Berucha's mind quickly went blank after hearing Vaan's intention. Since the latter was still new to the martial school, Berucha figured he could improve his image by showing Vaan around the school grounds.

However, Berucha had only just realized Vaan was only interested in reading books. The latter didn't care about exploring the other facilities at all.

Suddenly, Berucha recalled Vaan's behavior back at the Registration Hall.

Afterward, he glanced at the several hundred thousand pieces of martial knowledge waiting to be read in the Martial Arts Repository, and the corners of his lips immediately twitched.

'Don't tell me, Young Master Vanderlin intends to read everything here?!' Berucha cried in his mind.

He soon fell into depression when he discovered Young Master Vanderlin was actually a super big bookworm.

Berucha couldn't imagine how many books Young Master Vanderlin had already read in his life.

If Young Master Vanderlin hadn't been such a bookworm and spent more time on training, wouldn't he have achieved much more in his cultivation?

'Oh god, how long would it take Young Master Vanderlin to read everything in the Martial Arts Repository?'

Berucha was startled at the thought but quickly recovered shortly after. It might not be as bad if the person only skimmed through the books.

But then again, if the person wasn't actually reading, what was the point in skimming through so many books?

Berucha was baffled.

It seemed all geniuses were eccentric people who couldn't be easily understood for their actions.

"There's a martial art I've been trying to learn lately. So, I will probably look for it and review my knowledge. As for after that, I haven't decided yet, Young Master Vanderlin," Berucha replied to Vaan's previous question.

"Alright, I'll see you around then," Vaan nodded.

Shortly after, he fully entered the building. Upon his entry, he immediately noticed the first floor was quite crowded, whether it was martial students browsing the bookshelves or reviewing the martial knowledge in the central reading space. As such, he decided to head up to the next floor.

However, a grey-haired old man in scholarly clothes obstructed his path before Vaan could get very far inside the building.

"Nameplate?" the scholarly old man casually demanded.

"This is Elder Rahim, the librarian in charge of the first floor. Everyone has to show their nameplate to prove their identity before they can use the Martial Arts Repository," Berucha quickly explained.

However, Vaan had already placed his nameplate on Elder Rahim's extended palm.

Naturally, the customs of the Martial Arts Repository were something he had already learned from one of the introductory guidebooks back at the Registration Hall.

"Vanderlin Pendragon… Honorary core member, huh?" Elder Rahim confirmed Vaan's identity before studying his figure with a deep look.

Although Elder Rahim seemed to have something to say, he did not comment. He simply returned Vaan's nameplate and got out of his way.lightsnovel

"You can peruse any piece of martial knowledge on the top nine floors of the Martial Arts Repository. If there is anything you don't understand or are not sure about, you can ask a fellow martial student or the floor elder in charge."

"I understand. Thank you, Elder Rahim."

Shortly after the brief exchange ended, Vaan took the stairs to the second floor. Although the second floor also had an elder in charge, the person did not interfere with his business. The person only glanced in his direction briefly before continuing his own reading.

Nevertheless, Vaan still found the second floor somewhat crowded. Thus, he took the next set of stairs to the third floor.

This repeated until Vaan ended up on the seventh floor, where there were finally fewer martial students around. He knew his reading was bound to draw attention. Thus, the fewer people around, the better.

'The seventh floor upward only contains mid-rank martial arts and cultivation methods,' Vaan recalled.

…

Cultivation methods of the seventh floor consisted of both body refining and aura training methods.

Body refining methods were divided into breathing, physical, extreme, medicinal, and mental exercises. Breathing exercises were further divided into explosive, stable, and recovery breathing, each with a different focus.

For example, explosive breathing focused on supplying large amounts of oxygen to relevant body parts, ensuring warriors could perform intensive moves with their full might.

Meanwhile, stable breathing focused on a consistent supply of oxygen to ensure warriors could train for longer periods before their muscles were worn out.

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Lastly, recovery breathing was focused on supplying exhausted muscles with adequate amounts of oxygen to maximize their recovery and growth rates. Too little oxygen would naturally limit the recovery and growth of muscles, but too much would also burden the exhausted muscles and slow them down. An optimum amount was required for an optimum result.

Everyone knew how to breathe, but not everyone knew how to breathe well.

Non-martial artists think little of breathing exercises due to their limited effects and underestimate their value, not understanding their long-term benefits. But to a body refiner, mastering a good breathing exercise was just as important as any other body-refining exercise.

A split second saved on recovery and growth was a split second of extra training to greater heights. It was not a lot of time, but after countless repetitions, the meager amount of time would snowball into days, months, or even years.

Body refining was a difficult path, and every bit of time counted for a body refiner determined for greatness.

Even ordinary people did not know that one could simply improve one's quality of life just by knowing how to breathe well.

…

As Vaan read through the books in the breathing exercise section, he was amazed by the level of sophistication.

The attention to detail was simply staggering.

If even breathing exercises were developed to such a degree, it was easy to imagine what it was like for the other sections of body refining.

Nevertheless, such an advanced level of development seemed almost unnatural when compared to a rivaling country like the Holy Knight Empire. It wasn't something the Holy Knight Empire could achieve even if they were given thousands of years to develop on their own.

Vaan wondered if the Great Ratholos Empire's advanced martial development was caused by a reincarnated cultivator or an undying ancient like Empyrean Scarletsea.