352: Open Class

“I'm sorry, but appointments are required here.”

The staff member, dressed in a professional suit, wore an impeccable smile as she politely blocked Shen Miao from entering.

But beneath that politeness, the scrutinizing gaze was completely unconcealed.

“Ah? Appointments are needed...”

Shen Miao, playing the role of a somewhat introverted and timid student, took half a step back upon hearing this and adjusted the black-framed glasses on her nose.

“Well... alright then, I'll make an appointment next time.”

Looking slightly disappointed, she turned around and slowly walked away.

The staff member watched her back disappear into the mall crowd before the smile on her face finally faded, and she turned to re-enter the consulting center.

Meanwhile, Shen Miao, who had turned a corner, instantly lost all traces of timidity on her face, replaced by icy coldness.

Something is fishy.

Absolutely fishy!

A training class located in such a high-traffic mall actually requires appointments and won't let people enter?

This isn't how a business operates; they are clearly screening and guarding against something.

Shen Miao didn't go far, instead walking into a coffee shop diagonally across the way and choosing a corner seat by the window.

She appeared to be looking down at her phone, but a wisp of invisible spiritual consciousness had silently penetrated the wall and entered the “Kunlun Immortal Fate Consulting Center.”

What her spiritual consciousness perceived made her heart sink abruptly.

Two or three dozen young people sat in the classroom, all with their eyes closed, their expressions fanatical and intoxicated.

A man in a long robe was speaking eloquently on the podium, talking about “Guiding Qi into the Body and Washing Away Mortal Dust.”

But what Shen Miao “saw” was an entirely different scene.

There was absolutely no pure Spiritual Qi in the entire classroom; instead, it was permeated by a layer of unseen, greasy, gray-black evil Qi!

This evil Qi was radiating from the man on the podium, drilling into every student's body like venomous snakes.

The students had no idea that what they were inhaling was not Immortal Qi, but a deadly poison that was polluting their Divine Souls and devouring the Origin of their lives!

Under the perception of her spiritual consciousness, their complexions all appeared abnormally pale, and their vital essence was draining away at a slow but steady pace.

Yet they themselves believed this was a precursor to complete transformation, and their faces were filled with longing and fanaticism for the future.

This isn't just a scam for money.

This is raising Gu!

They are using ordinary people's yearning for cultivation to transform them, one by one, into breeding grounds and Puppets for evil entities!

Shen Miao felt a bone-chilling coldness.

She immediately wanted to report the situation here to the academy, but reason told her she couldn't.

If she alerted the enemy, this group would scatter immediately, and it would be difficult to catch them again.

She must capture the mastermind!

Just then, the consulting center door was pushed open again.

A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, dressed in a designer suit, yet possessing an incredibly lewd aura, walked in.

His small eyes darted around, brazenly sweeping over the young female staff members, filled with unconcealed lust and depravity.

“Teacher Wang! You've arrived!”

The staff members, who had previously worn professional fake smiles, immediately adopted expressions of extreme flattery and bowed respectfully upon seeing this man.

The man referred to as Teacher Wang nodded with satisfaction and casually asked.

“How are the ‘Materials’ inside? Is the timing about right?”

Materials?

Timing?

Hearing these two words, Shen Miao's gaze instantly became incredibly sharp.

She decided.

She wasn't leaving.

She would stake out the place today, and as soon as this so-called “Teacher Wang” came out, she would apprehend him directly!

...Meanwhile, in Magic City.

Fang Yuan and Frieren had just gotten out of a taxi and looked up at the magnificent, gilded shopping center before them.

“Fang Yuan, is this the place?”

Frieren's emerald eyes were full of curiosity.

“Mhm, the address written on the website is here.”

Fang Yuan nodded, preparing to take Frieren inside.

The glass door of the consulting center happened to be pushed open from the inside, and a familiar yet somewhat strange figure walked out.

It was Lin Xue.

She looked much thinner than she had in high school, her complexion was pale, and she had faint dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Fang Yuan standing not far away.

Her body visibly stiffened for a moment.

Immediately afterward, her gaze fell upon the girl beside Fang Yuan—the blonde, green-eyed girl who was beautiful like an elf.

Frieren was curiously looking up at the mall's massive billboard, naturally standing very close to Fang Yuan.

In that instant, a strong sense of inferiority instantly flooded Lin Xue's heart like a cold tide.

Why should she be allowed?

Why should she be able to stand beside Fang Yuan?

A cold, malicious voice sounded deep in her mind without warning.

Kill her.

Once you kill her, Fang Yuan will be yours.

This thought was so clear, so full of temptation, that Lin Xue's breath hitched, and the hands hanging by her sides clenched uncontrollably.

“Lin Xue? What a coincidence.”

Fang Yuan also saw her and greeted her with a smile.

“Hello! Are you Fang Yuan's friend?”

Frieren also turned around and greeted Lin Xue warmly in her slightly accented but still fluent Chinese.

Lin Xue flinched as if pricked by a needle, abruptly taking a step back, her expression awkward and rigid.

“Ah... yes, yes I am. Fang Yuan, why... why are you two here?”

“Oh, I'm accompanying my classmate to check something out.”

Fang Yuan answered casually, but his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Something is wrong.

The aura around Lin Xue is very wrong.

It's impure, cold, and carries a putrid stench that he deeply loathes.

Although faint, it is definitely a power originating from the same source as the evil elixirs used by The Company!

“I... I have something else to do, so I'll be going now!”

Lin Xue dared not look at Fang Yuan and Frieren again. She stumbled out the words almost incoherently, then hurried into the crowd as if fleeing.

“She seems afraid of us?” Frieren tilted her head, looking confused.

“She's not afraid of us.”

Fang Yuan watched Lin Xue's panicked departure, then looked up at the sign for the “Kunlun Immortal Fate Consulting Center,” his gaze turning completely cold.

“She has a guilty conscience.”

Having said that, he took Frieren's hand and strode inside.

“Hello, welcome to the Kunlun Immortal Fate Consulting Center! Are you two here to inquire about courses?”

A staff member with a standard smile immediately stepped forward to greet them.

“Teacher Wang's free open class is about to start. You've arrived at the perfect time—would you like to listen in?”

Fang Yuan and Frieren exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of amusement in the other's eyes.

“Sure, we'll listen.”

Fang Yuan pretended to be very interested.

The staff member immediately led the two of them enthusiastically toward a spacious classroom.

As soon as Fang Yuan walked in, he felt a faint, nauseating aura of filth wash over him.

He calmly pulled Frieren to sit down in the back row, his gaze quickly sweeping over the other “students” in the classroom.

It was the same as what he had sensed on Lin Xue.

Everyone here was enveloped by that cold, evil Qi.

They were all pale-faced, yet their spirits were abnormally high, and their eyes were filled with fanaticism and obsession for “cultivation,” completely unaware that they were stepping closer to the abyss.

The corner of Fang Yuan's mouth curled into a cold arc.

He wanted to see.

What tricks these evildoers were planning to pull.