The thick ancient door blocked Ning Tian's path.
Once he stepped through this ancient door, the top martial arts techniques awaited Ning Tian inside.
Down below, gazing at Ning Tian's silhouette, a group of disciples swallowed nervously, "My goodness, is the grandmaster really going to enter the fifth floor?"
"No way, that's the fifth floor!"
Some disciples were in disbelief. Even if Ning Tian was the empress's husband, he shouldn't possess the qualifications to enter the fifth layer, right?
It was the collection of the life's work of former sect leaders, all within the fifth floor!
Under the skeptical gaze of the disciples, Ning Tian suddenly scratched his head and turned around.
Seeing this, the disciples were stunned, thinking that perhaps the grandmaster was just going upstairs to take a look?
They relaxed a bit.
Suddenly, however, they noticed Ning Tian took out a glittering ancient plaque and asked, "Who knows where the keyhole for this ancient door is?"
It turned out that Ning Tian had paused in front of the ancient door because he hadn't seen the keyhole!
"Damn."
"That is, the key to the fifth level!"
The disciples were shocked.
The grandmaster actually possessed the key to the fifth level!
[You have shocked a group of disciples and completed a common shock, rewarding 300 spiritual cultivation.]
"…"
"That, I was just asking, you don't need to be so shocked…"
After being speechless, Ning Tian looked at the group of disciples.
He suddenly felt like anything he did could shock them.
"Back to the grandmaster, we don't know."
"Grandmaster."
"We don't know."
The disciples were shaking their heads; they did not know the method to open the fifth floor.
At that moment, an old and hoarse voice sounded.
"I know how to enter."
An elder with red hair slowly walked out from the fourth floor; his features had some resemblance to Elder Gu Han seen earlier.
But by his appearance, he seemed somewhat irascible.
"It's Elder Gu Yan!"
"Elder Gu Han's brother, Elder Gu Yan!"
"It is said that Elder Gu Yan is a powerful emperor-level cultivator, achieving the Saint Emperor realm!"
"Saint Emperor realm, damn…"
The disciples looked at the red-haired elder with admiration and deep, heartfelt reverence.
This was a different kind of fear from what they felt for Ning Tian, stemming from respect for a powerful being.
"Oh? You know?"
Ning Tian didn't revere Elder Gu Yan as the other disciples did.
This made many worried for Ning Tian.
Elder Gu Yan had a known stubborn streak; if he felt disrespected by someone, no matter what their status, he would not take kindly to them.
Previously, Elder Gu Yan had been headstrong and contradicted the empress, leading to his assignment here guarding the Scripture Pavilion.
"Supposedly, Elder Gu Yan has a fiery temper. I wonder if he'll be polite to the grandmaster?"
"Probably not…"
"Heh heh, maybe we'll witness a good show."
The disciples speculated, ready for a spectacle.
"Yes, grandmaster, I know."
But Elder Gu Yan's behavior was respectful towards Ning Tian. "You only need to hold the ancient plaque and make contact with the door, then naturally you will be able to enter."
Seeing Elder Gu Yan's attitude, the disciples were astonished.
The notoriously hot-tempered Elder Gu Yan was being polite towards Ning Tian?
This was completely different from what they expected!
"Oh? Just holding the ancient plaque will do? Thank you," Ning Tian nodded his head.
"Not at all, grandmaster. Please go ahead. If there's anything you're unsure about, just ask me."
Elder Gu Yan waved his hand politely.
Observing the disciples, they felt strangely about how this encounter with Elder Gu Yan differed from their impressions.
They still remembered how a promising disciple from a sect gate arriving at the Scripture Pavilion sought Elder Gu Yan's guidance with humility and questions, only to be met with a barrage of insults.
But now, with the grandmaster…
At that time, Ning Tian was holding the golden ancient plaque, then reached out to touch the thick door.
The door shimmered with golden light, and then rippled like the surface of water.
His hand smoothly passed through.
"It's really effective."
Ning Tian's eyes brightened. Without hesitation, he turned and entered the fifth layer.
Witnessing this, the disciples were full of envy.
The martial arts and techniques on the fifth level were all at least of high-grade Xuan level!
After Ning Tian left, Elder Gu Yan's demeanor shifted instantly. He glared at the disciples and bellowed.
"What are you looking at? If you have time to watch, you should be cultivating! A bunch of trash, go and train! Stop bothering this old man!"
The disciples were stunned, holding back tears in their hearts.
They didn't see him treating the grandmaster this way.
But no matter their dissatisfaction, they could only chuckle and scratch their heads.
"Elder Gu Yan is right, he is right…"
"We're going to cultivate now."
Quickly, the group of disciples scattered, not daring to linger or catch Elder Gu Yan's eye.
"A bunch of little brats."
Elder Gu Yan shook his head as he watched the departing disciples, then glanced at the fifth layer, his eyes sparkling, murmuring to himself.
"The grandmaster is really handsome…"
"At the Heavenly Demon Hall, he shattered the Dao hearts of dozens of saints and god-sons with a single statement—truly satisfying!"
"These geniuses, compared to the grandmaster, aren't even worth a fart!"
In the Scripture Pavilion, fifth layer.
Rows of bookshelves were set before Ning Tian.
On each row, scrolls were sealed by spiritual energy.
"There are so many treasures here."
Ning Tian's eyes lit up, considering which book to start with.
But then, the golden ancient plaque in his hand flew out, projecting a line of golden text.
Ning Tian read it over.
After a while, he smirked.
What kind of silly rule is this?
After entering the fifth layer, he could examine each scroll.
But there was a ridiculous part.
He could only look at the introductions of martial arts and techniques, and after choosing a satisfying one, could he then use the ancient plaque to break the spiritual seal on the scroll.
In other words.
Even if the fifth layer of the Scripture Pavilion contained countless treasures, Ning Tian could only take one!
Ning Tian gritted his teeth.
He really wanted to reprimand the person who set this rule; it was so troublesome.
Having meat but not being able to eat—it was an irritating feeling!
But not eating the meat at all would be foolish.
Ning Tian could only start sifting through the multitude of martial arts and technique scrolls.
"High-grade Xuan martial arts, Boshan Fist, Power to Break Through Mountains…"
He picked up a scroll at random, beautifully inscribed with the three characters "Boshan Fist".
"Power to Break Through Mountains, this seems not bad…"
"No, no, no… Boshan Fist might be fine, but my goal is techniques."
Ning Tian murmured to himself.
Then, he placed the martial arts scroll back and turned his gaze to the other scrolls.
(End of chapter)