Chapter 10: A day at the Archive

A/N: Finally the trip to the Archive and Harry gets his first two Technique Manuals. For those wondering if Harry will ever go to Hogwarts the answer is yes. I am thinking about 2 more Chapters after this of a day in the sect style before something pops up that makes Harry go back to England. Don't worry though Harry will be back.

It had been about a month since Meilian broke through the Core Foundation realm. At first Harry had expected her to remain mostly the same as when she hatched. This though couldn't have been farther from the truth. Meilian who Harry had given the nickname Mei had changed completely upon her shed. Surprisingly she seemed to grow just from the activity of shedding and seemed to gain about a foot in length in less than a day.

While the length she gained was quite surprising the change to her color was even more so. Where as before she seemed to be a dull brown and green that could easily be lost in a forest, her new color took on a shiny green color with flakes of a dull red. Harry actually found out something special about the Dragon Vipers when he asked Master Ying. They all change color as they advance through the Realms.

At first Dragon Vipers take on a dull green and brown color to hide in the forest when they are freshly hatched. After they finish cultivating through the Body Tempering Realm and enter Core Foundation their color changes to a color known as Bloodstone. A color Harry had never heard of but the reason behind it was simple. It wasn't a true color but a type of gemstone. It seems Dragon Vipers as they cultivate go through various gemstone colors.

The first color they take on is more of a camouflage until they take on the bloodstone color. Then when they reach the third realm they take on the color of Citrine in the Core Compression realm. His Master wouldn't go further in depth and just told him that it would be more fun to find out the other colors Mei reached them. Though it did come out that Dragon Vipers grow only small amounts outside of Realm advancement but each advancement could see them grow a foot or more. Luckily with them staying most of the time within their partners Qi network it didn't really matter how large they got.

So Harry went on about his cultivation. He had made steady progress in trying to stabilize his Qi and was on his way to reaching the peak of Core Foundation. He had long since fixed his issues with the Qi not flowing correctly but had run into the problem of using each network properly. It seems that to reach the final stage required him to correct that problem. Mei had also been steadily working on her own meridians and had broken through the first set to reach the 2nd stage. Her progress was much steadier than Harry's own and she would likely catch up to him by the time he was ready to break through to the next realm.

Today though Harry was treating himself to a delayed birthday gift. So used to not getting anything for his birthday it had passed him by without him realizing. When he finally did remember he decided to set out to correct that mistake. After a very satisfying meal from the mess hall Harry had decided that it would be a perfect gift to himself to finally check the second level of the Archive out and see if any techniques suited him.

The trip turned out to be fairly uneventful and Harry was let into the second level of the Archive with no fuss. He was given a small lecture on how he was only allowed access to two manuals on this level and how he was only allowed to find them on this level. After being given this information Harry was let loose to find his own technique.

Overall the search was boring in his opinion. Sure there were hundreds if not thousands of techniques spread throughout the level but reading over some of them left Harry's head throbbing. Many times he found one with a great title such as The Celestial Harmonic Resonance Infusion Technique of Unfathomable Ethereal Qi but when he looked within the pages it talked about some inane technique that would just let someone balance a bit better. Sometimes he would find a book that had a half decent title but when he read the first paragraph he would be completely lost. Here was the one that gave Harry the headache he was feeling now.

"In the ethereal dance of metaphysical Qi harmonics, the adept cultivator endeavors to intricately interweave the subtle cadence of their own spiritual resonance with the ineffable symphony of the ambient spiritual Qi matrix. Through the meticulous attunement to the esoteric vibrational frequencies, one delves into the ephemeral confluence where the quintessence of personal Qi converges with the cosmic symmetries, transcending the illusory boundaries between self and universe. In this transcendent ballet of existential energies, the cultivator navigates the labyrinthine corridors of metaphysical resonance, unraveling the enigmatic tapestry of their own cultivation destiny as they merge with the celestial choreography of the Dao itself, weaving the fabric of reality into the kaleidoscopic tapestry of enlightened being. "

Harry thought that the technique was designed to work with the previous one he mentioned but he had no clue if they worked together.

Sometimes Harry found manuals that described a technique that he could understand and he was sure they were good techniques but they just didn't fit what he was looking for. These ranged from close range martial arts all the way to long range attacks. A few though did fall into the category of what Harry was searching for. Time ticked away as he searched and after 6 hours and finding nothing Harry left the Archive to get some food. When he checked with the Archivist he was told it did not matter how long he took he was free to come back until he chose his two techniques.

Days passed like this Harry and eventually Mei going through manual after manual in the hopes of finding the perfect skill.

Many times Harry almost gave up and just about settled for a technique that was 'close enough' but he persisted. Eventually his perseverance paid off. After going through what must have been over 75% of the manuals that was available to him he finally located one that seemed like it had great potential. Actually Mei found the manual. In the far back corner one of the Bookshelves had been shifted just a bit and 2 manuals had fallen off the shelf and wedged themselves on the floor behind it. When she alerted Harry to this he quickly ran to retrieve them.

Harry had heard of Fortuitous Encounters in many of his xianxia novels but for a long time didn't believe in them. That changed when he located his cultivation manual and set him on the path of cultivation. He double downed on his belief when out of all the locations he could have ended up in his relatives left him in a place with a sect. His belief solidified into complete surety when that sect ended up being one that aligned with his talents.

Now with Mei discovering two random manuals hidden in a corner of the Archive after this many days. Harry was sure this was yet another Encounter that would push him toward the peak.

It turns out he was correct. As he collected both of the manuals dust from many years of neglect fell from the covers and after a brief coughing fit from it Harry was able to see exactly what he and his partner had uncovered.

Emblazoned upon the first manual read the title Tranquil Movement and when he flipped to the second one he was met with the name Subtle Perception. The first one felt exactly like what he was searching for. Harry knew that movement techniques existed and that was exactly what he was wanting. Unfortunately it seemed like all the ones on the floor he had access to was either vastly complicated or extremely outdated. Flipping through this manual though left Harry feeling like he could pull it off. The only problem is that to properly use said technique one must be able to reliably read the flow of Qi both in their body as well as their surroundings and any enemy they might face.

This was where the second manual came into play. The second manual was an Advanced Qi Perception technique that would allow him to read the Qi to such a degree that he could pull off the first one. It was perfect and he just happened to find them hidden behind a bookshelf on the one floor he had access to. This was not a coincidence but he knew it wasn't planted either.

He knew he had found something special when he reached the Archivist. As soon as they spotted the manuals they both went stiff. When Harry showed them what he found they actually seemed to stutter in their words. As much as they might have wanted to look at them though the Archivist let Harry take them with a request to return them as quickly as he could. It turned out that the two manuals he had located where manuals that had been reported lost over 700 years ago. They were both manuals that were not supposed to be on the second floor in the first place. They weren't even supposed to be on the third floor but up on the top floor. The rules were clear though as long as the manuals were on the second floor he was allowed to take them. Every else was also aware of Fortuitous Encounters and the Archivist wouldn't deny that his finding the two manuals were just that.

So Harry ended his day. Tomorrow he would begin work on them but for now he needed a rest. Maybe after he finally reached the Core Compression realm he would take on a Task to get some Contribution Points but for now he just looked forward to his days in the sect cultivating with Mei.