Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 128 part 2. Hope you'll enjoy it!
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Before he had much time to think, Demian and his group arrived at a book stand where Wang explained. "This is the Library's Search Artifact. As the name implies, it's used to find the information you need. One of you, Young Lord and ladies, can simply insert your Identity Token inside." Before any of the other three had the time to even say anything, Seraphine moved from Demian's side to face the Artifact, her Token appearing in her hand before she pressed it against the indentation. Seeing her so impatient brought an amused smile to the rest of the family, but none reproached her. Instead, they all focused their gaze on the token, waiting for a reaction. Disappointingly, nothing happened, bringing a wave of confusion to the three's hearts. Unlike them, however, Seraphine's grey eyes widened in awe, the reason only known to her and Wang. The latter, seeing the confusion on their faces, simply instructed the young elven woman. "Young Lady, if you could enable the 'External Viewing' options, so that we can all see what you're seeing right now." Indeed, the token being connected to her Essence Signature meant that, if she did not allow them, none of them could check what the token contained, similar to those encrypted applications on Mortals' smartphones, though the former's 'security' was worlds apart from the latter. In any case, Seraphine promptly followed his suggestion, activating the option in question, allowing the rest to use their Soul Senses to peruse the list she was browsing previously, though she made sure that anything else was still restricted.
When Demian used his Soul Sense to scan the token, he found himself in front of a list with many different themes, such as History, Geography, etc. "If you don't mind, Young Lady, I'll show you how it works." Seeing her nod her head, Wang explained. "Although it seems simple on the surface, because of the uncountable number of pieces of work available at the Library, everything is divided into Main Themes, Secondary Themes, Tertiary Themes, etc. To give you an example, let's say you want to learn about the History behind Bright Star City. You have multiple options, but let's pick History. From there, Locations, Federation, Inner Islands, Bright Star Island, and finally Bright Star City. Once you're there, just choose 'Create List' and you'll be able to see every work related to those themes." As the man went through his explanation, the words in front of them kept changing until a new list appeared, this time with the name of each work and a combination of numbers and letters. "From there, simply use the option 'Save' for each work you want to browse through and remove your Token from the indentation." Tilting her head slightly, Seraphine asked. "How will we get the information? Will it appear in our Identity Token or something?" Shaking his head, Wang replied. "No. Once you 'saved' your choices, or more specifically that set of numbers and letters, you simply have to go to the front desk and they'll give you the matching Information Jades. From there, you can either stay in one of the many empty rooms in the Library to read them, or you can leave with them. Just remember that, unless you have special permission, only by using your specific Token will you be able to view their content, and that includes the 'External Viewing' options. It's another common protection mechanism that most Forces use aside from Soul Contracts." Pausing for a second, he suggested. "Now that we're here, Young Lord and Ladies, should choose a few jades to bring back to the Mansion. Then we can choose a room and we'll wait for the Lady, though I doubt we'll have to wait much longer."
As if his words were prophetic, a familiar voice reached their ears, its tone slightly playful. "Xiao Xiong, you're still as perceptive as usual." Turning back toward the voice's owner, the group saw Feng Ling walking leisurely in their direction, her attractive face adorned with a satisfied smile, and her clothes as pristine as when she left. With a grateful expression on his face, Wang bowed deeply while replying. "It's not that I'm perceptive, but instead it's because the Lady's strength is so overwhelming that dealing with someone at the same level is merely child's play." Giggling at his praise, she said. "Well, you're not wrong about that. Also, why are you even bowing like that? Didn't I tell you many times that I don't need you to bow for every little thing? I swear, Yue'er and Xiao Ling are really bad influences on all of you!" Hearing her words, Wang coughed slightly in embarrassment before explaining. "It's just my way of thanking the Lady for your saving grace. If it wasn't..." Before he could continue, she gestured to cut him off, her expression turning irritated. "I know you're grateful, but you don't have to be. It's because of my husband and me that all of you were implicated, so saving you was a given. Sergei and I never thought of you guys as expendables, after all. Just keep doing your job well and strive to grow your cultivation, and if you do that, we'll be considered even."
Though the man stopped speaking, only he knew what was on his mind. As for the other three guards present, they all kept silent, their gazes vigilantly scanning for threats as they had been doing since they left the estate, but they were still attentive to the conversation between the two. Though none of them said anything previously, the recent event did hurt their confidence. After all, they were supposed to guard the Young Lord and Ladies, but not only were they pretty much toyed with by that female Captain, but the Lady also had to come herself to save them. As guards, if their own Lord/Lady had to save his/her guards all the time, then what use were they? Thus, hearing that not only was their Lady not angry at them, but also apologized for implicating them, only increased their resolve to enhance their cultivation as much and as quickly as possible. The Core Formation Rank was uncertain, but reaching the Peak Foundation Building level was doable thanks to the Peak Quality cultivation Pills they had access to every month, all refined by the Lady. While the four guards' motivation to cultivate was shooting through the roof, Seraphine questioned. "Teacher, where did you go? And what happened to that woman?" Turning her eyes to her student, a playful smile appeared on the older woman's face before she answered. "Let's just say that, unless she finds a few Tier 4 Healing Pills or receives the help of a King-Grade Healer, it might take her a few years to walk again." Thinking about that arrogant woman's current state, Ling let out a few giggles before she added. "As for where we went. Well, the destructive potential of Core Formation cultivators is too high, so they're not allowed to fight in the City. After all, one offensive Spell from a Low Core Formation cultivator is enough to flatten a small-sized Mortal town, let alone a Peak Core Formation cultivator like that woman who can do the same to a Mortal City. So, if you want to spar or even fight to the death, you need to ask for the authorities' authorization, and then you'll be teleported to an empty Secret Realm made for the occasion. There, you can let loose a much as you want, it won't have any effect on the City itself."
