No Wonder Hu Liena Disdains You, There's a Reason for It

Lu Jing stepped into the Scripture Repository, holding the Angel Token given by Qian Daoliu. The bronze gate slowly closed behind him, shutting out the external light.

The hall had a soaring dome, and Soul Guide Lamps cast a soft halo. The air was filled with the old, inky scent unique to ancient books.

He walked directly to the sandalwood long desk at the entrance. Seated behind it was an old man in a grey robe, his eyelids slightly lowered as if dozing, yet his aura was as imposing as a mountain—the clear pressure of a Soul Douluo.

"Senior." Lu Jing placed the token on the desk.

The old man opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze sweeping over the Angel Sacred Sword pattern on the token, then landing on Lu Jing's young face. "What is it?"

"This junior wishes to find texts recording rare and exotic herbs. May I ask where they might be?"

Lu Jing's tone was respectful, but his mind raced: the immortal herbs of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye were the key to his future breakthrough, but they required special methods for harvesting and refining.

Although he didn't know their exact location, judging by how Chrysanthemum Douluo could recognize the origin of Tang San and the others' immortal herbs not long after, it proved that Martial Soul Hall must have related secret records! After all, Martial Soul Hall's Scripture Repository had accumulated tens of thousands of years of knowledge, surpassing even the combined collections of other forces.

The old man didn't ask further questions and pressed his withered palm lightly on the desk.

The next moment, a yellowed ancient book Martial Soul appeared out of thin air. Its pages turned on their own, and eight Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and four black—rose from the ground.

As the pages flipped, countless glowing characters flowed like a river of stars, as if searching the vast sea of books. After a moment, the book Martial Soul fell silent, and the Soul Rings vanished.

"Fourth floor, east side, seventh bookshelf."

The old man's voice was hoarse. "As for which specific volume, you'll have to find it yourself."

"Thank you, Senior." Lu Jing retrieved the token and turned to ascend the spiraling stone steps.

The light on the fourth floor was even dimmer, and the bookshelves stood like silent giants.

Lu Jing's fingertips brushed over titles like Compendium of Materia Medica and Illustrated Records of Strange Plants on the spines, finally stopping before a dusty copy of the Universe Treasure Mirror.

He opened the brittle pages, and simple diagrams of mysterious and heaven-defying medicinal herbs leaped onto the paper!

Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Infernal Delicate Apricot, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum... Below them, tiny script detailed their properties and harvesting taboos, even noting secret methods like "must be cut with metal and collected with jade."

This was it! Lu Jing closed the book, his palm feeling slightly warm.

Having obtained what he wanted, he returned to the first floor. After registering with the old man, he strode towards the Worship Hall.

Now, everything was ready. All he needed was to borrow people from Qian Renxue. After all, no one knew if the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye had already been occupied by Dugu Bo.

If not, it would be a cause for celebration, and he wouldn't need to expend much effort. But if it had been, with just him and Wang Dong'er, they would surely die a terrible death. Therefore, to be safe, he had to be extremely cautious. No matter what, Dugu Bo was a powerful Title Douluo, far beyond their ability to contend with at present.

The daylight outside the Scripture Repository was dazzling.

The moment Lu Jing stepped out of the hall, a fiery red figure blocked the bottom of the stone steps—Yan, with his arms crossed, his red hair like flames, his school uniform outlining his sturdy physique, and his eyes filled with undisguised hostility.

"Lu Jing!"

Yan strode closer, his gaze fixed on the ancient book in Lu Jing's arms. "What good stuff are you hiding?"

Lu Jing frowned.

Although he knew Yan, they had never interacted. Thus, he immediately saw that the other party was not here with good intentions and clearly had an ulterior motive. He replied calmly, "Just ordinary texts."

"Ordinary?"

Yan sneered and suddenly reached out to grab the book, saying, "Let me see!"

"Bang!"

Lu Jing sidestepped, his right leg whipping out like a lash. Soul Power, wrapped in a gust of wind, kicked directly at Yan's waist and abdomen!

Yan blocked hastily but was still forced back three steps, the bluestone tiles on the ground cracking.

"Are you looking for death?!" Yan stabilized himself, rage flaring in his eyes.

Lu Jing shielded the book with one hand, his dark eyes as calm as a cold pool. "Yan, we aren't close enough yet for me to let you casually look through my things."

He deliberately slowed his tone, enunciating each word clearly, reminding him, "If Hu Liena were here and wanted to take a look, I might lend it to her. As for you—"

Before he finished speaking, Yan's Soul Power erupted around him! Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings exploded with scorching airflow, and he roared, "Don't you dare use Nana to pressure me! Today, I'll let you, an outsider, know who deserves to stand by her side!"

Hu Liena... Just as he thought! Lu Jing understood instantly—Yan's provocation stemmed from the jealousy ignited by the golden-haired girl's occasional attention!

This is so Yan!

Although Lu Jing felt speechless internally and wasn't particularly interested in Hu Liena, he wasn't surprised by Yan's behavior, given his personality.

Under Lu Jing's gaze, Yan attacked first. Scorching lava erupted from his fists, and the temperature of the training ground soared—his first Soul Skill blasted towards Lu Jing's face without reservation!

Lu Jing's body remained still.

When the lava was three inches from his forehead, he took half a step back with his left foot. His right palm, like a willow branch swaying in the wind, accurately grasped Yan's wrist.

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of a dislocated wrist bone and Yan's scream erupted simultaneously!

Lu Jing spun and closed in, his elbow smashing hard into Yan's lower ribs, and his knee striking his abdomen. His movements were so fast they left afterimages.

Yan's protective Soul Power shattered like an eggshell, and the lava dispersed into sparks in mid-air before it could even hit the ground.

"Pfft—!"

Yan spat blood and flew backward, crashing through a stone pillar by the edge of the arena.

Lu Jing appeared like a phantom at his landing spot, grabbing his neck with one hand and pressing him into the pile of rubble.

"Listen up."

Lu Jing looked down at the face, swollen like a pig's head, his voice laced with ice shards: "Hu Liena is your business, it has nothing to do with me. I'm not particularly interested in her either. Even if I were to take a wife, it would be Wang Dong'er, whom I know better, not the goddess in the mouth of a lapdog like you."

He released his grip, letting Yan fall like mud, and turned, his black robe billowing like night wings: "Annoy me again, and next time it won't just be bones that get broken. Even if the Pontiff himself comes looking for me, I'll have my reasons."

"Instead of taking your anger out on me here, you'd be better off going back to cultivate. Sticking to Hu Liena like a shameless stalker might give you a sliver of a chance."

Lu Jing looked at the youth before him, sneering, and mocked: "No wonder Hu Liena doesn't fancy you. There's a reason for it. Not only are your strength and talent mediocre, but your brain doesn't work very well either. To actually do something like taking your anger out on me."

After speaking, he ignored Yan's murderous expression and turned to leave the spot, heading back in the direction of the Worship Hall.

Yan watched Lu Jing's retreating back, his anger surging, and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, which splattered on the floor.

Then, he slowly closed his eyes and collapsed powerlessly onto the ground, like a clown who had utterly disgraced himself.