Why Aren't You Yang Jian?

At the gates of Seventh Middle School, Zhang Wei's eyes darted about when he heard that Ye Zhen wanted to take him on as a lackey.

As an old hand who had spent years hanging around internet cafés, he excelled at seizing an opening.

He slung an arm around Ye Zhen's shoulders and spoke with earnest concern.

"Oh, come on. You're thinking too small!"

"What's this talk about lackeys? That just hurts our friendship! We hit it off at first sight-we're kindred spirits!"

Zhang Wei patted his chest and made a proposal with an air of brotherly loyalty.

"How about this? We'll each use our own terms!"

"In public, I'll call you Big Brother, to give you the prestige that Dahai City's number one deserves."

"In private, you call me Brother Wei, to show your respect for a brother! Big Brother respects Brother Wei, and neither of us loses out. Isn't that logic rock solid?"

Ye Zhen froze, his mind sinking into deep thought.

"You call me Big Brother? I call you Brother Wei? Big Brother... Brother Wei... Hmm?"

Ye Zhen mulled over the two names again and again, his eyes gradually lighting up.

"There seems to be a mysterious rhythm to it, like some ancient pact. Excellent!"

"As expected of someone who associates with Yang Jian. I approve!"

Zhang Wei was inwardly ecstatic, but his face wore the expression of a loyal brother.

"Sure thing, Big Brother! Now, Big Brother, your Brother Wei's been a little short on cash lately, and there's this limited-edition figurine..."

Ye Zhen waved a hand grandly. "Don't worry, Brother Wei! Since we're brothers, I'll have someone send you a whole crate right away! Any character you want!"

Ye Zhen threw his head back and laughed, his laughter echoing across the empty school entrance.

Standing beside them, Yang Jian watched the two clowns and felt his temples throbbing.

He shook his head, somewhat speechless, but on second thought, this wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Ye Zhen might not have been quite right in the head, but he was fiercely protective of his own and immensely powerful.

Yang Jian had too much to deal with next to protect Zhang Wei at every moment. If Ye Zhen, Dahai City's biggest idler, truly treated Zhang Wei as a brother, Zhang Wei's safety would actually be assured.

Yang Jian turned toward Wang Shanshan and the few other remaining classmates, his voice returning to its usual coldness.

"Go home for now. You saw what happened today. Ghosts really do exist in this world. Be careful when you go out from now on. Call me if you run into trouble, and I'll do my best to save you."

Wang Shanshan hesitated, wanting to say something. She looked at Yang Jian's face, which had already become somewhat unfamiliar to her, but finally gave only a quiet acknowledgment before turning to leave.

The others quickly fled this place of nightmares as well.

Yang Jian looked at Ye Zhen and said flatly, "Use your ghost domain to get us back to central Dachang City."

Ye Zhen was about to show off out of habit when he caught sight of Yang Jian's arm from the corner of his eye.

The flesh on Yang Jian's arm was twisting violently, and the fourth Ghost Eye seemed about to tear through his skin and open of its own accord.

In the reflection in the pool of blood, the black vicious dog had its teeth clamped firmly around the restless Ghost Eye, trying to force it back into submission.

This was a sign of a ghost's reawakening.

Ye Zhen let Yang Jian save face and laughed heartily. "No problem! You only said that because my ghost domain is definitely faster than yours, right? Watch this!"

As his words fell, a dazzling burst of golden light exploded outward, instantly covering half the city.

It took only the space of a single breath.

Everyone's vision blurred. When they looked again, they were already standing in the top-floor hall of the Paranormal Forum's headquarters in Dachang City.

Ning Rongrong stood rooted to the spot, as though struck by lightning.

She hadn't even felt any fluctuation of soul power or any sensation of space tearing apart, yet they had crossed half the city just like that?

"If he wanted to kill me, I wouldn't be able to resist at all!"

Ning Rongrong's face turned deathly pale, and her fear of this world once again soared to its peak.

On the Douluo Continent, before the Sky Screen.

"What kind of domain ability is this? How can it spread that far?"

Inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Xue Ye abruptly rose to his feet, his eyes filled with horror.

The teleportation they had seen Yang Jian perform earlier had mostly been over short distances, and similar soul skills existed on the Douluo Continent.

But this flash of golden light had enveloped most of a city and crossed dozens of miles in an instant. It simply exceeded their imagination!

"If that domain were unleashed in our world, it would be enough to cover half an empire!" a Red Bishop said in a trembling voice.

At Shrek Academy.

Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

Xiao Wu possessed a teleportation soul skill, but she knew perfectly well that even if she cultivated to the rank of Titled Douluo, she could never teleport so many people over such a great distance.

"This isn't a soul skill at all. It's absolute control over the laws of space."

Tang San clenched his fists tightly, the desire to become stronger growing ever more frenzied within him.

On the screen, Ye Zhen withdrew his ghost domain. Rather than showing off again, he led Yang Jian toward the elevator, preparing to go to the top floor to meet Lin Cheng.

Only Zhang Wei and Ning Rongrong remained in the downstairs hall.

The hall was spacious and luxurious, yet so deserted that there wasn't another soul in sight.

Zhang Wei casually dropped onto a leather sofa and crossed his legs.

Ning Rongrong looked around in bewilderment.

The reinforced-concrete building, bright floor-to-ceiling windows, and thoroughly modern furniture were all completely beyond her understanding.

Seeing the pretty girl standing there in a daze, Zhang Wei chuckled to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"Hey, girl, I think my room might be haunted."

Ning Rongrong froze. "Is there danger?"

With a thoroughly serious expression, Zhang Wei said ruefully,

"Whenever I sit down at my desk to do some serious reading, before long I find myself lying in bed looking at my phone, with a bunch of crumpled tissues under the bed. Isn't that terrifying?"

Ning Rongrong was utterly confused. Phones? Lying in bed? She couldn't understand any of it.

The viewers on the Douluo Continent were also stunned.

"What is he saying? Could this be some sort of profound code?"

Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows and offered his self-important analysis.

"Listen carefully, everyone! These terms may be strange, but they must contain some truth about becoming stronger!"

"This could be some ancient incantation or a riddle for overcoming supernatural phenomena!"

"The answer must be a way to grow stronger. We have to record it and spare no effort in deciphering it!"

Watching Yu Xiaogang's crazed behavior from the shadows, Tang Hao silently pulled Tang San back a few steps, putting some distance between them and this madman.

At that moment, however, Ning Rongrong had no interest in listening to Zhang Wei's nonsense.

She could feel the Sheepskin Paper inside her Storage Soul Tool pulsing faintly.

Ning Rongrong felt guilty, terrified that Zhang Wei would notice.

Clutching her stomach, she said awkwardly, "Um, I'd like to use the outhouse."

Zhang Wei paused. Looking at Ning Rongrong's gorgeous princess dress, he thought, She looks like a fairy, so why does she talk like a farm girl?

"The outhouse? Oh, the restroom's over there." Zhang Wei casually pointed in a direction.

Ning Rongrong hurried toward the restroom in a panic.

Zhang Wei called after her, "Do you know where the restroom is?"

Ning Rongrong paused, then hurriedly waved a hand. "I'll look for it!"

She rushed into the restroom, locked the door, and took the Sheepskin Paper out of her storage pouch with trembling hands.

Lines of dark red blood slowly began appearing on the previously blank paper.

[My name is Yang Jian. By the time you read this letter, I will already be dead...]

At that point, the writing suddenly came to an eerie pause.

Then the entire Sheepskin Paper began trembling violently, and a line of bloody words bursting with resentment abruptly appeared:

[Why aren't you Yang Jian...]