Chapter 40: Slaying the Evil Spirit

"Class 3S... That is impossible!" Zeng Yuan's recording tablet dropped to the floor with a loud crash.

The alarm lights in the testing hall suddenly spun wildly, their piercing red glare casting a Asura-like shadow over Zhuang Yun's face.

Li Yun took two steps back and bumped into the observation window. Zhou Fanyi pinched his arm: Is this not a dream?!

The floating point flickered in and out with her movements, actually condensing into a Taiji symbol along the 3S scale line.

"Teacher, is this machine possessed?" Zhuang Yun turned her head and asked, "Should I perform an exorcism on it?"

Before her voice faded, the Qingque mecha deep within the warehouse suddenly emitted a drone like a dragon's roar.

The hairs at the back of Zhuang Yun's neck stood on end. That sound was unmistakably the initiation stance of the "Cleansing Heart Technique" her master had taught her.

She suddenly remembered the talismanic inscriptions on the mecha's joints—they were not mere decorations, but seals suppressing some kind of entity!

"Alert! Abnormal energy fluctuations in Basement Level Four!" The mechanical voice pierced the congealed air.

Zeng Yuan's optical computer automatically popped up a holographic projection: indigo-colored radiance was seeping from the cracks on the surface of the Qingque mecha, and those talismanic patterns flickered uncertainly like red-hot iron chains.

Soon the surveillance feed turned to static, and then went completely black.

Zhuang Yun ripped the electrodes from her head and dashed toward the warehouse.

Li Yun instinctively moved to block her, but was struck in the hollow of his knee by a copper coin flicked from her sleeve—it was precisely the unique hidden weapon of the Yunyin Sect, the "Soul-Seizing Coin."

"Do not follow!" Zhuang Yun's voice echoed through the metal corridor. "This thing is calling me!"

Instantly, alarms wailed across the entire campus. Students were evacuated away from the mecha warehouse, and the security squad deployed their mechas to prepare for battle.

Displaying her lightness kung fu, Zhuang Yun arrived swiftly and kicked open the warehouse's iron door. When she reached Basement Level Four, Qingque's eyes had turned completely deep blue.

The sword-shaped insignia on the mecha's chest floated and spun, actually resonating with the needle of the compass in Zhuang Yun's embrace.

The radiance within those cracks suddenly converged into a river, outlining the phantom of her master, Zhuang Fenglu, in mid-air.

"Master?!" Zhuang Yun staggered forward and reached for the light, but her fingertips passed through emptiness.

The phantom raised a hand and tapped lightly. The rust on Qingque's back peeled away in a rustling cascade, revealing two columns of running script forged in gilded gold: "Zhuang Sheng is lost in the butterfly dream, the Emperor Wang entrusts spring passions to the cuckoo."

The instant the final character appeared, the talismanic patterns on the mecha's joints shattered with a deafening roar, and countless bronze gears spewed forth from the gaps, reorganizing in mid-air into three hundred and sixty floating hexagrams.

Zhuang Yun's compass automatically unfolded into a three-foot azure blade, the Taiji symbol at its hilt spinning rapidly.

She finally understood why she had felt such familiarity with this mecha—this was no war machine at all, but a natal magical artifact refined by her master using the *Zhuangzi*!

"Yun'er, catch the sword!" The phantom suddenly solidified, and Zhuang Fenglu's dust-covered sword pierced through space and time toward her.

In a flash of spiritual clarity, Zhuang Yun stepped onto the Yu paces to meet the sword light. Behind her, the three hundred and sixty hexagrams snapped back into place, weaving a brand-new Taiji armor across Qingque's surface.

The ground trembled violently, and the piercing screech of an evil spirit echoed from the clouds. Zhuang Yun received the evil entity's voice in her mind: Little Yunyun, this is just a minor fiend, so I won't come to help you! Make sure you don't die, though!

Zhuang Yun: ......Now that you've come all this way, you actually refuse to help me? Are you planning to collect my corpse?

Suddenly, the blue light in Qingque's eyes turned to a bloody crimson.

The Taiji diagram unfurled on the mecha's back reversed into a Taotie gluttonous pattern, swallowing the hexagrams in mid-air in a single gulp.

The dust-covered sword in Zhuang Yun's hand emitted a mournful cry, and the text of the "Autumn Floods" chapter inscribed on the blade was vanishing at a rapid pace......

Zhuang Yun gripped the sword tighter, the vibration transmitted through the blade making the web of her thumb go numb.

Qingque's pupils were completely stained with blood, and the sword insignia on its chest twisted into a ferocious beast head, as if eager to devour everything.

"Master...... What on earth is going on here?" Zhuang Yun clenched her teeth, her sword carving an arc in the air as she tried to fend off the violent aura emanating from the Qingque mecha.

"Yun'er, be careful!" Zhuang Fenglu's phantom flickered in the air, her voice tinged with a trace of anxiety, "Qingque is no ordinary mecha. It was formed from the lingering evil thoughts that this teacher failed to completely sever when I cut off the three corpses to attain the Dao. Those talismanic patterns were originally seals, but now you have inadvertently unsealed them..."

