A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

The newcomer had an unfriendly look in his eyes and was threatening Zhou Ke'er with his sword in hand. But before he could finish speaking, Zhou Ke'er interrupted him, saying, "Alright, I'm happy to serve you. He's yours now. We'll meet again someday!"

After saying that, ignoring the other party's surprised and bewildered expression, Zhou Ke'er immediately activated the ring effect towards a passerby in the distance, instantly swapping their positions. After all, Zhou Ke'er's lightness skill, namely the Yu Step, was most likely taught in the Yan Prince's Guard. If she used it, she might be discovered, so it was better to be safe.

In an instant, Zhou Ke'er disappeared from the spot, replaced by a bewildered passerby who was completely clueless about the situation. Zhou Ke'er had already taken advantage of her geographical position on the outskirts of the crowd and, taking advantage of the fact that the Prince of Yan's guard could not see him, secretly used her Yu Step technique and slipped away quickly.

This is unbelievable! Just wanting to change my identity has brought so much trouble. If it weren't for the fact that I haven't accumulated enough spiritual energy yet, Zhou Ke'er would have taught them a lesson with a single, scathing attack...

The premise that because there are no cultivation techniques, one cannot cultivate spiritual power on their own and can only rely on slow, natural accumulation is just utter garbage.

However... such a crude way of using spiritual power is really not good. It consumes a lot of energy, yields little effect, and can even backfire.

As Zhou Ke'er ran, she pondered: if spiritual power and magical energy were used as the same energy source, could she use spiritual power to unleash an attack similar to a magic cannon? After all, the principle of a magic cannon is not complicated; it's simply about gathering, compressing, concentrating, and inscribing a magic circle with magical energy before releasing it.

Aside from the burst formation, all the other steps could be done using spiritual energy instead of magical energy. As for the burst formation... Zhou Ke'er figured that throwing out that huge lump of compressed spiritual energy in her hand would be the same... right?

Wait a minute, there's no need to worry about any explosive formations. Zhou Ke'er's current cultivation technique, "Return to Nothingness Finger," contains a special force for launching hidden weapons, right? So, if we switch from using hidden weapons to using spirit energy balls or needles, it should have the same effect, right?

Without hesitation, Zhou Ke'er glanced behind her and noticed that although many onlookers were looking at her strangely, no one was chasing after her, especially the Prince Yan's guard. She couldn't see him at all, probably because he thought it was more important to take down Wei Mingquan.

Finding no immediate danger, Zhou Ke'er slowed her pace slightly, carefully channeling a wisp of spiritual energy to her fingertips. She manipulated the energy to form a barely perceptible needle, then continuously fed it in little by little until she reached the maximum amount of spiritual energy a tiny needle could contain. It must be said that, apart from being a bit difficult to control, the energy consumption was actually quite small. Even with Zhou Ke'er's pitifully small amount of spiritual energy, she could condense four or five needles.

Then, Zhou Ke'er once again channeled her inner energy, flicked her fingertips slightly, and suddenly shot the spiritual energy needle toward a wall to the side.

The moment the spirit needle left Zhou Ke'er's fingertip, it lost control and involuntarily deformed, even threatening to explode from the inside. Fortunately, the Returning Void Force made the spirit needle fly out fast enough, so it hit the wall before it could maintain its shape. Luckily, Zhou Ke'er didn't try to throw a large ball of spirit energy with her hand first, otherwise she might have blown herself to pieces.

"boom!"

The spiritual energy needle struck the wall hard. The wall, which was already in a precarious state, collapsed upon impact. The spiritual energy scattered and exploded, creating an effect similar to an explosion. Combined with the corrosive effect inherent in Zhou Ke'er's spiritual energy, a large hole was blasted in the wall, producing a loud noise.

"Whoa..."

Even Zhou Ke'er was a little surprised by its power. This was more like a spiritual energy bomb than a spiritual energy needle. If she had used this thing instead of the Flying Swallow Feather when she attacked Zhang Buyan earlier... he would probably have been blown half-paralyzed.

The loud noise caused by the spiritual energy needles naturally attracted the attention of almost everyone in the vicinity, not to mention...

"Whoa! Which bastard ruined my plans?!"

Behind the wall that Zhou Ke'er had blown up, as the smoke cleared, a burly, fierce-looking man appeared. He was shirtless and tightly gripped the wrists of a young girl. The girl was pretty and delicate, her face streaked with tears, and her clothes were disheveled, making it clear that she was about to be violated by this burly man.

"Oh, this..."

Zhou Ke'er was shocked. How could something like this happen just from randomly firing a shot? This is too much of a coincidence! Is it really just a coincidence?

