Other than eating, lazing around, scheming, complaining, and scheming some more, he loved reading.
While at the institute, the one place he spent most of his time in, was the main Library. The brief recess time he got when they were not in classes, training, cultivating, or being maliciously beaten by the instructors and some prisoners from the requiem who they often sparred with, he would often spend it at the library.
For a place that was the size of a small town, the volume of knowledge the Main Library contained was astronomical. Yang Qing would choose subjects to read at random very soon it became a habit that he has retained till today as whenever he had time he would still visit the library. He wasn't the only Order employee who did so either.
Most Order employees have their private libraries either in their offices or at their abodes. However, no matter how grand their personal libraries are, they all fell short of the Main Library by miles. Which was why most employees opted to use the main library.
The main library was the culmination of the Order's efforts since it was founded or even before that when the Order was just laying its foundations before it officially started operating. Because of its history and importance, gaining entry into the Main library is usually accompanied by several requirements.
The library has nine floors. The first floor has the least requirements as the only requirement is for one to be affiliated with the Order be they student or employee or outsider with permission slips to enter.
The information stored on the first floor is just general stuff with nothing related to cultivation. It's filled with stories, and different types of basic information like overview maps of the southern continent with no defined details other than physical features such as rivers, lakes, mountains, etc.
The further up one moves, within the library floors, the higher the requirements and the higher the level of information stored in them. There are also different features that accompany those floors increasing in utility and power with each increasing floor level.
Cultivation arts are stored from the second floor moving upwards inclusive of the accompanying floor features. It is for this reason that outsiders are denied entry from the second floor and onwards.
Yang Qing's current access at the library reaches the fifth floor also known as the low-rank blue-grade floor. It's filled with cultivation arts that are at the low rank of blue grade. Along with it are information and features that are at the equivalent of that level.
When Yang Qing was just a student he thought the Order was silly and stingy with its arrangement, especially with its strict entry requirements.
At the time it didn't make sense to him why one would have to pass through so many hoops just to access a floor with high-rank orange-grade arts when they already had access to a few blue-grade cultivation arts, as students.
But it was only later that he realized how misguided his thinking had been. While they had access to blue-grade arts, it was only a few arts that the instructors had picked for them or the students themselves from a small pile.
The same rule applied when an Order employee used their merit points to redeem a cultivation art. They could only choose from a subdivided parameter, for example, sword arts suited for a water attribute. It depended on their present specific needs leaving out other interests because merit points were a hard-earned commodity within the Order.
However, if you had access to a particular floor in the main library it meant you had unfiltered access to all the cultivation arts within that floor, irrespective of type.
This meant at Yang Qing's present level he had access to all the low-rank blue-grade arts the Order had in their collection at the main library, irrespective of type whether it be spear arts, sword arts, fist arts, formation blueprints as long as its rank was low-rank blue grade it would all be stored on the fifth floor. The number of what was stored in there wasn't fixed either as it was always being added to as time progressed.
To date, Yang Qing hasn't even read an eighth of what was stored on the fifth floor despite camping in there frequently during his leave days.
….
Yang Qing now wanted access to the seventh floor which stored cultivation arts that were in the high-rank of blue grade along with other equally relevant information and facilities.
He was not sure of his chances at gaining entry to that floor as at the bare minimum it required him to have a cultivation realm that was at the peak of the palace realm or have made contributions equivalent to that level which he was miles away from.
His odds of entry though low had a chance of success because of where he was, more specifically the people present. He was in a room filled with numerous big shots from deans, to formation hall masters and deputy masters, to a superior domain court judge with a paragon domain, and the Chief Librarian, the person in charge of the whole thing was present. If they spoke up for him, there was a chance his request may be granted, and add the value of the blue fairy object, the odds rise further.
He decided to take advantage of the moment and try his hand. If it failed it was no loss to him, he would just pick up a treasure from the treasury vault. But if it succeeded he would reap a lot, most importantly he was sure a lot of world secrets were stored in there which was a supposition he had based on the information he had access to just on the fifth floor.
….
" Well it's not an impossibility to get you access but don't put your hopes up just yet as at best you'll gain temporary entry and as for the duration even I can't tell.
Your entry to the seventh floor will have to be put up for a vote since you will be gaining entry through special circumstances instead of the normally met criteria.
I can try to speak up for you to the rest…Luckily you already have a few votes here including mine," Dean Zhu Lao said as he looked to Dean Chu Zhen, Meng Chao, Vice dean Yu Long and Vice warden Shao An who all nodded back in agreement.
From those present, they were the ones who had the ability to cast a vote on the matter. The chief librarian had a vote too but for some reason, Yang Qing noticed Dean Zhu Lao seemed hesitant to ask for his opinion.
Just as he was wondering the reason behind Dean Zhu Lao's strange expression the other person in question spoke.
"Hehehe what an interesting kid. You have my vote too though you owe me one. I'll collect if you gain a paragon domain if not ooh well I'll just think of it as me doing a good deed," said the Chief Librarian as he lightly chuckled with a gleam in his eyes.
"Many thanks, Chief Librarian En Sang and the other seniors too. Even if I fail to gain entry I'll make sure to repay the favor someday," Yang Qing solemnly said as he bowed in gratitude.
"You can have my vote too Yang Qing. Apologies to everyone for coming late." a soft penetrating voice sounded in everybody's ears.
The next second seemingly out of nowhere there was a dashing youthful-looking man in white robes standing next to Dean Zhu Lao.
