Chapter 35 Soul Memories

Chapter 35 Soul Memories

At this moment, the students of Grandis Military Academy realized that the gentler a person is, the more terrifying they become when they get serious.

General Shen's teaching continued.

All afternoon, the training ground was teeming with simulated insect races for practice, and every corner, safely divided, echoed with various screams. Just by the sounds, one could picture how disheveled the students were.

Everyone had originally come to Shen Tingyu's class with the most relaxed mindset, but by the end of the day, half the class had been mercilessly scolded to tears by him. Even the usually competitive Ni Xiaoyuan was brought to the brink of tears, her eyes red, stubbornly reflecting. The gentle Lin Qianmu was no exception.

When Shen Tingyu gets down to business, he truly spares no one.

Including his nephew's wife, Xu Qingran, who received no special treatment.

Xu Qingran's mindset was very steady, but the speed at which he aimed and shot was far below the minimum standard Shen Tingyu had set. For a beginner like him, controlling his mental energy while shifting targets with the gun in hand was as difficult as dragging something weighing a thousand pounds. At least for now, he simply couldn't speed up.

Shen Tingyu stood beside him, silent.

But the somewhat oppressive silence said it all.

Shen Tingyu said that the insect races they were practicing with today were of a very low level and easy to deal with. In the starry battlefield against alien races, keeping up with their speed is just the most basic requirement. If they can't even manage that, going to the battlefield would be a waste of life.

The top students, who had been praised for days, finally realized with clarity that what they considered impressive was, in the eyes of real military personnel, just a bunch of vulnerable novices full of flaws. The top-class students were a determined bunch who, after being scolded, didn't lose heart but instead straightened their attitudes, took things more seriously, and stayed late to practice on their own.

Xu Qingran was still the last to leave.

He stayed behind to continue practicing, with Shen Tingyu, the special instructor, continuing to watch over him. Later, even Chen Bin, who was responsible for operating the instruments, had clocked out, but Xu Qingran was still inside, battling the system-generated small insect races.

Perhaps due to the high mental energy expenditure, his forehead was already covered in a layer of sweat.

Seeing him miss again, Shen Tingyu asked, "Xu Qingran, is this all you're capable of?"

Xu Qingran didn't respond, but his focus sharpened slightly, managing to hit two insect races before they crossed the alert zone. His hand holding the gun was trembling slightly, but he was still very unwilling to give up.

He took a few shallow breaths, wanting to lower his hand, but Shen Tingyu beside him said, "Continue."

His beautiful blue eyes were now as calm as an unfathomable icy abyss.

He said, "I'll be here watching you until you can hit three in a row. If you don't meet the standard, you'll practice until dawn."

Hearing this, Xu Qingran chuckled, his tone cool, "Exactly what I wanted."

They practiced until about ten or eleven at night before Xu Qingran barely managed to meet Shen Tingyu's requirement of three consecutive hits. He was so exhausted that his head buzzed, and all the mental meridians in his mental pool and body tingled slightly, forcing him to sit on the ground to rest.

But he felt as though he had pushed past his physical limits, completing a high-difficulty athletic task, leaving him refreshed and exhilarated. He looked down at the palm of his hand wearing a special military wristband, clenched it slightly, enjoying the extreme stimulation beneath his skin.

Indeed, only this kind of self-torturous training could bring him such dual satisfaction, both physically and mentally.

Suddenly, a pair of ink-gold boots appeared in his line of sight.

The golden patterns on them were beautiful, resembling the tail feathers of a bird.

Without looking up, Xu Qingran extended a hand, commanding in a cold tone, "Help me up."

Shen Tingyu raised an eyebrow, his face no longer showing the stern instructor's demeanor, and obediently complied. However, Xu Qingran was so exhausted that his legs gave out as he stood up, and he accidentally crashed hard into Shen Tingyu's embrace due to the force.

It made Xu Qingran's chin hurt.

Shen Tingyu paused briefly, instinctively supporting him, and teased, "Xu Qingran, you really are no good."

Once he regained his balance, Xu Qingran pushed the other person away like tossing aside a used tool: "Quit teasing me. You've been training since you were a kid, while I just started."

