Library of Heaven’s Path 2: Eternal Destiny

Vol 2 Ch 6: Xuanlong Palm

Such performances are everywhere along the way.

At this moment, many students saw Zhang Xuan and reacted as if they had encountered their crush in high school, displaying various strange behaviors under the impulse of hormones. To outsiders, it seemed odd, but to them, it felt just fine...

"Young Master, why not take on a few more disciples?" Sun Qiang smiled.

"Forget it. Once I take on disciples, I must ensure their safety..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

According to the news from Master Kong, the Destiny Hall is not friendly to those like them who ascend. Once their identities are exposed, the more disciples they take on, the more trouble they will encounter, and they might drag them down.

It’s better to refuse decisively from the start than to face problems later.

"That's true!" Sun Qiang nodded.

The Xuanlong Pavilion is located in the northeast corner of White Rock Academy, close to Huaiyuan Mountain. Before they arrived, they could see many people gathered in groups of three to five discussing something.

In front of them stood a gigantic stone tablet, ten zhang tall and seven zhang wide, smooth all over, with hundreds of bizarre characters carved on it, resembling dragons that seemed ready to soar and swim at any moment.

"Young Master, this is the incomplete manual 'Xuanlong Palm' left by the sixth principal, Zhao Yunqing. It is said that he obtained it in a ruin and replicated its contents exactly. It contains an extremely profound martial art that, once practiced, can greatly increase one’s strength!" Sun Qiang explained. "Unfortunately, it’s unclear whether the principal’s memory was incomplete or if the martial art itself was damaged. For hundreds of years, countless people have come to observe and learn but have never succeeded in practicing it.

To prevent such a profound martial art from disappearing, White Rock Academy had no choice but to lift the restrictions. Anyone who can comprehend it and complete the manual will not only face no repercussions but will also receive a direct reward of 2 million source coins!"

As he spoke, he glanced around, pointing at the groups of people: "These are all here for the fame; some have been studying for one or two decades and are still unwilling to leave.

Zhang Xuan nodded and looked around.

The person closest to him was a cultivator in his sixties, dressed in white, slightly yellowed, with messy hair and beard, looking somewhat like a hermit. In front of him were six or seven others who looked similar, appearing emaciated and somewhat malnourished, yet their spirits were remarkably high.

"I’ve said it before, it’s not about understanding the meaning but observing the patterns! Look at that diagram; doesn’t it look like someone sitting cross-legged? And that one looks like a hand about to strike..." I suspect that when combined, these represent the method to perform Xuanlong Palm!"

"I don’t think so. That diagram somewhat resembles a seated posture, but upon closer inspection, when combined with the previous character, it resembles the name of an acupoint. I think it’s the position of true energy flow."

"You’re all wrong. These characters are not textual information but represent the sequence and direction of true energy flowing through the meridians!"

Several people resembling hermits argued stubbornly.

Not just them, others who had gathered were not much different, either arguing fiercely or sharing their guesses, discussing together.

"If no one has made progress in hundreds of years, could it be that this is not a martial art at all?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

So many people have studied it for hundreds of years, and if there was no progress at all, could it be that the so-called manual doesn’t exist and is just ordinary characters? It seems that the understanding of true energy has greatly increased. Although they haven’t mastered Xuanlong Palm, their comprehension of other martial arts must have improved significantly. Therefore, everyone is convinced that this technique must be real.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Over the past few hundred years, so many experts have been eager to assert that this is an unparalleled martial art; the possibility that it is not is very small. One person might make a mistake, but when it’s a few, tens of thousands, or even millions, the chances of being wrong are negligible.

As he stepped forward, Zhang Xuan was just about to study it when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching, followed by the laughter of Principal Lu Ming: "Teacher Zhang, are you planning to comprehend this Xuanlong Palm?"

Zhang Xuan had not hidden his departure, so the news quickly reached him.

"Yes, just came to take a look!"

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly: "If I can complete this martial art, I hope I can exchange it for a Destiny Disk!"

His purpose in earning money is to acquire Heaven's Fate Energy, so there’s no point in asking for money from the principal now.

"Of course!" Lu Ming nodded repeatedly.

With his consent, Zhang Xuan said no more and looked up at the stone tablet. The carved characters were each more than a person's height, swirling with a dragon-like grace; they looked like words but also did not.

The Eye of Insight activated, observing carefully.

At that moment, the characters on the stone tablet seemed to come alive, transforming into little golden dragons soaring and leaping in the clouds.

"It really is a martial art."

Zhang Xuan’s expression grew serious.

Previously, hearing that no one had comprehended it in hundreds of years made him wonder if they might be mistaken. Now, he was one hundred percent sure that these inscriptions must contain a powerful martial technique.

