Chapter 8: Spirit Scrolls Pagoda!

Chapter 8: Spirit Scrolls Pagoda! Ken had come to a part of this realization; his mind, helped by the hints all around, had been able to deduce some of the intent behind this, but not everything, as in the end, he only received hints. And throughout the way he had been able to see all kinds of structures and phenomena, and he had been able to grasp bits and pieces of what a sect meant. In fact, aside from being a training ground, a realm of constant progress, it wasn’t much different from a normal kingdom. It was like the difference between a primitive or medieval nation and a modern or futuristic one. The daily life, concentrations of people, restaurants, mines, and farms were all there. but it was advanced, not in technology but in mysticism and added culture. Now he was in front of the Spirit Scrolls Pagoda. A pagoda... more like a goddamn skyscraper. Ken almost snapped his neck trying to see the top but couldn’t. Not just the height, the size itself was crazy. [Oh yes, the good old Spirit Mountain Pagoda, the secrets it hides... are many; you’d better hole yourself up here. It would make wonders out of that mind of yours.] Seeing the hints, a few thoughts played through Ken’s mind, but he was still not used to or knew enough to do anything yet. Behind him stood the Mountain Scrolls Pagoda. [The amount of scrolls and techniques here... One would assume even the one who created it wouldn’t have been able to guess their amounts. And let’s not even speak about the overpowered techniques, the known ones, and the ones hidden in plain sight... Yeah, you seriously need to hole yourself in here.] The hints once again appeared, but this time, there really was nothing he could do. One cannot take more than one technique at first, and if they wanted to take another one, free of charge, they had to master the first one to a certain extent. Otherwise, they’d have to buy their time. And time inside here wasn’t something he could afford just yet. All in all, these mountains were grand. It was as if the sect took two mountains and sculpted them into pagodas; the sheer grandiosity was crazy. He was standing on a paved street; the edges were decorated with luminescent trees, and each of the pagodas, even though there was a significant distance between them, had 2 of the four mythical beasts as statues on top of two pillars, which were stationed in front of the gate. But what surprised Ken the most was that... The mythical beasts... The dragon, phoenix, tiger, and turtle... They were moving. One had to understand the sheer size of the pagodas to know that the beasts on the pillars looked like giants standing atop your head. One would fear that they’d gaze at you and you’d be paralyzed to death. But there was one unique criterion about the beasts: their bodies weren’t physical; they were like wisps of energy. [These are the pagoda-protecting spirits under a master-servant contract, here to warn you to better behave yourself. But enemies should fear them more.] "As expected of the spirit mountain sect." It’s hard to keep your calm in such a sect; had it been anyone else, their reaction wouldn’t have ended at just being shocked. Taking a few steps, Ken was finally able to enter the pagoda, and he was once again awestruck, but by now, he was getting used to it. One would argue that he had already come to the Mountain Scrolls pagoda before, and he had absorbed the memories, so he shouldn’t react as much. One, absorbing memories was like seeing videos; experiencing them was a different thing. Two, the two pagodas were different in style. Three, words alone don’t do justice to the grandiosity of such structures, as they were made with the intention of breaking one’s spirit again and again to build it stronger. Ken looked around; as a disciple, he didn’t need to speak to anyone to do whatever he wanted, but there were elders here who sometimes intervened to guide the younglings. Aside from that, there were some fellow disciples who either worked here or were knowledgeable enough to help others. Thus, without speaking to anyone, Ken headed forward. The pagoda was like another realm, a realm of books, as there seemed to be no roofs, only more and more pillars holding different pieces of knowledge. Had Ken not seen disciples walking and taking books from there, he would have assumed something else. Looking in the middle, he could see some stairs that led up. And all around the library there were tables and seats for those who wanted to focus and empty scrolls and books for those who liked to plan. That’s where he headed. Thinking alone wasn’t useful, as he needed to figure out where he should start and what to read. But since this was the first day, he would only plan first. He needed to know the cultivation realms and the requirements and steps he would and should take. But that was all secondary. He needed to know most of the dangers around him; he needed to know the history of the world, the events that could come out of nowhere and flip his safety over its head. He had to know the relationship between humans and the other races, the enemies and the allies, what the humans of this world were like, and how they thought. Everything he just stated was written and shown in books as words more than interacting with people could ever show, but that’s what Ken personally believed. So he made a plan for what he should focus on: the primary, secondary, and subsequent subjects. After that, he would have to go around the sect, but not to know history and people, but to know the news of today and what the future held. to know what events the sect will hold, what he has to do, and possibly how to do them most efficiently. All kinds of things had to be done, slowly and carefully. -----End-----