Beggar Cultivation System

As the door closed with a quiet thud behind him, Apollo looked around the floor with curiosity.

There were twelve techniques floating atop circular platforms, emitting subtle glows. The surrounding Qi circulated around them, so dense that Apollo could perceive it even without focusing his senses.

He realized that the soothing sensation came from the twelve techniques, like flowers releasing pollen into the air.

The beggar glanced around and noticed a single door and a staircase leading to another floor. There was no reception desk, no white-robed men on standby—he was the only person in the room.

Looking back at the floating scrolls and techniques, Apollo couldn't help but smile. "This is paradise."

He could feel the power in each technique, even though he hadn't opened them yet.

He considered the stairs for a moment before walking toward the nearest floating book.

As his hand touched the cool, rough cover, a thought crossed his mind. What if I tried to steal all of this?

Apollo chuckled. If only I could. Being a good and law-abiding citizen, he wouldn't dare steal them.

He opened the book, and the title caught his eye.

"Sword Serpent Transformation?" the beggar muttered, flipping through the pages. He saw an illustration of a man wielding a sword, then the sword turning into a giant serpent, swallowing a whole mountain, taking a huge bite out of the ground, and freezing the ocean.

He continued flipping until he reached the end. Closing the book, Apollo smacked his lips. "So, this is that guy's battle technique."

He recalled his previous fight with Heru—the guy who challenged him had used the same technique, turning his sword into a great serpent. Apollo had struggled to deal with it, and even with his Simple Sword Technique, he couldn't break the sword serpent.@@novelbin@@

According to the book, Heru was only at the beginning stage of the technique. Apollo could only imagine the destruction the sword serpent could cause once fully mastered.

Staring at the book in his hand, he was about to put it back when he paused. "This is great, but it's not unique anymore. Still, it wouldn't hurt to memorize it."

With that thought, he began flipping through the book again, this time carefully memorizing all the text and images. It took him almost ten minutes to fully commit the technique to memory. Once he was done, he placed the book back, the technique resuming its place on the circular platform.

However, as soon as he stepped back and reached for another technique, his mind suddenly went blank. A confused look crossed his face. "What happened?"

He felt like something was missing—something significant, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what.

Suddenly, it clicked. He glanced back and realized he had forgotten everything about the Sword Serpent Transformation. He had clearly memorized it, but the moment he put the book back, it vanished from his memory like smoke.

Thinking about it further, Apollo realized this was their way of preventing people like him from memorizing the techniques. If someone managed to memorize all these valuable techniques, the security of this floor would be pointless. They could simply replicate the books and sell them—something Apollo might do if he were an *sshole.

Should I just let it go? the beggar thought, before shaking his head. His eyes burned with determination as he stepped toward the Sword Serpent Transformation.

He couldn't give up on this challenge.

Grasping the book, he began reading and memorizing its contents. Once finished, he didn't put it back right away. Instead, he observed the circular platform and the technique in his hands.

Apollo started walking backward, watching to see if he would forget the contents as he moved farther from the platform with the book in his arms. But even when he was about to hit the wall, the technique remained clear in his mind.

So it must be the book, Apollo thought. He dropped the technique, and as soon as it hit the floor, the familiar feeling of something missing returned.

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The book, meanwhile, became a blur, and in the next second, it reappeared, floating on the circular platform.

"If they can't even put the books down, how are they able to learn it?" Apollo muttered in confusion. He looked around the room, his eyes landing on the door. Then it clicked.

This must be the training room they mentioned on the previous floor… what if? Apollo walked back to the book and memorized it again for the third time. Once done, he approached the door with the technique in hand.

He pushed it open, greeted by an expanse of whiteness.

"Woah!" Apollo exclaimed. He slowly stepped inside, glancing around. There was a weapon rack in the distance filled with wooden weapons, and besides that, nothing but white stretched before him. Even so, he was impressed. Looking down, he saw his shadow, even though there was no sun overhead. "This is amazing."

The door behind him closed on its own, but he focused back on the book.

Apollo dropped it, the technique landing with a thud on the ground.

"I knew it," the beggar smiled. The Sword Serpent Transformation in his mind remained intact. He realized that you couldn't memorize the scrolls or books outside; you had to enter the training room to retain them.

As he figured out the mechanism behind these techniques, he became even more amazed at how those thieves had managed to steal the school's cultivation and battle techniques.

"Seems like I don't have a choice but to learn this one," Apollo muttered, sighing. He didn't want to waste time learning this technique—even though it was powerful, it no longer felt unique to him. Besides Heru, there were likely more individuals who had mastered the Sword Serpent Transformation. Still, now that he was here, he figured he might as well learn it to at least the beginner stage.

He didn't know if there was a time limit for being on the fourth floor—not that he cared. He would wait for them to call him out if needed.

Apollo walked to the weapon rack and picked up a wooden sword. After swinging it a few times to get a feel for it, he nodded in approval. It was the same type of wooden sword he had "borrowed" from the training ground.

"I should start."