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

Although with Zhou Ke'er's current strength, dealing with most of the people present shouldn't be a big problem—after all, the "Yanran Technique" is too overpowered for the cultivator system, and if all else fails, she can still use the Evil Initiation—Zhou Ke'er has always been a model young person who respects the elderly and cares for the young.

The elder at the head of the clan had a flash of golden light in his eyes, and then he showed a surprised expression: "This is... Foundation Establishment? The last time I saw you, you had only just entered the Qi Refining stage. How come you have already reached Foundation Establishment in just a few days?"

Here's the thing: After Zhou Ke'er had just tricked Zhou Nasen, she took precautions and pulled back the dense, almost overflowing evil aura emanating from her body. What appeared on the outside was just spiritual energy. Unless you're some kind of super powerful being, Zhou Ke'er looks like a proper cultivator no matter how you look at her.

As expected, these clan elders were also fooled by Zhou Ke'er.

Seeing their surprised expressions, Zhou Ke'er scratched his head—he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, didn't he think that was slow? Tyrant Song had already reached several realms by now.

So he casually replied, "Well... I just practiced a bit, and then, whoosh, bang, I've reached Foundation Establishment. I thought that was pretty slow. Was it actually faster than expected?"

"Fast! Too fast, not just fast, it's incredibly fast!"

The elder's eyes gleamed as he scanned Zhou Ke'er from head to toe: "I can't even see through your spiritual root. What an outstanding talent you are—I was mistaken last time and failed to discover it. Fortunately, you haven't let a pearl go to waste."

Of course, you can't see through a spiritual root, because Zhou Ke'er doesn't have one at all... His cultivation system is too different from that of ordinary people. His body has been modified by evil forces, making him completely different from a pure human. His original spiritual root has long been corrupted and eroded; now, his cultivation relies on the evil core within his body. That's why it's said that his spiritual power is merely a byproduct of evil...

"However, I do have a question."

Just then, another elder asked a question: "Where did you obtain your cultivation methods?"

They noticed this issue when they last met Zhou Ke'er, but they didn't ask about it to conceal their true identities. Now that they're no longer hiding it, they naturally want to get to the bottom of it.

"It's a booklet I found in the ruins during my archaeological work. It's called 'Two Years to Cultivate Qi, Three Years to Establish Foundation.' I originally thought it was just a scam, but I tried it out according to the description a while ago when I was bored, and it actually worked."

Zhou Ke'er's lies came naturally to her lips. In addition, when she was teaching Finger Sand before, she had converted some of the content into an electronic version for convenience, which could be used now: "For easy viewing, I have written some of the content on the bracelet. You can check if there are any problems."

As she spoke, Zhou Ke'er brought up the notepad app on her bracelet and showed its contents to the elders.

The elders, upon hearing the name "Cultivation Manual," roughly understood what was going on. After confirming this with some of the information recorded within, they determined what it was all about. Although none of the elders were extraordinary individuals who had lived from the old era to the present, this kind of information, which was not exactly secret, naturally continued to be passed down through intelligence records.

"So that's how it is. It's a quick-learning technique. No wonder it's so fast. Even so, being able to learn it so much faster than expected is still an extremely outstanding talent."

The leading elder nodded, glanced at the others, and continued, "However, ultimately, the quick-fix method still has its flaws and will be detrimental to your future progress. We will prepare our family's inherited techniques for you; you can switch to them as soon as possible to avoid any negative impact on your future and wasting your excellent talent."

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765. So embarrassing, I'll just close my eyes.

After an awkward yet polite exchange, Zhou Ke'er finally managed to escape. The matter wasn't particularly important; in short, it was of no use to Zhou Ke'er. Seeing that Zhou Ke'er's cultivation hadn't encountered any problems, the elders didn't insist on keeping her to watch her practice, saving them some trouble.

However, this incident did serve as a wake-up call for Zhou Ke'er. Seeing that the exorcist organization had already begun to get busy, followed by the special departments gradually starting to make plans, and now even these families had gotten involved themselves—clearly, the anomalies occurring in the real world were indeed becoming increasingly troublesome.

