Chapter 7: The Eerie Second Floor, Power of Pure Yang

Tianlan Academy, Central Plaza.

Roughly an hour had passed, and small groups of students began to return, transmitted out of the trial realm one after another.

Some returned with visible injuries—though none were fatal—while others came out completely unscathed.

Even from just this one trial, the disparity in strength among the freshmen was abundantly clear.

Xi Qinyu kept her eyes locked on the massive screen displaying real-time surveillance of the entire barrier realm.

Several teams she had been paying close attention to… still hadn’t returned.

Suddenly, the screen flickered with an ominous red light.

Xi Qinyu’s brows knitted tightly.

“What’s happening?”

She demanded, turning quickly.

“Detection: Difficulty of the barrier is rising!”

“Detection: Exit point has been sealed!”

The monitoring staff immediately relayed the report—this kind of situation had never happened before.

“Not good, Director! Look!”

One of the staff pointed at the screen and shouted.

Xi Qinyu rushed over.

On the screen, the indicator showing difficulty level was climbing rapidly—from green… straight to red.

From green to red—this meant the current difficulty of the barrier had reached a terrifying level.

Seeing this, Xi Qinyu’s heart sank.

She instantly recalled a recent rumor:

‘A powerful ghost far beyond the mapped difficulty has evolved into a ghostly domain capable of invading the barrier realm.’

She hadn’t taken the warning seriously at the time.

After all, Tianlan Academy was a top martial arts institution, with formidable defenses around its barrier systems.

But now—the situation unfolding before her eyes confirmed the rumor’s accuracy.

“Quick! Shut down the barrier and pull all freshmen out—now!”

Xi Qinyu’s voice was urgent.

She wouldn’t so much as flinch if these students were injured during the trial—it was part of the learning process.

But if they were to die because they faced a threat far beyond their rank… then it would be a true disaster.

“We can’t!”

One of the staff replied immediately.

“All control functions have failed! The barrier has risen to a difficulty level far beyond our system’s capacity!”

“We’ve lost control of the barrier entirely! Director, what do we do?”

Panic spread through the monitoring room. Several staff turned pale.

Xi Qinyu’s brows furrowed deeply—but her expression quickly steadied.

“Open the barrier gate. I’m going in.”

***

Inside the Trial Realm – Second Floor

After choosing to continue the trial, the ten-person team stepped onto the strange staircase without hesitation and ascended to the second floor.

The D-rank ghosts on the first floor had been far too weak to pose a challenge.

Su Nan, still surrounded on all sides by six protective girls, felt a headache rising.

Upon reaching the second floor, the atmosphere immediately shifted.

The light dimmed sharply, and the air turned bone-chilling.

The girls instinctively tightened their formation around Su Nan.

This eerie vibe was far more intense than what they’d faced earlier.

Meanwhile, the boys behind them wore mocking expressions as they looked at Su Nan—still thinking of him as a pampered pretty boy with no substance.

But right then—

A shrill howl pierced the air, followed by a sudden gust of ghostly wind.

Before anyone could react, there was a dull thud—and one of the male students was sent flying, crashing hard into the wall behind.

Only then did everyone see the true threat before them.

A towering beast, twice the height of an average man, stood in the gloom.

Its mouth was full of jagged fangs, resembling an oversized, savage wolf—but with eerie green light burning in its eyes.

“C-rank ghost!” shouted Chang Xinxin.

The C-rank ghost gave no one a chance to respond.

With a roar, it darted straight toward Su Nan at lightning speed.

Su Nan, boxed in by the girls, couldn’t move.

He didn’t have the heart to shove them away either.

Two of the uninjured male students immediately charged forward, each throwing a heavy punch at the ghost.

Their attacks were fierce—but the ghost suddenly braked, rearing up to a full height of nearly three meters.

With both claws crashing down, it swatted the two students away like rag dolls.

“Protect Su Nan!”

“Big sis is throwing a heavy punch!”

“Whether we kill it or not doesn’t matter—what matters is that Su Nan doesn’t get hurt!”

Seeing the situation, the girls could no longer hold back.

They rushed forward, throwing punch after punch with serious intent.

But the C-rank ghost was too fast.

After knocking down the boys, it twisted and dodged through the girls’ coordinated strikes in a flash.

Then—with a guttural snarl—it exploded into motion again, pouncing toward the nearest girl: Chang Xinxin.

Its putrid breath stank, fangs gleamed, and it was just inches away from sinking its teeth into her neck.

Xinxin was frozen in fear—completely unable to react.

BOOM!

A muffled explosion sounded.

The ghost’s massive head caved in violently, and its whole body flew backward.

Suddenly, golden flames erupted from its body, consuming it in a flash, until nothing was left but scorched air.

Silence.

In front of Chang Xinxin stood Su Nan.

It was he who had punched at the last possible moment—a subconscious reaction.

But even Su Nan himself hadn’t expected it to be this powerful.

That was a C-rank ghost, equivalent to a fourth-stage martial artist. Its attacks could carry thousands of pounds of force—and he’d blown it apart with one punch?

The three boys who had just struggled to stand gaped at the scene.

Only now did they realize—Su Nan wasn’t just a handsome face. He was, without doubt, the strongest in their entire group.

“Su Nan… you’re actually this strong?!”

“W-Wow… You… I… WOW!”

In an instant, all the girls gathered around him again, eyes sparkling with stars.

Su Nan turned to Chang Xinxin and gently asked,

“Are you alright?”

Her face instantly turned red as she shyly shook her head.

She could barely contain her pounding heart.

The guys, meanwhile, could only sigh internally.

Still, Su Nan’s strength was undeniable—they were genuinely convinced, even if they envied him.

With his power, looks, and calm demeanor…

‘We don’t even have the right to be jealous.’

***

By now, the C-rank ghost had completely turned to ash.

The second-floor chamber grew significantly brighter.

Finally, the team could see the full layout.

Compared to the first floor, this level was smaller.

There were tightly sealed doors on either side—but no staircase leading up.

But… was it really over?