A Young Man, Interested in the Art Troupe?

Xu Nan's injuries were not serious at all—one could even call them negligible.

That gnoll had nearly been sat to death by A Tang. Its muscles had been too weak to exert any strength in its dying moments; only its excessively sharp claws had left a few faint scratches on Xu Nan's waist.

According to Lü Junyi, a little medicine would have been enough for wounds like these.

But at Xu Nan's insistence, Lü Junyi reluctantly put a few bandages on him as a form of psychological comfort.

Only now did Xu Nan realize how unusual this mission was.

As an ordinary person who had grown up in peaceful times, Xu Nan would probably get goosebumps just from killing a chicken. When truly facing monsters in combat, he would naturally encounter all sorts of situations.

Previously, the gnolls had all been under control. Even if the scene had been bloody, Xu Nan could use his powerful bloodline abilities to suppress that discomfort. But when a gnoll accidentally fought back and even lightly injured him, an intense sense of danger enveloped Xu Nan like never before.

He was not making a mountain out of a molehill.

It was simply his first time experiencing what was called "fear."

Now that he sat here, he had gradually calmed down, but that lingering terror still haunted him.

He understood that this was a hurdle he had to overcome. Only by crossing it could he face the coming conflicts with greater composure.

Xu Nan only vaguely followed some of what Lü Junyi had said. It was not until the last sentence that he suddenly snapped awake and exclaimed in shock:

"You went and removed his appendix?"

Lü Junyi nodded, looking helpless and frightened. "What else did you think we went to the surface for? We borrowed an old friend's clinic and cut it out for him."

"It didn't work! He had no reaction at all! Aren't people who become professionals through surgery supposed to react quickly?"

Xu Nan thought about it and realized that was true. After returning from Lü Junyi's place, he had felt uncomfortable all over and gone to bed early. When he woke up the next day, even his memories had become slightly scrambled.

Although he had not truly inherited his powers until several days later, the signs had appeared long before then.

Why had Shi Fanglin been unable to become a professional for so long? Was he somehow different from Xu Nan, Zhang Yingluo, Qin Lele, and the others?

Xu Nan fell into thought.

Gu Xiaomeng, who had just entered to visit Xu Nan, looked panicked and guilty.

As though he had not noticed her, Lü Junyi sighed to Xu Nan. "If that doesn't work, we'll remove his spleen first. It's useless anyway. Helps digestion."

Xu Nan: "..."

"You can't remove it! You can't!" Gu Xiaomeng hurriedly said. "Actually, you've all got it wrong!"

"Becoming a professional has nothing to do with Doctor Lü!"

She looked embarrassed, seemingly guilty and remorseful because Shi Fanglin had gone down the wrong path.

A flash of delight at his scheme succeeding appeared on Lü Junyi's face. He suddenly turned to Gu Xiaomeng and said earnestly, "Meng, that's where you're wrong. If you know the inside story, you should share it with everyone. Why keep it hidden?"

"If you don't tell us, I'll shave off his kidney later. That dead freak may be perverted, but he hasn't had children yet. If he can't find a wife in the future, will you marry him?"

Gu Xiaomeng was full of shame. "I-I didn't know things would turn out like this..."

"Things have come to this. How are you going to make up for it?" Lü Junyi asked solemnly. "The God of Love and Maidens you worship wouldn't allow you to harm people like this either!"

Gu Xiaomeng blushed furiously. "It's... love."

"What's the difference?!" Lü Junyi raised his voice. "What matters is your attitude!"

Gu Xiaomeng lowered her head. "I know I was wrong. This is actually not as complicated as you think. The Divine Decree mentioned that the reason we could become professionals was because we had stayed at Doctor Lü's hospital for a long time!"

"So the hospital really was the problem!" Shi Fanglin leaped in from outside, looking completely energized. He did not look like someone who had just had his appendix removed at all.

"Xu Nan, you're injured, so rest here properly and comfort Meng's wounded heart. I'll go with that dead freak and get my hospital back!"

Lü Junyi rolled up his sleeves through gritted teeth. The speed at which he changed expressions was astonishing. "Why the hell did Wen Xin make such a huge fuss, calling in tanks to tear down my hospital?!"

"She and that father of hers, Wang An, probably learned something. Those old foxes from the East Bay Military Region want to monopolize the secret of becoming professionals!"

The two hurried out, leaving Gu Xiaomeng staring after them in stunned silence. It took her a long while to recover.

Xu Nan was not worried about Lü Junyi or Shi Fanglin. One was crafty and shameless, while the other was devious and sharp-tongued. Neither of them would suffer anywhere they went.

Besides, both had powerful backgrounds. Earlier, Lü Junyi had been chased all over the place by Wen Xin only because he had felt guilty. He had thought Wen Xin's excessive body hair was his fault, so he had not dared resist.