Thinking about it this way, the fact that Hu Tao was suddenly pulled into another dimension without any warning while in the mental hospital might not have been as unlucky as Zhou Ke'er imagined—if such things really happen often enough.

While pondering carefully, Zhou Ke'er, who had only been there for less than half an hour and hadn't even settled in, drove her beat-up little car back home.

With fewer vehicles and pedestrians on the streets, Zhou Ke'er had a smooth journey and quickly returned home.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that no one was left in the house, not even Qiao Yixia, who had been brought by the red crane—wait, speaking of which… Qiao Yixia’s surname is Qiao, and the sand between the fingers is also from the Qiao family—could it be her ancestor?

We'll ask then.

As for where they went, Zhou Ke'er wasn't worried at all. Leaving aside Honghe and Qiao Yixia, Zhijiansha and Mingmengjing certainly wouldn't dare leave on their own right now; they might even refuse to move even if Zhou Ke'er told them to hurry up. She guessed that the way to enter the game had changed to entering the game body as well, since their real bodies had already been corrupted.

Zhou Ke'er immediately understood what was going on, then lay down on the bed and entered the game.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Chen Tian sitting on the sofa drinking tea and reading a book.

"What are you doing here? Is the module finished?"

Zhou Ke'er also sat down on the sofa and asked.

Chen Tian glanced at Zhou Ke'er in surprise: "No. I found a chance to slip away not long after this module started. But you, how come you died first? Aren't they coming back soon?"

"No, I've been dead for a while. But I didn't see you when I came back here after I died."

Zhou Ke'er was shocked—that's why she couldn't find Chen Tian. Goodness, this guy is really brave. Isn't he afraid of punishment? He gave away a whole wave right from the start. That's too much. Is he hiding under a bridge?

Chen Tian sighed: "I was just at the Divine Academy, and I just got back a little while ago."

Before Zhou Ke'er could ask her why she had come back, she explained very readily, "Firstly, you guys might be coming back soon, so I came back early to wait for you. Secondly—it just so happens that it's the start of the new semester for the Divine Academy, and the scene is too noisy and chaotic, so I'm not comfortable staying there."

Oh?! There's such a thing... Hearing this, Zhou Ke'er suddenly realized that although she was clearly a student of the Divine Academy, a semester had ended and the next batch of freshmen had enrolled, but she hadn't even attended a single class!

Is this reasonable? He never slacked off like this in college.

This is a perfect opportunity. Since the major events have come to an end, there shouldn't be any major events happening anytime soon. I have a lot of free time, so it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to study at the Divine Academy and improve my strength.

It just so happens that it's the start of the new student enrollment season, so I have to go find that old skeleton and pull some strings so that he can start learning from scratch with the new students.

"That's alright then. I'll go to the Divine Academy to join in the fun. It'll probably be a while before their module ends, and even after it's finished, they'll probably have to go back to reality to check on things and take care of some matters. It won't be that quick. You might have to wait quite a while."

Zhou Ke'er reminded Chen Tian.

Chen Tian waved her hand: "Being alone is actually more relaxing for me."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ke'er didn't say anything more and immediately used her wristwatch to arrive at the Divine Academy.

At first glance, the atmosphere here was indeed more lively than on previous visits. Zhou Ke'er didn't linger and headed straight for the old skeleton's office.

The old skeleton was indeed staying obediently in his office when the door was suddenly pushed open with a "bang." He was about to scold who was so rude as to not even knock, but when he looked up and saw that it was Zhou Ke'er, he immediately swallowed his words. His face changed to one of extreme welcome, as if his expression had changed completely: "Oh, isn't this Zhou Ke'er? What brings you here today? It's truly an honor to have you here—come, come, have a seat, please have a seat."

Zhou Ke'er sat down in the chair quite naturally, nodded and said, "I just noticed that some new students are enrolling. I thought about it and realized that I haven't really attended any classes properly yet—how about you schedule a class for me and let me attend classes with this year's freshmen? Although I can't guarantee attendance, I shouldn't miss too many classes at the beginning."

So you knew that too!

