Eldritch Horror Theatre

This was his first time visiting the core area of the Linghui Courtyard.

Fu Qian's first impression was that his earlier assessment of the department's culture had been dead on. They weren't just uptight; they had crossed the line into downright repressed flamboyance.

Compared to its austere exterior, the towering hall before him was excessively opulent.

The moment he passed through the corridor and entered, the sheer brightness dazzled his eyes.

A starry sky? No, a dome.

Countless glittering crystals, paired with golden ornamentation along the edges, formed a vaulted ceiling that looked exactly like a shining starry night from any angle.

The surrounding walls were lined with red and blue tiles and louvered windows.

But the most striking feature was the absurdly oversized chandelier hanging from the center of this dreamy, hypnotic display.

It had to weigh several tons. Not only was the design exceedingly intricate, but a single glance revealed the materials were far from ordinary.

In short, strictly in terms of style, this was undoubtedly the most lavish place in the entire Academy.

Contrasted with the outside, it looked exactly like the rich inner world of a socially awkward shut-in—a perfect fit for the Linghui Courtyard.

And right now, this very space was densely packed with seated people.

Judging by their highly uniform attire, they were all core personnel of the Linghui Courtyard.

So they really were holding a department-wide self-reflection meeting. That attitude was satisfying enough, but was this place truly suited for soul-searching?

Setting aside everything else, wouldn't staring at that chandelier all day scramble a person's brains?

Guided by Professor Weilong, Fu Qian evaluated the many seated figures as he walked, completely unable to understand this architectural choice.

"There is... something inside here."

After coming to a halt and inviting the three guests to take their seats near the center of the hall, Weilong got straight to the point. He glanced around and delivered a terrifying opening line.

...

"We confirmed its existence, but we cannot find it."

Before the guests could respond, Weilong continued with a soft sigh.

"It is right here in this building, existing in a manner far more peculiar than a ghost, even moving freely in and out of everyone's minds..."

"Our proudest abilities have no effect on it. Other than knowing it's there and knowing it is affecting us, we cannot catch a single trace of it."

It was clear that the situation was extremely grim.

After all, for the arrogant members of Linghui, admitting incompetence in their own field of expertise was an incredibly difficult thing to do.

That completely explained the oppressive atmosphere surrounding them.

"So you're trying to stir things up?"

Fu Qian offered no critique. Instead, he gestured at their surroundings, bringing up the conversation he'd just had with Lisa.

"We were forced to consider its origins... If it truly spawned from some unique accumulation, doing this might make it easier to detect."

Nodding, Weilong locked his gaze onto Fu Qian's face, his expression profoundly meaningful.

"We must thank you for the warning, Professor Fu. We never imagined something like this could happen. If not for you, Linghui likely still wouldn't have realized it. Tell me, did you begin to suspect something as early as that little incident before?"

They really had reflected quite a bit since returning.

The "little incident" Weilong mentioned naturally referred to the time when Wen Li's abilities were being developed, which sent those Emotional Ripples sweeping across the Academy.

To trace it all the way back to that event proved that this group had indeed put in considerable effort and determination upon their return.

Fortunately for them, this wasn't some overblown conspiracy theory. The true scheme had actually begun even earlier than that.

"I suppose I was a bit aggressive."

Nodding slightly, Fu Qian directly admitted it the next moment.

"Just as I thought... Is that why you paid such close attention to Wen Li's situation afterward? You even wanted to temporarily pull her out to keep her from being affected..."

Subconsciously exchanging a glance with Professor Yang beside him, Weilong let out a long sigh a moment later. It seemed he finally understood Professor Fu's painstaking efforts.

"Including your visit yesterday, I assume... It's a pity. Although I vaguely sensed something was off at the time, I still failed to reflect on it, indirectly putting that student in danger—"

"Wealth is found in danger. That was an astonishing achievement. I even specifically mentioned it to Dean Casi just now."

"Besides, the favor you needed from me couldn't possibly just be sitting here listening to your repentance, could it?"

Weilong's increasingly profound speech, however, was casually cut short by Professor Fu, who tossed back the rather blunt question.

...

Obviously, for the leaders of Linghui, being forced to admit their own stupidity was an exceedingly rare occurrence.

Yet, despite this rare spectacle, the other party showed absolutely no interest in appreciating it. The sheer dismissiveness of his attitude was almost more provoking than the insult itself.

For a moment, even with Professor Weilong and Professor Yang's level of refinement, their expressions stiffened, struggling to maintain their composure.

As for Ni Huayuan, who had been acting as a background accessory across various occasions all along, his facial management was on the verge of total collapse.

"Of course not. What we actually hope you can help with this time, Professor Fu, is to use that method of yours from last time again to amplify the stimulation."

But he certainly wouldn't get the chance to lose control. Beside him, Professor Yang immediately stated their intentions.

"After all, it is a tradition of many years. On one hand, we don't want to simply lift the mystical restriction. On the other hand, if we actually did that, it's highly likely we would release a dangerous entity in the process."

Weilong followed up with an explanation.

"It's just a pity that our efforts so far have still been insufficient to smoke it out. Yet, what you did yesterday, Professor Fu, appeared to be a much greater level of stimulation."

"Easy enough."

Faced with the solemn explanations from the two giants of Linghui, Fu Qian upheld a friendly inter-departmental attitude and directly activated the Decree of Return.

There was no visual change, but invisible, stormy waves exploded outward.

Like a red-hot iron ball dropped into snow, the deeply entrenched corruption was forcefully purified from the inside out.

When this new change combined with the already triggered Golden Rotation, the resulting impact was clearly much more stimulating.

It was so strong that even Professor Lisa—who should have been the least sensitive to this among those in his field of vision—had a momentary look of dazed bewilderment in her eyes.

Didn't I say I could help?

Meeting Lisa's gaze as she subconsciously looked over in her dazed state, Fu Qian returned a confident smile.

Though the depth of Linghui Courtyard's self-reflection was, in essence, still far too shallow.

That invisible "it" was far from something that could be born from this tiny bit of filth.

Fortunately for them, as a partner in this project, he was now equally curious about how His Excellency Master Yuhun was doing lately.

Although, without his Transcendent Perception, it was hard to determine whether that inner demon was even still alive.

But the group of people in the Academy who had suffered the most from its corruption could seemingly act as a kind of oscilloscope, helping him confirm a lot more things.

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