Now that he knew the truth, he naturally had to demand an explanation.

If what Gu Xiaomeng said was true, and Lü Junyi's hospital held the secret to becoming a professional, then it would inevitably become a place everyone fought over.

Xu Nan thought further.

Was Lü Junyi's hospital truly the only place like that?

Had others discovered similar places as well?

Just how many professionals had this Earth already produced?

While Xu Nan was immersed in thought, Gu Xiaomeng, whose reactions were slow, finally lost it. "You two tricked me together!"

Xu Nan pointed upward. "The two people who tricked you have already left."

Gu Xiaomeng puffed out her cheeks. "Are you with them too?"

Xu Nan could not help rolling his eyes. "Miss Gu, first of all, I'm the injured party, so please don't yell at an injured person. Second, you have no proof that I conspired with them."

Gu Xiaomeng covered her face. "This is awful, this is awful. This is an important secret the Goddess told me, and I just blurted it out."

Xu Nan asked curiously, "Speaking of which, how exactly did you become a priestess of the Maiden God?"

He was actually quite surprised. No matter how foolish the God of Love and Maidens was, how could she choose an adorably dim-witted trainee nurse as her priestess?

A character like this would be more suited to being a follower! She could not possibly have the talent for fooling people that old swindlers had.

Looking at Gu Xiaomeng, Xu Nan suddenly felt that the God of Love and Maidens choosing him as her Chosen One had been quite reliable. After all, his character was impeccable, and his talent for fooling people was improving by the day.

Unlike Lü Junyi. If he became the Maiden God's Chosen One, the deity might turn into the God of Love and Married Women before long.

Gu Xiaomeng said a little embarrassedly, "...The Goddess thought I was pretty cute."

Xu Nan looked at her genuinely adorable baby face and silently withdrew his assessment of the Maiden God's intelligence.

Becoming the Chosen One of a god like that was practically digging one's own grave, wasn't it?

Xu Nan once again firmly rejected Gu Xiaomeng's request. Even when she ingratiatingly cast a precise Minor Wound Treatment on him, rendering all the bandages around his waist useless decorations, Xu Nan remained unmoved by her beauty.

The next day.

After Xu Nan used the Innocent Staff to execute a gnoll in the base's temporary prison—a gnoll that A Tang had tortured down to a single drop of health—his level finally reached Level 3!

A strange current flowed through his entire body.

Your level has increased by 1.

You have gained 1 free attribute point!

You have gained 96 skill points!

You have gained the personal specialty—Robust (Your physique makes you appear much stronger.)

You have gained the class specialty—Spell Specialization (You may choose a school of magic. Spells cast from that school will be more effective.)

You have gained access to purchase the Level 3 spell list!

A flood of information entered Xu Nan's mind one after another.

He had finally made it to Level 3.

Leveling up as a Ron Sorcerer was truly a major problem. Old Mister Luo Mang had also hinted that he should not rush his early leveling, since this class was rather unusual compared to others.

The awakening of bloodline power was simply too subtle. Without the system, it would be even more elusive and untouchable.

Xu Nan chose to save both his free attribute point and skill points. After Charisma reached 20, whether he should continue increasing Charisma, add some Intelligence, or make up for his Constitution was something that required careful consideration. As for skills, he had no idea how to allocate them last time. Old Mister Luo Mang was special, after all, and Xu Nan wanted to follow the skill allocation path of a normal spellcaster.

Fortunately, the Thousand Rays Society's registered member gathering that afternoon would be an opportunity for Xu Nan to meet other professionals.

He wondered how much relevant reference material the Thousand Rays Society had already collected.

Xu Nan was also in no hurry to buy Level 3 spells. He had plenty of Shame Points right now, and he had more than enough time to adapt before the next battle arrived.

"Next, I should first see what kind of organizations the Thousand Rays Society and the China Dragon Group really are."

That afternoon.

Following Zhang Yingluo's instructions, he arrived at the meeting location and discovered that the gathering for registered members was being held at a famous sanatorium beside Thousand Mountain Lake in H City.

Some high-ranking officials from Jing Cheng had even vacationed and recuperated here before.

The WeChat senior had something to do and would arrive later, so she told Xu Nan to look around on his own. Fortunately, he had registered member status. After passing the soldiers' identity verification at the entrance, he was able to move through the grounds freely.

The sanatorium had beautiful scenery, and many people walked around like Xu Nan, both nervous and excited.

Suddenly, an old man rushed over with a stack of flyers, moving with great vigor.

"Young man, interested in the Art Troupe?"

Without waiting for Xu Nan to respond, he slapped a flyer directly onto Xu Nan's face.

"The Art Troupe? I heard from Senior that they're all Bards?"

"Maybe I should take a look?"

Xu Nan looked at the address on the flyer. Building Eight was a little far from the entrance, but it was fairly secluded.