Chapter 25

"Brother Hu Gao, you were truly impressive today, defeating so many people and even snubbing Wu Yun, leaving him in the dust. Our Hu family hasn't been this glorious in the War Academy for a long time. Let me introduce myself, I am Jile, the young master of the Northern Branch."

Jile walked beside Hu Gao, lavishing him with praise. He was genuinely surprised by Hu Gao's performance today, as he had expected to have to step in to resolve the situation himself. But Hu Gao handled it perfectly and even gained some benefits, making Jile see him as a serious comrade.

"Ah, Young Master Jile, no wonder your realm is so high. But I only dared to say those things because I saw that Wu Yun wasn't carrying any treasures. You don't really think I could be his match, do you?" Hu Gao said with a gloomy expression.

Hu Gao was well aware of his own limitations. With his current strength, he could challenge a fifth-rank opponent, but Wu Yun was at the peak of the sixth rank in the Condensed Shadow Realm, a difference of nearly three ranks. Even with his abnormal totem, he had little confidence. "Don't fight without a sure win" was a famous saying in his previous life. Going to fight Wu Yun would be foolish.

"Uh...?"

Jile opened his mouth, suddenly feeling an urge to laugh. This guy was really something else. No wonder Wu Yun left so easily when he said he wasn't carrying any treasures; it was because he couldn't beat him. Despite that, Hu Gao still had the aura of a master, which was truly impressive.

"Brother Hu Gao, I'm increasingly impressed by you. But Wu Yun won't let this go. If you couldn't beat him today, will you be able to tomorrow?" Jile reminded him.

"Sixth rank in the Condensed Shadow Realm, huh." Hu Gao muttered to himself, then raised his head and said, "Thank you for the information, Brother Jile. Do you know if there's any place in the War Academy where I can learn a large number of Primordial Decrees?"

Hu Gao wasn't worried about his realm. With the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, he had already surpassed ordinary Condensed Shadow Realm martial artists and was directly tempering his body, bypassing the totem condensation stage. What he needed now were some basic Primordial Decrees to increase his chances in battle.

"Primordial Decrees...?" Jile had a strange look on his face. Even he hadn't reached the level to cultivate Primordial Decrees. Was Hu Gao really blessed by a guardian deity? Not only was his realm and strength hard to gauge, but he was also interested in Primordial Decrees, which were only considered by late-stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artists. What was going on?

Comparing people can really be frustrating. Jile shook his head. Hu Gao's strength wasn't bad news for the Hu family. "You're talking about the Library, right? I'll take you there."

Jile, having thought it through, immediately led the way. "Brother Hu Gao, it's a good thing you won 500 gold coins today. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult to cultivate in the Library."

"What? You need gold coins to cultivate in the Library?"

Hu Gao asked, puzzled. He hadn't known this.

Jile nodded. "Of course. Otherwise, how would the War Academy maintain its operations? Primordial Decrees are rare. The lowest rank, the Lower Human Rank Primordial Decree, costs 10 gold coins per day to view. The Middle Human Rank Primordial Decree costs 100 gold coins per day. The Upper Human Rank Primordial Decree costs 10,000 gold coins per day. As for the Supreme Human Rank Primordial Decree, even with a lot of gold coins, it's not easy to see."

"So expensive?" Hu Gao was shocked. According to Jile, the 500 gold coins he had just won were worth less than African currency.

According to the Elder of the Transmission Hall, not everyone could cultivate Primordial Decrees. It also depended on the compatibility between the martial artist and the Primordial Decree. A compatibility of over 50% was required to cultivate, and most martial artists chose to cultivate when their compatibility reached 70%.

At the prices Jile mentioned, finding a suitable Primordial Decree in the Library could cost hundreds of gold coins if one was lucky, and if not, it could be a real waste of money!

It was truly a poor scholar and a rich martial artist. Hu Gao sighed inwardly, touched the gold notes in his chest, and without hesitation, continued to follow Jile toward the Library.

"Brother Hu Gao, when you look for Primordial Decrees, you can choose based on your own characteristics. For example, if you excel in close combat, you can choose hand-to-hand or short weapon Primordial Decrees. If you are slow, you can choose movement Primordial Decrees..."

Jile shared his methods for finding Primordial Decrees with Hu Gao and took out a stack of gold notes from his pocket, handing them to Hu Gao. "I have some gold notes here. Take them and use them."

