Chapter 129: Swordsmanship

This was a study decorated with various animal pelts, where hundreds of hardcover books were neatly arranged on shelves.

"Father."

Sack, the convenient younger brother of Li Ju in this lifetime, pushed the door open and entered.

"Sack, come over and sit."

Rex sat behind his desk with an open book in front of him. He was staring intently at the text and did not look up, even when he heard Sack enter. Only after Sack had walked over and taken a seat did Rex lift his head to look at him.

"Sack, what are your thoughts on today’s events?" Rex asked.

"Father, I still hold the same view as I did during the family council: the heir to the Earldom should still be my older brother," Sack replied.

"Trent's performance over these years has indeed been deeply disappointing..."

"Sigh," Rex let out a long, heavy sigh. "The voices within the family opposing Trent as the heir are very strong. Even I cannot ignore the sentiments of the clan. Therefore, I must temporarily revoke his status as heir and have you take his place."

Rex stared directly into Sack’s eyes as he spoke.

"No, that’s impossible. I cannot replace my brother as the heir to the Earldom," Sack said, waving his hands and shaking his head in a hurry. "This would ruin the bond between my brother and me! I do not want outsiders to think that we have been fighting over the title!"

"While I am comforted to see such a deep bond between you two brothers, you have seen the atmosphere within the family. I cannot allow the Iron-Gold family to fracture under my leadership. So, it must be this way." Rex patted Sack’s shoulder with a look of gratification.

"This... but if that is the case, what will become of my brother?" Sack asked, appearing somewhat reluctant.

"Trent... let him go to the royal capital to attend university for the time being," Rex said after a moment of contemplation. "I hope that after a few years of study, he will be able to shed his vices."

"Father, I remember that the family still holds several unclaimed Knight-tier Hives. Perhaps we could select one to give to my brother, along with a knightly fief," Sack suggested. "That way, even if he loses his status as the heir, he can still remain a nobleman in the future."

"Those Hives are the public property of the family. Though I am the Count of Iron-Gold, I cannot decide on my own to hand them over to others; it requires the consent of the family council," Rex said, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk.

"At the next family council, I will declare that if this Hive is not granted to my brother, I will renounce my own position as the new heir," Sack insisted.

"You truly are a good brother," Rex remarked with a sigh.

***

After leaving the chamber where the family council was held, Li Ju followed the original owner’s memories and headed straight for the Iron-Gold family library. As a good-for-nothing playboy, the original owner’s understanding of the world was mostly limited to common knowledge. When Li Ju sought to gain a deeper understanding, the original owner’s meager knowledge proved insufficient, leaving him no choice but to gather information from the library himself.

The Iron-Gold family library was a separate castle housing over thirty thousand books. To maintain such a vast collection, the family had specifically hired dozens of scholars to take charge of the preservation work.

"Your Highness." As Li Ju approached the library entrance, several squads of patrolling soldiers saluted him.

The library was heavily guarded. After all, in a world generally at a medieval level of civilization, every book was precious, symbolizing knowledge and the foundation of a noble house. The scholars were happy to be employed by the Iron-Gold family not only because of their generosity but also because of the extensive collection, which facilitated their own research.

Once inside, Li Ju did not linger on the first or second floors but headed straight for the third. He was more interested in the swordsmanship manuals mentioned in the original owner's memories. In this world, "swordsmanship" did not refer to the art of swordplay, but rather to cultivation techniques.

In this Hive World, different races possessed different innate strengths at the moment of their birth from a Hive. For Hive-born creatures, this strength was fixed and unchangeable, but for "free-born" life, this strength could be altered through cultivation. Early humans were weak and had no means of self-preservation against the various powerful Hive-born entities; thus, to survive, they created methods to enhance their own power. These were the "swordsmanship" techniques.

Human strength ranks mirrored those of Hive creatures. Depending on the highest level one could achieve, these techniques were categorized into Knight, Baronet, Baron, Viscount, and so on.

The third floor, restricted to ordinary family members, was considered mysterious by outsiders, but it actually contained only two bookshelves, neither of which was full.

"Twenty-seven Knight-tier, eighteen Baronet-tier, seven Baron-tier, and three Viscount-tier manuals," Li Ju noted after a quick survey. "I recall from the original owner’s memories that he practiced a Count-tier technique as a child. It seems this collection is not the entirety of the family’s archives."

Li Ju stroked his chin. Unfortunately, because the original owner had been too playful as a child, he had only practiced for a few months before quitting, and by now, he had forgotten the contents of that Count-tier manual entirely.

"I’ll start by reading through what’s here," Li Ju said, pulling a Knight-tier manual from the shelf. Since he only wanted to understand the form of this world's arts to see if they could benefit his own martial path, and had no intention of truly practicing them, these foundational texts were more useful to him.

"Prince Trent." Before he had turned two pages, a maid approached him. "The Count requests that you come to the study to see him immediately." She bowed with her hands folded at her waist.

"Very well, I will go at once."

Hearing the Count’s summons, Li Ju returned the manual to the shelf and followed the maid toward the study.