Weird, my gaming life

Wei Zhong's steps were steady, each step precise to the last detail. He didn't turn around, but his voice clearly reached Lin Yuan's ears.

"Young Brother Qin Xiu, you've achieved such cultivation at such a young age; your future is truly immeasurable!"

Wei Zhong's tone was calm but tinged with envy, clearly indicating that he understood Lin Yuan's exceptional talent.

"Commander Wei, you flatter me. I am just one of the lucky few among the masses. The future will be immeasurable as I grow. Right now, I am just a larger ant."

Wei Zhong was stunned. He had thought that Qin Xiu, who was so young and already had innate cultivation, should be arrogant. But now it seemed that this child was frighteningly calm.

At a time when one should be full of vigor and high spirits, the ability to accurately recognize one's own abilities indicates that this person is destined for greatness.

"I wonder what the relationship is between Brother Qin Xiu and the Third Princess now!"

Wei Zhong smiled and asked a seemingly nonsensical question.

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment, then answered honestly, "Friends! She has a very nice personality, and I get along very well with her."

"Haha, then Princess will have to trouble Brother Qin Xiu a lot in the future!"

After saying that, Wei Zhong didn't say anything more, but a look of worry flashed between his brows.

He didn't inquire about anything else concerning Qin Xiu. As the commander of the Imperial Guard in the royal family, he had seen all kinds of people over the years. If others wanted to say something, they would say it; if they didn't want to, asking would be pointless.

Besides, even His Majesty the Emperor hasn't asked this question, so he doesn't think he can ask it.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan didn't try to make conversation. He was someone who enjoyed peace and quiet, and this quiet environment was just fine.

As he walked along, his powerful senses were taking in his surroundings. He could vaguely sense that there were many hidden presences in the darkness beneath the seemingly calm environment.

These auras varied in strength, like an invisible net enveloping the entire palace, with the weakest one being at the first level of the Innate Realm.

The profound heritage of this imperial palace far surpasses that of Qinghe Palace.

The two passed through several palace gates and stepped into a bamboo forest path, where Lin Yuan suddenly stopped.

His gaze fell on an old eunuch sweeping the floor in the corner.

The old eunuch looked like he was about to die; his body was hunched over, his face was full of wrinkles, and he was wearing a faded gray eunuch's robe. He swept the floor very slowly, one stroke after another, as if he might be blown over by a gust of wind at any moment.

Wei Zhong followed Lin Yuan's gaze, but only glanced at him before looking away. He was nothing more than an old eunuch on the verge of death, nothing worth paying attention to.

"Young man, what's wrong?" Wei Zhong asked, puzzled.

Lin Yuan did not answer; his eyes narrowed slightly.

To outsiders, he was just an ordinary old eunuch.

But in his powerful perception, that area seemed like a black hole. Every breath the old eunuch took, every sweep of his broom, blended perfectly with the rhythm of the surrounding world, without revealing even the slightest bit of his energy.

This level of restraint is terrifyingly strong, considering that his current mental strength is over seventy, which is more than seven times that of a normal person.

Having experienced several rebirths in reality, he was mentally exhausted, but it is undeniable that this process of breaking down and rebuilding was very beneficial to tempering his mental strength.

Each of his three rebirths increased his mental strength by five points. After one calamity, his mental strength experienced another qualitative leap, skyrocketing from 62 points to 77 points.

It was with such powerful mental strength that he was able to catch the slight opportunity revealed by the old eunuch.

The old eunuch seemed to notice Lin Yuan's gaze. He raised his cloudy old eyes, grinned in Lin Yuan's direction, and revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth that sagged.

He stopped sweeping, leaned on the broom, and asked in an extremely weathered tone, "Little one, what are you looking at? Do we have flowers growing on our faces?"

Wei Zhong frowned. Although he didn't know why there was such an old eunuch here, Qin Xiu was a promising talent favored by His Majesty the Emperor, and he didn't want the old eunuch to bring any negative impact to Lin Yuan.

He was about to step forward and drive the old eunuch away when Lin Yuan raised his hand to stop him.

Lin Yuan walked slowly to the old eunuch and calmly glanced around.

"Grandpa, you swept the floor so clean! No dust or fallen leaves from the surrounding area can escape your broom."

A strange light flashed in the old eunuch's cloudy eyes. He chuckled and said, "I've swept the floors my whole life, so naturally I have a lot of experience."

Everything in this world has its own rules, and as long as you grasp these rules, you can slowly sweep away even the deepest hidden garbage.

"Little one, are you going to search for treasure in that mountain of books?"

The old eunuch pointed to the library not far away and asked.

Lin Yuan nodded. "Old man, with your vast experience, do you have any advice for the younger generation?"

