Chapter 032: A Nightmare for the Entire City?

Yes.

The headmaster had now convinced himself that the *Gu Huo Chang* was a high-level phantom capable of concealing its tracks and deceiving practitioners at the Mountain Realm! It was more than just hair-raising; it was bone-chillingly terrifying! The more he pondered and analyzed, the more frantic the headmaster became. "What on earth is going on?"

"Come, I must examine your condition." The headmaster walked over to Xu Ran and the other children, checking their pulses one by one.

"Little Ran, do you always keep this origami toy on you?"

Mom replied, "Yes, Headmaster. Ever since he was a year old, Little Ran has loved playing with origami."

The headmaster turned the origami over and over, examining it thoroughly before returning it to Xu Ran exactly as it was.

Xu Ran remained calm. His spiritual origami possessed an extremely high-level energy and was further bolstered by the "Cloud-Cloaked Veil." As long as he didn't activate them, they were nothing more than "ordinary paper." The headmaster could never discover the trickery within.

The headmaster was distracted. "It's folded quite well."

Xu Ran gave a bright smile. "Thank you for the compliment, Headmaster."

"Guards and parents, come over and let me examine you as well."

However, after the examinations were complete, the headmaster’s brow remained deeply furrowed, and he was sweating even more profusely.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the headmaster's reinforcements, "Sister Lu," arrived. She was a noble-looking woman with naturally curly brown hair and an elegant demeanor. Her brows were thin like smoke, and although there were fine lines at the corners of her eyes, one could still see the peerless beauty she possessed in her youth.

"Brother Cheng, what exactly is going on? Your voice was trembling over the phone."

The headmaster sighed. "I don't know either. There was clearly a spectral entity being born here, and I reached the scene within seconds, yet it vanished without a trace, leaving not even a shred of phantom aura behind."

"I fear it might be a high-level spectral entity!" The headmaster looked terrified.

Sister Lu asked, "Are you sure you didn't mistake it? The birth process of a high-level phantom isn't something so trivial."

The headmaster wiped his sweat. "But it happened! Such a massive cluster of phantom aura—it just vanished into thin air..."

"Sister, you are a natural counter to spectral entities. Please, help me check on the children. I must ensure they haven't been possessed."

"Very well," Sister Lu agreed. She raised her hand and released a brilliant spell, which descended like an inverted golden glass bowl, enveloping everyone, including the headmaster.

Within seconds, the radiant energy inside the bowl grew increasingly intense, condensing into golden mist that swirled within. Everyone could breathe in the refreshing, cool aura of light. Under such concentrated radiance, even the most high-level, stealthy phantom would be forced to reveal its flaws.

Yet, no one felt any pain or discomfort; instead, they felt a sense of relief. The headmaster breathed a sigh of relief. A Light-attribute constitution could release the purest energy, capable of healing and purification, and was uniquely effective against the corruption of vengeful spirits and phantoms. Even a Mountain Realm phantom would be forced to flee from such concentrated light, unable to linger within it.

Sister Lu looked at the headmaster. "I have placed a purification bracelet on their wrists that will last for three days. If a phantom attempts to harm them, the bracelet will trigger and scorch the entity. It will buy you five seconds—five seconds is more than enough for you to arrive and strike it down!"

"Are you at ease now?"

"Yes, yes! You're the best, Sister!" The headmaster wiped the sweat from his forehead. "But I still can't fathom why the phantom at the bottom of the lake suddenly vanished without a trace."

Sister Lu shrugged. "That is the specialty of the investigation team; it must be left to them. I can only help you purify the lake water!"

With that, she cast a light spell into the lake, which spread like ripples.

"There is no trace of any phantom aura in the water. The concentration of pollution from the Phantom Planet is also extremely low; it is impossible for a phantom to be born here, let alone a high-level one."

The headmaster’s brows locked tight. "...But—all four of us Mountain Realm practitioners sensed a phantom gestating at the bottom of the lake. It’s impossible that all four of us were mistaken, right?"

Sister Lu raised an eyebrow. "Is it really that mysterious?"

