North District. Book Pavilion.

The gentle swaying of Granny Shu's rocking chair gradually subsided, and her closed eyes slowly opened. “Hum. Young Bubai is finally here.”

Bubai, standing respectfully in front of Granny Shu's desk, offered a respectful salute. “Disciple Mo Bubai is ready to undergo Shu Po Po’s exam.”

“Good. Good. A young man who keeps his promises.” Granny Shu acknowledged with a nod and reached into her satchel, hanging on her rocking chair.

In a display defying her age, Granny Shu swiftly retrieved a thick stack of blank paper from her seemingly small satchel.

Surprisingly, the size of the stack exceeded the dimensions of the satchel. Clearly, the satchel was a spatial storage bag!

Silently, the paper stack appeared on her desk, accompanied by an inkstone, inkstick, and a brush.

“Fufu, young Bubai, here are the tools you need for the examination. This old lady has taken the time to prepare it for you.” Granny Shu gave him a warm smile.

“…” Staring at the tall pile of paper sitting on the desk, Bubai could already feel his hand hurting from the impending test.

Granny Shu gestured toward Section D, “Now, go, young Bubai. Your test this time is to copy the ‘Legends of the Sunfire Desert’ in its entirety. It is in aisle 3 of the general information room you visited many times. You know where it is. When you are done, bring it to me, and this old lady will check its quality.”

“Yes, Disciple Bubai heeds Shu Po Po’s orders.” Saluting once more, Bubai efficiently stowed the calligraphy tools into his small pouches and hoisted the weighty stack of paper.

“Remember, this is a test. So, there will be no rewards, and you can’t leave until you are done… Fufu, this old lady hopes young Bubai doesn’t disappoint me.”

Bubai nodded in acknowledgment before he proceeded towards the hallway to the right.

Section D. Room 5.

Upon entering the general information room, Bubai's attention was immediately drawn to the shelves teeming with old books, scrolls, and scriptures.

“So many… at least hundreds, right?” Moving his eyes away from the shelves, Bubai scanned the room.

Stone stools and tables were strategically placed in the large room for reading, and the ambient glow from the luminescent stones embedded in the walls resonated with the essence of preserving knowledge.

Now, this was what a library should look like. As he arranged his paper and tools on the table, the musty smell of paper certainly aroused nostalgia in Bubai.

But this scene wasn’t too surprising. In this world, mortal means for storing information was still prevalent. Sects often employed this method as a cost-effective, cheaper alternative to jade slips.

Jade slips were the primary data storage medium for cultivators, renowned to be a long-term storage method with the durability to last millenniums. This was why it served as the principal means for sects to preserve and pass down their foundations.

However, the quality of the jade determined the storage capacity, with low-quality jade slips unable to even record extensive historical texts.

Furthermore, jade mines are a rare resource, especially those producing high-quality jades that can store more data, making jade slips a limited commodity primarily used for storing the true foundations of big sects, such as cultivation methods and techniques.

In contrast, mortal means, such as books and scrolls, were favored for relatively less critical content like recent histories, small maps, logistic records, stories, legends, and other non-cultivation-related content.

However, though these mortal methods were cost-effective and despite the longevity of these mortal methods, they often succumbed to deterioration and destruction over time.

Additionally, many records stored through mortal means can also become outdated.

These were all concerns that high-level cultivators tended to outlive.

So, to maintain their sect’s knowledge foundation, new copies must be made.

Unfortunately, the people of this world still hadn't delved into researching mortal means like the printing press.

Cultivators had invested a lot of time into researching cultivation-related methods, but they clearly had no intention of promoting changes in mortal productivity.

Or maybe some cultivators had done so, but had failed to pervasively spread such tools through the vast world.

As a result, the task of copying books remained prominent.

Finding the task book in the aisle, Bubai carefully extracted the thick, tattered volume, sending a cloud of dust scattering when he gently blew the cover. Noting the couple of loose sheets in the tattered book, Bubai understood why this was his test.

Free labor at its finest.

"It seems this will take a while."

But Bubai felt no sense of urgency or displeasure. This was one of the books he had yet to read, and Bubai was happy to take his time.

After all, Bubai was aware that while such content might not hold the same value as a sect's foundational knowledge, it was still very valuable, especially when sold to the loose cultivators and interested people in the mortal world.

However, sects generally frowned upon disciples independently selling foundational knowledge of the sect.

Adding onto this, the time-consuming nature of copying, the existence of already circulating versions, and the risk of severe punishment from the sect discouraged most members from engaging in this practice… Well, at least on the surface.

A similar thought ran through every profiteer’s mind: As long as you don’t get caught...

Of course, for Bubai, the path of selling knowledge was a last resort. Right now, his primary goal wasn't monetary gain but the enrichment of his knowledge.

Now, what interesting information would he glean from the pages of the “Legends of the Sunfire Desert”?