Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Pulling of the Academy Formation (Part 3)

Within three minutes of the release of the General History exam results, no one spoke.

Ming Yue's name seemed like a magnet, firmly attracting everyone's attention.

After a moment, the second-place student, Yan Jun, spoke up:

[Congratulations to Ming Yue, the first to achieve the "Living Escape" achievement in the General History exam (funny.jpg)]

[Hahaha, just kidding, congratulations to Ming Yue for getting the best score. We should all learn from you!]

As the class leader spoke, many quickly followed suit, offering their congratulations. Whether or not they meant it, at least they said a few polite words.

Yan Jun was also an interesting person. Ming Yue stared at the class leader's profile picture, pondering. Over the past semester, when I was verbally bullied, I never saw him stop it. It seemed he wasn’t really interested in getting involved in such things. Who would have thought that in this awkward moment of celebration, he knew how to guide public opinion—

[@Yan Jun, congratulations to the big boss for achieving the "Living Escape" achievement, let’s both work hard!]

Ming Yue returned the favor with her own message and then deleted the chat history from the class group on WeChat a few minutes later, closing her phone screen.

She didn’t look at any further discussions in the group chat.

Many had posted anonymously:

[The Ming family’s academic foundation is still strong.]

[What Ming family? Isn’t Ming Yue just a student who got lucky with a high score? She couldn’t even use her Yin-Yang eyes properly.]

[The person above is too slow—her Yin-Yang eyes are fine now.]

[!!!]

[!!!]

[Well, I’ll add one more thing: ‘The Ming family’s academic foundation is still strong.’]

[... What Ming family? Seriously, speak plainly.]

[If you don’t understand what people are saying, that’s on you. The "Ghost Slayer" family is rare, since it’s a short-lived profession, but it does exist. Do you think that’s why Li Xianzhou went out in the middle of the night to find Ming Yue? Do you think Ming Yue’s eyes were so messed up, yet she was still able to enter the Spirit Academy?][Hmph, we’re all poor students, who’s better than whom?]

[Careful there, the Ming family’s academic background is scary, not just in terms of history. I’ve always had my eye on Ming Yue. In the first semester, we didn’t have many professional courses, and the incantation class was already the hardest. But drawing talismans and exorcising ghosts are jobs for poor Taoist priests. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Courses like Yin-Yang sensitivity, combat, real-time strategy, and detailed demonology are all for upperclassmen. Do you think Ming Yue can’t handle these? Go read the news from the Jinling Morning Post these past few days, bro.]

[Exactly, I think she’s useless. Isn’t she just a pretty face, a decoration for our Spirit Academy?]

[…I’m shutting myself in, I don’t want to talk to this idiot above.]

[I saw the news. If the person in the explosion car is really Ming Yue… I’m going to shake my leg for her!]

[For some reason, all these sour lemons are gathering around me QAQ]

The atmosphere in Room 405 was also awkward. An Xueru looked at the results, rolled into her blanket, and went to sleep, practically refusing to talk to Ming Yue. Bai Linlang was fiddling with her phone at her desk, not looking up for a long time. When she saw Ming Yue wasn’t planning to sleep, she put on a stern face and opened her computer, feeling both humiliated and awkward in her heart—

But the harsh truth was much more solid than her pride.

So, she lasted for over ten minutes, before finally giving in.

I’ll begrudgingly admit that you’re worthy of the Ming surname, Bai Linlang thought.

Ming Yue’s mind was swirling with Li Xianzhou’s words from the exam earlier in the afternoon. It was now 11:25 PM, and suddenly a voice came from beside her:

“Congratulations, Ming Yue.”

“To get first place in such a difficult General History exam is really impressive.”

Bai Linlang’s expression was serious.

Ming Yue: “…”

Her smile under the computer’s light looked chilling:

“Thanks, Room Leader.”

“Rest early. Goodnight.”Bai Linlang: "……"

Can this roommate even be saved? Bai Linlang felt like she had punched cotton.

Bai Linlang pulled the blanket open. "Aren't you going to rest? You still have to wake up early to study tomorrow. There’s a written exam for the incantation class the day after tomorrow."

Ming Yue hummed. "You should rest first."

Bai Linlang fell silent for a moment. "Are you unable to sleep because you’re happy?"

Ming Yue: "……"

Ming Yue: "I'm worried and can't sleep." She glanced at the time again.

Bai Linlang furrowed her brows. "What are you worried about?"

Ming Yue turned her computer chair around, said seriously: "Room Leader, I considered that there might be team formations in the practical exam this semester, so preparing in advance is necessary. If you promise to talk to me properly, I’m willing to have a proper discussion with you."

Bai Linlang: "……"

In the darkness, Bai Linlang’s face turned red and green. She felt a lump of anger in her chest, wanting to throw Ming Yue’s face full of complaints.

