Choosing a Movement Technique

The members of the Law Enforcement Division looked at Zhang Baichi's back with complicated expressions.

Ling Feng sighed and patted the Qin siblings on the shoulders. "Let's go."

While he was also envious of the monumental opportunity Zhang Baichi had received, he could just shake his head and would no longer think about it.

Zhang Baichi didn't know what they were talking about after he left and simply crossed the plaza, heading to the Technique Pavilion.

In front of it, a young disciple bowed to an old man sitting next to the entrance before heading in, prompting Zhang Baichi to approach the old man as well.

The old man wore a simple robe, had an old, wrinkled face, but his beard and hair were neatly trimmed.

He looked at Zhang Baichi with a hint of surprise. "Outer Sect? What are you doing here, kid?"

"Greetings, Senior." Zhang Baichi bowed lightly. "I'm here to enter the Technique Pavilion."

While he spoke, he pulled the token that Jian Wubai gave him. The old man's eyes widened. "The Sect Master's token? How do you have that?"

"My name is Zhang Baichi, Senior. I'm the personal disciple of Sect Master Jian Wubai."

"So it was like that…" the old man nodded. "I've heard that the Sect Master accepted a new disciple. How old are you, kid?"

Zhang Baichi looked at the old man for a second. His former bearing as a respectable elder melted a bit away and he now looked back at Zhang Baichi like a friendly old grandpa. "Senior, I'm 13 years old."

"13 years old, but already at the peak of the Body Forging Realm… And your strength is extraordinary, even for a peak Body Forging cultivator… Not bad, not bad at all." The old man nodded continuously.

"You're too courteous, Senior." Zhang Baichi smiled and put the token back into his Inventory. "May I enter the Technique Pavilion now?"

"Mh, you may. With the Sect Master's token, you can freely enter up to the 4th floor. The 5th is reserved only for Elders and those of equivalent status.", the old man spoke.

Zhang Baichi looked surprised. "Why is that?"

The old man spoke. "The first level contains regular books is a library open for everyone. The 2nd level contains Low-Rank Mortal-Class Techniques, the 3rd level contains Mid-Rank Mortal-Class Techniques, and the 4th level contains High-Rank Mortal-Class Techniques."

He paused for a moment and smiled at Zhang Baichi. "The 5th level contains the Spirit-Class Techniques of our Fleeting Storm Sword Sect. You could say that it contains the core inheritance of our sect. That's why entry is restricted there."

"Isn't that a bit risky? What if someone were to sneak in?" Zhang Baichi looked concerned, though secretly he had already told the system to check up on this Elder in front of him.

[Ding! Yan Shangguan, 142 years old, 8th Layer of the Core Condensation Realm.]

'Strong! Aside from Master and the Lu and Ji family heads, he should be the strongest in the sect.', Zhang Baichi mused.

The old man smiled at him and chuckled. "Sneak in? Kid, that's why I'm here. Who would dare to try and sneak in under this old man's nose? Moreover, there's more then one measure in place to ensure security here."

He looked confident in what he said and didn't show any concern for Zhang Baichi's words. 'Is he trying to be mysterious? He strong, sure, but there's always someone stronger…'

"So Senior is this strong.", Zhang Baichi spoke with a smile. "That's reassuring then. If there's something I can help Senior with, just let me know."

"Don't bother, kid. If your Master hears that I'm making you work, he'll beat me up. My old bones can't take such abuse." The old man waved Zhang Baichi off. "Go take a look at the techniques inside. There's no time limit, but you can only take a single manual with you to study."

"Understood." Zhang Baichi bowed and walked away with hasty steps, entering the pavilion.

There were no people on the first floor, but rows and rows of bookshelves filled the whole floor. 'A library… Hey system, you said you can gather information from a library, right? Go on then.'

[Ding! Beginning information gathering as instructed by host. Estimated time remaining: 17 minutes, 35 seconds.]

'So I gotta stay here for a while. Sure.' Zhang Baichi paced around the first floor and picked a book from time to time, reading up on whatever topic caught his interest.

He had never seen the script that was used in the writings in the book, but thanks to the old Zhang Baichi's memories, he could read it without issue.

A while later, the system reported the completion of its task. Zhang Baichi didn't know how much information it could gather here, but it should at least help him in the future.

He walked to the staircase leading to the second floor and moved up. At the halfway mark, he felt like he had moved through a sheen of water, though he was not wet.

'Was that a barrier? So that's what the old man meant when he said there's more security measures in place.' He didn't let this stop him from continuing to move, though.

The second floor was barely any smaller than the first floor, but there were much fewer bookshelves present.

Zhang Baichi looked around and occasionally noticed a disciple reading through a book. At most, there were 8 to 10 people scattered across the whole floor.

He moved to the third floor, which was much smaller than the previous floors. A lot more people were present here, while there were even less bookshelves to choose from.

Zhang Baichi moved up another staircase and reached the fourth floor, the highest he was allowed to visit.

There were only a dozen bookshelves on this floor, and it was not even a fifth of the size of the first floor. Moreover, it was as sparsely visited as the second floor, with only a handful of people present.

"Still a dozen shelves…" Zhang Baichi muttered while walking around. This was a lot to read. Even if there wasn't a time limit, finding a Movement Technique that suited him among hundreds of books was rough.

'Hey, system, can you check these books for me and tell me which Technique works best for me?' He probed the system. If there was an easy way to do it, why not try?

[Ding! Gathering information as instructed. Estimated time remaining: 1 minute.]

Zhang Baichi was surprised by the low amount of time and waited for the system to finish.

A minute later, the system directed him to a specific shelf and told him which manual to pick.

Zhang Baichi flipped the manual over and took a look at it. The name of the technique was once again written in bold letters on the front: 'Torrential Stampede'

It was a simple name, which surprised Zhang Baichi. He flipped it open and began reading the introduction.

Shortly after, he frowned. 'This is different from what I was expecting… It's not some fancy footwork technique, but rather one that focuses on explosiveness and raw speed. System, why did you choose this one?'

[Ding! What Host currently lacks the most is explosive speed. The 'Fractured Star Sword Technique' can be cultivated for a long time and contains various movements and methods to deal with attacks of all kinds. The 'Torrential Stampede' complements this style of battle very well.]

"I see…" Zhang Baichi muttered. He closed the book shut and took it with him down the pavilion.

Since the system was created by an Empyrean, Zhang Baichi didn't question the authenticity of its calculations. Moreover, it had already explained the matter and that explanation made sense to Zhang Baichi as well.

Back in front of the Technique Pavilion, the old man looked at Zhang Baichi will a calm expression. "Are you sure you want to pick this technique? As I said, there's no time limit for you to choose one, but you can't change your mind later."

"I'm certain, Senior. The Torrential Stampede suits my fighting style very well." Zhang Baichi nodded.

"Alright, then take it with you. Among the Movement Techniques on the 4th floor, the Torrential Stampede can be said to be one of the better ones." The old man nodded and wrote something down in a notebook in front of him.

Zhang Baichi left the old man alone and returned to the Outer Sect. Even though he was already in the Inner Sect, halfway down the mountain, it still took him multiple hours and he only returned to his shack in the evening.

This night, Zhang Baichi didn't cultivate using the Black Heaven Scripture. He only meditated for a while and then went to sleep.

Starting from the next morning, he went to the training fields after eating, picked a corner to train in and read through the manual for the Torrential Stampede multiple times to remember everything.

For the next few days, he didn't train in the sword and people would often see him fall flat onto his face…