The Library is located in the center of the academy, spanning five floors. The first to the third floor grants free access to all books for the students, while the fourth and fifth floors require a certain fee for external borrowing.
Wang Hong circled the first floor, almost getting lost among the rows of bookshelves. The sight before him comprised classical Confucian texts, Legalist principles, Mohist contraptions, military strategies, and various works of poetry and literature.
Not a single martial arts book was in sight, suggesting that this floor was dedicated to literary works. Following the staircase, Wang Hong ascended to the second floor.
Indeed, the second floor was filled with martial arts literature. Titles such as "Iron Sand Palm," "Thirteen Lethal Swords," "Three Tricks for Lightness Practice," "The Unavoidable Stories of Song San with a Big Sword," and "Wandering Dragon Eight Diagrams Palm" filled his vision.
Wang Hong was momentarily enchanted by the vast ocean of martial arts secrets. He roughly surveyed the entire second floor to get a sense of what was available.
Then, he began systematically selecting some martial arts techniques that were suitable for his current stage, examining each one in detail.
"The Cloud Smoke Sword Technique," with its elusive and varied sword movements, comprising 120 moves and 9,600 variations.
"The Dragon Form Fist," a powerful and forceful fist technique capable of embodying the strength of a dragon and an elephant when perfected.
"The Water Breaking Blade Technique," emphasizing swift and decisive blade strokes, a method for practicing quick knife skills.
"The Thunderous Spear Technique," a spear technique as fast as thunder and elusive as a wandering dragon, making it difficult for opponents to defend against.
However, after searching the entire second floor, Wang Hong couldn't find a single book on inner cultivation techniques. It seemed he would have to venture higher to find them.
Climbing to the third floor, he found more literary works. Continuing to the fourth floor, he discovered that it exclusively housed books on inner cultivation techniques.
The fourth floor had only a few sparsely filled bookshelves, with perhaps a little over a hundred books in total.
"Illuminating Scripture," "Purple Haze Technique," "Yin-Yang Midnight Sun Technique," "Six Extremes Technique," "Dharma-strict Mind Scripture," "Muscle-Tendon Changing and Marrow-Cleansing Technique"...
Wang Hong randomly picked up one book, and the large red characters on the first page caught his eye: "Eight taels of silver for external borrowing!"
"Why not just rob someone? Even the bandits in the mountain aren't this ruthless."
Flipping through other books, he found that the required silver varied from one to ten taels. Zhang Tie Mao spent three taels of silver on learning inner cultivation, probably the cheapest inner cultivation technique available.
"Regardless, let's take a look first. After all, it's free to read them here."
Wang Hong carefully examined each book and ultimately settled on "Muscle-Tendon Changing and Marrow-Cleansing Technique." It felt like a continuation of the "Eight Basic Exercises" he had practiced before.
However, borrowing "Muscle-Tendon Changing and Marrow-Cleansing Technique" required nine taels of silver, and Wang Hong had spent quite a bit over the past six months.
"Training martial arts really costs money. Now I have to spend three taels of silver every month, and it will probably be more in the future. I'll have to make a trip to Qingyang City soon."
Leaving the library, Wang Hong borrowed only "Thunderous Spear Technique" and "Fundamentals of Spear Technique."
In Qingyang City, a normal-looking teenager, dressed in plain clothes with "Qingyang Academy" embroidered in gold thread on his left chest, attracted envious glances. However, the large sack on his shoulder deducted a few points from his image.
Wang Hong entered a shop named "Ji Shi Tang - Medical Hall." He had visited this shop six months ago, and the prices were reasonable.
"Shopkeeper, do you buy medicinal herbs?"
"Of course! Please have a seat, young man," the kindly-looking old shopkeeper responded. He instructed someone to serve tea to Wang Hong and called over two young assistants to bring out a bamboo mat, onto which the contents of the sack were emptied.
Among a heap of miscellaneous herbs, two small wooden boxes rolled out. The assistants opened the boxes, revealing one filled with ginseng and the other with purple mushrooms.
"This... so much?" The two assistants were astonished, their mouths wide enough to fit an egg. It was the first time they had seen someone sell such a large quantity of ginseng and purple mushrooms at once.
Usually, herbalists took ten days to half a month to collect a single ginseng root, and having over a hundred roots, not to mention the forty to fifty purple mushrooms, was unprecedented.
The old shopkeeper also crouched down, carefully inspecting each herb. After more than half an hour, he finished examining the herbs.
