A gleam of understanding flashed in the eyes of the old man. Although it was strange that Khan knew how to speak the language but couldn't write. It was not strange enough that it aroused suspicion. For some people cultivated desperately enough that they didn't bother about education. Because of this, the Sect Master stood up and said,.
"Ancestor, there is a Great Library within the sect. You could go there and learn the how to write." Despite his efforts on minimizing the awkwardness, his tone still contained a deep amount of hopelessness that he could not express as he spoke.
Khan gave an awkward smile upon witnessing the old man's actions. He could only sigh in his heart and think that there was nothing that could be done.
He immediately asked the old man about the location of the Great Library. Although he knew where it was, it was better to confirm if his knowledge about the Divine Pills Sect was still valid. Hence, Khan decided to have the old man escort him towards the Great Library.
But there, he noticed his mistake. Because when he was walking with the Sect Master at his side. He noticed that the disciples of the sect kept sending him envious gazes which made the atmosphere quite awkward.
But who was Khan? He was someone who had experienced countless vicissitudes in life. Just that amount of awkwardness wasn't enough to shake his Daoheart.
Donning an indifferent visage. Khan walked with balanced paces, his footsteps silent, but contained a great force within it. But to the disciples around him. His way of walking made him look like an arrogant young master.
Especially when his arms were on his back and his head slightly inclined towards the sky, and his eyes gleaming with wisdom paired with the innate majestic air of a being who was once at the apex. He truly looked like an arrogant villain in once of those novels.
Because of this, the gazes of the disciples around him suddenly turned sour and filled with annoyance.
"The hell is wrong with that guy?"
"Shhh... Can't you see that he's walking with the Sect Master? Who knows about his background! You can't talk like that else he hears you!"
"Does he think that he's a sage? strutting around here, what a fake!"
Even though the disciples around him spoke in whispers and deep caution. Khan whose senses were trained to the maximum could still hear what they were talking about.
His eyebrows couldn't help but twitch in annoyance as he looked at his own body.
'Is my way of walking really that weird?'
Khan could only sigh in heart since no matter what he did. He still wasn't able to understand the hearts of the current generation's youth.
After some time, the two finally arrived near a dual entry door that was at least thirty meters tall. Khan's gazes examined the place around him and found that there were no other disciples in a fifty-meter radius.
"Ancestor, from here on. I won't be able to accompany you to come inside." The old man spoke in a solemn tone.
Khan's eyes flashed with understanding as he thought. 'So that restriction was still in place.' However, he feigned ignorance and asked.
"Why is it that you can't enter? Aren't you the Sect Master?" Khan asked in a questioning tone.
"Yes, although I am the Sect Master, the first Sect Master had placed a restriction that only one could enter the Great Library at a time." The old man explained with patience towards the 'dumbfounded' Khan.
Khan nodded in agreement. Seeing this, the old man replied with a nod as he withdrew a small bronze disc from his Spatial Ring. He closed his eyes and chanted.
"PELEPENSNAMBAWAN!" Numerous incandescent runes materialized in the air before the two. The incandescent runes pulsated with enough power that even Khan could feel a shiver down his spine.
'Damn, that bastard actually created such a strong barrier, and that's just for a library?!' Khan was too familiar about the kind of barrier that the first Sect Master had placed around the Great Library.
The blazing runes startled and stopped pulsating. Instead, it floated before the old man and imprinted itself deeply onto the dual entry door. With a blinding flash of light, a tear in space appeared before the two.
Upon seeing that the intended effect happened. The Sect Master was about to speak something, but Khan, more precisely. His soul was already absorbed by the spatial tear. Leaving his true body, behind.
The Sect Master's eyes widened in shock. His body trembled upon seeing the collapsed body of Khan. 'Could it be... He was transferred inside that?!' The old man's gaze turned towards the dual entry door. His thoughts, unknown.
An unknown amount of time passed before Khan opened his eyes, and found himself in a white room. A room so white that it could overwhelm any other colors that could exist in the room.
A faint gentle smile suffused on Khan's face when he arrived at the white room. The reason why only one people could enter the Great Library was because, in reality. The Great Library was just a room that could only fit one person, or more precisely, one soul.
The Great Library wasn't something that the first Sect Master had created. It was a peerless artifact that was born from nature. And upon innumerous years of being blessed by the human race's wisdom. It gained the capacity to access the sea of memories of the entire human race.
However, it required something as a price. And that is the vitality of the user's soul. But in return, it was able to acquire any information that the user could imagine, but of course. Only if they were able to pay the price.
