"Is he allowed to request all these tomes?" a young, female Archivist asked her mentor. A large stack of tomes, jade pieces, scrolls, and books was held in her hand as she walked through the Guild library. "Some of these tomes are the most secretive of the guild."
Her mentor, an older Archivist shook his head lightly, also holding a similar pile in his hands.
"He has the Seal of Authority, so he can do whatever he wants," the older Archivist said while stepping through a transportation formation. The two appeared in another room an instant later, arriving at the top floor of the Guild library. The older Archivist used his own guild seal to part the formation protecting the doors to the room, then entered. His apprentice followed behind, stepping into the most restricted room of the library.
The room was one she could enter to deliver tomes, but could not stay in, or read the tomes contained within. Each time she entered the room she felt awe at the level of ancient knowledge contained within, feeling as if the room was a sacred archive. That inspired sanctity was instantly broken as she heard a voice snap her out of her daze.
"Ah, you're here, great!" John said, noticing the arrival of the Archivists. He stood up from his seat as they arrived next to his large table, which was covered in a large pile of books, jade pieces, and more.
"Just set it down here," John said, smiling as he watched the pile of books and jade pieces grow once more.
"Is there anything else you need?" the older Archivist asked flatly.
"No, that should be it for now. Thanks," John said, his focus already on the pile of texts before him.
The Archivists shared a glance, then turned and left, returning the room to its quiet calm. John picked up one of the new additions to the pile and read its title.
"Runic Theory: The Language of the Heavens," he read it out loud, smiling while sitting back on his seat. "Let's see if you have anything new to teach me."
…
Several hours later, John placed the book back on the pile before him, then picked up the next book. Several hours later, he set that one down, the picked up a jade piece that had been added to the pile. He quickly made his way through the new additions to the pile of works before him, which were all regarding the theory of Art creation.
It had taken him a full week to read through the first few dozen pages of the Divine Art Creation Scripture, and then another full week to read through it again to make sure no information was missed or misunderstood. Upon reading through the Divine Art Creation Scripture pieces available to him, his interest in the subject of Art creation had been fully piqued. After reading through it twice, John had left the room briefly to find some Guild Archivists to request the works they had regarding Art creation.
Despite him being sure the works the guild had were of lower quality than the Divine Art Creation Scripture, John had requested the works for several reasons. The first was to compare what the Guild had to what his father had gifted him, to see just how profound the Divine Art Creation Scripture was.
The second was to see if there were any ideas or thoughts in the guild texts that were not detailed in the Divine Art Creation Scripture. After all, even if it was the most heaven-defying text regarding Art creation in existence, it was still bound to have different ideas and teachings than other works.
Lastly, he had requested the texts to see if there were any teachings beyond what the Divine Art Creation Scripture had revealed to him. After all, he was only able to access a small fraction of what was contained in the book, and thus wanted to see if the guild texts could improve his knowledge beyond what the scripture was willing to reveal to him thus far.
As such, he had requested any texts regarding the subjects detailed in the Divine Art Creation Scripture. Runic theory, weapon theory, essence theory, body theory, meridian theory, and more. Whatever was available to be sent to him, he requested and read, hoping to expand his knowledge on the subject of Art creation as much as possible.
..
A week later, he set down the last tome in his hands and leaned back with a deep sigh.
"That's the last piece the guild is willing to let me read," John said to himself, thoughts swirling with everything he had read over the last several weeks. A frown appeared on his face as he thought over the information the guild had been able to provide.
"Compared to the Divine Art Creation Scripture, the information the guild was able to provide is beyond paltry. It's like comparing a literary masterpiece to a story written by a child."
When it came to scope, depth of information, theory, and more, the Divine Art Creation Scripture was far more complete and profound than all the texts he had received from the guild combined. However, the guild's texts were not all useless, as the less profound approach was able to give him insights that the Divine Art Creation Scripture was not able to do just yet.
The Divine Art Creation Scripture was just far too profound in its teachings, and so the texts the guild provided were like stepping blocks for him, allowing him to gradually expand his knowledge and grasp on the subject to eventually reach the level needed to fully grasp the Divine Art Creation Scripture.
John rocked back and forth in his seat for some time, mind deep in thought. Ideas swirled in his mind like a tempest, making him eager to start trying them out immediately. However, he couldn't do that in the library, as it was far too dangerous to try to create battle arts in such a delicate area.
"I've learned as much theory as I can for now," John said, standing up. "The next step is to put it all into practice, and start creating some battle arts. I have a few weeks before the Three Dao Tournament starts, so I should be able to piece something together in that time…I hope."
With the next steps planned, John left the library room and returned to the first floor of the library. As before, the first floor buzzed with activity as hundreds of guild members went about their business. Noticing his arrival, many curious eyes locked onto him, staring with equal parts confusion and curiosity.
As he walked towards the library exit, he noticed everyone staring at him and frowned, confused by this attentive focus on him.
'Hmmm? Information regarding me should have been repressed by the Guildmaster. I wonder why…'
"They're staring at you because rumors of you being able to enter the restricted top floor of the library has spread, which is a floor only Grandmasters and the Guildmaster himself can enter," a voice sounded out to his side, causing him to stop and look at the source.
A smile appeared on his face as he looked at a familiar face, one smiling back at him.
"Zuri!"
