Celestial Being

Even though the Commandery Martial Restraint Guard was one of the premier official powers in Kunyun Commandery, sparing two fifth-rank martial artists to serve as "bodyguards" was still quite difficult. It was not that the Martial Restraint Guard was short on fifth-rank martial artists, but rather that each had their hands full with their own responsibilities. If nothing else, among the nine Battalion Commanders, at least five had to remain stationed in the commandery seat, each overseeing six wards and coordinating with the Commandery Yamen and Six Doors to monitor the Jianghu figures in the city. As for the remaining four, they were either ordered to patrol local districts or dispatched to chase down dangerous felons; they simply could not spare the time or energy. The few other fifth-rank martial artists had their own duties as well, whether guarding the Book Pavilion like Nie Kun or presiding over the Guard Prison... To be able to dispatch two fifth-rank martial artists to protect Huang Tian in secret, Bai Yuanfu had already gone to great lengths. This made Huang Tian muse silently, *Whether born of an eye for talent or an early investment, Pacification Commissioner Bai's sincerity is truly reassuring.* After watching for a while, he shut down the vision and followed other voice lines to look around. After a long time, with a single thought, the various voice lines instantly vanished. He slowly drew his stance to a close, his qi and blood settling back to calm. Exhaling a long breath, he stepped out of the room, rinsed off briefly, and returned inside to rest. Early the next morning, he took the token Bai Yuanfu had given him and set out for the Book Pavilion. He nodded to the young clerk on the first floor. Flattered by the gesture, the young clerk hastily stood and bowed in greeting. By now, he knew Huang Tian well; the young man had caused such a massive stir that virtually everyone in the Martial Restraint Guard knew who he was. Without pausing for small talk, Huang Tian headed straight to the second floor, where he immediately caught sight of the middle-aged man who had spoken with Bai Yuanfu the night before—Nie Kun. Nie Kun gave Huang Tian a profound look and spoke tersely. "Token." Huang Tian tossed the token over. Having caught it, Nie Kun did not bother inspecting it closely; after a quick glance, he asked crisply, "Bearing this token allows you to read all the martial techniques on the second floor. Which one do you want to see?" "All of them." "All of them?" Nie Kun raised an eyebrow. Asking no questions, he pressed against the wall behind him. The wall slid open slowly to reveal a massive bookcase. He took out ten volumes from the shelf all at once and placed them before Huang Tian. "Read these first. When you finish, I will fetch more." "Very well." Huang Tian opened a copy of *Thousand Illusions Cloud Hand* and browsed through it rapidly. In moments, he closed the volume and immediately flipped open the next. Before long, he had finished flipping through all ten books. Watching this, Nie Kun's eyelids twitched incessantly. He could not comprehend the point of Huang Tian "flipping" through books like this. Had he memorized them word for word with photographic recall? Or had he understood them the moment he finished reading? If the former, it was hardly worth marveling over; once one reached a high realm in martial cultivation, photographic memory was easily achieved. But if the latter, his comprehension was terrifying beyond measure... Nie Kun put away the ten finished volumes, brought out ten new ones, and handed them to Huang Tian, who resumed flipping through them attentively without a word. Thus, one fetched and the other flipped. In merely a short span of time, Huang Tian had finished reading over a hundred martial techniques on the second floor. At last, Nie Kun could not help but ask aloud, "Have you memorized all these martial techniques, or have you comprehended them?" Huang Tian did not hide anything. "I have comprehended them. Though to perform them proficiently, I will still need to practice each one through once." Yes, just once. Once he performed it and confirmed it had reached perfection, that would be all. A speech-defying shock filled Nie Kun's heart. He did not believe Huang Tian was making grandiose boasts or lying to him; after all, the boy's staggering comprehension was something everyone had witnessed, and with his steady disposition, he was not someone given to exaggeration. *Back then, it took me three whole months just to learn the Mountain-Pushing Wave-Stacking Palm, and I secretly thought myself a heaven-sent prodigy. Only today do I realize what a true genius is...