Chapter 3

The one shouting was Gu Hai, a bit chubby, a few centimeters shorter than Ye Xiao, standing at only 1.73 meters. He was a local young man from Jianghai City, from a well-off family.

He managed the second-floor B area of the library, so he was often called "2B."

However, Gu Hai had a sunny disposition and didn't bother to argue with anyone, making him a source of joy among his colleagues.

"Here I am."

Ye Xiao responded with a slight nod, then got up and walked toward the stairs.

The moment he saw Gu Hai, his eyes flickered.

Gu Hai had advanced!

Originally, he was just at the Second Rank of the Postnatal Realm, a Second Rank Warrior.

But now, he had reached the Third Rank of the Postnatal Realm, advancing one rank.

Gu Hai wasn't really a good-for-nothing. He had awakened his divine soul early, and his talent was decent. However, his parents didn't want him to join the military or a mercenary company to hunt star beasts. After all, the Gu family only had him as their only child, so they used their connections to get him a job at the library as a manager.

As his mother put it, the library had many people, light work, and it was easy to find a partner.

The two walked together toward the cafeteria, and Gu Hai nudged Ye Xiao with his elbow.

"Old Ye, have you heard? Jianghai Martial Arts Academy is going to have a big shot come to give a lecture soon. They say he's a professor from Jingzhou Martial Arts Academy! I can get two student IDs, so we can go listen to the lecture together?"

"Jingzhou Martial Arts Academy? Isn't that the best martial arts academy in the Nine Provinces?"

"Of course! Jingzhou Martial Arts Academy is the pride of our Nine Provinces, ranked first in the country! If we can listen to a lecture from that professor, our cultivation will definitely skyrocket! By then, you'll at least break through to the Second Rank Warrior!"

Ye Xiao wasn't really interested in this. He only needed to read a cultivation technique once, and his divine soul would automatically cultivate and upgrade. He didn't need to practice at all.

However, he had been in this world for half a year, and every day was a routine of three points in a line. He hadn't even stepped out of the library's gates. It might be good to go out and see things.

"Alright."

"Then it's settled. I'll try to get the student IDs, and you don't have to pay. Just treat me to a foot massage at Red Romance tonight."

Ye Xiao thought for a moment and replied:

"Alright, I'll treat you to Red Romance, but you give me the key to the second-floor B area. I want to read some books tonight."

Ye Xiao definitely wouldn't go to a place like that. He had almost finished reading all the books in his own area and still hadn't gathered enough basic cultivation techniques to fuse and upgrade.

He worked during the day and had only four days off each month to read books in other areas. If he could go to the second-floor B area tonight, he might find something useful.

Gu Hai raised an eyebrow.

"Old Ye... You're not having some issues, are you? Going to read books at night instead of going to Red Romance? Are you out of your mind? How about... I introduce you to an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor? I have a friend who goes there often, and it's very effective."

"Effective, but still needs to go often?"

Gu Hai's face twitched, then he pondered and said:

"That's true. But, are you really having issues in that area?"

"I'm not old enough to drink wolfberry yet. As for you, if you don't cherish it when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old.

After all, even the hardest steel can't resist the corrosion of seawater."

Gu Hai slapped his chest, full of confidence.

"Don't worry, brother. I'm made of alloy steel. No matter what kind of seawater, it can't corrode my iron will!"

Ye Xiao didn't say much more.

Men being stubborn is a common problem, and they'll eventually soften.

He shook his head, clearing his mind, and said:

"Just say if you're willing or not."

"Of course I'm willing! Such a good thing, only a fool would refuse. I'll give you my key right now. I won't lock the door tonight, just remember to lock it after you finish reading."

"Got it."

Ye Xiao took the key from Gu Hai and transferred him 400 yuan.

But then, worried that he might spend too little and catch some disease, he transferred a few hundred more.

...

That night, the library closed, and the vast building fell into silence and darkness.

Ye Xiao came to the second-floor B area and walked straight in, starting to pick books from the shelves to read.

Since he had only one night, he specifically chose knife techniques to read.

His knife techniques were already the most advanced, with six basic techniques, more than any other type of technique. They also had the best chance of quickly fusing into a stronger technique.

Ye Xiao didn't turn on the lights. After breaking through to the Ninth Rank of the Warrior Realm, his physical abilities far exceeded those of ordinary people. His night vision was so good that he could read books in the dark.

He spread out a pile of knife techniques and read them one by one.

The first one was from the same lineage as the Ming Luo Knife Technique, both belonging to the quick-draw techniques.

The second one was from the same lineage as the Li Family Knife Technique, both being chopping techniques.

He read about two hundred basic knife techniques, and almost all of them were from the same lineage as the six basic knife techniques he was currently cultivating.

By the late night, the moon was already hanging on the western horizon, and Ye Xiao sighed.

These plagiarists were really over the top.

How many basic techniques had they plagiarized into how many different versions?

What about the Wang Family Knife, Zhang Family Knife... just change the surname, modify a couple of moves, and it becomes a new technique.

Even more shameless, some knife techniques were directly called First-Class Knife Technique, Second-Class Knife Technique... but they were all the same type of technique.

They were really after money and had no shame!

There was no way out. He had already spent over a thousand yuan, and it would be a waste to leave without getting anything.

He could only sigh and put the techniques back, then search for new ones.

While returning the books, he suddenly noticed a knife technique book in a corner of a bookshelf.

He raised an eyebrow, pulled out the book, and dusted it off.

Puff puff.

The dust fell, and a few large characters appeared before his eyes.

"Ma Family Knife Technique — Lightning Five-Strike Knife!"

"What a pretentious technique."

Ye Xiao felt speechless. The name was long and pretentious. But he had never seen this technique before, so he didn't know if it was a new basic knife technique.

He opened the first page, and it read, "The ultimate work of a grandmaster, the pinnacle of receiving, transforming, and releasing techniques condensed into one!"

After a few lines of introduction, the main text began.

Unexpectedly, when Ye Xiao read the main text, the divine soul golden book inside him moved and recorded it.

Ye Xiao's face lit up. It was indeed an independent basic knife technique!

He immediately started reading it seriously.

An hour later, the seven pages of the golden book, each recording a basic knife technique, began to glow with a golden light, flickering on and off.

Ye Xiao, who was usually calm, was now visibly excited.

"Success!"