Khan's eyes gleamed with anticipation. He didn't doubt the strength of his soul. As someone who had ascended to the apex. Although his cultivation was lost, his soul has the power of a Divine Emperor.
Khan gave a small smile and imagined the information that he needed the most. With a flash of white light, the feeling of something being siphoned out of him appeared, followed with the materialization of a jadeslip.
Khan turned his gaze towards the jadeslip. His complexion pale. Although his soul was strong. The feeling of having his soul's vitality being forcefully extracted was still unpleasant.
Khan picked the jadeslip and crushed it with his palm. A vast stream of information implanted itself inside Khan's mind. After about a quarter of an hour. Khan's eyes snapped open. Within it, gleamed the knowledge that he had just obtained.
The moment his consciousness returned. The familiar spatial tear once again appeared before Khan. Without further notice, it sucked him inside, as if it didn't want Khan to stay inside the white room for any longer.
Outside of the dual entry door. The Sect Master still stood there, his face solemn, but his eyes emanated a clear worry within it. On the ground was Khan's true body.
The Sect Master's ears twitch upon noticing that Khan's body had moved. With a snap. Khan's eyes opened. He slowly stood up and stretched his aching body.
'Why the hell does he seems fine? Did he not obtain the information that he wanted?' The Sect Master's face had a hint of disappointment in it. For if Khan had obtained the information that he wanted, he should not look spirited, in fact. Common sense dictates that Khan should not be able to stand up after having his soul's vitality extracted from him.
However, the small amount of emotion that came from the Sect Master was unable to escape Khan's notice, causing him to give an amused smile as he spoke.
"Don't worry, I got what I wanted, and it made me want to go to the outside world even more." Upon seeing this words. Khan walked towards the outside. The Sect Master could only sigh as he followed Khan's footsteps.
But as the two walked on the hallway towards Khan's quarters. He was blocked by a youth that wore a robe that indicated his position as an Inner Disciple. The youth's chest stuck out with pride. He particularly stuck out his left chest, of which the insignia of a small fire was imprinted, but instead of only having the fire symbol imprinted. A conspicuous number was there, obviously denoting a rank.
The youth who had the number eight on his chest stood there with his left hand holding a fan. His arrogance diffusing upon the surroundings. However, upon seeing the Sect Master behind Khan. His arrogance dissipated like a wind, becoming as gentle as the summer breeze.
"Oh, Sect Master, this disciple. Dastard greets you!" The youth bowed with a gentle smile on his face that could melt anyone that looked.
Khan's eyebrows twitched in response, his voice choked as if he prevented something from coming out his throat. 'What the hell are this guy's parents thinking, naming him as Dastard?'
"Oh, Dastard, what are you doing in here?" The Sect Master gave a smile and asked in return, prompting the two to engage in a conversation. The youth didn't even spare Khan a glance as he displayed his great boot-licking skills towards the Sect Master.
A trace of awkwardness could be seen within the old man's visage, but it was quickly drowned by his acting skills in acting appropriately towards a junior. But deep in his mind, he was already imagining several ways on how to make up to the young Ancestor about this farce.
That was because he knew the reason why Dastard came here. The young man was someone who always aimed to become his direct disciple. But because of Khan's sudden appearance, his advance to the direct disciple position was impeded.
After about two minutes, the two finally ended their talk with the Sect Master wanting to leave with his direct disciple. This was the moment where the blue-clothed Dastard finally looked towards Khan. Within his gaze was the blazing intent to fight.
'Ooooh...' Khan felt amused, and interest towards Dastard. He gave a small smile that looked like he was returning the threat.
The gazes of two flew towards each other and seemed to have formed sparks in the air, causing the surrounding disciples to flock and gossip.
"Oh! The number one pampered-boy and the arrogant direct disciple is staring into each other! Are they perhaps gonna fight?"
"Yeah, there's a huge possibility that they will do just that since Dastard was long since aiming for the direct disciple position, but he was suddenly slapped away from the competition without a fight, isn't that tantamount to slapping his face?"
The disciples spoke in mumbles and whispers, hearing this, Khan felt even more amused and his threatening gaze became one with his majestic air, forcing Dastard's momentum to a halt.
A clicking sound echoed in the area followed by bright flashes of light. The curious Khan turned towards the source and found that it came from a black device that a female disciple held.
"Cheese!"
She shouted a word that Khan didn't know in his memories followed by the same flash of light which could temporarily blind a mortal. Khan felt even more intrigued about the piece of information about the modern world that he found.
