Chapter 54: A Knight's Secret Arts

Once again, after walking through another fairly short corridor, Wang Yu and Fang stopped before a wall. Fang placed his hand on the wall; then, under Wang Yu's watchful gaze, a previously invisible door slowly emerged on the wall's surface. Compared to the earlier doors, this one appeared far more ancient. It exuded a profound sense of history.

"Is this a higher-level authorization...?" Wang Yu thought to himself. Since Fang seemed disinclined to explain, Wang Yu didn't voice his thought out loud. This area was likely accessible only to individuals with greater authority. As someone with merely entry-level access, he was probably unqualified to know more.

Fang pushed open the door that bore marks of age and history, stepping in and signaling for Wang Yu to follow.

As they did so, the door closed automatically behind them as it once again transformed into an ordinary wall.

That familiar sensation of spatial transference returned as Wang Yu stood still and observed his surroundings. The first thing that struck him about the place was all the books there were.

It was a tower-like structure with a spiral staircase winding its way upward. On either side of the staircase lay circular bookshelves and platforms. Each floor was about five meters high, with shelves packed tightly with books.

The sheer scale of the place gave Wang Yu the illusion that the stairs extended indefinitely upward. The spiral staircase seemed endless, vanishing into the distant horizon of his vision.

Oddly enough, though Wang Yu's eyesight was sharp enough to make out the text on the spines of the books, the words appeared strangely blurry and unreadable.

He released his ripples and found that this strange place severely restricted its range, confining it to its base five-meter radius without the augmentation of the void. It seemed that the void energy in this domain already had an owner...

"Samuel, I've brought a newbie here to select a book."

"Again, Fang Stuart? Haven't you inducted rather too many newbies lately? This is the fourth in a short span. Are you intending to exploit some loophole in our agreement, hmm?"

The conversation between the two figures drew Wang Yu's attention. He glanced over to see that Fang was speaking to a figure cloaked entirely in a robe near the entrance to the giant library.

"In the name of the god of light, I swear that I have no intention of exploiting any loopholes in our agreement," Fang said, performing the standard chest-touching salute of the church of light and smiling reassuringly at the other figure.

"Fine. We all know your god is the least reliable of them all, but your personal credibility does hold up. Let him through."

The robed figure, whom Fang had called Samuel, refrained from further jabs and gestured for Fang to bring Wang Yu forward.

Fang beckoned for Wang Yu to head over. As Wang Yu did so, he glanced at Samuel twice, noting that whoever he was, he didn't seem human. There were no legs beneath his robe, and the hem seemed to hover in mid-air.

"You, go inside. Think about what you're looking for, then follow the stairs up. When you find a shelf where the manuals' titles are legible, choose one manual to study," Samuel instructed curtly. He pointed unceremoniously toward the library's interior.

"Remember, you're searching for a knight's secret arts," Fang reminded him.

Wang Yu didn't hesitate. As he stepped inside, Samuel emphasized, "You only have a single hour, and you can only select one manual. Descriptions are written on the spines. Once you open a manual, you're forbidden from touching another. If you don't finish within an hour or break these rules, you'll bear the consequences yourself."

Wang Yu nodded. He wasn't one to act rebelliously. If these were the rules, then he would follow them obediently.

As he walked into the library, Wang Yu found his ripples suppressed to an even greater extent. Even the concept of the void seemed to be stripped away in its entirety. "What is this place? It's extraordinary!"

Wang Yu glanced at his surroundings and marveled at the purity of the environment. It felt like a realm divorced from the world of the void. His ripples had been reduced to a mere two-meter range due to the complete absence of the void.

Even so, the fact that they still remained at all confirmed that they weren't just a gift from the void, but something inherently his own.

Without dwelling too much on these thoughts, Wang Yu focused on his task: finding a knight's secret arts. "Knight's arts, knight's arts..." Wang Yu muttered under his breath, as he ascended the spiral staircase layer by layer.

One floor, two floors, three floors—the stairs spiraled endlessly upward. Upon reaching the 41st floor, Wang Yu noticed a change. Books on the shelves that had previously been blurry were now legible.

