An action which, if he was being honest, was done more to shift his thoughts away from the image of her shattered form than out of a true need to put her away…
Hummmm.
"Comfortable~"
A small smile crept onto Mikael's face, "You really like to sleep on my back, don't you?"
The next moment, that smile deepened as, even though she gave no visible answer, he had the distinct impression that she nodded.
He gently shook his head, "We've now done the first thing on the list, which is getting back in 'sync' so we can fight at 100% and beyond, and now the next thing is…"
"...for me to head to the Scripture Pavilion and then read tons of books on the Cultivation World so I can finally stop being so fucking ignorant about everything except cultivation!" he declared aloud.
Him speaking to Sangrelia out loud might have looked strange—not just to a random passerby who would probably think he was insane, but even to those who were aware that his sword had developed a spirit, it would still seem odd.
After all, wouldn't it make more sense—and be far simpler—for him to just use their bond to speak mentally?
To that, Mikael would answer that it's not that he doesn't want to... it's that he can't.
Contrary to what earlier moments, where Sangrelia seemed able to read his mind, might have led one to believe, the truth was that she couldn't read his thoughts at all.
Those moments that looked like mind reading were, in reality, just instances of their deep bond—a connection that allowed her, just as it did for him, to instinctively sense his emotions and intent, enabling a form of wordless communication.
This was, in some ways, superior to speaking and even to telepathy, considering it was instant and didn't require the other to 'talk', but that was only an illusion. After all, this form of communication was rather rough—it only allowed them to communicate in the most basic fashion.
Things like expressing joy, anger, or fear were easy, and even more 'complex' actions like nodding were possible, but that was all.
Anything more complex than that was entirely impossible. Forget mentally talking or saying sentences—currently, Sangrelia was only able to, with great effort, speak one or two words at most, while Mikael was entirely unable to communicate with her mentally.
Fwoosh.
There was a fwoosh sound as Mikael leapt from the ground, transforming into a black and silver blur as he cut through the air at extreme speed, darting through the Core Court of the Wandering Sword Sect. His destination?
The Scripture Pavilion.
His decision to deepen his understanding of the Cultivation World on a global scale, and not solely in terms of cultivation techniques like he had done previously, might have seemed strange from an 'optimized cultivation session' perspective, as it clearly wasn't the path that would bring him the fastest gains.
After all, doing this offered no strength benefits whatsoever, which made it even stranger for it to be second on his list. But that was simply because the advantages in day-to-day life were too enormous to ignore.
A simple example would be that, had he already completed this second objective back when he was in the Savagefang Mountain Range and possessed a far more advanced understanding of demonic beasts—instead of the preliminary knowledge he had at the time—then perhaps he might have been able to obtain the Thunder Vein Dew.
After all, if he knew 'everything' there was to know about demonic beasts, and notably the Crimson Pyrogryph, he could have used its characteristics against it to establish a trap that might have allowed him, even in his injured state, to steal that Heavenly Wonder.
And that wasn't all—he was set to progress in numerous subjects, and the resulting benefits would surely follow. He was convinced that being well informed across a wide range of topics would prove immensely helpful in various unexpected ways.
Because of that, it had earned the second spot on his list. The only reason it hadn't come first was because getting used to Sangrelia wouldn't take long and would meaningfully boost his battle power—otherwise, it would definitely have been the top priority.
Swish.
Mikael continued to cut through the aerial space of the Wandering Sword Sect, and before long, he reached his destination: the Scripture Pavilion.
Thud.
He landed just before the imposing pagoda-shaped building and, after a brief glance at its elegant architecture, stepped inside.
Instantly, he was greeted by the scent of old paper, dried ink, and something harder to describe—something that could only be called the scent of 'knowledge' itself.
All the fragrances one would expect from an 'old library' were present, but more than the smell, it was the pressure that truly registered.
The moment he crossed the threshold of the Scripture Pavilion, he felt something sweep over him—a clear sign that the building's formation had begun scanning him, and with this scan came an intangible pressure.
Mikael ignored it, his gaze focused on the rows upon rows of uniquely styled Chinese shelves that filled the pagoda, each one packed with not-so-precious Cultivation Methods and Techniques.
He momentarily paused in his tracks, taking in the surprisingly relaxing scent of this 'library', and then, after a final casual glance toward the Cultivation Arts, he quickly made his way toward the section of the building dedicated to reading rather than cultivation techniques.
Once there, he didn't waste any time before pulling out a selection of books related to common knowledge in the Cultivation World—both within this region and on a more global scale. The topics were varied, and that diversity clearly showed in the titles:
Suncrest Region Geography, Politics of the Suncrest Region, Herbs 101, Differences Between Demonic Beasts and Spiritual Beasts…
Weapon Repair & Maintenance, Major Sects and Powers of the Suncrest Region, Cultivation Laws and Etiquette Across Sects—and many, many more.
