Apart from Gu Zhe.
The other four people in the room were stunned.
Ming Xiao Fei's performance now was every bit as chilling as her ghostly antics earlier.
Everyone stared blankly as her phantomlike figure appeared in every corner of the room.
Yet she seemed utterly silent, flickering about like a ghost.
Was she still human?
Was she still a normal person?
Was this still their Ming Xiao Fei?
Was this still their daughter?
The Ming couple and Ming Xuan were a little bewildered and a little worried.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhaodi, who had spent most of this time utterly confused, became even more confused.
What on earth is happening? Everything has been wrong ever since I delivered that Paper Figure today.
What exactly are you hiding?
Were all those mysterious things Brother Gu said actually true, rather than just a way to "expand his business"?!
She couldn't help groaning inwardly:
How is that possible?!
Then she looked again at Ming Xiao Fei's drifting figure, more mysterious and ghostly than even a martial arts master.
She murmured to herself.
"So... you really are Super Fei!"
She turned toward Gu Zhe.
"Brother Gu, I came first! I want to be Super Zhaodi too!"
"Master Gu, what's happening to Xiao Fei?"
"Master Gu, is Xiao Fei all right?"
"Mr. Gu, what's going on? How did Xiao Fei... how did she... suddenly become like this?"
"Don't panic. Everything is normal!"
What they didn't know was that beneath Gu Zhe's calm exterior, he too was inwardly crying out that this defied all logic.
It wasn't Ming Xiao Fei's performance that defied logic. It was the fact that he couldn't merge his own supernatural Paper Figure into himself the way she could.
He couldn't help muttering inwardly, This doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it!
Of course, Gu Zhe was only a little envious. Really, just a little. He believed that as he leveled up, sooner or later he would be able to receive power in return.
There was no reason Ming Xiao Fei could do it while he, its master, couldn't.
There had to be some crucial detail he hadn't figured out yet.
Yes!
That must be it!
I'm really not jealous. Really. After all, I'm the master of the Paper Figure that Ming Xiao Fei is borrowing her power from.
It's just... the more I try to let it go, the angrier I get.
Damn it! It makes no sense!
Still, whether it made sense or not, things were developing just as he had imagined.
Sure enough, the Paper Figure strengthened by the secret realm could now travel through the intangible Spiritual Passage, and Ming Xiao Fei's soul really could accommodate it and borrow its power.
His inward grumbling was only him joking with himself.
In truth, impressive and supernatural as Ming Xiao Fei looked now, as though some power had simply fallen into her lap out of nowhere...
It was merely because Gu Zhe had mentally ordered his Paper Figure subordinate to abandon its self-protection and resistance, allowing Ming Xiao Fei to take control and guide it smoothly.
If Gu Zhe changed his mind, a single thought would be enough to make his Paper Figure subordinate stop providing that power through their fusion.
If Gu Zhe first projected his consciousness into the Paper Figure, then possessed Ming Xiao Fei through that Spiritual Passage, he could take control of her body in an instant if he wanted.
By using the secret realm and his Paper Figure subordinate as intermediaries, he could control people in the real world.
Gu Zhe sighed inwardly.
Luckily, I'm pure, kind, and benevolent. Otherwise, if Ming Xiao Fei had met someone else with these abilities, who knows whether it would have been a blessing or a curse?
Meeting me was a blessing, of course.
After all, Gu Zhe clearly distinguished between kindness and grudges, and he did have moral boundaries.
Just then.
Ming Xiao Fei finally stopped darting around.
The girl was positively radiant. Even the pallor left by her experiences over the past few days couldn't hide her excitement and exhilaration.
Her eyes seemed to shine.
It was as though she were saying, You used to ignore me. Heh, now that you've seen what I can do, I'm way out of your league...
She simply radiated the overflowing confidence of someone who had finally discovered her true self.
"Heh, Dad, Mom, Sis, you know nothing about me, Ming Xiao Fei!"
In short.
Her delusions of grandeur were off the charts.
Even her parents, shocked as they were, felt embarrassed when they saw her expression and behavior.
