Horned Sheep Beast

Xiao Yan was unsure how to answer Shen Xiu's weird actions. Instead, he patted his head lightly to calm himself.

Then, as he was about to voiced out his bet, a sound rang out.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Shen Xiu moaned in frustration and took a step back. There was a desperate, harried look on her face, which only made Xiao Yan smile in a timid manner.

"To think you're actually happy that you were saved by the bell, hmph!"

Shen Xiu swiftly departed the classroom.

As he watched the retreating Shen Xiu, Xiao Yan let himself sigh, in a way that suggested he was thoroughly exhausted. Once she left the classroom, Xiao Yan groaned painfully:

"...Oh, what have I done? It was supposed to be a silly joke… If I'd known I wouldn't have done it. I've… I've soiled the story…"

When he thought about it, there was only one reason why Shen Xiu would react like she had.

It must have been when she saw the details about him, indicating, "Xiao Yan: indigo soul realm, current soul force 1000, strength 312."

That must have been why she acted that way.

"...Ah… shit!"

Xiao Yan muttered to himself, thinking about how he had carelessly messed the story.

The knowledge that he had ruined the story made him feel miserable.

However, the frowning Xiao Yan, although it could not be seen because he was hiding it, eventually walked toward the door exit.

Xiao Yan told himself that he had to leave this at the back of his mind. After the important things were taken care of, he could agonize over it later.

❄ ❄ ❄

Xiao Yan looked around, there he spotted Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao. The trio's must have been thinking on how to reach Bronze rank in the upcoming test, two months from now...

Xiao Yan then slowly trod over to the trio, closing the distance between them, and halted.

"Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao, is it?"

Xiao Yan spoke the name of the trio.

He was addressing the future powerhouses of Glory City, Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao. One was vengeful, the other was loyal and hardworking, while one was lazy.

The trio stopped their discussion. Then, with a smile, they greeted Xiao Yan.

"Oh... Xiao Yan?"

The greeting was filled with respect that it felt virtuous. To Xiao Yan, this gesture allowed him to loosen up. Being too uptight and scary was quite troublesome for Xiao Yan, who was not experienced with this sort of thing.

He could not detect any hostility on their faces, and his scrutinizing revealed nothing.

"So... what's the plan?"

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's question, Nie Li and the two other blinked in surprise, as though they had realized some great truth and stared at him. Nie Li then said upwardly:

"Yes! Just now, we were discussing on how to refine our soul force."

"I see… speaking of which, our first move would be…"

"We just need a lot of demon spirit coins!"

"Is that so… how can we earn all that?"

Xiao Yan's tone showed he did not know what to do. After all, he only got the knowledge, but had no real life experience on earning money in this world.

"Well, we need to buy some Black Pool Grass, Zoysia Grass, crossbows, and crossbow bolts first… then meet at the school's training ground, Xiao Yan. Are you okay with this?"

"Yes, I'm okay with it."

"So… do you have money?"

Xiao Yan felt uncomfortable as he watched the three of them stare at him. He felt particularly ill at ease as he saw them look at him with their curious eyes. In order to camouflage the embarrassment he felt at being looked at that way, Xiao Yan coughed.

"Ah, about that... I don't have money."

"Eh? You? No money?"

Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao's eyes were so wide it seemed like they might fall out of their sockets. Their surprise was only natural; after all, who would expect to hear such a thing from Xiao Yan, a handsome young man, dressed in magnificent clothes, as well as the one who have a monster talent?

Xiao Yan, who had anticipated this reaction, swiftly replied:

"Indeed."

After seeing Xiao Yan's swift reply and hearing the light impact of his foot on the ground, realization dawned on their faces. Xiao Yan was quite pleased with himself, as this reaction had fallen within his scope of prediction.

"Ah... there's no need. All you need to do is stay and wait for us."

"Okay."

Nie Li gave an order in with a voice of steel, "Everyone, we're moving now! Return in five minutes. When you come back to Holy Orchid Institute, head directly to the school's training ground."

"Understood."

"Then Lu Piao, gather as much crossbow bolts as you can before you return."

After hearing everyone's acknowledgement, Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao departed.

Xiao Yan leaned against the back of the wall, and slowly raised his head to look at the sky.

"I'm so tired…"

Although his body did not feel tired, the mental fatigue was weighing down on his shoulders.

"...Those guys… why do they think so highly of me?"

❄ ❄ ❄

The crimson light of the setting sun shone on a group of men upon the Holy Orchid Institute Training Grounds.

There were four of them.

They must have had excellent camouflage techniques given the way they had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Magic was most likely involved.

It was obvious at a glance that they were not simple.

They were none other than Xiao Yan, Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao.

Nie Li and Du Ze were carrying a crossbow loaded with crossbow bolts, hardly the kind one would expect a young man to carry. Those crossbow bolts were equipped with paralysis effect as well.

"Nie Li, I have something to ask of you. I plan to conduct certain experiments… I'll need your help for them."

Nie Li replied, "Okay! Lu Piao, you'll be our decoy from the Horned Sheep beasts!"

Xiao Yan reached out a hand to quell Lu Piao, rendering him from going further.

"Before that... "

Xiao Yan dashed forward toward a bush , and made a compelling punch.

"Boom!"

His fist slammed into the bush, and the ground around it began to crack.

After that, a dead Horned Sheep beast came into view. It stood two and a half meters tall, and resembled a four-footed animal. It had horns that were twice as long as its tail, and it was covered by curly hairs which resembled cottons. Its powerful-looking horns looked like they could sever a man's arm in a single crash.

Seeing this scene shocked Nie Li, Du Ze, and Lu Piao so greatly that they could not speak.