You're my wife, don't doubt it!

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When the four of them stood in front of the monastery gate again, Xiao Yao was already fully armored, with a shield and sword on his back, while Yu Bo, Shen Jie, and Yu Luying showed no obvious changes.

"Is this Don Quixote? This is the first time I've ever seen a spiritual fortress in person." Yu Bo reached out and gently stroked Xiao Yao's armor with approval.

"Can I set off some fireworks to celebrate? Want to see?" Shen Jie held up a fireball with both hands, as if she was about to throw it.

"No, no, no, don't waste your energy," Yu Bo quickly stopped her, explaining, "Xiao Yao's fortress is outside, protecting him from harm and allowing him to fight with his sword. Your fortress is inside. Queen Saint Mary can amplify your life energy, unleashing powerful attacks, but she can't protect your body. If your body is injured, it will significantly weaken Saint Mary's power. If the enemy is smart enough, they will definitely make you their primary target, so please protect yourself and don't act recklessly."

“Father Yu means that the enemy will definitely target the mage first—you should just hide behind my shield.” Xiao Yao tapped his chest, making a loud thud.

Shen Jie rolled her eyes at him, but didn't argue back.

"But I feel like I have no strength at all." Yu Luying checked her whole body with both hands.

Yu Bo turned around, put the violin case on the ground, opened it, took something out of it, and handed it to Yu Luying.

"Try this."

This is an axe, the one Yu Luying carried with her at the Qian Gui KTV.

In Yu Luying's hands, this axe was elusive and caused Xiao Yao and Shen Jie a lot of trouble.

The axe, which was unremarkable in Yu Bo's hands, immediately lit up with blue runes shrouded in a faint chill as soon as it was handed to Yu Luying.

"That's right!" Xiao Yao said happily.

"This……"

Yu Bo continued, "The Shadow World is considered to be a world composed of 'cognition,' including our own cognition and the cognition of others. A mental fortress can protect self-cognition and also project enhanced cognition into the Shadow World, gaining its recognition and forming a consensus. Power not recognized by the Shadow World is useless there, just like how you couldn't break the doors and windows with an axe, and pepper spray wouldn't work either. Although Yingying doesn't have a mental fortress, her self-cognition can be enhanced with the help of familiar tools or weapons to achieve a similar effect."

"So, I believe I'm a knight, so I have armor and weapons, and Shen Jie believes she can set fires, so she can? Even if I'm not a real knight, Shen Jie has never used magic?" Xiao Yao was somewhat skeptical of this statement: "What do you mean by justification by faith?"

"That statement is inaccurate, but if you want to understand it that way for now, that's fine too."

"This is outrageous!" Xiao Yao said.

"Do you remember the chocolate bar you 'drank' in Mr. Yao's hall?"

“I remember,” Xiao Yao said. “After we came out, the chocolate was still there, and I ate it for you.”

"When you gave it to me, did you notice that the chocolate was solid?" Yu Bo asked.

"...Really? I didn't notice. What's wrong now?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled.

"Then why is the chocolate liquid in the hall?" Yu Bo reminded them.

"Because... he was soaked in the water dungeon?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Is the water in the water dungeon hot?" Yu Bo raised an eyebrow.

"Cold water."

"Is the packaging bag damaged?"

"No, it's perfectly intact."

“The packaging was intact, and the chocolate wouldn’t melt after being soaked in cold water overnight,” Yu Bo told them. “The reason the chocolate melted was because Xiao Yao and Shen Jie ‘thought’ the chocolate would melt, since neither of them are science students.”

Shen Jie's face turned slightly red: "Okay, stop talking, we all understand what you mean."

"But Uncle, you don't seem to have changed at all. Is it really okay?" Yu Luying asked Yu Bo with some concern.

"So what do we do now?" Before Yu Bo could answer, Xiao Yao had already drawn his longsword with his right hand: "Should we go in and investigate? Or..."

Flames erupted from Shen Jie's palms: "I can just blow the door open."

Yu Bo reached out to stop her: "No, no, no, no! Let's be polite first and then resort to force. Didn't you say that this might be my own palace?"

Just then, the side door of the monastery creaked open, and a woman dressed as a nun walked out.

She was of average height, wearing the kind of black and white nun's habit commonly seen in television and movies, with a long skirt that was about eight-tenths of the way down. She wore black short cotton socks and school shoes, and her head was wrapped in a long headscarf, with not a single strand of hair showing.

