As the translucent energy ball was shot out, a sharp sound wave transformed into a tangible ripple, spreading in all directions with the energy ball as its center. Seeing this sudden movement, Bai Shan and the others were startled, quickly understanding the situation. They then looked at Xiao Yan’s figure, which had turned into a black shadow and was shooting out crazily. Under the gaze of the people in the room, Xiao Yan, who had pushed his speed to the limit, appeared in front of the energy ball in just two blinks. His hand curved slightly, like an eagle’s claw, and he grabbed at the energy ball with lightning speed.
Seeming to sense Xiao Yan’s action, the energy ball, which was originally shooting forward, suddenly paused, swayed, and then dodged backward.
“Hmph.”
Feeling the near-instinctive evasion of the energy ball, Xiao Yan sneered. He shook his sleeve, and his arm extended as if it had grown longer. He scooped with his hand and tightly grabbed the translucent light ball in his palm.
With the item in hand, Xiao Yan did not hesitate at all, retreating like a bolt of lightning. At that moment, the energy barrier in the room suddenly burst forth with a tremendous suction force. Under this suction, the swirling lights in the room were continuously pulled back into the energy barrier. In no time, the sky was filled with flying lights. All the light balls previously expelled by the energy barrier, except for the items in the hands of Xuner and Bai Shan, which had already broken through the energy barrier, were once again swallowed up by the barrier.
Feeling the suction force coming from the energy barrier, Xiao Yan knew that it was due to the approaching time limit. He held tightly onto the translucent light ball, which was trembling and trying to escape, but was being pulled by the suction force, struggling to break free.
“Xiao Yan gege, try to see if you can get the item inside!”
Seeing Xiao Yan’s hand being pulled forward, Xuner hurriedly reminded him.
Hearing Xuner’s words, Xiao Yan came back to his senses. He grasped the light ball with his right hand and thrust his left hand in.
“Boom…”
Under the gaze of the others, Xiao Yan’s hand plunged into the light ball. An instant later, a massive force surged out, directly rebounding Xiao Yan away. The strength of the rebound was so great that Xiao Yan had to take several steps back to nullify it.
“Damn, it doesn’t work!”
With his hand blocked, Xiao Yan’s expression darkened. The suction force from the energy barrier was getting stronger, and there were only a few light balls still swirling in the room.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s hand being repelled by the light ball, a smirk of Schadenfreude appeared on Bai Shan’s face.
“Xiao Yan gege, hold on, let me try!”
A green shadow flashed past, and Xuner’s jade-like hand also quickly reached for the energy ball. Seeing Xuner’s hand getting closer to the light ball, Xiao Yan’s heart leaped with worry. If Xuner couldn’t do it either, the sound wave technique he had almost gotten would have to fly away.
At that moment, he could only make do with the previous yellow-tier sound wave technique he had obtained. Under the watchful eyes of the others in the room, Xuner’s hand suddenly plunged into the light ball. A moment later, the resistance that Xiao Yan had experienced before did not appear. A look of joy appeared on Xuner’s face. Her hand only lingered in the light ball for a moment before quickly withdrawing. As her hand withdrew, a scroll resembling a crystal-clear roll appeared in everyone’s sight.
Seeing the scroll successfully pulled out by Xuner, Xiao Yan’s heart finally relaxed. A relieved smile appeared on his face.
“Xiao Yan gege.”
Xuner wiped the sweat from her smooth forehead. She was very afraid of disappointing Xiao Yan, but fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not happen. She smiled and handed the translucent scroll to Xiao Yan.
“Thank you.”
Receiving the scroll, Xiao Yan said with a bit of residual unease. If it weren’t for Xuner, he would have watched helplessly as the item he had almost gotten was swallowed back. Licking his lips, Xiao Yan shifted his gaze to the words on the scroll. He was initially stunned, then nodded in satisfaction.
“Lion-Tiger Shatter-Gold Roar, Sound Wave Technique, Rank: High Mystic Tier. When lion and tiger roar together, all beasts submit, shattering gold and shocking the soul with great power…”
After reading the words on the scroll, Xiao Yan was very satisfied. This was exactly the level of sound wave technique he needed. Techniques of lower rank were not worth considering, while techniques of too high a rank were too difficult to cultivate. Without a long period of time, it would be difficult to truly master their power. After all, the higher the rank of the technique, the exponentially more difficult it was to cultivate.