The progress made was of great help.

Quickly, these little dragons, under the observation of the Eye of Insight, moved around in circles, but Zhang Xuan, like everyone else, felt completely confused.

The direction and sequence of these little dragons had no pattern. Following such a path for true energy would not only fail to cultivate the martial technique but might even lead to exploding one’s body…

So, this approach is wrong!

Let’s try rearranging and combining…

Since he couldn’t complete it in the normal sequence, let’s try skipping characters, reading them backward, and so on.

Soon, he tried all the ideas he could think of but found no success.

Over the past few hundred years, at least a few million experts have studied this martial art without arriving at the correct conclusion, and no one has succeeded.

Seeing the confusion in Zhang Xuan’s eyes, Lu Ming could only smile wryly and shake his head.

When he first heard Zhang Xuan wanted to study this, he felt a strange excitement. If anyone in White Rock Academy had a chance of success over the past few centuries, it would definitely be this person before him.

However, seeing his current state, he understood that although Zhang Xuan had talent in cultivation and teaching, his comprehension might not be as extraordinary.

It seems that in this lifetime, he won’t have the hope of seeing anyone succeed with Xuanlong Palm.

While he was pondering, a young man beside him turned to look: "Principal Lu, since countless experts have studied this stone tablet over the past hundreds of years, have they left behind their insights and directions, as well as the difficulties and realizations they encountered?"

"Yes, every year our academy specifically sends people to gather everyone’s insights and transcribe them, hoping to provide some help for future generations... They’re all in that room over there!" Lu Ming pointed.

Zhang Xuan looked over, and on one side of the stone tablet, a room’s door was ajar. From a distance, he could see rows of bookshelves filled with books, and inside sat a large group of cultivators, each clutching books, studying as if they were mad.

Just as he was about to step inside, Zhang Xuan paused and looked awkwardly at Principal Lu Ming: "Principal, could I borrow a Destiny Disk for a while? I’ll pay you back later!"

With these books, he could fully utilize the Library of Heaven's Path to find the correct understanding path. It’s just a pity that all the Heaven's Fate Energy he gathered had been exhausted; if he really had to read them one by one, it would take decades to finish!

"Borrow?"

He hadn’t expected him to say that. Lu Ming was slightly taken aback.

"Yes. If I can comprehend and complete this Xuanlong Palm, the reward of source coins will offset the cost of the Destiny Disk. If I can’t do it, I’ll find another way to make up for the money."

Zhang Xuan hurriedly explained.

"This… you are an elder of White Rock Academy and also a teacher, so borrowing one is no problem at all…" Lu Ming nodded.

Not to mention his identity; simply in terms of helping him break through, lending one or even giving one wouldn’t be a big deal.

Lu Ming turned and walked off into the distance, and Zhang Xuan quickly followed: "I’ll go with you!"

Before long, he had obtained a new Destiny Disk. After glancing at it, Zhang Xuan secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Returning to his residence, he activated the mini array that Principal Lu had helped set up. Streams of pure Heaven's Fate Energy surged into the library. A quarter of an hour later, the Destiny Disk shattered, and over ten thousand new books formed in the library.

Upon returning to Xuanlong Pavilion, Principal Lu and Sun Qiang were quietly waiting. When they saw him return, they both sighed in relief.

"I’ll go check those books first."

No longer observing the stone tablet, Zhang Xuan walked toward the room.

The room was large, covering at least an acre. For hundreds of years, every year’s collected "insights" had been gathered here, stacked on

over a dozen rows of bookshelves, amounting to tens of thousands of volumes.

Many books had been severely damaged from flipping through them and the passage of time. Every time this happened, someone would rewrite them, so even though many books were tattered, they were not missing pages or words.

Ignoring the people sitting on the floor reading, Zhang Xuan approached a row of bookshelves. With a gentle swipe of his finger, hundreds of volumes on Xuanlong Palm entered his mind.

Integration!

With a thought, the correct contents merged, forming a single book.

He casually flipped it open and looked, only to find his brows furrowed tightly.

The book before him was completely blank, like a wordless heavenly book.

In other words, the hundreds of "insights and experiences" were all wrong, with not a single correct line!

The fact that they could leave content behind indicates that the people who observed the stone tablet were not of low status and had considerable cultivation; how could they all be wrong?

Feeling perplexed, Zhang Xuan continued to swipe his finger, and several hundred books fell into the library, accompanied by radiant light. Yet again, a heavenly book formed.

Still wrong!

After continuously recording nearly five hundred books, gathering insights from thousands of experts, not a single correct one appeared. Could it be that this Xuanlong Palm... truly cannot be cultivated?

Author's Note