Chapter 391: Finished Construction - 391
"Interesting." Zhou Fan said when he heard the story from the old man.
"I never expected to see the city grow like this." The old man sighed.
"Are you upset?" Zhou Fan asked.
"Not really. It is good to see the city grow. This way, it will be safer, even if it is not the city I once knew." The old man answered. "Anyway, I wanted to know if you would join me at the new library."
"Naturally. Otherwise, what else would I do?" Zhou Fan answered.
"Good. Good." The old man said.
It was about 6 months later that the old library shut down and the books within it began to be moved.
3 months later, Zhou Fan and the old man journeyed to the new library. Along the way, Zhou Fan finally took in the new city. He had very rarely left the library, almost always staying within.
The old man was different, though he lived quite close to the library and had not seen the city in its full glory for a while.
Carriages that ran on spirit stones were a common sight. Buildings were at least two floors everywhere they walked, with plenty being nearly 10 floors tall.
Unlike before, mortals were harder to find than cultivators, though most of the cultivators were only in the first realm.
After going past nearly half of the city, Zhou Fan and the old man finally arrived at the new library. This library was a far cry from the old one, and even the Yang Lang library from long ago could not compare at all.
Surrounding the giant tower were multiple fields, most of them currently empty as the library had yet to open.
The tower, which was the new library, was 20 floors tall, and each floor was many times bigger than the entire old library.
LIke in the Yang Lang library, not everyone could enter every floor. The higher one got, the more sensitive the information. There were also floors with martial arts and techniques.
There was one thing that Zhou Fan was sure of. The creation of this library, as well as the changes in the city, were not something that a simple core formation cultivator could accomplish. This was the effect of the hidden sword king, as well as the effort of whoever was supporting the new city lord.
Soon, it seemed as if the city would be comparable to the greatest cities in the entire world.
As the old man and Zhou Fan reached the door of the library, they were greeted by a group of people, as well as the city lord.
"Welcome, Head librarian." The city lord said with a smile. "And to you, Zhou Fan."
The old man slightly bowed while Zhou Fan nodded.
"Come in, I'll give you all a tour." The city lord said.
As they entered, Zhou Fan and the old man were amazed. It seemed less like a library, and more like a sacred location of knowledge.
"We went all out to build this place. There are even some arrays in some places and outside of the building." The city lord said.
The entire floor was carpeted, and on the first floor alone were hundreds of thousands of books.
Zhou Fan and the old man followed the city lord and he introduced them to the library.
The 6th floor was the first floor that required special access. It did not hold any martial arts or techniques, but rather special information.
Secrets of the cultivation world, as well as hidden history and information about the empire's inner workings began to slowly show themselves.
That continued until the 16th floor. From then on, the floors held mostly martial arts and techniques. They were extremely basic, to the point that any sect, even of the lowest level, would have them.
Still, they were something that the majority of independent cultivators would not have any access to.
The 16th to 19th floors were much smaller, with plenty of room left for walking. The martial arts and techniques were mostly written on tablets, not books.
On the 20th floor was a dark room that made it seem as if one was floating in space. On the sides of the rooms were six techniques floating around.
They were not basic techniques like the others within the library. The six techniques came from the six most prominent sects in the empire.
They were not the supreme techniques of the six sects, but were still at the higher level. Anyone who could reach the 20th floor would not be disappointed with them.
Of course, they did not interest Zhou Fan or the old man.
"As the head librarian and the vice head librarian, both of you have free access to the entire library. That includes these techniques." The city lord explained.
"We're thankful for your kindness." The old man said.
"Don't worry about it. It is enough that you both have decided to work at this library." The city lord smiled before turning around and descending the floors.
He soon left the library.
As he walked away, he took a talisman out of his spatial ring.
"Sir. There is a high chance that the old man is the hidden sword king." He spoke into the talisman.
"How high?" A voice came out from the talisman.
"Nearly 50%. Even when he saw the techniques at the top of the library, he did not show any reaction. Of course, there is a chance that he was once a member of a good sect, but he doesn't seem like the type." The city lord responded.
"I see. Continue watching. No matter what, we should make sure to keep tabs on this hidden sword king." The voice said as the talisman's light faded.
The city lord put the talisman back into his spatial ring and continued walking.
Neither Zhou Fan nor the old man had realized that the city lord was watching the old man on suspicions of him being the hidden sword king.
Of course, Zhou Fan simply hadn't cared enough to pay any attention.
Chapter 392: Imperial Scholar and Princess - 392
A week later, the grand opening of the library commenced. As he stood on a stage next to the old man, Zhou Fan wondered how everything had turned out like this. He had simply wandered into a city and became a worker at a library.
