Li Mu, seeing the young woman about to be taken away, clenches his fist in frustration. Knowing that there was nothing he could do to help her.
He wasn't like other protagonists in the novels he had read, who fearlessly went to save others despite knowing what danger they would be in themselves.
Deciding to note this situation in his heart, li mu is about to leave when suddenly a voice is heard from afar.
"Young master Jian, stop what you're doing this instant." Slowly walking out of the auction hall was a woman in flowery clothes and a hairpin pinning her hair down. She was a beautiful middle-aged woman with a curvaceous body. Looking over at young master Jian in disgust, she glanced at the slave girl with pity, then briskly stood in front of her, confronting young master Jian.
"Young master Jian, how daring of you to come and go as you pls, giving yourself the right to punish my people."
The crowd instantly went into an uproar," Who was this woman who dared to question young master Jian?", "How daring I am to see a good show".
"Oh, she's Miss Lin Qin, the daughter of the auction hall master." "Oh, that Lin Qin, the genius tech and cultivation prodigy who had reached the "meridian integration realm at just 16, truly a rare phoenix."
Li Mu, hearing the discussions around him, looked at Lin Qin in confusion, wondering what these people meant by the "meridian integration realm." Judging from the looks of confusion in the crowd, only a rare handful of informed people knew about realms. Likely those with connections
"I need to quickly gather such important information." Deciding to find a library to browse through later on, li mu keeps his focus on the ongoing conflict.
"Lady Qin..." "Don't meddle in my young master's business." "If you know what's good for you, leave now to avoid ruining relations."
Lin Qin, without looking at the man who had just spoken, looked at young master Jian. Silently looking at him for a few minutes while completely ignoring the man who kept on barking at her.
Young master Jian, his face darkening, knew what Lin Qin wanted with her silence. And without any ounce of hesitation flicked his wrist lightly. And in an instant, blood sprayed, and a long gash appeared on that man's neck, forever silencing him.
Lin Qin, seeing this, flashed a brief smile, then looked at young master Jian, then continued, "Now we can continue our conversation, young master Jian."
Already angry at having to kill his own dog with his own hands, young master Jian's tone was icy.
"I can't negotiate with you, Lin Qin. It's either I leave with this slave girl or else..." " or else what, master Jian" "I hope you don't forget that the matters of your clan are not for you to decide"" so if you can, would you leave this instant or will I have to make you"
The crowd gasps, once again shocked that the almighty young master Jian had just been slapped in the face twice with no consequences. Li Mu, hidden in the crowd, was also secretly shocked, not knowing how the young master Jian had killed the man before. "Cold sweat started rolling down his forehead, breathing a sigh of thanks that this jian fellow only saw him as an ant for now, or else he might not have entered the auction hall alive.
Seeing as the slave girl was basically saved with young lady Qin already there, he decided to spend his rust credits on acquiring some useful information.
Quickly leaving the area, he found out where the market library was. After some not-so-friendly insults, he managed to find his way. Staring at the not-so-big but also not-so-small library, he braced himself, took a deep breath, and walked slowly into the library.
Once inside, he looked around, surprised at the lack of sound or people inside, except for an old man who seemed to be the receptionist here. Walking to the counter, he noticed that the old man was sleeping with a note on the table reading "take what you need, but remember to pay the credits."
Disturbed at the lack of seriousness shown, li mu still knew wisely enough not to test the owners of this place. So, slowly dropping the note back on the table, he made his way into the library. Unknown to him, the once sleeping old man opened his eyes, a sharp gleam passing through briefly before he went back to sleep as if he had never woken up in the first place.
Li Mu browsed through the sections, curiosity taking a hold of him as he scanned through the various books one after another, deciding to go to the section that read" cultivation." he quickly found the book he was looking for.
"Basic guide to cultivation", deciding that this was the one, li mu quickly found an area to sit at, then tried to open up the book. A holographic screen appeared, showing a coin sign and reading "two steel credits to access."
Li Mu's face instantly blackened, cursing under his breath at the daylight robbery, he still paid the fee with a sour heart, vowing to make enough money that he could buy the whole library itself, turning the books into toilet paper. After that silent vow, li mu quickly went back on track and then opened up the book.
"cultivation is the process of turning ones self into a living weapon that allows the flow of the fragmented worlds energy into their whole being and soul" "the more energy the being can hold the greater the amount of power they could wield" "humans have naturally weak bodies, unsuitable for the path of cultivation but through the countless efforts of past grandmasters and the original foundation of the pioneer,
Humans had managed to integrate technology into the cultivation path, using it to augment their bodies to absorb the energy of heaven and earth.
"Each individual had levels of compatibility with spiritual energy, with some geniuses being born that possess special innate bodies which allow for faster absorption of spiritual energy and fusion with tech, granting them special abilities that others would never gain in their lifetime". "those innate bodies are ranked in the order of heaven, earth, human and yellow" each representing a different level of innate bodies based on how strong their innate abilities are"
"Although innate bodies had advantages, it doesn't mean the common people of the world couldn't compete." does with superior comprehension could easily glean into the secrets of heaven, walking the path of the soul, and absorbing the power of the heavens and the earth through their soul, forging an indestructible soul with mysterious abilities, being able to make all kinds of different tech implants and upgrades to forward their cultivation path granting further power"
"As li mu read this, he breathed a sigh of relief, that even though he didn't have a heavenly body with his continuous insights, he could forge a path ahead through the mysterious soul and could create a tech implant far surpassing those of his predecessors with time."
Continuing to read the book, information about the different cultivation levels flowed into his mind: "Both the body path and the soul path follow intricate systems of cultivation, but both generally have nine realms, each realm leading to a significant increase in life level."
For the soul path of cultivation, due to not all humans being physically gifted, the pioneer left an alternative path for those with brilliant minds.
"If flesh cannot ascend, the mind shall." The path begins with the neural spark realm, followed by the mind-weave realm, spirit processor realm, ether mind ascension realm, cognitive dominion realm, soul engine realm, nexus sovereign realm, ether lord realm, and finally the mind pioneer realm.
Similar to the soul path, the body path also has nine cultivation realms, beginning with the circuit awakening realm, followed by the meridian integration realm, circuit forging realm, core reactor realm, spirit engine realm, ether drive realm, ascendant core realm, sovereign circuit realm, and finally the apex pioneer realm.
Li Mu is finally satisfied with acquiring such knowledge instantly, digests it using infinite insights, slowly gaining various inklings into the path of cultivation, and looking at everything from a much broader viewpoint, decides to go with a different plan, to become a hybrid cultivator. Following both the body path and the soul path, as he could compensate for the body through more advanced technology, he could develop through infinite insights.
Deciding to rest a bit, then follow up with the rest of the book's instructions for how to begin the first step into cultivation. Li Mu returns the book, then leaves the library, deciding the hurry to an inn for now, since he had the funds to splurge a bit, and while he was at it, get a change of clothes.