After all, even though he had obtained a huge amount of information about the modern world. He was unable to specify his search to a time in history for he knew nothing about the outside world, and instead, had to search starting from the recorded history to the year 1980's.
He didn't know the current year of the world, but he was sure that the information he had gathered was somewhat accurate thanks to the confirmation he had received by seeing the black device that the female disciple held.
In the memories he received. The device was something that could capture images, and since the female disciple pointed it towards him. He was sure that she was capturing their image.
"Hey, what the hell are you blanking about? You're looking down on me?!" Upon seeing Khan's momentary pause, Dastard couldn't help but interrupt Khan's soliloquy.
"Since you're Sect Master's direct disciple, you should be powerful right? I, Dastard is here to ask you for a formal duel." Dastard's eyes shone with a fierce light and an intent to fight.
"Also! You cannot refuse, rather. I won't allow you to refuse. Refusing is tantamount to throwing away the Sect Master's face, and I won't forgive such insolence!" Dastard spoke in a righteous tone, his head inclined to the skies in a manner like the sages of the olden time.
'Oh, Interesting, not only this kid asked me for a duel, but he also blocked away my means of retreat. By using the Sect Master's face as a tool, he's able to make me unable to refuse his challenge.' Khan gave a small smile of appreciation.
'Good, cunning enough! Since I want to experience this current generation's power more closely, I'll just have fun with this kid.' Khan thought.
"Challenge me? Of course, Why would, I, Khan Liverto would refuse?" Khan spoke in an even more condescending tone towards Dastard, his eyes emanated the same blazing intent as what Dastard had in his eyes.
The Sect Master who watched the two's show on the sidelines could only wryly smile before asking the two to move towards the Inner Disciples training ground.
Upon seeing the familiar training grounds. Khan bent his knee and traced the ground with his fingers. His eyes closed as if he was sensing something that laid on the ground.
Almost all of the Inner Disciples within the sect had come here to watch the show between the eight ranked Inner Disciple and the direct disciple of the Sect Master.
"Oh, so that's the direct disciple of the Sect Master, Khan Liverto? Why does he look like a pretentious bastard? Look at him tracing the ground with his fingers, he practically looks like a clown."
"What the hell, we didn't come here to watch these two guys strut around like their the greatest in the world. When's the fight going to start?"
The Inner Disciples clamored upon witnessing the strange movements of Khan and the haughty image of Dastard folding his arms on his chest.
Upon noticing that a riot may occur if he delayed any longer. The Sect Master finally announced the rules.
"Attacks that may severely damage, or kill your enemy is forbidden. Use of external artifacts is also forbidden. Fight with your own strength and show us your glory!" The Sect Master howled in the skies, sending the entire grounds to a clamor.
'In a fight between magicians, the person who attacks first wins almost eighty percent of the time. Seeing that this guy doesn't even have a Rune Decipherer on his body. I wonder just how he would fend my attack.' Countless thoughts ran within Dastard's mind as his gaze stared intently at the nonchalant Khan.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Fight!"
The signal to fight scattered the clamorous crowd into a deep silence. Tranquility descended upon the training grounds, with each spectator intently looking towards the two.
Dastard's wrist unfolded, a clicking sound echoed followed by a buzzing sound of runes being circulated, within his body.
Khan, upon seeing this focused all of his concentration towards the runes that flowed on Dastard's body. Due to the fact that he was a someone who stood in the apex of the talisman creation world, his concentration was also in the apex, enabling him to study the structure of the runes in just a fraction of second.
'These runes... Don't they look like the runes that are written on every talisman?' Khan's eyes widened in shock, his mind couldn't comprehend a huge possibility. The possibility that the concept of modern magic and the concept of talisman creation was intertwined.
'If this theory is true, the spell that is about to be cast should be a spell that could summon a fire to engulf.' Khan's eyes gleamed with anticipation towards the spell that Dastard was about to cast.
"Burning Sky's Record: Engulfed by the Fire God!" A victorious cry screamed, followed by a sudden rise in temperature. Khan's figure became engulfed by a crimson fire.
However, at this moment, Khan couldn't even feel any pain. For within his mind, innumerable bombshells had already exploded. The concept of modern magic and talisman creation is actually intertwined?!
A screeching sound exploded as the Fire God's fury thoroughly swallowed the shocked Khan.
Hello, guys. Since the first volume is about to end. I would appreciate it if you write a constructive review about the story since that would help me improve and "potentially" inspire me.
4/5
To find out about cultivation realms, please check this link or find out in the next chapter.
http://royalroadl.com/fiction/13873/ancient-cultivator-in-modern-world/chapter/160444/chapter-2-melancholy