Take the Empress as a Disciple While She's Young?

Meanwhile, Qin Yang returned to Xia He's side and immediately noticed that something was off.

Xia He kept glancing at him, the corners of his mouth raised so high even an AK couldn't hold them down.

"You've got game, Lao Qin!"

Holding back his laughter, Xia He gave him a thumbs-up and teased him wildly. "What medicine have you been taking lately? How did you become such a flirt?"

Qin Yang: "..."

Qin Yang fell silent and rolled his eyes at his trash-talking friend.

"Gasp~ What's with that look, Lao Qin? I'm praising you!"

Xia He sucked in a breath, smacking his lips as he moved closer and threw an arm around Qin Yang's shoulders. "I mean it as a compliment! There's not even a hint of insult!"

"Cut the crap..."

Qin Yang could not be bothered to play dumb with him. He shook off Xia He's hand, his thoughts still churning over the matter of the system.

Though he had vaguely untangled the mystery in his heart, he still found it hard to believe.

Judging from the hints the system had provided before,

not every living creature could trigger its prompts.

Only living beings that were still alive five hundred years later could trigger the system's prompts.

And any creature capable of surviving five hundred years without dying was bound to be an extremely terrifying existence according to the system's prompts.

Like he had said before,

even a pig, if it lived for five hundred years, could become a beast king! As for beings like the Undying Cockroach, the Purple Soul Magic Pearl, the Bloodthirsty Leech, and those with ancient bloodlines in their bodies,

it was only natural that they could become powerful star beasts five hundred years later.

As for ordinary star beasts, no matter how great their opportunities were, they would have croaked long before five hundred years had passed.

The same applied to some of the powerful figures of the present age.

Though they could currently dominate an area and view All Things as ants in their hands,

they could not defeat time. Everything else was meaningless.

Once they died five hundred years later, it meant they could not trigger the system's prompts.

Therefore,

if he encountered them now, he naturally would not be able to trigger the system's prompts either! Without the system's prompts,

there was likewise no chance of rewards dropping after he interacted with them.

"That's right, that's the logic."

Qin Yang nodded to himself, suddenly enlightened.

He thought again of the girl he had met earlier.

No, the future Empress.

"According to the system prompt, as long as I take this little girl as my teacher, I can obtain new rewards?"

But this disciple-taking task was truly difficult.

Leaving aside how embarrassing it was, Qin Yang simply could not bring himself to do it.

Besides, despite her young age, she was already an eighth-level Acquired Realm expert.

She was undoubtedly a heaven-blessed prodigy, an Apple of One's Eye.

Every move she made was surely watched by every faction.

If he rashly went over and asked to become her disciple,

he might finish taking her as his teacher today, only to draw the attention of the powerful figures watching Li Zixuan tomorrow.

What if they regarded Qin Yang as someone with ulterior motives?

Then not only would he fail to find a teacher, he would also invite all sorts of trouble.

Of course,

people from those factions coming to visit him would be a trivial matter.

With his current strength, ordinary people could do nothing to him.

If they dared to come knocking,

he would make sure they walked in upright and left lying down! But the problem was,

after sending them away,

what if he lost his job as a library administrator because of it? "Such a great job—I can slack off, read martial arts manuals and classics, and there's even an employee cafeteria... Everyone in the library is talented. I can't lose this job!"

Qin Yang secretly shook his head.

Besides, Li Zixuan was holding a student ID, proving she was merely a student of a Martial Arts Academy.

If a grown man like him went up to ask her to take him as a disciple, she definitely would not agree.

She might even think he was crazy on the spot... Thinking it over carefully, the odds of him becoming her disciple were basically zero!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible to succeed! "Damn it, Dog System, what kind of melodramatic task is this?"

Qin Yang cursed inwardly.

The next moment,

the system's stubborn voice rang out again.

"Ding! The Empress is moving away. Please, Host, promptly return from your misguided path and hurry to kneel, kowtow, grovel, and take her as your teacher!"

Qin Yang: "..."

Hearing the system prompt, Qin Yang was already numb.

Fine, fine, so that's how you want to play it.

At that moment, Qin Yang thought of the cockroach and spider from before.

He suddenly smacked his forehead, as if realizing something!

Why did he have to fall into the system's trap?

Last time, the system had urged him to flee for his life the moment he saw the cockroach.

Yet he had done the opposite, stomping the cockroach to death with one foot and making the Dog System drop even more rewards!

"In the system's eyes, I'm just an ant before an Empress-level powerhouse."

"So it thinks becoming her disciple is easy for me, and also the most reasonable option."

"If I do the opposite..."

Qin Yang's eyes lit up. He muttered, "If I make the Empress take me as her teacher, wouldn't the rewards be even greater?!"

That was right!

That was exactly the logic!

The moment he thought of it, Qin Yang was completely enlightened.

Take the Empress as a disciple while she was young!

Then he could interact with her every day and make the Dog System cough up rewards like crazy.

Why would he not accept such a good thing? This was practically Qin Shi Huang Touches an Electric Wire... "I'm winning big!"

With that thought, Qin Yang's mind became clear, and he was suddenly filled with anticipation.

He abruptly turned around and headed back the way he had come, toward where the girl had been.

But after taking a few steps and reaching the spot, Li Zixuan was already nowhere to be seen.

"She actually left?"

Seeing the empty seat, Qin Yang immediately felt a pang of regret.

If he had known, he should have used his status as an administrator earlier and made up some library event promotion to get Li Zixuan's number.

"Wait, Lao Qin, don't tell me you actually fell for her?"

Seeing this, Xia He nudged Qin Yang's shoulder and teased, "Never thought you liked this type. But this girl looks hard to pursue. She looks like an iceberg, like strangers should stay away."

"Ah."

Qin Yang let out a long sigh, regret on his face as he thought of the girl he had just missed.

The girl herself was not important.

What mattered was that the system reward he had just gotten had flown away right before his eyes! Who knew when he would meet that girl again?

What if she never came back? After all, slacking off could not be too outrageous. He could not possibly wait here for Li Zixuan every day, could he?

"Damn, what kind of reaction is that, Lao Qin? Pull yourself together!"

Seeing Qin Yang's expression, Xia He could not take it anymore. "If you're really serious, even if I have to climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire, I'll get you her contact information!"

"Hm? Seriously?"

Qin Yang hesitated, looking Xia He up and down. "Don't lie to an honest man."

Hearing this, Xia He raised an eyebrow. "Why would I lie to you? People come and go in this library. I know quite a few people. Tell me her name, and I'll definitely find a way to track her down for you."

"Alright, then let's give it a try."

Qin Yang told Xia He the information about Li Zixuan and her identity as a student of Jianghai Martial Arts Academy.

Xia He immediately guaranteed, "That beauty is a student at Jianghai Martial Arts Academy? Then this is easy. Just wait patiently, Lao Qin. I guarantee I'll get you some information!"