Recalling Su Han's advice, Hao Ren certainly would not choose these cultivation techniques which offered minimal potential. He directly walked towards the staircase and said, "Let's go check out the levels above."
"Gongzi Hao, please follow me," Premier Xia hurried ahead to lead the way. Lu Linlin and Lu Lili looked at each other before following them upstairs.
"These Orange-Grade cultivation techniques are slightly more difficult to cultivate, but they come with stronger powers. Again, regarding future potential, it is about the same as the Red-Grade ones. In the beginning, you would make rapid progress; but after that, it would be tough to advance any further. If you must achieve a higher realm, then you would have to switch to a better cultivation technique and start cultivating from the beginning again."
While explaining, Premier Xia turned to Hao Ren and suggested, "This humble servant believes that one shouldn't aim high at the beginning of cultivation. It is safer for Gongzi Hao to opt for an Orange-Grade cultivation technique. As long as you persevere, most of the cultivation techniques here could help you achieve Zhen-level. Furthermore, these techniques all have considerable powers. As long as you are not up against opponents who are one or two levels higher, it should be enough for you to defend yourself."
Taking Premier Xia's words into consideration, Hao Ren replied, "Let's go up one more level and see."
Premier Xia nodded; he indeed dared not contradict Hao Ren's will. After leading the group to the third floor, he spoke, "The cultivation techniques stored on this level are Yellow-Grade. The characteristics of these techniques include slow and steady foundation building and a lack of combat power. This humble servant believes that if Gongzi Hao wants to advance to Kan-level quickly, Yellow-Grade cultivation techniques would not be your best choice."
Hao Ren turned his head and asked suddenly, "Which one is Su Han cultivating?"
"Su Han is cultivating a Yellow-Grade cultivation technique," Premier Xia promptly moved towards a bookshelf, lifted its seal, and pulled out a technique, "This is the one, Ice Frost Scroll."
After receiving the technique from Premier Xia, Hao Ren casually flipped through the book; there were only a few dozen pages, and there seemed to be nothing special about it. Without the array formation's bright lights surrounding it, it looked like an ordinary book with ancient style packaging.
Moreover, this book was brand new. Even when discarded on an open street, no one would take it as a valuable antique.
Hao Ren returned the technique to Premier Xia and said, "I'll also pick from this level then."
Premier Xia became dazed for a second. "A Yellow-Grade cultivation technique? Gongzi Hao, how about we go up one more level to see the other ones first? According to the Dragon King, Green-Grade cultivation techniques are also an option."
"I am assuming that Green-Grade cultivation techniques would grant me greater powers, but it would be even more difficult to cultivate than the Yellow-Grade ones?" Hao Ren asked.
"Indeed," Premier Xia answered with a nod.
"Then I'll pass on that level. This is the type I want; a cultivation technique that is more helpful for laying a solid foundation and having room for advancement in the realm," Hao Ren declared.
"Well…" Even though Premier Xia had more advice to give, he gave up as he saw that Hao Ren had become determined. "Then Gongzi can pick one from this level. Every cultivation technique comes with a brief introduction. If you have any questions, I will be right here."
"Thank you, Premier Xia." Hao Ren placed his hands in front of him to show his gratitude towards Premier Xia. After that, he began strolling from one bookshelf to another and browsing the books one by one.
At the same time, Premier Xia was following right behind him like a shopping guide, always ready to answer any types of questions Hao Ren might have.
"Is Ice Frost Scroll more fitting for girls to cultivate?" Hao Ren inquired while browsing.
"The cultivation techniques of the Dragon Tribe do not differentiate between genders. Su Han has the Metal Water Body Type, and the Ice Frost Scroll is mainly a water-elemental cultivation technique that also happens to encompass offensive attributes of the Metal-elements; it happened to be the perfect fit for Su Han to cultivate," Premier Xia clarified patiently.
"In that case, I should choose a cultivation technique that is of water elemental as well?" Hao Ren asked again as he noticed that the elements of each cultivation technique was labeled underneath its name.
"Gongzi Hao is not a native of the Dragon Tribe. Hence, physical body wise, yours is a chaotic mix of the five elements. However, the fact that Princess Zi's Dragon Core is now in your body does make it incline more towards Water," Premier Xia answered.
"What about Linlin and Lili? Can they also choose cultivation techniques here?" Hao Ren abruptly raised another question.