But given the current situation, he had no time to think. Zhou Ke'er could only coldly stare at the burly man and say in a chilling voice, "Scum of the martial world, everyone has the right to kill him! What the righteous sects cannot do, I, Honghe, will do; what the righteous sects cannot kill, I, Honghe, will kill!"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Ke'er had already secretly prepared a spiritual energy needle. Taking advantage of the other party's unpreparedness, she suddenly flicked her finger and shot the spiritual energy needle at the other party.

Huh? You're saying the explosion of the spiritual energy needle could accidentally injure that woman?

What does that have to do with Zhou Ke'er?

"Anyway" is just an excuse. Does Zhou Ke'er really have to protect her?

## Chapter 301, Section 296: The Grand Imperial Examination (Part 11)

"I am the man of the Prince of Zhenbei! How dare you touch me?!"

Seeing Zhou Ke'er's disdainful expression and the whispering crowd around them, the thug couldn't help but shout angrily—he hadn't noticed the movements in Zhou Ke'er's hands.

"I'm sorry, but once the arrow is released, there's no turning back."

Zhou Ke'er covered her mouth and chuckled, casually replying, "Have you ever seen a hidden weapon that can be retrieved halfway through its trajectory?"

Even before Zhou Ke'er finished speaking the first half of her sentence, the spiritual energy needle had already pierced into the villain's body and exploded violently.

The thug was like a watermelon that had been smashed on the ground, but with one difference: he burst open from the inside, or rather, like a balloon that had been blown up too much.

Blood and debris splattered, but fortunately Zhou Ke'er was prepared and easily dodged the filth by using the Yu Step technique.

However, speaking of which... what exactly is this "Prince of Zhenbei"? Zhou Ke'er really didn't know anything about the background of this module. The module's setting itself was strange enough. First of all, a bunch of martial arts practitioners coming to the capital for a martial arts tournament? Are they crazy? Aren't they just asking to be wiped out?! Also, the current emperor is a descendant of the Prince of Yan who successfully usurped the throne during the Jingnan Rebellion, yet he brazenly calls his personal guards the "Prince of Yan Guard." Isn't he afraid everyone will know his ascension to the throne was illegitimate? It's simply infuriating.

"Thank you so much for saving me, heroine! I have no way to repay you, I only ask to be your servant in my next life, to repay your kindness with a knotted rope..."

The woman who was almost raped immediately walked towards Zhou Ke'er, crying and looking extremely grateful, while spouting tired, clichéd lines.

However...

"Take one more step and I'll make my move."

But Zhou Ke'er glared at the woman with a cold look, showing no mercy. She picked up a few silver needles in her hand—there was no other way, the Flying Swallow Feather was too easily recognizable, and using spiritual energy needles like this all the time would consume too much energy—and warned the woman.

"This...why is this happening? What have I done...?"

The woman was startled, and like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, she instantly held back her tears, then put on a pitiful look, seemingly unaware of what she had done wrong, and tried to continue walking towards Zhou Ke'er.

"call out!"

Zhou Ke'er didn't bother arguing with her anymore. She immediately shot the silver needle in her hand at the woman, making several whooshing sounds.

This is far too suspicious. How could a normal person remain calm and even try to thank Zhou Ke'er, the murderer, when they see a living person exploding inside them, torn to pieces and covered in blood? Logically, she should either be crying and begging Zhou Ke'er not to kill her, or she should be panicking and trying to run away immediately.

Moreover, Zhou Ke'er had already warned her, yet she still insisted on coming closer. Isn't that deliberately revealing that her identity is problematic? Is she afraid that Zhou Ke'er won't take action?

"Why did you resort to violence so easily, heroine?"

The woman reached out and casually caught the few silver needles Zhou Ke'er had flicked away, looking utterly bewildered. "This is truly heartbreaking for me..."

"!"

Oh no, they've got a big shot! We've messed up!

Zhou Ke'er's pupils constricted slightly. She immediately stepped back while loudly replying, "I'm giving you a few silver needles for self-defense. No need to thank me. I have urgent business to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. We'll meet again someday!"

What the hell is wrong with these days' "experts"? Do they all enjoy this kind of setup where some random, weakling on the street forces themselves on them? And then they get rescued by innocent bystanders who don't know the truth, and then they seek revenge? Are they mentally disturbed?! If you're so strong, wouldn't it be more exciting to find someone of similar skill to play this kind of game with?!

"Oh? I see. Then I thank you for your gift, young lady. In that case, I should naturally reciprocate..."

The woman looked as if she had just realized something, and immediately smiled and said, "Since you are skilled in using hidden weapons, I happen to have a few blood-dissolving needles on me. I hope they will suit your needs."

