Who left their last words here?

Chapter 88 New Item: [59-point Paper Airplane] (5.1k)

Above the golden sea of ​​light, a fiery crescent moon rises.

This strike came with unrestrained abandon, as elusive as a gazelle hanging its horns, yet it seemed to instinctively choose the most vulnerable and difficult-to-defend angle for the exam king.

When the moon sets, a head falls to the ground.

What splattered all over the ground was not crimson blood, but deep, dark ink.

—This is the power of the heart.

Intuitive choices made faster than thought in battle are an extremely important aspect of the development and utilization of mental power by extraordinary individuals.

Bai Zhou's secret technique, which used all his strength, combined with the enhancement of the extraordinary saber, was so powerful that even a level 4 extraordinary warrior would not dare to take it head-on with his bare body.

Not to mention the exam king who's blind and can't see...

The white boat, which the major and his men suspected was the Sun Knight, was always so "dazzling".

Almost everyone who fought him for the first time suffered a loss because of it... and then there was no next time.

Leia, who had probably spent her whole life playing with light magic, never imagined that "light" could be used in this way.

—But to Bai Zhou's surprise, the Exam King, who had lost his head, was still alive.

This enormous creature, whose mechanics were unclear and which was by no means a living being, swayed its body and reached out blankly, seemingly trying to retrieve its head.

"My head! My head!"

Painful wails echoed mournfully in the toilet.

Even the slightest sound could be heard from outside, turning Yuanmeng Middle School into a legendary ghost school.

Fortunately, Bai Zhou had already sealed the place off with a ritual before entering.

"His head is on the ground."

Seeing the exam king groping around in confusion, Bai Zhou kindly offered a reminder.

"but……"

But in the next instant, the head was snatched away by a translucent white ghost and hung in mid-air.

Are you going to kill me?

"If you kill me, what will happen to Tinghai Middle School's rate of students getting into top universities? What about the reputation of being the number one school, and what about the students' studies?"

With a triangular head and blurred vision, he couldn't see anything clearly. He felt someone moving against him and thought it was Bai Zhou who had done it.

"I think it's none of your business to worry about the affairs of Tinghai Middle School."

Teacher Bai Zhou shook his head:

"The percentage of students admitted to key universities is never the key point; teaching and nurturing students are."

"If you can't get into a top school, you lose your value in life and will be eliminated by the school. Then the school has no reason to exist."

"I believe that other teachers must think the same way."

"As for killing you..."

Bai Zhou glanced at the six crimson last words floating in the air not far in front of him, which were shining brightly.

"Even if I wanted to do that, I'd still have to wait in line."

"queue……?"

The exam king did not understand his meaning.

But he soon found out.

A "whoop" sound.

A cold wind blew.

Six immature ghosts, trailing white flames and with eyes burning with hatred, viciously pounced on the deformed remains of the Exam King.

They tear and gnaw.

"You...it's you?!"

The roar of the exam king echoed suppressedly in the messy toilet.

"Marshal with Wrong Answers! General Under Pressure! Prime Minister of Guilt! Grand Tutor with Inspirational Quotes! Governor-General of Procrastination! Censor of Laziness... How dare you all betray me!"

The "Seven Heroes Under the King," who were once the king's most prized students, have now become his fiercest and most ruthless vanguard in dealing with him.

The overwhelming hatred was almost solidified.

Just as the exam king was about to swing the ruler in his left hand to attack them, another flash of purple-gold light appeared.

With a painful scream, the ruler fell to the ground with a "bang".

"I'm sorry, I was an accomplice." Bai Zhou smiled brightly, admiring the "all-over-sweat" appearance of the Exam King.

"Do not--"

Roaring and struggling, in the blink of an eye, the King of Exams was devoured by the six ghosts.

The massive body, a bloody mess, crashed to the ground.

"I...I don't understand..."

Finally, the triangular head, held aloft by the ghost, looked bewildered.

"If only I had known this would happen, if only I had known this would happen... I should have worked harder in the past few years..."

If I had successfully transformed earlier, this teacher who suddenly appeared out of nowhere wouldn't have been a match for me, right?

Even in death, King of Exams believed that he had not worked hard enough and had failed the test of fate's obstruction of the Heavenly Demon, which led to his current fate.

