The nine-story Star-Marble Scripture Pavilion stood at the heart of Taichu Immortal University, its vaulted arches reaching eighty feet into the air.
Inside the vast, circular hall, thousands of white-jade bookshelves curved along the walls in sweeping tiers.
However, every single shelf was completely empty.
Dean Yan Shouzhen stood in the center of the hall, running a trembling hand along an empty jade partition. Beside him stood Student President Han Yu and eighty elderly scholars, their faces etched with anxious concern.
“Chairman Lin,” Dean Yan murmured, turning toward Lin Mo. “The campus is magnificent, and our students have comfortable quarters. But an academy without scriptures is like an archer without arrows. The imperial exam tests advanced Nascent Soul theory, legal governance, and Earth-Immortal formation arts.”
Dean Yan sighed, his gaze sweeping over the polished floors.
“Provost Sima Heng locked down the Imperial Nine-Heaven Vault. The aristocratic clans hold the copyright and circulation monopolies on every major Rank 7 manual. For three generations, they burned books that praised righteous governance. They charge ten thousand Jade just to read three pages of a foundational sword classic.”
Han Yu looked at the bare shelves, his fists clenched in frustration.
