Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 138: The Entrance Bell

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: The Entrance Bell

Yang Yu naturally didn’t know that there was so much to consider when taking a library exam. Just like in his university days, he crammed at the last minute, taking whatever score he could get.

As long as he passed, everything would be fine.

But perhaps because he hadn’t properly read a book in a long time, just flipping through Shu Jing’s notes made his eyes blur and his head started to feel heavy and foggy.

The books meant to enrich him now became the perfect lullaby.

As Yang Yu read on, he unwittingly fell asleep, and couldn’t be awakened no matter how much he was called.

A week of review time turned into a fleeting dream for Yang Yu.

As the exam date approached, the inn run by Shu Jing’s family gradually became bustling with activity, with many impecunious out-of-town candidates staying there.

The afternoon before the exam, Shu Jing’s family restaurant was filled with students reviewing their notes. After a full meal, they continued to study in the dining room until late into the night.

Yang Yu had given up on studying early and lay comfortably in bed.

To him, the die was cast—glancing at the material once more or twice more made no difference.

Besides, he had heard from Shu Jing that most of the exam would be essay questions...

To hell with studying!

Being as outstanding as he was, he was sure to convince the grading teacher of a pass with his extensive knowledge and meticulous logic.

With that thought, Yang Yu pulled the covers over himself and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day.

Yang Yu, brimming with energy, led his team majestically to the exam.

Bai Jin had been very diligent these past few days. Iyas said that Bai Jin had been reading until late at night, then resumed early in the morning. Despite Iyas’s advice to rest properly, she wouldn’t listen.

"If you fall ill before the exam starts, that would be bad. I understand your desire to enter the Library, but you also need to balance work and rest," Yang Yu told Bai Jin, and she finally ceased her late-night studies, adopting early nights and early mornings instead.

Sadly, perhaps due to excessive pressure and inadequate sleep, her dark circles reappeared and wouldn’t fade away.

Today, Bai Jin’s whole aura reverted to how it was when she first met Yang Yu, with an unapproachable, gloomy aura building barriers around her. Alone on the road, her mumbling repetitions of study material were chilling to hear.

As long as Bai Jin walked in front, people around would considerately clear a path, allowing Yang Yu and the others to reach the All Things Library’s entry checkpoint without much effort.

A ten-meter grand iron gate towered magnificently, the white walls encircled the Library, stretching as far as the eye could see, with five striking Sky-reaching Libraries piercing the heavens.

Yang Yu had been here when he registered, but now, the registration point had been transformed into the checkpoint, and all the advertisements had been replaced with slogans like "Wishing all candidates a successful exam" and "Honesty in testing."

Outside the solemn and stately walls, crowds of exam candidates and their companions squeezed together.

Shu Jing’s parents had also come—it was a day that would determine their family’s fate. They had set aside their work, handed the inn over to acquaintances to manage, and stood watch together for Shu Jing.

Originally, this responsibility should have been shouldered by Shu Jing’s father, but he had lost his courage to pick up a book after a setback in his youth. Faced with the choice of providing for his family, this duty had to be entrusted to the young Shu Jing.

And now, all he could do was support Shu Jing from behind, tirelessly and busily running around day after day, which is why Yang Yu and the others hardly saw Shu Jing’s father during that week.

But, undoubtedly, it was he who had gathered the 500,000 required for Shu Jing to take the exam.

With the passage of time, more and more people gathered in front of the library.

There was no age restriction for the library’s entrance exam, making it difficult to distinguish between those who came to take the exam and those who were merely onlookers.

When the crowd grew large, things tended to get chaotic. At that moment, from the walls, magicians belonging to the library flew out and immediately subdued the entire scene.

The onlookers, satisfied at the sight of these magicians, spontaneously left the area.

Yang Yu glanced at the attributes of those magicians—their intelligence all exceeding 1,000, with levels all above 60. The highest among them had reached level 124 and possessed an intelligence over 6,000.

It was an old man seated upon a giant book, his bushy white hair and beard nearly covering his entire face. His hunched body appeared very slender on the one-meter-wide book.

Looking at the data displayed by the system, Yang Yu narrowed his eyes; the old man’s race was surprisingly the same as his—a Mixed Species. Upon further inspection, it turned out he was a mix of the Dragon Clan and the Human Clan.

It could be certain that this elderly man was one of the winners of the Dragon God Conference.

The elder named Li Yan seemed to perceive Yang Yu’s gaze and returned it.

His eyes, like those of a giant dragon, peered through the dense white eyebrows and scrutinized Yang Yu.

Yang Yu didn’t choose to avert his gaze. Instead, he waved at Li Yan and they exchanged smiles.

"Do you know Elder Li Yan?" Shu Jing asked from beside him.

Yang Yu shook his head, "Not at all, I only waved because he kept staring at me. By the sound of your voice, is he very powerful?"

Shu Jing looked at Li Yan with reverence, "More than powerful—he is the chief of the Library Elders’ Council, with countless disciples under his wing. If I could become one of his disciples, I would die without regrets."

"Don’t talk of such ominous things. The entrance is about to start, let’s focus our attention on passing the exam ahead," Yang Yu said.

"Okay."

With a nod, Shu Jing looked toward the center of the five Sky-reaching Libraries. There, five Advanced Members of the Library holding five stars used magic to lift a large, clumsy bell high into the air. They raised their hands, and five streams of dazzling magic simultaneously struck the bell.

The bell quivered, emitting a clear, sonorous peal that echoed throughout the entire All Things Library, even reaching the ears of the magicians guarding the walls.

The bell tolled a total of eighteen times, and the crowd, having just settled down, began to stir once more. The magicians floating in the air descended, organizing the examinees to line up and head towards the checkpoints.

The personnel at the checkpoint remained unchanged, conducting identity verification like train conductors checking tickets, one after the other.

Every year there were a few who attempted to cheat on the exam using Disguise Magic or Makeup Techniques, and these individuals were easily exposed by the checkpoint staffs, fleeing in disgrace amidst the laughter of the crowd, leaving one to wonder how many would be caught this year.

After successfully passing through the checkpoint, Yang Yu, Bai Jin, and Shu Jing stepped through the majestic gates, and as they did, the noise around them instantly vanished.

Looking around, there were lush trees, birds chirping and the fragrance of flowers, with the air exceptionally crisp and invigorating. A single light breath made one’s spirit soar.

The library, while seemingly integrated with the city district, was in reality firmly protected by a Barrier, isolating it completely from the mortal world’s clamor and also endowed with a certain self-protective capability.

This was a period when outsiders could enter the library, also the time when the library’s security was at its highest.

One magician after another stood on both sides of the path, watching every move of each person, solemn and majestic, preventing any miscreants from using this opportunity to stealthily infiltrate the library and cause havoc.