Enter - Min Yunqi

"Well boys, I was checking on your progress with the help of master Gi Doh here. Going to the highest level at your cultivation level….well done! Now I can brag to that Heavenly Dragon sect's Pu Kuh. Which level did that brat Xiao Wu stop at…level 6? Hahahahaha"

Fu Rah was full of smugness and was smirking at Pu Kuh from the Heavenly dragon sect.

Xiao Wu was shooting lasers with his eyes at Luo and Hua. Pu Kuh donned an openly irritated face.

While the smug-faced master Fu Rah was approached by the different masters to congratulate her on getting such good disciples, Hua and Luo slipped by the crowd silently to the side to discuss the items that they got.

"Clap and Thundering slash, that sounds like a cool technique right Hua? I can't wait to see how it will turn out to be."

"Me too. Me too. But tell me this, how did you know to pick out that book exactly. You didn't even stop anywhere to pick anything else."

"You remember last time when I told you that everybody has secrets…back in the Dai Shan forest?"

"Yeah…yeah alright. Be all mysterious. See if I tell you any more of my secrets. Hmph!!" Hua Geming turned his face away in mock irritation.

"It's not like that, Hua. Tell you what, when I do decide to tell anyone of these secrets, you will be the second to know. Okay?"

"Second? Who's going to be the first?"

"Xun'er of course! Hahahaha." Luo laughed for a while and then composed himself and asked Hua "Now back to the matter at hand, we know that your sword technique also has musical elements to it, so it is perfect for you. Do you know what I picked up?" Luo reached out for the purple crystal that he had picked up in the library and showed it to Hua.

"This is what I picked up. It is an artefact of some sort that absorbs my Qi and soul power as well. I can't activate it fully or I will be drained fully. But you know a thought occurred to me, if something stores energy, it is almost always used to power something or to be used all at once as a surprise attack. I'll get it confirmed with master Fu Rah a bit later when there aren't as many people around her"

"Sounds complicated. Why didn't you pick up a sword cultivation manual or something? Will you just fight with your fists?"

Luo was reminded of the memory that Master Yin had shown him about his fight with Yama from where Luo had learned the Iron and Wave steps by copying Yama.

He answered Hua and said "No Hua. I have some ideas for a weapon, it's just that it is not very common."

"What weapon do you want to use?"

"Well, I want to use the Zither as an auxiliary and then learn runes to set up arrays along with playing the Zither. These would be my long range attacks. But for short range a melee weapon would be prefered. So I want to pick up dual short scythes. And before you ask, I know it is exotic to learn those but I don't know, everybody learns the sword so I just wanted to try something different."

Hua turned his brow upward in an inquiring and surprised way. "You have given this a lot of thought. Well why don't we search for some named treasures that are scythes and swords after we improve our cultivation a little. After all, if we have shabby weapons who will take us seriously right?"

"Yeah, definitely. We should go look for them after training for some time."

Just as they were discussing about what they should do next a slender girl walked up to Luo and Hua and kept staring at Luo for a long time until Luo was forced to relent and asked her "Hi there. Did you need something from me?"

She kept staring at him with an intense expression. As she kept staring at him, Luo looked at her more closely. She was a tall woman, a bit taller than him with a slender build. She carried herself with confidence that almost bordered on arrogance. Her brownish red hair was short and messy and gave her an air of recklessness. She had two dots under each of her eyes as a decoration. But what caught his attention and made him linger were her eyes that were strikingly purple and their intensity and piercing gaze.

He kept looking into her eyes for what seemed to be a very long time when she finally blinked and asked him "What is your name?" in an arrogant tone.

Luo broke out of his trance and in a playful tone said "Aren't you supposed to introduce yourself before you ask other's what their name is?"

Her arrogant air eased up a little and her eyes softened and she almost grinned and said with an introductory nod "I am called Min Yunqi. You can call me Min."

Luo was surprised that she relented so soon and answered "I am Luo LianHao and this is Hua Geming, my friend. Did you want something with me?"

She just stared into his eyes again and asked "Can I talk to you in private? It's important." Luo wondered what she had to discuss but he glanced at Hua who then moved to the side and went to find Master Fu Rah.

"Well, what did you want to talk about?"

She then did some signs with her hand and immediately Luo could sense that her cultivation was somewhere near that of Master Fu Rah as her Qi gave the same intensity of pressure, which meant that she was in the core formation realm.

