The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

【What does '?' mean? Coffin Bro is spouting riddles again.】

[A broken sword? Is that referring to An Changqing? No wonder An Changqing's expression was a bit off at the end of the last episode.]

[Holy crap! I get it! What Brother Coffin means is that An Changqing's breakthrough method is short-sighted and lacks a solid foundation, while Brother Ao's breakthrough is the real deal.]

An Changqing lost because he lacked a system; only power gained through a system is truly tangible.

The tone of the comments shifted again, from sympathizing with Long Ao to offering wild interpretations of Chen Guan.

Chen Guan ignored the conversation behind him and left directly, while Long Ao remained frozen in place, forgetting even to return to his dormitory.

"Do you remember our promise?" Baal continued, "There are some nice souvenirs in the library."

"The core of the Abyss Worm." Baal's voice tinged with interest. "We didn't have this before. If you get it for me, I'll give you a chance to learn from me and copy one of my moves. But whether you can master it or not is up to you."

Chen Guan paused for a moment.

Opportunities to learn from Baal are rare.

Moreover, he had a prior agreement with Barr, and it was indeed inappropriate for him to break it.

He was determined to eat this dish.

He practices the principle of "take what you can get," meaning that what's mine is still mine.

……

boom! boom! boom!

The sound of heavy impacts echoed through the hallway.

Long Ao was shirtless, sweat dripping down his bulging muscles, his whole body steaming with hot white vapor.

He didn't use any special abilities; he relied solely on his physical body to punch the specially made sandbag repeatedly.

The skin on his fist was already worn raw, and beads of blood mixed with sweat splattered everywhere.

He was completely unaware of this, using this most primitive form of self-harm to vent the pent-up frustration filling his chest.

He caught up, only to be left even further behind.

This feeling of powerlessness was even greater than when facing powerful figures in Jiangcheng.

[Sigh, poor Ao Ge, he worked so hard to level up, only to find his house had been robbed.]

[An Changqing is at level five... How am I supposed to fight him? Mythological abilities already have a higher ceiling than enhancement abilities, and now he's a level higher.]

I think Ao Ge is about to have a mental breakdown.

Chen Guan sat on his bed, oblivious to the noise from next door. The academy's soundproofing needed to be improved, as did Long Ao's.

He took out the dark-colored ancient jade pendant from his bosom and placed it close to his chest.

A cool and soothing sensation permeated the skin, and instantly, the faint dark aura surrounding the eyebrows dissipated.

it works.

He stuffed the jade into his inner pocket, making sure it was close to his skin.

"Kid, stop worrying about your broken rock," Baal's voice echoed in his mind. "When are you going to collect what you promised me?"

"Location," Chen Guan replied in his mind.

"The Central Library, three underground floors, the deepest archives." Baal's tone held a hint of interest: "It was probably after your unfortunate senior died that these good things were born."

"The academy won't let us go," Chen Guan said succinctly.

Baal's voice was full of amusement, "You still care about this? I remember there's a rule for humans that they can't make a pact with demons."

Chen Guan did not reply.

He glanced out the window; the night was already deep.

Next door, Long Ao's striking continued, only the frequency slowed down, turning into muffled sounds mixed with heavy breathing.

He got up, put on his coat, and moved so quietly that he made no sound.

Chen Guan opened the door and remained there until he disappeared from sight.

……

At midnight, Huaqing College was shrouded in a deathly silence.

The clouds obscured the moonlight, and only the streetlights cast dim yellow halos at fixed intervals.

The shadows of the trees swayed in the night wind, stretching out bizarre shapes on the ground.

Chen Guan walked at the intersection of light and shadow.

He didn't try to hide, and his steps were neither hurried nor slow.

But each time he landed, he was right in the patrol team's blind spot, and each turn he blended perfectly into the shadow of the building, successfully deceiving them.

I spent some popularity points to upgrade the Concealing Breath Technique to purple.

With his breath concealment technique activated, his aura, heartbeat, and even the slightest sound of his clothes rubbing together were compressed to the extreme, making him undetectable by the student council members alone.

To protect students' privacy, surveillance cameras are only installed in a few locations, and obviously not on ordinary main roads.

His movement was silent.

Soon, the massive outline of the Central Library appeared in front of him. Chen Guan found a corner, used illusion magic to lower the coffin on his back, and then, relying on the items he had exchanged from the system, transformed into a completely different face.

A face that Chen Guan was familiar with: From now on, I am Lin Jiu.

A yellow cordon completely isolated the library.

There is a student on guard every ten meters.

They were members of the student council, but most of them were quite casual and chatted without much wariness.

After all, who would have thought that someone would come here in the middle of the night?

Therefore, it is done effortlessly.

He pushed open the heavy glass door of the library, and a musty, bookish smell mixed with a cold, damp atmosphere rushed out.

He didn't stop, but went straight to the stairs leading to the underground.

The deeper you go, the stronger the sweet, bloody smell in the air becomes.

On the second basement level, traces of battle could still be seen, with sword marks and claw marks on the walls. Chen Guan recognized the aura emanating from the sword marks as belonging to An Changqing.

Once you reach the third basement level, the scene before you is completely different.

A layer of slippery, dark-colored viscous liquid hung on the wall and was slowly dripping down, which explains why students were not allowed to approach.

"The third row of bookshelves on the left," Baal's voice echoed in his mind.

The coffin was turned to the left.

This is the ancient book section, and the air is filled with the smell of humus.

He followed the directions and headed towards the archives.

This thing was just sitting there on the bookshelf, and he got it without much trouble. Its name was mysterious, but its appearance was extremely ordinary, looking like a small stone.

Just as he was about to leave, a very faint whooshing sound entered his ears.

laugh.

It was the sound of a sword slicing through the air.

Chen Guan stopped in his tracks, pressed his body against the tall bookshelf, and peered through the gaps toward the source of the sound.

A familiar figure stood in the open space not far ahead.

He was wearing a white shirt and had a tall, straight posture.

It's An Changqing.

He didn't leave; he stayed alone in this distorted, polluted core. Normally, students on guard duty would only be outside. He must have chosen to come in, just like Chen Guan.

His face was somewhat pale, but his hand holding the sword was steady as he repeated the most basic sword-swinging motion over and over again.

Chen Guan's gaze fell on An Changqing's sword, and the words he had spoken back then echoed in his mind.

His sword is too fast; it will break...

Just then, An Changqing's sword strike suddenly hardened.

His chest heaved, and with a flick of his wrist, he thrust his longsword straight forward.

A dazzling golden sword light suddenly burst forth, illuminating the entire space with every detail.

The light was extremely condensed, containing the power to destroy everything.

However, the sword light only extended for less than three meters before flickering violently in the air.

Then, with a soft "poof," the sword light, like a flame that had run out of fuel, shattered into countless golden dust particles, which were swallowed by darkness.