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

Time flies, and it's already early June. The college entrance examination has entered its final sprint stage.

However, Shen Chang'an, the head of the Qingzhou District Zhenye Division, was not resting in bed like other college entrance exam takers, but was still working hard on the front line.

Midnight, the rooftop of an office building in the center of Qingzhou District.

The night wind howled, causing the hem of Shen Chang'an's trench coat to billow wildly. He stood on the edge of the building, looking down at the brightly lit city streets below.

A few blocks away from the office building, the branch's logistics team had already set up a long yellow cordon overnight, and the local police were also cooperating to block off the road, maintain order, and keep irrelevant personnel out.

"Chang'an, the situation has changed."

Old Zhao's slightly anxious voice came through the headset.

"The latest news from the hospital is that the death toll has risen. This ghostly creature was likely born from the extremely heavy yin energy of the hospital morgue. It was already at the third rank upon birth, and after devouring the life essence of several living people, it may have already broken through to the fourth rank! You must eliminate it quickly before it causes even more casualties!"

"Received, I've pinpointed its approximate location."

Shen Chang'an looked down at the red thread that was being pulled by the Thousand-Mile Pulling Silk Coil, which eventually stopped directly below the area beneath his feet.

"Location confirmed, it has hidden in the city's underground pipe network."

Shen Chang'an put away the silk-drawing disc and took a deep breath.

Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped into the air.

"call--!"

The sound of the wind in his ears suddenly became sharp. Just before landing, Shen Chang'an nimbly rolled in mid-air to dissipate the force, and his feet landed firmly on a heavy metal manhole cover.

"boom!"

The spiritual power of the five realms erupted instantly, and the sturdy manhole cover, along with the surrounding asphalt road, was crushed into pieces, revealing a huge black hole leading deep underground.

Shen Chang'an jumped directly into the sewer.

"Clatter".

Stepping into the foul-smelling filth and mud, Shen Chang'an frowned slightly. The underground passage was cramped and filled with various unknown gases. Black Flame absolutely could not be used here; otherwise, if a methane explosion were triggered, the underground areas of several streets in the city center would be blown to smithereens.

Without black flames, we can only use pure physical and earth magic.

Shen Chang'an closed his eyes, his powerful senses rapidly spreading along the underground water network. A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes and locked onto an abandoned pipe in the southwest direction.

He moved swiftly through the winding underground passages like a ghost, and soon arrived at his destination.

Using the dim light of the tactical flashlight on his wrist, Shen Chang'an finally saw his prey clearly.

That was a "ghost baby".

Ghost babies are usually formed from unborn infants who died in hospitals, absorbing extremely heavy resentment and yin energy. They are extremely small, incredibly fast, and naturally possess highly corrosive venom, preferring to feed on the brains of living people.

At this moment, the ghostly infant, covered in bluish-purple pustules, with limbs as long as a spider's and sharp nails, was perched on the wall of the pipe. Its large, blood-red mouth, devoid of facial features and filled with sharp teeth, was chewing something, making a chilling "crunching" sound.

Sensing Shen Chang'an's arrival, the ghost infant suddenly turned its head, letting out a sharp and piercing roar, and used all four limbs to prepare to escape through the pipe.

"Trying to run away?"

Shen Chang'an snorted coldly and stomped his right foot on the water.

Earth wall!

A solid rock wall suddenly rose from the other end of the pipe, completely blocking the ghost baby's escape route.

Finding its escape route blocked, the ghost infant was utterly enraged. It let out a piercing shriek, transforming into a bluish-purple afterimage, and pounced towards Shen Chang'an with terrifying speed, its sharp claws aimed straight for his throat, clinging to the sewer wall!

Shen Chang'an remained calm, advancing instead of retreating.

He reached behind his back and swiped his tactical pouch at his waist, revealing several specially made steel darts already nestled between his fingers.

Dark red spiritual energy instantly adhered to the dart.

Shen Chang'an swung his arm suddenly, and the darts flew out of his hand like several bolts of lightning.

At the same time, he muttered a low shout: "Blow the wind!"

A sudden gust of wind blew up and clung to the tail of the dart, causing its already extremely fast speed to surge even further, creating several sonic boom clouds as it flew through the narrow pipe!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Before the ghost infant could even dodge, three darts imbued with spiritual power pierced its limbs and abdomen with pinpoint accuracy, pinning it to the thick earthen wall as it struggled and roared in agony.

Shen Chang'an gave it no chance to breathe. He clenched his right hand, and the tribulation cloud was assembled.

He leaned back, using his waist to generate power, like a fully drawn bow, and the spear in his hand transformed into a black lightning bolt as he hurled it out!

