Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Sword Cuts the Demon and Monster (Part Two)

The massive earthquake in the live streams from all the schools is a story for another time.

Zhāng Qíqí, who had witnessed Míng Yuè successfully subdue the shoulder-patting ghost on the bridge, was still in shock.

Ahead, her classmate, after completing her task, knelt on the ground and began tinkering away, not even performing a simple exorcism for the departed soul. She quickly and efficiently tossed the injured Zhāng Qíqí aside and started her measurements.

Zhāng Qíqí couldn't hold back: "…Classmate, what are you doing?"

Míng Yuè looked up and smiled: "This bridge ghost is very wild. I want to write a basic record and measure some data. After the exam, I’ll submit a 'Collection of Hundred Ghosts' to the academy."

Zhāng Qíqí: "…"

I have to say, this hands-on approach felt very familiar to Zhāng Qíqí.

It was quite like her rival.

She licked her lips and cautiously asked:

"Thank you very much for saving me earlier."

"However, aren’t you planning on performing an exorcism for the bridge ghost?"

Míng Yuè looked confused: "What?"

Zhāng Qíqí explained patiently: "Those who harm others are always harmed in return. Generally, after death, they become vengeful spirits, suffering considerable harm in the world of the living—yes, this bridge ghost is cunning, full of tricks, and is not a completely mindless evil spirit—we, as Demon Slayer trainees, should have a compassionate heart and grant the departed soul peace."

What she said made sense.

But—

Míng Yuè looked at Zhāng Qíqí, who seemed weak but spoke so reasonably. She felt she had never seen this style of Spirit Academy student before, though she had heard of such.

"You make a lot of sense."

"But, I have no problem performing an exorcism for him—" Míng Yuè, who hadn’t yet taken the exorcism course, spoke nonsense, "—you saw it too, this bridge ghost was skilled in his methods. Although I didn’t see his true face, I judged that he must have harmed many people before."

"If I exorcise him, who will appease the grievances of those who died unjustly?"

Zhāng Qíqí paused, at a loss for words.

Míng Yuè: "Repaying hatred with virtue is not always appropriate.""Especially considering the special nature of the Demon Slayer profession, if we are too kind, the blade won't move."

Zhāng Qíqí: "…"

Zhāng Qíqí furrowed her brow in her heart. People of different paths should not scheme together.

Míng Yuè pulled some gauze out of her bag and secretly rubbed a bit of unfinished blood on her finger, then applied some Yunnan Baiyao. She squatted down to bandage Zhāng Qíqí's shoulder.

"Miss, are you from the Imperial University?" Míng Yuè voiced her guess.

Zhāng Qíqí straightened her back, a trace of pride appearing on her face without realizing it: "Yes."

"I am a fourth-year student at Imperial University's Spirit Academy, Zhāng Qíqí."

"Wow, that's impressive."

Míng Yuè smiled and encouraged as she helped Zhāng Qíqí raise her arm to wrap the gauze.

When the gauze touched the wound, a sharp pain shot through Zhāng Qíqí. She winced, then quickly noticed a strange warmth seeping down her shoulder, clearly alleviating the burn from the shadowy injury. She was astonished: "Such a powerful medicine."

"Classmate, which school are you from?"

The blood that covered me must be effective, right?

Míng Yuè almost blurted out her self-introduction, but then remembered an hour ago when she mentioned how she was discriminated against by Liú Ānrán when she was in the second year of Spirit Sealing. Her mind quickly switched gears, and in a second, she fabricated a new identity: "I’m also a fourth-year, from Jin University’s Spirit Sealing Academy."

"My name is Míng Yuè."

Zhāng Qíqí: "…"

Zhāng Qíqí's mouth twitched, looking at Míng Yuè's face, clearly still youthful with baby fat, "Classmate, you started university quite early."

"Wait…" Zhāng Qíqí belatedly caught on, "What did you say your name was?"

Míng Yuè tied the gauze in a knot, "Míng Yuè."

"‘Míng’ like the sun and moon in the sky, ‘Yuè’ like flying over."

Zhāng Qíqí: "…"

Zhāng Qíqí's mind was overwhelmed by a storm of thoughts.The rivalry between Imperial University and Jin University is well-known to everyone.

Whenever something happens at Jin University, the Spirit Academy at Imperial University will hold all-night meetings and announce it across the academy, discussing what the move from Jin University means, what their thoughts were, and what their strategic layout is.

