Chapter 585: The Royal Library

Finally, the white-furred giant beast was defeated. Looking at the experience gained, Nie Yan noticed a significant increase, around 28% or so.

A boss-level creature like the white-furred giant beast usually requires at least hundreds of players to defeat. The experience, when divided among everyone, was still quite substantial. However, since Nie Yan was the sole recipient, the amount was exceptionally impressive.

Walking over to the corpse of the white-furred giant beast, he bent down and picked up the dropped items. Checking them out, there were two level 110 pieces of equipment and several gems. For ordinary players, these would be considered decent treasures, but to Nie Yan, they were merely average items, although they could fetch a decent price.

Nie Yan tossed the two pieces of equipment into his backpack and summoned the Dark-winged Dragon.

The Dark-winged Dragon crouched down, lowering its head in front of Nie Yan.

He tossed the dragon a piece of meat and patted its head. Next, he would ride the Dark-winged Dragon to continue searching for another boss monster above level 100. Within a radius of several thousand yards, there wouldn’t be any other bosses.

Just as Nie Yan was about to mount the Dark-winged Dragon, he suddenly sensed something and turned his gaze toward the distant jungle. After scanning the area, he found nothing. There shouldn’t be anyone else around here. He leaped and swung himself onto the back of the Dark-winged Dragon.

The Dark-winged Dragon flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying away into the distance.

After seeing the Dark-winged Dragon fly off, Xiaoruowushiwoweicai stepped out from the jungle. He had thought he was discovered earlier and quickly hid himself. Encountering someone like this in such a place would be hard to explain even with ten mouths.

After stepping out, he estimated the distance between himself and Nie Yan earlier and felt a shock. The distance was at least ten yards, yet he almost got discovered. What perception! Once again, he deeply felt Nie Yan’s strength.

He had heard that the Bullman Tribe was recruiting members near Moonlight City, and becoming an elite member of the Bullman Tribe would be more profitable than being a professional player. After a moment of contemplation, he took out a recall scroll.

Riding the Dark-winged Dragon through the sky, Nie Yan continued searching and defeating one boss monster after another. By the afternoon, he had reached level 99, with level 100 just around the corner. He definitely wouldn’t have time today, but if he trained for another day tomorrow, he should be able to make it.

In the afternoon, Nie Yan also obtained another Emerald Life Gem. His luck was decent. Probably because of defeating bosses above his level, he obtained many high-quality items, some of which were very rare.

With two Emerald Life Gems, he could synthesize two Suyuan Necklaces upon returning to the city.

Thinking about it, he decided to make the Suyuan Necklaces first. This way, the production classes of the Bullman Tribe could start crafting.

Nie Yan used a recall scroll and returned to Carol City, heading to his personal warehouse to collect the other materials.

At that moment, Nie Yan suddenly received a message from Guo Huai.

“There’s a rogue who wants to join our Bullman Tribe but insists on joining the elite group. I told him that if he can defeat Knight, Leng’ao Ying, and Xiachong Yubing, we would offer him an elite contract…” Guo Huai said, his tone slightly depressed.

“What was the result?” Nie Yan became somewhat curious. This guy dared to request joining the elite group of the Bullman Tribe. Either he was arrogant or genuinely capable.

“Knight has already lost. The person is currently challenging Leng’ao Ying, and Leng’ao Ying is actually at a disadvantage. This guy definitely has the strength. However, he proactively proposed joining the Bullman Tribe, so I think there might be issues. Such a dangerous person, we’d better not accept him,” Guo Huai said, feeling responsible for the Bullman Tribe, he dared not easily let in someone of unknown identity.

Guo Huai’s concerns were not without reason, but Nie Yan had different thoughts. He smiled slightly and said, “I don’t think so. If you were the leader of a guild, how would you infiltrate your people into an opposing guild?”

Upon hearing Nie Yan’s words, Guo Huai fell into thought.

“If I were a guild leader, I would definitely have my subordinates join the opposing guild first, the less attention drawn, the better. They should start from the bottom, build their own influence, and gradually rise up. The longer they stay, the more trust they gain. Rather than such an attention-grabbing approach. Moreover, joining the elite group cannot gather much intelligence; one must infiltrate the management level. Signing an elite contract binds them to the group, leaving no room for development,” Nie Yan explained. No guild leader would use such a foolish method to infiltrate their people into an opposing guild.

“In that case, is this person trustworthy? If so, he indeed has the qualifications to join the Bullman Tribe. I estimate he might be on par with Wangzhetianxia and Sun. Leng’ao Ying has already lost,” Guo Huai said. The elites of the Bullman Tribe were all dominant figures when they went out; defeating them indeed required exceptional skill.