Shen Tingyu smiled without saying a word.

It was late at night, and the cafeteria at Linglong City base was already closed.

Xu Qingran planned to head back and snack on some biscuits to tide him over, but Shen Tingyu asked him, "Hungry? I'll whip something up for you."

He stared into those blue eyes for a while, doubtful: "General Shen, are you saying sorry for being so cold and rough with me earlier?"

Shen Tingyu chuckled, "Isn't it pretty obvious?"

"I accept it," Xu Qingran replied, feeling equally thankful to anyone who offered him food. "But you've got plenty of others to apologize to."

Shen Tingyu shrugged, "If they could stay as late as you, that is."

Thus, Xu Qingran didn't return to his temporary room but instead followed Shen Tingyu to the place he was staying. That's when he found out that Shen Tingyu even had a private villa within the Linglong City base, so he always had a place to crash.

Xu Qingran felt a pang of envy.

The villa even had a huge bathroom!

Xu Qingran asked the system, "Is there really no way I can switch souls with Shen Tingyu?"

It would also let him test out this fragile body.

The system replied, "No!"

Even if there was, it wouldn't be allowed!

Back in his room, Shen Tingyu took off his heavy coat and casually undid the top two buttons of his shirt.

As if he could always read his mind, he asked, "Need to borrow the bathroom?"

Xu Qingran never stood on ceremony with others: "That'd be perfect."

...

Shen Tingyu's villa had a cooking robot.

But he didn't use it. When Xu Qingran came downstairs after his shower, Shen Tingyu had just placed a simple meal of grilled fish and meat on the dining table.

Xu Qingran was somewhat surprised, "You can cook?"

Shen Tingyu countered, "Do I not look like I can?"

Not only could he cook, but his skills were just as good as the professional Auntie Song.

Xu Qingran sat across from Shen Tingyu, eating intently with his head down.

Due to the sudden circumstances, he hadn't brought a change of clothes and was wearing an old cotton jacket dug out from Shen Tingyu's wardrobe.

Shen Tingyu watched him quietly.

He could cook, but he rarely made food for anyone other than himself. Seeing Xu Qingran eat so carefully and earnestly, not even sparing the tiny vegetables in the sauce, gave the feeder a strange sense of satisfaction.

Shen Tingyu was actually quite hesitant.

Rationally, he should reduce excessive contact with Xu Qingran, but he was like someone wandering on the edge of a dangerous circle, unable to resist stirring up crises, confidently engaging in the tug-of-war, and enjoying the thrill of potential collapse.

Daydreaming, Xu Qingran suddenly called out to him, "My dear, amiable future uncle."

Shen Tingyu came back to his senses and slightly raised his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt that this form of address wasn't particularly pleasant.

"Since you've already treated me to a meal and let me use your bathroom," Xu Qingran said while wiping his mouth with a tissue, his tone serious, "how about letting me borrow your bed too?"

Shen Tingyu stayed quiet.

Then he couldn't help but laugh at Xu Qingran's boldness.

Eventually, Xu Qingran was sent back to his temporary dorm in Linglong City.

For the next week, the students in Shen Tingyu's class underwent an intense training regimen.

He was as easy-going as ever, open to jokes outside of training. But during training, if anyone wasn't serious, they would be punished severely. Despite the difficulty, this pressure was very effective for students at their level, and they improved rapidly.

By the week's end, everyone had matched the speed of the low-level insect race, with a minimum of five consecutive hits. At least the minimum target set by Shen Tingyu was barely achievable.

Only Xu Qingran had double the training time and workload compared to others.

When the class's minimum consecutive hits reached five, Shen Tingyu required Xu Qingran to hit nine times after class. When Xu Qingran just managed to hit ten, Shen Tingyu personally upped the difficulty of the attacking insect race.

It wasn't that Shen Tingyu was intentionally making things hard; strictly speaking, it was Xu Qingran's own choice.

On the second day of training, Shen Tingyu had asked him a question.

"Do you want to keep up with the class, or do you want to surpass everyone?"

Xu Qingran chose the latter without hesitation.

So, during his extra training, Shen Tingyu created a stricter plan for him and clearly stated, "Alright, but if you don't meet my targets, you'll have to retake the exam."

