"What are you all crowding around the door for? Don't you remember I gave orders forbidding anyone from disturbing Li Jiayu's rest!"
Just as Chu Xiang was being overwhelmed by the clamor of dozens of students, Ran Hongxia suddenly appeared, berating the students with a frosty expression. Behind her followed the staggering, writhing Dark Octopus. This fellow looked listless, its eyes dim, clearly still in a heavily injured state. Otherwise, it definitely would have greeted those pretty girls.
"President Ran... why won't you let us go in and take a look?"
"Exactly! We were so worried we couldn't sleep all night! Please, at least let us know Li Jiayu's real situation?"
"President Ran, just tell us straight. What exactly happened to Li Jiayu? I saw clearly through the telescope back then, Li Jiayu's injuries weren't just superficial! Something major must have happened to him, he must have suffered a fatal blow..."
Ran Hongxia frowned, mentally cursing. Simply blocking the news wasn't a solution. This group of intelligent college students wasn't that easy to fool. They probably were already speculating about Li Jiayu's life or death among themselves.
Although she had just witnessed the strange phenomenon on Li Jiayu's body, who could say for sure that Li Jiayu would actually survive? If his resurrection failed, and these students learned of his death, it would definitely cause the mental pillars of many to collapse, leading to many adverse consequences!
"Li Jiayu is indeed heavily injured, but it's not fatal. Stop worrying yourselves sick. Go back. Once Li Jiayu's condition stabilizes, you'll naturally be able to see him," Ran Hongxia said.
"President Ran, this is wrong of you! Li Jiayu is seriously injured, how can Principal Xiao, who doesn't know medicine, just mess around with him? She just awakened, at most she can only help restore stamina... Our medical department has two old professors of Traditional Chinese Medicine, their needle techniques are divine! With their help performing acupuncture, even without Chinese medicine, Li Jiayu will surely recover faster!"
"Yeah... President Ran, I learned some unique family massage techniques. They can accelerate blood circulation, stimulate meridians, very helpful for conditioning the body and restoring spirit. Just let me give Li Jiayu a massage..."
Although these people were acting out of concern for Li Jiayu, how could Ran Hongxia dare let them go in to see him? No matter how flowery their words, Ran Hongxia had to put on a stern face, mimicking Li Jiayu's tone:
"I said no, so it's no! You don't need to worry so much! Li Jiayu's situation is very special; he cannot come into contact with others for the time being! All of you, disperse! If anyone dares to cause trouble again, don't blame me and Chu Xiang for being impolite!"
These words startled the surrounding students. The more Ran Hongxia prevented them from approaching the truth, the more suspicious they became. Just as they were about to say more, they suddenly heard a wail from inside the utility room!
It sounded like the mournful cry of an evil ghost!
Not just Ran Hongxia, but everyone present felt their hearts leap wildly!
"Who's crying in there?"
"That sound... it's creepy just listening to it!"
"President Ran, what exactly is going on inside?"
Faced with numerous questions, Ran Hongxia also felt panicked, cold spreading through her body. She clearly remembered only Li Jiayu and Principal Xiao were inside the utility room! Neither of their voices sounded like that!
Could some ghost or monster have broken in?
Thinking of this, Ran Hongxia, worried for Xiao Wanqing's safety, couldn't care less anymore. She kicked the door open instantly, wanting to rush in anxiously, but she abruptly stopped in her tracks!
Because she saw a tall, rotting corpse with a putrid face blocking her path!
A rotting corpse? And a standing one at that!
How could there be a rotting corpse in a place like the thirteenth floor? Could a dead classmate have turned into one?
Looking at the disgusting head before her, its eyes rotten and crawling with corpse worms, Ran Hongxia turned pale with fright, quickly retreating. Some students who saw the rotting corpse were also scared out of their wits, their faces white as they scattered in panic!
"Zombie! That's a zombie from the movies! Everyone run!" A student who watched too many movies screamed desperately, startling the classmates still sleeping soundly in the hall, further escalating the panic.
"Fuck! What's so scary about a zombie? Much less terrifying than the insects!"
Chu Xiang, however, wasn't frightened by the hideous rotting corpse. He threw a punch. His strength, amplified more than tenfold, was no joke. If it landed, regardless of whether it was a zombie, its brains would definitely splatter!
But the next moment he froze, because his fist didn't hit anything solid. Like punching smoke, it passed straight through the rotting corpse's head!
Chu Xiang stared dumbfounded, then realized, shouting loudly:
"Everyone, don't panic! This isn't some zombie, it's just a phantom! Nothing to be afraid of!"
Only then did everyone calm down, quickly looking closer. Indeed, the rotting corpse just stood quietly at the doorway, motionless, neither baring fangs nor claws, nor making any ghostly cries. It didn't even emit the slightest stench of decay!
By the dim candlelight, they could faintly see the rotting corpse flickering indistinctly, as if it could dissipate into smoke at any moment – yes, it was merely a phantom, nothing to fear.
Ran Hongxia's heart stirred. Why would the phantom of a rotting corpse suddenly appear? Could this place be haunted? In a flash, she thought of Li Jiayu!
Yes! Only Li Jiayu, this always surprising and mysterious guy, could conjure up something like this! He must have revived and intentionally created the phantom of a rotting corpse to scare people?
Having figured this out, Ran Hongxia couldn't be bothered with the phantom anymore and rushed into the utility room, but she was stunned once again!
"Hongxia, what's going on inside?"
Chu Xiang followed her in second, and he too was stunned.
