Chapter 8

Ye Xiao studied book after book on cultivation techniques, until it was time to leave work. Finally, he found a suitable heart scripture—*You Long Gui Hai* (Dragon Returns to the Sea).

This way, he had collected three cultivation techniques, but he still didn’t know how many fundamental heart techniques he needed to gather before he could fuse and upgrade them.

During this time, except for fetching books, he hadn’t moved at all.

Moreover, he had always been facing away from the girl.

“Ding!”

When the bell signaling the end of work rang, Ye Xiao closed the book, stretched, and straightened up, then walked over to the girl.

After becoming a Grandmaster, he was aware of everything happening within a few meters, even if he didn’t want to know. So he knew that the girl hadn’t left and had been searching for books related to sword techniques.

“The library is closing. You can leave now.”

The girl: “???”

She looked at Ye Xiao in confusion, but then glanced at her watch and said apologetically,

“Sorry. I’ll borrow these books and read them at home.”

Ye Xiao stared at her intently. Was this girl really crazy?

She didn’t borrow the books earlier or later, but chose this moment.

Completing the borrowing process would take at least ten minutes of overtime.

“The library has a rule that no cultivation techniques can be borrowed after closing hours. You can come back during working hours tomorrow.”

The girl’s eyebrows twitched slightly, seemingly noticing Ye Xiao’s displeasure. She put the books down and apologized softly.

“Sorry.”

Then, she turned and left, leaving behind a faint scent of gardenia.

Ye Xiao’s mood improved significantly.

But it wasn’t because of the scent; it was because she had finally left, and he could finally go to eat.

However, just as he was about to leave, he noticed a student card under a book.

He picked it up from the table. The card holder was light blue, with the same scent of gardenia as the girl, and a beautiful, clear photo.

“Qin Yuyan, a fourth-year student in the Sword Technique Department of Jianghai Martial Arts University... She’s quite pretty, but unfortunately, not very smart.”

Shaking his head, Ye Xiao quickly headed to the cafeteria.

He originally wanted to order a roasted duck for dinner, but because it was too greasy, he ultimately chose a beggar’s chicken with hand-pulled noodles.

As an animal lover, he couldn’t skip this excellent tradition.

There’s a saying, isn’t there?

Love it, and make it a part of yourself.

Halfway through his meal, the TV in the cafeteria suddenly switched to a local Jianghai channel. The news anchor, with a serious expression, said:

“Now, we interrupt with an urgent news update. At 6:32 PM today, a star beast riot occurred at the Jianghai City Prison. A large number of star beasts have escaped from the prison, including some Extraordinary-level star beasts. Citizens are advised to avoid going out and to take shelter at home or in their workplace. The Jianghai City Defense Team will capture these star beasts as soon as possible.”

Ye Xiao’s movements paused slightly.

It really happened?

Earlier, he had a vague feeling that the guy he saw at the defense team in the morning might be a tiger. He didn’t expect his guess to be correct.

But why didn’t the defense team notice the guy’s identity?

Are there no Grandmaster-level experts in the defense team?

With a hint of doubt, Ye Xiao quickly finished his dinner. But before he could put down his chopsticks, his phone rang.

“You love me, I love you...”

He took out his phone, which showed a call from Gu Hai.

“What’s up?”

Ye Xiao swiped to answer the call. On the other end, Gu Hai’s anxious voice came through.

“Old Ye, something’s happened on my end. I might not be able to come back, and I can’t reach my parents. If I really can’t come back, please take the things under my bed and give them to my parents. Tell them I’m sorry and that I’ll take care of them in the next life.”

Gu Hai’s voice was tinged with sobs, and the phone occasionally carried the sounds of wild beasts roaring and humans screaming.

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the Martial Arts University. Don’t come here. Star beasts have escaped from the prison. You’ll be torn apart by them if you come. There are experts at the library, so you’re not in danger.”

After a pause, he continued,

“Old Ye, you’re the only one who’s ever looked up to me and treated me like a good brother. Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“If I die, burn a girlfriend for me. You know, the Yang Tao model. Burn it secretly at night, don’t let anyone know.”

“Got it.”

“Don’t fool me. I don’t want cheap, low-quality ones that leak air with a single poke. I want a high-quality one.”

As he spoke, several more screams came from the other end of the phone. Gu Hai said anxiously,

“Old Ye, I have to go. The star beasts are coming. Damn!”

The call ended with a series of curses and screams, and Ye Xiao’s expression turned serious.

It seems Gu Hai is really in trouble.

He and Gu Hai were good friends. If he just stood by and let Gu Hai die, he couldn’t do it.

Moreover, Gu Hai went to get a student ID not just for himself but also for Ye Xiao.

If someone does something for you and you have the ability to save them, but you let them die, that’s just not right.

“Star beasts are classified as ordinary, Extraordinary, and Grandmaster. An Extraordinary star beast’s strength is roughly equivalent to a human martial artist of the 6th to 9th rank. With my current strength, I can handle it. I’ll go find Old Gu.”

Ye Xiao made up his mind. As long as he found Gu Hai, he could knock him out and bring him back.

This way, Gu Hai wouldn’t know his true strength, and he wouldn’t reveal his abilities to anyone.

He could still live his peaceful life when he returned.

Avoiding the crowd, he came to a wall and, with a thought, leaped over the two-meter-high wall.

Leaving the library, he saw a few defense team members surrounding and fighting a spirit cat on a nearby street.

The spirit cat was only about half a meter in size, but its movement speed was at least 70 miles per hour, making it extremely swift.

More terrifyingly, its attacks were very powerful. Each time it hit a defense team member, the force would send the battle-hardened member flying back, their body visibly trembling.

“Is this a star beast?”

Even from a distance, Ye Xiao couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of nature, which allowed such a small creature to fight against humans many times its size, even posing a lethal threat if not careful. It was truly impressive.

However, in Ye Xiao’s eyes, their movements were incredibly slow.

From their actions, Ye Xiao could easily deduce that the defense team members would lightly injure the spirit cat and capture it within twenty moves.

As a Grandmaster, his martial arts experience had grown, and he could often predict the outcome without seeing the end.

Therefore, he didn’t offer to help but continued walking quickly toward the Martial Arts University.