Xu Qingran was equally determined.

So far, he hadn't given Shen Tingyu any reason to doubt him.

After a month, under the alternating guidance of Shen Tingyu and Lu Cheng, the students' abilities improved by leaps and bounds. The wide and thick mental energy waves could now be controlled to half their original width, easily breaking through the defenses of mid-level insect races.

The day before the project assessment was a preparation day, and everyone wanted to conserve their energy to face the evaluation in the best possible state. Training was concentrated from morning to noon. Lu Cheng and Shen Tingyu were rarely on the field together, but this time their goals were clear—only for the students—so they tacitly ignored each other.

Xu Qingran was still the last to leave.

Ni Xiaoyuan was the second to last to leave, admitting she couldn't keep up with his intensity. Before leaving, she kindly reminded him, "Xu Qingran, don't train too late today. Be careful not to recover your mental energy in time for tomorrow's evaluation."

Xu Qingran nodded, "Thank you, you do your best too."

Ni Xiaoyuan waved at them and walked out of the training ground.

By six in the evening, only he and Shen Tingyu remained in the field.

Lu Cheng had left five minutes earlier, unusually without saying goodbye. The junior instructor had also clocked out, and Chen Bin was sitting on a chair by the control panel, dozing off. Shen Tingyu walked over without disturbing Chen Bin and summoned a high-level insect race in the training ground that Xu Qingran hadn't defeated the night before.

This insect race had a very hard shield armor, and the weak spot was near its abdomen. There were a few brittle plates there, with wide gaps between them. Only by aiming at these gaps and delivering enough destructive force could it be harmed.

"Begin," Shen Tingyu said.

Then he leaned against the side of the training ground, watching Xu Qingran's actions intently.

Xu Qingran had obviously replayed last night's events in his mind again, as his performance today was much more proficient than last night, including his ability to condense his psychic attacks to the width of a forefinger. Though he might have started at the lowest point compared to other top students, he was undoubtedly the fastest to progress and the most talented of all.

As a general in the military, putting other thoughts aside, he wanted to elevate this person to the level he deserved.

The rest could be addressed when the time came.

This time, Xu Qingran took only fifteen minutes to defeat the high-level insect race.

He stood still, gazing at the spot where the insect race had disappeared, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction and joy, clearly enjoying the sense of achievement brought by the kill.

"That's enough, my guidance for this project stops here," Shen Tingyu walked towards him.

"Tomorrow, I and other instructors will evaluate your assessment. As long as you don't mess up, you should be able to turn in an excellent performance yourself."

Xu Qingran returned the guns borrowed from the academy for class use to the storage connected to the training room.

Shen Tingyu followed him over, without saying anything more.

Noticing there were also combat knives for close-quarters fighting in the storage, Xu Qingran asked, "I remember you and Lu Cheng have been teaching close combat recently. My next project is it, will you continue to alternate leading the class then?"

Shen Tingyu smiled, "I can't speak for Lu Cheng, but I won't."

General Shen had been at the academy for a month, and the main camp of the Golden Wing was summoning him back.

Seeing Xu Qingran still looking at the short knives, Shen Tingyu asked again, "Do you want me to spar with you now?"

But Xu Qingran turned and walked out of the storage room.

"No need," his tone was confident, "Master one, and you master them all. I already know what to do."

"I just thought, having been at this academy for almost half a year, would you like to spar with me?"

Shen Tingyu readily agreed.

Perhaps such thoughts had been buried in both of their hearts for a long time.

To keep the match fair, Shen Tingyu dialed down his psychic power to around S-A level. When Lu Cheng returned to the training ground with packed meals from the cafeteria, he saw the two of them grappling with each other.

It was the first time he had seen Xu Qingran fight.

His reactions and skills were as sharp as a seasoned fighter's. Facing an opponent like Shen Tingyu, he showed no fear, his determined eyes, tinged with a fierce madness, enough to suppress any opponent entering his field.

Most importantly, he seemed to enjoy it.

Lu Cheng looked at Shen Tingyu, who was sparring with Xu Qingran, and could clearly see his immersion. Even though he was facing Xu Qingran, who was much weaker, he didn't pull any punches. The force they put into each strike was full and fierce.