Listening to the woman's words brought a question to Demian's mind, who immediately asked. "Aunt Ling, you said 'Peak Core Formation cultivators like that woman'... How about you? How much stronger are you compared to her?" Unlike the past when she fended off the question with answers such as 'you'll see in the future', or 'I'd rather keep it as a surprise', this time she provided a genuine, though slightly vague answer. "If you're talking about direct destructive power, I'm a bit weaker than your teacher because of my Elemental affinities, though I'm still multiple times stronger than that woman. But destructive power is only one aspect of combat power at my level, and your Void Comprehension is much more important. Well, once you reach the Core Formation Rank, you'll probably touch on that." As something came to her mind, she added, this time with some hesitation and a strange look on her face. "Actually, since you're so 'peculiar', who knows if you can actually achieve it at Peak Foundation Building..." The following silence, coupled with the woman's stare, made the young man uncomfortable, prompting him to fake a cough before commenting. "That's something for the future. Anyway, should we leave right now?" The strange expression on the woman's face swiftly disappeared as she replied. "You're right. But whatever the case, it's a good thing. By the way, before we leave, did you borrow any Jade?" Shaking their heads, it was Seraphine who explained. "You arrived just before we were about to, Teacher." With an 'as expected' expression on her face, Ling instructed. "Since we're already here, it'd be a waste if we left without anything. Just choose a few books you're interested in and don't hesitate to use the Contribution Points we transferred to your Token."
Indeed, even though each of their Tokens was the Civilian Type, they still had the Contribution Point Function, pretty much the equivalent of a Bank Account for cultivators. Of course, one could still pay in Spirit Stones, which served as both cash and Bank reserve for the Federation's Central Bank. However, paying through contributions not only gave access to more Items and knowledge, but the prices were also slightly lower. There were two reasons behind that situation: The first was money centralization, giving the authorities an overwhelming control over their citizens. Want to buy forbidden items? Purchase refused! Want to disrupt social harmony by fomenting a rebellion? Bank Account frozen! Now, whether those means were always used fairly was another debate. However, it was a fact that it participated in the creation of a relatively peaceful environment for most citizens to grow, despite having a bloodthirsty Demon Beast Force dying to devour everyone in the Federation, as their northern neighbors. As for the second reason, it had to do with the Military side.
Indeed, Spirit Stones, besides being used as currency, also worked as power banks for Formation and certain Items, such as Spirit Cannon, to mention only two of them. Thus, having a massive reserve of Spirit Stones was essential for the Federation's combat strength, and that was the argument they used to counter any person who criticized the contribution system as authoritarian. Want freedom? Sure! You can go fight those Demon Beasts on the border, then. Since the most vocal critics were usually those with the least courage, it was no wonder that no one took them seriously. As for those who truly 'walked the talk'? Well, a few months-long or years-long trip to the border would usually do the trick. After all, it was not the safe Mortal world, but the cruel Cultivation World, where if you were unlucky and lacked strength, you could be eaten by a Demon Beast, refined alive by Demon Cultivators, have your soul refined into a puppet for millennia, etc. The only way that one could be truly free was to stand at the Peak of the Cultivation World through one's strength, something Demian and the other three were realizing even more deeply as time passed by, especially after what happened less than an hour ago...
However, all was not doom and gloom, since the four had (or would soon have) access to the young man's Perk, so it was only a matter of time before they stood at the metaphorical top of this world, or even transcend the Immortal Tribulation and ascend to the Immortal World. While many thoughts traversed Demian's mind, he absentmindedly browsed the list of work available at the library, having trouble choosing among the endless ocean of Jades present there. Fortunately, this visit was not a one-time thing, so, after half an hour, he finally decided on a dozen Jades, with all of them broaching topics commonly known for native citizens, such as 'Federation's 40,000 years of History' or 'Demon Beasts and their characteristics'. Well, Sergei, his teacher, did provide him with a few General Topic Jades, but the young man found them a bit lacking and wanted to dive deeper into those subjects. After all, having a perfect memory and genius-level comprehension, wouldn't it be a waste not to learn more? Having made his decision, he found that Sera and Bryn were already done with their own 'browsing', though Liya was still focused on her own Searching Artifact, an indecisive look plastered on her face. It was only when Ling remarked playfully that it disappeared. "Sister Liya, just pick a few this time, and we'll come back for more once you're done with them." Hearing those words, Adeliya's expression turned apologetic, and five minutes later, she was done choosing. Seeing everyone ready, Ling instructed. "Let's get those Jade from the Counter and leave." Ten minutes later, the group was finally back on the Wisdom Tide Plaza, with each of their Void Rings containing around a dozen new Jades, though Liya did skew the average since she had more than thirty herself. That was a former medicine student for you!
Seeing the satisfied look on their faces, Ling exclaimed with a grin. "Now that the boring part is over, let's go somewhere a bit more exciting!"