Chapter 115: Confrontation and a Broken Seal

Seeing the living people emerge, Lu Yang finally exhaled a long breath, his heart, which had been lodged in his throat, now settling halfway.

As his tense muscles relaxed, he couldn’t help but lean closer to Su Mian.

“Mianzi, your sister… well, her looks are undeniable, but her temper is absolutely dreadful. It’s as if someone owes her eight million.”

“Is this truly how she treats her own brother?”

Su Mian’s lips pressed into an even tighter line. She offered no reply, merely gazing at Su Baixue with a complicated expression.

‘My own brother?’

Even she found her current identity utterly preposterous.

Qin Xuan adjusted his glasses, his face still devoid of expression. His voice, calm and steady, took over the conversation, answering Su Baixue’s earlier challenge.

“I am Qin Xuan, president of the Supernatural Phenomena Research Club. These are my club members. We are here conducting routine club research and investigations.”

His gaze swept over Su Baixue and Ling Chen before he countered, “Rather, what reason do the two of you have for appearing late at night in this old teaching building, which is riddled with unsavory rumors and is, theoretically, already sealed?”

Su Baixue scoffed, her chin tilting slightly. She spoke with the distinct aloofness and unquestionable authority of an exorcist addressing ordinary people.

“Our identities are irrelevant to you. Instead, you speak of ‘supernatural research’?”

“Ignorance breeds fearlessness. This is not a place for ordinary people like you, nor is it a place for your club games. If you persist, you’ll eventually research yourselves to death.”

Her words were unapologetically blunt, carrying a clear warning and… a faint, almost imperceptible hint of irritation.

She seemed eager for them to leave.

Lu Yang clicked his tongue, his voice still not quite hushed. “Tsk, she’s beautiful, alright, but her tongue is venomous.”

Su Baixue’s eyes, sharp as lightning, instantly fixated on Lu Yang.

“You, what did you say?” She had clearly heard him.

Lu Yang jumped, surprised that someone several steps away could hear so clearly. He quickly gave a sheepish laugh.

“N-nothing at all! Just complimenting your beauty, student…”

Just then, Hua Liang, who had been mostly silent, slowly withdrew his gaze from Ling Chen. His usual nonchalance was replaced by a cold scrutiny in his eyes.

He tilted his head slightly, speaking in a voice so low only Xue Li beside him could hear. “This person… is entangled with many different auras. They are incredibly complex.”

Xue Li’s icy blue eyes narrowed slightly, and she nodded, indicating that she, too, had sensed it.

It was not Ling Chen’s own demonic energy, but rather the residual imprints of auras clinging to him after prolonged contact, or even ‘use,’ of various yokai.

Meanwhile, Ling Chen was also observing them, especially Hua Liang and Xue Li.

His playful smile deepened at the corners.

His intuition told him that these two transfer students, particularly the male one, were far from ordinary.

“Regardless of what club you belong to,”

Su Baixue stopped dwelling on Lu Yang’s muttering, her tone hardening into a command. “Now, leave this building immediately. This is not a suggestion.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang’s stubborn streak flared. Coupled with the fright he’d just experienced and his newfound courage at seeing ‘living people,’ he blurted out, “Leave? We’d love to leave! But the problem is, can we?”

He pointed at the eerie, hazy staircase leading to the sixth floor. “See that? Ever since that thing appeared, it’s like we’ve been cursed! No matter how we try to go down, we always end up back on this cursed fifth floor!”

“This old teaching building only has five floors in total!”

To convince them, or perhaps to prove he wasn’t lying, Lu Yang turned and ran down the stairs in a huff, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner.

Su Baixue and Ling Chen’s brows furrowed simultaneously.

Seconds later, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lu Yang reappeared from above—from the direction of that ‘non-existent sixth-floor staircase’—his face ashen as if he’d seen a ghost, panting heavily.

“S-see that?!”

Lu Yang pointed in the direction he had just run from, both shocked and furious. “It’s utterly demonic! This wretched building only goes up now, not down! We’re trapped by this sudden staircase!”

Su Baixue and Ling Chen exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity in the other’s eyes.

They could distinctly feel the distortion of spatial rules and an unusually dense, gloomy aura permeating the area.

The situation was more troublesome than they had anticipated; the seal’s loosening might far exceed what the reports indicated.