Before the words faded, the Qingque mecha let out a deafening roar, the Taiji diagram on its back completely shattering and scattering into countless black fragments.

The mecha's arms abruptly lengthened, the gears at the joints emitting a harsh frictional screech as if a beast had broken free of its shackles.

"Zhuang Yun! Get out of there!" Teacher Zeng Yuan's voice came from above, accompanied by the mecha security squad. They tried to charge down, but were repelled several steps by the energy fluctuations radiating from the mecha.

Zhuang Yun did not retreat. Her gaze remained locked onto the twisted beast head on Qingque's chest.

The dust sword trembled slightly in her hand; the text on the blade had blurred into illegibility, but the edge remained as sharp as ever.

"Master, then let me sever it for you!" Zhuang Yun let out a low cry, pushed off the ground with explosive force, and shot toward the Qingque mecha like an arrow.

Qingque's reaction was lightning-fast. Its left arm swept out, kicking up a violent gust of wind straight at Zhuang Yun's face.

Zhuang Yun flashed sideways, executing Eight Trigrams footwork to narrowly evade the strike. Her movements were as light as a swallow, seeming to merge into one with her sword as the blade sliced through the air with a silver flash.

"Clang!" The dust sword collided with Qingque's armor, sending sparks flying in all directions.

Zhuang Yun felt a numbness shoot up her arm; Qingque's defense far exceeded her imagination.

"Yun'er, Qingque's weakness is its core—the twisted insignia on its chest!" Zhuang Fenglu's voice rang out once more, carrying a hint of urgency.

Zhuang Yun's gaze sharpened as her footwork shifted, attempting to circle around to Qingque's flank.

However, the mecha seemed to read her intent, its right arm sweeping horizontally with ferocious momentum to force Zhuang Yun back several paces.

Zhuang Yun leaped into the air, holding the dust sword high above her head with the tip pointing straight at Qingque's chest.

Sensing the threat, Qingque let out an angry roar and crossed its arms in front of its chest to block.

"Break!" Zhuang Yun shouted sharply, bringing the sword down with all her might. The moment the blade struck the armor, a blinding light burst forth, illuminating the entire warehouse as bright as day.

"Boom!" The massive shockwave blasted Zhuang Yun backward several meters, sending her crashing heavily to the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her lips.

A fracture had been cleaved open on Qingque's chest, from which black energy surged forth.

Zhuang Yun forced herself up. The dust sword trembled in her grip, the writing on its surface now completely gone.

"Not enough yet..." Zhuang Yun gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath as her internal Qi circulated frantically, causing a faint glow to return to the blade's edge.

She charged at the mecha once more, driving the sword straight toward the fracture. Qingque let out a piercing shriek, its arms flailing wildly to stop her approach.

"Boom!" Another violent collision occurred as the sword finally pierced into Qingque's chest. Black energy surged like a tidal wave, engulfing Zhuang Yun's figure.

She felt her vision turn pitch black, the sounds around her reduced to the agonizing roars of the mecha. Her consciousness faded into a haze.

Just as she was about to black out, a warm light suddenly ignited within the darkness. Zhuang Fenglu's phantom appeared before her, gently taking her hand.

"Yun'er, you did well." Zhuang Fenglu's voice was gentle. "Now, it is time to wake up."

Zhuang Yun snapped her eyes open to find herself still standing in the warehouse. The Qingque mecha stood quietly before her; the crack on its chest had healed, and the bloody crimson in its eyes had vanished.

"What... what just happened?" Zhuang Yun looked blankly at the dust sword in her hand. The text on the blade reappeared, flickering with a faint radiance before the entire sword dissolved.

"You succeeded, Yun'er." Zhuang Fenglu's phantom gradually dissipated, her voice echoing in the air, "You have purified the evil spirit within Qingque. It is now your partner."

Zhuang Yun looked up at the mecha. Its eyes glowed with a gentle blue light, and the sword insignia on its chest had returned to its original form.

"Zhuang Yun!" Li Yun and Zhou Fanyi rushed over, their faces etched with worry.

"I am fine." Zhuang Yun smiled faintly, her gaze lingering on the mecha as she thought to herself: Wonderful, I finally have a mecha of my own!

Above, Ming Xie folded its wings, transforming into a small bird that landed on the warehouse roof with a trace of approval in its eyes: Not bad at all.

Zhuang Yun reached out to gently stroke Qingque's armor, murmuring, "Qingque! Please take care of me!"

The mecha trembled slightly, as if responding to her call.

And all of this had transpired in a mere five minutes, while the school's upper echelon received one jaw-dropping piece of news after another.

What? Zhuang Yun's mental power is 3S?

What? Super-strong energy fluctuations in the mecha warehouse are preventing anyone from approaching?

What? The Kunpeng has manifested in the world?