That was the first time Hao Ren called them by their first names, and Lu Lili blushed at the sound of her own name while Lu Linlin grinned joyfully.
"Gongzi, thank you for being thoughtful. However, both my sister and I have our own cultivation techniques and do not need to choose from here," Lu Linlin said to Hao Ren.
Premier Xia nodded in response. "Indeed, both Ms. Linlin and Ms. Lili have already reached top-tier Kun level, so they do not need to choose cultivation techniques here. Out of the entire Profound Cultivation Palace, maybe only cultivation technique above the Indigo-Grade might be of some help to them."
"Oh, I see." Hao Ren said casually again as he continued to move and read the introduction of each cultivation technique. "Zi's Third Uncle is invincible in the Human Realm, I guess the cultivation technique that he's cultivating would be the best Purple-Grade?"
"Third Lord is the No.1 Master in East Ocean. Nonetheless, he is not cultivating a Purple-Grade technique but a Blue-Grade. Although East Ocean has treasured a Purple-Grade cultivation technique since ancient times, it seems that no one has been able to cultivate it. Back then, Third Lord was confident and proud, so he attempted it. Yet, he failed as well," Premier Xia stated.
"What about Su Han? She is extremely gifted; she must have tried it as well?" Hao Ren further questioned.
"Haha, Gongzi Hao, you must know that, no matter how amazing Su Han is, she is still not a member of East Ocean Dragon Clan. To show due respect to the Elder who adopted her, East Ocean had made an exception, and that was the only reason why she was able to obtain a Yellow-Grade cultivation technique in the first place. There is no way that East Ocean would let her have her hands on the cultivation techniques of the Green, Blue or Purple-Grades; we never lend these to outsiders." Premier Xia further clarified.
On second thought, Hao Ren understood East Ocean's decision. With a mere Yellow-Grade cultivation technique, Su Han was already able to achieve mid-tier Qian-level and had become an Inspector who was in charge of monitoring the East Ocean Region. Everyone in East Ocean City had to hold a modest attitude towards her. If East Ocean Dragon Clan were to help her become even stronger with even more immense power, they would only put themselves and the Dragon Palace at risk.
"Linlin, Lili, what are your attributes?" Hao Ren thought of a question and turned around to ask the sisters who were following him closely.
"Gongzi, we both have Five-Elemental Body Type," they answered.
"Five elements… Isn't that the same as mine?" Hao Ren wondered.
Noting the puzzled look on Hao Ren's face, Premier Xia knew what he was wondering about. He pointed out immediately, "Gongzi Hao, Ms. Linlin and Ms. Lili are Immortal Maids. Their bodies consist of a complete range of the five elements which is different from the chaotic mix of the five elements in your body."
Still, Hao Ren seemed confused.
Therefore, Premier Xia continued explaining, "For instance, let's say their bodies consist of five pillars, each of a distinct element. The pillars are all clearly distinct and independent, which means, Ms. Linlin and Ms. Lili can freely utilize any one of the elements at any time. Whereas, in your body, it is sand grains with five different colors all mixed up together in one pile; it is hard to distinguish one from another. The process of cultivation is to retain only the sand of one color and to eliminate the others. In the end, you would solidify the purified sand into a pillar of one specific element."
Hao Ren found this explanation easier to understand. Su Han had the Metal Water Body Type, which meant she was born with two pure elemental pillars inside of her. Coupled with her diligent efforts, her cultivation progress was otherworldly speedy.
On the other hand, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili had even better physical conditions than Su Han. With a complete range of the five elements that were distinct and independent, to say that their cultivation progress was 'otherworldly speedy' would be an understatement.
"As for the function of the Spirit Concentration Scroll, it is to help you cultivate the skill to move Nature Essence. What it means is that you would have the ability to utilize external elements in nature to substantiate your own body while removing the impurities from it. The moment that you advanced the third level of Spirit Concentration Scroll, your body has become completely purified, and all your meridians have opened up; you have now in the Connate Realm. In other words, there is now only a pile of sand grains of the five colors in your body, and impurities like leaves and stones have all been eliminated. What cultivation does is to continuously utilize one of the elements and solidify that element; by doing that, it could even help transform the other elements to achieve complete purity in the body," Premier Xia added.
Hao Ren nodded quietly; he felt like he had gained immense knowledge from Premier Xia's detailed explanation every time he was there.
