The first few months at Nuoding Academy passed like a quiet, chilly breeze. While Tang San and Xiao Wu were becoming the talk of the campus—one for his bizarrely tough Blue Silver Grass and the other for her devastating kicks—Chen Fan became a living legend for a different reason: nobody could ever find him.
Chen Fan treated the academy like a training simulation. He realized that his failure against the Gale Panther was due to a lack of "sync" with his Specter. To fix this, he lived his life in a constant state of low-level activation of his Ghost Walk.
Refining the Ethereal
He practiced until "Ghost Walk" wasn't just a skill he turned on, but a state of being.
The Phase-Shift: He practiced walking through the crowded cafeteria without touching a single person. If someone bumped into him, they would feel a sudden shiver, as if they'd walked through a cold draft, while Chen Fan's shoulder would momentarily turn to mist.
The Weightless Leap: He stopped using stairs. By merging his weight with the Specter, he could glide up the side of the dormitory walls, entering through the second-story window like a literal haunting.
By the end of the second month, his control had reached a point where he could remain partially invisible even while sleeping, making his bed look empty to the casual observer.
The Rise of the Protagonists
While Chen Fan haunted the shadows, the main plot of the world moved forward.
Tang San returned from his hunt with Grandmaster, sporting a yellow spirit ring from a Datura Snake. Shortly after, Xiao Wu claimed she had "hunted" a beast on her own and returned with her first ring as well. The power dynamic in Room 7 was solidified, but the tension between the "Working Students" and the "Paid Students" was reaching a boiling point.
Xiao Chenyu, the leader of the wealthy students and the son of the City Lord, had grown tired of the commoners' arrogance.
The Confrontation at the Hill
"Where's your 'Ghost Boss'?" Xiao Chenyu sneered, looking at Tang San and Xiao Wu. They were gathered on the hills behind the academy for the decided duel to settle who ruled Nuoding. "I heard he's so scared he turned into a puff of smoke."
"He's around," Tang San said calmly, his hand subtly hovering near his 24 Moonlit Bridges belt. He could feel a faint drop in temperature nearby, a sign he had learned to associate with Chen Fan.
"Hmph! Doesn't matter," Xiao Chenyu summoned his Martial Soul—a Lone Wolf. "After I beat you two, I'll find him and skin that ghost!"
The Unseen Intervention
The battle began with Xiao Wu's explosive agility clashing against the paid students' minions. Tang San controlled the field with his binding grass. But when Xiao Chenyu joined the fray, his Level 11 Spirit Power and wolf-like ferocity began to push the working students back.
He lunged at a distracted Xiao Wu, his claws glowing with spirit power.
Suddenly, the air behind Xiao Chenyu curdled. A pair of violet pinpricks flared in the daylight.
"You shouldn't threaten things you can't see," a whisper echoed, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere.
"First Spirit Skill: Ghost Claw!"
A translucent, jagged hand manifested from the void, raking across Xiao Chenyu's back. It didn't tear his clothes or draw blood, but the boy screamed as if he'd been dipped in liquid nitrogen. His wolf transformation flickered and died as his soul recoiled from the numbing cold.
Chen Fan appeared for a split second, a pale silhouette draped in a tattered ghost-shroud, before fading back into the grass.
"The boss of Room 7 is Xiao Wu," Chen Fan's voice drifted through the clearing. "But the shadow of Room 7 is always watching."
Terrified by the "haunting," Xiao Chenyu's subordinates broke rank and fled. The battle was won without Chen Fan even breaking a sweat. He had mastered the art of being a beginner—not by being the strongest, but by being the most unavoidable.