Xiang Shaoyun seemed to have witnessed the destruction of a star with his very own eyes. The lightning calamity and the star fire were filled with destructiveness. Nobody could hope to stop such a terrifying power, a power known as the Lightning Calamity Fiery Star.

Xiang Shaoyun had not imagined that a few ruined pages would contain such a terrifying and exceptional battle technique. It almost seemed like it was actually a god-grade technique. Was it truly a technique surpassing the saint grade?

To destroy an entire star with a single blast of energy, what could this be if not a god-grade technique? He recalled the sensation of witnessing that scene over and over again. He had seen a terrifying power created through the fusion of lightning and flame. Similar to his Wind and Lightning technique, it was a technique utilizing two different energies.

These pages had remained on the second floor undetected because they were waiting for a cultivator that cultivated both lightning and fire. Xiang Shaoyun, as someone who cultivated nine powers, naturally met the requirement. Hence, he had chanced upon a truly massive gain.

Of course, he had yet to realize just how much he had gained. He was too busy contemplating the powers of lightning and flame, trying to figure out the way of fusing the two. He believed that if he could somehow grasp the technique, it would serve him as well as the Cosmos Dao Destroying Fist.

He visualized the scene about 10,000 times, gradually etching its sensation into his heart before he finally opened his eyes again. At that moment, one of his eyes had crackling lightning within it while the other had a raging flame. It was as though his pupils had turned into pupils of flame and lightning, looking incredibly oppressive.

The elder standing guard by his side exclaimed in astonishment, "This kid has actually cultivated an eye technique?"

After Xiang Shaoyun withdrew all his aura into his body, he stood up and bowed to the elder, saying, "Thank you, elder, for guarding this kid. I can't be grateful enough."

"Kid, what happened to you? Where are the ruined pages that were previously here?" asked the elder.

He had been guarding this place for over 1,000 years. He knew every single book in the collection, and he knew very well that there were several ruined pages on the shelf in front of Xiang Shaoyun. Now that the pages were missing, he suspected that Xiang Shaoyun had discovered the secret behind them.

Xiang Shaoyun knew how precious what he had just gotten was, and if he spoke the truth, his life might be in danger. Thus, he used a sullen tone and said, "Elder, you need to uphold justice for me! I have no idea what those shabby papers are. The moment I picked them up, a terrifying power invaded my mind. If it wasn't for my trump card, my soul would have been destroyed."

The elder raised his brow and asked, "Are you speaking the truth?"

"Every single word is true! Did someone set up a trap here to harm me? Even now, my head is in great pain. Without some soul recovery herbs or spring water, I'm afraid I will be left with a long-lasting injury. Elder, you need to uphold justice!" Xiang Shaoyun said pitifully, akin to a harmless little girl that had just been violated.

The elder frowned and said, "Kid, let me take a look for you."

The elder's palm landed on Xiang Shaoyun's head before he could even react.

Shit! Xiang Shaoyun cursed inwardly.

He had thought that he could use deception to deal with this elder and scam some valuable herbs while he was at it. Not only had he failed, the elder even started checking his body. He was filled with regret and could only pray inwardly that the elder wouldn't find anything.

The elder did not dare to directly search Xiang Shaoyun's soul. He was afraid that doing so would really cripple Xiang Shaoyun, which would make things very troublesome. Thus, he was relying on his senses to figure out the current condition within Xiang Shaoyun's mind. Soon, he freed Xiang Shaoyun.

"Kid, your soul is somewhat weakened right now, but its original form is extraordinarily powerful. Also, there seems to be an entire world inside your mind. Is that caused by the missing pages?" said the elder doubtfully.

"I wish I knew," said Xiang Shaoyun with the same pitiful tone.

The elder sank into a short silence as he contemplated. His face turned solemn, and he asked, "Kid, are you willing to be my disciple?"

His question caught Xiang Shaoyun by surprise. He was dazed momentarily, clearly not expecting the elder to suddenly decide on taking him as a disciple. Just as the elder was asking that question, some other people arrived outside. When they heard the conversation, they were stunned.

The Book Pavilion elder might seem unassuming, but elders like him were usually the ones with the most senior qualifications in the academy, and they had been elders over several generations. They were super experts comparable to the grand elders in status. He wouldn't have been trusted to guard the Book Pavilion otherwise.

"Who is it that the Book Pavilion elder is recruiting? What a lucky person," lamented an overseer.

"We will know soon. Perhaps that person is one of the outstanding geniuses on the Dragon Phoenix List," replied a different person.

The elder pressed on, "Why? Are you unwilling?"

Xiang Shaoyun quickly waved his hands and said, "Of course not! But this kid already has a master, so it wouldn't be proper to take another master. My apologies, elder."

"You already have a master? Why am I not aware? Are you lying?" asked the elder doubtfully.

"Why would I lie? The principal and the grand elders know this as well!" Xiang Shaoyun answered truthfully.

"Sigh. If that is the case, forget it," said the elder gloomily.

He then vanished into thin air.

Xiang Shaoyun started shouting, "Elder, you still haven't upheld justice for me! My soul was injured, and I need some compensation!"

"Kid, just be content that you have benefited from a supposed disaster, and be happy that I didn't even punish you for damaging an ancient record," the elder's voice rang out.

Xiang Shaoyun felt like he had been slapped on his face. He felt greatly wronged, and he howled with grief inwardly, Are the heavens fair? Why do I need to suffer when I am just reading?

If others knew what he was thinking, they would probably demand him for a duel to the death. He had obtained such a massive benefit and was still discontent. What an ungrateful fellow!

When the overseer outside saw that Xiang Shaoyun was the one who had caught the elder's eyes, he lamented inwardly, This kid really doesn't know what's good for him. He actually rejected the pavilion elder's good intentions? This elder is much more impressive than the regular previous generation elders.

Soon, news of Xiang Shaoyun's rejection spread from the overseer, and it created waves in the academy.

"Have you heard, the pavilion elder tried to recruit Xiang Shaoyun as his disciple but was rejected!"

"That can't be true, right? Is Xiang Shaoyun stupid? Why did he reject something like that? That is an elder! If he accepted, he would be able to do as he wishes in the academy!"

"What do you know? Xiang Shaoyun claimed to already have a master. But nobody knows who his master is. Can he be lying to the elder?"

"Maybe his master is Elder Xiao Wei? I heard that Elder Xiao Wei had visited 1 Dragon Villa before."

"From what I heard, Xiang Shaoyun's master is an incredible person, someone at a level no lower than the grand elders!"