"This is it." Stepping onto this level, Wang Yu approached the shelves and began browsing the manuals there.

"Gale Traces, Pale Dawn, Corpse Shell, Formless Matter, Dark Ritual...?"

Wang Yu glanced at the manuals one after another as he read out their names. Each one corresponded to a knight's secret art. There was small text on the spine of each manual describing the effects of each art.

"Gale Traces: Imbues fighting spirit with a special property, transforming it into a wind that surrounds the user, enhancing both defense and mobility..."

"Pale Dawn: Fighting spirit is greatly amplified during dusk and dawn, with a fivefold increase in strength during those half-hour windows..."

Wang Yu marveled at the power of these secret arts. They allowed practitioners to gain abilities comparable to potentials even before reaching the stage of a formal knight—it was little wonder they were referred to as pseudopotentials.

Wang Yu paused in front of one particular manual.

"Dark Ritual: Transforms fighting spirit into something akin to void energy, enabling the two to be interchanged. Void affinity increases significantly. As long as the void can be accessed, the user's fighting spirit will be inexhaustible..." Wang Yu stroked his chin. "This doesn't seem bad at all!"

"Fang Stuart, I'm starting to doubt your claim of having good intentions. You didn't tell me that this guy dabbled in wizardry."

"What's the matter? Believe me, I had no ulterior motives." Fang smiled.

"His mental resistance, coupled with his dabbling in wizardry... has drawn forth that particular manual..." Samuel said irritably.

"Dark Ritual, you mean?" Fang exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes," Samuel forced out.

"Then you must be in for a big loss," Fang teased. He hadn't expected Wang Yu to be able to unearth that specific manual. Its value was comparable to half the library's collection. Could Samuel, a self-proclaimed lover of knowledge, really be willing to part with it?

"Hold on..." Samuel's tone suddenly shifted.

Fang glanced at him inquiringly.

"He didn't choose Dark Ritual. He picked something rather ordinary instead..." Samuel murmured.

"Blood Tempest: Grants the ability to manipulate blood. Fighting spirit integrates with the bloodstream, and its flow enhances circulation. Wounds cease to be mere burdens and instead become deadly weapons..." Wang Yu held a certain manual in hand, his choice made.

He had lingered on Dark Ritual for quite some time. It clearly seemed superior to the other selections, and its effects were overwhelmingly powerful. Even so, he had chosen not to take it.

For one, he only had an hour to study it. Such an advanced secret art might well be beyond his comprehension. Wang Yu knew the limits of his talent, and what he could and couldn't learn.

More importantly, he maintained a steadfast belief in not overly relying on the void. While wizardry derived its power from the void's distortion of reality, he intended for his foundation to remain his own body, nothing more.

Among all the secret arts he had examined, only Blood Tempest offered enhancements to physical attributes, making it the most suitable for him.

He was someone who fought like a berserker despite his knightly facade, so the ability to weaponize his bloodshed would significantly amplify his combat prowess.

Without further hesitation, Wang Yu drew the manual from the shelf and began to read it. Oddly enough, though the text consisted of incomprehensible symbols, their meaning immediately became clear. The knowledge flowed directly into his mind.

"Is it that easy to understand? Did I miss out by not picking Dark Ritual, then?" Wang Yu chuckled at his earlier doubts, but he dismissed the thought. He firmly believed that the best choice was the one most suited to him. Upon starting to learn Blood Tempest, he was certain that this art would be particularly compatible with him.

It would serve as a crucial stepping stone in his journey of strength. Within the allotted hour, he needed to successfully perform the art at least once to imprint the sensation on his body. Only then could he fully claim mastery of the technique.

Otherwise, without the manual's guidance, this trip to what Fang had called the "big library" would be wasted.

"Pseudopotentials, also known as secret arts, essentially involve encoding fighting spirit into a matrix. In contrast, a true potential is a result of the body's autonomous evolution, and is stronger and perfectly suited to the individual," Wang Yu summarized.

