Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Aftermath (2)

Yan Jun, Qin Lin, and several other class leaders arrived much earlier than Mingyue and the other students to check the results.

These few were the ones who had truly stayed up all night, unlike Mingyue, who had only taken a few half-sleeping naps but couldn’t fully rest.

At this moment, the class leaders from the second and third years were helping to coordinate the on-site order.

There was no choice; this year, Spirit-Sealing Academy had become a major topic, attracting a huge wave of hatred and envy.

The first-year students were directly supervised by Li Xianzhou. Right now, Yan Jun's task was to report the situation to Li Yanwang:

"...Yes, yes, Teacher Li, the good results from our academy this year were all earned through everyone's hard work and sacrifice."

"Senior Chen Xiu... has already contacted the healer from the Ghost-Slayer Association's Yuzhou branch. Everything will be fine..."

"...There were three earthquakes during the exam, with no warning each time. Every time, students got injured. This shouldn't have happened. The rules for the final exams are unclear, but at least ‘natural factors injuries’ should have been avoided..." You can’t blame unnatural factors for injuries, after all, deaths from ghost hunting accidents are considered unnatural deaths.

"Our seniors have already discussed this with Emperor University and plan to talk to the Spiritual Media Association about the outcome..."

"Certainly, the ancient address layers have been damaged. There may even be the possibility of collapse in the short term. I hope you can use the university's resources to prevent the Ghost City scenic area from opening to the general public too soon..."

"Yes, yes, yes, I’m sorry, Teacher Li. We should have handled this more delicately..."

After hanging up the call, Yan Jun let out a long, deep sigh.

Just a wall away was the hellish Ghost City where the exam participants had spent the past day and night. The deep, eerie green wood surrounded it. Yet, outside the main gates, the heated, noisy arguments of the exam candidates raged, making one's head spin.

It turned out he had been too naive.

He had thought this would just be a competition for honor and ability to pass the licensing exam, but it had sparked such a big dispute.

It seemed the decision by Jin University to compete fiercely was the right one.

In just a few years, these once-defeated schools had already forgotten the century-long undefeated reputation of Spirit-Sealing Academy.

It was just a pity that Senior Chen Xiu couldn’t immediately witness the satisfaction of his enemies' pain and his friends’ joy.

Yan Jun had always been a calm, rational person, one who thought things through thoroughly before acting.

But this time, he didn’t want to waste his brain on useless efforts.

He had always been a person with little passion, so when the rare "reignition" occurred, he naturally wanted to cherish it.Even if the Yuzhou Cultural Relics Bureau comes to cause trouble, even if the measures taken this time were indeed too extreme.

It doesn’t matter.

Let them come if they want. How many times has the Ghost-Slayer Academy helped you all in the past, cleaning up the messes of those who can’t manage things properly, dealing with the problems of the Cultural Relics Bureau?

It’s fine if we don’t gain any honor or recognition. We’re not seeking that kind of empty fame, but the ancient address layers are “red and black both perish,” there are treasures as well as dregs. We’ve helped handle the burning corpses, and now we’re being blamed?

What sense does that make?

Besides, Yan Jun didn’t think that invoking the Heavenly Fire was such a controversial measure.

The Heavenly Fire was always there.

If you can summon it, that’s a skill. If the wilderness gets scorched, then consider it preparing the soil for autumn plowing.

Not to mention, look at how many students there were. The fact that someone even came up with a rough plan to cover up the earthquake’s mess is already pretty good. Now people are criticizing that the plan wasn’t ideal?

Why not investigate who caused this earthquake?!

“……”

Yan Jun clenched his phone tightly, deciding in his heart that if the academy sent people to discuss this with the Spiritual Media Association, he would definitely sign up.

At that moment, two small eggs were handed to him, still steaming.

“Here, rub your eyes with these.”

“Class leader, your dark circles are really bad.”

Mingyue stood by, rolling one of the eggs on her eyelids as she spoke.

