Yang Qing's decision was pretty straightforward on his part. He knew himself all too well. With such a juicy pie in front of him, if he did not make his thoughts delineated, he would end up spending close to an hour debating what to read. Being spoilt for choice would leave him bogged down unable to decide what to start with which was why he had spent the better part of last night deciding on the Order he would follow through.

In more ways than one, the restrictions placed on his clearance had done him a huge favor. If he was given wanton access to the low-tier gold floor, he had doubts if he would even research into the matters concerning the Deer Mountain Kingdom and the strange happenings over there.

With the decision already in mind, he transmitted his choice to the Xuanwu on his shoulder. Although the form had changed, the Xuanwu was made from his library token. When he inserted his will into the Xuanwu and spoke the name Bi Xie Empire, a list appeared on his mind, though it was less of a list and more of just a single line with the name 'Bi Xie Empire History by Long Wan scholar of the Jade Leaf Academy.'

Yang Qing would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed to find only one entry relating to the Bi Xie Empire. He was hoping for several books as every book written was written based on the perceptions of the author. Different people were bound to see different things even if they lived in the same place which was why he was hoping for more accounts.

"Is there one entry because there is little information about the Bi Xie Empire, or is this the only accounting I have access to.." wondered Yang Qing.Before he went to the Deer Mountain Kingdom, he had never heard of the Bi Xie Empire despite being a history fanatic. Though in as much as he read countless and countless books, scrolls, and pieces of information that went back countless years, he knew there was so much he didn't know.

It was rather ironic at times that cultivators had longer lifespans than mortals and better memories, but they retained so little of their history and all that was because of how volatile a cultivator's world was. A person or an organization that has existed for 10,000 years could disappear in a flash, and all history of it would vanish along with it.

In the bloody history of the continent, how many sects, clans, empires, kingdoms, and other organizations that were huge in their heyday ended up being buried into obscurity, with all trace vanishing, sometimes deliberately and other times it's because it has happened so many times that people no longer keep track. The Clear Sword River Sect was one such example. It was once a renowned sect with palace realm experts, but now the one person who knew of its glorious history, died, with Yang Qing possibly being the last living witness to it.

Yang Qing pushing those morbid thoughts aside, called for the entry of Bi Xie Empire written by the Long Wan to be delivered to him.

The moment he did, he saw a golden flash of light appear on one of the hills-sized shelves. The golden light morphed into a golden robin that flew toward Yang Qing reaching him in a few seconds.

Yang Qing was still surrounded by the blue veil that had been produced by the Xuanwu to help him process information. While the Xuanwu didn't explicitly say it, he knew the veil also acted as a barrier to protect him against whatever dangers that were around him which was why he was told in not-so-subtle terms not to leave the carpet scroll.

When the gold robin reached the veil, it flew through it, transforming in the process. It transformed into a golden scroll that looked to have been made from a gold jade leaf. Yang Qing could feel the dense power of dao coursing through the leaf. With his hands slightly shaking he unrolled the leaf.

When he saw the title, Yang Qing felt like he had heard a voice come from the writing itself. He could feel the power and the breadth of the spirit contained in every syllable. He could now understand why the Xuanwu produced a glyph to help him, without it, he didn't know if his spirit would have been able to read without being fatigued from the enormous pressure it would be under.

Calming his heart and focusing his mind, Yang Qing pulled his gaze back on the gold jade leaf scroll.

"I, Long Wan was lauded as a genius that has appeared only once in a million years. I didn't lactate at birth for the mysteries of the Dao and the essence of the heaven and earth were my milk and nourishment. I only spoke when I was two, and when I did, 10,000 spirit beasts and plants danced with excitement at my words.

I was born with the brilliant dao-sight physique, and from the moment I opened my eyes and gazed upon the world I could see the mysteries that only those who have cultivated tirelessly to reach the palace realm could see. I could feel different Daos fawning, trying to get my attention promising countless prizes of ascendancy if accepted. 'Companion of the dao' so they called me, which later evolved to the sage and master of ten thousand Daos. .."

Yang Qing tore his eyes away from the scroll as an incredulous look appeared on his face.

"Did all those seniors from back then like to brag about themselves first before they broached the main topic.." he wondered as he recalled the interaction he had with the spiritual imprint of Yun Suifen, the sect master of the Bright Lake Dawn Sect who had created the legacy art within the chime bell stored at the Deer Mountain Branch.

She too began recounting her glorious achievements before she explained the concept of her art. He couldn't help but wonder if this was something common from back then.

"They must have really loved their face.." muttered Yang Qing as he brought his focus back to the scroll. Far be it for him to judge considering he was liable to do the same thing. He was even thinking of writing a few books adopting that same theme.

Who was he, to break away from the mold, thought Yang Qing with a shining look in his eyes.