He suddenly remembered the question Shen Tingyu had asked that day.

—Did he really know the current Xu Qingran?

Until today, Lu Cheng had been confident.

But now he realized that about a year had indeed made the once familiar youth seem like a stranger. Yet, he was closer to the beautiful vision he had dreamed of countless nights, of fighting side by side.

Lu Cheng felt an inexplicable reluctance.

After all, the one who should be able to practice freely with Xu Qingran should be him.

When Xu Qingran and Shen Tingyu's fists collided, the intensity sent a ripple of psychic energy through the air. Because they controlled the power of their psychic abilities, the ripple was relatively mild, only stirring a breeze-like movement.

This feels amazing.

Xu Qingran thought.

He noticed their thoughts often aligned.

Even without using psychic abilities and relying solely on skill, it was hard for either of them to gain an advantage over the other. They had to come up with more creative ways to attack, which were quickly countered by the other.

This was different from any fight he had experienced in his previous life.

In the apocalypse, fights were combined with supernatural abilities, and every moment of combat was a life-or-death battle for him. It was rare for him to have such a satisfying spar with an evenly matched opponent.

Suddenly, he felt that it would be nice to have Shen Tingyu as a close friend.

The collision of their fists seemed like a signal for the two of them to tacitly end the spar. Xu Qingran stopped, noticing Shen Tingyu’s slightly odd expression, his gaze distant, as if lost in thought, and he didn’t immediately retract his fist.

“Shen Tingyu?”

It wasn’t until Xu Qingran called out in confusion that Shen Tingyu snapped out of it. A few seconds later, he said with certainty, “Not bad. Your fitness and defense have come a long way.”

Xu Qingran replied confidently, “I thought so.”

Lu Cheng approached with a packed meal, feigning indifference, “You’ve been training late lately, and the cafeteria’s always closed by the time you’re done. Tomorrow’s a big day—don’t skip meals.”

Xu Qingran took it with a smile, saying, “No worries, I haven’t been going hungry.”

He gestured to the man beside him, “I’ve been eating dinner at his place every night.”

After the first week of training with Shen Tingyu, Xu Qingran showed up at his door uninvited the next day. As if anticipating it, Shen Tingyu had dinner for two ready and didn’t turn him away.

So for the past month, Xu Qingran had been eating dinner at Shen Tingyu’s place. Not only did he avoid hunger, but he even felt like he’d put on a little weight.

Hearing this, Lu Cheng’s face went blank.

He wasn’t sure what to think.

“Well, since you went through the trouble, let’s not let it go to waste,” Xu Qingran said, thanking him and then urging Shen Tingyu to go back and cook, muttering matter-of-factly, “We’ll split this later—no need to hold back.”

As they walked back to the villa, Shen Tingyu was uncharacteristically silent.

He seemed distracted.

His mind was stuck on the image that had flashed through his head during their final exchange.

It was a crumbling city.

Its antiquated look was like something out of an ancient legend.

On the ruins stood a young man.

His clothes melded seamlessly into the dark night, and his deep, unfathomable eyes were filled with weariness and gloom toward the world. Behind him, the pale, dull full moon hung in the sky, and a group of people below looked up at him as if gazing at an unattainable deity.

They believed they had him cornered.

Until the man looking down at them moved his fingers, summoning countless bolts of lightning.

In an instant, everything shattered.

In that brief flash, Shen Tingyu locked eyes with him. The familiar pride and aloofness gradually overlapped with the person who had been sparring with him on the training ground.

Shen Tingyu was zoning out again.

When two souls' energies collide, there is a chance to trigger soul memory reading. The energy that merges into the other's spiritual pool during the breath carries the past memories of the colliding soul, accidentally showing memory fragments in the spiritual sea of the person being collided with.

It wasn't a fantasy, but a real memory.

The face Shen Tingyu saw in the image was unfamiliar, a far cry from Xu Qingran's current soft, innocent look. But just by meeting those eyes, he could instantly understand that it was indeed Xu Qingran.

Rather, it was the Xu Qingran he knew.

"Shen Tingyu, you don't still expect—that I can unlock the door to your villa, do you?"

