Li Qiye shook his head and smiled after seeing Xinxue: “Two old men losing to a girl, I’m speechless.”

Xinxue sat down in front of him, still feeling very nervous. She looked up and said: “Teacher, I’m here to learn.”

In fact, not too many would want to stay at Study Room without a different goal. Of course, they could be using it as a starting point before transferring to the other cla.s.srooms.

“I believe it.” Li Qiye said: “Your reason is purer than the other two, in order to read all the books here.”

He then focused his glare: “But, have you ever thought that this is also a type of running away?” 

“Running away?” Xianxue was surprised: “No, I just really like reading.”

“I don’t question that, you do like reading, but it has become a mental fort for you.” Li Qiye said flatly: “I’m sure I don’t need to talk about your clan, but being the oldest daughter there must be great pressure, especially for someone with a personality like yours. Instead of facing adversity, you chose to hide instead, so you use reading as an excuse to hinder your cultivation. Furthermore, only when you drown yourself in this ocean of books would you find solace from the pressure of compet.i.tion.”

The a.n.a.lysis shocked the girl. It was true, she wasn’t only here because she couldn’t afford the payment or because she loved books. 

She had never talked about this with anyone, not even Old Liu and Goldloop. No one at the academy was aware of her intention until now.

What stunned her even more were the details of his a.n.a.lysis, as if he was slicing her heart piece by piece for a clearer look. The most vulnerable thing in her heart has been revealed.

“How do you know?!” She jumped up in fear and instinctively covered her lower body as if she was naked.

“It’s not hard since nothing can hide from my eyes.” Li Qiye leisurely said.

She stood there, frozen, for a long time before eventually looking at him nervously.

“Don’t worry, it is quite obvious, I didn’t spy on you or anything.” He continued.

The girl sat down again and continued to defend herself, not wanting to admit her biggest insecurity: “I, I really just like to read books, it’s my favorite hobby.”

“You’re also running too.” Li Qiye said: “Reading is good, but using it as escapism and treating it as a tool shows that a lack of respect. Thus, since I am your teacher now, you can make a choice. To read without taking advantage of it, to be able to face your fear of cultivation, no longer delaying yourself. There’s no need to give up certain things in order to do what you like. Reading and cultivation aren’t mutually exclusive. What you need to do now, is to train hard but still read when possible.”

Xinxue fell into silence. She was indeed the oldest daughter of her clan but her talents were inferior compared to her siblings. This created immense pressure on her since youth so she escaped into Study Room for the ocean of books.

“In order to go further, a dao heart is the most important.” Li Qiye said: “Overcome your fear and bask in the immensity of the heaven and earth. At that point, you can read whatever you want or go out and verify all the legends of the human race.”

“I…” She stammered, not knowing what to say.

“The onus is on you to either overcome your fear or continue to use books as a s.h.i.+eld. Take your time thinking, no need to give me an answer just yet.”

She remained silent. Li Qiye saw this and waved his sleeve: “Go out now. Next!”

She stood up and quietly left. Meanwhile, the two men outside didn’t want to go in. However, Old Liu was shameless and continued retreating to the back and acted as if he didn’t hear anything. 

Goldloop Fist had no choice but to walk in. He bowed with a happy smile after seeing Li Qiye: “Teacher.”

Despite being older, he acted like an obedient student before Li Qiye.

Li Qiye looked at him and said: “Why are you staying at Study Room?”

“Hehehe, Teacher, the truth is that I have a little plan.” He smiled awkwardly and said: “I heard there were many valuable paintings and statues here so I want to copy them and sell it later for some spending money.”

Li Qiye slightly raised his brows: “You may not know this but I hate when people try to be clever in front of me. Plus, the descendant of w.a.n.g Ao shouldn’t besmirch his prestige.”

“How do you know that?!” The guy jumped up and stared at Li Qiye in disbelief.

He hasn’t told anyone his background before but Li Qiye was able to say it on top of knowing his ancestor"s name.

“Nothing can hide from my eyes.” Li Qiye repeated this phrase again.

Goldloop was frightened for a bit before composing himself and asked: “Teacher, you know magic?”

“No need for that, it’s quite obvious at a glance that you’re w.a.n.g Ao’s descendant.” Li Qiye said with a smile.

“You know my ancestor, Teacher?” His mouth was wide open because his ancestor has been dead for a long time now.

Li Qiye simply smiled and didn’t answer. Goldloop scratched his head and said: “If you already know my origin, then there’s no point in hiding, I suppose. Yes, I am indeed from the w.a.n.g Clan, but it has fallen now. We have lost our techniques.”

“That’s why you are here, in order to find your ancestor’s merit law.” Li Qiye said.

“You can guess that too?!” Goldloop’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

“w.a.n.g Ao is from Study Room, so it’s apparent why you are here.” Li Qiye chuckled.

Goldloop took a deep breath and was completely convinced of Li Qiye with a thumbs-up: “You are a G.o.d, no wonder why you’re a teacher here. Ordinary people like us can’t compare to you.”

He smiled wryly and continued: “Yes, Teacher, I’m really here to find the ancestor’s manuals. Our clan believes that he had carved these merit laws somewhere here, but who knows where exactly? The elders had the manuals before so they didn’t care about this, until our generation… We have no choice but to give it a shot despite not having a clue.”

So it turned out Goldloop Fist came from a great clan suffering a decline. Their ancestor was an amazing High G.o.d who came from Study Room. He was here in order to find the lost manuals of their ancestor.