Qi Dengzui peered through the small hole in the door and saw Chu Yang outside.
Chu Yang seemed to be fleeing from the Soul-Severing Ghost, pounding frantically on the door. “My door is broken! I don’t want to die! Qi Dengzui, let me in!”
“If you don’t open the door, I’ll break it down, and none of you will survive either!”
Fine. That was very much in character for Chu Yang.
Qi Dengzui stayed silent. He couldn’t be sure whether the person outside was truly Chu Yang, and even if it was, he couldn’t guarantee Chu Yang wouldn’t stab him in the back.
After all, if killing the others meant passing the exam, Chu Yang would definitely kill him without hesitation.
Before Chu Yang could leave, the half-hour mark arrived. Qi Dengzui pushed open the door and strolled out right in front of Chu Yang, as if no one else was there.
Chu Yang’s expression darkened, and he gnashed his teeth. “Qi Dengzui, are you messing with me? Playing dead, huh?”
Qi Dengzui tilted his chin up slightly. “Sorry, didn’t hear you.”
Chu Yang: “…”
He nearly choked on his own breath.
Qi Dengzui pointed at the blindfold over his eyes, his voice flat. “I’m disabled. Hope you understand.”
Guan Si: “…”
Before long, Ji Mi also arrived.
Qi Dengzui briefly explained the situation with the two timelines, then told Ji Mi, “Meng Shu is dead. She’s been assimilated into a vengeful ghost the one that attacked you.”
Ji Mi surprisingly didn’t react much. He lowered his eyes and said, “I see. Thank you.”
Qi Dengzui decided to take this opportunity to probe them, hoping to sniff out the real liar.
He tilted his head and suddenly spoke up. “Chu Yang, you’re the liar, aren’t you?”
Chu Yang’s face changed drastically, his pupils contracting. “How is that possible?! Don’t just point fingers!”
Qi Dengzui pressed his lips together, speaking lazily. “Then why did you come to my room just now? And even planned to break the door down?”
Chu Yang was left speechless for a moment. “My door was broken. Where else was I supposed to go? Was I supposed to just wait to die? If it were you, wouldn’t you go to someone else’s room? Isn’t that just common sense?”
Qi Dengzui nodded slightly, his voice unhurried. “Mm, I was just saying that randomly.”
Chu Yang: “…”
Veins bulged on his forehead. He really couldn’t hold it together.
Qi Dengzui then looked at Ji Mi. “Your girlfriend died. Why don’t you seem sad at all?”
Ji Mi lowered his head and said, “Sorry, no comment.”
Chu Yang was truly fed up. He frowned and said, “Can you stop being so paranoid? This stupid system loves playing word games. Maybe it’s just trying to make us suspect each other. Who knows if the liar is even human? Maybe ghosts can lie too! Can you just stop asking this and that?”
Qi Dengzui pondered for a few seconds, then said, “Fine. We’ll take it one step at a time. Once the discussion period ends, we need to go to the shop and find a way to destroy the Soul-Severing Ghost. There are still ghosts in the physical timeline, so we need to hurry.”
“Mm,” Ji Mi said. “Have you been to the shop?”
Guan Si nodded. “We went a while ago. The shop has all kinds of items. Killing the Soul-Severing Ghost should be doable.”
[The ten-minute pause period has ended. The game continues!]
Qi Dengzui said, “Let’s go. To the shop.”
The shop was stocked with all kinds of items.
<Defense Array: When the door’s HP drops below 30%, generates a 3-second invincible defense array.>
<Myriad Transformation Array: Randomly transforms into an item not available in the shop, not limited to this examination venue.>
<Talisman Launcher: 50% chance to fire a talisman, controlling a vengeful ghost for 3 seconds.>
<Frozen Array: Reduces vengeful ghost attack speed by 80%.>
<Guillotine: When a vengeful ghost’s HP drops below 30%, directly deals 10% of its max HP as damage.>
The currency for purchasing items was their cultivation and health points.
Qi Dengzui and Guan Si bought five items, and their cultivation was nearly depleted.
The Soul-Severing Ghost drifted slowly in their direction, stopping near the shop. Its eyes were dark and hollow as it stared at them, yet it dared not advance an inch.
Qi Dengzui gripped the talisman launcher in his hand and said, “It’s our turn to fight the ghost. Let’s go. Whether we live or die, we’ll only know by fighting.”
The ghost in the soul timeline was the black-suited vengeful spirit that had first attacked Meng Shu and Qi Dengzui. At this moment, it was wandering around, searching for a target.
As if sensing something, the Soul-Severing Ghost suddenly whipped around, its sharp claws striking toward Qi Dengzui.
Qi Dengzui raised an eyebrow. His soul leaped into the air, and a glazed fan suddenly materialized in his hand. In an instant, he flashed away.
The glazed fan in his hand snapped open with a “shwoosh,” steadily catching the Soul-Severing Ghost’s sharp blade.
Seeing this, Guan Si immediately summoned his Skeleton Bone Umbrella. Gripping the handle, he tossed it upward. The umbrella left his hand and spun a blurry afterimage above Guan Si’s head, like a massive barrier, surging toward the Soul-Severing Ghost.
The Skeleton Bone Umbrella collided violently with the Soul-Severing Ghost’s body, producing a tremendous screech. Chu Yang and Ji Mi had just arrived when the sound hit them, forcing them to cover their ears tightly with furrowed brows.
