At the training grounds, it was break time. The instructors watched the group chatting without intervening.
Xia Chen's eyes settled on a cool, aloof boy of twelve or thirteen on the fringes—Xia Yichen, who'd greeted him earlier, hence Xia Chen recognized him.
A side-branch Xia youth, destined in the [Great Unification] era to awe the realm, commanding Dawu's iron cavalry across the Donghuang battlefield.
For now, this future divine general bore a youthful face.
Xia Chen's gaze shifted to another boy—Xia Haoyu!
The legitimate grandson of his sixth great-uncle, his future achievements equally stunning.
"Brother Chen, you're heading out to train?"
Xia Wen beamed beside him. Xia Chen had shared his plans—visiting the Merit Building, then leaving—openly with him.
"I'm about to break through to Eighth-Rank too! I'll come find you then, Brother Chen!"
Xia Wen, guileless and brash with youthful candor, spoke without hidden motives.
Xia Chen was stunned. Xia Wen, months shy of twelve, was nearing Eighth-Rank? Truly worthy of being one of the Xia clan's brightest stars in the [Great Unification] version.
"Be it the Xia clan or the Dawu Dynasty, the young generation's prodigies are sprouting like mushrooms after rain. The golden era is dawning."
Xia Chen murmured inwardly, his heart stirring. The golden generation was yet to mature, and the Xia clan's 600 years of accumulated qi yun would soon unleash, propelling it to new heights.
He had to seize this chance early.
…
The Merit Building!
The structure rose seven stories tall.
Xia Chen had visited only once before—to learn the Basic Blade Technique.
This time, thanks to his great merit, he gained rare access below the sixth floor.
He didn't rush, heading straight to the fifth. Instead, he entered the first floor, approached the right bookshelf, picked up a tome and began reading—Gale Sword Technique!
Xia Chen skimmed quickly, his mind elsewhere.
"Record the technique!"
He commanded calmly within.
[Technique recording in progress!]
[1%]
[25%]
…
[100%]
A virtual panel flashed in Xia Chen's eyes. Though he'd entered this world early, no longer as a player, this support system remained—fully unlocked for him.
It aided in mastering advanced blade arts and now offered this recording function!
Initial players had only basic proficiency boosts.
Simple and crude, while his system had evolved to the [Spiritual Energy Revival] version.
Even when [Empress Era] players arrived, Xia Chen's lead—several versions ahead—would let him dominate them.
…
Xia Chen browsed casually, but he was rapidly recording every technique on the first floor.
Yet the household's 600-year trove, even filtered to exclude mundane arts, filled the floor like a vast sea.
He prioritized key annotated volumes, then abandoned the rest for the second floor.
Second-floor techniques suited Eighth-Rank Refining Essence cultivators—sword arts, blade arts, spear arts, halberd arts, body-tempering methods, qi circulation techniques, all-encompassing.
Military formations too, even some sorcerer arts.
The Xia clan thrived on martial prowess, but 600 years amassed more. History saw them crush rebellious sorcerer sects, claiming their legacies.
Xia Chen focused on military formations. In this world, martial warriors and sorcerers were fearsome, but soldiers in formation, wielding matchless killing qi, could fell them.
He glanced at them—basic arrays, mostly three- or five-man setups, with a few seven-man tactics.
Not too disappointed, he knew such secrets were the bedrock of martial clans.
Arrays of tens or hundreds of thousands, empowering a commander to channel the army's might, fight above their rank, and topple superiors—those peerless formations were rare, even in the Xia clan, restricted to the elite.
Xia Chen guessed they'd be on the fifth floor or higher.
Across Dawu, clans with arrays exceeding ten thousand soldiers could be counted on one hand.
…
Deep in the Merit Building.
Xia Huang and Xia Hong traded looks, both long aware of Xia Chen's strange actions on the second floor.
Xia Huang, his fourth great-uncle, and Xia Hong, his sixth—whose grandson Xia Haoyu Xia Chen had seen at the training grounds—guarded the building.
Summoned earlier to the Merit Hall, they'd learned of Xia Chen's refinement of the Basic Blade Technique, leaving a deep impression.
"What's he doing, skimming like that?"
Xia Hong asked, puzzled, his seventy-plus years failing to decipher it.
"You're asking me? Who do I ask?"
Xia Huang huffed, stroking his beard, equally stumped.
"Great insight, but too fickle-minded. With that crippled physique, refining the Basic Blade Technique was a grand feat for the clan, but that's likely his limit—hardly a great future!"
Xia Hong observed a while, shaking his head with his verdict.
Martial artists needed resolve—unwavering, unstoppable.
Xia Chen's indecision—picking up and dropping books—boded ill for greatness.
"Pity. No wonder Xia Yuan neglected him, pouring everything into Xia Hao!"
Xia Hong sighed, withdrawing his gaze, no longer dwelling.
…
Xia Chen, oblivious to their scrutiny and critique, cared not even if he knew.
Outwardly calm, he brimmed with inner joy. Each 100% on his system panel drew a faint smile.
The vast Merit Building of the Xia clan—he'd plunder it all this time.
Checking the time—an hour had passed—he swiftly recorded key second-floor rarities, skipped the rest, and climbed to the third.
Third-floor techniques were fewer but markedly superior. Xia Chen spotted Daoist and Buddhist arts—sutras and true intents cordoned off specially.
He hadn't expected these here. In the [Spiritual Energy Revival] version, Daoists and Buddhists dazzled, their seemingly mundane texts blooming into profound mysteries.
Some gleaned the Arhat Breathing Method from The Arhat Sutra, others the Taiping Immortal Palace Diagram from The Taiping Sutra, vaulting into the extraordinary…
Xia Chen prized these scriptures, recording them first.