Earlier in the year, the Spirit Sealing Academy at Jin University was involved in the Demon Slayer penalty-signing incident, which caused quite a stir in all major spirit academies.

Penalty-signing incidents are common, but it's rare for a student to be penalized.

Not to mention, penalty-sign #8769 was an A-level penalty-sign for all students.

In the second semester's class, the professors at Imperial University's Spirit Academy made sure to talk in depth about this incident.

Zhāng Qíqí remembered it clearly.

She would never forget the name at the top of the penalty-sign.

Zhāng Qíqí stood respectfully: "You are the one in charge of penalty-sign #8769."

"Míng Yuè, I've heard so much about you. To meet you today, as expected, your reputation is well-deserved."

In charge of the penalty-sign.

Listen to how that sounds.

It’s as if she’s been involved in a huge crime case.

Míng Yuè almost choked on the flattery that came out of nowhere.

"What?"

Zhāng Qíqí looked at her with admiration: "We heard some rumors in our class that there were several lower-year students mixed in with penalty-sign #8769—some even said you were one of the lower-year students. At that time, I didn't believe it."

"Now that I see you, as expected."

"How could a first-year have such great power?"

Míng Yuè: "…"

Míng Yuè felt uneasy, her mind racing through her knowledge reserves, fearing she might accidentally reveal too much while chatting with Zhāng Qíqí.

Zhāng Qíqí saw the strange expression on Míng Yuè's face and hesitated: "Could it be... that someone in your class shares the same name?"Míng Yuè: "…"

Míng Yuè shrank her neck and shook her head: "No."

Zhāng Qíqí became happy: "Then it's settled!"

"It's you, Míng Yuè."

"I'm so happy to meet you!"

Míng Yuè: "…" Polite smile, mood complicated.

The president of the New Media Department, Zhāng Ān Yáng, was busy gathering background information on the Demon Slayer professional exam. An hour ago, a classmate reminded him, and he suddenly remembered the important task—quickly upload the Demon Slayer exam livestream public chain to Jin University's public account and the school BBS homepage.

One hour later, the Jin University portal traffic surged, and dozens of posts related to the Demon Slayer exam appeared on the BBS homepage.

After releasing the compiled exam information on the public chain display board, Zhāng Ān Yáng let out a long sigh of relief and began to sip his red tea with goji berries while watching the livestream.

When he opened it, all he saw were "grids", each grid dynamically displaying images. It was so intense to stare at, his eyes nearly strained, gray and blurry, a bit of an aesthetic mess.

Each grid was linked to a surveillance camera in the Ghost City of Fengdu, and with the algorithm written by the Department of Computer Science, the system calculated the sequence changes based on the click count for each grid. When the mouse hovered over a grid, it would show the candidate's code and the name of the scenic spot in the surveillance footage (Zhāng Ān Yáng: Damn, it even does mirror capture).

Zhāng Ān Yáng: "…"

The maintenance of the public chain was entirely handled by the Department of Computer Science, but the aesthetics were quite poor.

Zhāng Ān Yáng clicked on a few grids, didn't find anything interesting, and gave up on choosing for himself. He decided to go with the public taste, casually clicking on the grid ranked 23rd in the traffic list, marked with the tag [Scenic Spot: Public Toilet 1].

The screen zoomed in, showing the view under a tree, with a broken bridge and a dirty river.

The fog was thick on the bridge, and the surveillance camera, shot from a high angle, barely made it clear.

There were two figures on the bridge. After a fierce collision, one fell to the ground, and the other remained unharmed.

Zhāng Ān Yáng was a bit confused.

The bullet comments rolled quickly:

[Damn, another kid's on the bridge.]

[I just checked the candidate number. The first one on the bridge is from Imperial University. Look how badly he got beaten, his shoulder’s all bruised.]【The one who just got on the bridge... Looking at the candidate number sequence, starting with 01, should be from Jin University?】

【I don't care about Jin University or Imperial University, anyway, I won't be able to pass, I just want to say... Someone point the new guy in the right direction, where's the ghost, these two students are talking so quietly, I can't hear them clearly】

【The ghost is coming soon】

【I'm here to watch humans fight ghosts, not interested in just watching people get scared by ghosts, if that's all, just bite them and be done with it】

【Tsk, if you don’t want to watch, don’t watch. These people dare to get up close and fight ghosts. Win or lose, they’re much stronger than you who can only type on the keyboard】

"…"

