The sun had begun to rise once more on the horizon, illuminating and warming everything in its path. As the sunlight crept into Tian Han's room, he opened his eyes and leapt out of bed.
After stretching as part of his daily routine, Tian Han went to the kitchen and had his meal. After two weeks, he had completely grown accustomed to the dried meat and mushy rice. He could now eat it with ease and without a single complaint.
Just as he was about to pick up the "Floating Leaf Breathing Technique" manual, he paused, realizing that the book no longer served any purpose for him. Without a second thought, he placed it back where it belonged.
There was no need for him to read the book or follow its training instructions anymore—he had already sensed Arcen energy. The contents of this section of the manual were now meaningless to him.
This, of course, left Tian Han with a significant amount of free time. It was still very early—the sun had only just risen, and even some birds hadn't woken up yet. It wouldn't be wrong to say Tian Han didn't enjoy being idle. As he pondered on what to do, a thought struck him.
"Why don't I do some physical training? My strength has already improved over the past two weeks. If I train on my own, I can push it even further."
The idea made perfect sense to him. This way, he wouldn't be wasting time and would also contribute, even slightly, to his progress.
Tian Han stepped out into the yard, then began heading toward the storage shed to prepare a few things for his training. Once in front of the shed, he paused and reached for the handle to open the door.
After opening the shed, he scanned its contents, checking if there was anything he could use. After a bit of rummaging, Tian Han found a few water buckets and thick wooden logs.
"I guess I can use these to make weights."
Carrying the buckets and logs, he exited the shed and walked over to a clear corner of the yard, where he placed them down. After setting them on the ground, he began searching for stones to fill the buckets with.
After wandering around the yard for a bit, he filled the buckets with the stones he found. When he was finally satisfied, he looked at them with a proud smile. The buckets were now filled to the brim with stones, making them quite heavy—just the way he wanted them.
That was exactly the point. The heavier, the better—they had to be challenging to be useful in training. Tian Han threaded a piece of wood through the handles of the buckets to create a makeshift barbell. He made a few more weights in similar ways—some smaller, some simply wrapped in bandages to be strapped to the body.
Once he had finished creating the weights, Tian Han wasted no time and started testing them. Before beginning the workout, he made sure to stretch properly to avoid injury. His first move was weighted lunges.
Carrying one of the weights on his shoulders, Tian Han stepped forward and performed a lunge, rising and lowering his body with each step. He continued this exercise for a while. Once done, he set the weights down on the ground.
Though he was sweating a bit, he still had plenty of energy and strength left. After a short rest, he strapped the stone-filled weights wrapped in bandages onto his body and began weighted running. This was followed by lifting exercises, then sit-ups, push-ups, and finally, more stretching to cool down and finish the session.
Though the training was over, Tian Han still felt energized. However, he decided not to push further, as Li Shan would be arriving soon. They were supposed to go to the library together so Tian Han could receive a new technique.
With that in mind, he returned to the house to take a quick shower. After getting cleaned up, he got fully dressed and began waiting for Li Shan to arrive so they could leave for the library.
Around midday, Li Shan stepped into Tian Han's yard. As he slowly walked toward the house, the front door suddenly opened. Tian Han burst out excitedly and ran toward him.
Seeing Tian Han so thrilled brought a smile to Li Shan's face.
Tian Han had sprinted out just moments after Li Shan stepped into the yard. It wasn't hard to tell that he had been standing by the window, eagerly waiting for Li Shan to arrive.
Naturally, Li Shan noticed this too—hence the smile. This little boy had clearly been waiting with excitement and couldn't wait to head to the library.
As Tian Han ran up to him, he stopped and began speaking.
"Welcome, Big Brother Li!"
"Thank you, Little Brother Han. I see you're more than ready to go to the library."
Tian Han nodded enthusiastically, his eagerness evident in his every move. Seeing this, Li Shan realized there was no point in wasting time.
"If you'd like, Little Brother Han, we can go right now. That way, you won't have to wait any longer."
