Mo Han and Fatty Lambu immediately bowed after hearing the old man's stern voice.
"We greet Elder," Fatty Lambu said hurriedly in a respectful tone.
Even though Mo Han bowed before the elder, his eyes remained fixed on the man in front of him. Elder Ping was an old man with a skinny body and a pale face. With one look, Mo Han could tell that this elder was definitely an eccentric person—someone who could flare up even at the smallest mistake.
"What are you idiots doing here instead of cleaning the library?" Elder Ping asked with an angry look.
"Sorry, Elder... we are new disciples. This is our first day at the library. We were amazed by the sight of this grand place. Please forgive our mistake," Fatty Lambu said, without lifting his head.
While Fatty gave his explanation, Elder Ping continued to stare at Mo Han for a long time.
"Enough with your nonsense. Go pick the cleaning tools from the corner and polish this place like a slate."
Without another word, Fatty ran forward and picked up a wooden bucket along with a broomstick and a cleaning cloth.
Mo Han grabbed the cleaning cloth, while Fatty took the broomstick in his hand.
"Ready to work, Elder," Fatty said, grinning with all his teeth showing.
Elder Ping scowled but waved his hand dismissively, as if swatting away a pair of flies.
"Do your work quietly, and don't even dream of touching anything above your level. If I find even a print of your finger near the locked manuals, I'll throw you down from the peak myself, Understand?"
Fatty nodded his head like an obedient rat. Mo Han continued to stare at the elder with a stoic face.
With a final grunt and a wave of his broken wand, the old man hobbled into the dim corridor, disappearing deep into the library.
Fatty Lambu let out a sigh of relief and began sweeping the floor, grumbling under his breath.
"Brother… I can clean this library on my own. You just act like you're working. But don't get caught by that old elder. I heard he's like a vinegar jar—always sour and ready to explode at any time," Fatty said with a rare smile as he skillfully swept the floor like it was his everyday task.
"Thanks for your words, Fatty. But that old elder's not as bad as everyone says. I'll clean the walls and ceiling. You finish the remaining places," Mo Han replied, stepping onto the wooden staircase that spiraled along the inner walls of the pagoda peak.
Without another word, Mo Han started cleaning the side walls with the cloth in his hand. He moved one step at a time, quietly.
Each step was made from a polished wooden plank, smoothed by time and the feet of countless disciples. The manuals were stored inside cave-like slots carved into the rock wall, sealed perfectly in place. Each manual was shut and protected by layers of arrays and several physical locks.
With one look, Mo Han understood that there was no way to access them by any trick.
But to his help, the names of the manuals and brief descriptions were written on small stone tablets beside each one. These were arranged to help disciples choose a suitable fighting manual.
According to the rules written on a wooden board, an inner disciple was allowed to take only one manual per moon cycle. A disciple could take a maximum of nine such manuals during their stay at the Burning Sun Pavilion.
On the other hand, a very few personal disciples at the top of the main peak were allowed to take three fighting manuals per moon cycle, with no maximum limit on how many they could take in total.
Dancing Tiger Palm Strike – On step 13, Mo Han stopped for a second to read the contents of a manual.
A beginner's fighting technique known for explosive bursts of strength. Suitable for Earth element cultivators.
Shaking his head, Mo Han moved forward and continued cleaning the walls where dust had settled.
On the 33rd step, he stopped again and set his eyes on another manual.
Breath of Weathering Flame – A beginner's flame-element technique. Upon using this attack with internal energy, a flame arrow will be shot at the enemy.
Thinking about how a flame arrow could appear from thin air like magic, Mo Han moved on.
Even though he had come to the cultivation world, he had yet to witness any magical fights or see people doing strange, impossible things like in fantasy tales. That made him even more curious about the results of each fighting technique.
While reading the manual introductions, Mo Han continued his act of cleaning.
After crossing the first hundred steps, the size, quality, and bindings of the manuals changed. From this point up to the 300th step, Earth-level fighting manuals were stored.
Mo Han stopped at the 133rd step.
Frost Cage of the Lotus Bind – An Earth-level ice element attack. Upon unleashing this fighting technique, your enemy will be trapped in an ice cage. Very hard to master.
"Trapping an enemy in an ice cage? Would that really work in a desert?" Mo Han thought for a second, then moved forward with a smile.
, he encountered many strange fighting manuals that promised all sorts of unimaginable scenarios.
Mo Han felt drawn to many of them. But after thinking about his current situation, he decided to first focus on learning more about the world, cultivation levels, and the basics.
While Mo Han reached the 300th step, Fatty had completed cleaning the floor and even the administrator's room. Fatty, who was actually an overthinker, had even used a wet mop to clean the library—just to gain favor with the old elder, hoping he'd be assigned to library duty every day.
Mo Han finally stopped at the 303rd step. That's where he found the last manual, a human-level fighting technique.
Piercing Needle Rain – Condense aura into thin needle-like projectiles. Requires immense focus and a large amount of aura.
Mo Han was amazed as he imagined the effect of the Piercing Needle Rain technique. He almost extended his hand to reach for the manual—but the yantric threads gave him a small electric shock.
Snapping back to reality, Mo Han moved forward to the final steps, where a big wooden closet was placed against the wall, blocking the pathway ahead.
He casually opened the closet. To his surprise, it opened without any restriction. But the sight inside the closet almost gave him a heart attack.
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