Defy the Emperor's might, and you shall die!

Zhou You closed his eyes and tried Soul Projection, but instead of leaving his body, he kept it perfectly overlapped with his body. That gave him a soul's perspective while still allowing him to control his body.

This was a method he had come up with while pondering Soul Projection during evening study hall.

In theory, ghosts could see other ghosts. The only difference between a projected soul and a ghost was that the former was still alive. Close enough to count as a ghost, so Soul Projection should let him see ghosts.

When he opened his eyes, a pretty female ghost in white abruptly appeared before him, her mouth wide open as she gestured at him and made "Rawr, rawr" noises.

Zhou You jumped in fright and retreated several steps.

It worked! I really can see her!

"Holy crap, a ghost!"

Zhou You had gained a soul's perspective and could see things ordinary people could not!

Startled by Zhou You's reaction, Nuomi instinctively backed away several steps too.

She hurriedly looked around. A ghost? Where?

Seeing Zhou You staring warily in her direction, Nuomi suddenly realized that the ghost he meant was her!

This guy can see me?

Zhou You braced himself as though facing a formidable enemy, even adopting the Military Boxing stance he had learned during his first-year high school military training.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten most of what he had learned back then, so his stance looked rather off.

Seeing how wary he was, Nuomi dared not underestimate him either. She copied his stance, adopting an even more awkward Military Boxing pose.

Along the way, she noticed that she had her hands reversed and hastily switched them.

The old dormitory building was pitch-black, with only a little moonlight filtering through the gap in the door into the corridor. The silence was terrifying. This was Zhou You's first encounter with a supernatural being. He could feel his heartbeat, his mouth was dry, and every cell in his body was on high alert.

What moves does she have? Can I even touch her? What should I do next?

A string of questions flashed through Zhou You's mind. He was extremely nervous, and even with Chu Xiaoyao beside him, he felt uneasy.

Wait, Chu Xiaoyao?

Zhou You suddenly remembered. With Female Emperor Chu Xiaoyao backing him up, what did he have to fear?

He glanced at Chu Xiaoyao out of the corner of his eye and found her perfectly composed, not at all frightened by the female ghost.

Chu Xiaoyao's composure gave Zhou You confidence, and he calmed down too.

Of course Chu Xiaoyao was not frightened by the ghost. She could not see her at all.

"So confident?" Seeing Zhou You so calm, Nuomi grew nervous.

"Could he be an expert?"

The two faced off, neither daring to strike first. The atmosphere was tense and oppressive. Zhou You held his breath and stared intently at Nuomi, anticipating her next move.

Nuomi lost her nerve and made the first move.

Here she comes! Zhou You's heart tightened. He readied himself, holding both arms in front of his chest, prepared to spring into action at any moment.

But Nuomi did not attack Zhou You. Instead, she targeted Chu Xiaoyao, who stood nearby, still unaware of what was happening.

Nuomi knew a little about military strategy and understood the principle of defeating enemies one at a time.

This boy is hard to handle, but this girl doesn't seem able to see me. She should be easy.

"Watch out, Xiaoyao! That ghost is coming your way!"

"Let her come! I am the great Free and Unfettered Female Emperor. I fear no demons or ghosts skulking in the dark!" Chu Xiaoyao spoke with soaring bravado, as though she could subdue the heavens and swallow the universe.

Although she could not see the ghost, Chu Xiaoyao firmly believed she was an Immortal Emperor cultivating anew, capable of suppressing every evil spirit!

Who is the Free and Unfettered Female Emperor? With that question in mind, Nuomi unleashed her Secret Art.

"Ha!"

She could delve into the depths of an opponent's mind, draw out their greatest fear, and trap them within it!

This move had nothing to do with cultivation level. No matter how powerful someone was or how strong their mind, they knew there was always someone stronger out there. There was always a greater existence, always something they feared most. This move had never failed her!

"Let me see what you fear most!"

The scene before Nuomi changed, and she arrived in a pitch-black space-the depths of Chu Xiaoyao's mind.

"Strange. Why is it so dark here?" Nuomi was puzzled. Could she have an incredibly dark heart?

