Xu Yuyu stared in surprise at a piece of white paper that had fallen from an ancient book in her hands. It looked like a manuscript.

"What is this?"

Wang Zhan was quick to react, quietly taking the manuscript into his own hands.

Aside from its unusual texture, with a smooth surface that seemed to have a faint grain, it was entirely blank, with no writing or markings of any kind.

"I'm not quite sure..."

Xu Yuyu hesitated; she genuinely hadn't seen anything like this here before.

Quickly, she flicked through the ancient book in her hands again but still found no indication of where the paper might have come from; there were no tears or creases.

It didn't look like a page from an ancient book, but rather something that had been casually slipped inside.

Could this be a so-called destined opportunity? Xu Yuyu wondered curiously, looking at Wang Zhan with a hint of hopeful expectation in her eyes.

"Can't you sense anything?"

She was only a Martial Student and didn't possess mental energy yet. The only hope for unraveling the secret of this manuscript lay with Wang Zhan.

One should know that the Book Collection Pavilion was no ordinary place; opportunities abounded here.

It was often said that even a pile of dog droppings, if placed in the Book Collection Pavilion, would become dog droppings imbued with opportunity.

Everything that happened here was spontaneous, but the Martial Ancestor Uncle guarding the Book Collection Pavilion's gates wouldn't let anyone casually bring things in; it had to occur naturally.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuyu's curiosity intensified, like a cat persistently scratching at her heart, desperately encouraging her to lift the leaf obscuring her view.

Wang Zhan focused, trying to sense anything different, but for now, he couldn't detect anything unusual except for the material.

"Hmm? The material..."

Wang Zhan suddenly had an epiphany.

This fine, soft material felt familiar to him, like something everyone possessed, though he'd overlooked it and hadn't recalled it immediately.

At this thought, Wang Zhan suddenly felt the pores all over his body tighten, and his heart trembled slightly.

Damn, this couldn't have been peeled off someone by some old demon after harming them, could it? This doesn't feel like anything good, Wang Zhan thought, growing more cautious after his experience in the Jing State Wilderness Area. Of course, one could also say I'm just afraid of dying.

But when he saw Xu Yuyu's clear, bright eyes—which usually held a hint of strangeness but today were filled entirely with curiosity—he found he didn't want to refuse.

Coupled with the complications from that school of Mental Power Technique, Wang Zhan suddenly changed his tune and said with a slight smile,

"Alright, I'll give it a try, but it might take some time."

SMACK!

As he finished speaking, a hand viciously slapped him across the face. Xu Yuyu was dumbfounded.

"You... What are you doing?"

How terrifying! When this guy acts foolish, does he really hit himself without feeling even a shred of pain?

Wang Zhan's expression was a bit twisted and stiff.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, don't worry. I... My hand was just itching. Wait a moment, I'll withdraw all my mental energy and see."

SMACK!

Damn it! Why the hell did you hit me?!

Wang Zhan stared intently at his right hand, fury rising in his heart, and thought viciously,

If you dare hit me again, believe it or not, when I get ruthless, I'll even drag myself down with you to mutual destruction!

All curiosity vanished from Xu Yuyu's face; trembling slightly, she involuntarily retreated a little.

Wang Zhan is so scary!

Could it be that he's so strong, and his cultivation has advanced so rapidly, because he doesn't go easy on himself even when hitting himself?

She thought for a moment and decided to try it herself.

"OUCH!"

Wang Zhan's eyes widened. He saw a fool pinching her own arm until it turned dark, her eyes brimming with tears.

He immediately asked, bewildered,

"What are you doing?"

The aggrieved Xu Yuyu was too embarrassed to explain. She could only try to console herself stoically before responding to Wang Zhan,

"I... I just became a Martial Student and didn't know if pinching myself would hurt, so I deliberately tried it just now. Turns out it really hurts!"

Wang Zhan pursed his lips.

"What a big fool!"

"..."

You're the fool! Your whole family are fools!

It was clearly you who set a bad example for me, okay! Besides, who knew pinching an arm would hurt this much?

Xu Yuyu glanced at her arm, on the verge of tears. It was already bruised.

「 」

Once Wang Zhan had withdrawn all his mental energy, he immediately held his breath and calmed his spirit, impervious to any external disturbances.

A continuous stream of azure, illusory mental energy began to flow out from his body with each breath, extending towards the surface of the manuscript.

Like an eggshell, or a transparent film, it somewhat arduously enveloped the manuscript, suspending it in mid-air. It might have looked simple, but ensuring not a drop leaked was the most difficult part.

Therefore, behind Wang Zhan's outwardly calm and composed demeanor, the first bead of sweat had already fallen.

However, Xu Yuyu didn't see this.

She merely watched Wang Zhan's current appearance with admiration and envy, murmuring,

"When will I ever become this powerful..."

After all, Wang Zhan's presentation was quite impressive: his whole body shimmered with an azure light, reflecting the surrounding Heaven and Earth, the space, the bookshelves, and the ancient books, making him look dreamlike and fantastical.

But Wang Zhan wasn't listening, nor could he hear anything at all.

At this moment, the task he was performing was to meticulously permeate his mental energy, drop by drop, into all the pores, large and small, of the manuscript.

