Chapter 7

Ren Jie thought for a while and ultimately decided to hold off on immediately starting his cultivation. Some things couldn't be rushed. He needed to first thoroughly understand what he needed to know, and then find an opportunity to see what this cultivation technique was all about. Moreover, this place wasn't suitable for cultivation.

With this in mind, Ren Jie carefully stored the memory jade token and also collected the broken jade box and the fragments of the ten medium-grade spirit stones. Then, Ren Jie continued his previous actions, reading book after book.

Ren Jie's reading speed was getting faster and faster. Some books had common elements, and he could skim through them with just a glance.

...

In the large residence of the Ren family in the bustling Jade Capital, in front of a wooden house in the center of a unique primeval forest.

"Library Pavilion, you mean he has been in the Library Pavilion for eleven hours and is still inside?" Sixth Master Ren Tianzong, who was weaving a few cute little animals out of grass, stopped again, looking at Wan Hong with great disbelief.

Wan Hong nodded firmly and said, "At first, I also found it hard to believe, so I even went to check secretly. I watched for a whole hour, and the family head was indeed reading books in the Library Pavilion."

"What books has he read? Bring them over for me to see." Sixth Master Ren Tianzong himself found it hard to believe. He could understand the boy learning to be a troublemaker, possibly due to being suppressed for too long and finally unable to bear the three old men. But for him to read books, how could that be possible? The boy would fall asleep as soon as he started reading.

Because of this, he had been punished many times when he was young, but no matter how much he was punished, he would fall asleep as soon as he started reading, even if someone was standing next to him with a stick.

"This..." Wan Hong hesitated, "Sixth Master, this might not be very convenient."

"You mean he is still reading, so wait until he finishes and then bring them over." Sixth Master Ren Tianzong thought Wan Hong meant the books were still in the room and couldn't be brought over immediately.

"It's not that." Wan Hong smiled bitterly, "The family head has read so many books. If all of them were brought over, there are already close to two hundred books, and the number is still increasing."

"Two hundred books?" Sixth Master Ren Tianzong thought he had heard wrong or that Wan Hong had made a mistake.

"Indeed, two hundred books, and the number is still increasing." Wan Hong quickly confirmed, then added, "The family head reads very quickly, almost skimming through each one. If it weren't for the long time that has passed, I wouldn't have believed he was reading."

Reading hundreds of books in a short time, what was the point? At a certain level, one could use divine sense to quickly record things, and with a high enough level, one could read at a glance. But Ren Jie was only at the Body Tempering stage; how could he do this?

Could he be looking for something?

"Alright, bring me the list of the books he has read and the first dozen or so books he read." Sixth Master Ren Tianzong thought for a moment and instructed Wan Hong to do so immediately.

After a short while, Sixth Master Ren Tianzong looked at a list filled with numerous book titles and then picked up some books from the table.

*History of the Mingyu Dynasty*, *Journey Through a Hundred Countries*, *Introduction to Cultivation Basics*, *Records of the Ren Family*...

Sixth Master Ren Tianzong looked at these books and found that they were all very basic at first, but he sensed some underlying pattern. Could it be that after being beaten, he finally couldn't bear the oppression of the family elders and decided to improve himself? If so, then his elder brother could really... rest easy!

"Alright, send these things back. The people in the Library Pavilion should be replaced. Select a new batch to manage it, and send the original people to seclusion for cultivation. No one is to see them without my order. Also, from now on, any information about the family head's movements and activities should be sent to me immediately. If anyone else is found to be paying attention to the family head, control or eliminate them immediately."

"Yes." Wan Hong's blood boiled at the sound of Sixth Master's orders. When he was young, he had always wanted to follow Sixth Master and roam the world, or to do things for Sixth Master. But back then, he was too young and could only occasionally participate in small-scale battles. Later, Sixth Master completely retired here. After so many years, he finally had the chance to hear Sixth Master give orders again.

Watching Wan Hong leave, Ren Tianzong got up and returned to the room, gathering the few strands of hair on the bed that had been blown around by the wind. He said softly, "Feng'er, this is my elder brother's only heir, and I can't ignore his affairs. Although the Ren family is at its peak, there are already some hidden problems internally, and the external situation is even more unstable. If my elder brother were still around, it would be fine, but now it's uncertain. If this boy just wants to muddle through, it wouldn't be a problem, at least not in the short term. But if he really wants to control the Ren family, it would be dangerous if others found out. Even if he just wants to... do something, he would be seen as a thorn in the side. Let's see, if this boy is just a three-minute enthusiasm and as incapable as before, let him live a life of luxury and confusion. If he wants to do something, then my elder brother's instructions..."

...

The living conditions at the Jade Emperor Academy were excellent. Even ordinary students had their own single rooms, and those from truly powerful families had their own residences.

By a lake, there were several courtyards. In one of them, a woman with a slender figure and a slightly pointed chin was currently looking displeased.

