Above The Sky
Chapter 550 - 550 519 Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room 33

550: Chapter 519: Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room (3/3) 550: Chapter 519: Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room (3/3) The Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room, as the name implies, needs no further explanation.

Those that are collected here are, for the most part, quite important historical originals, or some Spirit Energy Tomes that have a special structure and cannot be fully replicated.

In terms of the phrases used during the Lost Epoch, these would probably be called magic books, or magic guidebooks—in short, what’s truly important about these books is not their content, but the peculiar Spirit Energy attached to them.

In theory, Ian could also visit the Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room.

He had the access pass and a letter of introduction from an Alchemy Master; staying for a brief half hour was completely no issue, not to mention he had directly scanned with the Silver Chip.

But to rush to this place on his first visit to The Grand Library would have been somewhat overly eager.

Ian had the patience to take it slow, to achieve his goals without arousing any suspicion or undue attention.

Ultimately, he was the type of person who would list out a plan and follow it step by step, adjusting according to unforeseen circumstances.

However, occasionally he would encounter some unexpected changes that were too significant to ignore.

For example, encountering Count Phoenix.

“So it turns out you are the honorary curator of The Grand Library, Lord Count,”

On the way to the room that held the treasures, Ian discovered from Count Phoenix’s boastful ramblings—though he was actually speaking the truth, at most reminiscing the turbulent years of his past, but with his tone, it sounded like bragging—about his rise in rank after the Dark Moon upheaval.

As a reward for defending The Grand Library, the old man was directly promoted by the Guardian to be the Chief of the Bureau of Ancient Documents and History that year, responsible for the preservation and management of all related documents in the Imperial Capital.

Later, having perfectly completed related work tasks, and somehow, from the ruins of various major obliterated Nobles’ dwellings, he gathered a large collection of rare books.

Axel then appointed Count Phoenix to concurrently hold the positions of The Grand Library’s curator and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Truth.

As a Deputy Minister of the Empire, especially one of such a heavyweight department like the Ministry of Truth, Count Phoenix was a truly important official in the Imperial Capital.

But obviously, this was as far as he could go.

The Count could no longer advance his career further merely with his words.

Nevertheless, he had reached the pinnacle for a technician; beyond that lay the realm of political compromise and power struggles.

While the Kishineff Family had the necessary background, the family members all seemed to lack a bit of ambition in their character.

Now, as Count Phoenix gradually grew older, although he still maintained his peak condition, he had stepped down of his own accord.

Apart from retaining an honorary position as a curator, he essentially held no official title anymore—but no one idle would dare to provoke the elderly Earl of the Kishineff Family.

It was exactly due to this, that Ian could be brought by the other party to the Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room…

This place housed all the precious solitary tomes that Count Phoenix had protected during the Dark Moon upheaval, the crystallized pride of his life.

In other words, whenever Count Phoenix met a younger person he was slightly impressed by, he would bring them here to boast about himself.

Ian, of course, was very cooperative, and his admiration for the Count’s great achievements was one hundred percent sincere.

This was no act; he truly recognized the feats accomplished by the other party as grand.

In Ian’s description, Count Phoenix was nothing short of the savior of the academic world in the Imperial Capital, the preserver of Human civilization, the guardian saint of all books and libraries.

Even the old Earl, who originally intended to enjoy an evening of flattery, felt it was a bit too much and couldn’t help but cough a couple of times, calling for a halt.

“Enough, enough, that’s really too much.

I am not that great,”

The elderly Earl waved his hand, but even Frost Butterfly could see the corners of his lips rising in joy: “Let’s take a look at these books—although many of their contents have lost value over time, becoming ancient relics surpassed by modern alchemy, sometimes ancient knowledge still holds value.

Its significance lies in proving the paths we’ve walked in the past.”

“I’ve always believed that even the most insignificant book deserves respect, for it represents what the author says to all future readers.

Of course, books that show no respect for readers, those that are hastily written and full of nonsense, can be discounted.

Respect is mutual.”

Even the frequently outspoken Count Phoenix, when it came to things he loved, spoke with seriousness which made Ian nod in agreement.

And then, Ian began to look around the collection room, which was neither large nor small.

In a cursory glance, the Precious Solitary Tome Collection Room appeared rather plain, but upon closer inspection, one could see that each book was secured in its place by solidified Inscriptions.

Without the corresponding Inscription Key, not even the power of one at the Second Energy Level Peak could destroy even a speck of wood chips here.

On the ground, there was a thick, beautifully patterned, handwoven carpet.

But if one really thought it was just an ordinary carpet, they would be mistaken.

Foresight View informed Ian that this object was a Second Energy Level spirit creation named ‘Rage of the Fluff.’ Should anyone attempt destructive actions here, this spirit creation would come to life, transforming into an incredibly tough prison, binding the destroyer in place.

Similar protective measures could be found everywhere—from the bookshelves, to the transparent glass cases, to the lights overhead, all had their mysteries.

But what truly drew one’s attention were the books themselves.

“‘Legends of the Seven Sages,’ an ancient handwritten manuscript recording thirty-two major disasters from The Lost Age?

‘Abyssal Sacrificial Text,’ what a peculiar thing…

Oh, a manual for communicating with the Domain of Void…

‘Emerald Records’!

The most ancient alchemy tome’s imprint!

Ah ha!

‘Legends of the Seven Sages’ and ‘Annals of the Crucible’!

If I remember correctly, these should be some of the earliest praises for Prophets and disaster prophecies!”

With just a glance, Ian discovered many invaluable, solitary ancient books.

Even he had heard of them, but had never seen a single word or document of them before.

Some contained mere mythological legends or records of ancient documents, while others, such as the Abyssal Sacrificial Text, gave Ian a sense of the Domain of Void…

It was indeed a kind of spirit writing that could communicate with the Domain of Void.

With it, even an ordinary person could descend into the Domain of Void through various rituals.

Whether they could come out alive from the Domain of Void, that was another matter entirely.

For the former, Ian had only to touch the book a bit, and the powerful energy of the Silver Chip would replicate all of its text.

But for the latter, which were much more dangerous and exceedingly mysterious, even if Ian touched them or even took one out to flip through with Count Phoenix’s permission, he could not imprint their spirit energy, only able to replicate the ordinary text.

Even so, it filled Ian with elation—this was truly a significant harvest!

Although these treasured tomes contained nothing of ‘technical information’ of value, for someone like him who had everything except ‘historical and arcane information,’ the gains were arguably the pinnacle of his time since arriving at the Imperial Capital.

Not to mention, among other things, the most important descriptions of ‘descending into the Abyss’ in the Abyssal Sacrificial Text, which were meaningless to Ian, yet it contained over a thousand years of research process by all the researchers related to the Lost Age until four hundred years ago.

The experience of their research and the ‘mistakes’ they had made were more meaningful than the final correct answer!

But what shocked Ian the most was a book in the middle of the bookshelf that looked unremarkable at first glance.

“‘Book of Silver Radiance’?”