The old skeleton silently wiped the cold sweat from its forehead and continued, moving its jawbone rapidly, "I see. Zhou Ke'er is truly a motivated and excellent student—so, which major's courses would you like to take? Although, in principle, should be assigned according to divine rank, as long as it's not too far below your divine rank, I can help you smooth things over..."

Zhou Ke'er blinked: "Oh, I see. Thank you so much. But I'm not really sure what majors I can study. Could you recommend some for me? As for divinity..."

Extending her right hand, Zhou Ke'er saw several pseudo-godheads appear on her palm: "First is this one. Although it was just randomly made, it should still work, right?"

The old skeleton broke out in a cold sweat. Good heavens, now they're counting divine titles by the dozen! Didn't they say he had none left last time? Now he has several more! Just how favored is this guy among those great beings?!

He nodded repeatedly, and just as he was about to offer some recommendations, Zhou Ke'er released a wisp of the Time God's divine power and continued, "Oh, and this too, the Time God's divine spark. Although I've had it for a while, I haven't really strengthened it much. This could be good for some practice."

"Oh right—I almost forgot, there's also this. I don't know if your college has this major, but it would be great if it did. I've been thinking about researching it lately."

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, Zhou Ke'er released a trace of "divinity" contained within her evil aura and showed it to the other party.

The old skeleton's eye sockets burst open with a "bang," and before he could even react to his dislocated jaw, he was so terrified that he stumbled backward, almost falling to the ground: "You—you! This…"

Oh no, oh no! He thought this guy was just a lackey favored by the evil gods—but he turned out to be an evil god himself!

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766. God, Zhou Ke'er, please enlighten me.

"Ha...haha, you've really put me in a difficult position."

The old skeleton shakily reached out and pressed the dislocated jawbone back into place. Then, wiping the cold sweat seeping from his forehead, he said, "Let me think, think—yes, yes, how about using God's divine status as proof of enrollment? You see, since this entire pantheon has been erased, there are no set courses. This way, the courses I assign you will be relatively less fixed. Furthermore, if you feel that a course is not to your liking, it will be easier to withdraw or change courses."

Zhou Ke'er stroked her chin. "What you said makes some sense—anyway, these aren't my business, and I wouldn't understand any of what you're saying. Let's just do it your way."

The old skeleton finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, okay, that's settled then! I'll get right over with it for you. Once everything is done, the information will be registered in your wristwatch. Just keep an eye on it—perhaps if you're interested, you can attend the entrance ceremony now?"

"Let's talk about it another time. I have some things to take care of. So, I'll leave these to you?"

Zhou Ke'er looked at the old skeleton who had already started busying himself with filling out forms, nodded with satisfaction, and then turned around and pushed open the door to leave.

The old skeleton finally recovered from his anxiety, staring blankly at the ceiling, the soul fire in his eye sockets trembling violently—allowing someone with a fake godhood to become a student was one thing, but now they were directly letting an evil god in as a student! This wasn't something he could handle alone; he had to report it to all the academy departments. Perhaps… this was the harbinger of some major operation.

If he had a choice, he would absolutely never let Zhou Ke'er set foot in this academy, but he had no choice. There was simply no other way; compared to those evil gods, they were still too weak and powerless!

Zhou Ke'er, who had been acting under the old skeleton's coattails, probably understood why he had been so respectful to her from the very beginning. Initially, she wasn't quite sure, thinking it might be because she possessed the divine essence of a lost pantheon, hence their special attention to her as their "only heir." But upon closer reflection, she realized there was no need for such servility. And when Zhou Ke'er unleashed her malevolent divinity, the creature's expression said it all.

While this was good news for Zhou Ke'er, ultimately it wasn't good news for the other "people." It showed that even within the game—as an academy used to train Earth's gods—it was under the control of those beings. It was undeniably tragic.

However, this makes sense in the end, since the Divine Academy is located within the territory controlled by those great beings, and it might even have been built by them.

The more Zhou Ke'er learned about the inside story, the more she felt that Renault and his group, who had persisted until now without giving up, were truly tenacious. Although their views were somewhat radical, it was perhaps precisely because of this radical and extreme belief that they were able to grit their teeth and persevere through such a long and desperate night.

