I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1069 The Legendary Person

“Zhang Chen, you absolutely must not engage in feudal superstition, or you’ll be arrested! Then your future will be ruined, and your family will be gossiped about behind their backs.” Bai Ziling led Zhang Chen along while earnestly lecturing him.

To be honest, Bai Ziling herself was also puzzled today. Logically speaking, although she and Zhang Chen were in the same school, they were just casual acquaintances. She shouldn't have said these things, but for some reason, she suddenly felt a little concerned about Zhang Chen.

"It was probably his pure eyes that attracted me." Bai Ziling felt a ripple in her heart whenever she thought of Zhang Chen's pure eyes, which were free of any desire.

"I understand, thank you for your concern." Zhang Chen walked to the bookshelf, thanked Bai Ziling, and then picked up a book from the shelf to read quietly.

Books containing feudal superstitions such as Huang Tiandao are not allowed to be borrowed.

Zhang Chen opened the yellowed book, and Bai Ziling said from the side, "They're all just nonsense, they're worthless."

Zhang Chen quietly flipped through the books, while Bai Ziling also picked up a book and said, "I've read all of these books. They roughly record the biographies of immortals and gods in the Huangtiandao sect. They also record the last great virtuous teacher of the Huangtiandao sect: Zhang Chen!"

Bai Ziling paused, turned to look at Zhang Chen, and said, "You know what, the other person's name is very similar to yours. Just by looking at the pronunciation, you can't tell the difference between the two of your names."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled and said in a joking tone, "Is it possible that I am that Zhang Chen?"

"Stop talking nonsense. If the followers of Huang Tiandao hear this, you'll be in big trouble." Bai Ziling glared at Zhang Chen, then continued, "The books here all tell the story of Huang Tiandao's last Great Teacher. It is said that the Great Teacher existed in an incredibly ancient era, possessing the power to move mountains and overturn seas, and could command countless gods and demons. He used demons as soldiers and alien races as generals. He resided high in the heavens, looking down upon all living beings. Some even say that the Great Teacher has attained immortality and still exists in the river of time, hiding in some corner of the world, looking down upon all living beings. However, since the Great Teacher abdicated, no one has seen him again, and he has not appeared in history."

Zhang Chen quietly flipped through the yellowed book in his hands, looking at the records about himself in the book. He had actually become a figure in historical legends, and he didn't know what he felt.

He traced history and explored mysteries, not to understand history, but to discover clues about the spiritual world within it, to see if the spiritual world had fallen from the void. For him, finding the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts was the most important thing.

He has survived from the ancient times to the present day, having undergone several reincarnations and traversed countless years of time, becoming detached from many eras. He does not even know if his spiritual world has fallen into nothingness.

Bai Ziling continued to nag, "Zhang Chen, let me tell you, you must not get too caught up in it. All those supernatural powers and techniques are fake. Otherwise, why didn't those cultivators stand up when foreign enemies invaded in the past?"

Zhang Chen did not respond to Bai Ziling's words, but quietly flipped through the book in his hand. He knew most of the information recorded in it, and a very small part was the praise of him by later generations.

Zhang Chen opened the books quickly, and within two hours he had finished reading them all. Then he silently turned to the last page, which contained a familiar visualization method. However, in this era, it was almost impossible to cultivate any special abilities.

"Throughout history, countless emperors, in their pursuit of immortality, have tried to find traces of this great and wise teacher, even inviting the high-ranking Taoist priest Huang Tiandao into the palace to refine elixirs. Unfortunately, all of them met untimely deaths, perishing from the poison of the elixirs," Bai Ziling said to Zhang Chen.

Upon hearing that emperors throughout history had been searching for the elixir of immortality, Zhang Chen's eyes lit up. If dynasties were searching for mysterious traces, then the fall of the Thirty-Three Heavens would surely have been recorded.

So, if you want to find traces of the Kunlun Mountains, do you still have to start with history?
Zhang Chen put down the book on Huang Tiandao that he was holding and turned to look at the scrolls of history books: "I want to borrow more history books."

Bai Ziling looked at Zhang Chen with surprise: "What exactly are you looking for?"

She was an extremely intelligent person; if she still didn't know what Zhang Chen was looking for, she would definitely be a fool.

"Looking for something buried in the long river of history." Zhang Chen skillfully pulled the books that had been returned one by one from the shelf, then held out his palm to Bai Ziling, who was taken aback. Zhang Chen had no choice but to remind her, "Library card."

Bai Ziling extended her fair hand and handed the library card to Zhang Chen, who then carried the books and walked out the door.

After registering at the librarian's desk, Zhang Chen walked out of the library. Bai Ziling looked at him with concern and a hint of caution in her eyes: "Zhang Chen..."

