Free Web NovelChapter 169: Chapter 169: Three Location Sign-Ins
Chapter 169: Three Location Sign-Ins
After consolidating his breakthrough to Spirit Manifestation Realm Level 3, Rhain turned his attention toward his next objective.
"System, open the map." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Instantly, the sprawling, translucent grid of Stormveil Academy materialized within his consciousness.
Rhain’s eyes swept over the glowing blue layout.
His eyes searched for the glowing markers of Location Sign-In nodes.
He soon found all of them.
Two nodes he had already claimed — the main academy grounds, which had granted the Mystic-Grade Spirit Gathering Profound Banner, and the Alchemy Division, which had rewarded him the Mystic-Grade Spirit-Ascension Star Lily.
But as his eyes traced further across the map, he found three additional glowing markers.
The first one was high above the central lake of the Academy.
Rhain recognized it immediately — it was the Dean’s secluded pavilion, the very place Fabian had first taken him and Seris upon their arrival.
The second node glowed at the absolute center of the Academy grounds.
Heavenly Ascendent Tower.
Rhain’s dark grey eyes lingered on that marker for a long moment.
The tower he would eventually have to climb to become the Core Palace disciple.
Unexpectedly, it was also one of the location Sign-Ins.
Rhain looked at those two nodes and let out a faint sigh.
Dean’s pavilion was off-limits — the Dean herself was in closed-door seclusion, and even with his jade token from Myrielle, barging into a Domain Master’s cultivation sanctum would be suicidal stupidity.
Heavenly Ascendent Tower required either Core Palace status or winning the Inner Palace Tournament, neither of which he possessed at this moment.
Both of these locations were entirely off-limits for the time being.
His gaze shifted to the third and final glowing node.
It was located in the northern sector of the Inner Palace.
The Grand Library of Stormveil Academy.
"What a perfect coincidence!" A satisfied smirk appeared on Rhain’s lips.
It just so happened that the library was precisely where Rhain had already been planning to go.
Throughout his rapid ascent in the Outer Frontier, Rhain had relied on a devastating combination of his Abyssal Sovereign Physique’s raw physical dominance, Void Fist’s defense-piercing strikes, and the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame channeled through the Solar Annihilation Sphere Art.
But therein lay the problem.
The Solar Annihilation Sphere Art was only a Rare-Grade technique.
It was the best fire-type martial art he had found in the entire Outer Frontier, and it had served him extraordinarily well — he had literally vaporized a Level 7 Core Formation expert and an entire three-century-old clan with it.
But against the elites of the Inner Province, a Rare-Grade channeling technique would eventually hit its ceiling.
Moreover, this technique was impractical for close-quarters, precise combat as it required a lot of time to unleash its true destructive power.
He needed an Epic-Grade fire-type martial art — one specifically designed to harness and amplify a flame of utter destruction, and one that can be used as both close combat, and a range martial art.
Back in the Outer Frontier, the few Epic-Grade martial arts he had encountered were either ice-attributed, weapon-focused, or cultivation techniques entirely unsuited to his needs.
But the Stormveil Academy’s Grand Library was a thousand-year repository of martial knowledge, containing techniques gathered from across the entire Solathane Dynasty.
Finding a fire type Epic Grade martial art that suited his needs should not be a problem.
Rhain stood, adjusted his dark, gold-trimmed robes, and walked out of his courtyard.
_________________
The Grand Library was not far from Rhain’s residence.
It was a towering, five story pagoda. Each successive floor was slightly narrower than the one below, giving the structure a graceful appearance.
During Fabian’s earlier briefing, Rhain had learned that Gold Badge Inner Palace disciples were permitted to borrow the academy’s finest Epic-Grade martial arts and techniques once per month.
It was one of the most coveted privileges of the top thirty, and Rhain intended to make full use of it today.
A pair of burly guards stood at attention radiating the pressure of the middle stage Core Formation Realm experts.
Rhain didn’t say a word, and simply strode forward.
Inside the library, an elderly librarian with a strict, wrinkled face sat behind the counter, meticulously stamping a pile of jade slips.
As Rhain entered, he looked at Rhain’s Gold Badge against his chest, and nodded, "You have unhindered access to the fourth floor. Please heed to the library rules — no destruction of materials, no removal of scrolls beyond the designated borrowing limit, and no combat within the premises."
Rhain gave a curt bow and then headed for the spiral staircase.
The library was divided into five floors, governed by a rigid hierarchy of talent and status.
First floor was reserved entirely for the Outer Palace disciples.
It contained tens of thousands of Rare-Grade martial arts.
The middle three floors—the second, third, and fourth—were exclusive for the Inner Palace disciples, housing the Academy’s Epic-Grade Martial Arts.
However, even these Epic-Grade arts were meticulously segregated based on their complexity, rarity, and raw power.
The second floor contained lower-tier Epic-Grade arts, accessible to the Bronze Badge disciples.
The third floor held mid-tier Epic-Grade arts for the Silver Badge disciples.
The fourth floor contained the high-tier, devastatingly lethal Epic-Grade arts.