"Meanwhile, secret arts achieve matrix-based manipulation of fighting spirit through deliberate control, resulting in weaker effects that are nevertheless similar in principle..."

Wang Yu carefully studied the manual's contents for about fifteen minutes before attempting his first trial. He guided his fighting spirit and aligned it with the matrix described in the text to activate the secret art.

Like plucking the strings of a zither, his mental energy began adjusting the flow of fighting spirit throughout his body.

Wang Yu suddenly realized what a boon it was that he could generate fighting spirit throughout his body.

Though his fighting spirit was lacking in density compared to those with vortices in their lower abdomen, its distributed production afforded him greater precision. Following the manual's instructions, Wang Yu guided his fighting spirit into his blood.

Because he could generate fighting spirit anywhere in his body, Wang Yu didn't need to circulate fighting spirit repeatedly throughout his body like most knights did. Instead, he simply had his body generate fighting spirit along the pathways depicted in the secret art's matrix.

Gradually, an invisible matrix began forming inside Wang Yu's body as he manipulated his combat energy. Once the combat energy arranged itself into a specific pattern, a peculiar sensation emanated from within him.

The flow of fighting spirit became increasingly smooth and responsive to his will. It was no longer merely a special force traveling along invisible paths within his body, but instead began to integrate with his blood.

Wang Yu's blood circulation accelerated without any additional effort from his heart, causing slight instability as capillaries all across his skin burst.

Thin strands of blood seeped out from them, making him resemble a drunken man flushed red from alcohol.

Wang Yu remained calm and didn't let the temporary instability fluster him. Using his mental energy, he carefully monitored his body and directed it to stabilize the runaway blood infused with fighting spirit.

Wang Yu's robust physique played a vital role at that moment as his powerful heart resumed its strong, rhythmic pumping, reclaiming its role as the central driver of his blood circulation.

The runaway blood flow slowed and gradually returned to its normal pace.

Wang Yu took a deep breath to replenish the oxygen levels in his blood, then focused on fine-tuning the synchronization between his body and fighting spirit.

The matrix-structured fighting spirit displayed its unique properties as it merged seamlessly with his blood. More and more of this special augmented blood began flowing through Wang Yu's veins.

This was the fusion of fighting spirit and blood: the blood acted as the carrier for fighting spirit, transforming the normally intangible force into something concrete. In turn, the fighting spirit granted the blood qualities that the latter had never possessed before, including enhanced control and special powers.

Wang Yu closed his eyes and fully immersed himself in his self-transformation, freeing himself from distractions.

Meanwhile, on the library's ground floor, Samuel and Fang were discussing Wang Yu's choice.

"I didn't expect your recruit to make such a decision," Samuel said. "The power of the Dark Ritual is obvious at a glance. Its true value is even greater than you can imagine. In essence, it's not just a manual, but a key, one of the doors connecting the material world to the void."

"Is it really that important? Why tell me this? Aren't you worried I'll covet it for myself?" Fang replied, smiling.

"As I said, I trust you people from the church of light. It's the royal family I despise more—those nauseating people have probably been scheming against me for a long time."

"They'd regret it," Fang replied, chuckling. "I hope they won't act recklessly."

"Don't flatter me. I'm only telling you about Dark Ritual for one reason: even if your recruit had chosen it, I wouldn't have handed it over to him. He's not worthy," Samuel replied disdainfully.

"You'd break your promises so blatantly?" Fang teased.

"Do you think everyone's as trustworthy as you are? Still, this recruit intrigues me. He didn't pick Dark Ritual, but instead chose Blood Tempest, an exceedingly ordinary secret art. I wonder what's going on in his head..."

Samuel's tone made it unclear whether he found Wang Yu's choice amusing or considered him an idiot who couldn't identify treasure looking him in the eye.

"And?" Fang, ever polite, maintained his unchanging smile as he looked at the sharp-tongued Samuel.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just an old relic with some passing interest in your recruit. We have one more slot left under our agreement. If your next recruit is also sufficiently extraordinary as to draw out Dark Ritual again, I'll hand it over."