Ming Yue’s words hit the nail on the head, revealing the truth behind Bai Linlang’s verbal abuse towards her during the past semester. The slap was delivered openly, but Ming Yue remained calm and did not hold any grudges.

An Xueru didn’t know if she had fallen asleep, but with her personality of watching from the sidelines, this awkward scene was definitely something she'd "fallen asleep" to.

After a moment, Bai Linlang took a deep breath. "Whether or not you want to speak is up to you."

"However, I should apologize for some of the things I’ve said in the past."

"I'm sorry, I judged you by your appearance."

Proud as she was, Bai Linlang’s apology still sounded stiff and unyielding.

Ming Yue tilted her head, smiling and watching her.

She knew what kind of person Bai Linlang was. After all the contemptuous words spoken in the past, only Bai Linlang’s words made Ming Yue understand that it wasn’t simply about stepping on others.Bai Linlang truly admired the Ming family's reputation as ghost hunters and looked up to it as something to aspire to.

Just because of that, Ming Yue was able to let go.

"I accept it." Ming Yue clapped her hands.

Bai Linlang, in the middle of her long-winded apology speech, was left speechless.

"Is it really that easy to forgive others? I haven’t even finished mocking myself." Bai Linlang felt both ashamed and angry in her heart, then was dragged up from the bed by Ming Yue, pulled to the balcony, and the door was shut.

The sky was covered in thick clouds, with no moon in sight, and the cold winter air seeped into their bodies, freezing them like dogs.

Bai Linlang looked at Ming Yue, who was exhaling a cloud of white mist, with a look of bewilderment. "What you're saying is, the campus formation maintains the high concentration of yang energy at our university, so there's no haunting. However—" A gust of cold wind blew, and Bai Linlang pulled Ming Yue back a little, "—once the formation is removed, the yin energy floods in, and bad things will happen, right?"

"The world emphasizes the balance of yin and yang. However, the yin-yang ghost arts we study can easily attract spirits. The role of the formation is to make up for the yin energy our spiritual academy brings to the school and maintain a positive, yang-filled campus environment—after all, we are all students, and learning from the wisdom of the past is a great merit that can change one's fate."

Ming Yue said softly, then climbed to the edge of the balcony.

The first-year students lived on the fourth floor, enjoying a superior vantage point to look down. A few professors were standing below, doing something, though it wasn't clear what.

Bai Linlang immediately understood: "So, from the perspective of yin and yang balance, the school should be a place where ghosts are easy to attract, right?"

Ming Yue explained objectively: "Theoretically, yes."

Bai Linlang furrowed her brows. "But that contradicts common sense. It’s said that places with strong yang energy should keep away ghosts and monsters."

Ming Yue shook her head. "It depends on the size of the area, whether it's a relatively closed system environment, and whether the 'yang energy expelling evil' threshold has been exceeded." After all, when things go to extremes, they flip—this is the same fundamental principle as the yin-yang opposition.

Bai Linlang: "……"

Bai Linlang raised an eyebrow. "You really know your stuff."

Ming Yue shrugged. "Because I am a living proof."

Bai Linlang: "What do you mean?"

Ming Yue pointed at her golden right eye and said seriously: "I mean, I am living proof of breaking the 'yang energy expelling evil' threshold, and that's why things flipped."Bai Linlang: "......"

Doesn’t that mean she has encountered countless ghosts since childhood?

Bai Linlang instantly understood the implication of Ming Yue’s words, and a layer of cold sweat formed on her back.

The concept of turning conventional knowledge upside down really shocked her worldview. Bai Linlang stiffened and asked another question, "Then why were you just looking up the school’s college structure on the computer?"

Ming Yue glanced at her sideways. "You saw that?"

Bai Linlang hesitated. "……Yes."

Ming Yue admitted: "I was trying to predict the different 'strange occurrences' that might happen in different colleges after the formation is removed."

Hearing this, Bai Linlang's cold sweat completely turned to frost: "Different colleges will have different ghosts and monsters..." Of course! Every field is as different as a different world! Bai Linlang suddenly realized.

The Business School produces cunning ghosts, while the History and Literature School produces pretentious ghosts.

Ming Yue puffed out her cheeks, teasing: "For example, our Spiritual Academy—before the formation was removed, we probably had more vengeful ghosts than other colleges."

Bai Linlang, who took great pride in being serious and proper, couldn’t stand such disrespectful words. She interrupted: "So, after you’ve been staring at that for a while, what’s your conclusion?"

Ming Yue shook her head, her rebellious cowlick shaking like a lion’s mane: "No thoughts."

"I just remembered—once the formation is removed, the impact won’t just affect our year."

"There are also the three major mountains above us. The seniors must have thought of these things quicker than we did."

