CHAPTER 575: CHAPTER 575

"I’m sorry, sir, this was arranged by the War God; it cannot be changed. If you wish to change it, it will be considered forfeiting your qualification for the trial."

The maid stated firmly without subservience.

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingtian’s temper, which was ready to burst, was forcibly suppressed.

If Zhan Yuntian did this on purpose, then he had nothing to say.

But the influence inside was truly upsetting; he didn’t want to go in and decided to simply stand at the entrance.

The maid seemed to read his mind and said, "The War God has instructed that everyone must rest inside the room for over eight hours each day. Failing to do so will be considered giving up their qualification."

"Who said I’m giving up? Can’t I step outside for a smoke?"

Ye Qingtian spoke with a huff of anger.

As he took out a cigarette, he glanced at the time; it was still early, with one minute left—enough to finish smoking.

The maid gave Ye Qingtian a knowing smile and then left.

After finishing his cigarette, Ye Qingtian quickly entered the room.

Xiao Zhan followed and closed the door.

Fortunately, his spiritual power was strong enough to barely tolerate the irritations.

"Let’s rest."

Ye Youlong checked the time and suggested.

Xiao Zhan flopped down on the bed and turned to look at her, "How can I rest with this kind of emotional interference directly affecting my brain? Can I even sleep?"

"Rest however you want to rest."

Ye Youlong had no solution, but they had to rest—that was a rule set by Zhan Yuntian.

They were required to stay in this room for a full eight hours.

"Rest however I want to rest?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhan’s eyes lit up, and he suddenly pinned Ye Youlong under him.

"What are you doing?"

"I can’t sleep."

"And?"

"So, I’ll wear myself out until I fall asleep."

Xiao Zhan smirked and pounced on her.

...

The next day.

When Xiao Zhan and Ye Youlong emerged from the room, they found that all the men had dark circles while the women were glowing.

Xiao Zhan immediately understood that everyone had used the same strategy.

Alright then, a unanimous choice among men.

Everyone exchanged glances, choosing not to speak of it.

Then they quietly headed toward the canteen.

As Xiao Zhan walked among the crowd, he didn’t know why, but during those brief exchanges of looks, he felt a sense of reconciliation with them.

Oddly strange.

Upon arriving in the dining hall and having breakfast, Zhan Yuntian appeared before them.

"How was your rest last night?"

Zhan Yuntian asked deliberately, seeing everyone sporting dark circles.

"Very good."

The group responded.

Zhan Yuntian chuckled, "Then I hope you can rest just as well every night."

Following that, Zhan Yuntian continued, "There’s no trial mission today; you only need to visit the Federation Library to pick a National Martial Arts book and focus on practice learning."

With that said, Zhan Yuntian walked away directly.

Everyone was puzzled.

Is it really that simple?

Xiao Zhan felt that things were not that straightforward, but he couldn’t figure out what the issue could be at the moment, so he decided to head to the Federation Library first to see the situation.

The Federation Library was not far from the Hidden Dragon Hall, and Xiao Zhan and his group quickly arrived there.

The Federation Library has only two floors.

The first floor is for electronic reading, where one can find books from the past as well as from the current era.

The second floor is for national martial arts; without the Federation’s permission, entry is not allowed.

Naturally, Xiao Zhan and his companions could go up there.

Once upstairs, everyone dispersed on their own.

Zhan Yuntian allowed them to freely choose a national martial art to practice, but is this ’freely’ really at their discretion, or is there a hidden catch?

Is it a test of everyone’s training speed, or a test of their choices in national martial arts?

Zhan Yuntian offered too little useful information, making it difficult for Xiao Zhan to grasp the true purpose behind his actions.

After some serious consideration, Xiao Zhan decided to follow his own heart.

In any case, his purpose for this visit wasn’t genuinely for the national power training resources. Now, with less than half a year to live, and three months spent in the trial, he barely had three months left—there’s no way he could hold out that long.

What’s the point of seeking more resources?

He agreed to Qin Wanfeng’s request purely out of a desire to have this experience.

So, at this moment, with no pressure or burden, he followed his own thoughts in making a choice.

He walked up to a national martial arts secret book called Taiji Hand.

Xiao Zhan was familiar with this name; it was a very famous national martial arts book.

He eagerly opened it to read, but unexpectedly found that there was a restriction in place—direct reading was not allowed, and he could only flip through it after making a definite choice.

Xiao Zhan had thought to first see the content to decide, but now it seemed he could only gamble blindly.

However, just as he was about to confirm his choice, he suddenly felt a gentle breeze brush his fingertips!

Xiao Zhan was puzzled.

Inside the library, all was sealed; there shouldn’t be any drafts—where was this wind coming from?

Immediately releasing his perception, Xiao Zhan discovered the cause.

It wasn’t wind.

It was a suction force.

It caused the air to flow, thus creating the breeze.

This suction force wasn’t very strong; if not for Xiao Zhan’s enhanced perception, he wouldn’t have felt it.

He followed the suction to its source, and quickly, at a corner, he found a book placed in a dark spot.

This was also a national martial arts secret book.

However, this position was very tricky to notice without paying close attention.

The closer he got to the book, the stronger the suction became.

Upon approaching, Xiao Zhan was even more astonished—the suction force was actually emanating from the book itself. Previously, he had assumed it was something else.

He picked up the secret book, which had the title ’Absorption Star Technique’ written on it.

Absorption Star Technique!?

Xiao Zhan was shocked, damn, could such a national martial arts secret realm really exist in the world?

This was incredibly defying!

Xiao Zhan didn’t believe such an unbelievable thing could exist in the world.

"Perhaps it’s just a novel."

Xiao Zhan subconsciously opened the book, but as his hand touched the pages, he remembered these secret realms were under restriction, not to be flipped through.

However, to his surprise, he was able to open the book.

Unlocked?

Xiao Zhan was astonished.

What a stroke of luck.

Without hesitation, Xiao Zhan began to flip through it.

He was quick, first skimming through roughly, using the energy of his perception to imprint the content in his mind—it was like getting a national martial arts book for free.

Whether he could understand it was another matter; for now, the importance was to snag it for free.

After going through it, Xiao Zhan confirmed that it wasn’t a novel, but at the same time, it wasn’t a true Absorption Star Technique either.

This reassured Xiao Zhan. After all, it would be too good to be true.

National martial arts refer more to body skills, combined with the operation of Spirit Manipulation Energy, to unleash the powerful forces described in novels.