The Library Pavilion of the Chu Family is located deep within the mansion. As one of the Five Great Families in Liuyun City, the Library Pavilion of the Chu Family has a pretty decent setup.
A square stone-built tower, with dozens of Chu Family guards standing motionless around the pavilion, among whom two stood by the door, their strength looking not particularly low. This was Lin Feng's first thought upon seeing them.
"Second Young Master!"
When Lin Feng arrived at the entrance of the Library Pavilion, the two guards at the door greeted him with a lukewarm attitude. Lin Feng nodded, preparing to enter the Library Pavilion directly.
"Second Young Master, please present a hand decree or token!" One of the guards stopped Lin Feng and said.
Lin Feng took out the token given to him by Chu Yuanba from his body and smiled, "Take a good look, this token was given by my father. Can I go in now?"
After the guard took the token and examined it carefully, he said, "The token is genuine, Second Young Master, please!" Then he returned the token to Lin Feng.
Lin Feng entered the Library Pavilion under their puzzled expressions.
"Huh? Why is the Second Young Master here at the Library Pavilion? Is he here to choose a martial skill?"
"Indeed, without reaching the Third Level of Black Tortoise Realm, one cannot cultivate martial skills. Did he break through? I remember he has been stuck at the First-Layer Black Tortoise Realm for two years now."
"Perhaps he recently had an epiphany. Since he has the token, we have no choice but to let him in!"
"No worries, let's focus on our post. Let's do our jobs well; otherwise, if someone finds out we were chatting idly, we're bound to get scolded again!"
After exchanging a few words, the two guards resumed their motionless stance.
Upon entering the Library Pavilion, the first thing that caught Lin Feng's eye was a bookshelf with many books on it. He knew some of these were martial skills, while others were informational books.
The Library Pavilion has two floors. The first floor generally houses the lowest grade martial skills, like Lin Hai's Cloud-Dispelling Palm chosen here. The contents on the second floor are much better, but getting to the second floor isn't so easy.
Without the strength of the Sixth Level of Black Tortoise Realm, one cannot reach the second floor. At the entrance between the first and second floors, there is a power button. To enter the second floor, one must activate this power button.
The method is clearly written beside the power button. It requires sufficient Star Power to blast the power button, and the door to the second floor will open automatically. There's a sentence that clearly warns many disciples not to try easily.
"Those without Sixth Level of Black Tortoise Realm strength must not blast the power button. Its rebound force is immense, and the consequences of injury are one's own responsibility."
Lin Feng really wanted to see the second floor, but unfortunately, he wasn't at the Sixth Level of the Black Tortoise Realm. Plus, after his fight with Lin Hai earlier, the Star Power in his dantian had long vanished.
"Boy, don't rush. First, see if there's a suitable martial skill on this floor. When you've mastered one, it won't be too late to go to the second floor. Although these martial skills are garbage, they're very useful for you now." Sword Spirit's voice suddenly emerged in his mind.
Lin Feng was pondering how to get to the second floor when Sword Spirit's voice startled him, "Darn it, could you give me a heads-up next time?"
"Not interested. I will appear naturally when the time is right." Sword Spirit was not angry and understood Lin Feng's personality well.
"Let me see, how long do you plan on talking to me today?" Lin Feng asked, always curious why Sword Spirit appeared in his mind.
"Boy, I know what you're thinking very clearly. There's a reason I chose you. Being able to appear in your mind is a tremendous blessing.
It's not the right time to tell you these things now. It would only give you mental pressure. Just remember I'm doing this for your good! Without any compensation!"
Sword Spirit directly expressed Lin Feng's thoughts, leaving him standing by the bookshelf, dumbfounded for quite some time.
Although there were quite a few books on the shelf, there were not many actual martial arts manuals. After searching for a while, Lin Feng only found about ten martial arts manuals, all of Lower Grade Yellow Tier, including the Cloud-Dispelling Palm practiced by Lin Hai.
Lin Feng considered the power of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm to be mediocre and unnecessary to practice. After much deliberation, he finally chose a finger technique martial skill called Phantom Finger.
The reason for choosing this martial skill was because a line on it attracted him: Phantom Finger operates silently, and when mastered, has an earth-shattering effect.
Being able to shatter the earth must mean great power, especially its silent nature, which is most suitable for him. Striking with Phantom Finger when others are unaware leaves them no defense, making it the best martial skill for sneak attacks.
The martial arts manuals in the Library Pavilion cannot be taken away. One can only memorize them. Lin Feng, being intelligent, memorized its content after reading it twice, though not a photographic memory-like genius, it was rare.
After memorizing the martial arts techniques of Phantom Finger, Lin Feng left the Library Pavilion satisfied. Without Star Power, he couldn't reach the second floor, so it was wise to go back and train in this Phantom Finger.
The two guards who saw him leave were puzzled, "How come this waste left so soon after entering. Did he already choose a martial skill?"
"Why don't you think it through? There are only so many martial skills on the first floor. He doesn't have the strength to go to the second floor. Do you think memorizing a martial arts technique takes no time?
Even those with excellent talent can't complete it without spending a full hour. I suspect he mostly retreated after finding it difficult."
Lin Feng ignored the guards' words, directly closed the door of his room, eager to practice this Phantom Finger, feeling incredibly excited as it's his first time studying a martial skill.
Practicing Phantom Finger was very simple for Lin Feng. Just after memorizing the martial arts techniques, he felt as if he could already perform it, with an innate understanding.
Phantom Finger is essentially about channeling the spiritual power or Star Power within the body to the fingertip and shooting it out instantly, like a hidden arrow that injures secretly.
It seems simple but is extremely difficult to execute. Although a Lower Grade Yellow Tier martial skill, many family disciples cannot accomplish it.
While channeling the spiritual power or Star Power into the fingertip is easy, releasing it is the difficult part.
Even among those who succeed, the power of Phantom Finger is pitifully small, having nothing to do with the earth-shattering phrase, rendering it a useless martial skill.
According to the martial arts techniques recorded in his mind, Lin Feng quickly channeled his spiritual power into his fingertip, his heart spirit moved as he repeatedly pointed his finger.
Invisible finger forces shot towards the table but with little power, merely leaving shallow marks.
"How could this be? Is it the insufficient spiritual power that prevents Phantom Finger from wielding its power, or am I arrogantly missing a method?" Lin Feng pondered, seeing the shallow marks.
"Boy, don't be ungrateful. You should be proud of achieving this on your first practice. Others might take days, even months, to reach this point." Sword Spirit spoke in Lin Feng's mind.
"Don't comfort me. What's the use of such attack power? I know you have a way. Quickly tell me, as I need to boost my strength, and I must master this martial skill!"
Sword Spirit gave Lin Feng an impression of being omniscient, seeming to know everything.
"Knew you'd say that. Any benefits?"
"Benefits? What the heck! Talking conditions with me, don't you want me to be strong?" Lin Feng roared.
"You win!" Sword Spirit was speechless, encountering Lin Feng, a complete tightwad, he resigned to fate.
"To practice martial skills, there are two general types: spiritual power attacks and Star Power attacks. As long as the spiritual power is strong enough, even Yellow Tier skills can exhibit Profound Tier or Earth Tier attack power.
However, using spiritual power to execute martial skills is hugely consuming, and generally people choose not to use spiritual power."