On Beiluo's Lake Heart Island.

  Amid the hazy spiritual energy, Lu smiled.

  A book materialized in his hands—the result of scanning the Martial Emperor City Scripture Pavilion's texts via the Preaching Platform.

  He flipped it open slowly and began reading.

  Atop the White Jade Capital Pavilion, all was serene as usual, with sandalwood incense rising gently, filling the air with a calming, mind-focusing fragrance.

  Meanwhile, inside the Martial Emperor City Scripture Pavilion.

  Lu, controlling Feng Yilou, was hard at work. He spread out book after book, not bothering to read them—just scanning each one before returning it to the shelves.

  In the Preaching Platform, another book condensed.

  One after another.

  Lu didn't stop with Feng Yilou's body.

  Books floated in the air within the platform, turning the once-empty space into a crowded library.

  He'd emptied the entire pavilion.

  This wouldn't do, Lu thought. With a shift of his mind, he conjured bookshelves, organizing the volumes by category.

  Most of Martial Emperor City's collection consisted of ordinary cultivation methods, tiered by realm.

  Foundation Building had the most—181 different methods, covering all sorts of spiritual energy attributes. Some even branched into four or five variants.

  Foundation Building alone accounted for nearly 20,000 volumes.

  Qi Condensation, though a lower realm, had fewer—around 10,000, Lu estimated.

  Golden Core methods followed, far more profound. Many sparked ideas for Lu.

  His eyes gleamed.

  Nascent Soul methods? None on the first or second floors. Lu didn't push it.

  Beyond cultivation arts, there were combat skills, spells, and offensive techniques.

  He scanned them all and shelved them.

  Useful, yes—but not what he sought.

  He wanted to understand this world, to study building a mid-level martial one.

  In the pavilion.

  Lu sat cross-legged as Feng Yilou, surrounded by scattered books.

  He'd combed through every shelf, even the obscure ones.

  Plenty of value, but nothing he truly cared about.

  "The first two floors cover Qi Condensation to Golden Core. Helpful for Five Phoenixes' growth. Spreading them could spark a hundred schools of thought, guiding the mission forward."

  "But what I need... isn't here."

  Lu frowned.

  No unofficial histories, no world geography—nothing.

  Any trace of this world's lore seemed erased by an invisible hand.

  Disappointment flickered, then faded. He looked up to the third floor.

  The blind sweeper had forbidden it.

  But Lu? He didn't follow rules.

  Once the lower floors were fully recorded, he guided Feng Yilou upward.

  Creaking wooden stairs.

  Lines danced in his vision—the prohibition array on the third floor, woven from spiritual energy.

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  "Forcing my way in would shatter it and draw attention. Trouble."

  Lu pondered.

  Then, runes surfaced on his palm. He chose to decode it. His hand pressed against the patterns; under his spiritual sense, they flowed like fish.

  Soon, the array dissolved silently, without a ripple.

  Lu smiled. Precise, but with the Preaching Platform, his array mastery was unmatched.

  He entered the third floor.

  Few books—two shelves.

  One held dozens of Nascent Soul methods.

  The other, just three volumes.

  He scanned the Nascent Soul arts.

  With a beckoning wave, the three books floated before him.

  First: Martial Emperor Scripture, radiating profound mystery, seemingly tied to the heavenly source.

  "The Martial Emperor Scripture... Nascent Soul pinnacle, Infant Transformation realm?"

  Lu grew intrigued.

  His plan for Five Phoenixes' future path was simple at first: Qi Core, Body Storage, Heavenly Lock—straight upward.

  But it was harsh for average talents. The jump from Body Storage to Heavenly Lock exposed the flaws.

  Perhaps he could preach this world's methods too.

  Genius paths from White Jade Capital.

  Common ones to fuel prosperity.

  Snapping back, he scanned the Martial Emperor Scripture into the pavilion.

  Replacing it, he took the next.

  "Hunyuan Unity Spear?"

  A spear manual—Du Longyang's art, devastating in attack.

  "System, grade these two if transmitted."

  Prompts appeared.

  "Martial Emperor Scripture: Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Cultivation Method."

  "Hunyuan Unity Spear: Mysterious Tier High-Grade Technique."

  Both Mysterious Tier?!

  Lu inhaled sharply.

  He recorded them.

  Then the third.

  His gaze slid to the title. He froze.

  "Heavenly Origin (Incomplete)?"

  An array sealed it—like a lock.

  Mysterious. Lu deduced in the Preaching Platform before unlocking.

  The moment it opened, a roar echoed, a vast will crashing down.

  A vision unfolded.

