Chapter 8: Boss-Level Threat – The A-Rank Ghostly Loli

“Is… is it over?”

A tall, skinny boy who had been too scared to move earlier asked hesitantly,

“After the barrier got stronger, it only spawned one C-rank ghost?”

“C-rank only? You think that’s not enough?”

Another student immediately glared at him.

“We almost died, you have no sense of danger?”

“Right! If it weren’t for Su Nan, who knows how many of us would’ve been injured!”

But before long, all the attention shifted once more to Su Nan, full of admiration and awe—much to his dismay.

He really didn’t want to stand out.

***

The oppressive atmosphere of the second floor quickly dispersed once the area lit up again.

Everyone let out a breath of relief.

Though the C-rank ghost had sent three boys flying, thankfully none of the injuries were too serious—just some bruises and scratches.

“Wait… we killed a C-rank ghost, but there’s no points?”

One student looked at the glowing badge on his chest, still wincing from the impact.

Su Nan glanced down too—his own badge still showed 103 points.

No change.

Just then, a faint noise came from the side.

Su Nan turned sharply—and noticed a crack in one of the closed doors.

From within, a pair of large, round eyes peeked out nervously.

Through the narrow opening, they could see a little girl inside, wearing a red princess dress.

She looked like a porcelain doll—her features and skin so delicate and flawless, she was almost unreal.

“Awww… what a cute little girl!”

Her timid, wide-eyed expression instantly melted the hearts of all the girls.

“Come here, sweetie!”

The little girl hesitantly opened the door and stood just inside the threshold.

Her expression was one of fear—utterly harmless.

“Big brother… big sister…”

Her voice was as soft and sweet as sugar.

That one sentence made the girls’ hearts overflow with affection.

“Why are you here all alone, sweetheart?”

“Where are your parents?”

The girl shook her head shyly.

“I… I don’t know…”

“Where is this place…?”

“I’m scared… Mommy… sob… Mommy…”

She began to cry, big tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry, baby! Come to big sister.”

“We’ll take you out of here and find your mom, okay?”

Chang Xinxin and another girl immediately stepped forward, arms open to embrace the little girl.

But—Su Nan suddenly stepped in front of them, frowning.

“Wait!”

He stared at the girl.

Something… felt off.

“Su Nan, come on! She’s just a poor little thing. We can’t leave her here!”

“Exactly! This place is dangerous—she’s just a child!”

But Su Nan ignored their protests.

His eyes never left the little girl.

Suddenly, she tilted her head ever so slightly—and a flash of red light shimmered in her tearful eyes.

That was all Su Nan needed.

Without hesitation, he dashed forward—and threw a full-powered punch at the little girl.

“Su Nan!!”

“No!!”

BOOM!

The impact was muffled. Even though he’d used all his strength, it felt like he’d punched a pile of cotton.

Then, the girl lifted her head fully.

A faint red glow flickered in her eyes—and she reached for Su Nan’s wrist.

Su Nan retreated immediately.

The next instant, a cloud of strange red mist erupted from the girl’s body, expanding rapidly and swallowing the entire room in an instant.

“W-What is this…?!”

“Big brother noticed me? You’re really sharp!”

“A—A-rank ghost!!”

Chang Xinxin screamed.

Before entering the academy, she had studied all the known information on ghost rankings in detail, hoping to stand out during trials.

Upon hearing the voice of an A-rank ghost, everyone froze.

They instantly fell into combat stances—nerves taut.

“Be careful!”

Chang Xinxin called out quickly.

“C-rank equals level 4 martial artist. But for ghosts, each rank increase means all stats skyrocket!”

“E-rank is trash-tier. D is basic. C is like a small boss. But—”

“A-rank is literally boss level!”

“There’s no way freshmen like us can handle this! We’d need at least a level-5 martial artist—minimum!”

Su Nan took a step back and spoke calmly:

“We don’t have a way out right now. Stay close to me!”

The ten-person team grouped up immediately, all eyes locked on the ghostly little girl.

This trial barrier… had already gone way beyond what they expected.

This was just a new student trial—why was it this insane?

No freshman could take on an A-rank ghost.

This was practically suicide!

***

As they all watched tensely, the girl began to float gently into the air.

Thick red mist curled around her, and her eyes glowed an eerie blood red.

She gave a soft giggle—but it was chilling to the bone.

“Big brother… big sister…”

“I’m so hungry…”

“Really… really hungry…”

“Sob… sob…”

She started crying again—but this time, the sound made everyone’s skin crawl.

Any trace of sympathy evaporated.

This was no innocent girl.

The red mist surged forward—and the floating girl glided straight toward them.

Su Nan’s eyes narrowed.

He stepped forward without hesitation.

The red fog spread rapidly, and the little girl smiled strangely, weeping all the while.

Su Nan threw a punch directly at her.

But again—it felt like hitting cotton.

The mist swallowed him.

The others saw this and instantly rushed in, pouring all their strength into their attacks.

But as soon as they got close, the red mist expanded again—trapping everyone inside.

Each of them struggled desperately, but it was like fighting against quicksand.

They couldn’t break free.

Then suddenly—

“HAH!!”

Su Nan let out a loud roar.

The pure, blazing energy of Yang burst out from within him—sharp, radiant, and searing.

It blasted apart the red mist surrounding him in an instant.

The ghost girl screamed—then lunged toward him at blinding speed.

Su Nan had no time to react.

BOOM!

A thud echoed through the room.

Su Nan felt a jolt of pain in his chest.

The girl had slammed into him headfirst—like a missile.

He staggered back a step, eyes locked on her.

Then—he struck again, his fist glowing with burning yang energy.

This time, it punched clean through the surrounding mist—and connected directly with her body.

But—

The girl didn’t even flinch.