25 Technique

Bin Ga's lips were twitching, the same sight he had dreamed to see was played out in front of himself right now, but the one everyone was staring at in awe wasn't himself, it was a nameless old man! His cousin Bin Ha had joined Flowing Cloud Sect years ago and was acclaimed as a genius, given all the materials and techniques she would want while he had to suffice with next to nothing.

Now, she hadn't even been able to put all of those riches to use while he continued advancing, he decided to join the same sect and overtake her, he would become the next head of the family and be recognized as the true genius!

It was insulting when he could only push the gong back as far as he did, but he took solace in the fact that nobody else could compare to his strength. 'He must be cheating! He's not really at Early Foundation!' Of course, he was wrong, Jim wasn't hiding his cultivation and truly was only at Early Foundation, but several factors seperated him from his peers.

Normally, a Cultivator only has a single Spirit Root, extremely rarely you can find someone with a second Root, Jim has 10. Normal Cultivators of the Earlier Realms may only get an equivalent of the system's +3 strength, +2 dexterity and so on for each Small Cultivation Realm Increase. Celestial Roots ensure full gains for each increase. With 10 Celestial Roots, Jim's entry into cultivation instantly gained +50 to all stats, this is an unthinkable amount for a beginner, even a Complete Realm Increase wouldn't give them such power. Adding on Jim's hellish training, leveling up, and skills he could easily outdo someone two or three Full Realms above himself.

*Cough* Tian Lo cleared his throat to ease the atmosphere, his attitude had taken a complete turnaround, even if the man standing in front of him couldn't advance any further this level of strength was a good addition to any sect. Beaming, he urged everyone to continue to the next stage of the exam.

Those who had failed were left standing there, they weren't sure exactly what to do, normally the Examiner would have escorted them outside of sect grounds. But this was Tian Lo's first Examination, with his sudden mood shift he had completely forgotten about the people standing at the side.

Jim was relieved, nobody had asked him to pay for the damages he caused, he wasn't even sure what the money of this land looked like, how could he have enough to pay for construction work!? Not far ahead a man with a long black beard was waiting at a desk like a receptionist. "Write your names." each of the challengers did so, when it was Jim's turn he wrote in Cursive English. The old man frowned 'What are these scribbles? Are they even letters?'. "What is your name?", "Jim Garrett", "Jum Grat?". This was his first time hearing such a strange name, 'Must be a foreigner'. He wrote the pronunciation in the margins and waved Jim through.

The group next reached a rather sizable stone tower, Tian Lo led everyone inside, there were dozens of bookshelves lining the walls with several doors at the back, a spiral staircase in the middle had glowing symbols etched into it. "Now, everyone has 10 minutes to browse the techniques on this floor, choose one. Don't attempted to climb the stairs!"

The challengers' eyes were shining at this opportunity, cultivation techniques were not hard to find through the Bahn Tai lands, the problem is quality. Shoddy, Incomplete, and Low Quality techniques of all shapes and sizes could be found by tossing a stone in a random direction. These techniques had problems such as extremely slow cultivation speed, limited potential, or even harming the user's body. But how could a sect's reserves be low quality? Everyone started darting around checking the book covers and checking the first page.

Jim was lost in thought, he just walked over and grabbed the first one he spotted. What was he doing? He was using Focus, Parallel Processing, and Distant Reading! The contents of the first floor had almost entirely been absorbed by the time the 10 minutes were up. "Alright! Everyone gather and show me your selected technique!"

'Tsk tsk tsk, don't bite off more than you can chew!' Tian Lo was thinking this while looking at the Triple Palm Wave technique manual Jim was holding, it was one of the most complex books on the first floor and many disciples had chosen to practice it but failed. Spending several months without learning anything is greatly detrimental to a Cultivator's growth. Many had asked for Triple Palm Wave to be moved up to the Library's Second Floor, but the power harnessed from the technique wasn't high enough to merit this. It ended up gathering dust down here.

Thinking twice though, Jim was already getting up there in years and thus wouldn't be negatively impacted. Writing the names of the chosen techniques next to the names in the book handed over by the bearded man, Tian Lo moved the Examination along. "Now, everyone will proceed to the reading rooms at the back, you have one day to memorize the chosen technique before we take it back." Several of the challengers' expressions soured, they had purposely chosen higher ranking techniques thinking they would have months to absorb the knowledge, but one day? Isn't that too short?

Grumbling, the challengers headed to the reading rooms and began studying with utmost intensity. Jim was slightly different, he wasn't even looking at the book in front of him as he had completely memorized it already.

[Triple Palm Wave Skill Obtained]

[Burning Fist Skill Obtained]

[Twelve Petal Blade Skill Obtained]

[Thunder Focus Spear Skill Obtained]

[Bahn Tai East Tongue Level Max]

[Bahn Tai East Tongue Derivation Skill - Linguistics Master Obtained]

[Mental Endurance Has Reached Level 5]

The wave of notifications and knowledge flooding into his mind was immense, he started absorbing the second floor, then the third, finishing the final tenth floor his skull felt like it was going to explode.

[Dragon King Mountain Shattering Blade Skill Obtained]

[Flowing Cloud Great Steps Skill Obtained]

[Shadow Emperor Infinite Duplication Skill Obtained]

[Transcendent Immortal Third Eye Skill Obtained]

[Flawless Diamond Soul Skill Obtained]

[Mental Endurance Level Max]

[Mental Endurance Derivation Skill - Impenetrable Mind Obtained]

Breathing heavily, Jim was satisfied at the sheer amount of knowledge that had entered his mind, he laid down on the reading room's floor and let sleep take him. Waking later the sound of a bell going off, he swiftly stood up. "Time's Up, everyone come out!"

Exiting the room, Jim noticed all the others had haggard appearances. Everyone else noticed that he looked refreshed and full of energy. 'What is this? Did he even study? This guy looks like he just wokr up from a nap!', If they knew that he really had, they'd be spitting out blood right now. "Now, hand over the manuals, every one of you is now allowed to leave the sect grounds. You have 6 months to practice your chosen technique to at least the first level. For those who chose the simpler techniques second level attainment will be necessary. Return at the end of the six month deadline and you will be admitted as a formal outer disciple! However, if you have not sufficiently learned the technique by the deadline, don't bother showing up, you will just be turned away!"

Looking around, Tian Lo was satisfied at everyone's determination. "That is all, dismissed!" Everyone filed out. Bin Ga was staring daggers at Jim's back, 'I'll surpass you in these six months, you won't even be able to look at my ankles! Just wait!' As this flame of rivalry budded in Bin Ga's heart, Jim was oblivious and pondering which techniques to start learning first. He now had tens of thousands stored within his mind, a lot of them had impressive names but he couldn't tell how they compared to each other. Triple Palm Wave? He didn't really have any interest in joining the sect.