The next day, as dawn broke.
Qin Yang woke up bright and early. He couldn't wait to get out the door and head to the library to clock in for work.
To him, the library was now practically a treasure trove.
Just going to work, slacking off, and lying around was enough to boost his strength.
It was just too good to be true!
'Where else could I find such a great job?'
However, just as Qin Yang reached the library's entrance, he suddenly heard a notification from his phone.
He took it out and looked.
It was a group message from the Steward in the work chat.
[Everyone, please come to the conference room as soon as possible for an emergency meeting! The Hall Master is here in person!]
The striking message made Qin Yang pause for a moment.
'The library's Hall Master is here?'
In his memory, this Hall Master had always been an elusive, rarely seen figure.
'For him to show up in person now, he must have something important to announce!'
Thinking this, Qin Yang didn't hesitate.
He immediately headed for the library's large conference room.
...
The large conference room, which could hold a hundred people, was already packed to the brim and buzzing with noise. All the staff members were gathered together.
Qin Yang kept his head down, silently walking into the room just as he usually did, and found an inconspicuous corner to settle in.
After taking a seat, he looked up at the podium.
He saw a middle-aged man in a crisp suit standing there. His temples were lightly frosted with grey, and he exuded a gentle, scholarly air. His every move was poised and graceful.
But even so, a faint, irrepressible aura of Star Power still emanated from him.
"This is..."
Qin Yang stared at the Hall Master on the stage, a little surprised.
'No matter how well the man concealed his power, he couldn't fool my judgment.'
'The Hall Master is actually an Innate Realm expert?!'
But on second thought, that made sense.
A place like the Jianghai City Library, which housed countless Cultivation Method Manuals for cultivation, would naturally need a powerful expert to oversee it.
After all the staff members had arrived,
The Hall Master on the stage brought a fist to his mouth and coughed lightly.
"Everyone, please quiet down."
His clear, gentle voice, though not loud, easily cut through the noise everyone was making.
The room instantly fell silent.
Seeing that the atmosphere had calmed down, the Hall Master continued.
"Very good. Now that everyone is quiet, I don't plan to take up too much of your time today. I just want to give a few reminders."
"Recently, for those who come into the library to read, you must treat them with the utmost respect. Do not neglect them in any way. Pay special attention to any unfamiliar elderly people you haven't seen before. There can be no laxity whatsoever..."
The instructions that followed were mostly about the staff's attitude.
In the conference room, everyone nodded, listening intently to the Hall Master's instructions.
They were afraid of missing a single detail.
Every person's face was tense, as serious as if facing a great enemy.
Seeing everyone in this state...
...left Qin Yang, in his seat, completely baffled.
'What's going on?'
'Why is everyone so serious today?'
'Don't tell me someone from the higher-ups is coming for an inspection?!'
While Qin Yang's mind was racing, the brief morning meeting passed in a flash and quickly came to an end.
"Alright, everyone, I've said all I needed to say. Thank you for your hard work during this special period."
The Hall Master scanned the crowd and said calmly, "You may return to your posts now. Just do as I've instructed."
At the Hall Master's command, everyone rose from their seats and began to leave the conference room.
Qin Yang followed behind the crowd, maintaining his usual ordinary demeanor.
However,
just as he was passing below the podium,
the Hall Master on the podium raised an eyebrow slightly.
He stared at Qin Yang's back, taken aback for a moment.
For some reason, he suddenly sensed a peculiar quality about Qin Yang.
'Is it my imagination?'
The Steward at his side, adept at reading expressions, quickly came to the Hall Master's side and whispered:
"Hall Master... is there a problem with that young man?"
"No, he just feels a bit special."
The Hall Master shook his head and asked with a hint of curiosity, "When did he start working at the library? I don't seem to recall him."
"It's normal that you don't recall him, Hall Master. The young man is new. He's only been here a few months and hasn't even passed his probation period."
The Steward frowned in thought, then added, "His talent is poor. There's nothing outstanding about him."
"Is that so..."
Hearing this, the Hall Master nodded and didn't give it any more thought, merely commenting, "The young man is quite handsome, though."
After all, this world ultimately revered strength. Being handsome couldn't put food on the table.
The measure of one's power was primarily based on how many Star Beasts they had hunted.
...
After leaving the conference room,
Qin Yang felt the focused gaze on his back disappear and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He had felt the Hall Master's stare just now.
But with the protection of his Innate Realm, which concealed his true strength, it wasn't something to worry about.
What Qin Yang didn't expect, however,
was that the Hall Master's intuition was so sharp he could sense something was off with just a passing glance!
'This world is still too dangerous. I'll have to be even more low-key in the future.'
With this in mind, Qin Yang quickened his pace toward the library, ready to start his shift.
But just then,
a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him.
"Wait for me, Old Qin!"
Qin Yang turned to see an old acquaintance.
It was Xia He!
"What's the rush? You slipped away so fast! I was trying to call out to you in the conference room, but I couldn't keep up."
Xia He jogged up to Qin Yang's side, panting as he spoke.
"If I said I was in a hurry to get to work, would you believe me?"
Qin Yang smiled and spouted a casual lie.
"Get outta here! You're always so withdrawn. I bet you're hoping to run into that Sword Dao master, right?"
Xia He rolled his eyes and said, "You're just too eager to improve!"
"What Sword Dao master?"
Hearing this, Qin Yang froze, asking with some surprise, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Are you playing dumb with me, buddy? I asked you to go to Platinum Han and you refused... and now you don't even know about something this big? Just look at the news! It's all over the trending topics this morning!"
As he spoke, Xia He took out his phone and casually sent a few links to Qin Yang.
Qin Yang opened the link and took a look.
There, on the screen for the number one trending topic, was a prominent picture of a fractured mountain peak.
The familiar scene stunned Qin Yang. He was secretly shocked.
'Isn't this the mountain peak I sliced last night?'
'It's a trending topic?'
Seeing the astonishment on Qin Yang's face, Xia He thought he was just scared and couldn't help but explain confidently:
"You didn't know, did you? Last night, this peak in the suburbs was sliced in two by a single sword strike. Everyone's going crazy talking about it now, wondering which Sword Dao expert has arrived.
The news has already spread far and wide. The Hall Master held the meeting because he's afraid we might offend this expert."
As he spoke, Xia He sighed, filled with emotion. "It would be amazing if I could become that expert's disciple. That One Sword Breaks the Peak was just too cool!"
His tone was filled with deep envy.
Hearing this, Qin Yang's expression turned strange. He teased, "You want to become a disciple? Why don't you kowtow to me first?"