Elder Kong Ye's lecture ended with a reminder for Han Xuhan's group.
"In the next class, I want each of you to bring a Mystic Art manual of your choice. The Sect's Archives Pavilion has a special spot for the Mystic Arts manual. Pick what you like.
"Without practically guiding you through your qi cycles, there is little point in me rambling from here about what to do and what not to do during cultivation. The basics will be taught to all by Elder Ning, whereas I am going to guide a select few disciples through the practical matters."
So, on their way back to the Salted Fish Pavilion, Han Xuhan, Xiao Wu, and Mu Ran ended up taking a detour to the Archives with the rest of the group.
The Archives pavilion resembled a pagoda, with a massive ground floor for visitors and the sect's paperwork, and the increasingly smaller upper floors reserved for books, cultivation techniques, and reading space.
Some senior disciples were managing the internal affairs, and a larger number was busy with studies and discussions. Han Xuhan was strongly reminded of his final year in university at the sight of their weary faces.
Although Elder Ning had warned him earlier, Han Xuhan's disappointment was still immense when he learned that an outer court disciple with zero cultivation could only access the first and second floors of the building.
As for a servant-disciple like him, many shelves were actually restricted even on the second floor.
However, while they were getting their temporary access tokens, Mu Ran asked the senior disciple in charge of the process a very specific question.
"Senior brother, can you tell me where I can find the rejected manuals of experimental techniques in the Archives? I heard from an Elder that these things are accessible to us for educational purposes."
The senior disciple didn't think much of it, but Han Xuhan did.
A protagonist searching for rejected, dangerous techniques that others wouldn't touch?
Such a trope was quite familiar to him! After all, every main character in a cultivation novel did this once every 500 chapters!
They would always search every nook and cranny of the archives for cultivation techniques because they didn't want to cultivate the popular stuff, or they'd just "accidentally" find one.
It'd look uncool for a protagonist to go with the flow, so the authors loved to build hype with such methods.
With their monstrous luck and cheats, they would remove whatever flaw the technique had, to become the strongest cultivator in every realm...
Could I, Han Xuhan, be that lucky?
Hahahahaha.....
Xuhan could almost hear a mocking, snide, uproarious laughter coming from the sky.
But could I, Han Xuhan, orchestrate something similar?
Han Xuhan wasn't so sure. He decided to wait and see what Mu Ran did after entering the second floor.
But Mu Ran acted with caution. (S)he didn't directly head into the direction given by the senior disciple. Han Xuhan could only pretend to look at the manuals available to him.
There were dozens of scrolls carefully preserved inside intricately carved showcases holding Mystic Art manuals. The shelves were divided into many categories.
He passed by the elemental techniques, the techniques of force manipulation, the techniques on heavenly laws, the techniques of purely physical strengthening, techniques for spiritual strengthening and many more.
But Han Xuhan's token could open very few of these showcases. After searching for a long time, he managed to track down four manuals available to him. One by one, he opened them all and read the introductions.
Spiritual Bone Arts: A technique that allows the practitioner to use refined qi in forging a skeletal form of their own body. This helps strengthen their bones and becomes an additional layer of protection inside their body.
The spiritual bones can also absorb qi from the surroundings to replenish themselves and become sturdier automatically at later stages of the technique. This technique is suitable for anyone in the physique transformation realm. A cultivator above this realm can also benefit from it.
Price: 101 spirit stones per volume, 5 volumes in total.
Special discount: 1 spirit stone off per volume, 10 spirit stones off for the full version!
"Wow, that discount sure is special!"
Having to pay for cultivation techniques despite being affiliated with a sect was one thing, but this discount tag in the introduction was just rubbing salt in the wound.
Han Xuhan gnashed his teeth while feeling quite nostalgic about his previous life. Wasn't this very similar to his experience while buying the university textbooks?
Warrior's Body: This technique allows the practitioner to reinforce their meridians, arteries, veins, and many other internal vessels with refined qi, thus making them sturdier, stronger, and physically more capable than an ordinary cultivator's body.
It also improves one's physique, cleanses impurities, and prevents diseases. All cultivators in the Soul Reformation realm and below can benefit from it.
Price: 121 spirit stones per volume, 5 volumes in total.
Special discount: 1 spirit stone per volume, 10 for the whole set.
He was slightly confused by the price of the second technique. Clearly, the first technique looked more useful than the second in a deadly situation. Why would this have a higher price?
He turned around and went to a senior disciple working nearby.
"Senior, I'm new here. Could you tell me why the Spiritual Bone Arts manual is of a lower price than the Warrior's Body manual?"
The older disciple didn't even take a look at the two manuals in his hands. In fact, he seemed amused by the question.
"Did you read the description correctly, junior? The Spiritual Bone Art has to be cultivated INSIDE yourself, inch by inch, hard qi being layered over your bones!
"Can you even imagine how painful the process is? This technique is only popular among the perverted masochistic cultivators. Stay away from those who buy this!"
"...Thanks for the warning, senior."
Heart lurching dangerously, Han Xuhan went back to reading the descriptions of the rest of the techniques, swearing internally that he would never trust any description inside this place ever again!
Divine Physique Manifestation Art: A technique that allows the practitioner to manifest random, temporary traits of rarely seen physiques. After practicing this technique to the peak of the Physique Transformation realm, a cultivator can manifest a permanent trait! It has only one volume, useful for Physique Transformation realm cultivators.
Price: 255 spirit stones.
Special discount: 5 spirit stones
Han Xuhan couldn't help but click his tongue at this technique where everything was up to fate. A random trait of a rare Physique? He could see the hidden emphasis on the word 'random'. No wonder the discount is so 'high'!
Starting to feel like he would never find a manual he liked here, he read the final scroll disinterestedly.
Dragonskin: A technique that allows the practitioner to cultivate an extremely sturdy armor over their body. This armor is fueled by their qi, leaving the practitioner with the ability of extension and retraction. It can also produce expendable spikes of various sizes and shapes for offense and defense. It is useful for cultivators till the Soul Reformation realm.
Price: 300 spirit stones per volume, 3 volumes in total.
"Hmph! The only useful manual here is a fixed-price item. Shocker!"
Cursing the capitalistic mind that had created such a system in the Archives, Han Xuhan began to ponder what he should choose.
He wasn't a masochistic pervert, so number one was out.
Cultivating a buff body didn't seem to be very useful other than being able to flex his pecs at every skinny disciple out there, nope.
Divine Physique Manifestation Art? One that was heavily reliant on luck?
Physiques were associated with Celestial Blessings to begin with. And these Celestials probably wouldn't take it well if they learned that an existence cursed by the heavenly dao was copying their blessings.
What if they cursed him to turn into a divine Horny Physique or a divine Fatty Physique? Yeah, none of those fates sounded like a good way to go to hell.
The last one? It seemed very useful, but the price was way too high. He didn't have that much money, and he knew Xuanyuan Zhou couldn't afford to fork out the price, either. Not to mention, he still needed a lot of money for other things.
Han Xuhan was just fussing over what to do when he noticed Mu Ran strutting toward a shadowy corner of the second floor, heading right in the direction of the rejected manuals!