This and that, take it all

I followed Lin Chu, looking curiously at the shelves with scrolls and books. Several youths milled around, looking them over—their Qi non-existent, or early stages of Qi Shaping at most. Born members of the Lin Clan, I guessed from their fine clothing.

People lucky enough to be born into the Lin clan have been studying cultivation and other things since their childhood. At my age, most had already reached the Qi Foundation. People I saw on the first floor were all younger.

Lin Chu approached the librarian's deck.

The librarian, a wrinkled old man at the early Qi Foundation stage, stood up and bowed at Lin Chu's approach, then shot a curious look at me.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Lin Chu! Did you come to pick something for your new disciple?"

"Yes. We are going to the second floor."

"Of course, Senior Brother Lin Chu. You can read inside, or take up to ten items from there at once… But you always return your books, so it's not like you need the warning, ha-ha!"

He didn't laugh, the old man actually said "ha-ha". He was almost sweating from nervousness next to Lin Chu, who, yet again, remained cold and stoic.

We walked past the guards at the stairway to the second floor, where Lin Chu stopped amid the rows of scrolls and books. The scent of paper, dust, and ink was stronger here than on the first floor.

Lin Chu moved past the shelves with assurance of someone who had been there a lot of times in the past.

"Lin Tan had taught you the basics of techniques and elemental Qi, right, Disciple Ru?"

"Yes, Master. He also taught us a Water Flower technique."

"Good. It will save me a lot of time on explanations. However, you still should start with something simple. Let's see…"

I had an impression that if I let him, Lin Chu would just choose my cultivation path for me, down to the last technique. He was just like that.

Not willing to leave everything to Lin Chu, I looked around, too. My eyes caught names written on books and scrolls. "Blooming Blossom Blade", "Dancing Leaf Leap", "Serpent Shield Formation"… They appeared to be sorted by type, or by element, or the mix of the two—it was hard to tell.

Noticing the direction of my gaze, Lin Chu looked at the Serpent Shield Formation book.

"Don't pay attention to this trash. Most of these techniques are too impractical to use. This one gives less protection than similar, but simpler, shield techniques. Its only advantage is looking impressive. Most of the techniques stored here are very similar. Bringing more books for the Sacred Library is praised, even if the books are not of value."

"Oh, I see, Master. So if anyone makes their big shiny sword glow a different color, they just write it down as a new technique?"

Lin Chu gave me a bland look. "Something like that."

I nodded and continued to look around. Besides the duplicates, there were also general guides (with many having very similar names). Without noticing, I separated from Lin Chu, examining the techniques and guides, until one caught my eye.

"Creating Basic Corpse Puppets".

Corpse Cultivation! Or as I heard it called more often, Netherworld Cultivation. Of course, this place will have Netherworld techniques—the entire sect worshiped Divine Purple (Death) Dragon. Excited, I pulled the book out and leafed through it, gathering the key information only.

The corpse puppets were the simplest form of undead, barely counting as such. Their master had to puppet them like marionettes, or they were useless. They were just a gateway to more complex Netherworld techniques that created undead servants, the benefits of which I saw immediately.

The more moving bodies were between me and the enemy, the lesser were the chances of me getting hurt. What did it matter if the bodies were dead or alive, as long as they protected me?

"Netherworld techniques? A good choice for my disciple. I, and many others in the Purple Dragon Sect, specialize in the Death element. However, it's not a simple element for beginners."

I froze. When did Lin Chu get behind me?! I didn't hear his footsteps at all! I turned to Lin Chu, but didn't put the book down.

To my relief, he didn't look angry, just thoughtful. There were several scrolls and books in his hands.

"Well, it won't hurt for me to try, Master, right? If you approve, of course."

"Take it, then. Maybe this curiosity is a sign that you have an aptitude for Death Qi. If so, it will be fortunate."

"Thank you, Master."

I bowed, after which Lin Chu immediately pushed the literature from his arms into mine. I counted three scrolls and two books.

"There's one simple technique for each basic element. Try each one, Disciple Ru, and learn whichever you find most fitting you specifically. This includes Death techniques. You may ask in my kitchen for raw chickens if you need corpses for practice. And take good care of these scrolls—if you ruin them, I will remove the cost of replacing them from your allowance."

Without waiting for my reply, Lin Chu turned around and walked toward the exit.

"Now follow me. I will show you where your physical training will happen."

I scrambled to follow without dropping any scrolls. Who came up with an idea to store paper in a shape that could roll off a pile so easily?

"Ah, Master, please, let me at least put these somewhere first!"