"boom!"

The spear pierced the ghost infant's forehead with pinpoint accuracy, and the immense impact even caused large cracks to appear in the earthen wall behind it.

The ghost infant's mournful howl abruptly ceased. Its body convulsed violently a few times before quickly shriveling up and turning into a puddle of foul-smelling black water.

"Old Zhao, mission accomplished."

He then returned to the branch office, handed over his tasks, and prepared to leave.

Old Zhao watched Shen Chang'an prepare to leave and smiled encouragingly, "Only two days left until the exam! Good luck on the college entrance exam!"

Shen Chang'an couldn't help but roll his eyes, stopping in his tracks to complain, "Old Zhao, I've discovered that the phrase 'Good luck on the college entrance exam' is practically like a deep-seated code etched into the genes of every Donghuang person. Whenever they encounter a senior high school student, regardless of whether they know them well or not, they subconsciously trigger this system voice message."

"Haha, this is also to let you experience more of the mundane world."

Old Zhao was amused and waved his hand.

"Experiencing the life of an ordinary high school student can also benefit your character development."

Shen Chang'an was too lazy to argue with him, so he casually waved his hand, turned around and walked out of the underground base, got on his bike and went home to rest.

It was already 1 a.m. when he returned to the Guanlan Mansion villa.

Shen Chang'an quietly went up to the second floor. Just as he reached his own door, he heard a faint sound of turning pages and walking around coming from Zhang Qingqing's room next door.

"Still not asleep at this hour?"

Shen Chang'an muttered to himself, but didn't dwell on it. It was common for him to have trouble sleeping due to the pressure of exam preparation. He shook his head, pushed open the door, went back to his room, washed up, and went to bed.

the next morning.

While having breakfast in the restaurant on the first floor, Shen Chang'an ran into Zhang Qingqing, who was also downstairs looking for food.

The two sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Zhang Qingqing had a faint dark circle under her eyes. She held her chopsticks and kept glancing at Shen Chang'an.

"Didn't sleep well last night?"

Zhang Qingqing nodded sullenly.

"There are only two days left until the exam, so get plenty of rest and don't stay up late studying."

Shen Chang'an swallowed his food and offered a sound piece of advice.

"What you're saying..."

Zhang Qingqing couldn't help but complain, "It's exactly the same as when guys brush off girls with 'If you're not feeling well, just drink more hot water,' it's all nonsense."

"It's nonsense, but the logic is sound. Drinking more hot water can indeed boost metabolism."

Shen Chang'an tapped the table and retorted in a serious tone.

"Sleep time is for sleeping. You must listen to the general, understand?"

Upon hearing this popular internet meme, Zhang Qingqing paused for a moment, then muttered softly, "That's true..."

After her retort, Zhang Qingqing couldn't resist lowering her voice, her curiosity piqued, and asked tentatively, "And you? How's your rest lately? Last night... did you sneak out on another mission?"

Shen Chang'an picked up his soy milk, took a sip, and nodded: "It's alright. I haven't had any long shifts lately, just the occasional trip at night, so my schedule is a bit messed up, but it's nothing serious."

The two were talking in hushed tones when the kitchen door was suddenly pushed open, and Li Yue came out carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit.

The two people at the table fell silent as if they had been electrocuted, and the only sound in the restaurant was the chewing.

Li Yue looked at Zhang Qingqing suspiciously, then at Shen Chang'an, and placed the fruit plate on the table: "What's going on? You stopped talking as soon as I came out. What mischief are you plotting behind my back?"

"No...no! We're done talking!"

Zhang Qingqing stood up like a startled rabbit and grabbed the milk on the table.

"Mom, I'm full. I'm going upstairs to study!"

After saying that, she ran up the stairs as if fleeing.

Watching her daughter's retreating figure, Li Yue smiled and shook her head. Then she pulled out a chair and sat down next to Shen Chang'an, lowering her voice to say, "Chang'an, I've noticed that your relationship with Qingqing seems to have improved a lot recently? Before, when you two sat at the same table, you practically ignored each other, but now you can actually chat calmly."

Shen Chang'an awkwardly reached up and scratched his nose, making up an excuse: "Maybe it's because we're about to graduate, everyone's matured a bit."

"That's a good thing. It's nice to see you two getting along so well. Your Uncle Zhang and I are happy to see that."

Li Yue nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and picked up the eco-friendly bag next to her.

"Alright, take your time eating. Auntie won't disturb your studying anymore. I'm going to the morning market to buy some fresh vegetables and cook you a good meal to nourish your brains at noon."