The nun had her head slightly bowed, and what should have been her face... was just darkness.

Yes, there was only darkness.

Xiao Yao initially thought it was just due to the lighting at night, but after careful observation, he realized that there was indeed no face.

This reminded him of the faceless flower girl he saw in the mirror under the bridge when Shen Jie first ran away from home.

"Peace be with you, brothers and sisters in the Lord," the little nun said.

"Peace and safety," Yu Bo and Yu Luying replied instinctively.

"I have been entrusted by Dean Song to welcome you visiting our institution." The faceless nun maintained a humble posture with her hands crossed over her shoulders.

Dean Song? Ha!

Xiao Yao almost burst out laughing.

It’s the same old thing.

Yu Bo glanced at the three teenagers, shrugged, and said, "I told you, it couldn't possibly be my temple."

"This way, please." The faceless nun stepped aside, pushed open the side door of the monastery, and politely invited her on.

The four exchanged glances, all feeling a sense of being "lured into a trap." After hesitating for a few seconds, they had no other choice but to slowly follow the little nun into the room.

The four of them had just followed her into the courtyard when the small door clicked shut, which intensified their unease.

Xiao Yao noticed that although it was transformed into the appearance of a monastery, the gate of the monastery still largely retained the style of the gate of St. Francis Secondary School. Moreover, the internal structure was also quite similar.

Most obviously, not far from the entrance, there is a playground of moderate size.

"Father Yu, is there a playground in the monastery?" Xiao Yao asked in a low voice.

Yu Bo didn't answer the question, but stared blankly at a portrait on the wall: "Who is this person?"

Xiao Yao looked closely and saw that he had thin eyebrows and eyes, a high nose and thin lips, low cheekbones and a thin face, as well as that signature mustache. Who else could it be but Song Haijian?

"It's Song Hai..."

"This is Dean Song of our institute," the faceless nun introduced.

The “Dean Song” had a mysterious smile like the Mona Lisa on his face, wore a black four-cornered hat, and was dressed in the same robe as Yu Bo, looking indescribably eerie.

“So, in Teacher Yao’s mind,” Yu Luying began, “the school is a karaoke bar, a love hotel, a free and unrestrained place where you can learn whatever you want…”

Shen Jie continued, "But in your teacher Song's mind, the school = a great monastery."

"It seems that Dean Song's understanding of monasteries is mostly based on tourist photos," Yu Bo chuckled softly through his nose.

As the group walked into the "monastery" while they were talking, a burst of stirring music suddenly rang out from above the monastery.

This is not some ethereal Gregorian chant, but rather the familiar "Athletes' March".

As the "Athletes' March" began to play, a huge crowd began to surge from inside the monastery onto the playground.

Xiao Yao was startled and instinctively drew his sword, but Shen Jie stopped him and squeezed the boy's hand.

In less than a minute, the "people" pouring out of the monastery filled the entire playground, numbering an estimated one or two thousand.

The male monks, all wearing hoods that obscured their faces, stood on the left side of the playground, while the nuns, dressed much like the "faceless nun," stood on the right side. A three-meter-wide walkway separated the boys and girls.

"Spread out! Stand still! It's time for evening classes!" the faceless nun urged.

"Evening class?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled.

Before he could react, the four of them were separated. Xiao Yao and Yu Bo stood in the line of cultivators on the left, while Yu Luying and Shen Jie stood in the line of nuns on the right.

"No time to explain, just do it!" the faceless nun shouted in a low voice.

As three nuns led the exercises onto the platform, the loudspeakers above the school—well, the monastery—broadcast the following announcement: "The Eighth Set of Broadcast Gymnastics for Middle School Students Nationwide—The Times Are Calling!"

"Making morning exercises so late at night, Principal Song, you're really something else!" Xiao Yao exclaimed.

But what followed was not the familiar radio calisthenics music, but a cheerful melody that Xiao Yao had never heard before.

Next came a cheerful and melodious female chorus.

"Baby

Good fortune is actually all around you.

My baby

"Fighting from dawn till midnight..."

"What?" Xiao Yao hurriedly followed the lead dancer on the stage, performing these extremely difficult square dance moves.

"Those who can't get tutoring don't deserve to be my good students."

If you don't meet the standards in this exam-oriented world, get out!

Baby

The National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) is the only ladder to success.