Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Preparation Three

Early summer, the trees lush and green, sunlight filtering through and dappling the brick road. Students walked in groups of two or three, the evening bell ringing in the distance as the sunset painted the sky. The bell's chime was clear and melodious. As June drew to a close, graduation season was upon them once again.

At the venue for the Hundred School Joint Exam introduction meeting.

The hall was bustling with noise. At the entrance, a signboard displaying the guest list was propped up. The distinctive blood-red black dragon emblem of the Exorcist Association caught the eye, exuding a sharp and imposing aura. At the bottom of the sign was a clear label: Target audience: No restrictions. Many students who passed by, curious, couldn’t help but take a moment to examine the notice board.

Class Leader Bai led the two dorm mates into the hall.

An Xueru, having just finished her meal, walked while touching up her makeup: “The time when our Spirit Academy has the strongest presence is now.”

“Quite the extravagant scene. It’s the first time in a year that I’ve seen our academy manage to fill the big hall.”

Ming Yue quietly noted the guest list on the signboard, “Don’t say that, An Panger.”

“The end of last semester, our presence was so strong.”

“The entire school was in chaos.”

An Xueru: “......”

An Xueru snapped the makeup case shut: “How dare you say that.”

The three of them didn’t arrive early. As they entered the venue, the crowd was thick, and there were few empty seats left. Countless people stood or sat, discussing and gesturing as they looked busy. A few of the younger teachers from the academy, including Li Xianzhou, were arranging matters at the front of the tiered hall. Class leaders from every grade had not taken their seats yet, moving through the aisles, helping to maintain order—

Ming Yue, sharp-eyed, spotted Yan Jun registering at the sign-in desk. She quickly waved at him, and Yan Jun returned the gesture with an "OK" signal to acknowledge he saw her.

“There’s a seat here!”

“Ming Yue!”

Liu Tianran waved through the sea of people, calling Ming Yue’s name. The three from Room 405 quickly made their way over.

After sitting down, Ming Yue realized that she had led her roommates into the second-year student’s circle. A circle of familiar faces surrounded them, several of whom were seniors from the Water West Gate who had explored caves together at night—

Everyone greeted the three young girls from Room 405 warmly.

“Hello, junior sisters.”

“It’s been a few days, looks like everyone’s doing well.”

“Haha, Ming Yue, congratulations on making it onto the July issue of Yin-Yang Studies!”"That's right! Congratulations! These past two weeks, a bunch of people have been asking me about you!"

"Alright, Qian Qianshan, stop embarrassing the junior sister!" Liu Tianran glared at Qian Qianshan. She was very protective of Ming Yue, the younger sister who had gone through thick and thin with her.

Just thinking about that difficult senior, Lu Xingru, made Ming Yue’s smile become a little awkward.

“The questions Senior Lu asked were actually quite hard to answer,” Ming Yue said, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I’m not sure if I answered well.”

“I didn’t know much about the deep stuff either.”

“Just… said as much as I knew.”

“Senior is really impressive, being able to analyze things so well.”

A few second-year students chuckled, calling Ming Yue too humble. Qian Qianshan adjusted his glasses and reminded her:

“By the way, Ming Yue, remember to get a copy of the July Yin-Yang Studies when it’s out.”

“See how proper academic papers are written, and keep it as a record.”

“It’ll be good for your graduation.”

“Okay.” Ming Yue obediently nodded. “Thank you, Senior.”

Amid the noisy crowd, students came and went. Bai Linlang had just greeted Qin Lin, the second-year class leader, who was passing by the aisle. She turned to ask Liu Tianran in the front row:

“Senior, how’s the Water West Gate project going now?”

“Is everything going smoothly?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the group of second-year students in the front row turned their heads in unison, both familiar and unfamiliar faces, all pointing at their eyes and saying:

“Junior, can you see our dark circles?”

Bai Linlang: "..."

Bai Linlang was so startled that she jumped and quickly nodded, “I see them.”

Liu Tianran sighed:

“Don’t even mention it.”“Cooperating with the opposing side is just frustrating to the point of explosion.”

“They complain that our procedures are too many, and we complain that their mouths are too loose.”

“Underground zombies? What’s that? Dead people are never as hard to deal with as the living, don’t you think?”

Dead people are never as hard to deal with as the living.

The three first-year students couldn’t help but laugh.

Ahead, Li Xianzhou opened the computer. The black curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows were drawn, and the display screen lit up.

Seeing this, the four class leaders quickly stepped down. Qin Lin led a few people over to sit and whispered, “It’s starting, stop talking.”

Ming Yue glanced at Yan Jun, who was sitting next to her.

In the darkness, the profile of the boy’s face had superior, classical lines, and his movements gave off a faint, unfamiliar aura.

It was very pleasant to the senses.