The headmaster waved his hand helplessly. "It is... Sigh, never mind. Let's put that aside for now. Let's join the others. We must purify the rest of the children. The top priority is ensuring their safety."

Sister Lu rubbed her temples. "Brother, it's going to cost extra."

The headmaster looked grandly generous. "Add it! Add as much as you need! Compared to the safety of the children in my care, money is trivial!"

Sister Lu nodded. "Then I am relieved."

And so, the group headed to the teaching activity center.

...

The teaching activity center was packed. Children of the same grade and the newcomers were gathered in formations, accompanied by their parents. The guards were on high alert.

Seeing the headmaster arrive, Li Qinghong and two other instructors walked over. "Headmaster, we heard a phantom went missing? What happened?"

The headmaster looked ashamed. "I don't know. By all accounts, I reached the lake bottom in eighteen seconds. It shouldn't have been able to slip away so fast. Could it be that the four of us were wrong?"

The two instructors' expressions turned serious. "Four people wrong at the same time? How is that possible? It must have hidden itself!"

This made the headmaster restless. "But I searched a two-thousand-meter radius thoroughly and found no traces. Even if it could blend perfectly into the water, Sister Lu's purification spell should have scorched it out of hiding."

The headmaster rubbed his temples; he was truly at his wit's end.

Li Qinghong couldn't help but look serious. "...I clearly remember the fluctuations indicating a phantom was being born, but if the Headmaster personally checked and found nothing, then this phantom is truly terrifying."

The two instructors agreed. "Terrifying enough that we must report this to the capital immediately!"

Sister Lu shook her head. "A phantom that can deceive four Mountain Realm practitioners? Think about it—is that even possible? If that were true, humanity would have been wiped out long ago!"

Everyone was speechless, pondering for a moment. "Sister Lu is right. Although the Phantom Planet is strange, it isn't *that* strange. They are semi-energy beings; even with illusions, they cannot achieve perfect deception."

"Exactly. Practitioners can use various methods to detect the faint, fishy stench of a phantom or feel its energy fluctuations..."

"I suspect the phantom failed to gestate and simply dissipated."

The instructors chimed in one after another.

Sister Lu said, "I don't care to guess. I'll just purify everyone present and add a layer of light protection. Just increase the patrols during this time; there shouldn't be any problems."

As she spoke, the noblewoman raised her hand with elegance and released a light-attribute spell. The entire activity center was filled with a rich aura of light, resembling a layer of golden mist. People breathed in the golden mist, feeling refreshed, their eyes glowing with a faint luster.

Children, parents, guards, and logistics staff all felt a sense of joy and satisfaction, as if their very souls had been cleansed.

Once the spell was completed, the noblewoman said with certainty, "Brother Cheng, you see? There is truly no phantom lurking within the people..."

Seeing this, the headmaster breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Down below, the mothers looked at one another.

"Is the third *Gu Huo Chang* incident upon us?"

"Oh my, can these disgusting things really not be eradicated? Every time I see the news about missing children, I feel a chill down my spine... Sigh!"

"These extraterrestrial invaders are truly detestable!"

"Uh... have you noticed? The headmaster seems incredibly panicked this time. Is there really a *Gu Huo Chang* hiding? Did it evade the headmaster's sweep?"

"It... it might not be hiding. It could have just failed to gestate!"

"Uh..."

Some mothers didn't dare to be careless. "In any case, we should be extra vigilant for a while..."

Although the Semi-God Kindergarten had a high safety rating, a phantom that could disappear right under the headmaster's nose caused no small amount of panic.

The headmaster reassured everyone, "Don't be afraid. I will patrol day and night, and every three days, I will have Teacher Lu cast spells on your wrists. If it dares to appear and harm anyone, I can reach you in two seconds. I will definitely be faster than it is."

"Alright, everyone disperse. Live your normal lives, no need to panic."

The headmaster waved them off.

Yet, even with the headmaster's guarantees, a tense atmosphere lingered in the facility. Many mothers remained on edge, even with guards following them at all times.

One day passed in peace. Two days passed in peace. Three days passed in peace.