"I know what you want to say, but there's no need to say it. Thank you, I won't cause you any trouble." Zhang Chen turned his head and smiled at Bai Ziling, his pure eyes sparkling with light, making Bai Ziling swallow back all her words, which finally turned into "You'd better take care of yourself."

The two parted ways, and Zhang Chen hired a carriage to travel home. A subtle feeling welled up within him; he and Bai Ziling had only met by chance, yet their paths had unexpectedly crossed. On his way home, Zhang Chen pondered how to handle his work. He needed to sell the job for a good price. Although he wasn't short of money, who wouldn't want more money earned without effort?
Just as countless thoughts were swirling in Zhang Chen's mind, the carriage stopped in front of his house. He lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage. As the carriage drove away, two figures came into Zhang Chen's view.

It is Shen Jianghe and Shi Yunan.

Upon seeing Zhang Chen, Shen Jianghe greeted him, "Zhang Chen, long time no see."

"It's been quite a few years. I didn't expect you to be so handsome and dashing." Zhang Chen looked at the handsome and dashing Shen Jianghe with a hint of surprise in his eyes. After years of labor reform in the southwest, the other party still had such fair skin and tender flesh, which really surprised Zhang Chen. He didn't look like he had done hard labor at all.

Shen Jianghe looked at Zhang Chen with a warm smile, just like back then, but in Zhang Chen's eyes, it was full of hypocrisy.

"It's an old friend, shall we find a place to have a drink?" Shen Jianghe took the initiative to invite.

“No need. You’ve come to me for work-related reasons. Have you raised enough money?” Zhang Chen asked.

Shi Yanan, standing to the side, said with a gloomy face: "Now that you've collected enough, when are you going to switch jobs?"

Zhang Chen was taken aback by this: "Where did the money come from?"

"It's just some high-interest loans, plus some of my parents' savings. As long as Shen Jianghe and I both start working, we can earn more than a hundred yuan a month, so it won't be difficult to pay off the debts," Shi Yunan said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen couldn't help but sigh, realizing that no matter the era, there's never a shortage of loan sharks. However, high-interest loans aren't easy to come by; if Shi Yanan couldn't repay on time, the other party would likely face serious trouble.

"Give me the money, let's go now," Zhang Chen said, holding the books.

Upon hearing this, Shi Yunan's face darkened, and she handed the money to Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen took the twelve hundred-yuan bills and happily put them into his pocket: "Don't mind if I put the book back first?"

"Hurry up and go," Shi Yunan urged.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen didn't say much. He simply carried a large stack of books into his house, instructed the Five Ghosts to keep an eye on them, and then walked out the door to Shi Yuhan and Shen Jianghe, saying, "Let's go."

The three walked towards the steel plant. Zhang Chen walked in front, and Shen Jianghe looked at Zhang Chen's back and said, "Zhang Chen, Yu Nan borrowed money from loan sharks to raise 1,200 yuan. Are you really so heartless as to accept the money?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen exclaimed inwardly, "Oh ho!" and immediately perked up. Was the other party trying to mentally blackmail him?

“She didn’t borrow the money for me; she borrowed it for you. You shouldn’t be asking me; you should be asking yourself. Do you really have the heart to let Yu Nan borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to help you get a new job?” Zhang Chen asked.

Upon hearing this, Shen Jianghe was speechless, and his face turned ugly. Shi Yunan quickly interrupted their conversation, saying, "We're all friends, why are you saying such things?"

“It’s truly a decline in fortune. If my Shen family hadn’t suffered this misfortune, how could I have fallen to such a state of begging and living under someone else’s roof?” Shen Jianghe’s words were full of bitterness.

Seeing Shen Jianghe's bitter face, Shi Yunan glared at Zhang Chen: "Zhang Chen, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I'm going to get angry."

Zhang Chen remained silent upon hearing this. Shi Yunan quickly went to comfort Shen Jianghe, but Zhang Chen shook his head and said nothing more. Instead, he followed the two to the steel plant. After successfully transferring his job, Shen Jianghe stayed at the steel plant to familiarize himself with his work, while Zhang Chen and Shi Yunan walked out of the steel plant. Zhang Chen looked at Shi Yunan and asked:
"Yu Nan, you've already graduated, and we're not getting any younger. What do you think about marriage...?"

"Don't pressure me. Our jobs aren't stable yet, why are you in such a hurry?" Shi Yunan's voice was a little impatient.

“What I mean is, you have to make a choice between me and Shen Jianghe today. You have to choose between me and Shen Jianghe. I can see that your heart is completely devoted to him. You have to make a choice today!” Zhang Chen’s attitude was very firm.

(End of this chapter)