137: This thing is much harder than the imperial examination.

Su Ming walked out of the quiet room, the dazzling sunlight making him squint slightly.

Fatty Wang was standing outside the door, and seeing him emerge, he immediately greeted him with a beaming smile.

His small eyes sparkled with nothing but admiration and warmth.

“Su Ming, what did Elder Ma tell you? Is there another important task he wants to assign to you?”

Su Ming shook his head and tucked the Jade Slip further into his sleeve.

“Nothing much, the Elder just offered a few words of encouragement.”

He did not want to expose the matter too early.

“Oh, oh, that's a tremendous honor too!” Fatty Wang rubbed his hands, wearing an expression that said, “I understand.” “Su Ming, the Accounting Room will rely entirely on you from now on! If you need anything, just say the word!”

Su Ming exchanged a few pleasantries with him, then bid farewell and left.

He walked out of the main hall of the External Affairs Hall, the dazzling sunlight making him squint slightly.

He did not linger outside the hall. Instead, as usual, he walked straight along the fixed path towards the direction of the Servants' Courtyard at the foot of the mountain, without glancing sideways.

The hand in his sleeve held the Jade Slip steadily, but his mind was already circulating the Breath Concealment Art, firmly locking away the potential expectation and curiosity that might otherwise leak out.

With a treasure in hand, he needed to be even more cautious.

Investigating it in a place bustling with people was no different from a child carrying gold through the marketplace.

He knew that any inappropriate hint of eagerness could attract unnecessary attention.

Just as he was about to turn onto the stone steps leading down the mountain, a slightly teasing, youthful voice sounded beside him.

“Looks like Elder Ma didn't do anything to you. What are you holding?”

Qing Feng was standing with his hands behind his back, impatiently kicking stones on the ground with his toe.

Ming Yue, meanwhile, was squatting down, curiously watching an ant move house.

“Why are you two here?” Su Ming was slightly surprised.

“Just passing by.”

“We were waiting for you! We went to the Accounting Room, and the steward there said you came here.” Ming Yue stood up, her eyes curved in a smile. “Senior Brother said he wanted to see if Elder Ma would chase you down the mountain.”

Hearing this, Qing Feng's small face flushed red, and he glared at Ming Yue.

“Nonsense! I... I was just passing by!”

He cleared his throat and walked up to Su Ming, examining him up and down like a little adult.

His gaze fell upon the slightly bulging sleeve of Su Ming.

Knowing he couldn't hide it from him, Su Ming took out the old Jade Slip.

“Elder Ma bestowed this Jade Slip, saying... he wanted me to learn something so I could have a stable future.”

Qing Feng took the Jade Slip, glanced at it, curled his lip, and threw it back.

“The outline of formation basics? The most common trash, Sect library stacks are piled high with them, and no one reads them.”

He snorted, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

“However, for Elder Ma to give you this is setting a precedent. You're a lucky kid.”

Ming Yue leaned over for a look and asked curiously, “Formation? That's really hard to learn! I heard the Senior Brother from Formation Peak say that just memorizing the runes is enough to blow your head up!”

“Su Ming, can... can you understand it?”

Su Ming shook his head with a wry smile.

“I haven't looked yet, but I must try.”

“It's good that you have the spirit.” Qing Feng gave an noncommittal grunt.

“But don't say I didn't warn you, without guidance, relying only on this broken Jade Slip, you won't even touch the entrance. Let's go, Ming Yue.”

Having said that, he said no more, pulled the still worried Ming Yue, turned, and left along the small path, their figures quickly disappearing among the lush bamboo.

Su Ming watched the direction they disappeared, knowing that although Qing Feng's words were unpleasant, they were the truth.

Su Ming stood in place, watching them leave, then lowered his head to look at the Jade Slip in his palm.

He clenched the Jade Slip, turned, and walked toward the courtyard where the servants lived at the foot of the mountain.

His steps were steady and firm... Late night.

Ding Qi Courtyard was silent.

Thunderous snoring came from Zhang Meng in the west room, and the lights in Steward Zhao's north room had long been extinguished.

Li Kai in the south room was as quiet as ever.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the bed and carefully placed the Jade Slip against his glabella.

Imitating the Sect Disciples, he attempted to slowly inject the faint wisp of Spiritual Power within his body into it.

The Spiritual Power was like a tiny stream, touching the Jade Slip instantly.

“Buzz—”

In Su Ming's mind, countless massive, complex, and profound pieces of information flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a bursting dam!

Treatise on the Origins of Formations... Detailed Explanation of Basic Runes: Three Thousand Six Hundred Forms... Preliminary Discussion on Spiritual Power Circuit Construction... Analysis of the Interaction between Yin and Yang, Five Elements, and Formation Attributes... Every single word felt like a mountain, heavily pressing down on his Divine Soul.

Those twisted, complex runes whirled and danced in his mind like living creatures, making him dizzy.

In just a moment, Su Ming felt a splitting headache and his Mental Energy was completely depleted.

He groaned, abruptly moved the Jade Slip away from his glabella, and gasped heavily for breath.

Cold sweat had already soaked his back.

Too difficult!

This was a hundred times harder than reciting the entire great xing compendium!

No guidance, relying entirely on self-exploration.

The feeling was like an illiterate child being thrown into a massive library containing ten thousand scriptures, not even knowing which book to start flipping through.

He forced himself to endure the mental fatigue and once again placed the Jade Slip against his glabella.

This time, he dared not be greedy.

He focused all his attention on reading only the first chapter of the Detailed Explanation of Basic Runes.

The simplest rune, representing the meaning of “Gather.”

The rune was composed of three strokes, and the turnings and pauses of each stroke contained a unique rhythm.

He stared intently at that rune, tracing it over and over again in his mind.

He wrote it and forgot it, then forgot it and wrote it again.

An hour passed.

He finally managed to imprint the shape of this single rune deep into his memory.

And his spirit was exhausted to the extreme, his eyelids heavy as a thousand pounds.

“No... this is too slow.”

Su Ming leaned against the wall, his heart filled with a sense of powerlessness.

Three thousand six hundred basic runes; memorizing one a day would still take ten years to finish.

This was just the most basic memorization, let alone understanding and applying them.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Cannot rush.

Especially at a time like this, he couldn't lose his composure.

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Breath Concealment Art, entering a state of meditation.

The fatigue in his Sea of Consciousness slowly recovered during the meditation.

He suddenly remembered his job in the Accounting Room, remembering those tedious accounts...