The Blonde Girl in the Library

In the blink of an eye, another half year had passed.

Over those six months, Wang Zhao's soul power had reached level 5. To ordinary people, gaining three levels in half a year was absurdly fast. In truth, it was the combined result of Bibi Dong pouring resources into him and the fact that Soul Masters generally advanced more quickly before level 10.

Had it been someone with higher Innate Soul Power, such as the future Huo Gua, such a pile of resources would have kept him from suffering childhood malnutrition and having to wait until age eleven to obtain his First Soul Ring.

Of course, for a Soul Master like Wang Zhao, who had been born with only half a level of soul power, such progress was already exceedingly rare. In this era, there had only been two such cases.

The last talentless person to receive such an investment of resources had been the young clan master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Xiaogang.

The sun sank behind the western hills, and dusky golden light spilled across the courtyard.

Bibi Dong sat on a stone stool, propping her chin on an arm resting against the stone table as she watched Die and Wang Zhao spar not far away with great interest.

The two tacitly refrained from using soul power, relying solely on close-quarters combat. Fists, elbows, feet, knees—their every movement was sharp and ruthless. These were all techniques Bibi Dong had taught Wang Zhao during her spare time over the past six months.

Under the guidance of this "God of Slaughter," Wang Zhao had improved rapidly as well. Aside from not yet having experienced much real combat, his fierce posture alone already showed hints of genuine skill.

Before long, however, Wang Zhao was subdued by Die.

After all, there was a gap between them in physical ability and practical combat experience. It was already impressive that Wang Zhao had managed to exchange so many moves with Die.

Wang Zhao then walked over to the stone stool beside Bibi Dong and sat down to rest, while Die calmly stepped into a patch of shadow and concealed herself once more.

"Sister Dong'er, what do you think?"

Wang Zhao looked at Bibi Dong with an innocent smile, his expression clearly asking for praise.

"Barely acceptable."

Bibi Dong glanced at Wang Zhao before tossing him a booklet.

"This is...?"

Wang Zhao opened the booklet, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Seeing his reaction, Bibi Dong shook her head and asked curiously, "Didn't you ask me before if I knew anyone familiar with rare flowers and exotic herbs? I requested this from an elder of Spirit Hall. It seems to be called the Immortal Herb Catalog. I've looked through it. According to that elder, the so-called immortal herbs in it are elusive to the point of being nearly legendary. I really don't know what use you have for something like this."

"Just something to remember them by. After all, if these immortal herbs recorded in the book truly possess such effects, they would absolutely qualify as peerless treasures."

Wang Zhao chuckled and gave Bibi Dong an ambiguous answer.

"I advise you not to devote too much thought to it. If divine objects like immortal herbs, capable of defying fate itself, truly existed, then the number one item on the continent's Soul Master dream list wouldn't be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."

Bibi Dong still did not take it very seriously.

After all, if even a transcendent millennia-old power like Spirit Hall knew nothing about them, she found it difficult to imagine that they truly existed.

Wang Zhao said nothing more.

After checking the sky, he ran into his room to change into his Library work uniform. Once he had said goodbye to Bibi Dong, he headed out again.

Bibi Dong knew Wang Zhao was going to work at the Library—or rather, to read. She merely rested her chin on her hand and quietly watched him leave, her beautiful eyes shifting as though she were lost in thought.

Upon arriving at the Library within Spirit Academy, Wang Zhao expertly greeted the old man lounging in a reclining chair by the entrance before entering to organize the books piled atop the front desk.

After spending roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick finishing the miscellaneous tasks, Wang Zhao took a book, found a quiet corner, and sat down to read it attentively.

The Library was fairly quiet in the evening. Many people were having dinner at this time, which suited Wang Zhao perfectly, since no one would come over and curiously disturb a six-and-a-half-year-old child like him.

Figures occasionally passed through the vast Library, but no one noticed a grandfather and granddaughter seated in its brightly lit, spacious central area. Both had golden hair and blue eyes. The grandfather was broad and imposing, his stern face touched with kindness, while the granddaughter was delicate and lovely, her large, bright eyes occasionally following the passing people.

"Grandpa, look, that guy is here again."

The blonde girl suddenly pointed toward a quiet corner and puffed out her cheeks.

"It's bad enough that you won't let me go to school. Now that I've finally met a kid around my age here, you won't even let me go play with him?"

"Hehe, he's concentrating on reading. We can't disturb him. Xue'er, you ought to learn from him."

The grandfather, who looked like a middle-aged man, glanced at the book in his granddaughter's hands, which had already been tilted hopelessly crooked. He smiled indulgently, then followed the blonde girl's finger to see Wang Zhao sitting in the distance. Inwardly, he could only shake his head and sigh at the pity of it.

He and his granddaughter often concealed themselves in the Library to read, so they saw Wang Zhao diligently turning through one book after another nearly every day.

With his cultivation, he could easily see through Wang Zhao's true condition. Though he did not know precisely what his Martial Soul was, its general attribute type and even certain deeper aspects were no secret before his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, which possessed the ultimate attributes of light and fire.

In his view, Wang Zhao's Martial Soul talent was difficult to describe. If he could undergo a miraculous transformation, then given his age and Martial Soul attributes, he might be a suitable match for his granddaughter. Perhaps the two might even have a chance to perform a Divine Level Martial Soul Fusion Skill in the future.

Unfortunately, a miracle was called a miracle precisely because it was not something one could easily encounter.

Judging only by the child's current talent, he was far from worthy of Xue'er. If they were forcibly brought together, then with his life experience, he could already foresee the conflicts that would arise in the future.

It was better, then, to nip the problem in the bud and prevent a tragedy that was destined to happen.

The blonde middle-aged man did not dwell on it further. He straightened the book in the girl's hands and was about to offer some instruction when he suddenly received an almost imperceptible thread of transmitted sound.

His expression changed slightly before quickly returning to normal. He gently patted his granddaughter's head and told her to stay here without moving while he went out to handle something.

The light in this area had long been distorted by him. Unless a Super Douluo personally came to investigate, or his precious granddaughter chose to leave this area herself, no one would notice anything unusual here.

Hearing this, the blonde girl's eyes rolled around as though she were plotting something. On the surface, she obediently nodded at her grandfather, then pretended to focus on the book in her hands.

The blonde middle-aged man did not think much of it. With a flash, he vanished.

Not long afterward, the girl stopped turning pages. She quietly lifted her head and looked around with slight nervousness. Only then did she stand, press her lips together in a secretive smile, and carefully make her way toward Wang Zhao.

After all these days, I've finally found a chance to have a proper chat with you...

Heh heh heh.

At that moment, though Wang Zhao's gaze rested on the pages, his thoughts had drifted elsewhere. He had no idea that a blonde girl had already crept up beside him, bent down slightly, and begun studying his expression.

"Hey."

The girl suddenly nudged his shoulder with her elbow.

Without even raising his head, Wang Zhao's eyes sharpened, and he instinctively threw an elbow strike...