Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Library Chamber

The inner court selection tournament had come to a perfect conclusion. According to the rules, the students who secured a spot in the inner court were granted about ten days of leisure to prepare for their transition.

As for the top five, they needed to wait patiently for the higher-ups' notification and enter the academy's Scripture Pavilion within seven days.

As the reward for placing in the top five, they would be able to rely on their own strength and luck to acquire an item of their own from the Scripture Pavilion and take it away.

Upon receiving the message brought by Tutor Xiwen, Chen Xiao was filled with anticipation.

No one knew the exact scale of Canaan Academy's collection, but even among the ones Chen Xiao knew of, there were countless treasures.

Earth-tier Dou Techniques, Earth-tier cultivation methods, and even medicinal herbs capable of directly enhancing one's strength—there was no lack of anything.

And what Chen Xiao wanted most was a cultivation method!

Although the *Emperor Ice Classic* was more than sufficient even up to the Dou Huang realm, anyone would be a fool not to seize the opportunity to switch to a higher-grade one.

"Your strength surpasses mine as a tutor, so I won't nag you about what to choose when you enter the Scripture Pavilion; you surely have your own ideas."

"Let's talk about something else. I have a paternal uncle who holds the position of an elder in the inner court. I will send him a letter to inform him about you. After you arrive at the inner court, you can go look for him if you encounter any trouble. As long as it's not too difficult, I presume he won't refuse. This is the only thing I, as your tutor, can do to help you."

As she spoke, Tutor Xiwen retrieved a slip of paper from her storage ring and handed it over. Written on it were that elder's name and specific title.

To be able to hold the position of an elder in the inner court meant there was a very high probability he was a Dou Huang, or at the very least, a Dou Wang!

Upon stepping onto a broader stage, expanding one's connections could be this simple.

Chen Xiao did not refuse; he accepted it and put it away.

More friends meant more paths, and befriending an elder who was most likely a Dou Huang powerhouse had only benefits and no drawbacks.

The most direct advantage was that with this connection, Chen Xiao could even ask this elder for help the moment he entered the inner court to suppress the Snow Demonic Sky Ape, easily fulfilling the follow-up conditions for pre-withdrawing the Earth Heart Body Cleansing Saliva.

"Thank you, Tutor Xiwen."

"Don't mention it. I'll tell you a secret—don't spread it around. Because of recruiting you, the academy gave me a generous reward, enough to support my cultivation until I break through to the Dou Ling realm. Who knows how many tutors are envying me right now."

Tutor Xiwen's lips curved high upward; it was evident she was genuinely happy.

Chen Xiao nodded slightly and smiled. "Congratulations then, and I wish Tutor an early breakthrough to the Dou Ling realm."

"Hehe, shared joys! Once I break through to the Dou Ling realm, I will resign from my position as a tutor. Perhaps we'll meet again in the inner court."

...

Although the inner court selection tournament had ended, its lingering heat had not faded.

Over the next few days, walking along the various paths of the outer court, one could still hear many students passionately discussing the matter.

As the top placer, Chen Xiao was naturally brought up frequently.

Consequently, wherever Chen Xiao went these past few days, as long as there were people around, he drew intense attention.

To this, the person involved expressed utter helplessness.

On the fifth day after the conclusion of the selection tournament, Chen Xiao was meditating and cultivating intently in his dormitory when he suddenly heard someone shouting outside.

"Chen Xiao, are you inside? The vice-headmaster wants you to come over."

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Chen Xiao opened his eyes, got up, and opened the door to see a delicate-looking young woman standing there.

It was her...

Chen Xiao recognized the newcomer; she was precisely the only female student among the top five of the selection tournament, named Fu Tong, with the strength of a two-star Da Doushi.

She was also the only surviving two-star Da Doushi, as the other two had become stepping stones under the feet of the youth wielding the long staff.

"Understood, thank you."

The long-awaited day had finally arrived.

Chen Xiao expressed his gratitude, delayed no further, closed his door, and followed behind her.