* He sighed with mixed emotion, the gaze he cast upon Huang Tian shifting ever further. *Such a fine, unpolished jade must truly be safeguarded. We cannot allow anyone to ruin him...* Shifting his thoughts, he suddenly spoke, his voice ringing crisp and clear: "My name is Nie Kun." Huang Tian was taken aback. Nie Kun continued, "Now that you have finished reading the martial techniques on the second floor, do you wish to go up to the third?" Huang Tian nodded slightly. "Take the token and go up. Unlike the second floor, the third floor holds only five pinnacle-tier martial techniques and twenty-odd handbooks left behind by martial seniors. Ah, and a scroll of the Celestial Being Ranking. You may study them carefully. If one day, you can..." Here he paused and shook his head. "Never mind. The Celestial Being realm is far too distant. Better to wait until the day you step into the Grandmaster realm before considering it." Only upon entering the Grandmaster realm did one even have the chance to raise their head and gaze up at the divide that led to a Celestial Being! *How difficult is a Celestial Being! Across the five states with their several billion people, over three hundred years, there have been merely thirty or forty Celestial Beings in total. Every single one was formed only when exceptional comprehension, root bone, destiny, background, and all manner of fortuitous circumstances converged. While this youth possesses astonishing comprehension, even so, none can say how far he will ultimately go...* He sighed inwardly. Huang Tian at least had hope of touching the barrier to becoming a Celestial Being, whereas for himself, even the Grandmaster realm remained hopelessly out of reach. How lamentable! Huang Tian picked up the token, cupped his hands slightly to Nie Kun, and made his way up to the third floor. The third floor was small and quiet. There was only a single sandalwood bookcase holding a number of scrolls and manuscripts. Beside the bookcase sat an elder with graying hair and a ruddy complexion, dressed in plain blue-green robes. He sat quietly upon a meditation cushion, his breathing deep and slow, as if practicing a quietude art. *This must be Elder Guan, whom Pacification Commissioner Bai mentioned last night,* Huang Tian thought to himself. Stepping forward two paces, he brought out the token. Elder Guan's eyes cracked open slightly, a sharp light gleaming within. He swept a glance over Huang Tian, then looked at the token in his hand. "Read as you like. Just do not damage the scrolls." An aged voice sounded, and Elder Guan closed his eyes once more, returning to tranquility. Huang Tian cupped his hands slightly, walked over to the sandalwood bookcase, and began carefully reading the five pinnacle-tier martial techniques. "Light-Splitting Wonder Shadow-Catching Thrusts..." "Mountain-Subduing Primordial Great Handprint..." "..." Having finished reading all five martial techniques, he pondered silently: *Pinnacle-tier martial techniques do not differ that much from exquisite-tier ones. They are simply finer, more intricate, and more versatile in the application of true qi, making their power vastly superior...* Yet while the difference was not enormous, they still held considerable value for him. Sparks of inspiration flared one by one, sending ripples across the lake of his mind. *Not enough!* His accumulation was still not enough; the inspiration could not take concrete shape. Putting down the martial techniques, he began reading the martial handbooks on the shelf. "Mingyue the Wanderer on the Matters of Cultivating the Middle Three Ranks..." "On Tempering Sinews and Bones Below the Grandmaster Realm..." "My Discourse on the Crux of Quenching Qi and Blood..." "..." After finishing all twenty-odd handbooks, Huang Tian sighed inwardly. Too few! The martial techniques and handbooks in the Book Pavilion were far too few to provide him with more accumulation and inspiration. Putting his sigh aside, he picked up the thin manuscript resting at the very top of the shelf—the Celestial Being Ranking Nie Kun had mentioned! "The Celestial Being Ranking records thirty people in all!" "Thirtieth: State Preceptor of the State of Lan, Fu Mingzhang..." "Eighteenth: One of the Five Branch Masters of the Demonic Path, Demonic Heart Bodhisattva..." "Ninth: The twenty-sixth abbot of the State Protection Temple, Mountain-Carrying Arhat..." "Third: Chief Commander of the Martial Restraint Guard, Wan Shenyang..." "First: Heaven's heart is my heart, my heart is Heaven's heart—Yin Fenghai!"