Chapter 10

Chapter 10

In just a few days, Wang Kai, a staunch believer in science and a male college student, not only opened the door to a new world but also became Shen Wang's number one fanboy.

His reluctance to leave the dormitory was partly due to social death, and partly due to an itching curiosity about Shen Wang.

After a series of idiotic questions like 'Do ghosts exist in this world?' 'Can you see ghosts?' 'Can you predict when I'll get a girlfriend?', Shen Wang had manually blocked out Wang Kai's voice.

With no one to share his thoughts, Wang Kai resorted to spamming the dormitory group chat. Hearing someone mention metaphysical matters, he immediately perked up and warmly invited the boy into the dormitory.

The boy, somewhat bewildered, was pulled into the dormitory and before he could even sit, Wang Kai urged, "What happened? Tell us!"

After hesitating for a while, the boy couldn't hold back any longer and spilled the beans.

It turned out, with midterms approaching, there was a student in his dorm who usually failed exams. Recently, he had become obsessed with studying, foregoing games and social outings, and burying himself in books day and night.

"Scary, isn't it?" the boy said, seeking validation from his audience after sharing.

"Is that all?"

Li Pingping and Xu Cheng, who had gathered around unknowingly, were genuinely perplexed, their heads filled with question marks.

"Aren't you being too sensitive? Maybe he just realized he needs to start working hard."

"This is normal before a big exam. It'll be fine once the exams are over. No need to make a big fuss."

Provoked by these words, the boy sat up abruptly from the bed, gesticulating wildly: "You know his personality. He's the type to barely scrape by, always half-hearted in his studies. Even during final exams, he's inconsistent, spending his days gaming or watching anime... But now, he's studying from morning to night! Apart from eating and bathroom breaks, it's all studying!"

The boy emphasized, "Wakes up at five in the morning, sleeps at two at night!"

Those who initially thought the boy was overreacting, like Wang Kai and his friends, gasped in shock: "Wakes up at five in the morning!"

"It's terrifying!"

"This is indeed strange!"

Seeing that he had convinced everyone, the boy's mood finally relaxed. He hugged his pillow tightly and whispered softly, "And also..."

"And also what?" The others, intrigued by his mysterious manner, pressed him for more.

"And also, now when he sleeps, he doesn't snore, grind his teeth, or talk in his sleep, like... like something else entirely."

The boy didn't dare say that when he woke up in the middle of the night, he saw his roommate, who usually slept in an unrestrained manner, now sleeping rigidly straight, hands peacefully placed on his abdomen, with the blanket perfectly smooth over his chest.

The scariest part was, there was no movement in his roommate's chest.

The first time he encountered this, the boy was so scared he almost called an ambulance, but after a while, exactly at five o'clock, his roommate suddenly opened his eyes and sat up stiffly from the bed.

And started reviewing again!

Since that day, the boy began to secretly observe his roommate, unable to resist checking his chest in the middle of the night, even stealthily checking his breathing while he slept.

Not being medically trained, the boy couldn’t discern anything wrong. All he knew was that not only was there no movement in his roommate's chest, there was also no warmth under his nose.

Yet the next day, he would see his roommate diligently reviewing.

"Study as if it won't kill you." Originally a motivational slogan for students, it had become a literal description of his roommate.

Over these few days, the other people in the dorm had become almost mentally exhausted, moving out one after another, leaving only the boy whose home was far away, with nowhere to go but to seek refuge in Wang Kai's dorm.

After listening to the boy's account, Wang Kai, Li Pingping, and the other two broke out in a cold sweat. They looked at each other and finally turned their gazes towards Shen Wang, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Shen Brother! Help!"

Confused, the boy looked at three grown men sobbing and rushing towards Shen Wang's bed: "Who is this?"

Although they were from the neighboring dorm, the boy had never seen Shen Wang and was curious.

"This is..." Li Pingping hesitated for a few seconds.

Wang Kai smoothly took over: "This is a senior from the upper grades. Just call him Brother Shen."

"Oh, so it's Brother Shen," the boy realized, "I must have heard of Brother Shen, just never met him..."

Li Pingping turned his head slightly, unable to suppress a laugh.

Shen Wang, seemingly absorbed in meditation, had actually been alert to his surroundings, hearing the entire ordeal that left Li Pingping and the others trembling in fear.

Amused and slightly exasperated, Shen Wang ceased his cultivation and opened his eyes to see three pairs of pitiful eyes and one unfamiliar face filled with confusion and partial understanding.

Shen Wang: "..."

"Brother Shen, how is your cultivation going?" Wang Kai asked eagerly, massaging Shen Wang's leg, "Brother Shen, are your legs numb? Let me massage them for you!"

"Get lost," Shen Wang laughed and scolded, turning his attention to the unfamiliar boy.

Upon a closer look, Shen Wang couldn't help but narrow his eyes, sensing the hard-earned trace of spiritual energy within him stirring restlessly.

Over the past few days, Shen Wang had exhausted his savings to buy traditional Chinese medicine and completed the first course of treatment, removing a third of the impurities in his body, barely reaching the threshold for cultivation.

After a long effort to connect with the sparse spiritual energy around him, Shen Wang finally managed to capture a wisp of spiritual energy and introduce it into his body, officially becoming a cultivator—though still just a novice who hadn't even reached the Qi Condensation stage.

It took several days to successfully draw the spirit into his body, making Shen Wang acutely aware of his poor aptitude: in the world of true cultivation, it had taken him less than an hour to accomplish the same feat.

What Shen Wang didn't know was how many in the cultivation world remained stuck at this initial stage, unable to ever begin their cultivation journey.

He also didn't realize that even in the cultivation world, completing this step in under an hour was considered a mark of genius.

In the modern world, where spiritual energy is scarce, drawing the spirit into the body not only requires months of preparation, various elixirs and miraculous medicines, but also the guidance of a senior cultivator to help novices capture the spiritual energy.

Shen Wang managed to do it in just a few days with some mediocre Chinese medicine. If cultivators of this world knew, they would be astonished.

Now, ignorant of other cultivators, Shen Wang had only gathered a wisp of spiritual energy. When he saw a faint ghostly aura on the face of the boy who claimed his roommate was possessed, he felt an itch to act.

"Brother Shen, his roommate... He's not really possessed, is he?" Li Pingping noticed Shen Wang's unusual gaze and rubbed his arms anxiously.

"It's not exactly possession," Shen Wang said.

Everyone else in the room visibly relaxed in unison.

"It's just a ghost taking over his body," Shen Wang continued.

The breath stuck in their throats, the people present started coughing violently, squeezing closer to Shen Wang like frightened quails.

The boy who came for help was especially panicked, his voice trembling with a crying tone: "I told you he must be possessed! With his personality, he could never be that diligent! What do I do now?"

He was so anxious that his regional accent slipped through.

Shen Wang, with a profound and inscrutable expression, said solemnly, "You can come to me for fortune-telling, ghost-catching, and demon-hunting. I know it all, I'm skilled in everything! And I offer sincere pricing, excellent value for money, truly worth your trust!"

The boy: "???"

He looked at Li Pingping and the others surrounding Shen Wang, then at Shen Wang's handsome face with a hint of bewitching charm, and suddenly felt like he might have been swindled.