Chapter 28: Country Bumpkin

Chapter 28: Country Bumpkin"Zhang Xuan?"

Wu Yunzhou was taken aback and quickly turned around, "Miss Yu, who is this Zhang Xuan? I've never heard of him before."

"This Zhang Xuan is just a groom for Xue'er. He went to the academy with us today and stayed outside the arena. He seems very low-key and doesn't like to show off. If you hadn't seen it yourself, you wouldn't know how skilled he is at taming beasts," Yu Xiaoyu explained.

The first time she saw this young man, he seemed ordinary. Then, he countered Feng Jin, tamed the Cangback Eagle, and obtained his identity—everything flowed smoothly. Even though she wasn't as smart as Mo Yanxue, she could see that he wasn't simple.

Such a capable person, willing to remain inconspicuous as a groom, was astonishingly low-key.

"Taming beasts?" Wu Yunzhou looked over, puzzled.

"Yes, my father was able to tame the Cangback Eagle so quickly thanks to his help..." Yu Xiaoyu nodded and explained what had happened earlier. Of course, she only mentioned Zhang Xuan's assistance with taming and didn't go into details about the methods or steps he used.

"A servant who can tame beasts and react quickly enough to turn the tables on those who framed him, taking swift revenge—he indeed has some skills."

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After hearing her explanation, Wu Yunzhou nodded, looking curiously at her. "Just now, Miss Yu mentioned that Zhang Xuan was standing outside the arena. Do you recall where exactly he was in relation to the Nine Dragon Pillar?"

After thinking for a moment, Yu Xiaoyu said, "Due north!"

"Due north?" Wu Yunzhou's pupils contracted. The Nine Dragon Pillar that first showed the words 'Not Recorded' was in the north. Could it be that the genius they were searching for was sitting there?

Could it be that the super genius they had been searching for wasn't a student or a family scion, but just a groom?

If that were the case, it would explain why they couldn't find him; their focus had been solely on the students participating in the evaluation, never considering the servants!

"Vice Principal Wu, is there something wrong?"

Seeing his unusual expression, Mo Yanxue looked over, a trace of doubt in her brows.

Zhang Xuan had some cleverness and ability, but it was hard to believe he was worth the principal's personal mentorship and the city lord's citywide search.

"Nothing... May I know where this groom is now? Could you take me to see him?" Wu Yunzhou asked. Whether or not he was the one, he could confirm it with a closer look.

"He just went to the library to find a suitable cultivation technique and should be back shortly. How about waiting here for a moment?" Yu Longqing suggested.

After hesitating, Wu Yunzhou said, "I have something else to attend to shortly. How about we go directly? There's no secret in the city lord's library that would prevent me from taking a look, right?"

No matter how low-key the person was, facing him, they wouldn't be able to hide their true nature. It would be easier to confirm by seeing him in person rather than waiting.

"Of course not. This way, please!" Seeing his insistence, Yu Longqing didn't say more and led the way. Yu Xiaoyu and Mo Yanxue exchanged a glance and followed.

...

Unaware that the vice principal had come to the city lord's mansion, Zhang Xuan was staring excitedly at the densely packed bookshelves before him. There were tens of thousands of books on these shelves, covering cultivation, medicine, geography, humanities, and more. If he could absorb them all into his library, he would gain a deep understanding of this Source World, no longer as clueless as before.

"You can browse any book on the first floor of this library, but you can't take them out or make copies. You have only one hour, so choose quickly and remember as much as you can... if you can!" Advisor Liao sneered, a cold huff in his heart.

"If you want to embarrass me, I'll make sure that even if you enter the library, it will be a wasted trip," Advisor Liao thought to himself.

‘Not to mention, you're just an untrained country bumpkin who doesn't know the quality of the manuals. Even if you find a good one, how much can you memorize in an hour? Cultivation involves acupoints, meridians, and many specialized terms. It's not only hard to remember, but any mistake can be disastrous. I don't believe someone who has never practiced cultivation can memorize a complete technique perfectly in such a short time. If you fail, it only proves your own incompetence.’

This was likely the reason the city lord felt at ease letting him browse freely.

"Alright..."

Ignoring Liao's thoughts, Zhang Xuan looked up at the bookshelves in front of him. The first book that caught his eye was a manual on sensing the source pool, titled "Pagoda Seeking Pool Technique."

He touched it with his finger.

"Flaws!" he called out in his mind. The Library of Heaven's Path shook, and a book that had absorbed Heaven‘s Fate Energy appeared, becoming solid and identical to the original.

"It seems only books that have absorbed Heaven‘s Fate Energy can be used..." Zhang Xuan nodded silently. He had suspected this when he copied "Hongshan Seeking Pool Method," and now it was confirmed.

The Library of Heaven's Path in his mind was activated and could record books and identify their flaws. However, unlike on the Master Teacher Continent, it couldn't be used infinitely and had a limitation—Heaven‘s Fate Energy.

He had absorbed around ten thousand strands at White Rock Academy and used seven or eight hundred strands to tame the Cangback Eagle. Now he could copy about nine thousand more books.

He realized he couldn't just record everything; he needed to be selective. Otherwise, if he recorded a bunch of useless books, he still wouldn't be able to cultivate effectively.

Having made up his mind, he withdrew his finger and continued looking at other books.

"Li Shoulin's Visualization Seeking Pool Technique," "Detailed Explanation of the Returning to the Source Method," "Exploring the 108 Potential Locations of the Source Pool," "The Role of Meditation in Finding the Source Pool," "Dual Cultivation Seeking Pool Method"...

The bookshelves were filled with various books. Without recommendations, it could indeed be overwhelming. But for Zhang Xuan, it didn't matter. As long as the title contained "source pool," he touched it. The next moment, a corresponding book would form in the library.

In just over ten breaths, hundreds of books were floating in the air, each glowing with a soft light and emitting a calming aura.

"He really is an ignorant country bumpkin..." Advisor Liao sneered, seeing the young man scanning the bookshelves and touching each book but not taking any. His black eyes were full of disdain.

Just as he suspected, limited by his knowledge, even with the opportunity to find a cultivation technique in the library, it was useless for him.

A true cultivator would choose one book and carefully memorize it, not behave like him, wanting to look at every book but not sure whether to take any.

He hadn't opened a single book, and a quarter of an hour had already passed.

Without any clear goal, how could he cultivate effectively?

Advisor Liao couldn't help but shake his head, instantly labeling Zhang Xuan as someone ambitious yet superficial and impetuous.