Ming Yue: “…”

Ming Yue felt like there might be something wrong with her brain.

Everything seemed off lately.

Ming Yue, you really are a freak, she self-deprecated.

Yan Jun spoke up: “Don’t look at me, look at Teacher Li.”

How would you know I’m looking at you in this darkness?

Ming Yue: “…”

Ming Yue: “Okay.”

The projector lit up with a soft blue glow, floating in the pitch-black auditorium.

Li Xianzhou came up to start the presentation. His cold, sharp features seemed to float in the dark light and mist.

A man who wasn’t even thirty years old yet was as composed as a stone lion in a graveyard, calm and unhurried, with his words crisp and deliberate.

First, there was a basic introduction to the hundred-school joint examination. Most students from the Spiritual Institute just listened. This session was more for introducing the event to students from other institutes present.

As expected, with Li Xianzhou’s explanation, sounds like “Oh,” “Ah, like this,” “I knew it” occasionally came from the unknown corners of the dark hall.

Hearing these sounds, for some reason, Ming Yue felt a sense of joy in her heart.

She understood that the yin-yang profession, because of the special nature of its work, was destined to never be fully exposed to the public eye like other industries.

Without understanding, there couldn’t be true empathy and reverence.

Even though they could never show the same respect for ghost hunters as for the heavens and earth or spirits, it was still good to learn more, even if only a little.

Miss Ming thought with relief.

On stage, Li Xianzhou began explaining the location of the hundred-school joint examination, Fengdu, the City of the Dead.

“I hope everyone here, whether you're just here for the show, or if you really intend to go to Yuzhou…”

“Make sure to look closely at Fengdu.”

“This is the crystallization of thousands of years of ghost and monster culture in China, where the forces of yin and yang were born from the blending of civilizations.”

“It is also an essential place for the career of a ghost hunter.”

“Please, everyone, approach it with reverence.”

The slideshow displayed images of the lush ancient city, with grey walls, green tiles, and uneven rooftops. Several statues stood on moss-covered stone steps, their eyes closed, mouths open, exuding an air of mystery.

Beside her, Bai Linlang and An Xueru were whispering and discussing the meaning of the statues in the photos. Ming Yue couldn’t join the conversation, so she took a picture. Someone next to her remarked, “I didn’t expect the famous capital of the ghost country in both the yin and yang realms to look like a peaceful little town.”

Ming Yue switched her camera to night mode and said, “You haven’t seen any photos of Fengdu before, Class Leader?”

Yan Jun nodded, “I’m quite ignorant.”

Ming Yue chuckled softly, “It’s not that serious.”

“You’re the only heir of your family’s ghost hunter, so it’s normal not to understand.”

Yan Jun also smiled, but in the darkness, Ming Yue couldn’t see his face. She only heard him say, “You really know how to comfort people.”

“Lack of industry knowledge doesn’t warrant comfort.”

Upon hearing this, Ming Yue felt inexplicably sad.Yan Jun came from a prestigious family. If he hadn’t been born with the Yin-Yang Eye, he would undoubtedly have become one of the nation’s future leaders, a young talent in the ruling class, who could later command the winds and rain.

However, because he was born with the Yin-Yang Eye, he was doomed to walk an unconventional path.

Entering the Yin-Yang profession from an ordinary industry with no foundation—this was not as simple as just having courage.

The Yin-Yang profession is a difficult one to enter and an even harder one to leave.

Yan Jun was not a gentle person by nature. Although he appeared refined and gentle in front of Ming Yue, she could feel that the class leader was not someone who would simply go with the flow.

He had sharp edges, he was incredibly gifted, and he was proud.

He was willing to put in a hundred times more effort than his talent required.

Otherwise, how could Yan Jun, a non-aristocratic child, remain steady in the top three of his class?

"Don’t think like that."

Ming Yue calmed her emotions and cheerfully said, "Children of aristocratic families die early."

"You’re just fine this way, Big Brother."

Yan Jun couldn’t help but laugh at her words.

He knew Ming Yue was trying to comfort him, and he felt warm inside. "You really don’t need to curse yourself to comfort others."

At this moment, Li Xianzhou invited the guest sitting in the front row to come up and explain the details about Fengdu.

Amid applause, a young man dressed in the Ghost Hunter Association’s black uniform walked onto the stage.

Ming Yue was surprised, "Hey, isn’t that the senior who came to finish up the work at Baoshan Hospital?"

Yan Jun was also trying to recognize him and nodded, "Exactly."

"He’s Zhou Jingren’s brother, Zhou Jingrong."

Ming Yue quickly became serious and paid attention.

Zhou Jingrong was calm and composed, with an air of indifference and detachment that came from experience. His broad shoulders and long arms made him appear larger than life, and as he demonstrated, it was hard to decide whether to look at the slideshow or at him:

"Fengdu has always been a place for the unusual... The local residents respect and understand ghosts and spirits.""The Yin-Yang profession is a gray area, always existing in the blind spot of the living's vision..."

