Chapter 5

Xuanwu Pavilion is a crucial place for martial arts within the clan, housing various martial arts manuals passed down through the Zhao family for hundreds of years. These manuals are available for the younger generations to study and comprehend, ensuring the family's prosperity and continuity.

Often, the quantity and quality of martial arts manuals can measure a family's strength and depth.

Zhao Feng remembered that the Zhao family in Qingye Town, where he originally came from, did not have such an institution.

Xuanwu Pavilion has three floors.

The first floor contains a vast number of manuals, mostly low-level martial arts, with a few intermediate-level ones.

The second floor, it is said, houses the essence of the clan's martial arts manuals, mostly high-level, and even a few top-tier martial arts!

However, to enter the second floor of Xuanwu Pavilion, one must be at least a True Martial Artist of the Fourth Level.

As for the highest third floor of Xuanwu Pavilion, it has always been a legend, never open to the public...

For Zhao Feng, let alone the second and third floors, even the martial arts manuals on the first floor were something he could only dream of in the past.

In the Zhao family, he had no background or support and no outstanding talent. When he practiced the Flame Steel Fist before, it was just a basic technique, far inferior to low-level techniques.

Now, having advanced to the Second Level of Martial Arts, he has the资格 to enter the first floor of Xuanwu Pavilion and choose a technique suitable for himself.

"The Zhao family is indeed one of the three major families in Yuyang City, surpassing hundreds of other families."

Zhao Feng stepped into the first floor of Xuanwu Pavilion, slightly nervous.

On the first floor of Xuanwu Pavilion, a few Zhao family descendants could be seen, all trying to choose techniques suitable for themselves as quickly as possible.

According to the rules, the time allowed to enter Xuanwu Pavilion is only half an hour.

Therefore, everyone who enters Xuanwu Pavilion is racing against the clock.

"Half an hour, I need to choose one intermediate-level technique or two low-level techniques."

Zhao Feng took a deep breath and scanned the rows of bookshelves.

There are thousands of martial arts manuals on the first floor of Xuanwu Pavilion, each about half an inch thick. Selecting one or two suitable ones from such a vast collection is not easy.

"Crushing Rock Palm, Furious Dragon Fist, Willow Leaf Star Plucking Sword, Heavenly Wind如意Step..."

The variety of martial arts manuals made Zhao Feng's eyes dazzle.

Swish! Swish!...

Zhao Feng quickly flipped through the first pages of these martial arts manuals.

These manuals often have a comprehensive overview on the first page.

"Wild Wind Blade: Blade techniques like the wind, with the momentum of a thunderbolt, winning by speed. Requires Martial Arts Level One, average difficulty. Martial Arts Level: Low."

"Furious Dragon Fist: Enhances the practitioner's internal qi and blood, allowing them to instantly凝聚 qi and blood, overpowering opponents with momentum and explosive power. Requires Martial Arts Level Two, high difficulty. Martial Arts Level: Peak Intermediate."

"Heavenly Wind如意Step: A close-combat stepping technique that uses slowness to counter speed. When perfected, one can engage several same-level practitioners without defeat. Requires Martial Arts Level One, but some insight is needed. Martial Arts Level: Intermediate."

"Iron Sand: A technique for strengthening the body and defense. When fully activated, it can withstand attacks from same-level practitioners. When mastered, one can resist blades and swords with the body. Requires Martial Arts Level Two, high difficulty, requiring great perseverance and determination. Martial Arts Level: Intermediate."

...

"The martial arts manuals in Xuanwu Pavilion are indeed far superior to basic martial arts..."

Zhao Feng was elated, focusing mostly on intermediate-level martial arts.

Just by quickly browsing through a dozen manuals, Zhao Feng was tempted several times.

However, Xuanwu Pavilion has restrictions. As a Second Level Martial Artist, he can only take one intermediate-level martial arts manual out.

If only he could take more...

Zhao Feng felt very frustrated and somewhat resentful: "Branch family descendants can only choose one intermediate-level martial art, while main family descendants can choose two."

To speed up the selection process, Zhao Feng secretly activated his left eye.

Even without deliberately activating his left eye, Zhao Feng's reading speed was far superior to that of ordinary people.

Now, with his left eye's ability, his speed increased by more than ten times...

Swish! Swish!...

Zhao Feng's left eye flickered, flipping through the martial arts manuals at a terrifying speed.

He could see the content of the manuals clearly with just a glance.

After flipping through dozens of manuals, Zhao Feng remembered the content he had read and compared them.

When he reached fifty manuals, Zhao Feng suddenly realized something...

No!

Zhao Feng's action of flipping through the manuals suddenly froze.

He then recalled the content of the manuals he had read.

Suddenly, the summaries of the first pages of dozens of manuals appeared in his mind, word for word.

"This..."

Zhao Feng was greatly shocked, then overwhelmed by immense joy.

It turned out that after fusing with his left eye, Zhao Feng's memory had greatly improved, almost to the point of photographic memory.

Especially when he deliberately activated his left eye, the content he scanned was imprinted in his mind, unforgettable and deeply etched.

Zhao Feng never expected that the legendary "photographic memory" would appear in him.

In the Qinghua Continent, there are many legends about geniuses, and photographic memory is one of them.

But a typical photographic memory is just a good memory, remembering most of what one sees.

