"Azure? Is that your nickname?" Yuan asked her, as it was a weird name to have for someone part of the Wang Family.
Azure chuckled like a fairy before speaking, "No, that's my real name. I belong to the Wang Family, but I do not share the same blood as them. In other words, I was adopted, and Azure was what the kids at the orphanage would call me, so I stuck to it."
'She's also adopted?' Yuan's mouth opened a little from surprise.
This is the first time that he can relate to someone so well. Not only were they both orphans, but both of them became sick out of the blue and without any logical explanation, not to mention that they also played the zither.
It was almost as if Yuan was standing in front of a mirror right now.
"Anyways, I have to go now. It was nice speaking with you, Yuan. If you are free in the future, let's play the zither together. I don't normally play outside, but since you're here, I will come outside more often."
"Okay." Yuan immediately nodded.
"How about tomorrow?" She then asked.
"Same time?" Yuan asked.
"Same time."
"Then it's a promise. See you tomorrow."
Azure then picked up her zither and left the place shortly after, but she didn't forget to wave at Yuan before she left.
Once Azure left the scene, Yuan returned to the immortal caves.
"Where did you go? You've been gone all night according to Sebastian." Chu Liuxiang asked him when he returned.
"Hm? I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep, so I went outside for some fresh air," he said.
Chu Liuxiang raised her eyebrows slightly, but she didn't question him any further.
"What are we going to do today?" She then asked.
"I am going to take a look at the Six Spiritual Families' cultivation techniques and see if they have anything interesting," he said.
Chu Liuxiang shook her head and said, "Brother Yuan, I suggest that you don't accept any cultivation techniques from them."
"Eh? Why not?" Yuan immediately asked.
"Because you'll owe them if you do. Even though you won the competition and are entitled to a cultivation technique, I wouldn't accept anything from them if you do not intend on joining their faction, as that will only make it harder for you to leave them." Chu Liuxiang explained to him.
"That makes sense…" Yuan nodded.
And he continued, "Well, I am mostly going there to see what they have, but I will keep that in mind. I doubt they'll have any cultivation technique that I cannot find in Cultivation Online."
Sometime later, they went to get some breakfast at the Silver Restaurant before making their way to the building that stored the cultivation techniques after asking around for directions.
"This place is smaller than I had anticipated," Yuan mumbled in a low voice as they approached a small pagoda that only had one floor.
"Hello, I am Yuan, and I am here to look at the cultivation techniques," Yuan said to the guards standing in front of the heavily-guarded pagoda.
The guard in the front nodded his head and said, "I have already been notified by the grand elders about your situation. Please, follow me."
However, the guard stopped when he noticed that Meixiu and the others were also following them.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but only Daoist Yuan has clearance to enter the building. The rest of you are not allowed to follow him inside."
After all, Meixiu was only his 'caretaker', and Chu Liuxiang was an uninvited guest at the Jaded Garden. If not for Yuan, Chu Liuxiang would not have been allowed to stay for so long.
"I understand. We'll wait for you out here." Meixiu said to Yuan.
Yuan nodded and said, "I won't take long."
He then entered the building with the guard while the others remained outside.
"What a bummer. I wanted to see how the Six Spiritual Families' cultivation techniques compare to our Chu Family's collection." Chu Liuxiang shrugged.
"Anyway, since we're alone, why don't we have a little chat?" She then turned to look at Meixiu.
"I have nothing interesting to say." Meixiu immediately said.
Chu Liuxiang chuckled and said, "That's perfectly fine. We're going to be talking about Brother Yuan, anyway. Let's start with what we like the most about him!"
Meixiu was speechless. Does she really have to participate in such an embarrassing topic?
Meanwhile, inside the pagoda, Yuan was stunned to see how few cultivation techniques there were in this place.
"Is this all of the techniques on this floor?" Yuan asked the guard as he pointed at the bookshelf in the middle of the room that contained about 20 cultivation techniques.
"Yes." The guard nodded.
And he continued, "Don't let the quantity fool you, Daoist Yuan. These cultivation techniques were not taken from Cultivation Online. They have been with the Six Spiritual Families for many generations now, and before Cultivation Online came into existence, cultivation techniques were incredibly rare."
"That makes sense…" Yuan nodded.
"Hm? Does this mean you guys keep the cultivation techniques acquired from Cultivation Online in a separate place?"
"Yes. They are located in the public library for all disciples to access. Of course, the stronger cultivation techniques are only accessible by higher-ranking disciples."
"As for these cultivation techniques, even if some of them are not as powerful as the cultivation techniques from Cultivation Online, they are greatly valued by the Six Spiritual Families due to their origin and history. Usually, only elite disciples or children directly from one of the Six Spiritual Families are allowed to choose a cultivation technique from this place."
"Anyways, take your time. I will be over here if you have any questions."
"Okay." Yuan then approached the bookshelf located in the center of the room and started looking through all of the cultivation techniques there.
'Oh? Is this the sword technique used by Wang Ming during our first fight? So it was called Sword of Dominance, huh. What a domineering name. Very fitting for such a powerful strike..' Yuan looked at the technique while trying his best to not accidentally learn them as he does in Cultivation Online.