On the fourth day, the headmaster invited Sister Lu back to use her Light-attribute magic to purify the children and staff, adding protective bracelets. The whole process felt like a religious ritual.

Xu Ran felt helpless. The headmaster was truly playing a game of wits with thin air. He must have believed that the bizarre phantom was still lurking in the facility, so he was doing everything possible to ensure the children's safety...

Xu Ran thought, "...If I had known, I wouldn't have casually killed that *Gu Huo Chang*... How annoying."

He had expected the rituals to happen only a few times and end in ten days or so. But the headmaster’s uneasy heart wouldn't settle; for a full month, a ritual was arranged every three days! He even purified the entire facility every single time. Undoubtedly, the headmaster's battle of wits with the air had reached a fever pitch.

A month passed in the blink of an eye. Everyone noticed that the headmaster’s dark circles were comparable to a panda’s.

"What's wrong with the Headmaster? He looks so haggard and listless."

"I heard the Headmaster can't sleep at night. He often appears on the canopy of a tree or on a roof in the dead of night... patrolling the entire kindergarten..."

"I was on night duty once and saw the Headmaster standing by the lake for an hour."

"Is the Headmaster still searching for that phantom?"

"Yes, he's afraid the phantom might hurt the children..."

"Wait, why does it feel like the Headmaster is the one who's been possessed by a phantom?" Someone suddenly had a wild thought.

"Don't talk nonsense!!! Don't say such things!"

"..."

Xu Ran thought, "...Sigh, I never expected that a single unintentional action would lead to the headmaster, at his age, fighting a battle of wits and courage..."

Seeing the headmaster, who looked liver-drained and haggard, Xu Ran stiffened his face and mentally reviewed the saddest things he had ever experienced to keep his expression neutral.

"Headmaster, I think you're overthinking it."

Li Qinghong added, "Yes, Headmaster, perhaps that phantom was just unlucky and failed to gestate, turning to ash. The children are all fine, why overthink it?"

The headmaster gritted his teeth. "I must fight it! If it doesn't appear to harm anyone after two months, then I'll admit I was overthinking."

No phantom could resist not causing harm for two months. So the headmaster held his breath, determined to settle the score with that phantom monster and regain his lifelong reputation!

Xu Ran: "..."

Scary! Extremely scary! He decided to keep this secret buried in his heart forever! Because if the headmaster found out that he had quietly finished off the *Gu Huo Chang*, causing the headmaster two months of sleepless nights, the headmaster would definitely skin him alive!

"If only I hadn't casually wiped out that *Gu Huo Chang*..." Xu Ran shook his head internally, silently watching the headmaster battle the air.

Two months passed in a flash, and the "phantom" still hadn't shown any trace. The headmaster finally lowered his guard. It was absolutely impossible for it to remain hidden for two full months without leaving a single flaw. The only explanation was that the phantom that had gone missing at the bottom of the lake had definitely failed to gestate!!

"Headmaster, two full months have passed today."

"That phantom must have failed to be born."

"I know."

The headmaster, sporting thick dark circles, counted the time on his fingers. After confirming the date, he burst into hearty laughter, flew around the facility four or five times to vent his frustration, and then collapsed into a deep sleep. He was exhausted; he had been battling the air for two months and had barely closed his eyes! Every night in the dead of silence, he would come out to patrol, more phantom-like than the phantom itself.

Finally, after surviving two months, he had won! He had reclaimed his lifelong reputation.

Hearing the headmaster's hearty laughter, all the mothers in the facility thought: *Good, the alarm is finally lifted!*

...

After sleeping for a day and a night, at nine o'clock the next evening, the headmaster was refreshed and full of energy as he patrolled the rooftops. He was in an excellent mood; he hadn't felt this kind of joy in over a decade.

"Yo, Little Ran, still practicing your darts? How is your dart-throwing skill coming along?"

Xu Ran changed the subject. "Headmaster, have you finally set your mind at ease?"

The headmaster laughed heartily. "Set my mind at ease, hahaha!"

Seeing the usually stern headmaster driven to the brink of insanity and finally returning to a normal mental state, Xu Ran breathed a sigh of relief. If the headmaster had continued to "battle" day and night, it would have been his turn to be sweating bullets.