The voice of Xu Qingran's body was of a clear and soft type, but maybe because of the 'core' inside's speaking habits, it always subconsciously slightly lowered the voice. When slightly excited, the tail of the voice would be somewhat floating, like someone deliberately playing with your heartstrings.

Shen Tingyu smiled subtly, raising his hand to unlock: "You can try."

He kind of got why the eldest son of the Xu family had such a drastic change in personality and strength.

However, he had no intention of delving deeper.

To be blunt, he was only interested in the soul inside that body. The life and death of others, and the reasons for all this happening, he didn't care about, nor did it have anything to do with him.

·

A night passed.

The students were finally facing another assessment day. The evaluation venue was in the underground base, with instructors watching from connected observation rooms to assess their performance. At the same time, they also had to hit the passing benchmarks of the training field system to pass the evaluation.

The assessment had multiple students going at once in different spots.

In addition to observing the attack power of their psychic guns, they were also assessed on their static target hit rate, and the speed and number of dynamic insect race kills.

Soon, it was Xu Qingran's group's turn.

He took the psychic gun he usually trained with, took his spot, ready to go, when Shen Tingyu suddenly walked out of the observation room.

"Wait." Shen Tingyu stopped him, interrupting the start of Xu Qingran's evaluation.

The instructors in the observation room were puzzled, stretching their necks to check the situation.

Lu Cheng also stood up, went to the window, watching warily, as if worried that Shen Tingyu would suddenly do something unfavorable to Xu Qingran.

Shen Tingyu came to Xu Qingran, pulled out his custom psychic gun, handed it to him and said, "You, use this."

As he spoke, he also reached out to ask for the gun in his hand.

To the uninitiated, it might seem like Xu Qingran hit the jackpot, to actually gain the favor of this general of the Golden Wing Battalion, letting him use his prized weapon! But those who truly understood—such as Lu Cheng and other instructors, and some students, were sweating bullets for him.

Thinking—General Shen's setting Xu Qingran up, isn't he?!

The fancier the psychic gun, the harder it is to use.

They were still rookies, just getting the hang of it, and switching guns last minute without practice was a surefire way to fail. So from the time they started project training, the guns they used were fixed, aiming for them to perform at their best on the assessment day.

The referee couldn't take it anymore, trying to stop: "General, today's evaluation, switching guns now might not be wise..."

But Shen Tingyu didn't even look his way, his gaze still fixed on Xu Qingran, coldly commanding: "Change."

Xu Qingran raised his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly.

Without argument, he swapped guns with him.

Shen Tingyu took his usual training gun and returned to the observation room. As soon as he entered, Lu Cheng rushed forward, grabbing his collar, his eyes blazing with fury: "Shen Tingyu, you despicable and shameless scoundrel!"

He seemed to be holding back, his composure barely intact.

At the same time, Xu Qingran's evaluation commenced.

All the instructors in the room were concerned.

Lu Cheng was still questioning Shen Tingyu: "What? Do you get a kick out of toying with people?"

"You pretended to guide him carefully, watched him prepare for so long, only to try to ruin him on this crucial day!"

Lu Cheng's neck turned red with anger: "I deeply regret not standing up to the dean, allowing a cancer like you to get close to him!"

Shen Tingyu remained silent, merely grabbing the hand clutching his collar and firmly pushing it away.

Then he shifted his focus back to the young man outside.

As expected, Xu Qingran's evaluation results fell short of expectations. But surprisingly, his results still managed to barely make it into the top ranks. It was unfortunate that with a more suitable gun, his performance could have been better.

Xu Qingran's expression after the evaluation was far from pleasant.

Anyone who was suddenly sabotaged wouldn't be in a good mood.

Xu Qingran glared at the scoundrel approaching him again, thinking he should be grateful for the meals he had cooked for him, or else he might have aimed the gun at his head and fired.

Shen Tingyu still held his usual gun: "Are you furious that I made you switch guns at the last minute?"

Xu Qingran fixed his gaze on the handsome face before him, his tone calm and collected: "I just want an explanation."

Shen Tingyu nodded and signaled the main monitor at the control console.

