The Teaching Building Stands! It Is Looking at Me!

Vegetation bowed; anomalies lowered their heads. Looking down upon this tableau with the entire school as the scale, one would surely find the spectacle exceptionally breathtaking, even chilling. Bai Zhou was not a true quasi-King of Wicked Desires; he was still human. Yet beyond the label of human, when he put on the school uniform and set foot within this school, he gained an additional identity akin to that of a quasi-King of Wicked Desires. Among the greatest direct harvests was that Bai Zhou attained the highest authority in Yuanmeng Middle School! —Yet an identity card was merely an identity card. Though it could work wonders under certain circumstances, it would not send Bai Zhou soaring to the heavens all at once or truly grant him the might of a quasi-King of Wicked Desires. Just as a former king passed down his mantle, what glorious feats could ultimately be achieved still depended on the new king himself. That said, the corresponding benefit was that with his true body still human, Bai Zhou did not have to remain trapped within the minor secret realm like the Principal. Outside Yuanmeng Middle School, Bai Zhou was still Bai Zhou. Still, it had to be said—perhaps because the more he severed and gave away, the better the Principal's escape through corpse-liberation would be— He had truly left an immense amount to Bai Zhou, his heir! Incredible knowledge drifted within Bai Zhou's mind, a complete pathway shining brilliantly in the depths of his thoughts. The Educator pathway! Rank 1, Rank 2, Rank 3, Rank 4, Rank 5, Rank 6—a total of six ranks of pathway knowledge, each rank accompanied by its own matched secret techniques. There were even crafting methods for Extraordinary weapons that complemented these secret techniques! One was a melee weapon, the Study-Exhorting Pointer! The other was a thrown weapon, the Virtue-Guiding Chalk! The pathway knowledge that had drawn so many prominent figures to assemble in Tinghai, yearned for yet unattained, lay right here. Knowledge of a pathway that would most likely not drop even if special methods were used to slay a King of Wicked Desires, and would inevitably be fragmentary even if it did drop— Because of this inheritance, Bai Zhou had obtained it completely! From entry rituals to advancement techniques, from matched pathway weapons to the pathway's various flaws and pitfalls, everything was included! A complete, brand-new pathway that had very likely never appeared in reality before? Such a thing could hardly be called worthless; it was nothing short of priceless. If word got out, Bai Zhou would be like a child parading through the market holding up a massive ingot of gold, and the whole world would scramble to strike down this "born-evil" wanted criminal with all their might! With this in hand, given sufficient resources, one could even build a terrifying occult organization, secret cult, or Extraordinary society from scratch! —Just look at the Fine Arts Society, Tinghai City's famous assassin syndicate that controlled the Painter pathway! Even if Bai Zhou lacked so many resources and could barely protect himself on the run, he could still leverage this to pursue unimaginable benefits— At this thought, Bai Zhou's heart thudded violently. In fact, it was not merely as simple as knowledge from Ranks 1 through 6. There seemed to be more beyond— As Bai Zhou recalled it, he was suddenly struck as if by a heavy blow! "Study, study, study, study—" With a roar, as though he had touched a forbidden realm that the present Bai Zhou was unqualified to know, his head felt ready to burst. Bizarre knowledge exploded and multiplied madly within Bai Zhou's mind, taking root and spreading like Boston ivy scrambling up a wall. This experience of his brain being violently invaded by knowledge was horrific, making him feel as though his head were swelling like an abscess, heavy and throbbing, wishing he could slice it off with a blade. Countless formulas and principles turned into layered palisades, pressing in on his thoughts step by step in a savage hunt. Bai Zhou's reason began to wail, his eyeballs trembling uncontrollably in their sockets! Fortunately, Bai Zhou had always had a way to deal with such troubles. Soothe! At once, the imprint upon Bai Zhou's Sea of Ignorance activated. Ding! Like the strum of a zither, invisible ripples swept outward, driving back the influence of this knowledge. Under the gentle ripples' comforting touch, Bai Zhou's reason gradually returned, though returning entirely to normal would still take some time. Right at that moment— Buzz! Something vibrated against Bai Zhou's chest. It was— A paper airplane! The surprise gift left to Bai Zhou before departing by the children enslaved by the Exam King: The 59-Point Paper Airplane! Whoosh! It was as though a colossal airplane roared through his heart, crushing the spreading knowledge. Carried by the plane, Bai Zhou's reason swiftly returned. With that, the knowledge that had been madly expanding receded like the tide. Frustrated in their expansion, they seemed prepared to drift back and stake out a firm territory of their own within Bai Zhou's memory. And then—they drifted to