Now, he was standing on stage looking down at tens of thousands of young people eager to enter the library. He was seen as a mentor and a strong cultivator.
That was despite not once ever using his power.
The old man spoke to the children in the crowd, as well as the many others below him. There were scholars that had come from afar just to enter what was now one of the greatest public libraries on this side of the world.
The libraries that could compare were in sects or other private organizations.
The speech soon ended, and the old man cut a red ribbon, symbolizing the opening of the library.
He and Zhou Fan entered, followed by a large number of young people and scholars.
Luckily, there were nearly a hundred workers in the library. It was unknown if they would all stay as the excitement went down, but they were necessary for the first few days.
Zhou Fan and the old man stayed on the upper floors. They did not expect anyone to come up so far.
It required a certain status or price in order to, and while the library was technically public, not everything was freely accessible.
It was also possible to enter the higher levels with some sort of contribution to humanity such as killing demonic cultivators or helping in a war against some of the other races in the Zhou galaxy.
Surprisingly, after a few hours, Zhou Fan and the old man saw an old looking man in white robes enter the 15th floor where they were staying.
Zhou Fan and the old man recognized him as they were always reading books and he was a well known person.
"Greetings, Imperial Scholar." The old man bowed. Zhou Fan stayed sitting down.
"No need to bow. My status is not too high." The Imperial Scholar said as he raised his hand.
"It is not a bow to status, but a bow of respect." The old man retorted.
"Haha. In that case, I will not refuse." The imperial scholar laughed.
As his title said, he was the imperial scholar of the empire that Zhou Fan and the old man lived in. He was also a powerful cultivator in the nascent soul realm.
The old man did not respect him because of his cultivation, but because of the quantity and quality of books he had written over his many years of life. It was also said that he may enter the soul formation realm before his lifespan ends.
"I'm just here to look around the library. I must say that I am impressed so far." The imperial scholar said.
"Do I qualify to enter the top floors?" The imperial scholar asked.
"No need to joke. If you could not enter, then who could? Still, I am afraid that you will not be impressed." The old man said.
"Don't worry about it. The only libraries that could truly impress me are the ones in the tri-sect alliance." The imperial scholar said.
The old man nodded and began to lead the imperial scholar around. Zhou Fan was left alone on the 15th floor. He had assumed that he would be left alone for the rest of the day at least, but he soon saw a young woman no older than 20 entering the floor.
Zhou Fan saw her and recognized her. The 5th princess of the neighboring empire. The neighboring empire was an ally of the empire that Zhou Fan was in. Otherwise, this empire would have been easily destroyed.
It is said that the emperor of the neighboring empire is in the soul formation realm, and very near to the peak of that realm. There was no doubt that he could defeat the old man.
"You must be the vice-head of the library. Do you know me?" The princess asked.
"I do." Zhou Fan responded.
"In that case, we can skip introductions. Care to show me around the next few floors? If you're not too busy of course." The princess laughed.
Zhou Fan was currently slumped in a chair and staring at the ceiling, so he could not make an excuse.
Zhou Fan showed her around the 15th and 16th floors, meeting the old man and the imperial scholar on the 17th floor.
The imperial scholar was sitting down at a table, reading a book.
As soon as he saw the princess, he stood up and bowed.
"Greetings 5th princess. It is an honor for my empire to host you." He said.
"Of course it is. Don't worry about me, I'm taking a tour." The princess said with a smile.
She seemed much more arrogant than when she spoke to Zhou Fan.
The imperial scholar nodded and sat back down to read.
Zhou Fan briefly introduced the 17th floor before moving to the 18th floor. As he was halfway through the tour, the princess suddenly turned around and shot an icicle at Zhou Fan's head.
Zhou Fan did not react or move, but when the icicle hit him, it immediately shattered into fragments.
"Hah! I knew it. They said that the vice-head of the library was young and weak, but you seem strong." She said happily as if she had won a bet.
Zhou Fan ignored what happened and continued on with the tour. The princess shot more icicles at him from behind, but Zhou Fan acted as if nothing was happening.
Finally, after the 145th icicle, Zhou Fan acknowledged what was happening.
"If you throw another icicle at me, I'm going to slap your father in the face." He said before turning around.
The princess stood stunned for a second, before laughing loudly. She then shot another icicle at Zhou Fans back.
Zhou Fan instantly grabbed her by the neck and disappeared. He and the princess appeared in a nearly empty throne room. Only a single middle aged man was sitting on a throne.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
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