At that moment,

  the crowd on the shore received the order and dove into the Ghost River one after another.

  John did the same, plunging straight into the water.

  “Hm? A suppressing feeling…”

  He had no Bound Spirit, but his body possessed paranormal affinity, so he could clearly sense the heavy, draining aura weighing down on him.

  Yet it was far weaker than he’d expected—obviously because of Wei Feng holding the line.

  Although Wei Feng, the Provincial Minister, hadn’t entered the water, he was undoubtedly the core of this entire operation.

  “Boss John, this is crazy…”

  William had also dived in, carrying his black coffin, and stared in astonishment.

  He could breathe freely underwater and even speak, his voice carrying clearly through the liquid.

  The others were equally shocked, never having imagined the river depths could be so bizarre.

  “Must be the paranormal energy,” John guessed.

  Right at that moment,

  bloated severed heads swarmed in from all directions, staring at them with cold, sinister gazes.

  A chill ran through the group. They finally understood how the Ghost River fed on fear.

  Ordinary people brainwashed into jumping would regain their sanity the second they hit the water—only to wake up surrounded by countless floating heads. Terror would burst out of them uncontrollably, amplified by the panic of drowning.

  This crude method might not extract the deepest fear from a person,

  but the Ghost River didn’t chase quality—it chased quantity.

  There was no more time to think. The students began fighting in the river water.

  Most of them had only awakened their Bound Spirits recently, with combat ability barely above that of normal humans.

  But the severed heads underwater weren’t even proper ghosts. They posed almost no threat at all.

  And the most dangerous factor—the river’s paranormal suppression—had been weakened to almost nothing by Wei Feng’s power.

  For a moment, everyone was laying waste to the heads left and right.

  Meanwhile, veteran Spirit Wardens like Ron dove deeper, hunting down the Ghost Servants.

  The students might have looked like a bunch of slackers, but they served a vital role.

  If Lu Ming and Han Yu had to fight both the severed heads and Ghost Servants alone, they would burn through Curse Power at a terrifying rate, making it nearly impossible to challenge the river’s core.

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  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  John punched through head after head, but he was already growing bored.

  Killing these things by the hundreds would earn him no real reward. Worse, they weren’t even true ghosts—they didn’t qualify to be devoured.

  “Nope… can’t waste this golden opportunity.”

  John’s eyes flickered, and greedy thoughts swirled in his head.

  When else would he have top-tier fighters doing the heavy lifting for him?

  “William, you keep clearing these heads. I’m gonna practice holding my breath.”

  With that, John twisted his body and began diving deeper.

  “Holding my breath?”

  William gaped. The water was full of usable air—what the hell was he talking about?

  “Boss John…!”

  He called out urgently, but John had already vanished into the dark.

  He’s off scavenging loot, isn’t he?

  William guessed it in an instant, but staring into the inky black depths, he didn’t dare follow.

  “I better play it safe and grind these weaklings.”

  John sped downward, quickly leaving the crowded upper layer behind.

  When he reached a certain depth, the severed heads thinned out, and the paranormal suppression grew noticeably stronger.

  Right then,

  he froze and spotted two familiar figures.

  Ron, wearing his human-skin gloves, was fighting the Faceless Woman. She was completely dominated, unable to land a single counterattack.

  John’s eyes lit up. He shouted at the top of his lungs:

  “Despicable monster! Don’t hurt my teacher!”

  He lunged forward and charged violently into the fight.

  Ron blinked in confusion. He’d been about to finish the Faceless Woman off—when John dragged her away from him.

  “Teacher, don’t be afraid! I’ve got you!”

  “?!”

  Ron’s eyes bulged. He was completely dumbfounded.

  What the hell are you up to now?

  John ignored him, dragged the heavily wounded Faceless Woman away, and unleashed a flurry of his chaotic psycho-punches.

  At that moment,

  his chest grew warm. The Ghost Mask had quietly emerged.

  John quickly called over his shoulder: “Teacher, stay back! I’ll handle this!”

  He turned his back to Ron, and the Ghost Mask on his chest opened wide and swallowed the Faceless Woman in one bite.

  “Handle my ass!”

  Ron’s mouth twitched. “Did you really just dive down here to steal my kill?!”

  By the time he reached John’s side, the Faceless Woman was gone without a trace.

  “Huh? Where’d she go?”

  Ron stared, completely confused.

  “I obliterated her—scattered her into nothingness,” John said with a straight face, then quickly changed the subject.

  “Teacher, sorry I’m late!”

  “You’re right on time. A little too on time.”

  Ron shot him a look. “These things don’t even drop Ghost Crystals, anyway. Why are you hogging the kill so badly?”

  “Huh? No Ghost Crystals?”

  John froze, then caught on immediately.

  The Mirror Ghost from the Green Star Hotel had one. How did the stronger Faceless Woman have nothing?

  “Didn’t you notice how weak she was?”

  “...Come to think of it, yeah.”

  John spread his hands. There wasn’t a trace of curse energy on him.

  Time had passed. The Faceless Woman was nothing like her old self.

  Ron explained: “She became a Ghost Servant. The Ghost River ripped her Ghost Crystal out long ago. Her paranormal power is a fraction of what it was.”

  John mumbled under his breath: “No wonder even you can beat her up easily.”

  “What was that?”

  Ron glared. “Am I really that weak in your head?”

  “Way weaker than the bell-ringing big shot.”

  “That’s the Provincial Paranormal Affairs Minister! I’m a high school coach—how am I supposed to compare?!”

  Ron huffed, then narrowed his eyes. “Why are you even this deep, anyway?”

  “I was worried!” John sighed dramatically. “I knew you teachers would dive in to fight Vengeful Spirits. I couldn’t rest easy, so I came to check on you.”

  “Check on things… and pick up loose loot?”

  “...”

  John’s expression froze. “Hey, no need to say the quiet part out loud.”

  “...”

  Ron shook his head. “I’m moving on. You gonna stick with me, or go solo?”

  “Quick question—what level are the Ghost Servants, roughly?”

  “Can’t beat you.”

  Ron had long since figured out this kid’s personality.

  “Then I’m going solo!” John decided without hesitation.

  “Fine. Be careful. And remember—don’t go any deeper. You might run into something really bad.”

  With that, Ron turned and left.

  “Something bad… the core of the Ghost River?”

  John stroked his chin, deep in thought.

  “Guess I’ll hunt Ghost Servants first. They’re weak, but at least they’re edible.”

  He wasted no more time and began scouring the area.

  The worst thing about Ghost Servants was their inherited Ghost River power—anyone who got close would be brainwashed instantly.

  But with Wei Feng’s bell holding the corruption at bay, no one had to worry about that anymore.

  It was open season.