The void froze, trapping both space itself and Xiao Hen within it.

Xu Zimo reached out, and under Xiao Hen’s horrified gaze, his fingers gently pinched the broad blade in the man’s hands.

With just that light pinch, two deep fingerprints appeared on the blade’s edge.

Xiao Hen’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Why did you have to bring death upon yourself?” Xu Zimo murmured.

Xiao Hen tried to speak, but no sound came out of his mouth.

Xu Zimo reached forward, grabbing him by the throat, and pulled him free from the frozen space.

It was like a fish being lifted from a dried-up river, he gasped desperately for air.

Then Xiao Hen began to shout wildly.

“You can’t kill me! You can’t kill me!”

“Why not?” Xu Zimo asked with a mocking smile.

“My brother is Xiao Tian, one of the Nine Ghost Princes,” Xiao Hen quickly replied.

“Do you know what that means? He’s one of the future successors of the Ghost Gods!”

“I don’t know, and I don’t give a damn,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile. “All I know is that you’re about to die.”

With a light squeeze of his hand, Xiao Hen’s neck collapsed inward.

He struggled for breath, eyes rolling back white, his body twitching as he neared death.

“There’s no need to be so ruthless, Fellow Daoist. Must you insist on killing him?”

A voice suddenly sounded from above.

At once, the space around Xu Zimo shattered, and a massive ghostly head burst forth, surging toward him.

Xu Zimo raised a hand, using Xiao Hen’s body as a shield.

The ghostly head proved troublesome, it split into two, flanking Xu Zimo from both sides.

Xu Zimo’s palm flared with immense power, and the two ghost heads disintegrated into dust.

He frowned slightly, glancing at his palm where faint wisps of ghostly energy coiled.

When he looked up again, a figure stood above, stepping on a gray cloud, gazing down at him.

The man’s face bore some resemblance to Xiao Hen’s.

His eyes were pitch black, nose high, and he wore a gray robe engraved with the image of a mountain ghost.

That mountain ghost resembled a bull demon, with two thick, curved horns.

His whole body was clad in armor, and the claws extending from his limbs were tens of meters long and razor sharp.

His long gray hair, several dozen meters in length, hung loose behind him.

“Who the hell are you?” Xu Zimo asked, frowning.

The man’s overwhelming imperial pressure spread across the sky, marking him unmistakably as a Grand Emperor.

The entire void trembled under his presence.

Though he was only at the Yin-Yang Stage, his strength was extraordinary.

“Xiao Tian,” the man said slowly. “If my younger brother has offended you in any way, I apologize on his behalf. I ask that you spare his life.”

He waved his hand, and several students carried forward a large chest.

When they opened it, brilliant multicolored light poured out, dazzling the surroundings.

“This is Arcane Thistle, Nightmare Vine, Violet-Dragon Imperial-Ginseng…” Xiao Tian introduced each item one by one.

Then he looked at Xu Zimo with a faint smile. “A small token of sincerity, please, show some mercy.”

“Brother, why are you bowing to him?!” Xiao Hen shouted angrily from the side.

“Silence!” Xiao Tian’s eyes turned cold. “Since when is it your place to speak while I’m talking? Slap yourself.”

Xiao Hen hesitated, but fear won out.

He raised his right hand and began slapping himself hard.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Each hit tore open his lips and cheeks until his face was a bloody mess.

Xu Zimo chuckled softly, walked up to the chest, and placed his foot lightly on it.

“I’ve no interest in your gifts,” he said with an easy smile, “but your attitude just saved his life. At least this Ghost God Collegium has one student worth acknowledging.”

With that, he leaped into the air and vanished from the dueling platform.

“Only this once,” his voice echoed faintly, “next time, your face will mean nothing to me.”

As Xu Zimo’s silhouette disappeared, Xiao Hen called out pitifully, “Brother…”

“Better a broken mouth than a broken neck,” Xiao Tian replied coldly, tossing him a healing vial from his storage ring. From now on, stop causing trouble. I’m tired of cleaning up after you.”

“I just wanted to uphold the academy’s honor,” Xiao Hen said resentfully.

“The Ghost God Collegium has 38,700,000,000 students,” Xiao Tian replied with a snort.

“You claim to be invincible beneath the Nine Ghost Princes, but this academy is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Some have simply chosen not to bother with you out of respect for me. Do you have any idea how many people are waiting for me to slip up?”

Xiao Hen fell silent, then muttered, “Still, you didn’t have to fear some outsider.”

“Fool. You really are ignorant and fearless,” Xiao Tian sighed.

“You’ll understand in time. He’s not as simple as you think. And since he killed Xuan Ming, the Four Symbols Lineage won’t let it go. We’ll just sit back and watch the tigers fight.”

………

After leaving the dueling platform, Xu Zimo happened to run into Jiang Mozi.

The man looked lost, almost hollow, his steps unsteady.

“Chancellor, what’s wrong?” Xie Changliu asked, walking up.

“Don’t call me Chancellor anymore,” Jiang Mozi said bitterly. “The Celestial Sage Academy no longer exists.”

“What did the higher-ups say?” Xie Changliu asked.

“Expulsion,” Jiang Mozi replied painfully.

“That’s too cruel. You’ve managed that academy for years, you’ve earned at least some credit,” Xie Changliu protested.

“The academy never looks at the process,” Jiang Mozi said with a wry smile. “They only care about results. I’m going to pack up and take my students away from here. What about you two?”

“Then we’ll leave together,” Xu Zimo shrugged. “Tomorrow morning. I’ve still got something to take care of today.”

Jiang Mozi nodded. In truth, he preferred traveling with Xu Zimo and Xie Changliu.

After all, in the Ghost God Heaven, survival itself was a challenge.

The three of them returned to the Revered Hall, where Lan Canyin still lay asleep.

Xu Zimo raised his hand, the Nomological Truth of Dream rippling through his palm.

He could see the dream she was in, then gently withdrew the dream power.

Lan Canyin’s eyes fluttered open.

In that instant, a profound sense of age and weariness emanated from her.

“It’s time to wake up,” Xu Zimo said.

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