Certified to Begin Work

Martial Soul Hall—Council Chamber.

A grand, towering dome; ostentatious, luxurious decorations; spotless, gleaming floors.

Normally, people here spoke grandly, reported matters, and plotted the course of the realm. Yet now, the place was as silent as a grave, without even a crow's caw.

The several great worshippers, who usually held themselves above everyone and gave no one the time of day, now behaved like obedient children. One by one, they lowered their heads and stared at their reflections on the floor.

Suddenly, they realized that faces they had once thought rather handsome now looked awkward no matter how they viewed them.

"Pufferfish, Snake Lance, the two of you were originally responsible for protecting Qian Renxue. But because you altered the plan without authorization, Qian Renxue has gone missing. You will now bring her back. The rest of you, don't stand around either. Go out and search. Whether it is geniuses, treasures, or powerful Soul Beasts, I want them all."

Bibi Dong stood before the throne, issuing orders with a sweep of her hand.

The eight worshippers shuddered inwardly and immediately acknowledged the order. They could not wait to leave.

The woman above them was too terrifying, like a monster with its maw wide open, ready to devour anyone it chose. She was so frightening that they barely dared to breathe.

"Go!"

At Bibi Dong's command, the group immediately fled as though oil had been smeared beneath their feet.

"Wait... Take him with you."

At Bibi Dong's words, the expressions on the group's faces became exceedingly colorful, shifting unpredictably.

Only when they finally stepped out of the Papal Hall did the eight of them let out long breaths, finding their backs soaked in cold sweat.

After everyone had left, Bibi Dong took out a painting scroll and looked at the red figure within.

She breathed heavily, her full breasts heaving sharply. Red light flashed in her eyes as a violent aura surged into the sky.

Riiip! Riiip!~

She tore the scroll to pieces.

After a long while, she took out another scroll and stared blankly at the figure inside.

It depicted a young man clad in Sky Blue Armor, a gentle smile on his face, looking harmless to man and beast alike.

As she gazed at that smiling face, irrepressible fear suddenly surfaced in Bibi Dong's eyes. It was as though the person in the painting might turn into a bloodthirsty beast at any moment and pounce on her.

"Ah!~"

With a cry, she hurled the scroll away.

Though she had always wanted to overcome her fear and conquer the nightmare in her heart, whenever she recalled the horrifying scenes from that day, her mind could not help but tremble, filled with terror and helplessness.

On that day years ago, two people had chased each other toward her residence. Uneasy, she went outside to investigate, only to be seized by a woman in red.

At the time, she had naively believed that they were in the same boat, so she pointed that hateful woman toward an escape route.

In the end, that woman escaped, leaving Bibi Dong to fall into the clutches of a demon. She suffered endless torment and endured the darkest days of her life—bar none.

However, that woman would probably never imagine what Bibi Dong had truly obtained from that man's mind.

Following the guidance of that person's consciousness and relying on that mysterious, indescribable aura, she had created a cultivation technique most suited to herself based on the characteristics of her martial soul. Drawing upon the memories in that man's mind, she named it the Heaven Devouring Magic.

Using this demonic art, she directly devoured a remnant consciousness of a god, completely replacing her Soul Rings. Her strength soared by leaps and bounds, and at merely Rank 96, she easily defeated Qian Daoliu.

Beyond the technique itself, what she gained most was knowledge.

That person's memories were incomparably vast and chaotic, as though he were an ancient sage who knew astronomy above and geography below. Methods of governing the world, the ways of commerce, matters as great as national politics and as small as firewood, rice, oil, and salt—there was nothing they did not encompass.

Water could capsize a boat, but it could also carry one.

The people were weighty; the ruler was light.

To bring peace to all ages, to carry on the lost teachings of past sages...

There had been too many things, so many that she had nearly lost herself.

After she withdrew from that person's sea of consciousness, trials as hellish as the underworld began.

Was that even a human?

At the very least, the terror that person had brought her had completely surpassed Qian Xunji.

In the past, whenever she had nightmares, only that beast with a human face and an animal heart would appear in her dreams.

But now, she did not even dare close her eyes. The moment she did, she saw herself being pinned down and mercilessly ravaged by that young man.

For so many years, Bibi Dong had not slept peacefully even once.

Yet she still wanted to see that young man again, because her cultivation technique was not yet complete.

One month later.

The Martial Soul Hall Soul Master Academy officially opened. Since Ye Han was merely a librarian, he did not need any training and could begin work immediately with his certification.

The towering gates symbolized the academy's status; the magnificent buildings represented its strength; the vivid flowers and lush trees displayed its environment; and the students with pride written across their faces represented its future.

Young men and women came and went in groups of three or five, brimming with youthful vigor.

