Chapter 5 : Library

After her departure from the opulent abode of the second house, Shen Xi's measured steps led her towards the inner sanctum of knowledge within the Shen Clan—their grand library. 

While walking, there was an internal struggle brewing within her as she contemplated if the words she had spoken to her father were not too much. The Hualong Empire, after all, adhered to the ancient values of Confucian principles, emphasizing the importance of filial piety and devotion.

Yet, she doesn't regret her outburst. Her decision to confront her father had been motivated by empathy for the young and stupid Shen Xi she once was—a child who had been isolated and defenseless, a child who had endured isolation and pain. 

Shen Xi has a cold and indifferent disposition. Her cold aura had been etched by the harsh, relentless training she had undergone in her past life as a soldier. This stoic facade had been her shield, her armor. In her previous life, she understood that in the male-dominated and rigorously demanding world of military service, a woman's best path to respect and acknowledgment was through unyielding strength, both physical and emotional. After all, in such apocalyptic times, who would care about morals ? The only thing that mattered was strength.

During her speech earlier in the dining room, her emotions went a little out of control and a bit of her aura leaked out causing her father to freeze and be speechless.

A deep layer of sadness gripped Shen Xi. In the absence of a father in her previous life, she had longed for his affection, and in this life, her mother was gone, and her father had proven to be a hypocrite and a disappointment.

Sigh...

When she was in the dining room, Shen Xi attempted to use 'Reveal' on her family members but it did not work. She deduced that her ability only functioned on things or people she touched.

A few minutes later, Shen Xi and her nanny stood before the grand doors of the Shen Clan's library.

All Shen Clan children could access the first floor of the library at the age of six and were granted an identity token. Shen Xi presented hers to the elder in the library, and with a nod of approval, she entered. Nanny Ma went about her own tasks, leaving Shen Xi to explore the treasures of knowledge.

Shen Xi spent about four hours on the first floor, starting with books on general knowledge about this ancient world. She learned that this world was called Azure Planet and consisted of three continents: Black Panther Continent, Western Continent, and Eastern Continent.

Shen Xi found herself in the Hualong Empire, located in the Eastern Continent. Information about the other continents was scarce on this floor. She was only able to learn a little about their general customs and what they looked like.

She then went on books about the Empire she was living in.

The Huanlong Empire has been led by the Great Jing Dynasty for a thousand years.

One particular book delved into the annals of the Hualong Empire, shedding light on a pivotal event—a fierce and tumultuous battle for the imperial throne that had transpired over twelve years ago. This epochal conflict had culminated in the ascendancy of the present emperor. It spoke of his remarkable feats, his heroic endeavors, and the prodigious talents that had seen him rise to the zenith of power.

The Huanlong Empire four most powerful clans were : the Li clan, the Su clan , the Peng clan and the Shen clan.

Shen Xi moved on to books about abilities. In this world, people typically awakened their abilities before the age of twelve, and these abilities were categorized by colors from weakest to strongest: red, yellow, green, blue, and violet. In the Huanlong Empire, ability users were called Mystic, Mage or Martial artist depending on the type of their ability or talent.

Martial artist is for those who awaken a body or weapons-based talents.

Mages are those who awaken elements-based talents.

Mystics are for the other types of talents such as talismans making or beast taming. We also have mystic doctors who are qualified to cure ability users.

The Shen Clan is known for the green flame technique, well-suited for practicing alchemy. Thus, many ability users within the clan were alchemists. That foundation played a huge role into making them one of the four most powerful clans of the Empire. The patriarch of the Shen Clan possessed a high-grade green fire talent and a low-level green martial arts talent, and was an ability user at the grandmaster realm. He was also a high-level grandmaster alchemist.

Shen Xi left the library with her nanny who arrived to take her back.

Entering her courtyard, Shen Xi found a seamstress waiting to take her measurements and help her choose fabrics for her new dresses.

Shen Xi, knowing she was still in her growing phase, asked the seamstress to make the dresses slightly bigger to accommodate her future development. As an ability user, she expected to grow quickly, and within a month, these new dresses might become too small.

Upon bidding the seamstress farewell, Shen Xi headed back to her quarters. As she sat down to dine, she couldn't help but notice the improvement in the quality of her meal. It appeared that her bold display of self-assurance in the main courtyard had some discernible effects.

Calmly and elegantly, she savored her meal, each bite bringing a sense of contentment. As the dinner concluded, she changed into her sleeping attire and assumed a position on her bed. Nanny Ma was preparing to leave, but Shen Xi halted her. She had questions and a burning curiosity about the Shen family structure and her maternal lineage. Her nanny, as an ability user, surely possessed a wealth of knowledge beyond what she found in books on the first floor.

Nanny Ma talked about the structure f the main family.

After that she talked about Mo family.

She talked about abilities.

Following this in-depth conversation with her nanny, a familiar screen appeared before her.

[Ding! The host has met the conditions to upgrade the Vision ability. Start upgrade to Level F: Yes or No?]

Shen Xi muttered a simple "Yes."

['Vision ' upgrading ....]

With the upgrade process underway, Shen Xi decided to call it a day. Her young body was still fragile and required adequate rest. She anticipated discovering the changes the level F Vision ability would bring tomorrow.