Zhou Ke'er admires them, but she can't become them.

From the moment Zhou Ke'er acquired divinity on her own, rather than relying on a divine title, she embarked on a different path.

While pondering haphazardly, Zhou Ke'er adjusted the coordinates and returned to the safe house again through her wristwatch.

Most people were already waiting here, except for Zhijiansha – he was probably pulled over by his clan as soon as he logged out of the game.

None of the people sitting there spoke, each going about their own business, creating an awkward atmosphere. Normally, Finger Sand could lighten the mood and act as a bridge, but he wasn't there. And Cold Rabbit was a cowardly bully; he'd be lively when things were good, but now that the atmosphere was tense, he cowered in a corner, head down, too scared to move—utterly useless.

Looking at the remaining people, Chen Tian was as withdrawn as ever, and Hong He found the others too boring and didn't bother to speak first. She'd only just stopped dozing off these past few days due to spring drowsiness and autumn fatigue; expecting her to be eloquent was like hoping Cold-Eat Rabbit's IQ would suddenly increase. Zhang He tried to say a few words to ease the atmosphere, but after exchanging information from the module, he was speechless again.

So, when it comes to social butterflies, Zhou Ke'er is the one to rely on. With him around, even if it's just making small talk, you can still have a lively conversation.

"Ahem... So, everyone should have taken care of their real-life matters, right? We don't need to wait for Zhijiansha anymore; she probably won't be back for a while."

Seeing that the scene was very quiet, Zhou Ke'er had no choice but to break the silence.

When Cold-Eating Rabbit saw Zhou Ke'er speak, it finally breathed a sigh of relief and hopped out to ask, "Why? Why? How do you know she won't come back?"

Zhou Ke'er looked at the cold-cooked rabbit that had only just started hopping around and couldn't help but raise her hand and give it a flick on the forehead—it didn't dare to utter a sound just now, but it's starting to jump around now, huh? —before replying, "I know her in real life too. She had some family matters to attend to, so I called her over."

You know what, it feels really good. This melon is guaranteed to be ripe; Zhou Ke'er even wanted to tap it a few more times.

Cold-cooked Rabbit covered its head, its eyes wide: "What's going on? Why is it like I'm the only one who's failing?!"

Flamingo squinted at Cold-Eating Rabbit. Although Cold-Eating Rabbit didn't notice Flamingo's gaze, it still felt a chill run down its spine and couldn't help but shiver. It immediately looked around instinctively, but found nothing.

"Why are you making such a fuss! Stop acting silly."

Zhou Ke'er manipulated the evil spirit, grabbed Leng Chi Tu by the back of her collar, lifted her up, and threw her back onto the sofa. "Alright, alright, now that everyone's here, let's begin our first meeting. First, the first topic is—real-world security issues."

After coughing lightly twice, Zhou Ke'er began her speech, looking every bit like a pyramid scheme leader, and she actually did look quite convincing.

As for how Red Crane and the others died in that module earlier... Zhou Ke'er wasn't too concerned. She could ask Red Crane about that in private later.

"Real-world security? What does that mean?"

Zhang He raised his hand in confusion to ask a question—he still didn't know what the relationship was between the two.

However, seeing the confused look on Lengchitu's face, Zhou Ke'er could only sigh and explain the whole story to everyone in detail.

Although Zhang He and Lengchitu were still somewhat skeptical, worried that Zhou Ke'er might be making another inappropriate joke, they eventually believed her after Chun Kunqiu spoke up to corroborate their suspicions.

Zhou Ke'er was quite surprised. She didn't expect that just a few days after the event ended, even someone as tired as spring and autumn would encounter a similar dangerous incident in real life. Fortunately, unlike Hu Tao, she managed to resolve the matter with some effort and didn't end up with a broken hand.

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767. Don't come any closer!

Zhang He sighed helplessly: "I just wanted to play a game, how could something like this happen? This is just too dramatic, isn't it? Is this really something that could happen in real life, or just a plot in a movie? I might need some time to accept that this is happening."