Chapter 34: The Gate and the Commission.

When the three reached the summit, sweat appeared on Yue Yun’s forehead, while Wen Xishu’s breathing grew uneven and slightly hurried.

Only Nison was bouncing along, singing cheerfully without so much as a hint of fatigue.

Wen Xishu had truly witnessed Nison’s terrifying physical aptitude.

If they were to go to the Blood Tower and undergo some rigorous training, he might very well become a blood-bull level powerhouse.

At the top of the library was a vast open space, resembling the helicopter pads atop the skyscrapers Wen Xishu remembered from his previous life.

After arriving, the three kept scanning their surroundings, only to find... nothing.

Yue Yun said, “I hope your legs aren’t trembling. Looks like we’ve wasted our effort and have to head back down.”

Anyone who has climbed a mountain knows that the effort to ascend is not the worst part; the worst is when your legs go weak and you still have to descend.

Nison, having found nothing, was a bit dejected: “Bro, looks like our plan tonight was wrong. Just a false alarm.”

Wen Xishu said nothing but looked up at the sky.

“Have you noticed that the clover is spinning more slowly?”

The enormous brass clover, when viewed from the library’s top, appeared even more gigantic.

Yue Yun nodded: “Yeah, it does seem to have slowed down.”

Wen Xishu said, “Patience is a virtue; let’s wait a little longer.”

The brass clover continued to turn, but as time passed, its rotation slowed more and more.

Much later, around midnight or early dawn—

The three leaves could now be distinguished with the naked eye, like the final spins of a fan after the power is cut.

The circles turned slower and slower until finally halting.

When the massive brass clover truly stopped spinning, Wen Xishu moved to the edge of the library’s rooftop.

He first looked up at the brass clover in the sky.

The dome’s simulated moonlight filtered through the veins of the clover’s leaves, casting a hazy glow over the night.

But the enormous clover leaves also blocked much of the simulated moonlight, creating shadows.

One shadow fell upon the gate of the Blood Tower sector. Another cast itself over the gate of the Desire Tower sector.

Standing atop this tallest building, Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, and the others all saw this spectacle.

And the last shadow... fell upon the rooftop of the library itself.

The massive, leaf-shaped shadow looked like an entrance to hell.

At this moment, Wen Xishu needed no explanation; Yue Yun and Nison both guessed... this shadow landing on the library’s rooftop was like a door opening right there!

Of course, it could be a mere coincidence—a geometric pattern of light and shadow.

Though it looked like a door, when their feet stepped into the shadow on the rooftop... nothing happened.

Yet Yue Yun and Nison firmly believed this place likely concealed treasures.

Because as their gazes rested on this door-like shadow...

They saw a note, a string of garbled characters.

Not a single recognizable word—only strange symbols that filled Yue Yun and Nison with unease.

Yue Yun thought of his mother, that great woman humbly begging for food in the lower levels.

Nison thought of the father who abandoned him and his mother. He recalled the hellish joke about why black people don’t celebrate Father’s Day, told in the depths below.

Increasingly, they grew agitated.

“Look away,” Wen Xishu commanded.

His sharp voice snapped them back to clarity; Yue Yun and Nison, with tacit understanding, turned their heads elsewhere.

“What... what is going on?” Nison asked nervously.

Just moments ago, he felt as if some invisible force had gripped him, stirring great unrest within.

Yue Yun looked at Wen Xishu, surprised that he was still staring at the garbled text, yet remained unusually calm.

“Can you recognize any of the characters?”

Wen Xishu withdrew his gaze and turned his head aside as well.

Nison shook his head: “Bro, there are no real words here. This looks like some kind of gibberish or sorcery script. I can’t recognize a single one. I can’t look at this anymore.”

Yue Yun also shook his head: “I can’t recognize any either. You can?”

Wen Xishu pondered briefly and then honestly said, “I can recognize a few. There’s a lot of gibberish here, and this gibberish can poison one’s mind.”

“Don’t stare at them. Focus only on the words you know. If you don’t recognize a character... just look away, completely.”

Yue Yun’s eye twitched slightly; his heart was deeply stirred. Who exactly was Wen Xishu? How could he recognize these characters?

Could it be that the destined heir to this treasure was actually Wen Xishu?

Wen Xishu ignored the thought flashing through Yue Yun’s mind: “Impossible, what right does he have?”

He continued, “I can only recognize a few: ‘master,’ ‘core,’ ‘most,’ ‘power,’ and ‘pure.’ That’s it.”

“Master, core, most, power, pure.”

Individually, each character could be explained, but strung together, to Nison and Yue Yun, they seemed as incomprehensible as the gibberish itself.

Yue Yun asked, “Why can you recognize some, while Nison and I can’t recognize any?”

Wen Xishu replied, “Everyone has secrets. I have mine. I won’t ask why you’re so determined to surpass everyone.”

“I also won’t ask Nison why he loves singing so much.”

“Of course, you can choose to share, but that’s your kindness, not your duty.”

Yue Yun nodded, accepting this explanation.

Those admitted to the Blood Tower Academy were no ordinary individuals, even though the Blood Tower’s threshold was much lower than the Desire Tower’s.

But the academy was different.

Even those entering the Blood Tower, having come from the Three Towers Academy, were undeniably formidable warriors.

It wouldn’t be surprising if, in the future, they infiltrated the Security Bureau and took up official posts.

This place was teeming with geniuses; it made sense that they’d each harbor secrets.

“After the midterm exam, I’ll tell you my secret. If by then we don’t grow to dislike each other, I think we’ll be good friends.”

Yue Yun felt a bit like, “He’s even more pretentious than me,” but he wasn’t jealous. His competitive spirit was purely a desire to grow stronger.

Nison said, “Wen, I always knew you were special. I love people with stories. My mom told me, a man should have a story.”

Yue Yun looked again at the shadow: “This thing looks like a door... You can make out some characters. What do you think they mean?”

Master, core, most, power, pure.

Wen Xishu vaguely guessed these could be expanded to “teacher,” “core,” “power,” and “purification.”

But what about “most”?

He thought of “earliest.”

If these words were combined and expanded...

A sentence already formed in Wen Xishu’s mind.