Bai Linlang was impressed by Ming Yue’s clear line of reasoning and, for the first time, gave her a rare compliment: "Don’t underestimate yourself."

Ming Yue returned the compliment with her own words: "President, don’t overestimate your peers."

"We, as first-year students, are the first to start our exams. It's understandable that we’ll stay up late after getting the grades tonight. But, when the clock strikes twelve and the yin and yang shift, very few people from our Spiritual Academy would still be awake at this hour, right? But today—look at the three floors below us, how many dorm rooms still have their lights on?"

"Everyone must be discussing strategies, waiting for the formation to be removed."

This logic was flawless, and Bai Linlang, who was blown by the wind, shivered all over. She leaned on the balcony, looking down—As expected, the lights in many dorm rooms on the first, second, and third floors below them were still on. The bright yellow lights from the windows glittered like stars in the night. On the third floor where the second-year students lived, about half the rooms had their lights on. On the second floor where the third-year students lived, there were only one or two rooms with the lights off. On the first floor, where the senior students were stationed, the lights in more than ten rooms were blazing, and the warmth of the yang energy seemed to boil the air like hot water melting ice.

Bai Linlang: "......"

Bai Linlang immediately turned around, swinging her head left and right, and looked at how many lights were on in the first-year dorms on the fourth floor. She counted—quite a few.

Ming Yue pulled the president’s long neck back: "Don’t look anymore. Our class probably has a lot of people still up, cursing me for pretending to be a fool and eating the tiger."

"Looking at the lights in the fourth-floor dorms isn’t reliable."

Bai Linlang: "......"

At this moment of friendly reconciliation, discussing how other dorms were cursing Ming Yue was simply too awkward. "So, what’s your prediction for the actions of the upper years?"

Ming Yue stuck out her tongue: "President, it’s about participating. You guess too, two brains are better than one."

Bai Linlang nodded: "Alright, I’ll count to three, two, one. We’ll say it together."

"Three, two, one."

Both of them spoke at the same time.

"Distribute different teams according to the danger levels of the different colleges." Ming Yue said.

"Assign different grades to guard different colleges." Bai Linlang said.

The two of them fell into silence for a moment.

Bai Linlang: "Teams? Are there enough people in the upper years for that?"

Ming Yue: "If it’s by grade, for the average second-year students, isn’t that too dangerous?"

Bai Linlang: "......"

Bai Linlang scoffed: "How can you say the second years are dangerous? What about us first years?"Before the words had even fallen, Ming Yue’s alarm went off at midnight, the sound of a red song echoing with an almost ear-piercing magic, successfully dispersing into the night sky.

“A big river~ waves are wide~”

“Wind blows the rice flowers~ fragrant on both banks~”

Bai Linlang: "......"

I really am sick, running to the balcony in the middle of the night to listen to red songs.

Before the song had even finished, the ground of the balcony began to slowly tremble, and the clothes and underwear hanging above her head started falling down with a flurry of cracking sounds. The night wind howled, and fabric flew everywhere. Ming Yue exclaimed, “Oh no, An Xueru’s lace panties flew out!”

An Xueru, pretending to be asleep inside the room: "......"

It was as if the earth itself had rolled over. A powerful, majestic force of pure yang energy rapidly surged up from the depths of the ground below. In the blink of an eye, a golden net rose from the Golden University’s Laoxia campus, which covered over a thousand acres. The net was inscribed with complex seal script, and the cold wind blew into the campus beneath it, unexpectedly freezing cold.

Bai Linlang stared in shock at everything in front of her, her heart pounding like a drum.

The entire Golden University felt like a steaming basket of fragrant human-headed buns. As the formation was pulled up, the basket lid opened, and the entire sky was filled with the golden, soft yang energy. Beneath the starry sky, Golden University had come alive, with the pale yellow yang energy almost becoming solid as it spun in the dark night, turning the sky a lovely off-white. In the distance, countless black vortexes quickly rushed forward, like ink spots trying to pollute this beautiful sea of yang energy.

Bai Linlang: "...... Damn."

As the large net rose, countless windows at the bottom of the dormitory building echoed with screams, mixed with the sounds of whistles. The astonishment reached deep space, unable to pierce the thick clouds of the starry sea.

— So everyone really stayed up late waiting to see the "removal of the formation."

The professors who were digging the foundation and responsible for the practical removal of the formation heard the screaming and whistling from the dormitory building, helplessly laughing and crying: "Not sleeping in the middle of the night, these little brats."

On the 405 balcony, Ming Yue quickly grabbed her phone and took pictures of the rapidly shrinking golden net above the sky: "Let’s get hyped, President."

“The next half month, we’ll be protecting Golden University.”

"Surprised? Excited?"

Bai Linlang: "......"

Excited my ass.