  A bloodied figure atop a peak, howling at the heavens. Clouds coalesced into a giant hand.

  The impact nearly shredded Lu's spiritual sense.

  He steadied his mind and turned the first page.

  Shocking words leaped out.

  "Immortality is a scam! Tribulation ascension is a massive lie! Heed this, descendants!"

  ...

  Outside the pavilion.

  The blind sweeper sensed something.

  His face twisted.

  Broom in hand, he slipped inside silently. The doors slammed shut.

  No sound.

  On the third floor.

  The blind elder appeared at the stairs.

  "What? The third-floor array is broken?!"

  Horror struck him.

  He burst in, sensing Lu flipping through a book. He raised his head, brows furrowed.

  "Bold! I said no third floor!"

  Fury boiled.

  Nascent Soul aura erupted, terror filling the space.

  The elder tilted his head, broom shaking—spiritual energy coalescing into an invisible rune array.

  Lu, in Feng Yilou, looked up, surprised. "An array? So... Martial Emperor City's mysterious array master is you."

  "You..."

  The elder raged.

  "You're not Feng Yilou. Who are you?"

  "Few on Tianyuan Continent could break my arrays!"

  He slapped the broom. Runes surged toward Feng Yilou.

  Boom!

  Lu's spiritual sense wavered under the pressure.

  But he reclaimed the body.

  His palm traced the air, compressing energy into lines.

  Dust gathered into the "Kan" trigram.

  The arrays clashed—not with thunder, but suppression.

  The broom snapped.

  Lu's rune loomed overhead like a towering peak, green light cascading, pinning the elder.

  "You sealed this remnant to hide it from the world."

  "Let me guess..."

  Lu paced as Feng Yilou.

  "That line isn't the key—Heavenly Origin isn't. The warning is. You saw it, the will blinded you. Yet you sealed the book anyway."

  His words echoed.

  The pinned elder shuddered.

  "That line... left by Martial Emperor City's lord, the Martial Emperor."

  "And you followed someone... called, if I'm right... Plane Lord."

  Lu said faintly.

  The elder's vacant eyes blazed.

  "Who are you?!"

  He roared.

  A mere disciple analyzing secrets? "Plane Lord"—heard only once, etched in memory.

  Ignoring the shock, "Feng Yilou" continued: "Tribulation ascension a lie—enough to enrage the Martial Emperor. He ascended, but no 'immortal realm.' Likely a man-made world."

  "In short, duped."

  "By your lord, the Plane Lord. What exactly? Unclear."

  The elder trembled harder.

  He sensed a lofty soul gazing down.

  "Heavenly Origin (Incomplete) has more volumes with the full account... You uphold the 'ascend to immortality' myth, so you split and sealed it."

  "I came for knowledge, to learn mid-martial worlds. Accidentally uncovered a massive secret—and now I'm interested."

  "Feng Yilou" laughed.

  The elder froze under "Kan," fear mounting. Each word stripped his facade.

  He'd seen Feng Yilou as a driven genius, worth nurturing. Ascension? Bonus "achievement." He'd even bent rules, letting him in.

  But now... he'd gone blind indeed, inviting a hidden terror—like a wolf among sheep!

  "Are the secrets in the other volumes? Where are they?"

  Lu paced, asking.

  Knowing silence, he wove runes into an array, flicking it toward the elder.

  It drifted.

  The elder's veins bulged; he thrashed.

  Hm?

  Lu, in Feng Yilou, paused.

  The pinned elder's aura shifted. A supreme presence descended, erasing his soul. Overwhelming power poured from the heavens.

  "Kan" shattered.

  The elder's Nascent Soul melted, the infant wailing in agony.

  His aura soared.

  Lu frowned, stomping the floor.

  Boom!

  He rocketed upward, shattering the roof.

  The elder floated, robes whipping, grinning eerily, soaring in pursuit.

  At Martial Emperor City's summit.

  Du Longyang's eyes snapped open, staring in disbelief.

  A chilling, terrifying aura exploded!

  "Who?!"

  Rage flared. Black spear in hand, spiritual energy surged; he streaked through the air.

  The city boiled over Du Longyang's earlier words: Feng Yilou, poised for Human List top.

  His roar stalled the fervor. Powerhouses turned to the pavilion.

  Atop its roof.

  Dreadful auras clashed.

  The blind elder's pressure panicked all. More shocking: opposite him, purple-robed Feng Yilou stood calmly.

  Du Longyang's might bore down.

  Facing both, Feng Yilou stood hands clasped, effortlessly poised.

  Disciples and experts gasped...

  This wasn't Human List top potential.

  Senior Brother Feng had Heavenly List caliber!