Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Looking at his shallow students in astonishment, he patiently explained, "The Tower of Souls is located in the gap between the material world and the spiritual world. You can't see it, but it truly exists. You just need to bravely take that step to enter the tower."

So that's how it is. It's just an invisible structure. You just need to be brave. Lyle breathed a sigh of relief, but when he opened his eyes and looked at the tiny things below, his legs still trembled involuntarily. This takes a lot of courage. I'd better observe first.

Soon, a brave young man stepped forward and, encouraged by Mr. Astonishment's gaze, stepped onto the broken bridge, taking that step into the void.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!" He fell faster than Lyle had imagined, perhaps because reality was crueler than he had imagined. He landed with a soft thud, the first warrior reduced to shattered bones.

All eyes were fixed on Mr. Astonishment, who seemed to have expected it and spoke expressionlessly.

"next."

"Teacher! What happened! Didn't you say the tower was just invisible? He still jumped!"

"It does exist, but that student was determined by the Soul Tower to lack talent, so it hasn't manifested. Soul studies require talent, and the selection process between students and mentors is a two-way street. You chose us, and now it's our turn to choose you."

"Don't worry, kids, this is just a simple selection process, an initiation ceremony."

Chapter 214 Spirit Transformation

While your approach to getting started is indeed correct, isn't the cost of this approach a bit too outrageous?

"So, to even get a foothold in the field of soul studies, you have to pay with your life?" Lyle could already see himself falling, no different from a watermelon. He took a few steps back and collided with his companion.

"What's wrong, boss?"

"I...I'm afraid of heights." My human identity cannot be revealed yet.

Shining touched the scales on her cheek. "Alright, I'll go first. Once I'm down there and pieced myself back together, you can jump one by one, and I'll catch you." Shining walked up nonchalantly.

Jumping off a building doesn't actually pose a significant threat to liches. Their resistance stems primarily from the self-deception in Mr. Astonishment's words, as they aren't much more benevolent than the other two schools. However, this action is somewhat terrifying for Lyle.

Lyle spoke in a soft voice that only he could hear.

"I hope that when I'm covered in blood and gore, it won't scare Shiny silly."

“No,” Medusa said, sliding her fingers across her neck, the cool, woody scales feeling like a brush against her skin. She leaned close to Lyle’s ear, her voice playful, “You can tell him that it’s your secret stash of human flesh.”

"Canned human flesh? Do liches even need that?"

"I was just kidding, you silly girl. You were just trying to ease the tension, weren't you?"

"Thank you, Medusa, thank you for your terrible joke."

"Don't worry about those things, you'll definitely be chosen by the Soul Tower, Lyle, you have talent." Medusa made her assurance, it was unclear where her confidence came from.

Even if you say that, I won't risk my life.

“Gulu can definitely do it!” Nia’s voice, flowing through her body, reached Lyle’s ears, as energetic as ever.

"Nia... what's Nia's basis?" Nia is his talent, so she shouldn't harm him.

Lyle heard a bubbling sound in his ear, like someone blowing bubbles underwater; it was probably Nia thinking. Then, Nia gave Lyle a reason that wasn't really a reason.

"Because Sister Medusa said it's okay, so Gulu definitely can!"

Lyle was both amused and exasperated, but also somewhat relieved by Nia's strange reason. He looked up at Shining, who was heading towards the broken bridge, and decided to see how it went.

She took that step towards the void with a radiant and natural grace.

His body vanished, not from falling, but as if swallowed by something. In the instant he disappeared, Lyle did indeed see a ripple spreading across the void.

Shiny passed.

Mr. Astonishment did not show any excessive joy; he simply remained indifferent, as if he had just drunk a bowl of clear soup—a metaphor.

"next."

The number of qualified individuals was indeed quite large, making up the majority of the group, although their screams as they fell were still quite frightening. "Why are the liches screaming? They won't die, they're ruining my mood." Lyle discovered that there was indeed a pattern to whether someone passed or failed; it seemed to be related to their own strength. Those who jumped were those whose magical power wasn't yet sufficient.

Perhaps he really could pass; Lyle felt that he could indeed be considered one of the best among this group of students.

Lyle repeatedly instructed Nia on the rescue plan after the fall, including climbing the wall and breaking the wall to create a foothold, before walking onto the broken bridge.

One step, two steps, three steps, Lyle arrived at the edge of nothingness.

The cold wind high above was squeezing his lungs, and Lyle didn't dare look down. Was he really alright?

He took the safest approach. Shifting his weight to his right foot, making sure the stone beneath him wouldn't collapse, Lyle stretched out his left foot, dangling it in the air before him. He probed here and there, but stubbornly refused to take a step.

The long pause allowed Mr. Astonishment to scrutinize Lyle's swaying back as he walked across the broken bridge.

"Doctor of Plague, what are you doing?"

"Oh, teacher, I'm looking at the scenery, I'll be done soon."

"But what are your legs doing?"

"Ah, I'm tired of standing. Let me rest for a bit and swing my legs to loosen up my bones."

"...Then hurry up."

Another ten minutes passed, and still nothing. Lyle just couldn't get his hands on that threshold. Was he about to fail?

Suddenly, someone couldn't stand it anymore. Lyle felt a sharp pain in his lower back; he had been bitten by an impatient Medusa. The intense pain made him jump up and take a step forward.

I rely on!

Before gravity could act on him, Lyle was pulled away by an invisible force.

When Lyle came to his senses, he found himself in a huge building. His classmates, each with a ghostly appearance, were looking at him strangely. At the front were his three companions.

The shimmering, phantom-like light looked at Lyle, who almost lost his footing.