"How could he not be dead? Gao Fei, that simple-minded brute, is only at the ninth level of Body Tempering, but because of his external cultivation, his full-force enraged attack is equivalent to the peak of Body Tempering. How could that waste not be dead?"

The speaker was Fang Qi, one of the three beauties of the Jade Emperor Academy, who was usually gentle and quiet. If many of her male admirers saw her like this, they would think she had been possessed by someone else.

"Really, Miss. I saw him get into the carriage and leave with my own eyes. Later, I had someone check. Today was the day the puppet family head returned to attend the elder meeting. The elders were very dissatisfied with his late return and even sent someone to urge him. It seems his life is quite tough, and that attack didn't kill him." Two maidservants stood beside her, one in a training uniform, who had been sent to investigate.

"He's such a weak family head. His expenses will probably be cut again, and he will have to beg for mercy. I heard that last time it took him seven or eight hours to get his allowance increased from 40,000 to 50,000 spirit stones, which is only 5,000 spirit stones. Not to mention the family head, even the direct-line descendants of powerful families are better off." The other maidservant said with disdain. Ren Jie's affairs had already spread throughout the Jade Capital, so no one really cared that he was the family head, especially since he wasn't his father, Ren Tianxing.

"Hmph!" Fang Qi snorted angrily, "This waste used to pester me, and I ignored him. Last time, he even dared to insult Brother Tian in front of me and others. What right does that waste have to speak about Brother Tian? Brother Tian may not have a family background, but he is the most outstanding genius in the entire Jade Essence Academy. He can't even compare to one of Brother Tian's fingers. Brother Tian will surely achieve great things, and he dared to insult him. This time, he got lucky, but this matter is not over. Immediately inform Gao Fei secretly and spread the word that he tried to molest me. Let the others know through other channels that I am grateful for what Gao Fei did for me."

The two maidservants agreed and immediately went their separate ways.

"There are so many brainless fools who think they can court me. But sometimes, fools can be useful." Fang Qi smiled smugly, "You all want to make me happy, so let you all think that whoever can deal with Ren Jie will make me happy. Ren Jie, you waste, even if you didn't die this time, I'll make sure you stay away from me and know your place. How dare you speak ill of Brother Tian?"

At first, she felt frustrated that Ren Jie didn't die, but now, thinking about the brainless fools who would torment Ren Jie, making his life miserable, and the fact that this would spread and lead to punishment from his family, Fang Qi couldn't help but laugh happily.

Brother Tian is on a trial, and I must work hard too. When the time comes, I will complete dual cultivation with Brother Tian, transcend to the Divine Sense stage, and become one of the outstanding young talents in the Jade Capital. With Brother Tian's support, no one in the Fang family will be able to compete with me.

Ren Jie is a puppet family head, but I will become the true family head of the Fang family, one of the five most powerful families in the Mingyu Dynasty.

...

Ren Jie stayed in the Library Pavilion for nearly twenty hours, resting for only a little over an hour. The rest of the time, he was fully focused on reading. Sometimes he would stop to eat something, and occasionally he would think about his life on Earth, wondering that if he had this level and memory on Earth, he could easily earn several degrees in just a few days.

The Library Pavilion of the Ren family was enormous. Even with Ren Jie's terrifying reading speed, he had only read a tiny fraction of it in a day and a night. Fortunately, Ren Jie wasn't really trying to do academic research; he just wanted to fill his originally blank mind and gain a clear understanding of this world.

As for many other things, they couldn't be learned from books. He just read for pleasure and ended up reading a lot of miscellaneous things.

When Ren Jie came out of the Library Pavilion, it was already sunset, with the sky painted red by the evening glow, vast and boundless, far surpassing his previous life. Stretching comfortably, Ren Jie looked at the people lined up to see him out through another door and noticed that they were all different from those he had seen when he arrived yesterday.

Maybe they were just on a shift change, but this time, they seemed to be new. Ren Jie thought casually and had someone prepare a carriage to take him back to the academy.

Although he was now the family head, if he could truly control the Ren family like his father, he would be one of the most powerful people in the Mingyu Dynasty. However, he was still like a young emperor who had just ascended the throne and needed to complete his studies at the Jade Emperor Academy.

Fortunately, the Jade Emperor Academy was known as a school for the privileged, and the academic requirements were not too strict. Of course, if a privileged student couldn't meet the basic requirements, they would still be persuaded to leave or expelled. But Ren Jie was from one of the five major families, the Ren family, and had already inherited the family head position. Who would dare to expel him or kick him out? That's why the original Ren family was willing to send him here to study.

This time, after returning to the Ren family for the elder meeting, although there was an outburst, Ren Jie also felt that the entire Ren family was like a vortex of trouble. So, after returning from the Library Pavilion, he immediately decided to go back to the Jade Emperor Academy first.