Some male students looked at each other, desperate to know what exactly happened inside the utility room. Mustering their courage, they passed through the rotting corpse phantom and entered. In an instant, they were struck as if by lightning, completely petrified!
"Heavens..."
Inside the utility room, a chilling ghostly aura permeated the air. Standing, kneeling, scattered about, were numerous legendary dark creatures!
There were Dark Elves, fiery-figured and valiant!
There were Nine-Tailed Fox Spirits, glamorous and seductive, full of charm, clad in light gauze!
There were Ancient Wraiths, silently burning like will-o'-the-wisps!
There were Oni Rakshasas, with menacing fangs and horns!
There were Liches, wearing necromancer robes, holding skull-topped staves!
There were Headless Horsemen, riding Netherfire steeds, clad in classical heavy armor!
There were Armored Battle Corpses, covered in Taoist talismans, their faces blank!
Even...
There was a majestic and imposing Fallen Angel, handsome, with three pairs of wings!
The small utility room was completely packed with these legendary dark creatures! They tightly surrounded Xiao Wanqing, no, rather, they surrounded Li Jiayu in Xiao Wanqing's arms!
Although everyone knew these dark creatures were merely phantoms, these phantoms were incredibly realistic, exuding a boundless sense of oppression, as if they truly existed in this place. Several students with weaker mental strength even forgot to breathe!
Ran Hongxia felt tumultuous waves crashing in her heart!
Am I seeing things?
What... what on earth are these things?
Why did these legendary ghost things suddenly appear all at once in the real world? And each one looks so real! Vaguely, Ran Hongxia could even see that handsome Fallen Angel giving her a cruel smile!
The male students who had barged in were both scared and excited, trembling all over yet their faces flushed red. Could these legendary dark creatures actually exist? Now that their phantoms all appeared to pay homage to Li Jiayu, did that mean Li Jiayu would one day summon them for real?
"Strange... strange... These high-level dark creatures... why... would they choose to form contracts with Master... at the same time... How... did Master manage it... What ability does he have... to gain the favor of these... dark creatures simultaneously?"
"But... contracting... is useless... Master's mental power is too weak... fundamentally... unable to summon... them..."
The Dark Octopus stared wide-eyed, unable to figure it out even if it racked its brain.
If Li Jiayu were still conscious, he too would definitely be extremely surprised. Because all the ghosts and monsters before him were dark creatures he had contracted after advancing to Dark Grand Summoner in his previous life, painstakingly, through countless hardships! Each one was incomparably powerful!
Now Li Jiayu was reborn, merely a weak apprentice summoner. Why would they still traverse time and space to form contracts with him?
"Look! Outside the window!"
A student quickly pointed outside. Everyone followed his finger and was simultaneously shaken to the core!
Outside the window, a Frost Dragon was circling and dancing in the air!
At this moment, it wasn't just the people in the utility room who were shocked. The classmates in the other halls also saw the Frost Dragon flying near the sports field, letting out cries of incomparable horror, one after another, shaking the entire academic building!
This Frost Dragon was imposing to the extreme!
Against the endless night, the Frost Dragon emerged as if breaking through waves. Spreading its wings, its massive bat-like wings instantly spanned a hundred meters! Its huge body nearly obscured the entire sky! Its body radiated a ghostly blue light, seeming to illuminate the entire night sky!
"Roar—"
Its pair of fierce dragon eyes blazed with nether flames. Craning its neck, it let out a long roar, a mournful and violent dragon cry like a tsunami or mountain flood, resounding throughout Xijiang City!
All the citizens in Xijiang City's residential areas, whether awakened from sleep, standing on balconies, opening windows, running to rooftops, or setting up telescopes, looked towards Xijiang University at the same time!
"That's... a dragon!"
"A Frost Dragon!"
"How could such a creature appear..."
"Is it friend or foe..."
"Why did a Frost Dragon appear at Xijiang University?"
"Never mind that for now! Aren't Frost Dragons supposed to exist only in legends..."
The half-million remaining citizens of Xijiang City were all stunned, their faces pale and bloodless. Even many soldiers in the Xijiang Military Region looked up at the sky in shock, unsure what to do!
Fortunately, the Frost Dragon in the sky only circled for about ten seconds before gradually turning into smoke, twisting and fading away. But the citizens and soldiers of Xijiang City were still unsettled. Was that really just a phantom? Why would a phantom emit a soul-shaking dragon roar? Could it have been mass auditory hallucination?
Not only were the humans deeply frightened, but even many insects still rampaging in the northern part of Xijiang City were scared into collectively prostrating themselves, trembling all over! They keenly sensed that terrifying, supreme dragon might!
"Screech screech—"
Flying anomalies like Acid Bugs, Flying Dragon Lice, Demon Eyes, and Flame Crows were directly startled by the dragon's might and fell from the sky! Countless numbers were killed or injured in the fall!
Only several minutes after the Frost Dragon disappeared did the prostrated insects dare to crawl up again. But they became much more subdued and well-behaved, not daring to be as arrogant as before for several hours!
Meanwhile, inside the utility room on the thirteenth floor of Xijiang University, the phantoms of those high-level dark creatures had also long vanished. In the quiet darkness, only Li Jiayu's increasingly loud heartbeat remained!
After a long pause, Li Jiayu's eyebrow twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes!
Clear and limpid, yet like a bottomless black hole, emitting an unfathomable, powerful attraction!
"Not dead... I'm still alive! Great! I still have a second chance!"