At first glance, these books might have appeared banal or unremarkable, but in truth, they were exactly what Mikael needed to begin filling the countless gaps in his foundational knowledge across a wide range of subjects.
Thud.
He dropped the heavy stack of books onto the nearby table, the impact causing several volumes to slide outward until they nearly covered the entire surface. The once-clean wooden table was now buried under dozens of tomes, and upon seeing this sight, Mikael's lips twitched slightly.
'Yeah… I will be here for a long while,' he thought, his gaze rising from the pile of books on the table to scan the surrounding shelves, each one packed with even more thick tomes he would eventually need to read.
'A really long, long, long while, considering that I have hundreds of books to read on the first floor, and the second, third, and fourth floors probably won't be much better…'
Then he remembered something that soured his expression. 'No! In truth it will be even worse, as they'll be far more mentally draining…' He rubbed his temple, already feeling a phantom pain for the numerous days of intense studying that lay ahead. 'At least I like reading, so it won't be that bad…'
He consoled himself with those thoughts and, without wasting another second, dove into the pile of books before him, eager to devour their contents.
Swish.
A rapid swishing sound echoed through the otherwise silent Scripture Pavilion as Mikael flipped from one page to the next. His reading speed held steady at two pages per second, and that was him taking his time—ensuring each word was properly memorized and understood.
After all, like all texts even remotely related to cultivation, these books possessed the peculiar property of being especially difficult to comprehend, memorize, and internalize, which naturally slowed down his reading pace.
Otherwise? Forget a simple swishing sound—it would probably resemble the roar of a demonic beast soaring through the air, since he'd be tearing through entire volumes in a heartbeat.
In this manner, time began to pass swiftly, with Mikael continuously immersing himself in one book after another.
It took him a total of 10 hours to read, digest, and fully comprehend all the texts on the first floor that were even remotely connected to the Cultivation World. And that was with him deliberately pacing himself—ensuring he didn't merely memorize their contents, but truly understood their essence.
Ten hours and five hundred books later, he rose to his feet and prepared to ascend to the second floor.
Naturally, that didn't mean he had read every book on the first floor—far from it. With tens, possibly even hundreds of thousands of tomes stored here, five hundred was only a fraction.
But even so, there was little point in staying any longer. By this point, he had absorbed the vast majority of what this floor could offer. After all, not every book held entirely unique knowledge; many repeated the same foundational theories, principles and knowledge.
This became increasingly evident as his reading progressed, with upwards of 80 to 90%, and sometimes even more, of each new book merely echoing information he had already encountered and internalized.
And so, rather than waste time treading over familiar ground and 'learning' what he already knew, he decided it was time to move on, believing that the second floor would represent a far more efficient use of his time.
And he was quickly proven right in his choice, because the moment he arrived on the second floor, he discovered what could only be called a treasure trove of knowledge.
A treasure trove of books far more advanced than what was present on the first floor, and sadly, even in this 'treasure trove,' there were redundancies present in the texts.
Fortunately these redundancies weren't actually too common because of the more advanced information present, and even better—
These overlaps and repetitions were actually helpful to him!
After all, he was currently reading and understanding more advanced knowledge, so when certain sections connected to what he had previously learned, they actually helped him speed up his learning and comprehension, allowing him to grasp and internalize this more advanced knowledge more rapidly and easily.
In this fashion, amidst books of increasing complexity, both in their content and in the strain they placed on his mind, time quickly began to pass, with Mikael's knowledge continuing to grow at a rapid pace.
It took him 35 hours before he finished learning and understanding everything worthwhile on the second floor.
As for the third floor, which he tackled immediately after, it took him far longer, requiring a full seven days before he managed to fully comprehend and absorb all the relevant general knowledge it contained.
At this moment Mikael was deeply mentally exhausted and had already needed to take multiple pauses to meditate and recover from his mental fatigue, but even though he was fatigued and the difficulty continued to increase, he pushed through the mental fatigue and continued with another studying session that promised to be not at all tiring…
This not at all tiring session actually lasted the longest and was the more draining one and by far too.
It lasted an entire month and a half before he finally finished reading and understanding everything that was relevant and present on the fourth floor.
And the less that could be said was that, after all that, he was deeply exhausted…
Author Note:
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In this chapter not much happened from a plot point of view as it was focused on his training, but even if nothing happened this actually a really really really important chapter!
At least in world settings for Mikael this is a boost that is more important than a power boost because this open a lot of door by gaining this knowledge, I won't say much more, I think it will be pretty visible(at least I will try to make it visible)
For those that were bored by this chapter, the next chapter will be far more…lively
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Want to read ahead? Unlock advanced chapters on Patreon—just search SDASLUMMY.
You're part of this story's ascent. Thanks for being here.
— End of Chapter —