The Outer Sect Scripture Library was a three-story pagoda that smelled of old paper and failed dreams.
Ye Tian stood at the entrance. He had his new weapon, the Edge of Nihility, but he had no idea how to use it. Swinging it around like a baseball bat was effective against weaklings, but against Wang Long (a Level 9 expert), he needed actual technique.
"Disciple Ye Tian," the gatekeeper droned, not looking up from his book. "First floor is free. Second floor costs 10 Spirit Stones per hour. Third floor is off-limits to trash."
"I'll take the first floor," Ye Tian said. He was rich now, but he was also cheap.
He walked into the first floor. Rows of bookshelves stretched out, filled with low-level manuals.
Ye Tian picked up a book titled Iron Skin Technique.
[System Scan: "Iron Skin Technique". Grade: Low Mortal. Effect: Makes your skin hard. Side Effect: You lose all body hair and look like a boiled egg.]
Ye Tian put it back immediately. "Next."
He picked up another: Flowing Water Sword.
[System Scan: "Flowing Water Sword". Grade: Mid Mortal. Effect: graceful movements. Flaw: Useless in actual combat. Great for dance parties.]
"Trash. Trash. All trash."
Ye Tian wandered through the aisles for an hour. Every book was either useless or had embarrassing side effects. He was starting to lose hope.
"Is there nothing here that doesn't involve going bald or dancing?"
He walked toward the back of the library, the "Discount Corner" where damaged books were kept.
There, he saw an old man sweeping the floor. The old man had white hair, a hunched back, and moved with a slow, rhythmic pace.
Ye Tian stopped. His "Genre Savvy" senses were tingling.
An old man? Sweeping the floor in a library? This is the ultimate trope! This guy is definitely a hidden peerless expert!
Ye Tian straightened his robes. He needed to make a good impression. He activated the Divine Eye of Truth.
[Name: Old Man Li]
[Role: Janitor]
[Cultivation: Mortal (No cultivation)]
[Hobbies: Sweeping, complaining about back pain, bingo on Tuesdays.]
Ye Tian's shoulders slumped. "Oh. He's just a janitor. Never mind."
He turned away, disappointed. But then, the System pinged.
[Ding! Supreme Treasure Detected nearby!]
Ye Tian froze. "Where?"
[Distance: 2 meters. Direction: Down.]
Ye Tian looked down. He looked at the floor. He looked at the bookshelf next to the janitor.
One of the legs of the bookshelf was broken. To stop it from wobbling, someone had shoved a dirty, black book under the leg.
Ye Tian crouched down. "Excuse me," he said to the bookshelf.
He lifted the heavy shelf with one hand (thanks to his Chaos Body) and pulled out the book. Dust clouds puffed into his face.
The cover was torn. The title was barely legible: ...Heavenly... Slash...
[Ding! Treasure Identified!]
[Name: Nine Tribulations Sword Art (Fragment)]
[Grade: ??? (Original: Divine Grade)]
[Condition: Incomplete. Only the first move remains.]
[Description: A sword technique so violent it was banned by the Heavens. Focuses on pure, unadulterated destruction.]
Ye Tian grinned. "Found you."
"Hey!"
A raspy voice interrupted him. Old Man Li, the janitor, was glaring at him.
"Put that back!" the old man grumbled. "That's the structural support for the History Section! If you take that, the Biography of Sect Founder will fall over!"
[Ding! A wild Janitor blocks your path.]
[Option 1: The Good Citizen. Put the book back and look for something else. Reward: 1 Good Boy Point (Useless).]
[Option 2: The Bribe. Give the old man a Spirit Stone to look the other way. Reward: The Manual.]
[Option 3: The Gaslighter. Convince him that the book is cursed and you are saving him. Reward: The Manual + 5 "Deception" points.]
Ye Tian looked at the grumpy janitor.
"Old man," Ye Tian said solemnly (Option 3). "Do you feel a chill in your spine when you sweep this corner?"
Old Man Li blinked. "Well, yes. It's drafty here."
"That's not a draft," Ye Tian whispered, his eyes wide. "That book... it's haunted by the ghost of a thousand failed disciples. If it stays here, your bingo luck will vanish forever."
Old Man Li gasped. "Not my bingo luck!"
"I will take this burden away," Ye Tian said heroically, tucking the dirty book into his robe. He grabbed a nearby brick and shoved it under the table leg. "Here. This brick is holy. It has good Feng Shui."
Old Man Li looked at the brick, then at Ye Tian. "You're a weird kid. Just get out of here before the Elder sees you taking the trash."
Ye Tian bowed and walked away quickly before the janitor realized he'd been scammed.
The Registration Desk.
Ye Tian slammed the dirty book on the counter.
The gatekeeper Elder looked at it. He picked it up with two fingers, looking disgusted.
"You want to borrow this?" the Elder asked. "Kid, this is the Unnamed Black Book. Hundreds of disciples have tried to learn it. They all failed. It has no diagrams, just gibberish text."
"I like a challenge," Ye Tian said.
"It costs 50 Spirit Stones to copy," the Elder said, expecting Ye Tian to leave.
Ye Tian slapped a bag of stones on the counter. "Keep the change."
The Elder's jaw dropped. He stamped the book. "Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when you suffer Qi Deviation."
Ye Tian grabbed the manual and ran out of the library.
He found a quiet spot in the woods behind his hut. He sat down and opened the book.
To anyone else, the pages looked like scribbles. But to Ye Tian, the System translated everything.
[Would you like to learn "Nine Tribulations Sword Art - First Move: Severing the Horizon"?]
"Yes!"
[Learning... 1%... 50%... 100%.]
[Congratulations. Skill Learned.]
Information exploded in Ye Tian's mind. He didn't just read the book; the System downloaded the muscle memory directly into his body.
He stood up. He drew the Edge of Nihility.
The rusty black sword hummed. It seemed to recognize the technique.
"First Move," Ye Tian whispered. "Severing the Horizon."
He didn't use any fancy footwork. He simply swung the sword horizontally.
SHING.
There was no explosion. No giant energy beam. Just a thin, black line that appeared in the air for a split second.
Ten meters away, three thick bamboo trees silently slid apart. The cuts were perfectly smooth, as if they had been sliced by a laser.
Then, the rock behind the trees split in half.
Then, the wind behind the rock seemed to split.
Ye Tian looked at the destruction. He looked at his hand.
"Okay," he breathed. "That's a bit overpowered."
Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly.
[Warning: High-Tier techniques consume massive amounts of stamina. Host is currently starving.]
Ye Tian stumbled. He felt like he hadn't eaten in a week.
"I need food," Ye Tian groaned. "Meat. Lots of meat."
He looked toward the misty mountains of the Sect's Beast Park.
"Time to hunt. Wang Hu is trash, but Wang Long is dangerous. I need combat experience."
He sheathed his sword and started walking toward the forest.
But as he walked, he didn't notice a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows of the library roof.
It was Old Man Li. The "Mortal" janitor.
The old man wasn't hunched anymore. He stood straight as a spear. His eyes, previously cloudy, were now sharp and profound.
"Nine Tribulations Sword Art..." Old Man Li muttered, stroking his beard. "That brat actually learned it in seconds? And he has the Ancient Chaos Body?"
The old man chuckled, a sound that made the air vibrate.
"Interesting. Finally, this boring Sect has a monster."
Old Man Li picked up his broom and went back to sweeping, instantly returning to his hunchbacked, grumpy persona.
"Bingo night is tomorrow," he mumbled. "I hope that brick really has good Feng Shui.