High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

After dinner, the two of them took their family car to school for evening self-study.

Normally, after getting off the bus, Zhang Qingqing would run as fast as she could to avoid being seen by her classmates and having any interaction with Shen Chang'an. But today, she slowed down and walked silently beside Shen Chang'an.

After walking for a while, Zhang Qingqing lowered her head and said softly, "You...didn't tell my parents about today."

Shen Chang'an put his hands in his pockets and shook his head: "There's no need. If your aunt and uncle found out, they'd give you a long lecture. Besides, the matter has already been resolved, so it's better to avoid trouble."

After saying that, Shen Chang'an stopped and turned around, looking at her seriously: "However, I hope that in the future you will think more about the consequences before you do things, and not always act on impulse."

Zhang Qingqing was a little resentful after being scolded, and muttered under her breath, "Who knew that going to karaoke would lead to encountering such an unreasonable lunatic..."

Shen Chang'an ignored her excuses and said in an unquestionable tone, "If you go out to play again in the future, you must remember to report where you are and who you are with."

Seeing the boy's serious expression, Zhang Qingqing finally gave in and nodded obediently like a child who had done something wrong: "I understand."

As the two were talking, a dark figure suddenly darted out from behind the green belt next to them.

"Take this!"

Bai Yin shot out like a small cannonball, heading straight for Shen Chang'an, wanting to launch a surprise attack on him.

Faced with this childish sneak attack, Shen Chang'an simply shifted his body slightly to the side and easily dodged it.

Bai Yin missed her target, then leaned forward as if to lose her balance and fall, flailing her arms wildly in mid-air and exclaiming dramatically, "Ouch! I'm going to fall! Boss, lend me a hand!"

Shen Chang'an stood motionless with his arms crossed, watching her clumsy performance in silence.

Seeing that Shen Chang'an had no intention of helping her up, Bai Yin immediately stopped leaning forward, landed firmly on her feet, and stood up straight.

"Tch, this is so boring."

The little cat demon pouted.

Shen Chang'an retorted mercilessly, "Do you think I'm an idiot? Your spirit cat clan's physical coordination is so poor, you could walk on a tightrope, how could you possibly fall and lose your balance on flat ground?"

At this moment, Li Xiwan, wearing a school uniform, walked quickly over from behind and greeted the two with a smile: "Student Shen, Student Zhang."

Shen Chang'an glanced at the two of them and asked, "How did you two run into each other?"

Bai Yin flicked her ponytail and explained, "We practiced a bit late in the underground training ground this afternoon, and it was almost time for evening self-study. Xi Xi had also finished her return-to-school procedures, so we came together."

Shen Chang'an nodded to indicate that he understood.

Li Xiwan glanced in the direction of the school gate and suggested, "Shall we walk in together?"

"You guys go ahead, I'll go in after a bit."

Shen Chang'an resolutely refused.

Li Xiwan blinked in confusion: "Why?"

Bai Yin immediately launched into a tirade: "Xi Xi, don't you know him? Boss is afraid of getting involved with us! Think about it, we're both pretty girls at school. If we're with him, he'll definitely be the talk of the town again tomorrow."

Bai Yin was still rambling on, but Shen Chang'an was too lazy to listen to her nonsense anymore. He waved his hand, turned around, and strode away quickly towards the teaching building.

Seeing Shen Chang'an flee in panic, Li Xiwan couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle: "So Shen is really afraid of getting into unnecessary trouble."

Bai Yin nodded in deep agreement: "That's right. He already has enough to deal with at night, so during the day at school, he'd rather be a nobody."

The bell for the start of evening self-study had just rung, and the classroom for senior high school students was still filled with a restless buzz. As usual, Shen Chang'an walked to his usual seat by the window in the back row, rested his chin on his hand, and stared blankly out the window.

A few minutes later, Li Xiwan also appeared at the classroom door. She smiled and waved goodbye to Bai Yin outside the door, then walked back to her seat.

As soon as she sat down, He Fei, who was sitting at the same table, immediately came over and asked with a concerned look, "tide Wan, you've been sick and on leave these past few days, I was so worried about you. Are you feeling better now?"

In order to cover up the truth that Li Xiwan had been kidnapped and hospitalized, Lao Zhao directly used the authority of the Town Night Division to issue a medical certificate for severe cold and myocarditis to the school, and even made the hospital's medical records watertight.

"I'm much better now. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Li Xiwan smiled and nodded.

He Fei looked her up and down, and seeing that she did indeed look well, she felt relieved. Then, He Fei's gossip-loving nature instantly ignited, and she asked in a low voice, "By the way, that girl who walked you to the door earlier... wasn't she Bai Yin, the school beauty and academic genius from Class One? You actually know her? How come you've never mentioned her before?"

