The Library

The young man felt something vibrate and took out a crystal ball from his pocket. His sister simply watched on as he communicated with the crystal ball.

The young man had a weird look on his face after he stuffed the crystal ball back in his pocket.

"What happened, Dion?" The young woman asked.

"My subordinates just now reported that they saw three people wearing purple robes. The interesting thing is they haven't seen them before." Dion replied with a smirk.

The young woman's eyes sparkled and she lightly muttered, "It would seem that my master was telling the truth."

Dion simply let out a crazy smile, "I wonder how strong they are!"

The young woman simply shook her head.

-Back with the group-

"We're here." Mira smiled and spoke.

"Woah…" Ash was mesmerized.

"Beautiful." Ray and Bryan nodded in appreciation.

The library in question was a pristine golden roofed building situated on a mountain peak. It was five floors tall and was shrouded by the misty clouds, emanating a sense of aloofness. The mountain itself was ancient and it provided a fitting contrast to the library.

As the group walked closer, the three saw a lot of disciples coming in and out of the library building. The building had a wide-open entrance. Instead of a door, there was a thin layer of a translucent screen replacing it.

"The first floor of the library contains all the history books, Azure-Grade and Elite-Grade battle techniques. Also, regarding battle techniques, higher the floor, higher the grade. The second floor contains Chief-Grade and Spirit-Grade battle techniques. The third floor has all the Earth-grade and Sky-Grade battle techniques. The fourth floor contains the Origin-Grade battle techniques and finally, the fifth floor has the most fabled Mystical-grade battle techniques." Mira explained in detail to the boys.

"Hmm, are there any conditions to access the top floors?" Ray asked.

"As long as you have the necessary status or strength, you can enter the top floors. I, as one of the top Inner Disciples, fortunately have the luxury to access the second floor and sometimes the third floor based on my performance. I've heard Prime Disciples like you three can freely access the third floor. As for the fourth and the fifth floor, I am not too sure." Mira responded, and made sure not to leave any detail.

"I understand." Ray nodded.

"Anyways, here's the library and I hope you three find what you came for. I'll be off now."

"Thank you for leading us the way." Ash and the other two thanked her.

"It's no problem. Hopefully, see you three later." She waved her hand and walked away from their sights.

"Well, so far, the experience has not been bad." Ash casually said.

Ray shook his head and said, "Let's go."

Just like that, they passed through the screen and entered the library. At first glance, they could see numerous bookshelves and rows and rows of books lined up in perfection.

Above the bookshelves, there were bright floating words labelling each section of the first floor, making it easier for the disciples to decide where they have to go.

Eventually, they found the section they needed to find and picked a few books to gain knowledge of the world they currently were in.

The world they're currently in is called Planet Verna, one of the four powerful planets in the Dipper Galaxy. The Dipper Galaxy is part of a cluster of five galaxies. Four of the five galaxies including the Dipper Galaxy revolve around the main center galaxy.

The center galaxy, also named as the Centurion Galaxy, is the most powerful galaxy by a huge margin. Many cultivators strive to prove themselves to be accepted into the Centurion Galaxy where they can enjoy status and untold resources.

There are many star-fields in each galaxy that contain countless number of planets. It is simple impossible to keep track of them, hence only the powerful planets are recorded down.

In Planet Verna, there are three main continents, the Iwernia Continent, the Zotia Continent and the Ozoria Continent, respectively ranked by their overall power.

There are a total of three kingdoms in the Iwernia Continent being the Kingdom of Iwernia, Kingdom of Pariah and the Telon Kingdom.

Regardless if they're called a kingdom or not, they don't hold any power or say over the Celestial Nirvana Sect, the true hegemon and ruler of the world, and probably the entire Dipper Galaxy.

There are records stating that there are numerous hidden islands and places in the planet that contain precious and unimaginable resources and artifacts. Many have gone and few have returned in search of the hidden. Opportunities always come with danger and only the fateful ones can venture out into the unknown.

"This is complete balls!" Ash whispered in discontent.

"I was hoping to find a clue about Earth but at least we know it should be in one of the five galaxies." Ray said.

Bryan sighed and said, "And how long will it take for us to find Earth?"

"Yeah, as the saying goes. We're literally trying to find a needle in a haystack." Ash grumbled.

"One step at a time, boys. The only way we can speed up our search is if we become strong enough." Ray closed his book.

Ash nodded and said, "You're right. What's say we explore the upper floors and check out the battle techniques?"

"Let's do it."

-The 2nd Floor-

"Spirit Grade, Five steps of Shame?"

"Spirit Grade, Thousand Bull Finger?"

"Chief Grade, Sky Blaze?"

"Alright, like what the fuck? Who came up with these names?" Ash tried to hold in his laughter.

"Stop wasting time, let's find some ones that are suitable for us." Bryan flicked his head.

"Ouch!" Ash rubbed the back of his head painfully.

They browsed a few more techniques and realized what one important thing. Their cultivation bases were too low to try and practice Chief Grade and Spirit Grade techniques.

Nevertheless, they were confident enough that they would soon increase their cultivation base, so they continued searching.

-A few hours later-

After coming back to their Zero Mansion and experiencing weird stares being thrown at them, they finally could continue cultivating and try practicing the battle techniques they chose.

Their rooms were big and sturdy enough to practice their skills.

Ray figured out that he was lacking in the defense aspect, compared to his insane speed and decent attack power.

He picked the Spirit Grade – Trinal Coat defensive technique. The technique contains 3 stages. The first stage involves performing a series of hand seals and a layer of bronze-coloured coat will appear, covering and defending his body. He would need an enormous amount of natural energy just to sustain the first stage.

In the second stage, the hand seals become more complex and disturbing. It would require intense concentration, smooth flow and careful use of his natural energy to blend in with the seals. Once completed, a silver-coloured coat will form over his body, increasing his defense power by a huge degree.

As for the third and final stage, intricate hand seals need to be performed to form golden runes. The golden runes will then turn into sturdy chains that weave together, forming a powerful and a defensive coat over the body. A total of ten golden runes needs to be conjured to create the perfect coat. Any less and the defensive power will respectively decrease.

Ray frowned and said, "These hand seals are pretty confusing to follow and that's only the first few sequences of the first stage."

"Imagine the next two stages…"

*Sigh*

"System, is there any way you can help me with practicing this technique?"

[Ding]

[Negative.]

"Well, at least I tried." Ray shrugged and continued practicing the hand seals.

Bryan, on the other hand, chose the Spirit Grade – Phantasmal Fists, an offensive technique. He needed a technique that focused on pure attack power. With his tough body, he was confident that he would be able to pack a powerful punch.

The Spirit Grade – Phantasmal Fists technique allows a cultivator to shoot out two giant illusory fists with explosive power. If practiced with perfection, Bryan could technically use it to sneak attack someone. At its early stages, only a small impact force will be sent out. Continuous practice will eventually form the giant illusory fists over time until it has reached perfection.

*Boom*

The runes on the walls shone a bit before dissipating the force that Bryan had sent out.

Bryan flexed his fist and smiled, "Amazing!"

In the third floor, Ash was bopping all over his room, panting with each breath.

He selected the Spirit Grade – Mirage Flow, a speed type technique. There are a total of two stages mentioned in the manual. The first stage involves sending out natural energy to the Apex Points around the legs in a certain way to increase the acceleration and burst of speed. This gives the cultivator a split-second of extreme acceleration upon activation.

The second and final stage allows the user to traverse longer distances and maintain the explosive acceleration for a longer duration by circulating the natural energy at a steady pace between the Apex Points around the feet. Another requirement was for him to have a steady breath to avoid having his rhythm from being disturbed. So, absolute control is necessary.

"This technique has greatly increased my speed but I need to control it. Right now, I'm all over the place." Ash frowned.

At this moment, all three of them simultaneously received a message from the system, interrupting their practice.

[Group Quest: Prove yourselves!

Reach the Shattering Sea Realm: 0/3

Rewards: Supreme Grade Natural Gem x15]

This came as a sudden surprise to the three of them. Ray wondered when the system would assign them quests but now, he didn't have to.

Ray smiled and said to himself, "All the more incentive to cultivate harder."

Without wasting even a single nanosecond, the three continued practicing their new techniques and cultivated after they were done.

Their monthly salary of 20 Crown-Grade Natural Gems somehow magically appeared in each of their rooms. They concluded it must've been the workings of the runes. If it could clean the disgusting black substance and offset Bryan's punch, then surely it must have the function of being a delivery system.

And just like that, a week had passed over.

The three boys didn't even leave the Zero Mansion and cultivated diligently. Mainly, in the hopes of completing the mission issued by the system. The aspect of the quest being a game-like concept and the feeling of breaking through has made the three excited and even more hardworking.

Now, Ray could activate the first stage of the Trinal Coat with ease and effectiveness. In fact, he has made a small progress in the second stage as well.

Bryan could now form a vague image of a fist from his relentless practice. Despite it being a vague form, the might it holds is certainly explosive and powerful. He couldn't wait to test it on someone.

Ash, on the other hand, had made huge progress with his Mirage Flow technique. He could accurately execute the first stage but he would refrain from using it fully since it consumed a lot of his energy. Unless he's in danger, he will avoid using the full force of Mirage Flow.

Constantly practicing the Mirage Flow technique has allowed him to naturally increase his speed albeit slightly. Although he wouldn't completely use Mirage Flow, he can use it as a supplement to marginally increase his acceleration and speed with minimal use of his natural energy.

Regardless, all three of them had gained a lot in terms of their individual power.

Sitting on the couch, the three enjoyed some free time and talked about cultivation and their techniques.

Ash suddenly facepalmed and said, "I just realized. Since we started cultivating, we haven't eaten anything."

Ray opened his mouth, "Oh…"

"That's naturally because the natural energy is enough to sustain our body." Bryan explained.

"I know that, dumbo." Ash said in discontent, and continued, "I meant, I miss the taste of something delicious in my mouth, don't you guys miss it too?"

"That's what she said?"