With a loud "boom," the shattered skeleton collapsed.

The skeleton transformed into golden specks of light, falling upon the six ghosts and turning their pure white forms a pale gold.

Then, they all showed expressions of gratitude and relief, turned around and bowed to the white boat from afar.

"..."

Unable to speak, they express simple emotions through actions.

"Buzz!"

As the bowing motion ended, their figures gradually dissipated, turning into golden specks of light, disappearing into the air and never to be seen again.

A gentle, golden rain of light fell from the sky.

But as if by some invisible gust of wind, these raindrops of light were stirred up, gathered together, and surged toward the white boat.

"This is……?"

The light rain, falling in abundance, melted upon encountering people and flowed into Bai Zhou's body.

This is the most refined soul spirit, and also the essence of the power of the exam king who is halfway to level 4.

Bai Zhou blinked, and an indescribable feeling swept over his entire body, his mental strength rapidly increasing.

Just as he purified the six ghosts... in return, the rain of light sent by the ghosts also purified the impurities in Bai Zhou's heart.

His gaze became clearer and gentler, all sharpness concealed, as if he could clearly see the reflection of anyone.

For extraordinary individuals, Level 2 "Mind Cultivation" is about eliminating impurities from the mind.

Everyone is born with a pure heart, but it is often tainted by the hustle and bustle of the world.

The process of cultivating one's mind is a process of returning to one's original state.

The highest level is to trace back to the heart of a child; the middle level is to grasp one's most cherished obsessions; the lowest level is to follow one's heart and simply indulge one's desires without feeling guilty or remorseful.

Regardless of the type, it is all about cultivating the mind. When cultivated to the extreme, one can stand at the pinnacle of Level 2 Extraordinary.

—And Bai Zhou is precisely the kind of person whose mind is not yet heavily polluted.

The environment in Wancheng is too monotonous. Most of my time each day is spent eating and thinking about what to eat tomorrow.

He longed to be corrupted, to be eroded by sugar-coated bullets... but he had no chance.

Therefore, with the help of this rain of light, the few impurities and flaws that Bai Zhou had in his heart were completely purified.

The heart of a child is thus returned!
Enveloped by the light of the soul, the white boat quietly entered a wondrous state.

—This is a wondrous ability that only the "Chosen One" can acquire when they reach the pinnacle of each stage.

Even with his eyes closed, Bai Zhou could perceive changes in his surroundings through his mind, from large-scale human movements to small details like falling leaves and the direction of air currents.

—It could even be said that Bai Zhou with his eyes closed might be better able to sense the details of the enemy's movements and more easily focus on the battle than Bai Zhou with his eyes open!
In some sources, this state is referred to as "mind's eye."

As the name suggests, the mind becomes the third eye.

Moreover, Bai Zhou can sense whether others are kind or malicious towards him.

In the ancient books of the Eastern Federation, people generally describe these wonderful states that arise from spiritual fulfillment as "doing whatever one pleases without overstepping the bounds" and "the cicadas sense the autumn wind before it blows."

After experiencing this state for a while, Bai Zhou had a sudden realization.

At this moment, he knew that his path as a Level 2 Chosen One had come to an end.

He has become stronger...

However, in other words, acquiring the next stage of the secret techniques is also imminent.

Fortunately, since recovering from his injuries, he has been diligently infusing the Adventurer's Token with spiritual energy...

The key to upgrading lies within this.

Looking back, although Yama had mentioned that with Hakushu's good mental state, he might be able to cultivate his "mind" faster than the average person.

But Bai Zhou still hadn't expected it to be this fast!

If Ya found out, who knows what she would think.

Undoubtedly, this is all thanks to these lovely students.

They remember clearly who treated them well and who treated them badly, and they repay them tenfold!
And that's not all—

"Om!!"

At the same time, the last words Bai Zhou had discovered when he first arrived at the school, found on the toilet floor, split into six identical last words, which merged with the six last words floating in mid-air.

A bright red light shone forth, yet the scarlet light carried a hint of jubilation.

The moment the item was returned to its rightful owner, all six dying words shattered simultaneously.

[Save...save...me...]

No, please don't save me—

I don't deserve to live!

Helping them to find liberation is also a form of "salvation".