Su Baixue quickly made a judgment and said to Ling Chen, “You find a way to get these ordinary people out first. I’ll go up and check the situation.”

Her gaze fixed on the dark, ominous staircase above.

Su Mian’s heart clenched when she heard Su Baixue intended to go up alone. Ignoring Su Baixue’s cold words from earlier, she urgently cried, “Baixue! Don’t go up! Up there… it’s really dangerous!”

As her elder sibling, Su Mian truly did not want to see her sister take such a risk.

Although, her sister was likely an expert at dealing with such entities.

Su Baixue spun around abruptly, her eyes raking over Su Mian’s face like icy blades, filled with offended anger and deep aloofness.

“My affairs are none of your concern. Mind your own business!”

She looked at Ling Chen and the others again, her tone carrying the weight of a final ultimatum. “If you don’t leave now, don’t blame us for not caring about your lives if something happens later!”

Ling Chen had already sauntered to the vicinity of the staircase entrance. Hearing this, he turned, beckoned to Su Mian and the others with a finger, his smile still frivolous but brooking no refusal.

“Hear that? Our Miss Su has spoken.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, come with me. I’ll try to see if I can lead you out.”

Lu Yang was so angry he laughed.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you two? You’re both so arrogant! Didn’t you see my demonstration just now? Down! And is this old teaching building owned by your family? This staircase is evil! You tell us to go, and we’re just supposed to obediently follow?”

He was naturally someone who responded well to kindness but not to coercion. Su Baixue and Ling Chen’s condescending attitudes completely infuriated him.

Su Baixue’s brow furrowed tightly. She clearly had no desire to waste more words on these ‘troublesome ordinary people.’ She turned to Ling Chen.

“Obstinate fools. Since they’re seeking death themselves, we don’t need to force them. Ling Chen, let’s go up.”

With that, she actually took a step, walking towards the staircase shrouded in gray mist.

“Baixue!”

Seeing her genuinely about to ascend, Su Mian’s body reacted faster than her mind in a moment of urgency. She lunged forward, grabbing Su Baixue’s wrist tightly!

“What are you doing! Let go!”

Su Baixue was both startled and angry, trying forcefully to shake free, but she found Su Mian’s grip—extremely tight.

A faint trace of doubt flashed in her eyes—this ‘brother’s’ strength seemed greater than she had imagined?

“Tsk, getting physical isn’t good.”

Ling Chen’s voice rang out, laced with coldness.

Su Mian felt a black shadow flash past the corner of her eye, and a sharp gust of wind struck her waist!

It was Ling Chen. He had unexpectedly launched a kick without warning, with incredible speed.

“Are you messing with my friend right in front of me?” Lu Yang frowned. He was the closest and instinctively wanted to push Su Mian away.

But Ling Chen’s movements were too swift!

Bang!

A dull thud.

Lu Yang only managed to twist his body to shield Su Mian. The kick landed squarely on his abdomen.

Lu Yang’s robust, nearly six-foot frame was sent flying several meters, slamming heavily into the corridor wall before sliding down. He curled up, his face ashen, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

“What… the…”

Lu Yang grimaced in pain, his internal organs feeling dislocated. He looked at Ling Chen in shock. “What the hell! How can this kid be so strong?!”

This was definitely not a level achievable by an ordinary martial artist!

“Ling Chen! What are you doing!”

Su Baixue was also stunned, then glared at Ling Chen.

“My business is none of yours!”

Ling Chen retracted his foot, spread his hands, his smile innocent yet chilling. “Partner, you can’t say that.”

“Seeing a man manhandling you, as your partner, how could I just stand by?”

He deliberately emphasized the word “man,” his gaze pointedly sweeping over Su Mian.

No sooner had he spoken than a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He raised his foot again, kicking at Su Mian’s knee with even greater speed and a more cunning angle!

Without anyone noticing, Qin Xuan’s figure appeared like a phantom beside Ling Chen.

His movement was devoid of any flourish; he merely extended his leg in a seemingly casual trip, precisely catching Ling Chen at the moment his center of gravity shifted.

Ling Chen was caught off guard and stumbled. To maintain his balance, he was forced to forcefully retract his kick.

He had repeatedly confirmed that Qin Xuan was just an ordinary person.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he looked at Qin Xuan.

How could this bespectacled, scholarly-looking fellow possess such precise reactions and timing?

However, before Ling Chen could make another move, two figures had already stepped in front of Su Mian.