a place illuminated by a variegated seven-colored radiance. Here lay half of an ancient glyph shining with seven colors, indolent, like a multicolored sun hanging motionless in the sky. At the edges of the ancient glyph lingered a faint blood-red sheen, bearing an exceedingly dangerous, ominous aura. Wherever the seven-colored radiance reached—or rather, throughout that part of Bai Zhou's memory—was a vast expanse of blankness. Any fragments of memory, scenes, or other knowledge were driven out by it. —More precisely, that knowledge deliberately avoided the place illuminated by the seven-colored light, retreating in apparent dread. Yet at this moment, the tidal wave of knowledge belonging to the Educator pathway drifted here. It barged in recklessly, seemingly intent on invading this memory domain bathed in seven-colored light. "?" As if pausing for a moment before realizing what was happening, the half ancient glyph abruptly burst with extraordinary light, myriad rays revolving downward. Immediately, the proliferating knowledge wailed and dissipated, vanishing like snow meeting sunlight, evaporated clean in the blink of an eye. Only the core body of the knowledge shrank back instantly, barely clinging to life, dutifully reverting to its original form without a single further stir. Having witnessed it all, Bai Zhou let out a long breath, feeling both relieved and dumbfounded. Using a greater taboo to suppress another taboo— He hadn't expected that the half taboo ancient glyph, hazily imprinted in the depths of his memory, would serve such a purpose for him. At this moment, the knowledge of Ranks 1 through 6 of the Educator pathway remained crystal clear, but the knowledge beyond lay obediently dormant within Bai Zhou's memory. It was hazy, as if veiled behind a thin mist, resembling memories from long ago that caused no trouble so long as he did not deliberately dwell on them. Perhaps this "haziness" was itself a gift and a warning left to Bai Zhou by the Principal. "Above Rank 6?" Bai Zhou's heart tightened, his breathing growing slightly heavier. To study this knowledge in detail was far beyond the present Bai Zhou; perhaps he would have to advance to a Rank 6 Titled Extraordinary to do so. If not for his unique circumstances— Bai Zhou suddenly understood a little why the man wielding the thunder bow had watched the flesh building with blood streaming uncontrollably from his eyes, performing even worse than the three Titled Extraordinaries before him. Perhaps in the eyes of such people, the world was fundamentally not what others saw. Knowing too much was not necessarily a blessing—some knowledge, once "understood," could never again be "not understood"! "A long road ahead..." Shaking his head a few times, Bai Zhou snapped back to reality. The advantages of becoming the master of the minor secret realm were indeed plentiful. If Bai Zhou wished, he could even rally the anomalies within the school to drown all the invading Extraordinaries. Given enough time, he could even remodel this place into a trap-ridden "dungeon," offering intruders the delightful experience of rounding a corner to find flying arrows, poisonous mist, and formidable anomalies. Yet disadvantages were not nonexistent—for instance, the most direct one. The previous master of the minor secret realm, the "former sovereign" who had transferred the identity to Bai Zhou, was not dead. He had merely disappeared! Even now, Bai Zhou had not figured out why it had chosen him. What did the "long-awaited special person" the Principal spoke of really mean? Where exactly did his specialty lie in the Principal's eyes? Mist cloaked Bai Zhou's heart, and only a fine line separated mist from gloom. At the thought of the Principal's profound gaze before departing, which seemed to anticipate their next meeting, Bai Zhou couldn't help shuddering. This quasi-King of Wicked Desires who had once coiled over the school had become an unregistered entity that did not exist in the eyes of fate, all for the sake of "freedom." Yet in Bai Zhou's heart lingered an ineffable premonition— Once that quasi-King of Wicked Desires appeared before Bai Zhou again, fate's perception would fall into disarray. The paradoxical conflict of two "Principals" coexisting in the world might drive the two of them into a fight to the death, an unending struggle. Just as the Principal had said before the crowd— He and that other mysterious entity were supposed to coexist upon the throne of the minor secret realm—they had to devour each other to become a true King of Wicked Desires! When would that day come? A tremendous sense of urgency gripped Bai Zhou's heart. Yet compared to this, a greater crisis was right before his eyes. If handled poorly, even the existence of this minor secret realm might not last much longer— "—" Bai Zhou raised his head. Through the mist, his gaze as master of the minor secret realm fell with absolute clarity upon that flesh-and-blood teaching building. This—was the only place that, as master of the realm, he could neither sense nor control. The moment the connection between him and the minor secret realm formed, an ineffable entity hidden deep within the teaching building also seemed to