"Boss, what were you doing at the door just now? You were slacking off for ages and didn't come in. We were so anxious watching you, we were practically deformed, like this." Shiny's body suddenly swelled up, like an airbag bursting in the air, and then the fragments pieced themselves back together to form Shiny.

"Shining, what's going on?"

"They've become spirits. Everyone who enters the Soul Tower becomes a spirit. Boss, aren't you floating in mid-air too?"

Lyle looked around at himself and indeed, the color on his body had disappeared, leaving only a light-colored robe covering his entire body. He was now semi-transparent, and there were no legs under the robe.

I became a ghost.

Turning around, the broken bridge did indeed connect to the threshold. However, this soul tower and everything inside were spirits, so matter could not touch them. Only by completely merging with them could one enter the tower.

"Nia? Medusa?" Lyle touched his body, trying to find the person who was important to him.

The adaptable ghost pointed to the sky.

A giant Arctic jellyfish hovered in the air, its color a beautiful pale pink. Its bell slowly swayed, drifting leisurely through the air, making a "plop plop, Nia floats by" sound.

Amidst the long tentacles of the Arctic jellyfish, a figure emerged from behind those glowing tentacles. Its posture was graceful, like a mermaid swimming freely in the ocean.

When she emerged from behind the tentacles, it was Medusa, radiating a soft glow. Beautiful spots of light adorned her body, and she, along with Nia, became the focus of attention among the ghosts. Like a glowing sea serpent, Medusa approached Lyle and wrapped her arms around his ghostly neck like a luminous scarf.

She raised her head and looked up.

"Nia, stop playing."

"Okay~" The tentacles of the Arctic jellyfish began to gather and rotate, turning into a large clump of slime that rushed towards Lyle.

The ghost Lyle was being ridden on the neck by the ghost Nia in her little girl form. Her two little feet dangled in front of Lyle, her little hands dug into his hair, and a childish voice came from Lyle's head.

“Nia can’t squeeze in anymore. Gulu’s body, she used to be able to do it.”

Sensing Nia's slightly downcast mood, Lyle reached out with the corners of his clothes and took her small hands. He muttered in a deliberately feigned voice, "The little train is starting, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo..." Lyle began to float in the Soul Tower, accompanied by Medusa's flashing light and Nia's bright laughter.

The remaining three watched Lyle walk away and exchanged glances.

"What's wrong, boss? You're bringing your whole family to class?"

Chapter 215 The Mysterious Witch, the Soul Stone, Troy

Being a ghost was a wondrous experience, the feeling of floating in the air like taking a skydive with a pillow. He felt light and a warm, drowsy comfort, like merging into soft clouds. Lyle felt at peace, as if there was nothing left to worry about, as if life's troubles and sorrows were drifting away. Lyle comfortably closed his eyes.

Beep! Electricity surged from Medusa's glowing body, and bright yellow lightning bolts leaped onto Lyle, causing his ghostly cloak to twitch as if he were breakdancing.

Lyle was nearly stunned by the electric shock; the only sensation in his mind was a sharp, stinging pain, as if thorns were growing in his head. Ghosts probably do have brains, after all. Thanks to Medusa's electric shock, he felt much more alert, and his sleepiness vanished.

Medusa continued to flutter freely like a shimmering scarf, but her voice appeared in Lyle's mind, communicating in a way that resembled telepathy.

“Resist that drowsiness, Lyle. If you fall asleep, your consciousness will dissipate, and you will enter a state of brain death. This is why Nia and I need to change our forms in the spirit world. Lyle, you need to stay awake. The stings of jellyfish and the electric shocks of electric eels are very effective.”

"Is this a basic characteristic of a ghost? Resisting drowsiness?" Otherwise, it will dissipate.

"Yes, that's why ghosts like to be startled; they need stimulation to stay awake."

Lyle looked at the students floating around him. "They don't seem to have this problem?"

"Are you expecting liches to sleep? Liches are simply a collection of obsessions; they are no different from ghosts in essence."

"Okay, I guess I have no choice but to accept this 'special treatment'."

"Yes, every thirty minutes."

Mr. Astonishment was the last to enter the Soul Tower. After he had calmed down the students who hadn't yet entered, the doors of the Soul Tower closed completely.

Mr. Astonishment glanced at the students who had already become ghosts, then floated higher into the air as he moved. The Soul Tower seemed to come alive, with one after another phantom emerging from its light gray brick walls. They danced around Mr. Astonishment, their robes transforming into the style of a necromancy uniform, just like his, and finally formed a circle in the air, surrounding the new students.

"Welcome, our new companions. The Tower of Souls is your eternal home."

"The Soul Tower is carved from spirit crystal. I think you may be unfamiliar with spirit crystal, so this might help you understand. Spirit crystal is the main material for soul stones. If one day you tire of your physical form, this will become your home. It is beneficial to all souls."

"I won't waste any more time on small talk. Now, the twelve mentors, including myself, will select students who are suitable for us based on our strengths. Please trust our judgment."

The twelve ghostly mentors in the air began their selection, gliding over the heads of the new students one by one, their sleeves gently brushing the heads of suitable students. The selected students followed their mentors uncontrollably, like a school of fish.

The school of fish returned to their homes, and the main hall instantly became empty.

Aside from the four members of the Necromancer Figure Club.

Before leaving, Mr. Surprise turned around and looked at Lyle and the others with a worried expression.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, this is the first time it has made a request to educate students, and we cannot refuse. This may be very irresponsible of you to entrust you to something that doesn't even have a teaching certificate... But perhaps you will gain something, children. Don't worry, if its curriculum does not satisfy you, I will personally spend time teaching you."

“Good luck, kids.” Just as Mr. Astonishment was about to step into the next room, he paused for a moment. “Don’t provoke it, kids.”

With Mr. Surprise gone, only Lyle and his three companions remained in the main hall.

They looked at each other.