Shortly after, another insect race appeared on the field where Xu Qingran had just completed his evaluation.

"Step back a little," Shen Tingyu advised gently.

Xu Qingran complied and stepped back, watching Shen Tingyu raise his training gun and take aim at the newly spawned insect race. Everyone on the field was watching, and even the evaluations in other corners were temporarily halted.

Shen Tingyu fired the gun.

But the spawned insect race remained unharmed, and instead, the gun he held exploded unexpectedly. The spiritual energy within it became chaotic upon impact, eventually bursting forth as the gun disintegrated.

The training ground fell instantly silent.

Everyone was stunned by the violent explosion, even Lu Cheng, who had been livid at Shen Tingyu's cruel actions moments before, wore an identical look of shock.

Shen Tingyu's hand holding the gun slowly lowered, bright red blood flowing down from the wound, dripping to the ground like water.

Not long after, a dark red puddle formed on the ground.

Xu Qingran's eyes widened slightly.

The man, surrounded by countless pairs of astonished eyes, remained as calm and composed as usual, unperturbed.

As if the serious injury on his hand was just a bite from an ant.

Finally, he slightly raised an eyebrow at Xu Qingran and said, "This is why."

Xu Qingran: "..."

He was speechless.

He had met his match in madness.

A few seconds later, the officers in the observation room rushed out and surrounded Shen Tingyu: "Oh no! General, you're hurt!"

"Quick, get the General to the infirmary! This is bad! His hand is so valuable; what if it's permanently damaged?!"

"What happened? How did this happen with the students' training guns?!"

"Instructor Liu, you oversee this class. You have five days to figure out what went wrong."

Everyone was talking over each other.

In the end, it was Xu Qingran who took him to the infirmary.

The psychic gun's explosion caused more damage than expected. Only when Shen Tingyu rolled up his sleeve did they see the deep gash, blood pouring out.

Given Shen Tingyu's high status, the medics' hands shook as they treated his wound.

Shen Tingyu, however, remained calm and collected, turning to Xu Qingran who was watching from the side and said: "I couldn't find another gun in time, so I had to lend you mine."

"You lived up to my expectations."

Xu Qingran stared at him and suddenly said seriously: "Thank you."

Not just for what happened today.

Shen Tingyu's grueling training regimen felt like torture, but after a month, when he drove his own psychic pool power again, he found that the upper limit had been raised.

No one understood the importance of psychic pool depth better than Shen Tingyu. Not knowing how far his psychic pool could go, he focused more on improving his foundation when arranging his training.

Even at level A, he'd be the best of the best.

He had planned to thank him after the assessment, but then this happened.

Shen Tingyu was a bit surprised by his serious thanks, paused, and said: "Don't worry, it's just a scratch for me."

If this happened to Xu Qingran now, it'd be a different story.

He used his psychic shield to reduce the damage. With Xu Qingran's current psychic pool class, he couldn't withstand such an instant explosion damage, and perhaps his entire hand and the important psychic veins underneath would be ruined.

Xu Qingran's eyes narrowed: "Guilty?"

"I just want to strangle you."

Xu Qingran felt his temper had been frayed lately, all thanks to that bastard Shen Tingyu.

"There are many ways to explain, but you had to choose the craziest and most extreme one." Xu Qingran's tone was fierce, "If you're crazy, don't drag me down with you. If you get yourself killed, I'll feast at your funeral!"

The system nodded emphatically in agreement.

The mission target can't die! If he dies, the host's powers will be locked forever, and the system's goals will fail!

Heart tired.

One host is enough, now even the mission target is a lunatic, making it nervous every day.

Xu Qingran took Shen Tingyu to the medical center, and the medical staff, seeing that he was still unformed, did a small check-up for him. When the results came out, Xu Qingran was still arguing with Shen Tingyu.

Shen Tingyu, being scolded, still wore a gentle smile on his face, his tone soft: "So, I am an extremist."

Everyone couldn't help but praise in their hearts - General Shen's patience is remarkable, a rare trait among type E personalities.

The assisting military doctor, after receiving the data feedback from Xu Qingran's check-up, interrupted them in surprise: "Student Xu, your soul is showing signs of forming."