The terrifying Ghost King (thanks to Xingtong Scholar Li Dakang for becoming an Alliance Leader)

"This is No. 2 Middle School in Chang'an City."

By the time the two arrived at No. 2 Middle School, it was already dark. They circled the school once, then picked a spot where no one would see them and climbed over the wall.

Both were agile as monkeys and could clear the wall without helping each other.

Splash.

Mind Master hadn't expected an artificial lake on the other side of the wall. It was too dark to see, so he vaulted over and landed straight in the lake in one smooth motion.

"Fuck, this school's loaded. They built a lake here," Mind Master cursed as he climbed out of the water.

Splash.

Mighty Warrior jumped into the lake too, splashing water all over Mind Master's face.

"Didn't you hear me say there was a lake here?!" Mind Master wiped his face and snapped in a low voice.

"...I only heard the first part, where you said the school was loaded. I wanted to see just how loaded it was, so I came over."

Fortunately, it was summer, and neither wore much. They would dry quickly enough on the bank.

As they waited, they surveyed their surroundings and discovered that an iron fence encircled the lake. Its gate was covered in rust and secured with an iron chain as thick as a finger.

"Why is this place fenced off?" Mighty Warrior frowned.

"Probably because the school's worried students will come play here and fall into the lake," Mind Master said.

"What a pain." Mighty Warrior reached through the gate, gripped the iron chain, and gave it a sharp pull. The chain snapped.

Mighty Warrior's ability enhanced every aspect of his physique. To him, an iron chain as thick as a finger was no different from cotton thread.

Mind Master took a piece of fine silk from his backpack. Wrapped inside was a Bead Bracelet made of seven rosewood beads, smooth and rounded, clearly of the finest quality. Merely touching it soothed the mind and steadied the spirit.

"Is that the consecrated Bead Bracelet you said was passed down in your family?"

"Right. One of my ancestors had ties to an eminent monk from Putuo Temple. This Bead Bracelet was a gift from him. It gives off a dark glow when it gets within a certain distance of a ghost."

Mighty Warrior was puzzled. "Why a dark glow? Isn't it usually golden?"

"The Bead Bracelet is for avoiding vengeful ghosts, not fighting them. A golden glow would be too conspicuous. A vengeful ghost could easily spot it."

Mighty Warrior thought that made sense. Imagine someone hiding perfectly while a vengeful ghost searched for them. The ghost passed by without noticing, only for the Bead Bracelet to light up. They'd be screwed.

"An eminent monk, all right. He really thought of everything."

As they spoke, a beam of light swept toward them, followed by a patrolling teacher's sharp demand.

"Who's there?!"

When the patrolling teacher first heard movement, he thought some students were trying to climb the wall and sneak out. Only when his flashlight landed on the pair did he realize they were two suspicious-looking middle-aged men.

Neither panicked at his questioning. Mind Master stepped forward and stared at the patrolling teacher.

"You... who are you?!"

Their complete lack of fear made the teacher nervous instead. He was about to say something else when he felt an incredible power in Mind Master's eyes. Then his arms fell to his sides, and he lost consciousness.

This was Mind Master's ability: he could briefly control another person's consciousness.

"Tell me, which part of this school is haunted?"

The patrolling teacher answered without hesitation, "The Old Dormitory Building."

"Take us there."

"All right."

After barely a couple of steps, the patrolling teacher pointed to a pitch-black six-story building.

"We're here."

At the same time, the Bead Bracelet on Mind Master's wrist gave off a dark glow. Both men instantly tensed.

A conspicuous sign stood in front of the Old Dormitory Building, with "No entry" painted in red. The teacher's flashlight shone on it, making it even more unnerving.

Mind Master took two steps toward the Old Dormitory Building. The Bead Bracelet's glow grew darker, almost impossible to detect in the night.

When he reached the entrance, the Bead Bracelet changed. One of its beads turned black as ink.

Seeing this, Mind Master actually relaxed and let out a breath.

"What does that mean?" Mighty Warrior asked, confused.

"A bead turning black means there's a vicious vengeful ghost nearby," Mind Master explained.

"Then why are you relaxing?!" Mighty Warrior grew even more nervous. He had strength to spare, but it was useless against ghosts he couldn't see or touch.