"But the people of Yuzhou Fengdu have always known about the existence of the Yin-Yang Ghost Slayer profession."

"Similarly, the residents of Fengdu also know about our annual Hundred-School Joint Examination."

After speaking, Zhou Jingrong paused for a moment. As expected, his few words triggered a wave of uproar.

It was earth-shattering!

It felt as though a mythical illusion was floating in the air, suddenly transforming into a meteor, burning through the atmosphere, and crashing heavily to the ground!

Lingyuan students were shouting!

Students from other schools were shouting too!

The dimensional barrier was broken!

Bai Linlang gasped in astonishment: "Oh my god! Fengdu knows!"

"We're doomed! How did they manage our Hundred-School Joint Examination every year then?"

"They’re too bold!"

Ming Yue was also wide-eyed, her jaw dropping:

"Is there a problem? Is there no problem?"

"Are they crazy?"

"Class leader, can you imagine that we’re taking the Ghost Slayer exam while people next door are cooking with firewood!"

Yan Jun: "......"

Yan Jun was almost dying from laughter at the teasing of the girls from 405.

Zhou Jingrong was very pleased with the effect of his provocative words.

The Ghost Slayers sitting in the front row also looked at each other, folding their arms and laughing.

"Alright, alright."Li Xianzhou's mood was also quite good, standing up to maintain order.

Zhou Jingrong continued his explanation.

"The residents around Fengdu are very simple... they have always been the guardians of the Yin-Yang boundary since ancient times..."

"...No need to be surprised, they knew about ghosts and gods protecting the Yin-Yang long before any of you were even born..."

"Don’t think you're stronger than others just because the people of Fengdu don’t have Yin-Yang eyes..."

"In fact, according to the statistics of the lineage of Ghost Slayers over the generations, Yuzhou Fengdu is the top hometown source..."

"We are borrowing their land for the exam, so naturally, we must have reasons and justification."

"Fengdu’s territory is special, located at the boundary between Yin and Yang. Every year, forty-nine days before the Zhongyuan Festival, this place experiences a violent Yin-Yang clash. The Ghost Slayer Association takes this opportunity to set up the examination venue and offer the certification exam for all of you reserve candidates."

Zhou Jingrong clicked the laser pointer, and the slide changed to an image of a cracked earth seam, its depth and height unknown, with black and red lights colliding violently. If one were there in person, it would be a breathtaking volcanic eruption-like scene.

The Lingyuan students all gasped in awe.

This surely captured a real-time photo of a large-scale Yin-Yang clash in progress.

Fengdu was truly a "place of heroes and spirits"!

Zhou Jingrong said: "Look at the residents who live in such a place every day."

"What kind of big scenes haven’t they seen?"

"When it rains heads, when there's a corpse tide, they still cook as usual, nothing’s out of the ordinary."

"Unlike you, screaming like chickens."

Lingyuan students present: "..."

We’ve been hit in the knees.

Non-Lingyuan students present: "..."

We can’t even make a sound as loud as that.

Zhou Jingrong was amused by the expressions of the students in the room. He suddenly understood why Li Xianzhou, with such a promising future, chose to devote himself to teaching at the school—

Teaching the "future" really does feel amazing."Alright, alright, pick up your chin."

"At the exam site, the area will still be cleared. There will be residents, but not as many as usual."

"After all, who knows, they might be old-timers who have watched countless certification exams. What if they help you cheat, right?"

Zhou Jingrong smiled and said.

After the event, an external internship list for this year's certification exam was posted at the entrance of the auditorium, with a crowd of people eagerly competing for positions.

The list was based on theoretical and practical exam scores.

The theoretical score was out of 40, while the practical score was out of 60.

The list was made up of mostly second-year students, with a few first-year students.

First-year students definitely wouldn't have an advantage competing against second-year students.

Even with a weighted theoretical score, first-year students would only have half the score of second-year students.

However, the truly impressive ones would still manage to "exploit" this "advantage."

Ming Yue squeezed through the crowd to find her name.

Bai Linlang spotted it first, letting out a sharp scream, and excitedly slapped Ming Yue on the shoulder, happier than if she had gotten the spot herself:

"Quick, quick! Ming Yue! 12th!"

"Oh my god! How did you do it!"

"Your theoretical score is 29, so low, but practical is first!"

"......"

Ming Yue froze for a moment, then quickly looked over.

Sure enough, the list clearly showed:

[12th Place] [Class 18 Ming Yue] [Theoretical: 19.5] [Practical: 60]Overall score: 79.5.

Ranked at the top of the list.

Looking further up, the top eleven are all second-year students.