Zhou Yang returned home, collapsed onto a chair, and happily opened his wine gourd to savor the fine liquor.
In his exhilaration, he even hummed a folk tune he had learned from somewhere.
"In March, I courted in March, I saw the second youngest sister, so beautiful and young, her skin so fair and tender. Oh, my dear sister, you leave your door open for play, darling, how many hearts will you break."
While humming the tune, he tapped his chair, feeling utterly at ease.
After finishing the song, he thought of Lin Yu and murmured, "What is Lin Yu doing?"
Thinking of Lin Yu, he stood up, walked into the courtyard, a white light emanated from his body, and he slowly rose into the air.
From high above, he easily found Lin Yu.
"Huh? This kid is on the phone?"
"Let me get closer and see who he's talking to?"
He chuckled and used an invisibility skill before secretly flying to hover above Lin Yu.
From here, he could not only hear Lin Yu's voice but also see his expression.
Lin Yu was smiling, his face radiating tenderness.
Lin Yu: "I've arrived at the academy. How about you?"
Zhao Ke: "I've arrived too. I'm in the Lightning Element class now. Let me tell you, I learned a new skill today. When we meet next time, I'll show you, and you'll be absolutely amazed."
Lin Yu: "I'm looking forward to it."
Zhao Ke: "I miss you~"
Lin Yu: "Me too~"
Hidden above Lin Yu's head, the Senior Disciple heard their conversation and, in that instant, felt the overwhelming malice of the world, instantly suffering ten thousand points of critical damage.
"You good-for-nothing Lin Yu, you're here to study, not to fall in love!"
The thought of their intimate conversation just now made him irritable.
"I'd rather not have to endure this display of affection," he quickly flew away, returning to his room to continue drinking. However, the joy he felt earlier from humming folk tunes had completely vanished.
"Forget it. I'll go to Nanjang City today. Although the girls there aren't very attractive, they're cheap!"
With that, a glow rose beneath his feet, lifting him off the ground as he flew towards Nanjang City.
Lin Yu had no idea that a perverted man was eavesdropping on his phone call from above.
He chatted with Zhao Ke for a while longer before they both hung up, as Zhao Ke needed to attend class.
Lin Yu, with a smile on his lips, put down his wristband and continued walking towards the library.
As he walked, he muttered, "Won't the Senior Disciple forget? I need to find an opportunity to remind him about the fortuitous encounter. That Senior Disciple is so unreliable."
The academy wasn't very large, and at Lin Yu's pace, he arrived at the library in a few minutes.
There were no guards at the library; daily operations were managed by the academy's intelligent system.
Lin Yu took out his student ID card and placed it on the induction panel in front of the library.
"Beep, Supreme Academy student Lin Yu detected. Identity verification passed. Please enter!"
With a creak, the library doors opened.
Lin Yu walked inside.
The library was vast and luxurious. Robots cleaned it regularly. Lin Yu began browsing from the first section and discovered many books he had heard of before.
For example, "The Essence of Energy," "The Application of Talent," and "Energy Conversion," among others.
He picked up a few books and headed towards a quiet study room, planning to finish these before looking at others.
He even set a goal for himself: to read all the books in the library within a year.
The quiet study rooms were enclosed spaces designated for students to read in peace. Lin Yu entered a study room, laid out the books on the table, and picked up a book titled "Formation of the Five Elements" to read.
After reading for a while, he rubbed his temples and reluctantly set the book aside.
"It's too dry. I'm really more suited for strategic command, acting as a hidden commander. I'll let my clones handle the studying."
Lin Yu created a hundred clones and let them choose books to read on their own.
As for his main body, he closed his eyes to rest and calm his mind before opening his wristband to check the day's news.
He didn't often go online because the information was too chaotic and could easily affect his mood. The only thing he enjoyed reading was the daily news, as it kept him informed about the outside world.
He skillfully clicked on the daily news.
"March 14th, another marine beast riot occurred in Donghai City. Donghai City is in imminent danger. The Void Academy in the three Immortal Cities overseas has dispatched elite students and teachers to provide support."
"March 6th, the Undead Realm clashed with our human race again. The humans of our realm and the humans of Canglan Realm joined forces to expel the Undead World. The Undead World retreated and signed a non-aggression treaty with the humans of both realms."
"March 15th, the Undead World unilaterally tore up the treaty and, with billions of undead, attacked Beijiang City. Beijiang City is currently in imminent danger. Recently, the Canglan humans went to support, but unexpectedly, the Canglan humans made an exorbitant demand, asking our side to cede three cities, otherwise they would join forces with the Undead World to attack our Blue Star humans. Diplomatic negotiations are currently underway."
"March 14th, a major war broke out between the Werewolf Tribe, Tiger-Head Tribe, and Thousand Feather Tribe. Our General Han Dao Wu Kui, who was guarding Xijiang City, rashly intervened in the three tribes' war, fell into a trap set by the three tribes, and was lost on the grasslands. Xijiang City is now besieged by the three tribes and is in imminent danger. Recently, a Grand Elder has personally led reinforcements to Xijiang City."
"March 14th, through observation, the sun has formed an energy storm. Starting this year, experts predict that the energy factor on Blue Star will increase. The increase in energy factors will also raise the limit of powerful individuals that Blue Star can accommodate. Experts predict that in fifty years, Blue Star will be able to accommodate divine beings. At that time, when divine beings descend upon Blue Star, what will be the fate of our human race..."
"Can we trust the experts' words?" Lin Yu mused.
"The current situation of the human race is a bit precarious."
"Why didn't I notice so many big news stories before? More and more major events have been happening in the past few months. It's strange."
"What does it have to do with me? I can't interfere anyway. It's more important to improve my cultivation," he muttered to himself.
After reading the news, he placed the two crystals he had obtained that day on the table.
The larger one was a talent crystal, and the smaller one was a skill crystal. He picked up both crystals and placed them on his forehead. Instantly, the information from the skill crystal appeared in his mind.
Talent: Puppet Manipulation: A-class talent. Uses mental power to condense into threads, allowing remote control of special puppets. The range of control is directly proportional to the strength of mental power.
Skill: Self-Detonation: Fifth-tier skill. Can compress internal energy for self-detonation, with damage equivalent to three times one's combat power. The range depends on the amount of internal energy.
"I'll save this talent crystal for Lin Fan. He's been complaining about not having talent, so now he does."
"As for this self-detonation skill, I'll learn it. If I learn it, my clones will also learn it. And it's a fifth-tier skill. Although it won't be very useful once I reach the sixth tier."
Lin Yu put away the talent crystal and held the self-detonation skill crystal against his forehead, silently chanting the learning incantation.
Instantly, the skill crystal in his hand turned into a beam of light and drilled into his forehead.
Then, with a thought, his internal energy began to compress frantically, causing his body to tremble.
He quickly stopped compressing his energy, fearing he might detonate himself accidentally.
"My clones have gained another trump card!" Lin Yu exclaimed with a smile.
Now he had three trump cards: Symbiotic Fusion, Swift Steps, and Self-Detonation!
If the first two trump cards were useless, then he would have to resort to the third one. Letting his clones self-detonate while his main body escaped was a viable strategy.
"Oh, right, what is Lin Fan doing now?"
Thinking of Lin Fan gave him a headache. That guy was too lazy. Ever since he entered the academy, there hadn't been a system prompt for an hour.
"Lin Fan seems discouraged. It's time to cheer him up."