Because Chen Ming had enrolled well ahead of schedule—long before the term officially began—he found himself with more than two months of complete freedom to use as he pleased.
And after arriving at the Heaven Dou Emperial Academy, the place he frequented most wasn't the mimic cultivation ground assigned to him, but rather the academy's library.
The library was divided into nine floors, symbolizing the nine realms of Spirit Masters. The first three floors were open to all, the middle three required either recognition or faculty status to access, and the final three could only be entered with the approval of the Board of Education or the academy's supervisor—Prince Xue Xing.
Even so, the sheer volume of books within just the first three floors was staggering.
Chen Ming practically lived in the library, immersing himself day and night, relying on his memory to devour every book within his reach.
Naturally, his conspicuous behavior didn't go unnoticed. At first, the librarians paid him little mind, dismissing him as just another diligent student.
But as they watched him flip through books at an alarming speed—reading each one only once before immediately moving on—their expressions began to shift, a trace of dissatisfaction creeping in. Still, they held their tongues.
It wasn't until Chen Ming continued this pattern, book after book, never once revisiting a page, that the librarian on duty finally lost patience and reported the matter to the library's overseer.
The head of the library was an elderly Spirit Saint in his eighties, whose Martial Soul was a support-type artifact known as the Book of Healing. Guarding the library was both his duty and his method of cultivation.
After hearing the report, the old man said nothing. Instead, he quietly dismissed the first-floor librarian and made his way down personally. Without a word, he sat beside Chen Ming and began observing him with a cold, scrutinizing gaze.
He watched.
From morning until dusk. From the moment the library opened until it was about to close.
Only when Chen Ming began packing up his things to leave did the old man finally speak.
"What is the preface of Heaven Dou Empire Spirit Master Examination Records? And what is the nature of its content?
The question came suddenly, without warning.
Chen Ming paused, lifting his head calmly.
"The Spirit Master Examination Records was the first book I read this morning," he replied evenly. "the author was a royal-born Titled Douluo from three hundred years ago, and also one of the most recent Titled Douluo in the imperial family's bloodline."
"The book is primarily a statistical and official record, documenting the distribution of Martial Souls across the Heaven Dou Empire and the proportions of various types."
"As for the preface—"
He recited it fluently, word for word, without the slightest hesitation:
"Now that I have become a Titled Douluo, by imperial decree and with the full resources of the Heaven Dou Empire, I hereby investigate the inheritances of sects large and small as well as the Martial Souls of commoners, recording them in this Heaven Dou Empire Spirit Master Examination Records..."
He didn't stop there.
Not only the preface—Chen Ming could even recount the entire table of contents without missing a single detail. He knew exactly which Martial Soul appeared on which page, how each category was structured, and how the material was organized.
"Interesting…"
The old Spirit Saint was momentarily at a loss, caught off guard. Still, mindful of his dignity, he forced out a neutral remark before pressing on.
"Then do you remember the sixth book you read today?"
"The Geographical Records and Product Compendium of the Heaven Dou Empire and Its Provinces," Chen Ming answered without pause. "It describes the various production regions of the empire and its subordinate kingdoms, as well as their local customs and natural conditions."
"It also includes records of sect forces and Martial Soul inheritances within those kingdoms, along with a general overview of Spirit Beast forest distributions and resource outputs within the empire."
"However," he continued thoughtfully, "most of its data is already over a century old. It differs significantly from both the five-hundred-year-old Foundational Records of the Heaven Dou Empire and the three-hundred-year-old Spirit Master Examination Records I read earlier."
"It seems that, due to continuous regional development, some resources have been exhausted while new ones have been discovered elsewhere. This has led to inconsistencies in the descriptions of Martial Souls, Spirit Masters, and Spirit Beasts across these three works written in different eras…"
The old man fell silent.
Only then did he recall that Chen Ming had indeed read all three of those books that day.
The realization slowly settled in his mind. To think that someone could absorb and retain so much information from a single pass… the unease in his heart finally found an explanation.
"Photographic memory?" he asked, a note of certainty creeping into his voice.
"Yes," Chen Ming replied without hesitation. "I remember everything I read. It's just a minor talent."
He did not deny it.
He simply acknowledged it as if it were nothing worth mentioning at all.
For Chen Ming, who possessed AI-like thinking, a talent like photographic memory truly felt insignificant—so minor it barely qualified as a "gift" at all.
In fact, every piece of knowledge that entered his mind was not merely recorded; it was immediately analyzed, digested, and organized into structured understanding the moment he saw it.
If he were to nitpick, he could already identify contradictions within the books he had read that day alone. Some provincial and kingdom-level data was clearly exaggerated, while other portions had been deliberately concealed, resulting in inconsistencies across different historical records.
But he simply couldn't be bothered to investigate further.
"Just… a minor talent?" The old Spirit Saint repeated those words, his heart twisting in a mixture of disbelief and inexplicable bitterness. "Minor…?"
Even at his level as a Spirit Saint, he could not achieve photographic memory. Worse still, due to his age, his memory had already begun to decline.
And this… this was called a "minor talent"?
Could he also be granted such a "minor" ability?
He didn't even need perfect recall—doubling his memory capacity would already be more than enough.
What's more, even so-called "photographic memory" had degrees.
Some people had to deliberately focus to remember things, like Yu Xiaogang in his prime—when his learning ability and mental state were at their peak.
But as time passed, ambition faded, and age set in, even that level declined. At best, Yu Xiaogang could only retain a slightly better-than-average memory, plus whatever knowledge he had accumulated in his youth that hadn't yet faded.
(One could question Yu Xiaogang's character, intelligence, and research results—but his memory itself was undeniable. As long as he didn't actively overthink things and simply acted as a knowledge compiler, he could genuinely have been a competent scholar.)
But Chen Ming's ability was something entirely different.
He didn't "remember" after reading.
He absorbed it in a single glance, as though the information was directly engraved into his mind.
Though both were called photographic memory, they were fundamentally not the same thing at all.
How could someone witnessing this not feel a sting of envy and bitterness?
"…So what are you planning to do?" the old Spirit Saint finally asked, sounding oddly aggrieved. "Read every book in the entire library? Memorize it all? Do you really think you can accomplish that?"
"That was my plan," Chen Ming replied honestly. "But I don't think I can. After all, as a student, I can only access the first three floors. The remaining six are off-limits. Still, memorizing the first three floors should be enough."
His answer was straightforward, without hesitation.
"You're Chen Ming, the new student this year, correct?" the old Spirit Saint said after a brief silence, rising to his feet.
"Yes, senior. Is there something you need?"
"Once you finish reading everything on the first three floors," the old man said slowly, "come to me for an assessment. If you pass, I will personally grant you permission to access up to the sixth floors. You only get one chance—whether you can seize it depends on you."
With that, he left the words behind and walked up the stairs toward the upper floors without another glance.
The Heaven Dou Emperial Academy's library held an enormous collection of books, yet very few students ever took the time to truly read them.
Even the old Spirit Saint himself couldn't tell whether he was doing this out of admiration for Chen Ming's talent—or simply setting a difficult trial out of curiosity.
But one thing he was certain of:
He genuinely wanted to know—could anyone in this world truly rely on photographic memory alone to completely record every book in this library?
And if such a person existed…
Just how far could they possibly go?