"Premier Xia, how about this Pure Water Scroll? Its main attribute is water, and both its offense and defense attributes are water elemental as well," Hao Ren stopped in front of a technique and asked.
"This Pure Water Scroll can command the vast water elements in the world. To attack, it can form weapons such as water arrows; for defense, it can create armors such as water shield. All in all, it has limited power, but it is helpful for moisturizing and nourishing the body. Also, cultivation of it rarely goes wrong…" Premier Xia continued explaining with patience.
Hao Ren further took out a few techniques that he was interested in, and Premier Xia introduced each one of them dutifully.
Seeing that Premier Xia's mouth was becoming parched from talking too much, Hao Ren felt terrible for asking so many questions. Yet, Hao Ren found that the selection of cultivation techniques was even more imperative than picking out his top-choices for universities before the university entrance examination. Since it would dictate the future direction of his cultivation, he dared not take it lightly. As a result, he couldn't help but inquire Premier Xia about every single one of them.
From time to time, Lu Linlin and Lu Lili would also chime in when they found that Premier Xia was not thorough enough about certain areas of a technique. Only then did Hao Ren realize that the sisters had extensive experience and were incredibly knowledgeable.
He also understood that having the sisters' company could be beneficial to his cultivation. It was almost like having two personal tutors whose abilities were comparable to Su Han's.
Even then, he decided that he would still make time to report to Su Han at four o'clock in the afternoon as often as possible. After all, he was her monitored subject and her 'captive".
As Hao Ren contemplated, he walked up to a cultivation technique with a grey colored cover. All the other techniques had revealed a blue cover after the protection from the array formations were lifted off, but this one was grey, which made it seem very special.
"Premier Xia, would you please take this one out for me?" Hao Ren requested as he pointed at the 'Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll'.
With a wave upwards, Premier Xia had removed the variegated protective veil. He took out the cultivation technique and handed it to Hao Ren.
"This cultivation technique is a 'Great Five Elemental Cultivation Technique'. It is different from the others as this one requires all five elements in the body to progress at the same pace; others only need you to cultivate only one or two of the five elements in your body. There were a few elders who had attempted to cultivate this technique when they were young. However, the progress was so slow that it was beyond their imagination. After holding out for a period of time, they all gave up," Premier Xia commented.
"Great Five Elemental…...A chaotic mix of the five elements…..." Hao Ren thought for a second and remarked, "How about… I go with this one then? I've looked at most of them, and the others are not very interesting to me."
Premier Xia was bewildered as he was expecting Hao Ren to place the book right back after his detailed explanation. "Gongzi Hao, are you sure about this?"
"It is a nice idea to have the five elements progress at the same pace at once. It sounds safe and sure-footed…" Hao Ren replied.
"Having the five elements progress together is like having to build five temples at the same time, and the progress has to be even and stable. Whereas, if you go with a different one, you'd only need to build one temple with one types of colored sand. It is true that it is safe and sure-footed, but…" Premier Xia tried to change Hao Ren's mind.
"Gongzi, I think it is a good choice." Lu Linlin encouraged Hao Ren.
"Alright, let's go with this one then," Hao Ren turned and said to Premier Xia after he smiled at Lu Linlin. He believed that the safer and reliable the cultivation, the more confident he would be when he had to transmit life energy to Zhao Yanzi in the future. In comparison, its combat power was less of his concern.
Seeing that Hao Ren had adopted her suggestion, Lu Linlin briefly stuck out her tongue and began smiling sweetly.
"Yes, Gongzi Hao… Now that you have made up your mind, have a try at it. If you find it unfitting, you can come back and switch to another one." Premier Xia sighed faintly.
He felt like all his great efforts had gone to waste.
As he led the three out of the Profound Cultivation Palace, he released a voice transmission to Zhao Guang.
Soon, Zhao Guang had flown to meet them. After he landed steadily on the ground, he questioned the 'Light Splitting Sword Shadow Scroll' in Hao Ren's hands, "How come you chose this one?"
Looking slightly agitated, Zhao Gong shot Premier Xia a stare. Remaining silent, Premier Xia kept his head down and had now hunched his back even more.
Just as Hao Ren was about to exempt Premier Xia from being responsible for his choice of the cultivation technique, Zhao Guang did not seem to be bothered much and had recreated the energy sphere that surrounded Hao Ren. "Let's go!"