“What are you standing around for? Attack.” Qi Dengzui said coldly.
The Skeleton Bone Umbrella struck the Soul Ghost but left no trace behind its body didn’t even suffer a scratch, as solid as rock.
<What’s going on? Why can’t we damage it at all? This is insane. How is this Soul Ghost so strong?>
<77 and 44 only just passed one exam, and their weapons aren’t that powerful either. It makes sense they can’t beat it. Also, I remember 44 has always been weak, so his soul state probably isn’t much better.>
<They’ll probably have to rely on exam props.>
<No way, I remember the shop doesn’t have any attack-type weapons. There’s a “Guillotine,” but that can only be used when the vengeful ghost’s HP is below 30%. They haven’t even scratched the Soul Ghost’s skin, how are they supposed to fight it?>
<Damn, is this exam really that hard? I take back what I said about the system giving Guan Si a cheat. This system is trying to screw them both over.>
<Don’t blame the road for being rough when you’re a bad driver. This instance has already been generous to Guan Si and Qi Dengzui, okay? If it weren’t for Guan Si, how would Qi Dengzui have figured out the dual-timeline thing so fast? Remember, the last batch that came to this exam site, they nearly got wiped out before they even figured out the timeline stuff.>
<Seriously, why are you guys arguing again? Can you just watch the livestream quietly?>
The viewing site was in an uproar, but inside the “Haunted Inn” exam site, only the sounds of combat remained.
Chu Yang’s weapon was a longsword. He raised his hand and thrust forward with full force, but the blade was stopped at the Soul Ghost’s body, unable to penetrate even a fraction.
Ji Mi also summoned his weapon it looked like a talisman, its exact function unclear, but it was obviously just as useless against the Soul Ghost.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Qi Dengzui quickly retreated and deployed his first prop.
<Talisman Launcher: 50% chance to fire a talisman, controlling the vengeful ghost for 3 seconds.>
The talisman was loaded into the launcher, and with two “whoosh” sounds, it shot onto the Soul Ghost, sticking firmly to its skeletal surface. The Soul Ghost was instantly trapped in place, unable to move, no matter how it clawed and scratched, it couldn’t remove the talisman.
Qi Dengzui’s fingers went numb as his thoughts raced through his mind.
Their weapons couldn’t hurt the Soul Ghost, and the shop had no props that could damage it either. How were they supposed to kill it?
Could the system really be setting them up for certain death?
Three seconds was pitifully short, gone in the blink of an eye. The Soul Ghost broke free and lunged again.
Its body was indestructible, impervious to blades and spears, and its strength was immense. One claw came down, about to sink into Guan Si.
Qi Dengzui lunged forward, rolling to reach Guan Si in time, and took the claw head-on.
The sharp claws pierced through Qi Dengzui’s soul, nearly shattering it entirely. When his soul reformed, it had rapidly faded from a deep black to a pale gray.
“Qi Ge!!”
Guan Si froze in place, as if doused with ice water, his voice hoarse to the point of cracking.
Qi Dengzui let out a muffled groan, his organs feeling like they’d been knocked out of place. He shoved Guan Si back with a forceful sweep, his voice trembling slightly: “I’m fine. Stay away from me. Be careful.”
The Soul Ghost struck again with another claw. Qi Dengzui blocked with his glazed fan, but with a crisp crack, the fan split with cracks running through it and shattered.
<What the hell? It broke? Seriously?>
<Wait, isn’t that his bonded weapon? How the hell can that break?>
<Shit, the Soul Ghost is attacking again. Qi Shen, watch out!!!>
The Soul Ghost was impossible to fight. They still had a full ten minutes before their next group discussion, they had to survive ten minutes just to earn a brief moment of safety.
A full ten minutes.
It might as well be climbing to the heavens.
Qi Dengzui’s bonded weapon, the glazed fan, was destroyed. He had no means of self-defense left.
Qi Dengzui was no match for the Soul Ghost.
Guan Si’s heart twisted in agony, despair flooding his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to throw himself forward and take the fatal blow for Qi Dengzui.
The Soul Ghost seemed to sense that Qi Dengzui had no defenses left. Its attacks slowed, carrying a cruel playfulness, as if victory was already assured.
It raised its hand and slowly swiped downward, as if it could already see Qi Dengzui’s death.
<It’s over, it’s over!!! Qi Shen is going to die!>
<Fuck, I can’t watch anymore. Can someone update me on what happens next? I don’t want to see Qi Shen die.>
On the viewing site, some viewers had already fled the stream, rushing to the Paranormal Academy forum to post wailing threads.
But before they could even wail for two seconds, the notification icons below went wild, replies flooding into their view.
<Stop wailing! Qi Dengzui isn’t dead yet! What are you crying for?>
<Get back to the livestream now, Qi Shen is about to counterattack!>
<Hurry up, or you’ll miss it! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.>
The moment the Soul Ghost struck downward, time seemed to slow. Its movements suddenly decelerated, its claw descending weakly, inch by inch.
〈Ice Seal Array: Reduces Wraith attack speed by 80%.〉
Qi Dengzui let out a breath, then produced another item. A burst of light erupted from his palm, suddenly illuminating the entire corridor.
〈Myriad Shift Array: Randomly transforms into an item not found in the shop, not limited to this examination venue.〉
Qi Dengzui raised his head, let out a cold laugh, his gaze sharp and ruthless.
“Your turn is over. Now it’s mine.”