Yan Jun: "……"

What is this?

The metaphor for eggs for men was too strong, and Yan Jun’s teeth hurt from it. But seeing Mingyue’s expression so open and honest, he almost thought she would roll the egg on his dark circles herself. Reluctantly, the class leader struggled for three seconds, then continued with a neutral face.

"Why aren’t you with Bai Linlang?" Yan Jun, enduring the heat, used the egg to roll on his eye bags.

Mingyue: "They went to watch the senior students from the fourth year argue."

"They said they were going to cheer them on. I saw you on the phone, so I came over to ask.""Did you call the counselor, class leader?"

Yan Jun nodded.

Mingyue: "What’s the situation?"

Yan Jun organized the details of the phone conversation "Teacher Li isn't angry, of course, I’m not in front of him, so I can only hear his voice."

"He said he will communicate with the Spiritual Media Association first."

"Actually, Teacher Li Xianzhou was supposed to be with the team, but for some reason, he went to the Imperial Capital during the exam."

Mingyue didn’t say anything.

She wasn’t as familiar as Yan Jun with how these industry institutions operate, their governance, and the relationships they were subject to.

Even if there were some playful thoughts in her head about Yan Jun, she wouldn’t say them out loud now to make a fool of herself.

"Then," Mingyue finished rolling the egg, cracked it open, and started eating the egg white.

"If this dispute really escalates, who do you think might come to take responsibility, or which organizations might be involved?"

Yan Jun paused for a moment and then answered, "Yuzhou Cultural Relics Bureau will definitely be one of them."

"But since we’re not in the same industry, the Cultural Relics Bureau is more likely to just be tough with their words."

"To really win a lawsuit, unless they want to offend the Yuzhou Spirit Academy, who’s been helping them suppress the Fengdu city for years."

"After all, the main parties involved in this incident are from Yuzhou Spirit Academy."

In the distance, another argument at the gate stopped. The students from the Spirit-Sealing Academy were outnumbered, now all red-faced, drinking water. Mingyue watched them and answered: "Yes, Qi Ranjie is one of the last forty."

"Yuzhou Spirit Academy can’t escape."

"Thinking back, Senior Chen Xiu really planned ahead."

"Even though Yuzhou wasn’t very popular during the exam, he still made an effort to pull them into the blame."

Yan Jun nodded as well. "There will probably be the Earthquake Bureau involved too. After all, this earthquake wasn’t a natural tectonic shift."

"The public’s doubts and criticism of the Earthquake Bureau will probably be a huge hassle for us."

"However, if the Earthquake Bureau sues, they’ll probably sue the entire Ghost-Slayer Association."Mingyue: "......"

Mingyue gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, I can accept that. The Earthquake Bureau works hard every day to predict earthquakes and protect the public, which is why they have a good reputation."

"We’re not to blame for this."

Yan Jun: "There may also be the event organizers involved..."

Mingyue: "What? Who?"

Yan Jun turned to look at her, "Yes, it’s possible there are event organizers."

Mingyue was nearly furious: "Wait, what’s going on here? We didn’t even sue them, that’s already good enough!"

"Are they out of their minds?"

If the Underworld was the organizer, then whether or not they had their heads in the right place was another question.

Yan Jun thought to himself, but objectively said, "It’s a possibility."

"Our thunderfire storm nearly destroyed the entire exam venue."

"The Baon Hall also took similar measures, but the situation here at Beiyin Imperial Temple wasn’t as severe. It’s easier to explain."

"Mingyue, even if you’re angry, I still need to say this."

"The Beiyin Imperial Temple being burned like that—whether it’s destroying public property or endangering public safety—whether it’s in the mortal world or the realm of yin and yang, they will definitely pursue this."

"Who knows, the Yuzhou Tourism Bureau may come to us, asking for compensation for expected losses."

Mingyue: "......"

Mingyue was so angry she cursed, "I f*cking..."

