Scripture of Days Past

Lin Lan’s eyes were practically glowing with admiration as she praised him, ”You’re incredible, Brother Chu! The ideas you come up with are completely beyond me!”

”None of that really matters to me,” Chu Qiguang said with a sigh. ”Compared to all of that, my true dream is actually to become a historian and study the histories of all past empires and religions. I want to examine the mistakes we humans have made throughout history so I can use the knowledge to benefit the people of the present day. That is my true calling.”

Lin Lan was stunned into silence by Chu Qiguang’s lofty ambitions, and she couldn’t help but feel ashamed of her own narrow-minded world view.

”But studying history is a very dangerous endeavor,” she sighed. ”The secrets of history often contain twisted, evil, and deranged power. The more you come into contact with this cursed knowledge, the more vulnerable you become to demonification.”

Instead of directly addressing Lin Lan’s concerns, Chu Qiguang told her another story.

”When I was twelve years old, I once passed by Plum Mountain and saw people burning lime there. They roasted rocks over blazing flames and turned them into white lime powder. I found that quite intriguing, so that memory has stayed with me all these years. Looking back now, I think I was inspired by him. If my efforts can bring benefit and be of use to the masses, then I would gladly allow myself to be incinerated and ground into powder, just like those rocks.”

Lin Lan was overwhelmed by his selfless declaration, and for a moment, she was stunned into silence.

Chu Qiguang caught a glimpse of her awestruck expression out of the corner of his eye and thought to himself, I’ve got her right where I want her! She should be willing to bring me books from the second floor now.

There were no longer any books on the first floor that interested the Ring of Ignorance, so he had turned his attention to the second floor.

However, it seemed that the books on the second floor really were far more dangerous than their first-floor counterparts. Neither the gatekeeper nor the lecturers were even willing to consider his request to access them.

In the face of Chu Qiguang’s relentless nagging, they finally relented slightly, telling him that he would be allowed to go up to the second floor if he could fulfill three prerequisites.

First, he had to be able to activate the Demon Vanquishing Talisman to at least the same extent as Jiang Longyu and Li He. Second, he had to become a fifth-state martial artist. Third, he had to secure approval from Head Instructor Zhong Shan’e.

The first condition was one that Chu Qiguang would never be able to meet, as he simply couldn’t bring himself to believe in the Profound Origin Dao Lord.

As for the second condition, he had already fulfilled it, but he didn’t dare to reveal that. Otherwise, he would surely land himself in serious trouble if it were discovered that he was a fifteen-year-old fifth-state martial artist who didn’t believe in the Profound Origin Dao Lord.

The third condition was even more troublesome. Zhong Shan’e had only appeared on Jade Face Mountain over the past month, and that was when he came to address all of the trainees on the second day. Chu Qiguang had no idea when he would even get to see Zhong Shan’e again, let alone secure his approval to go up to the second floor.

Thus, Chu Qiguang had already decided that trying to access the second floor through conventional means was unfeasible, which was why he was trying to get closer to Lin Lan instead.

Clearly, his plan was working. That night, Lin Lan didn’t retreat into the darkness as she normally did. Instead, she sat down beside Chu Qiguang and kept him company while he read. The more she looked at him, the more she felt that there was a special kind of allure and charisma about him.

The book that Chu Qiguang was currently reading was called the Imperial Heavenly Blessing Journal. It detailed some historical events surrounding the Imperial Heavenly Dao over two hundred and fifty years ago, back when dragons reigned supreme over the central plains.

Even though there were no longer any books on the first floor that caught the Ring of Ignorance’s interest, Chu Qiguang was still eager to read other books to see if he could find any leads on the Purple Mansion Sacred Scripture.

***

According to ancient legends, the earliest propagator of the Imperial Heavenly Dao came from a yellow dragon.

Once humans also became followers of the Imperial Heavenly Dao, more and more people began to worship dragons.

Ever since ancient times, dragons had always been seen as the envoys of the gods.

When the dragons from the Eastern Sea descended upon the central plains, some of the followers of the Imperial Heavenly Dao chose to follow them.

However, eventually, the actions of the dragons became so deplorable that even their followers could no longer tolerate them.

***

Initially, the Imperial Heavenly Dao had supported the dragon race in their conquest of the central plains, only to later turn against the dragons and resist their tyrannical rule.

One detail in the book stood out to Chu Qiguang in particular. The dragons had once ordered the Imperial Heavenly Dao to search for a scripture with a name that couldn’t be spoken.

The dragons ruled over their followers through fear and slaughter, but in the end, it seemed they never found what they wanted.

After closing the book, Chu Qiguang suddenly thought of the Profound Origin Dao Lord and the unsettling effects of the Demon Vanquishing Talisman. He couldn’t help but wonder what the Profound Origin Dao Lord truly thought of humans. Humans always longed for a deity who loved them unconditionally and treated them with benevolence, but did the gods above truly love humans?

Before long, it was already closing time. Chu Qiguang could still feel a burning sensation from his Ring of Ignorance, urging him to go up to the second floor in pursuit of new knowledge.

After Chu Qiguang left the archive building, the gatekeeper’s voice rang out from within the darkness.

”Smooth-talking men are always heart-breakers. Make sure you don’t fall for his tricks,” he warned.

”Brother Chu is not some smooth-talking fraud,” Lin Lan disagreed. ”He’s a man with lofty aspirations who has the interests of the people at heart.”

”Those who constantly talk about making the world a better place are either pretentious charlatans or too ambitious for their own good,” the gatekeeper harrumphed. ”Neither type is someone you should become romantically involved with.”

”What’re you talking about?” Lin Lan exclaimed, sounding flustered. ”I admire Brother Chu, but that’s the extent of my feelings toward him. Besides, how could a brilliant man like him possibly develop romantic feelings for me?”

”I’m just warning you not to do anything rash,” the gatekeeper said. ”He’s only trying to use you to get to the books on the second floor, but if you bring him those books, you’ll be the death of him.”