"Haha, haha, congratulations, Headmaster." Xu Ran let out an awkward laugh. "Headmaster, I'm going to sleep now. See you tomorrow. Bye-bye."

Progress for the day was maxed out! Time to slip away.

Xu Ran waved goodbye to the headmaster and returned to his room with a bright smile. He showered and went to bed. Lying flat on the bed, he closed his eyes and glanced at his system panel.

*Early Childhood, Day 1992!*

*Your Blood Qi: 14112/100,000...*

It had to be said that time passed quite quickly when one was busy. Since completing the third baptism, 257 days had passed, over 100 of which were spent in the library grinding the "Reading Ten Thousand Books" progress.

After surviving those 100 days in the library and upgrading "Reading Ten Thousand Books" to "Advanced Comprehension," the next five months were much more pleasant—the progress of various magical skills was skyrocketing every day.

Whether it was Lightness Skill, Little Xu's Flying Daggers, Origami Spirit-Communication, or Piercing Flaws, all had reached the "Perfect" level of 15,700 points. He was only 333 days of self-discipline away from the Third Sequence!

At that time, he would possess a series of super skills, including Invisibility, Hand-crafted Air Walls, Three Thousand Thunder-Movements, Godly Weapon Throwing, Origami Sealing, Pressure Simulation, and Limb Reattachment!

Just thinking about it was exciting. With so many terrifying skills in his arsenal, he wouldn't need to fear even the most powerful phantom.

*Invisibility + Three Thousand Thunder-Movements—wouldn't escaping be a breeze?*

Xu Ran narrowed his eyes, a flicker of confident light shining within them.

"Of course, I cannot be careless. Caution is the true path. This second kidnapping is taking its time; it probably won't be that simple."

With that thought, Xu Ran drifted into a deep sleep.

He thought he would wake up to the next day, but an accident happened—

At three in the morning, in the dead of night, with the moon casting half-shadows on the wall.

*Tap, tap, tap—*

Someone knocked on the door. His mother's concerned voice came from outside: "Little Ran, Little Ran, did you have a nightmare?"

Xu Ran opened his eyes, switched on the light, and went to the door to see his mother looking deeply worried.

"What's wrong, Mom? I didn't have a nightmare."

"You didn't? Just now, many children in the parents' group suddenly woke up screaming. The little ones are all crying. They all had the same nightmare."

Xu Ran was stunned. "Huh? Our grade's brats and the newcomers had the same nightmare? That's impossible, right? Everyone's dreams are different..."

His mother looked terrified. "I'm not lying! Every child in the kindergarten, except for two, had the same nightmare!"

"Also, you remember Zhuangzhuang and Tongtong, right? They had the same nightmare too. The children in the Martyr's Sanatorium were all scared out of their wits by the same nightmare!"

Xu Ran was dumbfounded. *Children dozens of kilometers apart having the same nightmare? How is that possible?*

With his current knowledge and insight, he couldn't explain such a bizarre phenomenon.

*An entire city of nightmares!*

The atmosphere was thick with terror, making one's hair stand on end!

*Could it be the Gu Huo Chang?*

Xu Ran frowned. "What about Hu-niu? Did she have a nightmare?"

His mother stiffened. "What Hu-niu? I told you not to give your sister weird nicknames!"

Xu Ran: "...What about little Liuli? Did she have a nightmare?"

Mother said, "In the kindergarten, only you, Liuli, and Zhu Yuhuang did not have the nightmare. Everyone else was scared pale, their eyes vacant, crying nonstop!"

Xu Ran asked, "Only the three of us didn't have the nightmare?"

Mother nodded. "That's right."

"But this is too bizarre, and it happened so suddenly, I can't explain it clearly to you right now."

"Let's go, let's head to the teaching activity center! The Headmaster has called for help; they are going to cast a spell to calm the children's emotions!"

"Alright, let's go see."

Xu Ran took a deep breath. To be honest, a sense of unease rose in his heart.

*An entire city of nightmares!*

*Damn it, is this second kidnapping going to be a massive one?*