The gold notes were all 100 gold coins each, and there were at least several dozen. Hu Gao looked at Jile in surprise, not expecting the young master of the Northern Branch to be so generous. His own treatment as a successor was really poor.

Hu Gao waved his hand. "I don't need that much gold right now. 500 gold coins will last me a few days. I'll ask you for more when I need it."

Although he was indeed short on gold, Hu Gao didn't want to owe anyone a favor. Remembering the kindness was enough.

"Alright, if you need anything, just let me know."

Jile, helpless, put the gold notes away.

"Alright, I'm going to the Library. See you later." Hu Gao clasped his hands, knowing that with Jile's current strength, he couldn't cultivate Primordial Decrees. It would be awkward to go in together.

Hu Gao and Jile parted ways, and Hu Gao went to the Library alone. It was similar to the libraries of his previous life, quiet and peaceful. At the entrance, there was a light curtain, similar to a magical array, and a white-haired old man stopped Hu Gao, verifying his identity before letting him in.

As soon as he stepped into the Library, he was drawn to several tall bookshelves. The bookshelves were over ten meters high, each divided into five levels, accessible by stairs.

There were four bookshelves, each dedicated to a different category of Primordial Decrees: movement, physical cultivation, weapons, and skills.

After consulting, Hu Gao exchanged his 500 gold coins for a small golden card issued by the Library. The principle was similar to a prepaid card from his previous life. He just needed to swipe the card next to the book, and the Primordial Decree would appear in his hands.

Hu Gao's gaze swept over the four bookshelves. Honestly, he wanted to read all four categories of Primordial Decrees, as he hadn't cultivated any yet. To comprehensively improve his combat strength, he needed to master one from each category.

However, in the face of harsh reality, he knew he could only focus on one for now.

"My characteristic is strong physical strength, not just now, but as my cultivation increases, this characteristic will become even more pronounced. Therefore, among the four categories, hand-to-hand Primordial Decrees are the most suitable for me."

If he could cultivate a few hand-to-hand Primordial Decrees and fully utilize his physical strength, his combat strength would definitely increase several times.

Having made up his mind, he no longer hesitated, took the golden card, and headed straight for the physical cultivation bookshelf.

The bookshelf had five levels, each with about a thousand Primordial Decrees. The Primordial Decrees were stored in preservation boxes, with their names and descriptions on the outside.

Next to the bookshelf, there were many small beads floating, about the size of peanuts. These beads were called Blue Record Beads, which could record the surroundings, similar to a camera, to prevent students from stealing Primordial Decrees.

Hu Gao ignored these. As soon as he stepped onto the bookshelf, his gaze began to scan the preservation boxes, looking for a Primordial Decree that suited him, while his mind was also thinking about other things.

"Dry Clean Palm, Lower Human Rank Primordial Decree, known for its fierce and swift nature. If cultivated to perfection, it can break stones and shatter gold."

"Whirlwind Kick, Lower Human Rank Primordial Decree, swift as the wind, legs like lightning, requiring high body coordination, difficult to cultivate. If cultivated to perfection, it can challenge higher ranks."

"..."

For some reason, as soon as Hu Gao glanced at the descriptions, they were clearly etched into his mind, impossible to forget, as if carved in.

"Huh, why do these descriptions stick in my mind after just one glance?" Hu Gao frowned, feeling puzzled and a bit confused.

He felt a warm sensation in his head, as if a warm current was flowing, very comfortable. As soon as he read the text, it would be imprinted in his mind, accompanied by a warm current, and then the text would be indelible.

"Photographic memory?" The thought popped into Hu Gao's mind.

But he immediately shook his head. Even if he had a photographic memory, so what? This wasn't his previous life. If it were, he would have been the top national college entrance exam candidate, with countless honors.

But in this world, what use was a photographic memory? In this world, strength was the truth. The stronger one's fists, the louder their voice. Could a photographic memory make his fists stronger? Clearly not.

"Even if I could memorize all the Primordial Decrees, it would only save me some time. But there are so many Primordial Decrees here. Even with a photographic memory, I would need enough gold coins to open the preservation boxes and take out the Primordial Decrees to memorize them. Besides, what use would it be to memorize Primordial Decrees that don't match my compatibility? It would just be a waste of time and money."

Hu Gao suddenly felt that a photographic memory was quite useless, with no real benefit.

"Let's find fifty Primordial Decrees to look at. Find the one that matches my compatibility the most. Even if this ability is quite useless, at least it saves me some time."

Hu Gao chuckled and began to seriously search for a suitable Primordial Decree.