"Dear young sir, there are a total of 137 Ginseng plants, with two having a medicinal age of twelve years, and the rest ranging from three to six years."
"Fifty-three Purple Mushrooms, including three with a medicinal age of ten years, five with a nine-year age, and ten with an eight-year age."
"Forty-two Astragalus plants, with three aged ten years, and nine..."
"Altogether, it comes to 180 taels of silver. What do you think?"
With a casual wave of his hand, Wang Hong nodded in agreement, but inwardly, he was extremely excited. He had never seen so much silver before.
Moreover, these herbs were just a clean-up from half a year ago. Now, in the space, there were Ginseng and Purple Mushrooms with over twenty years of medicinal age, growing abundantly.
"It seems I need to pluck those worthless herbs and focus on Ginseng. Selling a sack only got me hundred tael of silver. It's more profitable to pluck a hair from Ginseng." Wang Hong contemplated.
"Young sir, thanks for choosing our little shop. Please accept this bottle of White Jade Powder as a gift. We hope that when you have a harvest in the future, you will consider selling it to our store," the old shopkeeper said, handing Wang Hong a small porcelain bottle.
Wang Hong accepted it gratefully. White Jade Powder was essential for cultivating muscles and bones, a valuable medicine for martial artists.
"Thank you, shopkeeper. These herbs were collected by me and a few friends after several trips to the mountains. Of course, in the future, when I gather herbs, I'll bring them to your shop."
Leaving Ji Shi Tang - Medical Hall, Wang Hong felt the weight of over a hundred taels of silver in his arms. Finding a secluded spot, he tossed a hundred taels into the space.
In Zhang's Blacksmith Shop to the west of the city, a middle-aged man, shirtless and sweating profusely, was hammering a piece of iron.
"Master! I want to forge a weapon. Can it be custom-made here?"
The middle-aged man threw down his hammer, tossed the iron into the furnace, and said, "Follow me!" He then led Wang Hong to the backyard.
In the backyard, rows of weapon racks displayed an array of weapons. Among them, Wang Hong saw over a dozen styles of long spears alone.
"Take a look first. Choose the style you like, and we'll tailor it to your measurements."
Wang Hong tried each type of spear. The large iron spear weighed over a hundred catties, and Wang Hong could barely handle it. The one with a white wood shaft felt too light.
Finally, he settled on an iron spear with a slender shaft, adorned with cloud patterns for both aesthetics and grip. The spearhead was leaf-shaped, eight inches long, with a red cherry blossom design extending a foot down. Its weight should be around thirty to forty catties.
Once Wang Hong made his choice, the blacksmith came over to measure his height, arm length, and other data.
Then, Wang Hong selected a well-crafted steel knife from the weapon rack, costing twenty-five taels of silver. Since the spear would take two months to forge, he also purchased the practice spear for forty taels of silver. He paid ten taels as a deposit. The silver he had just acquired was almost half spent.
Back at the academy, he immediately borrowed back the "Muscle-Tendon Changing and Marrow-Cleansing Technique."
Returning to his room, armed with several manuals, Wang Hong entered the space. Seeing the vibrant array of herbs, he decisively plucked them all.
He left only Ginseng, Lingzhi mushrooms, Astragalus, and five Fo-Ti Roots. Legend had it that the Fo-Ti Root, when a thousand years old, could turn into a human, and Wang Hong kept a few to see if they would grow into anything interesting.
He also kept a few ordinary detoxifying and healing herbs, as better alternatives had not been found yet. These would be useful in case of emergencies.
Then there was the raspberry plant. Wang Hong couldn't bear to pluck it. Both he and Younger Brother had a habit of eating snacks, so he decided to keep it as a snack.
The rice and wheat in the space were growing abnormally. Initially, they matured every five days, but now it took eight days, and the grains were as thick as a finger.
The total harvest was a few hundred catties, all stored in the space. Wang Hong didn't dare to take them out to sell, as they were vastly different from regular rice and wheat.
In the collective dormitory of the academy, it was inconvenient to cook and eat. Wang Hong also didn't know how they would taste when cooked.
Nevertheless, they had excellent visual appeal, with grains the size of fingertips, gleaming with a golden hue. When held in the hand, they felt substantial.
Peeling off the husk revealed crystal-clear white rice grains emitting a faint fragrance. Placing a raw grain in his mouth, Wang Hong chewed slowly, savoring the aromatic taste.
Wang Hong couldn't wait to find a secluded place and secretly cook some for consumption.
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