Zhāng Ān Yáng stared at the girl standing on the bridge, feeling a faint sense of familiarity amidst the blurred features, but he couldn't remember who she was. Just as he was about to ask his roommate who the person was, the livestream video suddenly glitched, as if interfered by a strong signal, and the image turned white—

The bullet comments immediately surged:

【It's coming, it's coming, it's coming—!!】

【I've searched for him a thousand times in the crowd! The bridge ghost is finally back!】

【This is the first time I've seen snowflakes on the screen and been so happy!】

【Ahhhh, what's coming, I'm a newbie!! Don't scare me!!!】

【Bullet screen protection, bullet screen protection, bullet screen protection, bullet screen protection】

【Bridge ghost: Who is it~ that brought you to me~】

Zhāng Ān Yáng felt a chill down his spine as he looked at the synchronized comments, but he was too afraid of the ghost to close the bullet screen. He could only peek through the gaps in the subtitles:

The snowflakes quickly disappeared, and a third figure appeared on the bridge.

Compared to the first two solid-looking girls, this third figure wore a robe that covered their feet, light and airy, exuding an eerie sense of lightness.

He was seen gently speaking, placing a hand on a girl's shoulder.

"…"

The image seemed to freeze.

The bridge ghost carried a completely different aura from the world of the living, the chill almost seemed to penetrate the screen and crawl out.The surveillance camera clearly captured the Imperial University student's face. She looked terrified, and the bullet comments maliciously tagged it with: 【This is me right after getting my advanced math results】

【Also me right after getting my calculus results】

Zhāng Ān Yáng: "..."

The cold sweat on his back hadn't even dried when this comment scared the life out of him. Zhāng Ān Yáng was both crying and laughing.

He stared at the girl being patted on the shoulder, saw her holding a steel fork, and suddenly had a flash of realization, clapping his hands:

"I remember now!"

"Isn't this Míng Yuè, the one who caused trouble in the medical school last year?"

Just as he finished speaking, the scene on the screen showed Míng Yuè shouting loudly, her power like a mountain being lifted, her aura overwhelming! She quickly spun around, and the ghost-like figure flew toward her like it had no weight, its light and graceful, eerie movements making it disappear into the mist.

Míng Yuè looked left and right, stomping her foot in frustration.

First round, KO.

The bullet comments briefly went blank.

Zhāng Ān Yáng widened his eyes, staring at the screen, then blinked in disbelief.

It was hard to explain what was going through his mind.

Having been at Jin University for so long, he already knew that the work of the Sealing Spirit Institute wasn’t something made up from thin air.

But, hearing about it and seeing it are two different things.

This clear surveillance footage right in front of him was telling him that at this very moment, around 1 p.m. in the capital, there were people standing on the same land as him, facing off against ghosts and monsters in a life-and-death battle.

They were living in the same space-time as him. While he was discussing work-life balance, these people were risking their lives to protect the balance between the two worlds.

... How could there be such a fierce exam in the world?

What he saw and heard shattered Zhāng Ān Yáng’s materialist view, and yet he couldn't even reach Marx's dialectical view of nature.

He felt a chill run down his spine. Even though it was summer, he hurriedly pulled out a long-sleeved shirt from the wardrobe, and his roommate gave him a strange look.

But speaking of which, our Jin University's junior is quite impressive!

She’s beautiful!F**k, that Imperial University student is impossible to deal with!

Thinking like this, the temporary sense of superiority from the "Academy Hierarchy" made Zhāng Ān Yáng feel a surge of heat inside, and he quickly ripped off the long-sleeved shirt he had just put on.

His roommate: "..."

"...Yángzi, are you okay? Did staying up all night make you stupid?"

There were plenty of people in the bullet comments with similar thoughts:

【Once, I was an atheist】

【Now, the truth is right in front of me】

【Wuwuwu, I even mocked the spirit academy students of my own school. I was wrong. Sorry, can I please hug the leg I used to mock!?】

【That's our Jin University's junior! Junior is the best!】

【Please continue with that previous 'simping' topic. It feels so good to listen to】

【Once, a childhood friend entered the spirit academy, and I mocked him countless times, thinking it was some made-up school. Now... truly fragrant!】

【The "fragrant" law of causality is invincible!】

The development of things took a sudden and unexpected turn.

The screen showed the Imperial University student whispering something to Míng Yuè for a while. Their voices were too soft for anyone to hear. Then, it seemed like they started arguing, and Míng Yuè pulled something out, slapping it onto her shoulder. This thing looked red and yellow, and she boldly started patrolling the bridge.