The Qi was only there for an instant and then she was back to being in the middle stages of the Qi condensation realm. "How…How did you do that? Are you in the Core formation realm or are you in the Qi condensation realm?"

After saying this it suddenly occurred to him that only disciples were allowed inside the Library and he remembered how there was someone who had come in a flash and disappeared equally soon in the last moment before they were kicked out. He then asked her "Were you the one who had come to the highest floor of the library at the last moment and then disappeared?"

She wore a wry smile and said "You are still smart I see. You got all that from just a small display of my true cultivation."

Luo was hung on one word from what she had just said "still smart? Did you say .. still smart? Did you know me from before?"

Min reached into her pockets and pulled out a beaded bracelet of wooden beads. She lowered her gaze, away from his eyes and pushed the bracelet into his hands.

"What ..why are you giving this to me?" Luo asked.

She said "Just..just take it. Push some of your Qi into it when you are alone and you will know. Alright I have to go now. I am from the Flying tiger sect. It's pretty far from the Ancient Zither abode though."

Luo asked her "Okay…but why are you telling me that? I don't understand."

A flash of anger appeared in her eyes and she bonked his head in a quick motion that Luo could not even detect. She then said "Some things don't change I see. Even though you are smart, you are still stupid. Just..just use the bracelet later and you will know."

She then turned around sharply and walked away pointedly.

Luo scratched his head while clasping the bracelet in one hand while wondering what that was all about? As she went away though, he could not help but stare at the beautiful rhythm that her bottom swayed in.

Master Yin broke his gaze "Alright..alright enough. Brat you should know restraint in such matters. Shameless pupil!"

Luo was red with embarrassment and wondered why he had done that as he had not done such things earlier in his life. He asked master Yin "Master what is this bracelet that girl gave me? Who is this Min Yunqi even?"

"Yunqi huh? It means destiny, fate, luck…but for whom? That is the question. Anyway, the bracelet she gave you is a soul warming artefact. I have examined it and found that it's usage is to ….Ahhh..well, why ruin the surprise. Use it boy and you will know, just like she said."

"What…master even you are being cryptic. But, if you think it's safe for me to use it then I guess it's okay to do so. I will activate it later when I am alone, like she asked."

Hua and master Fu Rah were coming over to Luo after having talked to the rest of the masters gathered there. Master Fu Rah asked him

"Well Luo, I saw what Hua had taken..the Clap andThundering slash, a beautiful technique created by one of the ancestor's of the Ancient Zither abode, Fu Rang; but what have you taken out of the library?"

Luo showed her the hexagonal purple crystal and showed it to her. She examined it and as she inserted her Qi into it to test what it does, a huge amount of her Qi was drained into it and she jerked and threw the crystal back to Luo in a reflex. She shook her head and composed herself.

"That is the Phantasmal Spirit crystal. It is both a treasure and an abomination. You can only use it after the Qi stored in it is upto a certain level but when all the stored Qi is released according to the techniques that are inscribed inside the facets of the artefact, then it creates a massive attack that can ourtight kill people even if they are above your realm. But since it can only be used a single time based on the Qi stored, it can only be used as a surprise attack or as a last-defense kind of thing."

Luo was amazed at the artefact he was holding and asked her "Even you seem to be affected by it, master."

"Yes, I wanted to test it out but it actually managed to suck a fifth of my Qi. Be careful while storing your Qi inside it. But, anyway, you have chosen a risky but a pretty powerful artefact. It will not be obsolete even in higher levels of cultivation."

Luo nodded enthusiastically and Hua slapped him on the back to give congratulations.

"Well boys, it's time we were on our way. But tell me this, you did not tell anyone what you took from the highest level right? Because the manuals and artefacts picked in the highest levels are very very rare and are scalable with your cultivation realm. They are priceless and people's greed may come in the way. Once you are ready, we will start on our journey back to the sect."

Luo and Hua nodded and went to go pay the inn fees and collect their belongings from the room along with master Fu Rah. Once they had packed up, they ordered some dumplings to go and just as the sun set, they started back on their journey.

Fu Rah had also prepared some emergency supplies and distributed it to Luo and Hua. She explained to them that the items they had taken from the highest level were very very very priceless. She asked them not to panic when the eventual attacking parties would come to steal what they had taken out of the Royal Library.

Luo was still wondering what the wooden bracelet given to him by Min Yunqi was. Why had she suddenly approached him and given him that bracelet? Did she know him from before? Why had he stared at her face and her eyes in a way he had never done before?

He was plagued by all of these questions as they left out of that place.