“What’s his name?” Nie Yan asked, curious about this person’s emergence.

“Xiaoruowushiwoweicai,” Guo Huai replied.

Upon hearing the name, Nie Yan was startled. It was actually him! In terms of skill, among many Shadow Dancers, Xiaoruowushiwoweicai was definitely top-tier, though he was relatively low-key and rarely heard from. Nie Yan had once considered personally recruiting him, but after contacting him, he found that Xiaoruowushiwoweicai had blocked private messages and couldn’t be located, which was quite frustrating. Unexpectedly, today he had come knocking on his door.

“Give him the elite contract. If he has any conditions, as long as they aren’t too excessive, we can agree,” Nie Yan said. Still not feeling secure, he added, “Under no circumstances should we let him go!”

“Understood,” Guo Huai nodded. It seemed Nie Yan highly valued Xiaoruowushiwoweicai.

Xiaoruowushiwoweicai’s proactive approach lifted Nie Yan’s mood. As the Bullman Tribe grew stronger, the elites of the entire Granlan Empire were gradually converging towards the Bullman Tribe, which was a positive sign. Nie Yan could feel the Bullman Tribe growing stronger and, one day, under his leadership, it would become an immortal legend.

Nie Yan took out two sets of materials for synthesizing the Suyuan Necklaces from his personal warehouse.

Placing the first set of raw materials inside the Pandora’s Box, everything was ready. Nie Yan clicked to confirm the synthesis.

Compared to the first time, the second synthesis wasn’t as tense. After a brilliant golden light flashed, a crisp system prompt sounded. The light faded, and a necklace lay quietly in the center of the Pandora’s Box.

Checking the attributes of this necklace, it granted +1 to Enchanter skill level. The other limitations were the same as the previous necklace.

He proceeded with the second synthesis and obtained another necklace, which granted +1 to Alchemist skill level.

These two necklaces were even more important than some top-tier equipment. In the future, the Bullman Tribe would definitely become the guild with the most master-level production classes.

Nie Yan handed these two necklaces to Niaobushengdan for handling.

After dealing with everything, Nie Yan prepared to visit the library. He still had a Fu Yin Zhi Shu (Book of Symbol Guidance) that needed clarification on what it was.

The Granlan Imperial Library.

This library was the oldest and most extensive collection in the entire Granlan Empire, located at the edge of the central square of Carol City.

Ordinarily, few players visited here. Few people had the patience to come to the library to read books. They barely had enough time for leveling, let alone doing something so boring.

Nie Yan did know that reading more here would definitely be beneficial, but unfortunately, even he rarely did such things.

Stepping onto the library steps, there were NPCs coming and going, some hurrying inside, others leaving with one or two books under their arms, all dressed in luxurious attire, the nobles of Carol City.

Nie Yan entered the library, passed through the long corridor, and entered the hall. Looking ahead, he couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

What a massive library!

In the hall, rows of bookshelves were arranged, stretching forward. These shelves were densely packed with thick books, neatly arranged and dazzling to the eye. Each book was exquisitely made, using the most expensive materials.

Each row of books was strictly categorized. Nie Yan walked forward, searching for a few minutes before reaching the language section.

Looking at so many books, Nie Yan was at a loss. How difficult it would be to find which language the symbols on the Fu Yin Zhi Shu belonged to! There were at least tens of thousands of language books here, covering more than 300 languages.

Nie Yan remembered there was an NPC in the language section. To learn a language, one should first talk to him.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had come to this place, but soon left. To learn various languages, the most common ones required several gold coins, while some rare and ancient languages could even cost thousands or even tens of thousands of gold coins.

His gaze searched around, and he spotted an elderly NPC in a corner of the library. The old man was wearing very tattered clothes, patched many times, and his body was dirty and unkempt.

This slovenly old man was exactly who he was looking for—the language master Edminsen, a man who had mastered more than 200 languages and was considered a legend throughout Granlan.

However, his lack of grooming was also well-known. Players walking by him often smelled a strong odor of sweat.

Generally, learning a language from Edminsen only cost a few gold coins and took a few seconds. Plus, Edminsen didn’t give out quests, making him one of the NPCs that players often ignored and treated disrespectfully.

Edminsen was dozing off, looking somewhat tired, and now appeared even more aged.

Using the term “living on borrowed time” to describe Edminsen was most appropriate.

In his previous life, when Nie Yan met Edminsen, the old man was usually sitting in the corner reading a book, occasionally glancing up when a player passed by.

Should he wake Edminsen up?

Nie Yan hesitated. He was worried that waking Edminsen might provoke his displeasure, especially since he still needed to consult Edminsen on some matters.

After weighing his options for a moment, he decided it wasn’t worth rushing. He stood respectfully beside Edminsen.