Li Xiwan was slightly taken aback, feeling a little guilty, but she quickly found an excuse to cover it up: "I only met her recently. A few days ago, when we were studying at the city library, we happened to share a table and chatted for a bit before we became acquainted."

"Wow......"

Just as He Fei was about to delve deeper into the details of how the two beauties met in the library, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open.

Old Liu walked in with a serious expression, carrying a thick stack of lesson plans and a thermos. The classroom instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Put away your idle books and listen to what I have to say."

Old Liu slammed his thermos down on the podium, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"This is your last week of high school. After next Sunday, the school will be completely locked down to prepare for the exams, and then comes the college entrance exam that will determine your fate!"

"I've finished reviewing all the material I needed to study these past few days. Now the focus is on adjusting my mindset and taking care of my health..."

On the stage, Lao Liu was giving his annual pre-exam pep talk.

Shen Chang'an listened to these familiar words and sighed silently in his heart.

It's that time of year again for the college entrance exams. The only difference is that he watched his seniors take the exams the previous two years; this year, it's finally his turn to take it himself.

But the college entrance exam itself didn't put much pressure on him. What really gave him a headache was the mountain of problems that followed after the exam.

As is customary for the Town Night Division, every year after the National College Entrance Examination in June, each district branch will face several major annual events that will cause headaches.

First, there's the annual large-scale talent assessment.

At this time of year, secular families in Qingzhou District that have some connection to the cultivation world or whose ancestors were once wealthy will send their eligible heirs over to the Zhenye Division's equipment to test whether they possess cultivation talent.

If they have talent, some of these people will choose to stay and become candidates for the Night Watch, but the vast majority will be taken back to their families for independent training.

In previous years, this was basically the situation where they were "brought back".

The reason is simple—those families complained that the resources provided by the Qingzhou District Town Night Division were too few.

Secular families don't lack money; what they lack are cultivation resources. Within the Zhenye Division system, salaries are settled using "contribution points."

As a remote and resource-poor district, Qingzhou District receives very meager treatment.

A newly initiated first-realm apprentice lamplighter can only earn 200 contribution points a month even if they work themselves to the bone; even third-realm main force members like Lao Zhao and Bai Yin only receive 800 points a month as their fixed salary. As for Shen Chang'an, the combat power ceiling of Qingzhou District, despite holding the title of First Executive Officer, he only earns 2,000 points a month.

In megacities or resource-rich cities, the salaries of lamplighters in each region fluctuate based on local resources and strength. There, a fifth-realm expert can easily earn over ten thousand contribution points per month!

A difference of five times!

Therefore, those families are very shrewd. They basically just come to get a free testing opportunity. Once they find a promising candidate, they immediately send him to a big city to develop his career. They can't retain him at all.

Besides dealing with these families who take advantage of the system, after the large-scale testing was completed, Shen Chang'an and his team also had to visit various orphanages and welfare institutions in the district under the guise of "sending warmth."

This is actually a method used by the Night Guard to secretly select promising cultivators. Only these orphans with no background or ties are the ones they can truly recruit and focus on developing as their core members.

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to find suitable candidates among ordinary people.

In the three years since Shen Chang'an took over the branch, he had visited the orphanage with high hopes, but he only encountered one or two children who were barely able to begin the Qi cultivation process. Later, these children were unable to embark on the path of cultivation due to physical reasons or poor character.

Finally, besides these mandatory tasks, there are a whole host of unavoidable social obligations after the exams.

For example, the annual gathering of high-ranking officials in Qingzhou District, as well as the disputes between several local small cultivation families over meager resources, all require the Zhenye Division to step in, take charge, and act as a mediator.

"Mentoring newcomers, assessing their talents, visiting orphanages, and even adjudicating cases for those old men..."

Shen Chang'an secretly planned out his schedule after the exams, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. He was originally just a lazy bum who wanted to quietly slack off and check off his work, so how did he end up with this hectic life?

......

As the bell rang to signal the end of evening self-study, the quiet campus instantly became as noisy as boiling water.

As usual, Shen Chang'an slung his guitar case over his shoulder and joined the flow of students leaving school, preparing to leave the school building.

Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Shen, wait a minute."

Li Xiwan, carrying her schoolbag, jogged after him.

Shen Chang'an stopped and turned to look at her with some confusion.

Li Xiwan walked to his side, lowered her voice, and her eyes sparkled with undisguised curiosity: "I heard from Bai Yin that our school is a bit...special? Can I go and take a look?"

Shen Chang'an paused for a moment, then sighed helplessly, "This little cat really can't keep secrets. She told you, didn't she?"

Li Xiwan nodded obediently.

"Alright, now that you're in this industry, you'll have to learn these basic things sooner or later."

Shen Chang'an grabbed Li Xiwan's wrist and dragged her to a relatively secluded, shady spot at the corner of the stairs.