Those tender, youthful faces and those long, fair legs were enough to dazzle the eye.

Ye Han admired the scenery along the way, completely unaware that he himself was also part of the scenery.

When men looked at women, women looked at men too. The only difference was whether they knew how to hide it.

"Which upperclassman is he?"

"No idea, I've never seen him before, but he's so handsome!"

"Does anyone know where he lives? Which dorm he's in?"

"Whoever gets his home address, I'll wash their socks for a month."

"No, if you throw in the underwear, I'll go ask for you."

"I'll wash them for you. No need for you to ask."

"Scram, scram, eavesdropping on girls' conversations? Shameless."

"Exactly. You filthy pervert, go rest somewhere else."

Whispers, laughter, playful scuffling...

Gradually, a crowd unknowingly gathered behind Ye Han.

Following Linda's directions, Ye Han turned left and right, then left and right again. After circling around for quite a while, he finally found the library building.

People were already busy inside the enormous library, dusting, cleaning, and organizing the books.

"Hi! Brothers, I'm Ye Han, the new library administrator. Please take care of me from now on," Ye Han said.

"Wow, I know now—his name is Ye Han."

"Tch, we're not deaf. We heard him. Did you have to say it?"

The noisy chatter reached Ye Han's ears, and he could not help turning around to look.

That single glance nearly gave him a fright.

A huge mass of girls had packed the entrance to the library so tightly that not even water could pass through. Give them some phones, and this would be no different from a celebrity-chasing scene.

"Hi, beautiful ladies. I'm a proud library administrator. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come find me," Ye Han greeted them with a smile before walking into the library.

"Ah! I'm pregnant! That smile was too warm."

"Ah! I think I've fallen in love."

"Get lost! None of you are allowed to compete with me. Ye Han is mine."

"Brother, with your looks... sigh, I'm dying of envy."

A young man in his twenties put down his work, walked over, and patted Ye Han on the shoulder. He had originally intended to casually chat for a bit, but his expression suddenly turned into one of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

Of course, he was only joking.

"Hehe, you're not bad-looking yourself!" Ye Han said.

He was not merely flattering him. The young man before him had sharp brows, bright eyes, and a high nose bridge. He was quite handsome himself. Unfortunately, goods had to be compared before their worth could be seen, and people had to be compared before the difference became clear.

Standing beside Ye Han, he truly amounted to nothing.

"Haha, not at all, not at all. My name is Zhao Jun." The young man scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

Through his introduction, Ye Han got to know the other two as well.

One was named Han Kun, and the other was named Liu Liting. All three were ordinary people without Soul Power, unable to become Soul Masters. They had only entered the academy library through connections.

Ye Han had already learned about the situation here when he arrived that morning.

Soul Masters held noble status and were few in number. Even the Martial Soul Hall Soul Master Academy could not possibly fill every position with Soul Masters.

For example, the three men before him were ordinary people. However, for ordinary people to enter a Soul Master Academy, they naturally needed a certain amount of influence behind them.

Zhao Jun had gotten in thanks to his younger sister. The other two had gotten in through the connections of their maternal uncle's cousin's aunt's distant relatives.

After they got acquainted, Ye Han learned that the library had two floors. The first floor was the largest and held the most books, with all kinds of subjects. The second floor had fewer books and was generally only used by teachers looking up materials, so there was not much to organize there.

After they finished organizing the first floor, Liu Liting accidentally glimpsed Ye Han's identification documents during their break. He immediately cried out in shock and stammered, "Brother Ye—n-no, Ye Dage, y-you're the new head librarian?"

"What head librarian? We're all brothers here." Ye Han laughed, casually tossing his identification documents into a drawer.

"Gulp! Ye... Ye Dage, you're a Soul Master, right? The library may not be an important place, but its head librarian should still be a Soul Master, shouldn't he? I heard the previous head librarian was a Soul Master too, and even a Soul King." Seeing that Ye Han had no airs at all, Liu Liting swallowed and gathered his courage to ask.

Ye Han smiled faintly and nodded. There was nothing to hide.

"Alright, alright, stop standing around. We're all brothers here. Who's treating me to a meal first? My pockets are empty—I'm starving to death," Ye Han said.

"Let's go, let's go. It's just one meal. I'll treat you."

Zhao Jun was perceptive. He could tell that Ye Han wanted to close the distance between them and truly had no pretensions, so he could not help smiling.

"Wow, Zhao the Iron Rooster is actually plucking feathers today. What a rare sight. We have to fleece you properly today," Liu Liting said in surprise.

None of the three were fools. Laughing and chatting, they headed toward the cafeteria.

PS: I'm feeling a little lost. Please wake me up by showering me with votes!~