Those few brocade-clad youths looked at the eleven young men with envy and fear. These men, all between twenty and thirty years old, wore cold, indifferent expressions. They were senior disciples who had joined the Herbal Hall early on, and were core disciples—personally taught by the hall master, vice hall master, or elders. They were in closed-door cultivation in the library pavilion, and their status was far above that of ordinary disciples. Especially the one at the head, who was the personal disciple of Hall Master Li of the Herbal Hall, and possessed extremely high martial talent.

　　Henry Clark looked around curiously, surveying the empty second floor. He had no idea who these eleven young men guarding the place were, so he naturally felt no fear. However, the oppressive and solemn atmosphere here made him afraid to speak.

　　One of the brocade-clad youths stepped forward respectfully, cupped his hands toward the leading young man, and said, “Senior Brother William Grant, the more than forty newly admitted herbal and alchemy apprentices are all here. Vice Hall Master Ji instructed us to bring them here, and asks that Senior Brother William Grant select secret manuals for them to practice martial arts.” After speaking, he withdrew.

　　In the center of the hall, the tall young man in the lead finally opened his eyes and nodded at the brocade-clad youth. Then he stood up, swept his gaze over the group of apprentices, and said indifferently, “My name is William Grant. From now on, you can just call me Senior Brother. According to the rules of the Herbal Hall, each herbal apprentice may select only one beginner-level martial arts manual to take from the manual room—no more than that. Alchemy apprentices may choose two beginner-level manuals. All apprentices may only practice the manual they select. If anyone is found secretly practicing someone else’s manual, they will be severely punished.”

　　Henry Clark was slightly taken aback. Why do the inner hall alchemy apprentices get to pick one more manual than the outer hall herbal apprentices? Isn’t that an unfair disadvantage?

　　The group of blue-clad apprentices couldn’t help but glare angrily at the five white-clad apprentices. The five white-clad apprentices showed no fear at all, holding their heads high with pride—so what if we get to learn one more technique than you? What can you do about it? If you want to fight, bring it on—who’s afraid of whom!

　　If it weren’t for the presence of several brocade-clad youths and those young men, the two sides would probably have started fighting on the spot.

　　Charles Baker, Lucy Brooks, and the others secretly curled their lips and muttered a few curses under their breath, feeling very disgruntled. Together with some other troublemaking herbal apprentices, they quietly discussed when to give those arrogant guys a beating to vent their anger.

　　After announcing the rules, the leading young guard took them up to the third floor and opened the door to the manual room.

　　Henry Clark had already quietly squeezed to the very front, securing a good spot. As soon as the door opened, he and the other children rushed in, jostling to get inside.

　　The other apprentices, forgetting their quarrels, hurried in after them. After all, getting a manual in hand was the real business—better not let the others snatch up all the good ones first.

　　The manual room on the third floor was very large, with three big rows of bookshelves placed across the chamber. The shelves were packed full of books, many of them covered in dust. The first row held beginner-level martial arts manuals. The second row, intermediate-level manuals. The third row, advanced-level manuals. Supreme techniques would never be stored in a place like this.

　　Henry Clark quickly searched through the first row of shelves, hoping to pick a decent manual. But when he grabbed a beginner-level manual, he was dumbfounded. He couldn’t understand a single word written on it. Flipping through the book, it was all a blur—how was he supposed to know if the manual was good or bad, or what he would be practicing in the future?

　　Henry Clark grew anxious and looked back to see how the other apprentices were doing.

　　The vast majority of blue-clad apprentices were in the same boat, holding one or two beginner-level manuals and staring blankly. Most of them came from farming families, had never been to school, and couldn’t read.

　　The five white-clad apprentices, on the other hand, were reading the manuals with smug satisfaction. They either came from well-off families or had connections, which was how they got into the inner hall. Naturally, they had learned to read, and though not much, it was enough to understand what was written in the manuals.

　　The young guard had already anticipated this situation. Besides guarding the manual room, one of their purposes here was to help these clueless new apprentices select manuals.

　　The young man walked in, face cold, and pointed at the shelves, explaining in a detached tone to the blue-clad apprentices what kinds of manuals were on each shelf.

　　“All the manuals here are categorized. Saber manuals, sword manuals, spear manuals, bow manuals... weapon techniques, lightness skills, external skills, internal skills, and combined internal-external skills. Almost every type of manual found in the martial world is here. If you want to learn a particular type of technique, just tell me and I can recommend specific ones.”

　　He explained in great detail, seeming to know almost every manual here inside and out.

Chapter 12: "The Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting"

　　After half a day, most of the apprentices had found the martial arts manual they wanted and left.

　　Henry Clark stayed until the end, using the time to carefully consider which martial arts technique he should choose.

　　He had never seen martial arts before. Even after wandering around Zhuqi County for half a year, he had only glimpsed a few hurried martial artists, and had never seen them display any martial skills. He had no idea what martial arts were or what they were for.