"There are too many people here, let's hide from the crowd for a while. I'll take you there after the day students have dispersed."

Li Xiwan, being pulled along by him, looked at the students coming and going around them, whom she had to deliberately avoid, and blinked in confusion: "Are we supposed to wait here? Shen, can't you... use a trick?"

"Well......"

Shen Chang'an's movements stiffened slightly, then he scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze wandering: "Well... I don't really have much research on these purely auxiliary functional spells, or rather, I'm not very proficient in using them."

Actually, this was already a very tactful way of putting it.

Shen Chang'an's fighting style is all about "using great force to achieve a miracle".

The same basic spells, those destructive spells that are harmful, can be several times more powerful in his hands than others, and can even cause a qualitative change. But when he uses a delicate technique like "Illusion," which requires precise control of spiritual energy fluctuations and emphasizes concealment and deception, it often ends up as a dazzling "blinding spell."

Seeing Shen Chang'an's embarrassed expression, Li Xiwan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She suddenly realized that this fifth-realm master, who could destroy the world with a mere wave of his hand, finally seemed more like a "living person" at his age. It turned out he wasn't truly omnipotent; he also had things he wasn't good at.

"It's alright, I just learned this from Uncle Zhao this afternoon."

As Li Xiwan spoke, her expression became focused. She closed her eyes, and her hands clumsily but earnestly formed a mudra in front of her chest, a faint spiritual light shining from her fingertips.

"An illusion!"

As spiritual energy was activated, a semi-transparent spiritual energy film, invisible to the naked eye, rippled out like water, completely enveloping the two figures.

"It's a success!"

Li Xiwan opened her eyes, somewhat excited. Then she leaned closer to Shen Chang'an and whispered some instructions.

"But Shen, don't stray too far from me. I've only just learned this spell, and my spiritual power isn't enough, so its range is relatively small."

As she approached, a faint, refreshing scent of oranges, unique to young girls, lingered around Shen Chang'an's nose.

Shen Chang'an cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly and pointed in the direction opposite the playground: "Let's go, let's go check out the boys' dormitory first."

The two walked side by side on the bustling main road of the campus. Due to the illusion, the students passing by in a hurry ignored them, as if they were just a wisp of transparent air.

"Actually, the rumor that there used to be a mass grave under our school is true."

As they walked, Shen Chang'an quietly explained the science to her.

"Really?" Although Li Xiwan was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but shrink back.

"Um."

Shen Chang'an nodded.

"Generally speaking, for the kind of 'demon' you saw in the warehouse last night to be born, a trace of primordial demonic energy is required as a catalyst. However, even without demonic energy, if the resentment and yin energy in a certain place are too heavy, after years of sedimentation, it will naturally give birth to some intangible vengeful spirits, which are what ordinary people often call 'ghosts'."

"Our new campus of Qingzhou No.1 Middle School has only been in use for less than ten years. This land used to be a large mass grave, with countless nameless corpses buried underneath. The reason we built the school here was to use the vibrant energy of the students to suppress the resentment from the ground."

Shen Chang'an pointed to several dormitory buildings that were already faintly visible in the distance and continued, "And the location of the array eye with the heaviest resentment and the most yin energy in the entire mass grave is right under the current boys' dormitory building."

"Why is it a boys' dormitory?"

Li Xiwan asked curiously.

"Because boys are naturally full of yang energy and vigor, they are natural 'evil-suppressing talismans' and can be used to suppress the most vicious core of the formation."

Shen Chang'an explained, "When I first entered high school, the resentment in the ground hadn't been completely eradicated yet, and vengeful spirits would occasionally emerge. But I would take care of them when I got up at night. In the past two years, the yang energy of the students has washed it away, and Bai Yin and I have been patrolling and cleaning it regularly every two weeks, so there's basically nothing particularly powerful left. At most, some small wandering spirits with little offensive power will occasionally spawn."

The two chatted and unknowingly arrived at the foot of the boys' dormitory building.

Looking around at the boys who had just finished showering, walking around in shorts and slippers with basins in their hands, completely unaware of the two "intruders," a hint of curiosity flashed in Li Xiwan's eyes.

"This illusion is truly amazing..."

Li Xiwan looked around, then suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up.

"Then...with this magic, wouldn't it be possible to sneak into places that are otherwise inaccessible without anyone noticing?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to realize that she was in the men's dormitory building. Thinking back to what she had just said, her face turned bright red to her ears.

Looking at her rosy cheeks, Shen Chang'an knew perfectly well what dangerous things were going on in her head.

He lowered his head slightly, leaning closer, his tone carrying a hint of teasing and warning: "Let me remind you, magic is for dealing with evil spirits. Now that you've become a member of the Night Watch, you must abide by the rules. Don't think you can use your invisibility to spy on 'those' weird places."

