The girl's entire body below the neck had completely transformed into the form of a paper doll.
Her limbs were nailed to the wall, as if she were a painting hung up.
Zhou Bai lowered his head, speaking in a deep tone, "Who did this!"
Li Xiuzhu walked up to Zhou Bai, looking at the paper doll girl on the wall and said, "She did it herself."
"What?" Zhou Bai couldn't believe it, "Why would she do this to herself?"
"To increase her Dao metabolism," Li Xiuzhu sighed, "Didn't you say she was about to be expelled? As far as I know, the Dao School conducts assessments every two months. If there is no significant progress after multiple assessments, a student will be expelled to save resources for those with more potential."
"This girl... clearly didn't have enough talent. Forcing an increase resulted in a mutation."
"The sound you heard before should be the sound of her hitting her head against the wall. Her body below the head had completely mutated into something like a paper doll, even capable of passing through walls."
"But since her head still retained some human form, it tended to get stuck when she tried to pass through walls, causing a banging sound."
Zhou Bai looked at the lifeless girl before him and sighed, "Why... why must one persist in increasing..."
"In the path of cultivation, there's no progress without moving forward. But under the influence of the distorted Heavenly Dao, moving forward relentlessly doesn't always lead to success." Li Xiuzhu shook his head, "The subtle balance between advancing and retreating is also part of cultivating the Dao."
"You need the courage to be brave and vigorous, and the determination to retreat when it's time to cut your losses."
Zhou Bai furrowed his brows, realizing just how difficult the path of cultivation truly was.
'Luckily, I have the auxiliary cultivation system.'
Zhou Bai looked at the girl on the wall and asked, "Did you kill her?"
Li Xiuzhu shook his head, "I was hiding outside the whole time. When I found you unconscious, I broke in. But as soon as I broke her spell, she committed suicide."
Looking at the paper-white girl before him, Li Xiuzhu sighed, "She probably had a shred of self-awareness left, which is why she chose to kill herself. It's also likely why she didn't attack you in the end."
What followed was a series of clean-up efforts. Teachers from the school, outside police, and various cultivators arrived at the scene to analyze, examine, and seal the area.
Zhou Bai was also taken back to the police station by Li Xiuzhu to make a statement.
Before leaving, Zhou Bai mentioned something he had seen, "I saw a man with a square face talking to her earlier. He promised to prepare something for him, and they..."
Listening to Zhou Bai recount his observations, Li Xiuzhu squinted his eyes, "A square face? I'll have someone investigate. Meanwhile, your teacher wants to speak with you. Go talk to him."
...
As Zhou Bai left the police station, he encountered Lv Chongyang, who had been waiting outside.
"Zhou Bai," Lv Chongyang showed concern, "Are you alright? I didn't expect a student to mutate."
"I'm fine." Zhou Bai now saw Lv Chongyang as a mouse would see a cat. The more concern the other showed, the more awkward he felt.
It was like when he used to skip classes to go to an internet café and got caught by the homeroom teacher, who didn't scold him but merely sighed.
What moved Zhou Bai the most wasn't blame, anger, or disdain, but disappointment...
But considering that he was fighting to become stronger for the future of humanity, Zhou Bai silently straightened his back.
Lv Chongyang couldn't sense the changes in Zhou Bai's heart and simply said, "Zhou Bai, you haven't come to class recently, is it because of the situation next door? Now that it's resolved, why don't you continue attending class tomorrow?"
Zhou Bai looked at Lv Chongyang in front of him, feeling nervous but still bluntly said, "Teacher... I don't think I will come to class anymore."
Lv Chongyang: "What do you mean?"
Zhou Bai felt an overwhelming pressure, as if a mountain was pressing down on him, making him feel like a boat in a storm, tossed around, and on the brink of destruction.
But Zhou Bai took a deep breath and seriously said, "Teacher, I have my own cultivation methods. The standard curriculum isn't suitable for me, I want to follow my own pace."
Lv Chongyang's eyes narrowed, and he spoke word by word, "The Dao School has been around for over a hundred years. Just compiling the ninety-nine chapters of the Daozang caused the deaths of thousands of our predecessors. A great cost was paid to provide you with the current teaching materials and courses.
And while I may not compare to those seniors, I am still a cultivator of the fifth realm with a Dao Compatibility of 56%. Do you think self-study can be stronger than learning from us?"
Listening to Lv Chongyang's words, Zhou Bai couldn't think of a reasonable retort. Everything the other said was true. For ordinary students, no matter how talented, personal effort alone couldn't surpass the century-old experience accumulated by the Dao School.
With every word Lv Chongyang spoke, the aura of the fifth realm enveloped Zhou Bai, pressing against his body and spirit as if a tangible pressure.
Zhou Bai even felt his bones issuing faint cracking sounds.
The weight of it was enough to make an ordinary person prostrate in worship.
But Zhou Bai was no ordinary person.
He had already cultivated four star points on the Taiyin Roulette. His physical body had been strengthened four times, and his current self was vastly different from before. With a Primordial Spirit value of 99, he possessed strong mental resistance.
Coupled with the confidence from the auxiliary system, he could withstand Lv Chongyang's pressure and seriously respond, "Teacher, the standardized courses... are too slow. Self-study allows me to cultivate faster. I don't want to waste time on the curriculum.
I want to become stronger faster, to gain the power to slay Heavenly Demons and confront monsters."
Zhou Bai looked at Lv Chongyang, conveying his true reason in another way, "If I obediently attend classes now, I'll indeed be much safer and gradually grow stronger..."
Zhou Bai's fists slowly clenched, countless dark scenes flashed through his mind, "But... that is not the path I want to take. I have talent, I have aptitude, and I should progress faster and farther. I can bear more and become stronger."
"Instead of always being protected like before, unable to do anything."
Zhou Bai raised his chest, staring firmly at Lv Chongyang. An unprecedented aura began to rise from him.
"If I don't get the first place in the assessment two months from now, it shows my talent is just so-so, and I promise never to miss any classes again."
Lv Chongyang stared at Zhou Bai, seeing a seriousness far exceeding that of his peers in those eyes.
Lv Chongyang said coldly, "Missing classes for two consecutive months, if you fail the assessment, you won't just simply return to classes. You will be expelled."
An even heavier pressure bore down. Zhou Bai felt as if he were thrown to the bottom of the sea, the air around him becoming extremely oppressive, with thoughts of giving up constantly rising in his mind.
He took a deep breath, making a resolute decision, "If I don't succeed, I am willing to accept any arrangements from the school."
Seeing Zhou Bai forcing himself to say these words, Lv Chongyang realized something.
'This kid... he's serious. He genuinely believes that even if he doesn't attend classes for two months, he can pass the assessment and even get first place, without even knowing what it entails.'
Lv Chongyang was somewhat surprised by Zhou Bai's persistence. Initially, he just wanted to use his aura to pressure Zhou Bai into returning to classes.
Unexpectedly, under the pressure, Zhou Bai not only didn't yield but also showed his inner determination and earnestness. This seriousness particularly surprised Lv Chongyang.
At this moment, Lv Chongyang recalled something someone once said, "The path of cultivation is a matter of personal will, a series of self-choices. The future is in their own hands."
"I'll keep your spot in the class, but you only have two months."