An instinctive sense of shame welled up inside them.
Fortunately, once Ming Xiao Fei caught sight of Gu Zhe...
She instinctively reined in her arrogant theatrics.
For some reason, a sense of reverence, admiration, and awe rose within her.
Though the bratty girl was flighty, she still knew what mattered.
In Ming Xiao Fei's heart, Gu Zhe was now more than just the savior she owed heartfelt respect and gratitude.
She looked up to him with even greater reverence. The more she felt this power of hers, the more majestic, sacred, and unfathomable Brother Gu seemed.
Her melodramatic teenage soul flared up.
The more a young person admired someone, the more openly they showed it.
They didn't have all the worries and calculations of adults. They simply followed their instincts.
She felt the instinctive obedience of the supernatural being she had drawn into herself.
An impulse struck her.
She dropped to one knee.
"Ming Xiao Fei pays her respects to her lord!"
That still didn't feel satisfying enough to express her admiration and individuality.
She recalled a scene she had seen on television.
"Xiao Fei wishes her lord and big brother a long life! Long live my lord, for ten thousand years!"
She raised her head.
Anticipation appeared on her face.
"My lord and big brother, Xiao Fei has now mastered her divine arts! I propose we strike now, conquer the world, and make you its sole supreme ruler."
"Hmph! From now on, those who obey will prosper, and those who defy us will perish! Xiao Fei is willing to wage war far and wide for you. Let's start... hmm, I think we should start with our school. Let's see who dares refuse to submit! If you ask me, we should flatten the school outright. Let's see who still dares make people study and do homework, bullying me like that."
"Big brother, just give the word, and Xiao Fei will unleash blood and fire!"
"Hmph! With my current strength, calling myself invincible might be an exaggeration, but I can certainly rank second in the world, right below you. I can scale walls and leap across rooftops now. I can..."
Whoosh!!
She chopped with the edge of her hand.
A corner of a nearby tea table was sliced off.
"I can cleave wood and sever iron! I'm no ordinary person anymore. Thank you for nurturing me, big brother!"
"From now on, I'll brave mountains of blades and seas of fire for you without hesitation."
Ming Xiao Fei had completely let her newfound power go to her head, with the wild arrogance of someone who had suddenly made it big.
It was as though the things that had driven her to despair and terror earlier were already far in the past.
She felt nothing but complete satisfaction and irrepressible excitement.
Who else's lucky encounter could compare to mine?
Other people have to cultivate peerless martial arts step by step, practicing qi and all that. Look at me-I mastered supernatural power in just over ten minutes.
That proves big brother's power is boundless, and it also proves that I, Ming Xiao Fei, have unparalleled talent and aptitude, right?
In a different setting...
Ming Xiao Fei's declaration of loyalty might have felt quite fitting for the martial world, full of devotion and righteousness.
But here and now, in this setting...
It only left everyone else in the room speechless.
Even her parents, who were stunned by her special abilities, felt embarrassed by their daughter's melodramatic behavior.
Second in the world? Obey and prosper, defy and perish? Flatten the school...?
And "my lord," and "long live my lord"? Could a normal person say those things without embarrassment?
Master Gu was so powerful and mysterious. Was he anywhere near as ostentatious as her?
Could this melodramatic girl please tone it down?
Especially when Ming Xiao Fei sliced off a corner of the tea table with her hand.
Her father finally lost control.
"Ming Xiao Fei! My tea table! My red sandalwood..."
Ming Xiao Fei shuddered.
"Dad, what are you worried about? With your daughter's current strength, what do mere material possessions matter?"
"You..."
Still, after this melodramatic girl's antics...
Much of the eerie atmosphere had dissipated.
Gu Zhe willed it.
The presence and power of the "Blank Paper Figure" possessing Ming Xiao Fei withdrew.
Feeling as though all her martial prowess had been stripped away, Ming Xiao Fei wilted.
Then she remembered the terror of being watched by the Evil Ghost.
She realized she was still just a poor little girl after all.
And began receiving a harsh lesson in reality from her parents and sister!