He hadn't noticed them when holding it earlier, but after sensing with his mental energy, he clearly perceived countless uniformly sized pores on its surface.

It was a misfortune within a stroke of luck; Wang Zhan's ill-omened words had once again correctly pointed him in the right direction.

A Human skin manuscript!

To think there are actually such deranged people in this world! It's simply unimaginable, so savage and cruel.

Wang Zhan did his utmost to suppress his discomfort and continued to push forward.

One second, two seconds; one quarter-hour, two quarter-hours; one hour, two hours... passed until even Xu Yuyu began to feel somewhat bored.

Wang Zhan finally, as he had wished, successfully found the manuscript's breakthrough point: a pore located on the manuscript, behind which seemed to lie a whole new world.

「 」

BOOM!

A violent roar suddenly echoed in Wang Zhan's mind.

Immediately, a tall yet slender back appeared before Wang Zhan, exuding an air of great age and experience, his feet upon the vast void.

"You've arrived!..."

The voice, like a lingering echo, resonated endlessly in his ears.

"I've arrived..."

Wang Zhan replied involuntarily, only to suddenly realize that the back before him possessed no consciousness whatsoever.

It was just a silhouette, an imprint, the remnant of an old, long-dead being, deceased for who knew how many years.

Inexplicably, Wang Zhan felt a sense of desolation, but this was clearly not his own feeling; rather, it emanated from the phantom before him.

But even though the phantom's mood seemed somber, in Wang Zhan's perception, its tone remained carefree and unperturbed. Perhaps this is the confidence that comes with strength, Wang Zhan mused.

"...It seems I am already dead, but that doesn't matter. Even one failure cannot prove this path is unviable. So, lad, would you like to try putting something fun inside your mind?"

Wang Zhan's heart tensed. Indeed, an old ghost with ill intentions! But before he could react...

The next moment, a sharp, heart-piercing gaze abruptly appeared in Wang Zhan's mind, accompanied by endless heat and pain that caused azure wisps of smoke to rise from his head.

"AHHH!!!"

He screamed wretchedly.

An ordinary person might have mistaken this for a sign of a great leap in power. But Wang Zhan could clearly feel this gaze dissolving all his senses.

His body grew numb, his thoughts became muddled, and at times he even felt he was no longer himself, but a lone, tormented soul, endlessly scorched in a raging inferno.

A sudden, unexpected change occurred.

「 」

Outside, in the Book Collection Pavilion.

Wang Zhan had become entirely numb and silent. Smoke rose from the top of his head, his face was contorted, and blue veins bulged prominently on his skin.

The brilliant, dazzling specks of azure light spots that still lingered in the outside world quietly dissipated like mist, signifying that Wang Zhan had fallen into a completely disadvantageous position and was being suppressed.

"Wang Zhan, Wang Zhan!"

Although she didn't understand what Wang Zhan was experiencing, Xu Yuyu was so frightened she almost burst into tears.

How terrifying!

That "chuunibyou" youth, who had spouted countless strange remarks along the way yet thoroughly enjoyed entertaining himself, had at this moment transformed into something akin to a ferocious demon.

Though there was no sound, it was more potent than any scream—an atmosphere of pain, struggle, suppression, and unbearable suffering.

The bulging veins on Wang Zhan's face, the blood-red shadows that flitted across them like Gu-insects, and that contorted face, struggling and lost, unable to find release—all allowed Xu Yuyu to feel his pain.

Just as she was about to step forward to check on Wang Zhan's condition,

BOOM.

An old man, exuding an overwhelming aura like raging flames and seeming like a giant propping up the sky, suddenly appeared before the two, directly blocking Xu Yuyu's path.

The old man looked at Wang Zhan with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice,

"Retreat!"

"Martial Granduncle!..."

Xu Yuyu cried out urgently, her face filled with concern and unease.

Elder He, whose build was strikingly similar to the old man's, though she possessed the added charm and grace of a mature beauty, appeared just in time. Without much explanation to Xu Yuyu, she simply grabbed her shoulder and pulled her desperately backward.

"This is not something you can interfere in, nor can you save him! Just wait. Don't cause more trouble."

It wasn't that Elder He couldn't see Xu Yuyu's affection for Wang Zhan, but as Martial Artists, as men and women of the mortal world, love itself was often an unattainable aspiration.

If one overestimated their capabilities, they were destined to harm both others and themselves.

"Grandma, will Wang Zhan be alright?"

A stream of clear tears trickled down Xu Yuyu's cheek, not for any other reason than the kind sentiment born from their acquaintance and mutual understanding.

Elder He shook her head.

"I don't know. If Martial Uncle can suppress it, Wang Zhan will naturally be unharmed. If he cannot, then that is his fate."

She recalled how, back then, countless individuals had gone berserk striving for further advancement. Though their achievements were profound, they were powerless to reverse their fate.

How could Wang Zhan be an exception?

「 」

Meanwhile, Old Master Zao stared gravely at Wang Zhan's current state. His gaze also fell upon the manuscript lying on the ground.

Human skin...

His expression shifted slightly, as if he had recalled something. Instantly, he extended a finger, aiming to tap the point between Wang Zhan's eyebrows.

"Get out!"

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