Bullet comments began to educate:

【That's a talisman, I recognize it】

【Damn, I recognize it too, but what’s with the red? Is that scrambled eggs with tomatoes?】

Zhāng Ān Yáng also thought it was a talisman.

Just as he was about to type a comment to join the fun, that familiar "snowflake screen" came again.

Bullet comments: 【Damn, this frequency is intense!】

【Spirit academy students have willpower beyond compare! If it were me, I'd be scared twice by ghosts in less than half an hour, my soul would probably fly away】

【That's why none of us can become a Ghost Slayer QAQ】The screen shook!

Perhaps due to the lingering yin energy, the quality of the surveillance was poor at this moment. A group of pinned bullet comments flooded the screen: "A/V quality!"

The gray ghostly shadow floated behind Míng Yuè, its pale hand quietly about to touch her shoulder, when suddenly—

Boom!

The screen jolted!

The golden flames that exploded were eye-catching, and the yang energy surged. The entire bridge's gray mist background suddenly turned "yellow."

The surveillance video, which had been disturbed by the yin energy and seemed like it was "shaking," suddenly became clear.

Especially clear! 1080P VIP quality!

At this moment, the battle between yin and yang was intense, with yang energy dominating!

Immediately, the vengeful ghost, unwilling to give up, continued to lure Míng Yuè to prepare for a soul-calling, but was countered by Míng Yuè's extraordinary and almost Mary Sue-like long name, freezing in place.

The bullet comments went silent for a second again.

Zhāng Ān Yáng: "......"

In the ultra-clear quality, Míng Yuè's face clearly showed a hint of pride:

"I'll give you ten seconds, say it three times." She said this confidently.

Bullet comments: "......"

Bullet comments: 【Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, this name will keep me laughing for a whole year!】

【I tried... Saying the name once takes fifteen seconds, how sneaky!】

【I choose death, hahahahahaha】

【Bridge Ghost: What sins have I committed】

【Oh, my poor little ghost heart, hahahahaha】

【I want to interview the Imperial University student next to me for their thoughts (smiling)】【Imperial University Spiritual Academy student: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?】

【This Jin University student is impressive! Because of her, I haven't wasted my time watching this ghost shadow live feed this year!】

Zhāng Ān Yáng laughed so hard his ribs hurt, lying on the desk.

As expected, the bridge ghost's attempt to call souls failed, and it was engulfed in raging flames.

The fire was fierce, and even the surveillance camera was caught by the flames, causing the screen to shake with heat waves.

Míng Yuè stood with her hands behind her back at the bridge's edge, counting the time. Flames roared behind her, but she didn't turn around even once.

Gradually, no one in the bullet comments was making any clever remarks.

The flames were burning intensely. One of the Spiritual Academy students stood calmly by the fire, embodying the "no turning back even in an explosion" kind of real man. The other sat on the ground, silently watching the yang fire.

Both students ignored the vengeful ghost's screams, and, without any coordination, their expressions showed a kind of indifference.

Spectators: "......"

There were more than 2,000 students watching the live stream. At this moment, everyone witnessed how the yang fire consumed the ghost, like fire meeting alcohol, or lightning striking dry wood. The scene was tragic.

The ghost's hands and feet stretched and contracted as it broke bones in the fire, crackling and screaming in agony, its shrieks reaching the heavens. The sight was a bloody and despairing spectacle.

The ghost was humanoid.

It had once been a living person.

Having a group of students watch as a "person" was burned alive was truly a severe shock to their worldview.

Not a single person in the online audience said anything!

Zhāng Ān Yáng's heart trembled.

His phone was beside him, and he desperately wanted to grab it and call 110! At the same time, he wanted to shout into the microphone: "Hurry, someone is being burned alive!"

But his rational mind stopped him.

That wasn't a living person.

Even if he called, the police wouldn't care, the chairman of the New Media Department thought sadly.On the screen, Míng Yuè and the other person were descending the bridge, heading towards the temple.

Zhāng Ān Yáng felt a chill in his heart.

He had never been so acutely aware of one thing as he was at this moment:

The Spirit-Sealing Academy was different from them.

From start to finish, it was different.

Jīn University had a history of over a hundred years, with hundreds of disciplines across every field.

But the Spirit-Sealing Academy was different.

They were all about the sciences of the living world; they were not.

They were ghost slayers.

They were people who wore human skin, knowledgeable and well-read, yet fundamentally cruel and cold-blooded beings who straddled the boundary between the living and the dead.