have to decide on your own. However, if you find that it's not suitable, just come and exchange it for another one!"

  "Isn't the second floor of this library restricted?" Xu Hua said weakly, and Sixth Grandfather waved his hand grandly, saying: "What's that worth? I'm in charge here, what I say goes. Besides, with your status, these benefits are nothing."

  "Thank you, Sixth Grandfather." Although this was nothing to Sixth Grandfather, it was a huge benefit for Xu Hua. If the other young masters were to find out, they would be green with envy.

  Grandfather Liu, however, did not respond to Xu Hua's intention again, sat cross-legged on the cushion once more, closed his eyes, and it was unclear whether he was cultivating or contemplating.

  Xu Hua looked at the bookshelf on this floor and casually picked up a book to read.

  Looking at the book in his hand, he saw that the cover had four big words "Clear Wind Swordsmanship" printed on it. Turning to the first page, he read: "Clear Wind Swordsmanship", a high-level sword technique of the Yellow Rank, suitable for swordsmen who take the agile route... When practiced to perfection, the one who wields this sword technique is like a clear wind that sweeps past, defeating his opponent in an instant.

  "This sword technique is not bad, but it's not suitable for me." Xu Hua put the book back on the shelf after reading this. His greatest strength was his physical body, which was much stronger than ordinary people, and his advantage lay in his power and terrifying recovery ability, so he was more suited to heavy-type routes rather than agile-type routes. Just as Sixth Grandfather said, only what suits oneself is the best, Xu Hua decisively gave up on this seemingly powerful martial technique.

  Xu Hua looked at the book next to "Clear Wind Sword Manual"…

  "Mantis Fist...... Yellow Tier Mid-Level Martial Skill...... Emphasizes Punching Speed......"

  "Xuanyou Palm...... Yellow Stage High-Level Martial Skill...... Palm Strike Like a Ghostly Apparition......"

  "Wind Chaser Leg"... Yellow Tier Intermediate Martial Skill... Rushing like a startled thunder, the ultimate escape technique...

  ……

  Xu Hua glanced through the precious martial manuals, his expression calm and unruffled, without a hint of joy, only when he saw the Wind Chasing Leg did his heart stir slightly.

  "Ah, apart from 'Pursuing Wind Leg', the other martial arts manuals are of no use to me." Having searched through an entire row of manuals without finding one that he liked, Xu Hua felt a slight bitterness in his heart. He then began searching on the second row of bookshelves...

  The entire second floor of the library looked much smaller than the first floor, with only four rows of bookshelves in total, each row having about ten books on martial skills and techniques. Although the quantity seemed small, it's worth noting that even the lowest level ones here were at least mid-level yellow-grade martial skills and techniques. Even the town-protecting martial skills of the Qian and Zhou families, who were also prominent families in Qing Shan Town, were only at the high-level yellow grade. Yet, on the second floor of the Xu family's library, there were seven high-level yellow-grade martial skills, which meant that the Xu family was a level higher than the Qian and Zhou families in terms of martial skills.

  However, the Xujia clan's town ethnic martial art - "Kai Shan Zhang" is not included in this list. In the Xujia clan, only the head of the household and a few core elders have the qualifications to learn "Kai Shan Zhang", and all are taught through oral tradition and physical demonstration, it seems that there is no record of it at all. Even the lowest level of Xuanjie martial art would make most early-stage Wu Wang warriors jealous, so naturally, it cannot be recorded, this is too dangerous.

  After searching through the entire second floor of the library, Xu Hua finally found a martial art manual that suited him - "Thunderbolt Fist".

  "Thunder Fist", a high-level yellow-grade martial skill, when practiced to perfection, the punch is like thunder... Note: Due to this technique being too overbearing, only those with innate divine strength and strong physique can practice it. Otherwise, they will suffer from severed meridians and become permanently disabled. Because of its stringent requirements, it was classified as a high-level yellow-grade martial skill. If someone truly masters it, the explosive power released will not be inferior to most low-level mystic-grade martial skills.

  "Having cultivated to a high level, it's actually comparable to the lower-level martial skills of the Xuan stage. It's really too powerful." Holding this "Bolts Fist" manual in his hand, Xu Hua's face was filled with excitement, and as for the harsh cultivation conditions? For someone like Xu Hua who had surpassed the physical strength of a same-age Heavenly Born God, cultivating the "Devouring Life Skill" didn't pose any pressure at all.

  "I didn't expect that there would be such a powerful martial art in the Xu family's book collection. If I were to master the 'Bolt Fist' technique, wouldn't its power be comparable to our clan's ultimate technique - the 'Mountain Opening Palm'?" Xu Hua's mind flashed with countless thoughts, and finally his hand grasped the manual tightly, unwilling to let go.

  Of course, after choosing his technique, Xu Hua was ready to leave, but before leaving, he specially took away the "Wind Chasing Leg" that he had been somewhat interested in at first.

  When Xu Hua took the two martial skills and left the second floor of the library, the old man sitting in the corner opened his eyes again, and with a somewhat heavy tone, he muttered to himself: "This kid actually chose 'Thunderbolt Fist', I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck! Hope he succeeds, this martial skill has not been practiced by many of our clan members for a long time... hope he can master it! Don't let this powerful martial skill disappear from the world..."

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