William Harper was tactful enough. Under the cold, murderous gazes of those collateral members of the Ji family, he gave a wry smile and shook his head at Little Lily Harper, politely declining, “Forget it, I’ll just take a look around here first.”

“小莲, look at this one—‘Qinglian Manual’! It even has the character ‘Lian’ in it!”

Fearing that Little Lily Harper might act willfully and insist on letting William Harper in, Julia Harper quickly pulled out a secret technique manual and handed it to Little Lily Harper.

“Oh.”

Little Lily Harper didn’t persist. Her attention was immediately drawn to the “Qinglian Manual” in Julia Harper’s hands.

This was Little Lily Harper’s first time here this year, and everything in the Sutra Depository was so novel to her that she soon forgot about William Harper, who was left standing alone on the outskirts.

Three days, I still have three days—there will definitely be a chance!

Taking a deep breath, William Harper clenched his fists tightly.

.

Chapter Six: Privilege

For an entire day, William Harper didn’t find any opportunity to enter that small area. During this time, he could only wander around other bookshelves, browsing through some scriptures about the origins and divisions of the Tianshi ranks.

William Harper did not come away empty-handed.

In the span of a day, he skimmed through all those miscellaneous books that discussed the divisions of the Tianshi realms, explaining the connections between meridians, flesh, bones, and primal energy.

A so-called Tianshi is a cultivator who can harness the power between heaven and earth!

The cultivation of a Tianshi is divided into ten realms: One Origin, Two Forms, Three Powers, Four Symbols, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, and Ten Directions.

Each of the ten realms has its own unique cultivation method—some borrow the power of the Four Symbols, some use the Five Elements, and others roam among the Seven Stars and Sun and Moon, wielding the power of the cosmos as they please.

The books William Harper browsed only gave a rough explanation of the basic principles of Tianshi cultivation, but not a single word about the specific methods. He flipped through book after book, but couldn’t find the cultivation secrets he needed.

Soon, night began to fall, and at some point, a few oil lamps were quietly lit in the Sutra Depository.

It was only then that the Ji family youths began to feel hungry. After a whole day of reading Tianshi secrets and techniques, some could no longer endure it. Thinking there were still two days left to come back, they stopped forcing themselves and began to leave the Sutra Depository one after another...

Julia Harper and Little Lily Harper managed to hold out until the latter half of the night, but were yawning nonstop. Their stomachs were also unbearably hungry, so they left as well.

After a while, Alice Harper and Charles Harper came down from the second floor, looking exhausted.

Their eyes were dull and their spirits low; they must have worked hard on the second floor.

This time, Alice Harper couldn’t even be bothered to pick on William Harper. He glanced at him disdainfully, then left the Sutra Depository side by side with Charles Harper.

Gradually, fewer and fewer people remained in the Sutra Depository, and finally, a large area in the eastern corner of the first floor was vacated.

After wandering around the outskirts all day, William Harper quietly chewed and swallowed the steamed bun he had brought in that morning. His clear eyes grew brighter and brighter...

The opportunity had finally come!

It was already the second watch of the night, the time when people are most prone to drowsiness. Of the remaining collateral Ji family youths in the Sutra Depository, many, though still holding books, had begun to snore in varying degrees.

William Harper crouched low, carefully avoiding two sleeping collateral Ji family youths leaning against the bookshelves, and finally, without a sound, stood in the spot he had set his sights on during the day!

Taking a deep breath, William Harper’s fingers trembled with excitement as he pulled a scripture from the shelf. By the light of the oil lamp, he saw the title: “Lingyun Primal Energy Manual.”

Yes! This was a cultivation secret, not a technique for attacking with primal energy!

William Harper was overjoyed, barely able to contain his excitement. He quickly focused his attention—he knew his time was limited.

Opening the first page, amid the thunderous snoring around him, William Harper began silently reciting in his heart...

After two quarters of an hour, William Harper decisively put “Lingyun Primal Energy Manual” back in its place, then pulled out another scripture from the shelf, titled “Furious Flame Wild Gang”—a Tianshi secret technique for attacking with primal energy.

After just glancing at a page and confirming it was a secret technique, not a cultivation secret, William Harper didn’t hesitate at all and quickly put “Furious Flame Wild Gang” back.

Standing on tiptoe, William Harper took down another scripture from a higher shelf, titled “Marrow-Washing Brain Nerves”—a Tianshi cultivation secret.

Delighted again, William Harper carefully cradled “Marrow-Washing Brain Nerves” in his palms, moved closer to the candlelight, and, by the dim yellow glow, began silently reciting once more.

...

By the time dawn was about to break, William Harper had read four of the basic Tianshi secret manuals on the first floor.

It wasn’t until the sound of a rooster crowing came from outside the Sutra Depository that William Harper, somewhat reluctantly, quietly put back the scripture he hadn’t finished reading. Before the two collateral Ji family youths nearby could fully wake up, William Harper tiptoed back to the secluded corner where he had spent the day.