She doesn't look like it.

Instinctively, she reached out, hoping to touch something that might make her feel safer, only to discover that it was so dark she could not even see her fingers. Even the old dormitory building was never this dark.

Just how dark is this girl's heart?

All the better. A dark-hearted person is easier to scare, Nuomi thought wickedly.

She snapped her fingers. A flame should have appeared to illuminate her surroundings, but nothing happened.

"That shouldn't happen."

Nuomi was confused. Although she was not the owner of this inner world, she should still have had some control over it.

Only if the other person's mental fortitude far surpassed hers would she be left completely unable to control anything.

"She's an ordinary student, right? Could her mental fortitude really be that strong?" Nuomi began to doubt herself. The girl was a student with no cultivation, someone who had never seen a ghost. Shouldn't her first reaction to encountering Nuomi have been panic?

Her inability to control the surroundings was unexpected. Combined with the pitch darkness, it stirred a sense of unease she had not felt in a long time.

There was nothing in this space. It was utterly empty, with only the sound of her own footsteps. Its vast emptiness unsettled her.

She completely lost her sense of time here. She had no idea how long she had walked, and the farther she went, the more frightened she became. It was as though this space had no end, and she could never escape no matter how far she walked.

At the thought that she might inexplicably end up trapped here until she died, Nuomi began to panic instead.

She lowered herself, bending at the waist and creeping along on tiptoe. She dared not make any large movements, ready to curl into a ball if anything happened.

She walked a little farther, but nothing changed.

She would rather something changed. She had never experienced this kind of loneliness even in the old dormitory building.

Nuomi lowered her voice, trying hard to keep it from trembling. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

At last, a second sound appeared in the space. A scraping noise answered her from afar, as though someone was dragging something heavy toward her, their footsteps steady and powerful.

Nuomi's heart leaped into her throat. "Are you the owner of this place?"

Whoever it was showed no intention of answering. The scraping never paused; instead, it grew louder and louder, meaning the person was drawing ever closer to Nuomi. They did not seem to come in peace.

Nuomi shook like a leaf. She wanted to flee, but could not muster any strength, as though every bone had been pulled from her body.

She struggled to crawl a little in the opposite direction, but still could not outpace the approaching scrape.

A dim white light appeared, only frightening Nuomi further, because it came from the same direction as the scraping.

A slender figure emerged from the white glow. It was Chu Xiaoyao, dragging a broad axe as tall as a person. The scraping had come from the axe dragging across the ground.

Upon seeing Nuomi, Chu Xiaoyao swung both arms up and raised the axe above her head, her movements filled with murderous resolve.

Nuomi clutched her head and curled into a ball. Unable to hold back any longer, she burst into tears. "I was wrong! I'll never scare anyone again! Please don't kill me!"

"I said, let there be light."

Chu Xiaoyao's words rang in Nuomi's ears. The enormous axe came crashing down, and heaven and earth shattered. Primordial chaos split open, yin and yang separated, and light entered the world.

Chu Xiaoyao had cleaved open heaven and earth.

Trembling, Nuomi raised her head and met Chu Xiaoyao's gaze. Her eyes had become two blazing suns, dazzling beyond measure. A ghost like Nuomi naturally dared not look directly at them.

"Defy the Emperor's might, and you shall die!"

Her voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the inner world, each wave louder than the last. It shook Nuomi's soul until she was forced out.

As her consciousness returned to reality, Nuomi actually felt the relief of having survived a disaster.

So terrifying. So scary.

Am I still alive? Oh, right, I'm already dead...

Before Nuomi could react, Zhou You's fist came at her.

"Leave Xiaoyao alone! Take this!" Zhou You shouted, swinging his fist at Nuomi.

Everything in the inner world had happened in the space of a thought. From Zhou You's perspective, Nuomi had been attacking Chu Xiaoyao just a moment ago, so he immediately charged in to fight.

Nuomi had just suffered severe injuries in the inner world and had no strength left, not even enough to dodge. She could only take the punch and promptly passed out.