In comparison, Zhao Feng's "photographic memory" was stronger. The content he read with his left eye was deeply imprinted in his mind, unforgettable for life.

With this ability, in Xuanwu Pavilion, it meant that Zhao Feng could "take" several more martial arts manuals out.

"Quickly, quickly, quickly!"

Zhao Feng's face showed a hint of madness as he quickly picked up a martial arts manual that had caught his eye earlier.

Swish! Swish!...

He was highly focused, flipping through the martial arts manual in his hand at a rapid pace.

As long as the pages were "scanned" by his left eye, whether text or images, he could instantly remember them.

A martial arts manual with dozens of pages, Zhao Feng memorized it completely in just twenty breaths.

"Ha ha ha... Photographic memory! Excellent!"

Zhao Feng was extremely pleased, flipping through and "scanning" several more martial arts manuals at an even faster and more frenzied pace.

His actions naturally caught the attention of a few Zhao family descendants on the first floor of Xuanwu Pavilion.

"Is this guy crazy?"

"Maybe it's his first time entering the second floor of Xuanwu Pavilion, and he's too excited."

A few Zhao family descendants, noticing Zhao Feng's actions, were slightly surprised and shook their heads.

Time flew by...

Three-quarters of the half-hour had already passed.

Phew!

Zhao Feng took a deep breath, mentally exhausted but unable to hide his excitement.

By this point, he had "stolen" over a hundred martial arts manuals from Xuanwu Pavilion.

These manuals were mostly intermediate-level martial arts, covering various aspects such as fist techniques, palm techniques, sword techniques, breathing techniques, light body techniques, and defensive body strengthening techniques.

Due to frequently activating his left eye, Zhao Feng's mental energy was greatly drained, and he was struggling to keep up.

Next, he slowly wandered around the first floor of "Xuanwu Pavilion," his powerful left eye scanning every corner.

Suddenly, Zhao Feng's left eye focused on a moldy and old martial arts manual on the bookshelf.

He noticed this manual because he sensed that its material was different from ordinary manuals.

Zhao Feng picked up the moldy manual and saw three characters on it: "Piaolingdu."

He flipped to the first page for an overview.

"Piaolingdu: A superior light body martial art, allowing practitioners to be as light as a swallow, leave no trace on snow, and cross rivers... When perfected, one can generate force multiple times in the air, even briefly floating in the air! Requires Martial Arts Level Two, extremely difficult to practice, and even more powerful when combined with internal martial arts. At its highest level, practitioners below the Seventh Level of Martial Arts are rarely matched in speed!"

Zhao Feng originally thought it was just an ordinary light body technique, but when he saw phrases like "generate force multiple times in the air" and "combined with internal martial arts," his eyes lit up.

"Generate force multiple times in the air," this already surpasses all intermediate-level techniques, and most high-level techniques cannot achieve this.

"Combined with internal martial arts," indicating that this light body technique is suitable for true martial artists above the Fourth Level of Martial Arts.

The most terrifying part is the final description: "At its highest level, practitioners below the Seventh Level of Martial Arts are rarely matched in speed!"

"What a bold claim! Even some top-tier light body techniques wouldn't dare to make such a statement."

Zhao Feng's eyes flashed, and without hesitation, he began to memorize the content of "Piaolingdu."

He was somewhat surprised that such a powerful technique was placed at the bottom, seemingly ignored.

Soon, Zhao Feng discovered the reason.

When he flipped to the quarter mark of the manual, the characters on the subsequent pages gradually became blurry and unclear, mainly due to the age and dirt and mold on the pages.

In other words, this manual could only be practiced up to the first quarter of its content.

"Such a pity..."

Zhao Feng was greatly disappointed.

However, he did not give up. He activated his left eye and focused on the blurry characters.

By fully activating his left eye, Zhao Feng could勉强 discern the characters hidden under the dirt, which was already several times beyond the limits of human vision.

After just a couple of pages, Zhao Feng's mind was exhausted, his left eye powerless, and his mental energy greatly drained.

"As long as I take this manual back, I can slowly 'decode' the rest of the content."

With this thought, Zhao Feng took "Piaolingdu" and walked out of the first floor of Xuanwu Pavilion.

"Piaolingdu? You chose this manual?"

The white-robed elder frowned slightly.

"Exactly."

Zhao Feng respectfully replied.

"This manual has been passed down for a thousand years, and its profundity and subtlety even surpass high-level techniques." The white-robed elder then changed his tone: "However, only a quarter of the content is clear. More importantly, this manual is extremely difficult to practice. In the past, few of the clan's geniuses succeeded. Even if they did... it is only suitable for practitioners below the Fourth Level of Martial Arts, with limited potential."

Finally, the white-robed elder warned: "I advise you to choose another technique and not waste too much energy on this. Otherwise, you will find it difficult to break through the Fourth Level of Martial Arts and become a true martial artist."

"Thank you for your advice, Elder, but I have made up my mind."

Zhao Feng's expression was calm.

Watching Zhao Feng leave, the white-robed elder shook his head: "Young people these days are all reaching for the stars."

He did not believe that Zhao Feng could master "Piaolingdu." Even if he did, what good would a partial technique do?

Leaving Xuanwu Pavilion, Zhao Feng returned home.

Sitting on the bed, he closed his eyes, and the content of over a hundred martial arts manuals quickly emerged in his mind...

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