Without hesitation, Tian Han responded.
"Yes! Let's go, Big Brother Li. I really want to get out of the house and these new techniques are making me really excited!"
A gentle smile formed on Li Shan's face as he looked at Tian Han.
"Alright then, Little Brother Han. Let's not waste any time—let's head to the library."
Tian Han nodded, and the two began walking toward the library. As they walked, Tian Han took his first steps outside the borders of his home. A brief flicker of hesitation arose within him, but it quickly passed. He cast it aside and moved forward.
For anyone else, this might have been a small step. But for Tian Han, it marked the beginning of his journey—the moment it truly began.
Tian Han and Li Shan had now left the boundaries of his home and were walking through the outer sect. As they walked, they chatted—mostly about the buildings Tian Han was seeing. Curious as ever, he asked about nearly everything that looked new to him.
At one point, Li Shan's eye began twitching, but he patiently continued answering every question.
"Big Brother Li, what's that building?"
"That's a special building used to grow herbs."
"What about that one, Big Brother Li?"
"That's a building where students can spend time together."
"And what's that, Big Brother Li?"
"That's a museum. It holds the belongings of former students from the past."
"I see, and what about that one?"
"That one is..."
The conversation between the two continued like this as they slowly approached the library. Meanwhile, as they walked, the other students around them started to notice Tian Han and Li Shan, whispering amongst themselves.
"Hey, aren't those Li Shan and the kid brought in by the Outer Sect's Honored Sect Master?"
"Li Shan? You know she loves playing with newcomers. Once she's done with that kid, she'll probably toss him aside."
"Yeah, you're right. We're talking about Li Shan after all. Poor guy fell into the hands of the Rookie Killer."
"Idiots, keep your voices down! If Li Shan hears you and finds out you've ruined her plans, she'll take out all her anger on you."
"You're right. The Rookie Killer doesn't joke around. We better keep quiet... Anyway, it's none of our business what happens to that kid. Let's go."
As Tian Han and Li Shan continued walking toward the library, the number of students who noticed them increased. Each of them couldn't help but whisper about the duo.
Eventually, the two arrived at the library entrance. Throughout the walk, Tian Han hadn't stopped talking, constantly bombarding Li Shan with questions. At one point, Li Shan even wondered if she should just kill the boy—but quickly discarded the thought.
When they reached the library, Tian Han stared at the building for a long time. Unlike the other structures he had seen, this one was adorned with countless golden leaf engravings, each of which sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight. But these were more than just engravings—if you looked from the right angle, you could see the leaves seemingly dancing in harmony, as if caught in a breeze.
This design gave the building a mystical and captivating appearance. Anyone who saw it would feel compelled to look at it again.
Tian Han was struck speechless by the building's beauty, standing frozen in awe. Seeing this, Li Shan nudged him with her shoulder to snap him out of it.
Tian Han jolted, then spoke in surprise and excitement.
"Big Brother Li, this building is amazing! How can a building be so beautiful? So there were buildings like this in the sect all along, and I couldn't see them just because I wasn't allowed outside my home? Damn it! Seriously, damn it!"
Li Shan looked at the small boy yelling with frustration—it was quite a funny sight, like a duckling angrily chirping at you.
"Little Brother Han, there are a few more buildings like this in the sect. But don't worry, soon you'll be able to visit them on your own. For now, you must be patient and focus on your training."
"I'll do as Big Brother Li says and continue my training patiently."
After Tian Han had calmed down a bit, Li Shan turned to him with a serious expression and began to speak.
"Little Brother Han, now I'm going to give you some advice on which technique to choose from the library. Listen carefully. The sect has three popular techniques that are neither too easy nor too difficult. In terms of power, they are not weak but not extremely strong either. These techniques are: the Crimson Crown Technique, the Wooden Skin Technique, and the Green Thorn Technique. They're ideal for those who've just begun to sense Arcen energy—very balanced and perfect for inexperienced students. My recommendation is to choose one of these."