As she spoke, she waved her hand at Zhou Ke'er, and several nearly transparent needles, which only shimmered slightly in the sunlight, flew towards Zhou Ke'er at a speed slightly faster than the Flying Swallow Feather that Zhou Ke'er had used at full power before.

"Oh no, I can't dodge it..."

Zhou Ke'er frowned slightly, secretly channeling her spiritual power, and thought to herself, "It seems that I can only use the principle of repulsive force generated by spiritual power to see if I can bounce these needles away... I just don't know if I have enough spiritual power."

"call!"

Just then, a white shadow flashed by, as if a figure had gracefully arrived from afar. With a slight flick of his long sleeves, he blocked all the blood-dissolving needles.

"Thank you, Miss Xie Yue, for the needles! I will humbly accept them on behalf of this heroine."

A handsome man dressed in a white robe stood in front of Zhou Ke'er, holding the blood-dissolving needles he had just blocked, and laughed loudly.

"It's you... Since it's the renowned Young Hero Huangfu in person, how could I refuse? If Young Hero Huangfu likes them, it wouldn't hurt to send a few more!"

The woman surnamed Yue was startled at first, but then she laughed and casually shot out several more blood-dissolving needles, even faster than before.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Yue, but I cannot accept a gift without having done anything in return. I feel ashamed to receive such a gift for no reason, so I will not accept the needle."

The man in white robes laughed loudly, then quickly turned around and hugged Zhou Ke'er. With a light touch of his toes, he seemed to defy gravity and floated into the air, drifting away into the distance.

The blood-dissolving needles pierced the ground with a hissing sound, but all missed their mark.

Seeing this, the surrounding onlookers dared not stay any longer and scattered like birds and beasts.

Seeing Zhou Ke'er and the man leave gracefully, the woman surnamed Yue did not chase after them. However, her face, which had been full of fake smiles just moments before, instantly turned cold.

"You are..."

Zhou Ke'er was obediently held by the man, and was about to ask him who he was when the man spoke up.

His previously smiling face darkened slightly, replaced by a helpless expression: "My dear lady... do you know how terribly you've ruined things? Why did you go and cause trouble for that female demon?"

Zhou Ke'er also looked helpless—how the hell did he know that just casually firing an experimental spiritual needle would lead to this bizarre situation?

"How would I know? I don't even know her! I was just doing a good deed, okay? The problem isn't me, it's the world!"

Zhou Ke'er muttered in a low voice, looking aggrieved.

"Sigh... I wonder what the Demonic Sect and the Prince of Zhenbei's people are secretly communicating for, especially since they specifically chose this time of the capital's grand competition... Could they be planning a rebellion...?"

After listening to Zhou Ke'er's whispered murmurs, the man couldn't press her for an answer any further and could only sigh helplessly and say worriedly.

## Chapter 302, Section 297: The Grand Imperial Examination (Part Twelve)

"Hey, hey, don't just talk to yourself! Why are you telling me something that sounds so important?!"

Zhou Ke'er remained completely still, like a salted fish, and couldn't help but retort, "Also, who exactly are you... no, who are you, sir?"

"...You don't know who I am?"

The man looked slightly surprised, stared at Zhou Ke'er for a moment, and had an expression that said, "Where did you come from, deep in the mountains?"

"Oh? You and I are complete strangers, why should I need to know who you are? If you hadn't just saved me, do you think we would have had the chance to meet?"

Zhou Ke'er gave the man the look of someone looking at an idiot—although the man was focused on getting on his way and didn't look down at all, so he couldn't see Zhou Ke'er's gaze.

“Well… what the young lady said makes sense, that’s true.”

After hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, the man didn't know what to say. "My name is Huangfu Song, and I have a little reputation in the martial arts world."

"Oh, my name is Honghe. I'm pleased to meet you, Young Hero Huangfu."

Zhou Ke'er gave a very perfunctory answer.

"By the way, the lightness skill you just displayed resembled the Yu Step frequently used by the Prince of Yan's guards. Could it be that you are...?"

Huangfu Song suddenly asked the question as if it were unintentional, but the timing of the question felt abrupt.

"Are you someone from the imperial court?"

Zhou Ke'er asked lazily in return.

"what?"

Huangfu Song was taken aback by Zhou Ke'er's question, wondering why she had suddenly asked such a question. He then shook his head in surprise: "No, I am not a member of the court."

"Then why are you meddling so much? The imperial court hasn't bothered me, and I haven't bothered you with your daily investigations into the Demonic Sect and the Prince of Zhenbei. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Zhou Ke'er rolled her eyes, her tone defiant yet assertive, and asked in a coquettish manner—though it was indeed quite disgusting.

"I don't investigate the Demonic Sect and the Prince of Zhenbei every day..."

Huangfu Song finally stopped and landed in a delicate courtyard, gently setting Zhou Ke'er down.