Thinking about this, Wei Xiao Bei’s expression became bitter, but he soon thought of something else.
He had to go outside to eat. When night time came and Shi Yan Ming went to sleep, the Sutra Depository Pavillion would need to be closed. In other words, he would have 11 fewer hours to read.
Luckily, Wei Xiao Bei had already read more than 700 books in just 150 minutes of the morning. After all, some records were short and only required two to three seconds in his hands.
If eating and sleeping time were reduced and if he started at 8 in the morning, then Wei Xiao Bei could read for about 12-13 hours a day.
In one day, he could read around 3600 books, and in a week, 25000 books.
Calculating it like this, it was easy to imagine that it would be difficult for him to finish reading every book in the Sutra Depository Pavillion.
Wei Xiao Bei immediately placed down his chopsticks and smiled as he asked Shi yan Ming, “Master Yan Ming, do you need to close the doors to the Sutra Depository Pavilion at night?”
“That’s right. The doors need to be closed by 10, at the latest.”
Shi Yan Ming nodded his head but his hands did not slow down at all, as his chopsticks picked up shredded meat and placed it into his bowl.
Although the Shaolin Temple practiced Buddhism and the monks were vegetarians, the martial monks who were protectors of the temple were granted exception.
It was easy just imagining it.
Every morning they would need to carry buckets and walk more than five kilometers to get water. Afterward, they had to train their martial arts. It was easy to imagine how much energy they were using.
If they ate greens and vegetables every day, then even if they had the best body, they would still collapse.
There was an old saying, the poor study culture while the rich study martial arts.
In ancient times, studying was still simple. As long as a child was smart and, a private teacher gave his approval, then the houses would only need to provide some food to the teacher regularly enough.
As for books and writings, those with money would grit their teeth and endure it, while the poor would have hand-me-downs from the teachers. Otherwise, people would just share books. The books would then be preserved as long as one cherished it.
As for pen and paper, they were considered consumables, but initially, sand trays were used. After some progress was made, those who were good were invested in while those who weren’t would be sent to farming.
As long as it was not wasted, these things could be used for a long time. At the very least, once they passed the imperial exams, the country would provide them with some pen and paper, as well as food. When the time came, as long they did not waste the opportunity, it was possible for them to make a living without problems.
By contrast, you wouldn’t hear of a martial artist living only on greens and vegetables.
The majority ate big bowls of beef and drank alcohol.
Only through eating a lot of meat were their bodies able to grow strong, and only then could they gain significant dominance over others.
Hence, the phrase: a strong man can defeat 10 skilled martial artists.
At the same time, martial attainment, battle experiences, and skill could not compare to the advantages brought by raw power.
In this way, it was reasonable for martial monks to eat meat.
There was once a Shaolin martial artist named Reverend Su Hai Deng. Although he was skilled in martial arts, he had malnutrition due to being a vegetarian.
As for Shi Yan Ming, although he was the librarian of the Sutra Depository Pavillion, he was still considered as an inner disciple, making it reasonable for him to eat meat.
However, even if he was a martial monk, it was impossible for him to eat too much meat. He could only eat the amount that was required for the body.
“Could you let me pass the night inside the Sutra Depository Pavillion?”
Wei Xiao Bei’s smile had now become very strange. To be more accurate, it had become a flattering smile.
There was no choice. If he could pass the night in the Sutra Depository Pavillion, he would have more time to read books. For him, this was very important.
He did not care anymore if he had to drop a level of moral integrity.
“This… It’s impossible. There is a system to the Sutra Depository Pavillion. If the palace head finds out, this small monk would not be able to take responsibility.”
Shi Yan Ming pulled back his chopsticks and hesitated for a moment, but still declined in the end.
What kind of joke was that? If he had allowed someone to pass the night inside the Sutra Depository Pavillion and had been found out by the palace head, he might just be sent to stand facing the wall for 3-4 years.
Although there were many wild disciples who were willing to do so, it is said that they could comprehend some Dharma teaching, but Shi Yan Ming was unwilling to do so. If that happened, he would not be able to see the newest films that would come out.
“Is it really impossible? Okay, If I can’t then I can’t.”
After Wei Xiao Bei had become quite powerful, it was rare for him to be rejected. When he was about to become angry, he immediately thought that Shi Yan Ming was not his own soldier, nor the security guard of his security company.
Wei Xiao Bei touched his chin and recalled the structure of the Sutra Depository Pavillion. He pondered the possibility of him going to sneak in the place at night.
In the end, after putting down the bowl, he decided to try and enter at night.
Although there were modern monitoring systems installed inside, he believed that he could dodge these monitoring devices.
The chances of there being a super expert disguised as a janitorial monk to fight him head-on was close to impossible.
What did you think this was, a Wuxia novel?
As night fell, Wei Xiao Bei hurriedly said goodbye before ten and left the Pavillion.