Tian Han nodded to show he understood.
"Now, Little Brother Han, you may go into the library and choose your technique. Go and come back with a good one."
Tian Han clasped his hands together respectfully and bowed his head.
"Thank you, Big Brother Li."
As soon as he said this, Tian Han left Li Shan's side and headed toward the entrance. The two guards standing in front of the door looked at him and stopped him.
"Little boy, state your reason for coming."
"As a newly admitted student to the Outer Sect, I wish to use my right to choose a technique for free."
The guards frowned upon hearing this—it was clear they weren't thrilled.
"Very well. After stating your name, you may enter. You have three hours inside. If you fail to choose a technique within that time, you'll have to return empty-handed."
Tian Han nodded and stated his name.
"Outer Sect student Tian Han."
After hearing his name, the guards stepped aside. Tian Han walked between them and entered. Inside, he saw a long corridor with a door at the end.
He began walking toward the door. Once he reached it, he took a deep breath and pushed it open. As the door slowly creaked open, light from inside spilled into his eyes.
The door opened further, revealing more and more of what lay within. When it finally opened fully, Tian Han was left speechless by what he saw. To sum it up—it was an enormous library.
From the ground floor up, it extended to eight floors, each massive in width and connected by staircases. On each floor, there were too many books to count. Seeing the sheer scale of the library made Tian Han's scalp tingle.
"THIS PLACE IS HUGE! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND THE TECHNIQUES BIG BROTHER LI MENTIONED?! HE REALLY SHOULD'VE WARNED ME ABOUT THIS!"
Tian Han was in awe and shock. What kind of place was this? Now, how would he find the techniques Li Shan had told him about?
He started to panic. His time was limited—and if he couldn't choose a technique in that time, he'd leave empty-handed. Worse yet, he'd lose his right to select a technique for free. He had to hurry. Tian Han quickly began to search through the books.
Since he had been reading books from a young age—and especially because he had been reading the Floating Leaf Breathing Technique book continuously for the past two weeks—Tian Han's reading speed had increased significantly. Thanks to this, he was able to swiftly scan through the books and quickly determine whether they were any of the techniques Li Shan had mentioned.
For quite a long time, Tian Han continued to check through the books this way, looking for any trace of the techniques he sought. Time passed quickly, and the number of books he had gone through had already piled up enough to form a small mountain, yet Tian Han still hadn't found any of the techniques Li Shan had spoken of.
He kept reading as time continued to slip away. Even though over an hour had passed, he still hadn't found the slightest trace of the techniques he was searching for—but he didn't stop. He continued reading and searching.
As Tian Han sifted through the techniques, he stumbled upon quite a few strange ones. Some techniques strengthened you by eating grass, others could only be improved by consuming seafood—and he encountered many more bizarre ones just like these.
These techniques were truly odd. As Tian Han read through them, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Who in the hell studies this kind of crap? People have some seriously weird tastes... Why would anyone want to practice something like this?"
Even though these strange techniques confused him and he couldn't make sense of why they even existed, he didn't let them slow him down. He continued scanning the books on the shelves without pause.
Time kept ticking. More than two hours had passed, and Tian Han's time was quickly running out—he needed to hurry.
Tian Han was starting to panic, but not once did he stop reading. He pressed on relentlessly.
Then, just as he picked up another book to check, something about it caught him off guard. As he examined it, he was genuinely surprised—this technique intrigued him.
"Let even the mountains fall before you—shatter them and shake the world."
Tian Han looked into the description of the technique. It allowed the user to convert their Arcen energy to enhance their physique, vastly increasing their durability, strength, and offensive capabilities. It was on a whole different level.
"This technique seems balanced, just like the ones Big Brother Li recommended... but it looks stronger than them. My time is almost up—yeah, I think I'll choose this one."
Tian Han closed the book and looked at the name of the technique.
"Technique of the Mountain's Might!"