He might die without even knowing what had killed him.

Mind Master smiled. "Relax. Only one bead turned black. There are two possibilities. First, the vengeful ghost in this building is vicious, but only to a point. It's nowhere near the level of a ghost king, so it isn't our target."

"What's the second possibility?" Mighty Warrior asked eagerly.

"The second is that a ghost king spent a long time in the building and left behind traces of its aura that the beads picked up."

Mighty Warrior understood. "So either way, the ghost king isn't here?"

"Right."

"Scared the hell out of me."

"Mm." A look of struggle crossed the patrolling teacher's face, a sign that the control was about to wear off. Seeing this, Mind Master left with Mighty Warrior.

"Where am I?" The patrolling teacher stood bewildered at the entrance to the Old Dormitory Building, holding his flashlight at a loss. Then he remembered the rumors about the building and shuddered violently.

"Don't tell me there's something unclean here?"

He hurried away and called his wife.

"Hey, honey, could you get in touch with that master you mentioned who can ward off evil?"

The two continued exploring the campus, going from the sports field to the cafeteria, then to the classroom building.

"This school is huge."

"I hear it's a key school."

"The key school I went to wasn't this big."

When they reached the foot of the classroom building, the Bead Bracelet reacted again, and the first bead lit up.

Mind Master had a feeling the ghost king was inside this building.

With every floor they climbed, another bead lit up. One, two, three...

Though the corridor lights were on, Mind Master was even more on edge than before. His fear rubbed off on Mighty Warrior behind him, who barely dared to breathe.

He took a thermos from his backpack. It contained Plant-Ash Water, which he applied to his own eyelids and Mighty Warrior's using a special technique.

This was a method passed down through his family. Though it was less effective than Dragon-Tiger Mountain's Yin-Yang Heavenly Eye, it allowed them to roughly make out a ghost's form and served as an early warning.

When they reached the top floor, the beads turned black. As the fourth bead blackened, Mind Master's heart lurched.

Four beads. That was already enough to qualify as a ghost king. Even the most vicious vengeful ghost his ancestors had encountered had only reached this level.

But the changes in the beads were far from over.

Five, six...

Cold sweat soaked Mind Master's back.

This ghost king was probably even more terrifying than he had imagined!

As Mind Master watched the seventh bead turn black as ink, his heart nearly leaped into his throat.

All seven beads had turned black!

It reminded him of his ancestral warning: if he encountered a ghost king that turned four beads black, he was to turn and run without hesitation.

The warning said nothing about ghost kings beyond four beads. Everyone who had seen one was dead.

Seven... what level could that possibly be?!

As they approached Senior Class 3, Mind Master no longer needed the Bead Bracelet. Standing at the door, he could feel the chill seeping through its cracks, thin tendrils that tugged at his soul and sank into his bones.

Even Mighty Warrior, who knew nothing about feng shui arts, instinctively sensed something wrong here.

Mustering his courage, Mind Master stepped forward and peered through the glass in the back door into Senior Class 3. He sucked in a breath.

He couldn't make out the ghost king's appearance. All he could see was a mass of humanoid black mist circling the classroom, radiating terror and ominousness from head to toe. Its aura spread around the class, enclosing it as its domain.

The humanoid black mist circled a chubby boy, thick with malice. There was no imagining what vicious curse he was casting.

Mighty Warrior stealthily craned his neck to look and shuddered.

What a terrifying being. This had to be the Ghost King Zhenyue.

They hadn't even confronted him. A single glance left Mighty Warrior feeling as though a mountain were pressing down on him, crushing the breath from his lungs!

"So this is the Ghost King Zhenyue. No wonder he's the guardian of Humanity's Supreme Treasure."

Strangely, the ghost king of black mist paid particular attention to two of the students, constantly circling them as though performing some sort of ritual.

Mind Master's ancestors had recorded similar situations.

"Looks like those two are possessed by vengeful ghosts." Mind Master sneered. No wonder the ghost king in the Old Dormitory Building had disappeared. He had possessed a student and come out.

One of them snatched a handful of shrimp crackers from the chubby boy and shared them with his deskmate.

Go ahead and eat. It's your last supper anyway.

With a vengeful ghost this terrifying watching you, you won't live more than a few days.