"My name is Fu Tong, from the Black Snake Empire in the northwest. Thank you for showing mercy the other day."

The Black Snake Empire?

A thought stirred in Chen Xiao's mind, and he recalled the Black Snake Sect.

"Don't mention it. Heavy blows weren't allowed in the selection tournament anyway. I'm from the Jia Ma Empire, a very ordinary country whose reputation is far from being as grand as the Black Snake Empire's. The Black Snake Sect of the Black Snake Empire shakes the entire Northwest Continent with its might; how is it that you passed closer options by and thought of coming to Canaan Academy instead?"

"The Black Snake Sect is indeed formidable, but you might not know this—the Black Snake Sect doesn't recruit ordinary people like us, and... to be honest, my impression of the Black Snake Sect is very poor," Fu Tong replied, shaking her head.

Chen Xiao naturally knew the situation regarding the Black Snake Sect; he had merely been looking for a conversation starter.

Since Fu Tong and the Black Snake Sect had no relation, they could interact normally.

In Chen Xiao's mind, there was a slight possibility he might stand in opposition to the Black Snake Sect in the future.

Chatting idly, before they knew it, they had arrived at Vice-Headmaster Hu Gan's study.

The two immediately fell silent and entered one after the other.

Inside the spacious and bright room, bookshelves intersected and crossed each other, filled with all sorts of archaic books, giving the space an exceptionally scholarly atmosphere.

At this moment, right in the center of the room, the other three members of the top five were standing quietly. Behind the desk in front of them, an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in red robes, was slowly leafing through the documents in his hands. The entire room was enveloped in a tranquil atmosphere.

It wasn't until Chen Xiao and Fu Tong arrived that this ambiance was broken.

Glancing sideways at the two, the three young geniuses all smiled and nodded slightly in silent greeting.

Chen Xiao and Fu Tong also nodded in response.

Among those three, the strongest and most robust youth was named Mu Boshang, an earth-attribute four-star Da Doushi.

The youth who had left the deepest impression on Chen Xiao—the one wielding the long staff—was named Cao Hui, a fire-attribute one-star Da Doushi.

The last youth, whose ordinary appearance made him very easy to overlook, was named Ji Ruiyang, a metal-attribute three-star Da Doushi.

It was thanks to their outstanding strength, coupled with the fact that they had been frequently talked about these past few days, that Chen Xiao managed to remember them.

"Vice-Headmaster."

The five stood in a row and offered a simultaneous greeting, their faces carrying undisguised anticipation.

Hu Gan put down the documents in his hands and chuckled softly.

"Since everyone is here, I won't waste words. You should all have guessed the purpose of calling you here. Just follow me."

With that, Hu Gan walked over to the wall behind him, casually patted it a few times with his palm, and a low, rumbling sound echoed out.

The next moment, a dim passageway appeared before the five of them.

"Let's go."

Nodding slightly to the five, Hu Gan took the lead and stepped into the passageway.

Chen Xiao and the other four exchanged glances and followed closely behind.

This passageway was very long. Every ten meters or so along the ceiling, a large luminous pearl was embedded. Although the soft light it emitted was not blinding, it was enough to make the path ahead clearly visible.

The five of them followed Hu Gan in silence for nearly half an hour until a ball of bright light finally appeared at the end of the passageway.

Quickening their pace as they stepped out from the end, blinding sunlight poured down from the sky in an instant, causing the five, who had stayed in the dimness for quite a while, to squint slightly. After adapting briefly, they began to survey their surroundings.

Before Chen Xiao and the others at this moment was clearly a valley depression, with steep cliffs extending all the way upward to the limit of their vision. Right amidst the three cliff faces lay an extremely spacious open ground.

And upon that open ground stood a towering, ancient pavilion so massive it was somewhat astonishing.

Their gazes slowly swept across that colossal, archaic pavilion, finally resting upon a plaque that appeared extremely ancient outside the building.

Three large characters, somewhat blurred and eroded by the passage of time, loomed vaguely into view.

Scripture Pavilion!