Advanced Studies Library

"Didn't you know that leaving campus grounds without permission for prolonged periods is punishable by expulsion?" Wan Xue began to speak, giving the papers on the bed a scrutinizing glare.

"I'm pretty sure you read the handbook distributed to all students before the first day of the semester, so what's your excuse…huh?"

Suddenly, she stiffened as her gaze flitted towards Li Mo Shang's figure, or particularly, the white doctor's robe on his body. Her pupils constricting as she stared, Wan Xue nervously fidgeted, nearly crumpling a page of the stack grasped in her hand.

"Yo-you didn't s-steal that from someone did you…?" she anxiously spoke, her eyes roaming throughout the room's interior.

"Of course not. Ms. Wan, have you forgotten so quickly? You did conduct such a thorough investigation on my identity before, why are you surprised now?"

Li Mo Shang replied, his customary indifferent expression molded onto his face as he stared back at Wan Xue. Two pairs of eyes clashing in the air, one retreated shortly as she flushed red in shame. Standing abruptly, she neatly stacked the scattered sheets of paper as she attempted to depart.

However, Li Mo Shang's voice caused to stiffen and stop, cold sweat running down her back.

"So, Ms. Wan, what is your recommendation for solving this conflict? After all, I did depart for two weeks without warning."

"S-S-Student Li, n-no need to c-care about that!" she stammered, his body language fiercely exhibiting a heartfelt desire to flee. "This professor will resolve this matter with administration, you just show up tomorrow!"

Having said her piece, she rushed out of the commons without giving Li Mo Shang a single chance to question back. Looking at her fleeting figure, Li Mo Shang's indifferent countenance shattered as a small trace of an amused smile graced his face as he inspected the white robe on his body.

"So the old man's flamboyant clothing does indeed intimidate others…" he murmured. Shaking his head, he quickly changed into regular clothing, carefully storing the spotless robe in a safe location. Since he had discovered it to possess such an effect, he would exploit it to the end!

Sitting in the limousine as he sipped from a cup of lemongrass tea, Tai Zi Hua suddenly shivered as the thought of him forcing his old Imperial Doctor's robe onto Li Mo Shang sprung into his mind. That dense kid, he wouldn't have created a ruckus after walking in the open with such impressive clothing, right?

-

Stretching his body as he sat down on the bed, Li Mo Shang pulled over the stack of papers Wan Xue had left behind. The first page, as usual, contained his identification data, the information displayed a carbon copy of what he had applied with.

With a thin smile, Li Mo Shang flipped to the next page, his smile blossoming from what he saw.

Advanced Studies Library.

The rest of the stack of papers contained instructions and directions to access the specialized libraries of Blue Rose University. Famed across the Blue Flame World as one of the greatest archives of knowledge, the advanced studies libraries and archives were the dream goal of many.

Having received a permit to access the library, though he was still barred from the unique, exclusive archives, Li Mo Shang couldn't help but feel elation. After all, Li Mo Shang could reap endless benefits with the <Hourglass of Eternity>, a feat impossible by others.

Placing the papers carefully on the desk, Li Mo Shang sat on the bed crossed-legged. Calming his mind, he projected the <Hourglass of Eternity>, losing track of time observing the tiny, azure granules of information rise to the upper layer to be interpreted.

After a short while, he withdrew his perception after noticing that a third of the original quantity remained to be decoded. Enjoying the sense of tranquility, Li Mo Shang directed his attention towards the constantly troubling <Cold Wind's Trace>.

Each time he had utilized this technique, Li Mo Shang had successfully caused the surrounding air molecules a certain distance away to warp around his figure, creating an unbreakable concealment that barred all optical or olfactory tracing.

However, he had no clue on how to quietly disperse any of the noise he made. He had been ruthlessly reminded of this fact by the incident of the black-uniformed men, and Li Mo Shang had constantly tinkered with the technique ever since.

Even on the trip to Wan Shou, Li Mo Shang had spared himself from boredom on the lonely road by constantly experimenting on the concept of a complete concealment technique.

Utilizing the <Cold Wind's Trace> a weak breeze ruffled Li Mo Shang's hair as the molecules a meter away began to quickly revolve, Li Mo Shang as the epicenter. Within seconds, Li Mo Shang's figure had completely disappeared from the room, only small indentations on the blankets and the stack of papers on the desk proof that he had ever entered in the first place.

Observing his room from the barrier of wind, Li Mo Shang puckered his lips before releasing a loud whistle.

Without even having to strain his ears, the whistle resounded within the room, much to his disappointment. Taking a deep breath, he tested with a large variety of sounds, all perfectly escaping the <Cold Wind's Trace>'s barrier with ease.

Not a single noise could be contained or confined within, and Li Mo Shang's hopes were fiercely dashed to the ground once more.

Each attempt, he would properly analyze the result, attempting to formulate a plausible hypothesis for it had failed, implementing gradual changes. Slowly but surely, his grasp over spiritual qi improved, the coiling wind interwoven with fine threads of spiritual qi. Although he didn't manage to achieve his objective, the <Cold Wind's Trace> had indeed enhanced, activating in mere tenths of a second.