"What...what nonsense are you talking about!"

Li Xiwan was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground, and retorted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Who wants to go to 'that kind of' place! I mean... I mean, what if criminals learn this trick and use it to break into bank vaults and rob places like that!"

Shen Chang'an coughed twice tactically to cover up his embarrassment.

Okay, okay, it turns out my thoughts were too dirty, it's my fault.

"Well, if it's that kind of thing, you don't need to worry at all."

Shen Chang'an quickly followed up with an explanation.

"The machinery of the state is far more sophisticated than you imagine. Important national institutions such as bank vaults, key research institutions, and even government buildings are equipped with anti-illusion devices that can detect deception. Moreover, those places are usually guarded by high-ranking cultivators from the Night Watch or the military. The national think tank is much more thorough than we are."

"So that's how it is..." Li Xiwan nodded in sudden understanding, and the worry in her heart disappeared.

Shen Chang'an accompanied Li Xiwan for another stroll around the boys' dormitory building.

After walking around, we didn't encounter any evil spirits. Instead, we ran into a group of boys who had just taken a shower and were only wearing brightly colored shorts or even shirtless, wandering around the corridor and the first-floor washroom.

Li Xiwan was a shy and well-behaved girl who had always focused on her studies, so she had never seen anything like this, filled with the hormones of adolescence. Before she had even finished one lap, her pretty face was already as red as a ripe apple, and her eyes darted left and right, completely unsure of where to look.

Unable to bear the pixelated imagery any longer, Li Xiwan tugged at Shen Chang'an's sleeve and, with her head down, offered to patrol other areas.

After leaving the boys' dormitory, the two used a diversionary tactic to sneak over to the grove next to the playground.

They hadn't gone far inside, and instead of finding any vengeful spirits, they stumbled upon a young couple secretly meeting behind a large banyan tree. Under the cover of darkness, the two were embracing and whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Upon seeing this, Shen Chang'an raised an eyebrow and a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He casually picked up a small pebble from beside his feet and flicked it with his finger.

"Snapped!"

The pebble struck the tree trunk above their heads with precise accuracy, producing a crisp, unusual sound.

"Who?!"

The young couple was startled by the sudden noise. The boy thought it was the headmaster coming with a flashlight to catch them dating, so he pushed the girl away and the two ran out of the grove in different directions.

Watching the two flee in a disheveled state, Li Xiwan glanced at Shen Chang'an with amusement and complained, "Shen, you're so mean. Tomorrow, our school forum will definitely have another ghost story about the grove being haunted."

"This is called helping them focus on their studies. It's not right for them to be dating when the college entrance exam is just around the corner."

Shen Chang'an was talking nonsense with a straight face.

As they chatted, the two arrived at their last destination for the night's patrol—near the old public toilet at the far end of the playground, a place rarely visited by anyone.

As soon as she got close, Li Xiwan keenly sensed that the temperature around her had dropped several degrees, and the air was chilly.

At the base of the wall outside the men's restroom, a wisp of grayish-black mist, vaguely resembling half a human figure, was drifting aimlessly along the wall.

"Luckily, we just happened to run into a vengeful spirit that had only recently taken shape."

Shen Chang'an stopped and began his hands-on teaching. Pointing to the black mist, he lowered his voice and explained to Li Xiwan, "Look at its characteristics: the resentment condenses into a grayish-black color, accompanied by a chilling low temperature. The most direct way to identify them is to see if they have facial features and consciousness."

"A newly formed one like this is basically a collection of pure negative emotions, devoid of any rationality."

At this point, Shen Chang'an's tone became more serious, and he earnestly instructed, "Remember this. Whether you're following Lao Zhao or going out on missions on your own, never believe those bald monks outside who talk about 'chanting scriptures for salvation'."

Li Xiwan was taken aback: "Can't we perform a ritual to help the deceased pass on? I saw in the movies..."

"That's all just to fool laymen."

Shen Chang'an interrupted her without any hesitation.

"These vengeful spirits have no self-awareness whatsoever. They only act on instinct, indiscriminately attacking all living people nearby and draining their yang energy. Don't naively think that reciting a few scriptures will make them let go of their obsessions and go to some other world of rebirth."

"There's only one correct and safest way to handle this kind of thing..."

As Shen Chang'an spoke, he strode forward. He didn't even activate any spells; he simply extended his right hand, which carried the pure spiritual power of the fifth realm, and grabbed the ball of gray-black mist.

"That means, just pull it out."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Chang'an suddenly exerted force with his five fingers.

A muffled "plop" sound.

The newly formed vengeful spirit, like a popped soap bubble, was instantly crushed in Shen Chang'an's palm, turning into specks of yin energy that completely dissipated in the night wind.

Li Xiwan stared blankly, and could only nod silently.