It was Hua Liang and Xue Li.

Hua Liang’s usual smile had vanished, replaced by a condescending coldness. His eyes, always brimming with playfulness, now quietly observed Ling Chen.

Xue Li stood half a step in front of him, her icy blue hair swaying without a breeze, and a sudden chill emanated from her, causing even tiny frost to crystallize on the corridor walls.

Though they made no exaggerated movements, they exuded an invisible, heart-stopping pressure.

Ling Chen steadied himself, rubbed his wrist, but his smile grew even more excited, his gaze darting between Hua Liang and Xue Li. “Oh? Your club… is quite united? Interesting.”

Before his words even finished, a sharp glint burst from his eyes, and he launched a punch without warning!

The punch was as swift as lightning, its force tearing through the air with a low moan, aiming directly for Hua Liang’s face!

An ordinary person would likely not even perceive the blur of the fist!

However, Hua Liang merely raised his left hand in a seemingly casual manner.

Clang!

A crisp impact echoed.

Ling Chen’s fist was firmly caught by Hua Liang with a single hand!

Ling Chen’s fist, capable of shattering stone, was met with unyielding stillness in Hua Liang’s single hand.

Ling Chen’s smile instantly froze, his eyes erupting with incredulous astonishment.

He could feel the power of his punch vanish as if swallowed by the sea.

What unnerved him even more was that, the moment Hua Liang caught his fist, he clearly saw an eerie crimson light flash deep within the other’s profound eyes!

Such a sight was utterly beyond human capability!

“So that’s it…”

Ling Chen’s pupils contracted, instantly comprehending something. “You’re not human after all!”

At the very instant he cried out in alarm,

Boom—!!!

A massive, violent, terrifying demonic energy, filled with endless resentment and suffering, suddenly erupted from above them—from the end of that ‘sixth-floor staircase’!

The demonic energy materialized into a tangible, grey-black torrent, surging down the stairs like a tsunami, instantly engulfing the entire fifth-floor platform!

“Ugh—!”

Lu Yang and Qin Xuan, who bore the brunt of the attack, didn’t even have time to let out more than a grunt. Their vision went black, and they lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.

“Spirit Barrier, open!”

Su Baixue and Ling Chen’s expressions drastically changed.

Reacting with extreme speed, they almost simultaneously shouted, their spiritual power gushing forth, condensing into translucent, pale golden barriers before them, resisting the onslaught of the violent demonic energy.

Su Baixue’s pretty face paled, her eyes filled with shock.

“How could this be… The archives stated that the Special-Grade Malevolent Spirit was still sealed by the ‘Seven-Star Spirit Suppression Seal,’ in deep slumber! The intensity and activity of this demonic energy… something is wrong!”

Ling Chen also dropped his usual frivolous demeanor, his expression incredibly grave. He gritted his teeth.

“The seal must be severely compromised! This demon must have been provoked by something; it’s frantically attacking the seal, and… it might be close to succeeding!”

“Just the two of us can’t handle a Special-Grade demonic entity in this state!”

His gaze swept over the unconscious Lu Yang and Qin Xuan on the ground, then past Hua Liang and Xue Li, who seemed less affected by the demonic torrent, merely frowning slightly. Finally, his eyes settled on Su Mian.

Su Mian appeared unchanged. Amidst the wave of the overwhelming demonic energy, the pendant of the necklace she always wore on her chest was now emitting a white light, forming a light shield that securely protected her.

The light shield, though seemingly fragile, firmly kept the surging grey-black demonic energy at bay; not even a single wisp could penetrate it.

“A spiritual artifact? And a… high-grade defensive one!”

Surprise and a hint of greed flashed in Ling Chen’s eyes. “What’s this kid’s background?”

Su Baixue also noticed Su Mian’s unusual state. When her gaze fell upon the necklace, emitting a familiar spiritual energy fluctuation, she felt as if struck by lightning.

For the first time, a clear look of shock and disbelief appeared on her usually cold face!

“Su Mian!”

She looked sharply at Su Mian, her voice slightly distorted by overwhelming emotion. “Where did you get that necklace from?!”

This pure, powerful spiritual energy… she could never be mistaken!

This was clearly Li Moyuan’s power aura!

And it was a precious protective spiritual artifact refined with his innate spiritual energy!

Why would he give such a thing to Su Mian?

A myriad of questions swirled in Su Baixue’s mind.

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