Barbarian

Chen Shouyi snapped awake like waking from a dream, his spirits lifting sharply. This time he stared straight into the other's eyes, his Basic Footwork stepping forward without a second thought as his Long Sword thrust out in a flash.

The Beautiful Teacher lightly parried with her sword, deflecting it, then countered with a thrust of her own.

Her speed was deliberately slower than before, giving Chen Shouyi enough time to react.

Chen Shouyi swayed like a willow in the wind, easily dodging the Sting Sword. His feet kept moving, and with a sliding step, his body slipped like a fish to the Beautiful Teacher's right side.

But such a petty trick didn't work on her. She had already retreated a step, her Long Sword striking toward his waist like a venomous snake.

Chen Shouyi twisted sideways, dodging the attack.

They traded blows back and forth, the only sound the hiss of swords cutting through air.

With the Beautiful Teacher intentionally feeding him moves, he was visibly improving at a rapid pace. His swordsmanship and Basic Footwork gradually merged into one seamless whole, no longer a forced combination of separate techniques.

When the lesson ended, he still felt unsatisfied.

After class, he greeted Guo Qianqian. Under Lin Feng's wary gaze, he didn't say much and quickly left the Youth Martial Arts Training Center.

He still had to visit a bookstore today to buy some books about the Otherworld.

First, he'd always been interested in everything about the Otherworld. Second, ever since his sister passed the martial artist exam, he'd made up his mind.

He planned to give up the college entrance exam and focus entirely on preparing for the Martial Apprentice assessment.

The bookstore was about six or seven kilometers from the training center. In around ten minutes, Chen Shouyi arrived at his destination.

Sunday was peak business hours for the bookstore, and it was packed with people.

Chen Shouyi followed the signs and quickly found what he was looking for.

"Chen Shouyi, you're here too?"

"Class Monitor, what a coincidence. You're interested in books about the Otherworld too?"

Chen Shouyi turned and saw Zhang Xiaoyue, their class monitor.

She had a slender, delicate build, small eyes with a hint of youthful charm, and wore a white T-shirt with a short skirt—white legs, a slim waist, and a full chest.

Come to think of it, Chen Shouyi had secretly watched her several times before—in the Memory Space, of course.

"Yeah, I heard there are mysterious creatures there. Besides Barbarians, there are giants as tall as mountains. Haven't you watched War of the Gods?"

This was the second time Chen Shouyi had heard someone mention that show. It really was popular.

"No, I've been busy studying. I'm not like you, Class Monitor, who can easily get first or second place. I have to fly early, even if I'm slow," Chen Shouyi said.

If this were before, facing Zhang Xiaoyue would have made him blush with nervousness or his heart race. But maybe because he'd seen her so often in the Memory Space, he was surprisingly calm and natural.

Zhang Xiaoyue covered her mouth and laughed, her moist, beautiful eyes gently watching Chen Shouyi.

"I've noticed you've changed a lot. You never used to talk before."

"Maybe I'm just low-key."

As they spoke, a commotion suddenly stirred in the crowd. Chen Shouyi turned to look and saw a disheveled, unkempt man frantically stuffing books from the shelves into a bag made from what looked like a bedsheet. Everyone around him was giving him a wide berth.

He seemed alert and very anxious.

He kept glancing left and right, baring his teeth like a nervous wreck whenever someone got close.

Chen Shouyi's first thought was that the guy was robbing the place.

Both his behavior and mental state were nothing like a normal customer buying books.

But soon, he sensed something was off. After all, no one with a sound mind would rob a bookstore.

If you had that kind of nerve, you'd just go straight to the cash register.

The man's T-shirt was actually clean—he'd just put it on backward, with the tag clearly visible at the collar.

Beyond that, Chen Shouyi was surprised to find the man was extremely handsome. Even the grime on his face couldn't hide it, especially his pitch-black eyes, which radiated a captivating charm.

Chen Shouyi had seen plenty of pretty boys on TV and the internet, but he'd never seen a man with such perfect features.

Perfect, like someone who'd stepped out of a painting.

It felt unreal.

How could someone like that exist in real life?

More and more people gathered around. Many seemed to notice his striking looks and were secretly filming him with their phones.

But that only made him more nervous.

A low, beast-like growl rumbled from his throat, as if in warning.

Then the security guard finally arrived.

"Sir, please don't damage the books. Stop what you're doing and come with me to the security office."

The mysterious man's hand froze, and books clattered to the floor.

Maybe it was the uniform that scared him. The man began to tremble slightly.

Yet for some reason, a chill ran down Chen Shouyi's spine, like falling into an ice cellar, as if he were facing a ferocious beast.

"There's something wrong with this guy. Let's go!" Chen Shouyi felt something was off, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He tugged Zhang Xiaoyue and said quickly.

Zhang Xiaoyue was a bit stunned, but she still decided to follow Chen Shouyi.

She had only taken a few steps, however, when an accident occurred.

A dull thump rang out, accompanied by the eerie snap of breaking sugarcane. Then, he felt as if it were raining down on his head.

Chen Shouyi wiped his face and was horrified to find his hand covered in blood. He couldn't help but look back.

He saw the security guard from before, now hanging limp on the bookshelf, completely motionless.

Bright red blood streamed down his pant legs, pooling on the floor.

The crowd went silent for a moment, then a scream erupted, and people began to flee in all directions.

A chill shot through Chen Shouyi, his hair standing on end. He quickly grabbed the dazed Zhang Xiaoyue and ran with the flow of the crowd.

Behind them came the man's roar—a beast-like howl, so loud it was like a thunderclap. Even Chen Shouyi, more than ten meters away, felt his ears ringing.

Then the man's tone shifted, rising and falling with fierce anger. He seemed to be cursing loudly in some mysterious language.

"Barbarian, it's a Barbarian!" someone in the crowd shouted in terror.

That shout only made the panic worse. Some people were pushed to the ground, and soon countless feet trampled over them. They never got up again.

Luckily, Chen Shouyi was strong and kept a tight grip on Zhang Xiaoyue, so neither of them was knocked down by the crowd.

Another bang exploded behind them, a chilling sound.

Wood splinters and torn book pages flew through the air, mixed with specks of blood and flesh.

The Barbarian seemed to be going berserk. He roared and began attacking the crowd wildly.

As a creature living under three times Earth's gravity, his strength was terrifying. Every attack sent a shockwave through the air.

Fragile human bodies were torn apart under such blows, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Chen Shouyi even saw a length of intestine hanging on the head of the person in front of him, but the man didn't notice, pushing desperately into the crowd with a look of sheer terror.

Luckily, they were on the first floor of the bookstore, only a few dozen meters from the entrance. Half a minute later, he and Zhang Xiaoyue were squeezed out the door with the crowd.

"How could there be a Barbarian in the bookstore?" Zhang Xiaoyue said, her face pale and her expression panicked.

Chen Shouyi let out a breath of relief. "Don't worry about that now. Let's get out of here first."

This Barbarian didn't look much like a human. His features were rougher, and perhaps due to gravity, most Barbarians were short and stocky. But this one had clearly used supernatural means to alter his appearance.

There was no doubt he had come with a specific purpose—maybe to study Earth's knowledge, maybe to gather intelligence.

Either way, he was no ordinary Barbarian.

But before he could finish speaking, a deafening boom rang out, and cracks spread across the bookstore wall.

The next moment, with a crash, the entire wall blew open, dust and debris flying everywhere.

Through the thick dust, a figure charged out of the bookstore.