Seeing Wei Xiao Bei leave and since there were probably no more monks coming in to read books, Shi Yan Ming closed the doors of the Sutra Depository Pavillion. Afterward, he returned to an attached room to the Pavillion, and took a bath and prepared to sleep.
It could be said that Wei Xiao Bei’s current strength had now reached a level unparalleled to the people of the world.
After sneaking into the pavilion, he immediately activated [Electromagnetic Field], causing the majority of the monitors to freeze.
This was not a new ability that Wei Xiao Bei had gained, but a simple thought that came to him when he schemed to enter the Pavillion.
Once the power of the electromagnetic field reached a certain level, he could use it to affect highly sensitive electrical components. From there, the electrical equipment would malfunction.
Wei Xiao Bei did not dare to completely destroy these monitors, he only temporarily disabled them, preventing the image that they received from changing.
If he left or turned off [Electromagnetic Field], then the monitor would return back to normal.
Naturally, if he only had the [Electromagnetic Field] skill, it was impossible for him to perfectly freeze the monitors. He also had the help of his unrivaled [Electrical Work] skill.
After all, if a person used [Electromagnetic Field] skill without understanding electronics, then it was impossible to create this kind of result.
They would have immediately blocked out all the monitors. Once the person in the monitoring room found out, then it was possible to know that a person had sneaked into the Pavillion.
Even if the monitoring person did not notice Wei Xiao Bei, his vigilance would still be raised since all the monitors had shut down.
It must be known that Wei Xiao Bei still wanted to stay for six more days!
He would draw the most suspicion.
Anyway, after freezing the monitors, Wei Xiao Bei was now at ease and could read the books.
Naturally, he needed to continue maintaining his electromagnetic field.
In the next five days, other than eating, he spent most of the time staying inside the Sutra Depository Pavilion.
In this period of time, he had come across many monks that had come to read books.
However, they only looked at him as if he had gone crazy.
Even his nickname as a lunatic had reached the ears of the Dharma Palace Head.
For this reason, the Dharma Palace Head had specially come to visit him.
There was no choice. If Wei Xiao Bei had truly gone crazy, the problems would be huge. Let alone the matter of saving someone, he would have a hard time explaining why this happened to the Bajiquan experts.
If the time came, there could be a rumor of envious Shaolin Monks poisoning a martial arts genius.
Luckily, Wei Xiao Bei’s speech was still normal. The only thing abnormal was his reading.
Towards Shi Yong Ping, Wei Xiao Bei did not hide it and truthfully spoke about his special ability that could increase his reading speed. He further explained that this was used to find the most suitable book for him.
Although Wei Xiao Bei’s words were half-truth and half-lies, it was enough to make Shi Yong Ping trust him, and he was disturbed no more.
While reading for the past three days, Wei Xiao Bei felt that his realm of understanding towards martial arts had gradually increased. Moreover, the speed of his reading became even faster. This was because he noticed that these books had been treated with medicinal water. Other than being able to preserve them longer and stopping termites and mold, the books’ pages were also tougher.
The books would not break even if his speed had increased by twice the amount.
Just like that, the fifth day ended. Wei Xiao Bei had already finished reading the books on the first and second levels!
Even Wei Xiao Bei admired himself.
It must be known that the number of books for these two floors was close to 60000!
Reading close to 60000 books in five days, even if they were mostly records, was still enough to frighten some top students.
After reading the books on the first two floors, Wei Xiao Bei felt as if he was about to grasp something, but it was only at the point of almost.
This feeling was quite difficult to bear.
It was as if the spine and shoulder blades were itchy, but the itch was quite deep. No matter what, he could not reach the itch and it almost made him want to jump off the building.
Under the urge of this feeling, Wei Xiao Bei did not leave the Sutra Depository Pavillion by himself. He went to find Shi Yan Ming to accompany him to the third floor of the Pavillion.
Hearing this request, Shi Yan Ming’s eyes widened and locked on Wei Xiao Bei without moving away.
After a while, Shi Yan Ming said, “Have you gone crazy?”
Wei Xiao Bei did not know if he should laugh or cry, “I am not crazy. Why do you think I’m crazy?”
“Since you are not crazy, why go to the third floor? First, you are not a Shaolin disciple, could it be that you have an interest in Buddhist teachings? Second, you are not someone who plans to steal the books. Although those antiques are worth a lot of money, you would definitely not be able to sell them. Third, you have read so many books already, haven’t you read enough?”
Shi Yan Ming touched his chin and replied with lines of logic. He looked at Wei Xiao Bei with a suspicion that he had gone crazy.
His words had left Wei Xiao Bei speechless. There was no doubt that the Shi Yan Ming’s logic was sensical.
This made Wei Xiao develop a whole new level of respect for Shi Yan Ming. Shi Yan Ming might have been sitting stupidly in front of a computer, watching new movies on the computer when he had nothing to do, but he was quite smart and eloquent.