“Finally got it…”
Letting out a long breath, Xiao Yan casually threw away the advanced yellow-tier sound wave technique he had previously obtained. As soon as it left his hand, it was enveloped by a ball of light and eventually shot into the energy barrier, disappearing.
“Let’s go.”
Putting the advanced mystic-tier sound wave technique into his storage ring, Xiao Yan waved at Xuner and then turned to walk towards the passage they had come from. As he passed Bai Shan, he stopped and gave him a faint smile, “It seems I have disappointed Senior Bai Shan. I have obtained what I needed.”
With that, he did not stop and walked back into the dark passage with Xuner.
“Hmph.”
Seeing Xiao Yan’s smiling face, Bai Shan snorted coldly and followed, his expression dark. Behind them, Hu Jia and Wu Hao also followed closely.
As the five of them left, the energy barriers surrounding the huge room, which resembled vortices, began to slowly shrink. After a while, the energy barriers turned into a small point, disappearing completely with a slight cracking sound.
At that moment, the entire huge room became empty. No one would have thought that it had been filled with countless treasures that would cause a sensation in the outside world.
“Creak.”
The ancient, tightly closed door suddenly opened, and warm sunlight poured in through the gap, casting a long ray of light in the dark passage, extending to the end…
As the door opened, Xiao Yan and the other four filed out, standing on the steps. Looking at the lush greenery in the valley, they all felt a sense of relief. The atmosphere in the library had been unbearably heavy.
“This library is so vast. The large room we entered must have been just a corner of it. This place is truly mysterious…”
Exiting the door, Xiao Yan’s eyes swept unobtrusively over the two gray-robed figures standing like old monks in meditation. He muttered to himself.
Hearing the sound of the door, one of the gray-robed figures moved his sleeve slightly. Xiao Yan and the others immediately sensed a vast, formless energy scanning over them. The strength of that energy sent a chill down their spines.
The formless energy seemed to serve only as a scanner, so it lasted for only a short while before receding like a tide, completely disappearing.
“The time is up. You may leave now. Remember, you must not reveal a single word about what happened here, including the information inside the library, to anyone.”
A hoarse, aged voice slowly echoed at the door.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan and the others hurriedly bowed their heads.
“Haha, all of you are out?”
Seeing the five of them, Hu Gan, who had been standing in front of the pavilion, smiled and asked, “None of you left empty-handed, right?”
Xiao Yan and the others nodded.
“That’s good. Even if what you obtained isn’t to your liking, at least you have something.”
Satisfied, Hu Gan smiled and bowed slightly to the two gray-robed figures beside the door, saying, “Since these youngsters have come out, I won’t disturb your hard cultivation. Farewell.”
The two gray-robed figures still showed no reaction. Hu Gan didn’t mind and waved to Xiao Yan and the others, saying, “Follow me.”
Hearing Hu Gan’s voice, Xiao Yan and the others bowed to the two motionless, gray-robed figures sitting cross-legged on the ground. They slowly backed down the stone steps and turned to stand beside Hu Gan.
Hu Gan glanced at the five of them, and seeing that they were unharmed, he bowed again to the two gray-robed figures and turned to walk towards the invisible doorway that had been torn open by an invisible hand.
“Follow me closely. Don’t touch those spatial folds, or even I won’t be able to save you.”
As they were about to pass through the invisible doorway, Hu Gan turned his head to remind them. Then, keeping his upper body still, he stepped out through the door. Xiao Yan and the others carefully followed, not daring to move rashly.
They safely passed through the invisible doorway, and a surge of energy began to ripple. Turning around, Xiao Yan saw that the torn invisible doorway was slowly disappearing. A moment later, a solid wall of spatial folds reappeared, protecting the library behind it.
His gaze skipping over the imperceptible spatial folds, he looked toward the library’s entrance. His face suddenly changed. The two gray-robed figures who had been sitting cross-legged earlier had mysteriously vanished. Their ghost-like movements sent a chill down Xiao Yan’s spine. Who were these gray-robed guardians of the library, really?
“The Can Nan Academy, to stand in the dangerous center of the Black Corner Region for so many years, truly has an incredibly solid foundation…”
Shaking his head in amazement, Xiao Yan quickly caught up with Hu Gan and the others, and they returned to the cave they had come from.
With the disappearance of Xiao Yan and the others, the small, hidden valley returned to its usual tranquility. It would only open again when the next Inner Academy selection tournament ended.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage