Cultivation Nerd

Xin Ma hated his job as a librarian since there was never an opportunity to achieve anything. But there were times when a position like this, which always required him to stay in the library, was useful.

For example, now was a good time since the war front was an absolute disaster, and he was not part of it due to handling the library's arrays.

Xin Ma liked killing monstrous beasts as much as the next fellow cultivator, but he wouldn't risk his life recklessly. There were rumors that every attack against a city was led by at least one Foundation Establishment monstrous beast, and their armies were large and organized. Rumors also said that most monstrous beast armies that took down cities had a strategic leader guiding them, and foreign beasts not native to the lands were among the attackers. People were unfamiliar with dealing with them.

He tapped his finger against the library counter. No new outer disciples had come in for a few days, which was good news.

If it were some decades ago, Xin Ma would have cared and felt sorry for the naive youngsters who went out to fight battles they had no part in. But by now, the old librarian had grown desensitized to it. This was part of a cultivator's life.

There was only one outer disciple he really cared about, and that was Liu Feng.

He hadn't heard anything from the brat, which was quite worrying. Well, perhaps not so worrying, as Liu Feng wasn't the kind of person who would send letters or anything like that.

From what Xin Ma had gathered, Liu Feng was liked by Song Song. As long as he stayed by her side, she would protect what was hers.

The Song Clan was among the most ruthless, not just to others but also to themselves. However, when they found someone useful, they kept them close. That was how Song Song's father, the current leader of the Song Clan, kept his position primarily due to his many wives. Though there were some rumors about the man...

Xin Ma shook his head, dismissing his thoughts about inner sect politics. He was no longer involved with that and just hoped Liu Feng would come back alive.

A kid like that dying would be a shame. Liu Feng had already become part of his routine. Without him around, the old goat was even grumpier than usual. It wasn't the same without the brat around to argue with Shan Sha about stupid things and then laugh it off the next second.

Just as he thought of Shan Sha, the old man appeared like the devil summoned by his thoughts. Someone came in from the front of the library. He was shorter than most young cultivators and used a cane to walk.

Xin Ma turned toward the old man, expecting him to be grumpy as always. But instead, he saw a smiling old man that looked nothing like his expectations. The old goat had a broad smile, showing some of the few yellow teeth he had left.

Why was he so happy all of a sudden?

The old man was carrying a thick book. As he approached the librarian's counter, he asked, "Have you seen the new encyclopedia?"

"No," Xin Ma raised a questioning brow.

Encyclopedias were usually thick books by the Alchemist Tower detailing which plants were poisonous, which ingredients were precious, and what the Alchemist Tower would pay for them.

Was there a new version of it? Even if there was, why would the old guy be so excited? Perhaps he had some rare herbs he had held onto for decades that might earn him some spirit stones. But then again, the old guy didn't care and had no use for spirit stones.

Without saying anything more, the old man reached the counter and put the thick book he was carrying in front of the librarian. The book landed with a loud thud, causing it to open on some random pages.

The page it landed on featured a drawing of a weird humanoid tiger monstrous beast, with its characteristics, weaknesses, and abilities written down. However, the detailed drawing stood out the most.

Curiosity got the better of Xin Ma as the old man dragged a chair from a nearby table. Scrolling through the book, he noticed that some monstrous beasts had detailed anatomy charts explaining numerous things.

"This book has been spreading like wildfire through the cities," explained Shan Sha as he finally got the chair close to the counter and sat down. "We finally got our hands on one. An inner elder came to give this to you but met me on the way here. The elders are in short supply since they're being sent to the war front, so he quickly handed the book to me and flew away on a flying sword."

Xin Ma closed the book, got a better look at the cover, and read the title, "A Monstrous Beast Encyclopedia... by Liu Feng?"

That last part finally got a reaction out of him as his eyes widened. At first, he felt relieved as this book meant the brat was not in danger. Second, Liu Feng would be valuable enough that he wouldn't be put on the front lines in danger.

Slowly, a smile made its way onto Xin Ma's stone-like face. "That brat is always getting into weird things like this."

Shan Sha laughed. "Right? That was the same thought I had. Who goes to defend against a monstrous beast army, and their first thought is to write a book!"

Liu Feng's mind always worked in mysterious ways. As far as Xin Ma could remember, the youngster was always strange.

Usually, a cultivator faced with a stronger adversary would try to find a stronger martial technique, call a more powerful cultivator for assistance, or work harder to increase their cultivation. However, for some reason, Liu Feng created an encyclopedia of monsters, detailing how to deal with them and their weaknesses.

"What a weird kid..." Xin Ma said, his smile widening.

"At least he is somewhat smart," the old man nodded. "Though it is a shame, after all the times I helped him with his studying, he did not even put my name in the book."

The librarian stared at the old goat and asked, "Really?"

"What?" Shan Sha frowned.

The old man had not helped Liu Feng with any kind of studying. Their arguments more often than not likely hindered the kid.

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How shameless could this old man be to ask for credit for something he didn't help with at all?

********

Hu Jin stared into the distance at the towering walls behind him as he embarked on another scouting expedition for Red Lotus Town.

When sent to fight, he thought his days would be filled with constant combat and danger. However, since Red Lotus Town was so close to the Sect, they usually had a Foundation Establishment Elder keeping an eye on things.

As he ventured further away from the town, Hu Jin officially began his scouting mission.

"Do not let your guard down," an elderly voice emanated from his coin. "The whole of Red Lotus Town has been tense recently, and you are too low-ranked for anyone to tell you anything."

Hu Jin wanted to refute that, but in the end, he nodded and understood where his master was coming from. "Yes, I know. But I am already at nine-star Body Tempering. As soon as I begin sensing Qi, I can break through to the next level, and nobody will look down on me."

Though Red Lotus Town was not far from the Blazing Sun Sect, Hu Jin still saw multiple skirmishes between humans and monstrous beasts. He had lost some new friends he had made and was no longer the same reckless young man he once was. War had caused him to mature, and the thought of a full-blown battle sent chills down his spine.

But despite his feelings, the only thing he could do was train hard and consume the pills his master made for him. Sadly, his spiritual roots were still in poor condition, and breaking into Qi Gathering would not be easy.

As they traversed fields and passed an array of hills, Hu Jin finally ended up in a thick forest with giant trees many times the size of normal ones. His mission was to find monstrous beasts and detect any approaching army. However, he wasn't the only one with this mandatory mission; every Body Tempering disciple had it too.

Walking further into the forest, the air grew chillier as the taller trees cast prominent shadows. It was the middle of winter, and some frozen spots dotted the lower trunks of the trees.

Though it hadn't started snowing yet, it could begin any moment. But Hu Jin was not worried about the weather right now. Instead, he asked his master, "Do you sense anything nearby?"

"There seems to be something a couple of hundred meters to the left," the old cultivator replied. "Be careful; my senses are dulled when I'm in the coin. Though I doubt anything below Nascent Soul Cultivators would escape my senses, this world has many strange powers."

Hu Jin changed direction and headed toward the area where his master had sensed something. As he approached, the forest trees grew thinner. In some cases, they were entangled enough to form a roof over the forest, allowing very little sunlight to pass through.

When Hu Jin reached the location, he stopped about two dozen feet away as he saw what his master had sensed.

The creature was a monstrous beast resembling a tiger, but it was much larger, and instead of a tiger's tail, it had a snake.

Hu Jin was lucky as the monstrous beast softly snored and lay down. Despite its harmless position, he felt the danger in the air and knew that fighting this creature could end badly. He quickly abandoned the idea of confrontation and planned to report the beast to the town so someone else could handle it.

He turned around to leave when his master interrupted him, "Where do you think you're going?"

"What? I'm not going to fight something so dangerous for nothing."

"Look behind the monstrous beast," his master pointed out.

Behind the monstrous beast, there was a sunflower-looking herb with a crimson gem in the middle instead of sunflower seeds.

"Stop staring and take out your monstrous beast encyclopedia, and see if it has any weaknesses," his master advised.

Hu Jin complied, using his newly acquired storage ring to take out the thick book. This encyclopedia was given to all front-line cultivators, and reading it was mandatory.

"How are we supposed to find the species of this guy among thousands of other monstrous beasts recorded here?" Hu Jin grumbled but flipped through the pictures, looking for anything resembling a tiger.

Surprisingly, it didn't take as long as he had feared. This kind of monstrous beast was relatively early in the encyclopedia.

"Sharp-Toothed Snake-Tailed Tiger," he read. "It sleeps close to rare treasure-like herbs. Very dangerous and can often fight above its level. Be careful of its snake-like tail, as it has advanced sensory abilities and is known to use trickery. If a battle is imminent, the attacker should aim for the tail."

Hu Jin skimmed the rest. Though books bored him, this one was crucial as his master had pointed out. He noticed some bold lettering warning about the beast's danger.

"What can this flower even do?" Hu Jin frowned.

"I like the way it looks," his master said.

"What? You want me to risk my life for your leisure?"

"I'm just joking, you fool," the old cultivator shook his head, manifesting in his ghostly form next to Hu Jin. "That thing is called a Sun Ruby. It improves the efficiency of spiritual roots."

Hu Jin was confused, having no idea what improving the efficiency of spiritual roots even meant. His master sighed at Hu Jin's perplexed expression and began to explain.

"Spiritual roots are, at their core, an organ. Think of them like muscles that have never been used since birth. Even the most talented people usually enter Qi Gathering at fifteen years old. Their bodies have to adapt to the process, and there are physical limitations a child can't surpass," the old cultivator explained.

Hu Jin still looked confused. His education was limited to reading and understanding books about martial techniques. He never cared about anything else.

Noticing his protege's distraction, the old cultivator sighed and grumbled under his breath, "Why did I get stuck with an uneducated farmer from the middle of nowhere with a no-name clan? He doesn't even know the basics!"

"Hey!" Hu Jin protested. "I can hear you perfectly well, you old bastard. No need to be so rude!"

The master sighed, ignoring Hu Jin's comment, and continued his explanation. "Alright, let me simplify this for your shovel-swinging brain. Think of an unused shovel left in the rain; it would eventually rust. But this Sun Ruby here can remove that rust, allowing for better digging!"

"Oh, so it increases my talent?" Hu Jin inquired. He understood his master's point but wanted to provoke the old cultivator.

"No! Improving efficiency in cultivation doesn't mean you get a second shovel. It means the rust is off the first one, and now you can work more efficiently with it," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "This 'rust' can go away naturally as one cultivates, but it can take up to a decade for that to happen as spiritual roots get used to absorbing and filtering Qi. By then, some talented people might even reach Foundation Establishment. Make no mistake, all the big clans and sects have their people take medicine to deal with this problem. While this plant might be rare, powerful people have their own resources for these things."

His teacher always went on rants like this when he was annoyed, and from experience, Hu Jin knew he wouldn't stop anytime soon.

"Of course, there are rare cases like those with Extreme Physiques or certain types of Otherworldly Devils that are born able to sense Qi," the old cultivator frowned and looked at the sky.

"Otherworldly devils?" Hu Jin asked, having never heard the term.

Instead of answering him, his master stared at the sky and his frown deepened. He closed his eyes and opened them again.

"Forget the Sun Ruby flower," the old master said, returning to the coin in Hu Jin's pocket. "Return to the town as quickly as possible!"

"What?"

"Shut the hell up and get back to town!" his master yelled.

This was unlike his usual master; he seemed genuinely worried. So Hu Jin quickly turned and began using an Earth Grade Technique, flashing through the forest at breakneck speeds.

As he moved at top speed, reaching the grass fields outside the forest didn't take long. That was when he saw something on the opposite side of the forest and understood why his master was worried.

A dark cloud in the distance blocked the sun, suddenly making the day feel like night. Among the dark clouds was a giant serpent with a scar running along its titan-sized body.

The same monstrous beast had troubled him when they joined the Blazing Sun Sect and attacked the flying ships.

But that wasn't all; following the monstrous beast was an army of flying creatures, and based on the shaking ground, there were also ground troops.

"Retreat immediately, and stop gawking like an idiot," his master said. Usually, his insults were jests, but this time he was serious. "That is not an army meant to handle a town. It seems like the monstrous beasts are planning to massacre all humans and turn the Western Continent into a zone of monstrous beasts, just like they did with the central continent!"

Hu Jin's heart dropped at this. He immediately used the fastest Earth Grade Technique he knew and shot toward Red Lotus Town like an arrow.