Ling Xiao was somewhat confused. Why had Ling Yihang and Ling Yixue come together to look for him?
“Oh, I almost forgot. We wanted to ask whether you’ve gone to the Library Pavilion to receive your martial arts yet!”
Ling Yihang asked eagerly.
“Many thanks for reminding me of this matter. Speaking of it, I was just about to go.”
Ling Xiao cupped his hands and answered with a smile.
“Ai, a peak martial art? I’m truly envious. I was just one rank short.”
Ling Yihang sighed. Of course, he felt a bit of envy. He had ranked fourth in the competition, but only the top three could receive peak martial arts.
“Junior Apprentice Brother, you should go select your techniques quickly. Peak martial arts are of great importance, so you have to carefully select them. We won’t bother you.”
Ling Yixue smiled and said.
“Many thanks for reminding me, Senior Apprentice Sister! Then, I’ll be going.”
Ling Xiao bade farewell to Ling Yihang and Ling Yixue before leaving for the Library Pavilion.
However, he heard some astonishing news along the way.
Ling Feifan had lost again.
Moreover, he had been miserably defeated in one move.
“Who defeated Ling Feifan?”
Ling Xiao had always thought that among the Ling Clan’s disciples, only Ling Feifan could pose any threat to him. Now that Ling Feifan had lost in one move, it was impossible for him to not care about it.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ling Xiao!”
Seeing Ling Xiao, the two gossipping disciples hastily cupped their hands in greeting.
“There’s no need to be so polite. Whom did Ling Feifan lost to?”
He didn’t have an overbearing look. After all, he too had once been an unqualified disciple and knew the misery of being bullied.
“It was Senior Apprentice Brother Ling Chen!”
“Ling Chen? Who is Ling Chen?”
Ling Xiao was confused. He hadn’t been in the clan for long and truly had never heard of this name.
“It’s nothing strange for Senior Apprentice Brother Ling Xiao to not know. Four years ago, Senior Apprentice Brother Ling Chen defeated Ling Feifan and became the first in that year’s competition at just 13 years of age. Afterward, he left for a faraway place with a wandering knight-errant and returned today.”
“I see. Many thanks, brothers!”
Ling Xiao took a deep breath. It was no wonder he hadn’t recognized Ling Chen. This returning disciple was actually someone who had once been more talented than Ling Feifan.
However, it didn’t matter. Ling Xiao had nothing to do with him. Now, he could only get stronger.
After thinking this, he continued to the Library Pavilion.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ling Xiao is truly different. He is the number one of the Genius Hall, but he is still so polite to us unqualified disciples.”
“Yes, he is much better than Ling Feifan.”
Ling Xiao didn’t hear these two people’s comments, but even if he had, it wouldn’t have mattered. Other people’s comments would never change his actions.
Not long after, he arrived at the Library Pavilion.
Today, the person guarding the Library Pavilion was not Ling Jiu or Ling Shisan but rather Uncle Ling Er.
When they meet, they couldn’t help but smile at each other.
In the past Uncle Ling Er had intentionally drawn Ling Xiao over and treated him like a tool for his power struggle, but his thoughts had now changed.
He desired a good relationship with Ling Xiao because he could tell that Ling Xiao’s future was limitless, so he was definitely someone worthy of befriending.
“Ling Xiao, are you here to take your three peak martial arts?”
Uncle Ling Er asked.
“Mmm.”
“Let’s go! Follow me to the third floor. Most of the martial arts there are advanced martial arts, but naturally, there are also some peak martial arts.”
Uncle Ling Er enthusiastically explained to Ling Xiao.
“Uncle Ling Er, how many peak martial arts does the Ling Clan have?”
Ling Xiao asked curiously.
“The Ling Clan is regarded as one of the four major clans in Heavenly Peak City, but in the entire Northern Han Dynasty, it is a trifling seventh class clan. Naturally, we don’t have many peak martial arts. There are only about 20.”
Uncle Ling Er continued, “On the third floor, there are six. The rest are on the fourth floor.”
“Aren’t they all peak martial arts? Why is there such a division?”
Ling Xiao asked in confusion.
“In fact, although there are no clear distinctions between peak martial arts, they can be divided into three levels in terms of power and rarity: Entry, Rare, and Superior Peak Martial Arts.”
Uncle Ling Er replied.
“Eh?”
Hearing Uncle Ling Er’s words, Ling Xiao noticed that the Landscape Martial Soul had a new prompt.
His <Nine Transformation Golden Body Art> was actually a Superior Peak Martial Art.
<Snow Lotus Qi Formula> belonged to the Rare Peak Martial Art category.
Meanwhile, <Soaring Cloud Steps-Flood Dragon Transformation> and <Bull Demon Technique-Balefulness Condensed> were Entry Peak Martial Arts.
No wonder he had always been bewildered that although they were all peak martial arts, <Nine Transformation Golden Body Technique> was obviously a lot more powerful and harder to cultivate.
“This is the third floor. You can choose as you please. With me here today, you will not be limited by time. Choose carefully since you should choose three peak martial arts that are most suitable for you.”
Uncle Ling Er smiled.
It was easier to handle matters with him here. If Ling Jiu or Ling Shisan had been guarding the Library Pavilion today, they might have made things more difficult.
“Many thanks, Uncle Ling Er.”
Ling Xiao also took up the offer. The third floor was different from the second since all six peak martial arts were clearly marked.
Although advanced martial arts no longer entered his eyes, some could still be coordinated with his martial skills.
Therefore, he first browsed through the advanced martial arts of the third floor, directly copying them into his Landscape World’s library.
He also copied those six peak martial arts.
However, in order to avoid other people’s suspicions, he still selected the best few in passing.
Among those six peak martial arts, three interested him.
One was <Duplicate Shadow Sword Technique>.
Mulling it for a bit, Ling Xiao preferred the elegance and freedom of swordsmanship. Therefore, he planned to focus on the sword.
This <Duplicate Shadow Sword Technique> was an entry level peak sword technique. Its advantage was that it could create three shadow clones.
These three shadow clones copied the main body and had strength equivalent to 50% of the main body’s.
These shadow clones’ strength wasn’t particularly amazing, but they could confuse opponents, creating a chance for him to display his real killing move.
In addition, he had a Martial Soul Clone, giving him four clones in total. Thus, cultivating this <Duplicate Shadow Sword Technique> would truly complement his abilities.
The second peak martial art he liked was <Black Iron Sweep Imperial Sword Technique>. He didn’t know what “black iron sweep” meant, but it was similarly an Entry Peak Martial Art.
The effect of this peak martial art was similar to his <Hundred Steps Flying Sword Technique>, but it was simply a grade higher. Both its attack power and speed were substantially better.
This <Black Iron Sweep Imperial Sword Technique> could create a sword shadow. With one attack, two sword lights would appear, making it harder for the enemy to guard against.
The third peak martial art Ling Xiao chose was <Condense Soul Formula>. It was also an Entry Peak Martial Art that cultivated the soul. It had no other benefit besides enhancing his soul power and strengthening his soul.
However, this was especially important for him.
As for the other three peak martial arts, Ling Xiao temporarily didn’t intend to read them. He knew better than to bite off more than he could chew. Besides, after cultivating the three peak martial arts until he met a bottleneck, he could always cultivate the other three.
It was a pity that all the third floor’s peak martial arts were only entry-level.
However, the Ling Clan had only 20 or so peak martial arts. It was already very generous for them to place six peak martial arts on the third floor. He guessed that the remaining 14 were on the fourth floor, but he had no chance to explore there now.