She felt as though she had a very, very long dream. She dreamed that she was lying on a bed board in the old dormitory building, while the sound of an axe dragging along the floor came from the dark corridor.

With a bang, one of the dormitory doors was smashed open.

Then came another bang, and the neighboring dormitory door was smashed open.

She wanted to escape, but for some reason she was bound tightly to the bed board, unable to move.

Could this be the legendary sleep paralysis?

Door after door was smashed open, until at last the footsteps stopped outside Nuomi's room.

"Gulp."

Nuomi swallowed nervously, hoping the person would spare her.

Bang-

The axe arrived as expected, smashing a hole through the wooden dormitory door and exposing its chilling white blade.

The person pulled out the axe and peered through the hole with one eye, speaking in a deliberately warm voice. "Is anyone in there?"

It was none other than Chu Xiaoyao!

Nuomi's eyes flew open. Realizing it had only been a dream, she felt immensely relieved.

She heard Zhou You and Chu Xiaoyao sitting nearby, talking.

"Xiaoyao, do ghosts sleep too?"

"She must have fainted from the terror of my imperial might."

"You can't even see ghosts! Clearly, I knocked her out with one punch!"

"I can scare her even without seeing her."

"Oh, she's awake."

Nuomi tried desperately to squeeze into the corner, her gaze full of terror as she looked at Chu Xiaoyao. Her move had never failed before. She had not expected it to fail against a mortal, much less give her a nightmare.

No, is she really a mortal?

"D-don't you have anything you're afraid of?"

Zhou You relayed Nuomi's question to Chu Xiaoyao.

"Afraid?" Chu Xiaoyao gave a soft scoff, disdaining such a foolish question.

"What I fear most is having no worthy opponent."

An inescapable melancholy lingered in her words-the loneliness of standing supreme beneath heaven after the ages had faded into nothing.

Although she could not remember what had happened on the Primordial Continent, she could easily guess how invincible she must have been, unrivaled beneath heaven and ascended to the rank of Immortal Emperor. Her greatest enemy could only have been the loneliness of finding no opponent in the vast world, with solitude as her sole companion.

Overawed by Chu Xiaoyao's presence, Nuomi trembled, unable to speak. On top of her earlier experience and nightmare, a jumble of hurt, fear, and other emotions welled up uncontrollably, and she began to bawl.

"You all bully Nuomi! People come to my home for dates, people come to explore, and people hate Nuomi!"

"The moment they see me, they throw glutinous rice at me! Nuomi thought it was food and stupidly picked it up off the floor to eat. I even named myself Nuomi! Only later did I find out they meant to drive me away!"

Zhou You had not expected this reaction and immediately panicked. If Nuomi had remained defiant, he would not have been afraid; he could simply play hardball too. He had already hit her, after all. But why was she crying the instant she woke up? Surely he could not cry along with her.

Zhou You was at a complete loss, unsure how to comfort her.

"Don't try to comfort me!"

"You two are the worst! One scared me in the inner world, and then the other hit me!" Through tear-blurred eyes, Nuomi glared viciously at them both before continuing to cry.

At the same time, she was a little scared. These two did not look like good people. What if they hit her again? Should she find somewhere else to cry?

"Why are you crying all of a sudden? Please don't cry." Zhou You felt a pang of sympathy. In the end, this female ghost had done nothing bad except scare people.

"It has nothing to do with me. Your punch knocked her out."

"Wasn't it your scare that made her faint?"

"I can't even see ghosts. How could I scare her?"

The two deftly passed the blame back and forth.

Putting on what he believed was a friendly-looking smile, Zhou You explained gently, "Miss Ghost, we didn't come looking for you with any ill intentions. We just want you to move somewhere else."

After what had happened, Zhou You had an idea. The old dormitory building was so cool because it was haunted. If Nuomi moved into their classroom, wouldn't the classroom become cool too?

Nuomi instantly became wary and forcibly stopped crying. Her eyes were red, and the more she looked at the two, the more they seemed like vicious villains.

"You want to live here?!"

So they're here to steal my territory. No wonder they were so ruthless.