Chapter 154: Secret Learning

Although the two of them had just said they were leaving, they hadn't actually left at all; they had been right outside the Scripture Pavilion the entire time.

They wanted to remind Xiao Fan but couldn't say it outright, which left them utterly speechless…

Especially when they saw Xiao Fan conscientiously cleaning the first floor, without even taking a single peek at the Cultivation Techniques on the bookshelves.

The two old fellows outside were so frustrated they nearly spat blood…

“Sigh… this little guy is truly a headache.”

Elder An sighed and covered his forehead with his hand. He and Old He had been in the Scripture Pavilion for many years.

This was the first time they had opened a back door for someone, and such a wide one at that.

Yet it ended up like this.

They really wanted to ask Xiao Fan: with those Cultivation Techniques right in front of you, why don't you look at them?

The kid didn't look stupid, after all.

What they didn't know was that Xiao Fan simply looked down on the Yellow Rank Cultivation Techniques on the first floor…

It was only when he reached the second floor that he remembered.

On the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, the 'Profound' level, Xiao Fan had already been standing in front of the bookshelf for the Taiyi Spear technique for half an hour.

He held the manual in one hand, flipping through it, while holding a rag in the other…

If someone were to burst in right now, he would surely drop the manual with one hand and immediately start wiping the shelf with the rag in the other…

Finally, he placed the manual back on the shelf and let out a breath.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes…

“Could it be that they're letting me use the back door?”

After going through this process, no matter how slow he was, Xiao Fan could sense that all of this was permitted by Old He and Elder An.

In half an hour, he had finished reading a Medium Grade Profound Rank Martial Skill…

Although he had only finished reading it and hadn't mastered it fluently, it was enough for Xiao Fan.

“I'll use the night to read and the day to Cultivate… If there's anything I don't understand, I'll come back to read it again that night…”

The thought of this made Xiao Fan start to feel a bit excited…

This was equivalent to having access to all the Cultivation Techniques in the entire Outer Sect Scripture Pavilion; wouldn't he be able to read them all?

At that moment, he almost howled out in excitement.

One had to know that on the third floor, the 'Earth' level, there were still dozens of Earth-Rank Cultivation Techniques…

The Sect truly treats me well…

Seeing that Xiao Fan had finally caught on, Elder An and Old He outside the Scripture Pavilion nodded in satisfaction, then each gave a bitter smile and vanished as streaks of light.

They only needed to return before dawn.

In fact, the reason Sect Master Xu Yongnian had signaled the two of them to open this back door for Xiao Fan was quite specific.

One very important reason was the hope that Xiao Fan could grow stronger quickly, because the Inner Sect selection examination was set to begin in just one month.

If he missed it this time, he would have to wait a whole year.

They certainly had ways to use various back doors to get Xiao Fan into the Inner Sect, but doing so would carry the risk of exposing that Xiao Fan possessed the Enlightenment Seed.

In reality, it was common for Genius Disciples to fall between different Sects; great powers would often send people to assassinate each other's talents!

Furthermore, the Jixian Sect couldn't keep its Magic Array active indefinitely.

Whether it was giving him the Yinglong Essence Blood or opening the back door to the Scripture Pavilion, it was all for this reason.

If Xiao Fan couldn't join the Inner Sect through his own ability in a month's time…

Then they would have to find other ways to protect him.

Xiao Fan, naturally, was unaware of the Sect's painstaking efforts.

In the following days, he would arrive at the Scripture Pavilion before the Hour of the Rat every night…

Working diligently…

During the day, he would begin to Cultivate what he had learned at night within his Immortal Cave…

He never tired of it, and although his cultivation level didn't increase significantly…

In just a few short days, he learned several Martial Skills.

On his third day entering the Scripture Pavilion, he finally set his sights on the Earth-Rank Cultivation Techniques on the third floor.

But upon reaching the third floor, the 'Earth' level, he discovered that most of the Earth-Rank Cultivation Techniques were basic techniques used for cultivation.

None were suitable for Xiao Fan, and there were very few Martial Skill-type techniques… moreover, many of them required reaching the Tongtian Realm before they could be practiced.

This left Xiao Fan somewhat speechless…

During this period, Zhu Gang brought the seven Outer Sect Disciples whom Xiao Fan had helped to visit him at his Immortal Cave.

They had wanted to come a few days ago, but their injuries were too severe for them to walk easily; they only came once they were able to move freely.

Because Xiao Fan had stood up for them and ended up being punished by the Sect Master as a result, these people felt extremely guilty…

Three of the female Disciples even expressed their apologies with tearful eyes.

Xiao Fan was speechless at this… but he couldn't explain the truth.

He simply told them not to worry and that he was doing very well now…

Truly very well…

If anything like that happened again in the future, he told them to remember to call him.

This moved them deeply. After leaving the Immortal Cave, they spread the word everywhere that Xiao Fan was a very good person.

He wasn't The Terror that others claimed he was…

They wanted to clear Xiao Fan's name!

In such an environment, Xiao Fan tirelessly went to the Scripture Pavilion for seven consecutive nights.

During the day, he was in his Immortal Cave Cultivating the techniques he had learned at night.

In these seven days, he had already fluently mastered two spear techniques, one saber technique, and one sword technique.

Although they were all Medium Grade Profound Rank Martial Skills, the improvement to his own strength was significant.

He knew exactly what he lacked; Cultivation Techniques for internal power were the things he lacked least.

These Martial Skills, however, were exactly what he was missing most.

At that moment, his golden token lit up.

Someone had come to the Immortal Cave to find him.

Going outside to take a look, Xiao Fan saw someone he never would have guessed in his wildest dreams.

Nangong Lingxuan!