Master of Kaidan
Chapter 274 Mystical Lord Pavilion

Chapter 274: Chapter 274 Mystical Lord Pavilion

Escort Leader Lin walked dispiritedly on the street, watching passersby moving back and forth. He only felt an indescribable sadness. The noise from the arena where he had stepped down still echoed in his ears, making him feel as though he no longer belonged to this world.

"Leader! What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard. Escort Leader Lin immediately looked up and saw the Darts Master from his own escort agency walking towards him with a companion and slightly furrowed his brows.

"Why have you come out? What about the merchants?"

"All the goods have been sold. The boss gave us a day off. He took a few others, including Escort Leader Zhou, to see if there’s anything interesting in Jining City. We’ll bring something back on the return trip and avoid having an empty cart."

Listening to the Darts Master’s answer, Escort Leader Lin nodded and then asked,

"Where are you guys planning to go?"

"Mystical Lord Pavilion! We just heard from the buyers, and we want to check out the excitement," the Darts Master responded with a playful smile. Upon hearing this, an idea struck Escort Leader Lin,

"Let’s go together; I’d also like to see what kind of martial arts the Mystical Lord Secret Scripture really is."

...

The location of the Mystical Lord Pavilion was not difficult to find. By simply asking a passerby on the street, you could get an answer. Ten or so individuals walked for less than a quarter of an hour before they saw the "legendary" library.

The Mystical Lord Pavilion, referred to as a library, looked more like a tall pagoda, except that it was much broader than the usual ones.

Compared to a Buddhist pagoda, this place had a unique atmosphere. At the base of the almost thirty-foot "pagoda," there were many desks and arenas. Numerous martial artists, either in Yellow Robes or athletic wear, gathered in small groups - some furiously writing, some discussing in low voices. Occasionally, someone would jump onto the arena and spar for a couple of rounds, but they would step down from the platform before a winner was declared, continuing their discussions.

Despite the liveliness, the noise was kept at a remarkably low level; even though it was not far from the street, there was no loud chatter.

"Is this the Mystical Lord Pavilion?" A Darts Master looked at the three big characters painted in silver on the hooked iron signboard and hesitated for a moment. It was undeniable that the environment significantly influenced people; in a place where the majority was relatively quiet, one would naturally feel inclined to quiet down as well.

"Come on, let’s go in and take a look." Escort Leader Lin said in a low voice, and a few of them stepped towards the wide-open doorway. After entering, they saw a counter resembling that of a pawnshop, but unlike pawnshops, it was not intentionally elevated, nor were there any barriers or screens. They could see several men and women sitting side by side, receiving booklets from Jianghu individuals who entered through two side doors, leaving signatures and seals.

"Is this your first time at Mystical Lord Pavilion?"

It seemed that someone noticed the few men gawking, so a person dressed as a scholar came over. However, from the condition of his skin, Escort Leader Lin could tell that he was also an expert in the "Taiyin Transformation Technique."

"Yes, we’ve never been here before. What are the rules? And what are those people doing?"

Escort Leader Lin asked calmly. The scholar then explained:

"Mystical Lord Pavilion has no special rules, only prohibiting fighting and the destruction of scriptures. Those counters are for borrowing books. You just need to take something like a guide or identity proof there for registration, and then you can borrow the scripture in the pavilion. Please make sure to return them within the stipulated period."

At this point, the scholar pointed towards the small doors:

"Mystical Lord Pavilion has a total of nine layers. The first layer contains the original volumes of the ’Mystical Lord Secret Scripture’ and periodicals of the ’Mystical Lord Hundred Solutions.’ If you want to take them away, just leave ten coins as a printing fee. There’s really nothing special, we restock daily so don’t think about finding any manuscripts left by previous experts here. You can treat it like a bookstore."

"Ah, this..." A younger escort leader blushed when he heard this, undoubtedly that’s what he had thought.

It wasn’t just him, after all, lay disciples from Leiyin Temple grew up listening to stories about ’some master discovering divine skills left by predecessors while reading scriptures in the Scripture Pavilion,’ naturally attaching a different sentiment towards buildings like the Scripture Pavilion.

To these expressions of the escort leaders, the scholar, accustomed as he was, seemed not to notice and continued:

"Starting from the second floor, each layer corresponds to a volume of the ’Mystical Lord Secret Scripture.’ Apart from the original manuscripts of cultivation techniques personally left by the Mystical Lord, there are many experiences recorded by martial artists who have studied here. The second layer is the ’Immortal Sand Soul Returning Skill,’ the third is the ’Demon Capturing Evil Technique,’ the fourth is the ’Taiyin Transformation Technique,’ the fifth is the ’Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist,’ the sixth is the ’Yellow Robe Eighteen Falls,’ the seventh is the ’Shengxuan Dingguan Step,’ and the eighth is the ’Ganoderma Life Extension Method.’"

"The general ’Ganoderma Life Extension Method’ is on the eighth layer? Then what is on the ninth layer?" Compared to those already attracted by the "original manuscripts of cultivation techniques left by the Mystical Lord," Escort Leader Lin was more concerned about the ninth layer. The scholar wasn’t surprised by the question, and simply responded lightly:

"The ninth layer holds the cultivation techniques created by various people from the Jianghu based on the ’Mystical Lord Secret Scripture.’ For example, the ’Devil Capturing Eight Hands’ created by Qiu Linqiang, a tributor from the Demon Extermination Department based on the ’Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist,’ and the ’Nine Yin Rejuvenation Skill’ created by Sikong Ling from Guanghan Palace based on the ’Taiyin Transformation Technique,’ and so on.

"However, to enter this layer, you must first create a cultivation technique based on the ’Mystical Lord Secret Scripture.’ As long as it is recognized by the gatekeeper, this technique will be placed in the ninth layer, and the creator can freely borrow other secret manuals from the ninth layer.

"But please note that the secret manuals on the ninth layer cannot be taken out of the Mystical Lord Pavilion, nor copied, nor taught to others, otherwise..."

The scholar didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood his implication—Jianghu rules dictate a grave consequence for secretly passing martial arts skills to others; those who know, just know.

"Creating a martial art, that’s quite a high threshold, isn’t it?" A young escort muttered in slight regret. Before Escort Leader Lin could scold him, the scholar just smiled and said:

"The creation of martial arts isn’t as difficult as you think. Once you’ve seen the ’Ganoderma Life Extension Method,’ you’ll understand. Moreover, what the gatekeeper values is not the strength of the cultivation techniques, but the ’spiritual’ ingenuity in their creation. As long as it’s innovative and has character, even if it’s not powerful, it can be approved. For example, ’crossing a river with a reed’ is considered less significant in the eyes of the gatekeeper than ’eight steps chasing cicadas.’"

"Thank you for your guidance." Escort Leader Lin respectfully thanked him, but the scholar just shook his head smilingly:

"No worries, this is merely part of my duties. Oh, by the way, the Mystical Lord will be hosting a public martial arts lecture tomorrow morning. Make sure you don’t miss it!"

"Of course." Escort Leader Lin nodded, and with the approval from their leader, the other escort leaders headed towards the floors that interested them.

After thinking for a moment, Escort Leader Lin didn’t go to the basic layers of inner strength or mental methods, nor did he rush to study the ’Taiyin Transformation Technique.’ Instead, he headed straight for the fifth layer—

He was profoundly impressed by the bizarre and incredible fist techniques of that Li Gou Dan.

It could even be said that he felt a bit haunted.

"Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms Fist, what kind of fist technique is it exactly?"