"How generous. That doesn't sound like you, Samuel. I initially predicted that a miser like you wouldn't hand over the Dark Ritual when my recruit uncovered it," Fang said, amused.

"Don't be so cheeky with your elders. Daring to call me a miser... The times are changing, and all this knowledge will eventually be buried. I'm merely a ghost from the past," Samuel said. "All of you understand what the chaos of the present era means. There's no need for me to cling to all these old treasures. They don't have to rot with me in the graveyard. Now, with someone willing to forgo Dark Ritual for something as ordinary as Blood Tempest, why shouldn't I be a little more generous?"

Fang suddenly frowned. "Are you... intending to close the library?"

"Quite so. Hurry up with your last recruit. If you delay, Dark Ritual isn't the only thing you'll lose. None of this knowledge will be available to you," Samuel warned.

"You miser," Fang said, shaking his head as he laughed.

"Show some respect!"

At the 55-minute mark, Wang Yu opened his eyes. He could feel the ceaseless flow of his blood now infused with fighting spirit. A satisfied smile spread across his face.

From this moment on, Wang Yu's fighting spirit no longer required conscious effort to circulate. It now flowed naturally with his blood, driven by his heart and providing him with constant augmentation.

He bit the tip of his finger and drew a drop of blood. Instead of falling, however, the bright red droplet hovered at his fingertip.

Even as Wang Yu moved his finger, the droplet stayed in place.

No more blood oozed from the wound. Smiling, he manipulated the fighting spirit within the droplet, causing it to re-enter his body through the wound and rejoin his bloodstream.

At his current beginner's understanding of Blood Tempest, his fighting spirit had fused with blood on a superficial level, granting him limited control over his blood. Though wounds he sustained would remain, the risk of excessive bleeding had dropped by a significant extent.

Wang Yu sensed his body again and observed the matrix of fighting spirit within it. His body had memorized its structure. From now on, Blood Tempest would be fully under his command. Through continued refinement, Wang Yu could further develop this technique and enhance its strength.

Nodding in satisfaction, he returned the manual to the shelf and descended down the stairs. Unbeknownst to him, the manual had silently crumbled into dust and vanished completely from the massive shelves. Future visitors would never find Blood Tempest again.

As Wang Yu descended layer by layer, he again marveled at the vastness of the library.

Each floor was at least five meters high. He was already on the 41st floor, but the staircase still extended upwards indefinitely. The enormity of the structure was unimaginable.

Wang Yu was very curious just how high up the library went, but he set aside his curiosity and continued downward instead. As he returned to the ground floor, Samuel and Fang both eyed him.

While others might have felt nervous under the scrutiny of these two powerful figures, Wang Yu simply stood calmly behind Fang as he awaited their next steps.

"Why didn't you choose Dark Ritual? Why did you pick Blood Tempest?" Samuel asked bluntly and coldly.

Wang Yu paused. Did this strange fellow know what choice he had made? He supposed it made sense. He was the master of the library, after all.

"It wasn't suitable for me. It did seem very strong, but I don't want my foundation to be tied to the void. Blood Tempest was a better fit," Wang Yu replied.

"Hmm..." Samuel was taken aback by the simplicity of Wang Yu's response. He had expected some profound reasoning or elaborate insight instead.

He glanced at Fang and muttered, "My promise remains. Now, go."

"Thank you for your knowledge," Fang replied, bowing slightly to Samuel. He reopened the door to the dark web and brought himself and Wang Yu into the interdimensional gap.

Right as Wang Yu stepped into the dark web, Sieg's voice suddenly sounded by his ears. "There's been a development with the cultists by the inner walls. We need to act immediately! Head there through the dark web. Charles and Edward are already waiting. I'll serve as your intelligence officer and relay any updates."

Wang Yu didn't question how Sieg's voice had suddenly appeared in his ear. Instead, he turned to Fang.

"Go on. This is your first mission, and the first mission for the special ops team as a whole. Stay by the periphery. Do well," Fang instructed.

Without any hesitation, Wang Yu followed Sieg's directions and broke into a run. His first mission in the capital had begun.