The completed last words, shattered into piles of fragments, rushed toward the white boat like students filing out of school and heading toward the school gate on a weekend.

"..."

His vision blurred, and Bai Zhou slowly closed his eyes, his expression complex and shifting, as if he were trying to understand something. When he opened his eyes again, Bai Zhou saw the fragments transform into an exam paper filled with questions in front of him, swaying and falling gently before him.

"what is this?"

Bai Zhou let out a soft "hmm".

The red mark of 59 on this exam paper is very striking.

Before Bai Zhou could catch it, the white paper folded itself into a crumpled paper airplane.

It playfully spun around in the air and flew back into Bai Zhou's hand.

The moment he touched the paper airplane, a message flooded into Bai Zhou's mind.

[A paper airplane worth 59 points]

[It embodies the students' yearning for freedom and their longing for the sky outside the classroom window, as well as the gratitude of the departed souls towards their teacher; the poor students had nothing but this pure emotion to offer.]

[By boarding this plane, you can freely soar into the high skies.]

Grades are just the runway for takeoff, but once the plane takes off, it no longer needs to land and flies forward toward infinite possibilities.

Let's take off, soar high! The nose of the plane is pointing towards the route called "Future"!

"..."

Looking at the paper airplane in his hand, and combining it with what he had just seen in his mind—the various pressures these students faced from their families and schools—Bai Zhou drifted into a daze.

In fact, they all have one thing in common: they were all once proud and outstanding students, but they were hit hard in Yuanmeng Middle School, where there were many strong students, and their grades declined due to various complex external and internal reasons.

When the mind is vulnerable, the exam king can take advantage of it.

In fact, it is precisely because of setting excessively high standards for oneself that one experiences such pressure and worries.

If one were like Bai Zhou, accepting whatever the situation is like and dealing with everything optimistically, one wouldn't be targeted by the Exam King...

But in the end, they should be relaxed and happy, right?
"thank you all."

Holding the crumpled paper airplane carefully in his palm, Bai Zhou silently said to himself.

……

On the other side, Jia Tingting huddled in a corner, trembling, curled up in a ball, cautiously observing Bai Zhou.

The mysterious teacher who killed the monster was staring blankly at his empty palm, lost in thought.

But Jia Tingting stared at that fair hand from afar, seriously wondering if a slap on her head would blow her skull off.

She never imagined that she, an ordinary person, would become the female lead in a youth idol drama, embarking on a thrilling and exciting romantic adventure with a superpowered person disguised as a teacher.

—After all, he was just a little kid, and the other person's cold face was even more frightening.

How terrifying! To accidentally stumble upon a battle between a monster and a superpowered being, compared to other possibilities, feels like the biggest chance is being silenced.

He was thinking about it with great fear.

Jia Tingting suddenly noticed that the teacher had raised his head at some point and was looking at her with a stiff and dangerous smile.

"!!!"

Jia Tingting let out a soft moan, like a rabbit.

Look here.

The other person said this, while holding up a finger to signal Jia Tingting to look over.

"--eggplant!"

The miniature ritual etched on the fingertip is skillfully initiated.

With a "snap," a burst of light appeared, and Jia Tingting froze on the spot, her expression blank and stunned.

Bai Zhou, who had been trying to put on a kind smile, then stopped smiling.

A soft, gentle voice rang in Jia Tingting's ears...

"Feel your breath, gradually become calm..."

"Let your thoughts become light... ethereal..."

"..."

Hypnosis? Is this hypnosis?
Fang Xiaoyan, who witnessed the whole thing, could no longer remain calm.

This mysterious psychology teacher is not only unexpectedly good at killing people, but also so skilled in hypnosis.
A school counselor? Is this the kind of counselor you're talking about? It's highly suspicious that someone like this is hiding in the school!
If you hypnotize a high school girl, what hypnotic commands will she give?
Will he hypnotize himself later?
——Stop, stop, stop!

As soon as Fang Xiaoyan tried to use her imagination, she panicked and quickly stopped her.

"No! Hey! Teacher Zhou, what are you doing!"

But Bai Zhou didn't have time to pay attention to her at the moment, and the hypnosis ritual was not interrupted by Fang Xiaoyan's voice.

