He opened the title page, on which was written: "On the path of Martial Arts, those with a Root Bone are one in a million. A Root Bone is an extraordinary quality of the muscles and bones, granting either boundless strength, a body as light as a swallow, or superhuman senses..."
Lin Yan’s gaze lingered on this passage for a long time before he continued reading.
After he finished, he finally understood why no Martial Artist ever mentioned Root Bones.
This book was written by a Lin Family ancestor two thousand years ago. This forebear had never seen a Martial Artist with a Root Bone. It was only by a stroke of luck that he discovered the cave residence left behind by a Martial Arts Powerhouse. Inside, he found a Bone Fragment and a piece of writing.
Martial Artists of old would nurture the bones of Exotic Beasts to form their own Root Bone—Iron Bones, Copper Sinews, Eagle Eyes, Wolf Ears, Tiger’s Roar... Each type of Root Bone corresponded to a specific Exotic Beast.
By taking the bones of these Exotic Beasts, nurturing them within the body, and using special Secret Techniques and Nurturing Techniques, one could give birth to a Root Bone. Thereafter, in both Cultivation and strength, they would be far stronger than ordinary Martial Artists.
But as Exotic Beasts became extinct, the method of cultivating a Root Bone also slowly vanished from the Martial Artist Realm.
This Lin Family ancestor did not mention in the book what the Bone Fragment was used for, but he did write one particular passage.
"A Root Bone can be formed with the bones of Exotic Beasts, but it can also be plundered. It is highly likely that there are Martial Artists with Root Bones in the Martial Arts Realm; they simply haven’t revealed themselves. If a descendant of my Lin Family is fortunate enough to have a Martial Artist with a Root Bone among them, they must also not reveal it. Remember this, remember this, remember this!"
The threefold "Remember this" caused Lin Yan’s eyes to narrow slightly.
Although the ancestor hadn’t stated it outright, the underlying meaning was clear: if one truly possessed a Root Bone, they shouldn’t reveal it, not even to their own clansmen.
’Can be plundered.’
These three words sent a chill through Lin Yan’s heart. He immediately returned the book to its original spot, his expression wary as he scanned his surroundings. His gaze was fixed intently on the entrance to the staircase.
’What if a Lin Family powerhouse is secretly guarding this Library Pavilion right now? I’ve been staring at this book for so long; it might have aroused their suspicion.’
As the one who possessed a Root Bone, Lin Yan knew better than anyone how important it was to a Martial Artist. He had already given himself a strict order: the matter of his Root Bone must not be revealed to anyone, no matter how close. This secret was as important as his Martial Arts Tree.
Next, Lin Yan perused several more books, slowly calming his mind. He even deliberately lingered in front of certain books for a longer time.
Sword Pill Record
Finally, once his emotions had settled, Lin Yan picked up the other book he had come looking for.
This was written by a Sword Dao ancestor of the Lin Family, and Lin Yan even saw his own master’s annotations inside.
"Difficult, difficult, difficult!"
This three-word annotation was followed by his master’s signature.
And what had prompted his master to write "difficult" three times was the ancestor’s claim that a Sword Pill was not necessarily weaker than a Sword Heart.
"Four Sword Intents of the same type at the Perfection Level can condense into a Sword Pill."
"The Sword Pill is the peak for a Sword Dao genius, while the Sword Heart is the starting point of a Sword Dao legend."
"Possessing a Sword Pill means you have surpassed ninety-nine percent of Sword Dao Martial Artists in Shandong Dao, but when facing an Innate Sword Heart, the Sword Pill is like a firefly to the bright moon."
"For those without a Sword Heart, comprehending further Sword Intents becomes progressively harder. This is a limitation of the Divine Soul... and cannot be changed by human effort."
A thoughtful look appeared on Lin Yan’s face. ’When I comprehended the Sword Intents for the Shadowless Swordsmanship, it took much longer than the previous ones. It seems that besides the Shadowless Swordsmanship itself being difficult, this was likely a factor as well.’
According to this ancestor, an Innate Sword Heart has an innate connection to the Divine Soul. This means they have no upper limit for comprehending Sword Intents in the Sword Dao. As their accomplishments in the Sword Dao grow, the speed at which they comprehend new Sword Intents will even increase.
Before reaching five Sword Intents, the gap between an Innate Sword Heart Martial Artist and a Sword Dao genius who can condense a Sword Pill is not very large.
But after five Sword Intents, this gap grows wider and wider.
For the one, it becomes increasingly difficult. For the other, it becomes increasingly easy.
But at the end of the book, this ancestor proposed a theory on how one could catch up.
For an ordinary Sword Pill Martial Artist, the path becomes more difficult because their Divine Soul is limited. A Sword Pill can be used to overcome this limitation, but the number of Sword Intents it can carry is also finite. Furthermore, a Sword Pill can only carry Sword Intents from the same type of swordsmanship.
It seemed like a dead end!
But what if one could forge multiple Sword Pills?
Using quantity to compensate for the deficiency!
And it was precisely after this ancestor proposed the theory of multiple Sword Pills that his master had written those three words.
’Where does the difficulty lie?’
Lin Yan wondered to himself. ’Based on my current situation, it seems I can already condense a second Sword Pill.’
’This ancestor only proposed a theory and didn’t provide a practical method. Master, for his part, only wrote ’difficult’ three times and didn’t say where the difficulty lay.’
’Perhaps I can just ask my master to clarify.’
Having made his decision, Lin Yan put the book down. Without looking at any other books in the Hidden Technique Pavilion, he turned and went downstairs.
After leaving the Library Pavilion, just as Lin Yan was about to head to the area of the Fifth Branch, he was called to a stop by the servant responsible for cleaning his courtyard.
"Young Master Yan, the Zheng Family sent a Cultivation Technique for you."
Lin Yan stopped and took the Cultivation Manual from the servant’s hands. The entire manual was sealed with special oiled paper to prevent it from being opened in transit.
"Young Master Yan, the person from the Zheng Family who delivered the Cultivation Technique asked me to pass on a message. In seven days, the Zheng Family will retrieve the Cultivation Technique. And according to the oath you swore, you are not allowed to copy or transcribe it."
Hearing the servant’s words, Lin Yan was stunned for a moment, but then he nodded.

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