The Snake-Person Tribe's Technique Pavilion was situated within the grand temple complex.
Led by Hua She'er, Zhou Changqing arrived before it in no time. The pavilion didn't look particularly large, standing only three stories tall, and surprisingly, there wasn't a single guard in sight.
Zhou Changqing paid this no mind and moved to step inside.
Hua She'er did not follow. Even as the captain of the Queen's Guard, she was not permitted to enter and exit the Technique Pavilion at will. Only with the Queen's direct permission could she do so.
"Wait a moment."
Zhou Changqing paused and turned to look at Hua She'er, who was about to depart.
Hearing him, she spun around, her eyes blazing with fury. "What do you want now?!"
"Hehe, don't be so hostile."
Her anger rolled right off him. He simply smiled and said, "I might be in here for a while. So, I'll have to trouble you, little Hua, to make a trip to your tribe's treasury. Bring me every pill and treasure useful for someone at the Dou Ling realm."
"What? All the resources for a Dou Ling? Human, are you insane?!"
Hua She'er stared at him, dumbfounded, her expression one of utter disbelief. Even with the Queen's command, this request was beyond shameless.
The nerve of this man!
To demand all of her tribe's resources for the Dou Ling realm in a single breath. Even she, the captain of the guard, had never received such treatment when she was a Dou Ling! This was a privilege reserved for Queen Medusa alone!
"It makes no difference to me," Zhou Changqing said with a shrug. "If you're not afraid of your Queen's plans falling through, feel free not to go."
"Alright, that's settled then. I want to see the resources in half an hour. If they're not here by then, hehe..."
With a final, meaningful chuckle, he didn't linger, disappearing through the pavilion's main doors.
"Damn you!"
Veins pulsed on Hua She'er's pale neck. She felt her self-control about to snap. She stood rooted to the spot for several long minutes, forcing her rage down before finally turning to leave. Her path led directly toward the temple treasury.
Upon entering the Technique Pavilion, Zhou Changqing realized it was far more spacious than it appeared from the outside.
The first floor was lined with enormous bookshelves. These shelves were divided into countless square compartments, each holding a single scroll. A thin, transparent film covered each compartment, an obvious protective formation designed to safeguard the scrolls within.
His gaze swept over the shelves. He saw that each compartment was labeled with information about the scroll it contained, which made things much more convenient.
Approaching one of the bookshelves, Zhou Changqing began to examine the labels.
"Yellow-rank Low-tier Cultivation Method: Blazing Sun Energy."
"Yellow-rank Low-tier Cultivation Method: Corrosive Poison Scripture."
"Yellow-rank Low-tier Cultivation Method: ..."
After a quick look, he realized this entire shelf was dedicated to Yellow-rank low-tier cultivation methods. He quickly lost interest and moved on to the next one. This shelf, however, held not cultivation methods but Yellow-rank low-tier Dou Techniques. Although it was called the Technique Pavilion, it housed both. It was more practical than having separate buildings, which would not only increase the cost of construction and formations but also force cultivators to run back and forth.
Zhou Changqing browsed the first floor as if he were casually strolling through a market. Queen Medusa had promised him unrestricted access to the Snake-Person Tribe's entire collection of cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. He was in no hurry. He could take his time, even live here if he wanted, and he doubted Medusa would object. Since that was the case, he was determined to look through every single scroll. Even if these were just low-tier Yellow-rank techniques, who was to say he wouldn't find something that could help him improve his own cultivation method?
Half an hour later, aside from a brief interruption when Hua She'er returned to toss him a storage ring, Zhou Changqing remained engrossed in his reading.
The deeper one ventured into the Technique Pavilion, the higher the rank of the scrolls became. And the longer Zhou Changqing found himself lingering.
"So this is the human boy the Queen said was so important?"
"Aside from his decent talent, he seems to be just a pretty face."
"Ah, well. I'm just an old woman. My job is to guard the pavilion. The Queen has her reasons for everything."
Somewhere in a hidden corner of the pavilion, a pair of eyes observed Zhou Changqing. The observer muttered a few words to herself before vanishing as if she had never been there at all.
The days that followed were quite leisurely for Zhou Changqing.
His daily routine consisted of resting, forging a Tier 3 magic weapon, and immersing himself in the Technique Pavilion, devouring one cultivation method and Dou Technique after another. He even did his cultivation training inside.
The only downside was that the vast majority of the cultivation methods and Dou Techniques in the pavilion were of the Fire, Poison, and Earth attributes. The Snake-People lived in the desert, so the snake spirits infused into them through their secret arts were mostly of the Fire and Earth elements. Furthermore, as snake-type demonic beasts excelled at using venom, there were also numerous Poison-attribute techniques. This was a paradise for the Snake-People, but it was a bit of a struggle for Zhou Changqing. None of those three attributes aligned with his own.
Fortunately, while techniques suitable for him were rare, they were not nonexistent. After a great deal of searching, he managed to unearth a few Metal and Lightning attribute cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, all of which were Xuan-rank mid-tier.
And so, Zhou Changqing threw himself wholeheartedly into his studies, poring over the scrolls and practicing the Dou Techniques. Even while cultivating, he was constantly integrating his newfound knowledge, hoping to refine his Sky-Steel Quenching Scripture.
On this particular day, Zhou Changqing was cultivating in the Technique Pavilion as usual.
After swallowing a pill that accelerated the circulation of a Dou Ling's Dou Qi, he continuously absorbed the energy of the world, refining it into his own. Inside his Dantian, two of the sharp spikes on his sea urchin-like Dou Crystal had already vanished, leaving only seven.
When his cultivation session ended, Zhou Changqing opened his eyes, feeling the surging Dou Qi within him with satisfaction.
Three months had passed since his arrival at the Serpentine Holy City. In that time, supported by the vast resources of the Snake-Person Tribe, his cultivation speed as a Dou Ling was only slightly slower than when he was a Da Dou Shi.
Refining two of the spikes on his Dou Crystal meant he had now reached the level of a three-star Dou Ling. Advancing two stars in three months was by no means slow. His physical body, however, had seen only minor improvements, merely stabilizing at the level of a one-star Dou Ling.
Zhou Changqing found himself missing the days of cultivating with lightning. If he could draw lightning to temper his body, supplemented by these pills and resources, his cultivation speed would surely jump to another level, and his physical strength would soar dramatically.
"I wonder when I'll be able to leave this place. This damned desert weather… not a single thunderstorm."
He grumbled to himself before standing up and heading for the stairs.
During this period, he had read nearly every cultivation method and Dou Technique in the pavilion. While he hadn't practiced them all, his foundational knowledge had grown immensely. A general plan for improving the Sky-Steel Quenching Scripture had already taken shape in his mind.
He was confident that it wouldn't be long before he successfully refined the scripture, raising it from its Xuan-rank low-tier by at least one level, perhaps even more.
Following the staircase, Zhou Changqing ascended to the third floor of the pavilion. He had already gone through everything on the first and second floors. There was no need to look at them again. Today, he would see what the third floor had to offer.