"The Beiyin Imperial Temple was fake to begin with! How could a real imperial temple be treated like a toy, touched by living people? Are they tired of living?"

"It’s just a wooden temple that’s been built for twenty years! It’s been problematic from the start."

"Giving them the title of Fengdu’s organizers, they actually think they’re Fengdu itself!"

The girl in front of him was about to explode into a cloud of anger.Yan Jun looked at her with amusement: "You’re right about everything."

"But, when it comes to lawsuits, it’s not just about who has the truth on their side; there are many factors at play."

"Plus, there’s the element of timing, and so on."

"After all, our industry consensus is that Fengdu is in the realm of yin and yang. The realms of yin and yang and the mortal world are intertwined, but they are not the same dimension."

"But, what if this year’s organizer is the Underworld? The Underworld and Fengdu have not been on good terms for a long time."

"By doing this, they can damage Fengdu’s reputation and also deal with our ghost hunters in the mortal world. What’s not to like?"

Mingyue: "......"

Mingyue felt like she hadn’t eaten much for breakfast, but she was now full of anger.

Yan Jun chuckled, "Have you checked your ranking?"

"Congratulations, Mingyue, you’ve passed the professional exam before even reaching your second year."

"One more young hero among us."

Mingyue froze for a moment, "I haven’t checked yet."

Yan Jun: "......"

This time, Yan Jun really laughed, "You truly are someone with a strong sense of collective honor, but no real desire for personal achievement or loss."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and flipped through the album. "Look, I took a screenshot for you."

Mingyue didn’t bother to tease Yan Jun about taking a photo of her ranking. She quickly leaned over to look.

The photo was very clear.

The first rank was 51st place.

It was on the second page of the top 100 rankings.

Mingyue anxiously searched, and finally, at the 67th position, she saw her name.

【67 0104001 Mingyue 152 points】Mingyue: "......"

It was as if fireworks exploded in her mind, and in an instant, her vision was filled with a dazzling array of colors.

Adrenaline rushed to her brain. Mingyue's face turned red, and she opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.

Yan Jun looked at her gently: "Congratulations."

"You are the highest-ranked lower-year student among the non-third and fourth-year students from over a hundred schools."

Mingyue lowered her head, then suddenly gave Yan Jun a tight hug.

"......"

Yan Jun froze for a moment.

He had never seen Mingyue lose control of her emotions like this.

"Thank you, Class Leader."

Mingyue sniffed hard, trying not to let the tears fall.

"You’re the first person to tell me this news. I will remember it."

How long have I waited? How long have I worked for this?

I’ve finally become a Ghost Hunter.

When I was young, I overheard elders gossiping about us. They said the two children of the Ming family were useless, wasting the incredible talents of Ming Dinghai and Li Lan.

I didn’t dare to refute it.

But now, it’s different.

Older brother, father.

Do you see it?

The industry you fought for, the one you wore honor for, and even died for—I’ve finally entered it.

I have no regrets.Even if the road ahead is filled with thorns and blood, I will still walk to the moment of the rainbow after the rain.

I will protect all my treasures.

Yan Jun didn’t understand that beneath Mingyue’s carefree personality, she was hiding so many thoughts. He only thought that she was simply overcome with joy, so he treated it as a friendly hug and patted her on the back.

Three days later, all the exam candidates returned to school or their respective institutions.

Chen Xiu and the others were diagnosed by the therapeutic team from Yuzhou as having sunburn injuries to their vital energy and were advised to rest for at least three months.

Ten days later, Spirit-Sealing Academy completed the organization and collection of this exam’s case content and prepared to distribute it in the form of papers, announcements, etc., for future generations to use as a warning.

Li Xianzhou had not returned to school.

Fifteen days later, the Ghost Hunter Association’s Beijing headquarters sent a lawsuit order to the office of the principal of Spirit-Sealing Academy, suing all the students who took the exam and requiring the organization’s personnel to appear in court.