establish a bizarre connection with him! If Bai Zhou was not mistaken, this was precisely the link between the gatekeeper and the sealed of which the Principal had spoken— Bai Zhou could not use this connection to accomplish anything concrete, yet through it he could vaguely perceive the other party's existence, as well as— That peerlessly colossal mass! It was like a mayfly beholding a whale. He could see only the tip of the iceberg, yet it still left him dazzled and reeling. Though concealed deep within the school, it felt countless times larger than the school itself. Even craning his neck to the limit, he could not catch a glimpse of one-ten-thousandth of it; the immense pressure almost suffocated him. Bai Zhou had every reason to suspect that the moment that thing emerged into the world, this minor secret realm would not last long at all—and even the entirety of Reflected Tinghai would suffer a calamity! He could even clearly hear the deafening sound of that entity's breathing beside his ears, tingling and numbing, sending shivers through him. Just as the Principal had said. He and that entity were meant to be two sides of the same coin, but from the moment of birth, that entity had been something entirely different. —And far beyond that! Compared to the already formidable Principal, the oppressive pressure this mysterious entity exerted on Bai Zhou was on a completely different order of magnitude! And so, Bai Zhou recalled the various scenes he had seen in his divination. "Just what is—" Rumble! The tremor suddenly intensified. After a brief lull, the flesh-and-blood teaching building began to violently shudder once more. The red light on the first floor flickered most intensely. Through a few gaps, people could faintly glimpse the remains of the Iron Thorn squad inside. These remains seemed to have turned entirely into sacrificial offerings, crimson light gushing from them to be absorbed by the building. On the fourth floor, the red light flashed most rapidly, as though the building were breathing hurriedly. The entire fourth floor squirmed and digested—everyone knew what it was digesting. Those Extraordinaries who had failed to escape had clearly become living nourishment for this monstrous living architecture, aiding in its final awakening! Or rather—they had become part of this living structure! One of those severed limbs and mangled remnants frantically waving and flailing! Gradually, on the outer walls of this flesh-and-blood teaching building, the flesh that had originally writhed in chaos began to exhibit a rhythmic pulse like a beating heart. Then— Rumble! The sound was deafening, like a mountain peak collapsing. The entire teaching building—this living structure—slowly stood up in a form beyond human comprehension! Massive crimson tentacles burst out from all sides of the building with several hisses, bracing against the ground and forcibly propping the building up bit by bit! When Bai Zhou looked closer, a chill suddenly ran down his spine, and his pupils shrank. Those were no tentacles at all. They were flayed, blood-drenched arms densely stacked together, scrambling forward in a frantic rush, converging into the horrifying spectacle of what appeared to be writhing giant tentacles! "This is—" A gruesome scene like hell descending upon the world made Bai Zhou almost forget to breathe. For right now, the mountain-of-flesh building pulsing like a heart and those ferocious tentacles sprawled across the ground— When this monster strode out of the mist, standing and walking before everyone's stunned gazes, the first image it brought to mind was a giant octopus, or perhaps—a "Red Spider!" "Is this the red spider from the last words?" Bai Zhou could scarcely breathe, the trembling ground making his standing figure sway. He instantly thought of the last words he had seen on Fang Xiaoxia's middle school graduation photo: "Spiders, red spiders, red spiders are crawling all over that person's hands!" "—They are all dead, only I am left—" "I must escape this demon's den!" What was the connection between the two? Thoughts raced through Bai Zhou's mind, yet he saw the colossal blood spider slowly open the heart of the flesh mountain before the crowd. In the center, surrounded by layers of flesh, lay the nauseating core area of the entire flesh-and-blood teaching building. A mountain of flesh stacked from countless pale severed arms and flayed torsos arched upward in a posture both twisted and devout. And at the peak of that flesh mountain, a figure hung quietly upside down, entering everyone's bewildered and shaken gazes. The one whose existence Bai Zhou had known in advance, the greatest objective of this journey— The Inverted Maiden with the "π" symbol atop her head— The secret weapon nurtured by the Major— Finally revealed her true form before everyone for the first time. Then, it—or rather, She—opened Her eyes. As if newly awakened from a dream, Her hazy eyes lacked pupils. Those blank, white eyes were eerily chilling, staring straight and unblinking toward a certain direction. Bai Zhou's heart jolted at once. Even across layers of mist, even if none of the many Extraordinaries realized it— Bai Zhou knew that She was looking at him!