Boss Yue strode ahead, and Ling Ling, carrying me on her back, had no choice but to follow close behind. Watching him fumble around recklessly, cold sweat prickled my skin. This wasn’t bravery—it was suicide.

My heart hammered with panic. How could I stop him? Seeing my sister’s sweat-drenched back, a pang of guilt hit me. Then—an idea. I shouted, “Sis! Remember that tomb beneath Lin Feng Academy?”

Ling Ling’s eyes widened. “Right! The tomb in the academy’s lowest level!” She’d already guessed my plan.

“I heard there’s a giant zombie down here!” I exaggerated wildly. “Strong enough to rival a Demon Emperor!” (Okay, it was true.)

“You’re right—I just recalled it!” Ling Ling chimed in, even more dramatic. “It’s the Zombie King sealed away centuries ago by the academy’s first dean and his allies. His power rivals the Holy Rank! That’s why students are forbidden here!”

*Seriously?* I groaned inwardly. *I said ‘Demon Emperor,’ and she ups it to ‘Holy Rank’? She’s stealing my thunder!*

“Heh heh heh,” Boss Yue sneered. “You think I’d believe that? What do you take me for—a fool? Your story’s full of holes!”

*Damn. We’re done for.*

We stopped before a massive door emblazoned with Lin Feng Academy’s blue tiger insignia. My pulse spiked. Something felt terribly wrong.

Boss Yue’s eyes gleamed with greed. He twisted the handle, shoved, kicked—even licked the lock. (Okay, not that last part.)

“Why won’t this damn thing open?!” he roared.

“Idiot, it’s not locked! The latch is—” I clamped my mouth shut too late. *Brilliant, Lin Ye. Truly brilliant.*

Boss Yue shot me a glare, then shoved the door open. Inside lay several coffins etched with golden patterns, surrounded by violet flowers. Above them hung a plaque: **LIN FENG MAUSOLEUM**.

“So it *is* a tomb!” Boss Yue mused, rubbing his chin. “But there must be treasures. Powerful cultivators always take valuables to the grave. I’ll search! You two—stay put!”

I whispered urgently to Ling Ling, “Sis, if anything weird happens… run. Got it?”

“Mhm!” She nodded. *Of course I’ll listen to my little brother. Obviously.*

Boss Yue shoved aside coffin after coffin—finding nothing. Furious, his eyes landed on the tiger insignia on the wall. He prodded it. It shifted. His grin widened as he pressed harder. The wall slid open silently.

Beyond it, layer upon layer of glowing magic arrays encircled a massive coffin pulsing with violet light. *Oh no. We’re dead.* “Don’t touch it!” I yelled. “That’s the Zombie King’s seal! Break it, and we all die!”

“Only a fool would listen!” Boss Yue scoffed. “The greatest treasure in this academy must be inside!” He began dismantling the outer arrays.

*Yeah. Treasure. A thousand-year-old Zombie King starving enough to devour all of China.*

As he shattered array after array, despair clawed at me. Then—the violet coffin trembled.

“RUN!” I screamed. Ling Ling instantly activated **Wind Teleportation**, whisking us outside the mausoleum.

“NO ONE RUNS FROM ME!” Boss Yue shot after us like lightning, oblivious to the fading violet glow behind him—the arrays crumbling one by one.

Ling Ling carried me through the air, Boss Yue closing in fast. *The arrays were Lin Feng’s seal,* I realized. *Every dean reinforced them over centuries. Lin Feng isn’t human anymore—he’s becoming a Zombie King. The seal weakens with time…*

We couldn’t outrun him. He blocked our path, purple lightning coiling around his fist like a dragon. “I warned you,” he hissed. “Run, and die.”

Just as hope faded, a black-clad figure appeared before us. He caught the lightning bare-handed. For the first time, his silhouette looked… heroic. Terrifying, but heroic.

The energy vanished into Ye Chen’s palms. Boss Yue staggered back, trembling. “Chaos Magic…? Impossible! Chaos Magic went extinct a millennium ago! How can you—?”

Ye Chen didn’t answer. His eyes shifted into swirling rainbows. Space warped. We stood atop a sea of liquid prismatic light.

“The Prismatic Body…?” Boss Yue choked out, launching a **Heavenly Thunder Fist** at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen caught his fist. “Just the academy’s deputy dean. But in my domain,” his voice echoed, “I see every move before you make it.”

*Freak. Prismatic Body predicts attacks. Chaos Magic absorbs them. He’s a walking glitch.*

*Seriously? I’m supposed to be the protagonist here!* I grumbled inwardly.

Boss Yue’s will shattered. He tried to flee with light magic—but Ye Chen hurled back his own **Thunder Dragon** spell. The violet dragon struck true. *Chaos Magic reflects spells instantly. No chant needed. How could Boss Yue outrun that?*

Boss Yue crashed to the ground, unconscious.

*Phew. Crisis averted.* Just as we relaxed—

***CRACK!***

A skeletal figure in tattered ancient formalwear shuffled from the mausoleum. His skin hung in strips. Half-lidded eyes glowed crimson. Jagged, brown fangs filled his mouth.

*That’s…* I thought, blood turning to ice.

*The Zombie King. Lin Feng.*