Chen An Was Different!

At the county academy!

A familiar call rang out. Chen An abruptly halted, then turned his head toward the sound.

Not far away, Shen Qinglan stood by the roadside, waving vigorously at him, her eyes and brows brimming with excitement.

At the same time, Chen An's gaze shifted slightly, and he noticed an unfamiliar young woman standing beside Shen Qinglan.

The young woman was exquisitely beautiful, her looks no less striking than Shen Qinglan's. She was even taller, standing nearly half a head above Shen Qinglan and almost matching Chen An in height.

Her plain white silk robes accentuated her tall, straight figure. Her temperament was cool and aloof, her brows carrying an innate air of keeping strangers at arm's length. Standing there quietly, she was like pure snow in an empty mountain—elegant and untouched by dust, impossible to ignore.

"Chen An, what are you doing here?!"

Shen Qinglan walked over and gave Chen An a once-over, a flicker of surprise crossing her pretty face.

"Instructor Liu from our class asked me to come over to discuss something. Why did you come to the county academy?!" Chen An explained casually, then asked.

"I brought a friend over!"

Hearing that, Shen Qinglan did not press further. She merely assumed Liu Zhixing had asked someone to notify him about the joint examination of the five prefectures. Then she introduced them, "Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is Pei Yunshu from the affiliated county academy of Chengtian Prefecture Academy. Yunshu, this is—"

"No need for introductions. This is that childhood friend you talk about every day—Chen An, right?!" Before Shen Qinglan could finish, the cool-tempered Pei Yunshu spoke first.

"What childhood friend? We're brothers! Chen An and I share nothing but pure brotherly affection! And when have I ever talked about him every day?!" Shen Qinglan's face immediately grew a little awkward at Pei Yunshu's words. A faint flush rose at her ears as she shot her a feignedly annoyed glare.

Pei Yunshu did not pursue the subject, turning a blind eye to Shen Qinglan's irritation as she coolly sized Chen An up.

The young man stood tall and straight, his features handsome and refined, his bearing steady and tranquil. Even dressed in simple white robes, he gave off a faint sense of standing like a deep pool and lofty mountain, unshaken by favor or disgrace.

A trace of appreciation silently flashed through Pei Yunshu's eyes, only to turn into faint regret in the next instant.

In the end, he was merely a student of an ordinary county academy. So what if his temperament was exceptional?!

Being good-looking did not improve one's cultivation!

She remembered Shen Qinglan mentioning that this Chen An's martial bones were only mid-grade, while his cultivation was merely at the second level of Qi Condensation.

"Pei Yunshu." Pei Yunshu gave Chen An a slight nod with her cool expression.

"Hello. I'm Chen An. Welcome to Wurong County."

Chen An nodded slightly. He could also tell that although Pei Yunshu appeared cool and detached, there was an underlying arrogance in her eyes. The way she looked at him carried a faint trace of disdain and indifference.

Thus, Chen An had no intention of making himself unwelcome. He looked at Shen Qinglan and waved. "Then I won't disturb you two. I'll be leaving first!"

With that, Chen An turned and continued toward the county academy's library tower.

Watching Chen An's receding figure, Shen Qinglan could not help knitting her brows slightly. She turned to Pei Yunshu beside her, shook her head, and said helplessly, "Yunshu, your personality really hasn't changed at all!"

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author—it may simply have been renamed!

"He may be your childhood friend, but he isn't mine."

Pei Yunshu remained cool and detached. She glanced at Shen Qinglan, then turned her gaze toward an osmanthus branch blooming nearby. "I'm not like you. There are countless handsome men in this world, but only the martial path is the foundation of one's standing. If someone wants me to view him differently, then at the very least, his martial bones and cultivation must surpass mine!"

"What do you mean, not like me? Hey, do you think I'm the kind of person who gets carried away by a pretty face?!"

Shen Qinglan's pretty face reddened. Both angry and flustered, she glared at Pei Yunshu, her little mouth pouting slightly. "Chen An is different!"

"Yes, yes, I know. Didn't you grow up together? And didn't he save you when you were little?!" Seeing Shen Qinglan's embarrassed and angry look, a faint teasing smile suddenly appeared in Pei Yunshu's cool eyes. Her tone was laced with amusement.

Shen Qinglan had been struck right in the heart by that long-buried memory. Her ears instantly flushed crimson, and her cheeks burned so fiercely that she could no longer maintain her composure.

Her beautiful eyes widened as she stomped her foot in bashful anger, immediately pouncing toward Pei Yunshu as she shouted indignantly, "Pei Yunshu, you've gone too far! You're dead meat! Today, I'm tearing that mouth of yours apart!"

Pei Yunshu had long been prepared. She lightly sidestepped out of the way, a faint smile playing on her lips as she deliberately teased her at an unhurried pace. "Oh? Embarrassed into anger already? I was only telling the truth!"

"You're still talking? Stand right there!"

"Hehe...

Pei Yunshu let out a light laugh, nimbly dodging about. Her cool, ethereal bearing was now touched with a hint of a young girl's playfulness.

For a time, the two exceptional beauties, each with her own distinct temperament, chased and frolicked outside the county academy gates. Their laughter was crisp and melodious, and passing students stopped to stare, dumbfounded.

Naturally, Chen An, who was steadily walking farther away, knew nothing of the idle chatter, teasing, and playful scuffling between the two women behind him over him.

The county academy's library tower had five floors. The first floor contained all kinds of miscellanies, ancient texts, local chronicles, and various works on classics and history—leisurely miscellaneous books for students to broaden their horizons and read extensively.

The second floor housed basic cultivation techniques ranging from low-grade to top-grade Yellow rank, as well as ordinary martial skills. It was specifically for beginner students to study as they entered the path, laying a solid foundation for martial cultivation.

The third floor stored books on various auxiliary disciplines, such as medicine, alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and talismans. It encompassed countless miscellaneous arts and secret techniques, and any student interested in cultivating a secondary profession could come here to browse and study.

As for the fourth and fifth floors, they were said to contain cultivation techniques and martial skills from low-grade to top-grade Profound rank, cultivation notes left behind by martial experts, and even fragmentary chapters of Earth-rank cultivation techniques and martial skills.

Chen An was not particularly interested in Profound-rank techniques or the cultivation notes of martial experts.

However, he was extremely interested in the legendary fragmentary chapters of Earth-rank cultivation techniques and martial skills.

Unfortunately, students could only enter the fourth and fifth floors after earning significant merit and receiving approval from the county academy's instructors, as well as authorization from the elder in charge of studies or the academic supervisor.

With his current status, he naturally could not go up there.

Of course, with his present strength, if he truly wished to force his way in, the guards in the library tower would certainly be unable to stop him.

His gaze flickered. Chen An shook his head, suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind. He then entered the library tower and slowly walked toward a quiet corner deep within the first floor, where miscellaneous ancient texts were kept.

He had come to the library tower this time not for ordinary cultivation techniques or martial skills. Rather, he vaguely recalled from his previous memories that his former self had once found, among the piles of ancient books on this floor, a rare lone copy that vaguely recorded matters concerning martial intent.

Now that he had already touched the threshold of martial intent and was in need of relevant theory, he had happened to come to the county academy this time, so he could look for that ancient book and learn about the realms that came after martial intent...