Under Fang Xiaoyan's flustered gaze, Bai Zhou walked up to Jia Tingting, who had collapsed to the ground, and said slowly:

"You have forgotten everything here, and you have forgotten the monster and me."

"Now, forget about the pressure and worries of studying, and don't do any homework tonight."

With a serious expression, Bai Zhou earnestly said:
"—Right now, all you want to do is treat yourself to a small cake, and then have a bite of that glistening, fatty but not greasy braised pork knuckle that crumbles with a touch of chopsticks!"

Fang Xiaoyan: "?"

What is this person saying in such a serious tone?

Who gives hypnotic commands like that!
"Remember, you must always remember..."

Bai Zhou bent down, meeting Jia Tingting's gaze directly into her eyes, his low voice echoing softly in Jia Tingting's heart:

"Your own happiness is the most important thing; there's no need to put too much pressure on yourself."

Study hard and make progress every day, but don't be obsessed with it.

"As long as you do your best to be true to yourself, you don't need to care about other people's opinions and pressure."

"The people who love you won't stop loving you just because you're not doing well in school. Even if you fail the high school entrance exam, the sky won't fall. The xiaolongbao shop will still be open, and the sun will rise as usual tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xiaoyan, who was standing to the side, widened her eyes.

She had never heard of such a "hypnotic command" before.

but……

"..."

After a slight pause, Bai Zhou thought for a moment, then continued earnestly:
"Your life is just beginning at this moment."

"Because life does not begin at birth or at a particular age."

"Life begins the day you stop trying to please onlookers and start living only for yourself."

This is the hypnosis of Shirashu.

It's not just simple forgetting; there are other "hypnotic commands."

However, it is neither dangerous nor evil.

It just fits Bai Zhou's role as a "psychological counselor".

This can be considered his reflection after witnessing the fate of the deceased students.

Learning from past mistakes is crucial for future success... This isn't something Bai Zhou alone wants to do.

Those six students just now witnessed Jia Tingting being manipulated by the Exam King, and even became his accomplices...

They all hoped that Jia Tingting would have a relatively easy life.

—To live happily in my place.

"..."

Jia Tingting sat there silently, seemingly oblivious to what was being said, yet also as if she had heard and remembered it all.

A crisp "snap" suddenly rang out in the toilet.

Bai Zhou clapped his hands lightly and stepped aside in front of Jia Tingting.

What appeared before Jia Tingting was a wide road leading straight to the door.

The ground was smooth and completely exposed.

"Now, you can leave this place."

Bai Zhou issued the final hypnotic command:

"Jia Tingting, go and embrace your new life!"

So, Jia Tingting, swaying unsteadily, stood up from the dark corner of the toilet and slowly walked towards the door.

Her steps were slow, but steady.

She lifted the heavy curtain, and the sunlight streaming in shone on her face, illuminating her entire silhouette.

It's golden, warm, and sparkly.

Bai Zhou watched her retreating figure.

Indistinctly, it seemed that there were six other figures also standing in the same spot, watching her back.

As Jia Tingting disappeared from sight, Bai Zhou still ignored Fang Xiaoyan, who was standing beside him in a daze, seemingly unaware of what she had just misunderstood. Instead, he looked down at his feet.

"It's time to deal with this..."

Bai Zhou muttered to himself.

Ink-like bloodstains meandered across the ground, resembling the scene of some kind of ritual.

And in the middle of the ink, where the exam king had just fallen.

There is one...

Completely unblemished by ink...

School uniform!

The words "Tinghai Yuanmeng Middle School" are also on it.

It's a bit older than the school uniforms worn at Dream Realm Middle School in reality, but it's exactly the same as the school uniforms Bai Zhou saw in the Reflection Ruins.

—But where did this school uniform suddenly appear from?
As soon as the exam king died, his figure turned into a speck of light and disappeared. Under Bai Zhou's gaze, the school uniform drifted to the ground.

Bai Zhou had a guess about this.

Could it be... the true form of the Exam King?

But this conjecture was far too exaggerated, causing Bai Zhou, who remained outwardly calm, to have his heart pounding.

A person with rather unusual abilities, whose overall strength is almost comparable to a Level 4 Extraordinary Being—

The true nature of the "super anomaly"?

(End of this chapter)