Lin Yuan realized that this old eunuch was definitely a top expert guarding the Scripture Pavilion, and his realm was definitely no lower than the Transcendent Realm.

The old eunuch paused for a moment, then suddenly looked at Lin Yuan with great interest.

"I'm just an ordinary old eunuch, what opinions could I possibly have? But there's so much knowledge in that mountain of books, it's quite dazzling. Some people go in wanting to learn how to slay dragons, but come out as evil dragons themselves. Others want to learn how to save the world, but come out only to complain and blame others."

"Baby, tell me what you want to learn!"

The old eunuch asked meaningfully.

Wei Zhong stood to the side, listening with a sense of bewilderment. He felt that the old eunuch's seemingly mad ramblings contained a few threads of truth, so he began to listen quietly.

Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then looked seriously at the old eunuch, "When you are successful, you should help others; when you are unsuccessful, you should cultivate your own virtue. Right now, I only want to cultivate my own virtue and have the power to protect myself in this world."

The old eunuch's smile vanished abruptly. His cloudy eyes seemed to become unfathomable at that moment. He looked Lin Yuan up and down again, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate flesh and see into the soul.

After a long while, he smiled again and nodded.

"What a profound statement, 'When you are successful, you should help others; when you are unsuccessful, you should cultivate your own virtue.' Little one, you see things very clearly. It's just a pity that this fishpond is ultimately too shallow."

He rummaged in his pocket for a while and pulled out a dark wooden plaque of indeterminate material, which he then casually tossed to Lin Yuan.

"Here you go play with this. If you ever get tired of reading books, just take it to the entrance of the ninth floor of the library and knock three times as a way of saying hello to our family."

After saying this, the old eunuch ignored Lin Yuan, hunched over, and continued sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground.

Wei Zhong's pupils suddenly contracted. The ninth floor—wasn't that the forbidden area of ​​the library? Even His Majesty was not allowed to enter without special circumstances! Just who was this old eunuch?

Lin Yuan took the wooden plaque, its surface smooth and warm to the touch. A simple, ancient Tibetan character was engraved on it. He glanced deeply at the old eunuch's hunched back, then tucked the plaque into his robes. Turning to Wei Zhong, he said, "Let's go!"

Wei Zhong suppressed his shock and silently followed. He looked at Lin Yuan as if he were looking at a bottomless mystery.

What exactly is this child's identity? In terms of both knowledge and personality, he doesn't seem like a country bumpkin or a prince.

He may be called a country bumpkin, but he doesn't have the humility of someone from a small place. He even dares to insult the princess and the prince, calling them actors.

To say he was a hidden prince or nobleman would be even less likely, since no prince or nobleman would calmly address a disheveled old eunuch as "old man."

Let alone that old eunuch, even the powerful eunuchs around the emperor, the Nine Thousand Years Old, are all polite on the surface, but who knows how nasty they are behind his back.

Despite possessing formidable martial arts skills, he was frighteningly composed.

Despite their lowly status, they have their own set of rules for conduct.

Even when meeting the emperor's most beloved princess, he could say they were just friends; and when meeting the palace eunuchs, he would never show a look of disdain. He had never met such a contradictory person who exuded an indescribable sense of equality.

After passing through the bamboo forest, the magnificent library finally came into view.

The pavilion was entirely constructed of thousand-year-old ironwood, its deep color exuding an ancient and weighty aura. Two stewards in brocade robes stood at the entrance, and upon seeing Wei Zhong, they immediately bowed respectfully.

"Commander Wei."

Wei Zhong nodded, took out a golden scroll and handed it over, "By imperial decree, Qin Xiu is appointed as a page in the library, and is permitted to read all the books on the first to third floors, and to choose any Yellow-level martial arts manual."

Upon hearing this, the two managers were stunned, their gazes falling on the child behind Wei Zhong, filled with disbelief.

But they dared not ask any more questions. They quickly took the gold scroll, carefully checked it, and one of them took out a bronze waist token and presented it with both hands.

"Young Master Qin, this is your waist token. Please keep it safe. There are rules within the establishment, and we ask that you abide by them."

Lin Yuan took the waist token, which felt cold to the touch.

Wei Zhong had completed his task. He cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Yuan and said, "Young brother, I'll see you off here. If you need anything, you can use your waist token to have an attendant from the pavilion notify me."

Thank you.

Lin Yuan thanked him, then turned and walked towards the heavy ironwood gate without looking at him again.

With a heavy creak, the door was slowly pushed open.

A unique scent, a blend of ancient books, ink, and dust, wafted over. Light streamed in through the cracks in the door, illuminating countless swirling dust particles and the seemingly endless rows of bookshelves that reached straight to the ceiling.