These were the best Epic Grade arts of the Academy, and only the top thirty geniuses who possessed the Gold Badge were permitted to set foot here.
As for the fifth and final floor?
It was a forbidden zone, restricted to the Core Palace disciples and the Preceptors, containing the Academy’s Mystic-Grade foundational treasures.
Rhain bypassed the bustling first floor, ignored the second, and walked right past the third without even throwing a glance at the Silver Badge disciples browsing the shelves.
He went straight up to the fourth floor.
Stepping off the staircase, the atmosphere changed immediately.
The fourth floor was incredibly silent.
The shelves here were fewer in number but each one radiated a profound aura.
Rhain swept his dark grey eyes across the vast, quiet room.
Given that there were only thirty Gold Badge disciples in the entire academy—and many of them were currently deep in closed-door seclusion preparing for the upcoming Inner Palace Tournament—the floor was practically deserted.
In fact, besides Rhain, there was only one other person in the entire room.
A young man dressed in the white and gold-trimmed robes of the Inner Palace was standing near a pedestal in the far corner, deeply engrossed in reading the description of a martial art.
Hearing the footsteps, the young man’s body stiffened.
Knowing that only the most monstrous top-thirty geniuses or Preceptors were permitted on the fourth floor, the young man didn’t dare to show any disrespect.
He quickly turned around, hastily lowering his head into a deep bow.
"Junior greets the Senior—"
The young man’s polite greeting froze abruptly as his eyes locked onto the face of the person who had just arrived.
Rhain looked at the bowing figure, his dark grey eyes narrowing slightly.
The person standing before him, currently frozen in a posture of utmost subservience, was none other than the Inner Palace examiner he had kicked squarely on the butt and sent sliding face-first into the dirt during the second trial.
Navarre.
"You..." Navarre spat subconsciously, all pretense of civility evaporating from his voice.
Rhain’s dark grey eyes drifted downward, landing on the silver badge pinned to Navarre’s chest.
"A Silver Badge," Rhain stated with mild intrest, "If I recall academy’s rules correctly, the fourth floor is strictly reserved for the top thirty Gold Badge disciples. So what exactly is a Silver Badge doing up here?"
Navarre’s hands clenched into tight fists by his sides, as he heard Rhain’s question.
"Silver Badge disciples are permitted to enter the fourth floor and select a single high-tier martial art once every year," Navarre gritted out.
He glared at Rhain, his heart boiling with hatred.
Originally, he had been saving this precious, once-a-year opportunity to select a high-tier attack-type Epic-Grade martial art to further elevate his combat prowess and push his rankings.
But Rhain ruined everything.
The memory of that humiliating kick—of sliding face-first into the dirt in the view of a hundred thousand people had consumed his mind. fгeewebnovёl.com
Over the past few days, he had become the laughingstock of the Inner Palace.
Even his so-called friends were whispering and mocking him behind his back.
Driven to the brink of madness by the humiliation, Navarre dropped his previous plan.
He had come to the fourth floor today specifically to find a top-tier Epic-Grade movement martial art.
He needed a footwork technique so incredibly fast and elusive that it would perfectly counter Rhain’s bizarre speed, allowing him to erase his shame in their next encounter.
But as Navarre’s furious gaze shifted slightly, his eyes locked onto Rhain’s chest.
What he saw was a gleaming Gold Badge.
Navarre’s handsome face instantly warped into a visage of extreme ugliness.
He knew Preceptor Fabian had promised Rhain Inner Palace status, but he had assumed it would be at the very bottom of the Bronze tier!
To think Fabian had directly handed him a Gold Badge without a single ranking match!
The fourth floor that Navarre dreamed about and agonized over for an entire year just to visit once—this nameless commoner could now stroll in and out of freely every single month!
The sheer injustice of it made Navarre feel as if his face was kicked back into a pile of shit.
"I see," Rhain simply nodded with an unbothered face. "I didn’t know about that rule."
Without offering another word or sparing Navarre a second glance, Rhain calmly walked right past him to reach the martial arts in the bookshelves.
Navarre stood frozen in place, staring at Rhain’s retreating back with eyes full of venomous hatred, and deep unwillingness.
How is he supposed to get his revenge against a Gold Badge disciple?
But then, a sneer crept onto his lips.
It’s all because of her!
Seris.
The peerless fairy with the True Heavenly Physique.
’Preceptor Fabian must have directly handed him this exalted status just to curry favor with his wife! The Academy is bending over backwards to keep that fairy happy, and this worthless trash is just riding her coattails into the top thirty!’
The more Navarre thought about it, the more convinced he became
His fists loosened slightly with a twisted sense of anticipation.
Gold Badge status wasn’t permanent.
In exactly two months, annual Inner Palace contest would commence.
The rankings would be refreshed through actual combat, and only those with true strength could hold onto the top thirty seats.
’Enjoy your stolen status while you can, you parasite,’ Navarre thought, a cruel light flashing in his eyes. ’When the tournament arrives, your pathetic strength will be exposed for all to see. You’ll be brutally kicked down to the Silver—or perhaps even the Bronze—tier.’
He turned back, and left the fourth floor.