The next morning, Li Mo Shang staggered out of his room with dark circles around his eyes.

-

Sitting in the auditorium with his thoughts once again drifting towards the enhancement of the <Cold Wind's Trace>, Li Mo Shang quickly fell into a daze while gazing towards the wall. His fingers dully tapping his pen on the paper with a soft, nearly inaudible sound, Li Mo Shang attempted to recall the unique sensation he had experienced near the dead of the night.

The soft cold wind embracing his body, his body merging with the air molecules, such a breathtaking and extraordinary experience had kept him awake all night attempting to replicate it. Gently prodding the spiritual core to relinquish a thread of spiritual qi, Li Mo Shang utilized the <Cold Wind's Trace> once more, his expression returning to its dull mask within moments.

"I guess it doesn't work like that, huh…"

Li Mo Shang's soft muttering was only heard by Li Zhen Yue who sat to his right. Giving him an odd look, she returned to to showering Wan Xue with her undivided attention. Looking at the silver-haired girl devoutly staring at Wan Xue, Li Mo Shang couldn't help but inwardly chuckle, before adopting a similar diligent student's appearance and demeanor.

Hearing Wan Xue lecture about topics that the <Hourglass of Eternity> had etched onto his soul and emphasizing their perplexity, Li Mo Shang couldn't decide between crying or laughing when he thought of the difficulty of university courses.

The instant the announcement issuing the end of the lecture was heard, Li Mo Shang swiftly departed amongst the tide of students marching for the cafeteria. Leaving the general lecture building, he bolted towards the general studies library, entering the massive storehouse of knowledge.

Ignoring the always familiar luxurious atmosphere and decorum, Li Mo Shang followed the instructions written as he strode towards one of the staff corridors. Fishing out the papers from his bag, he stepped forwards, admiring the gate.

Standing before a plain, white door, Li Mo Shang reached for the keypad next to the handle, tapping on the crystal screen to awake the device's functions. Glancing at the page's contents before tapping in a fifty-character stream of symbols, numbers, and letters in a near-random format, Li Mo Shang released a light sigh when the device released a light bell ringing sound.

Grasping the handle and opening the door, he stood at the entrance of a white, long corridor.

Taking a deep breath as he began to walk forward, Li Mo Shang leafed through the various pages, reading over the instructions again. Accessing the advanced studies library was indeed rather difficult and convoluted, to the extent that Li Mo Shang felt like the hassle was almost entirely not worth the prize.

Back then with the plain door, Li Mo Shang had been given a single-use password, and would permanently bar him from entry in the future if he failed on his first try. Not only that, the entire string of characters was to be completed in twenty seconds or less, otherwise he would again be barred from entry.

What caused the situation to turn all the more miserable was the absurd instructions provided that had yet to be fulfilled.

Keeping himself constantly aware of his location within the corridor, Li Mo Shang frowned as his senses relayed to him an odd piece of information. Looking in all directions, the ground appeared to be completely level, without a single change in the lighting or temperature, yet his senses and probes of spiritual qi informed him that Li Mo Shang was nearly a kilometer below the surface.

Just how had he moved so quickly? It had only been a few minutes since he had entered this odd corridor!

Stopping for a moment, Li Mo Shang released his perception to explore the corridor before him, attempting to sound out its length. The spiritual core unceasingly providing energy, his perception's range exploded forth, permeating the entire corridor's length. When his mind finally reached the end, Li Mo Shang simply gaped in astonishment.

"Three entire kilometers in strictly vertical depth…"

Shaking his head with a light sigh, Li Mo Shang picked up his feet as he accelerated his pace, jogging down the hallway.

Twenty minutes later, Li Mo Shang burst through the exit of the white corridor, heaving a large sigh of relief. Without any visible light source guiding him, the experience in the corridor truly was disorienting and rather taxing to the mind.

After waiting for his eyes to adjust, Li Mo Shang was truly appalled by the scene before him.

He seemed to be standing in a massive cave, seeming to be dozens of kilometers in length and width, and half a kilometer in height. The walls seemed to be of purified lapis lazuli, with lamps of illuminated sapphire and citrine gemstones inserted into the ground every fifty meters, creating a surreal atmosphere.

Infusing his sight with spiritual qi, Li Mo Shang could faintly perceive a row of buildings in the distance.

Breathing in the refreshing, slightly chilly air, Li Mo Shang stepped forward to explore the interior of the cave, marveling at the nonintrusive natural lighting system. The cave was a natural work of art, pleasing to the senses that even Li Mo Shang's usual disinterest was exorcised cleanly and thoroughly.

When his gaze reached the upper confines, he could faintly glimpse the glittering of embedded crystals, eliciting another sigh of awe. Within moments, Li Mo Shang couldn't help but stiffen, a single thought running through his head.

The spectacle of the natural cave was attractive to the eyes, but where the hell were the books!?

"Oh? It seems we actually got a newcomer, so early into the semester as well?"