Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Upon hearing this, Cen Yuehuai's hair nearly stood on end.

"What? My sister is here? How does she know I'm here?" she whispered frantically.

"If they guessed you came to Tianquan Military Academy, it's not surprising they found your dormitory building."

Bai Sha took another look—Cen Haiyun, who she remembered as always being amiable and approachable, had an expressionless face today, with a faint aura of darkness seeming to seep out, giving off a sense of an impending storm.

Bai Sha remarked, "She seems really angry right now."

Cen Yuehuai shrank back, about to say something, when a loud "bang" shook the security door of their dormitory building.

"Cen Yuehuai," a rational yet icy voice called through the door, "Stop pretending you can't hear, I know you’re in there. We've tracked your device's location to this building."

Cen Yuehuai's eyes widened slightly, and she mustered her courage to shout at the door, "You're actually tracking me?"

"Did you really think you could run away from home without us using every means to bring you back?" Cen Haiyun's voice carried a light, cold laugh. Silver psychic energy ripples fluttered around her shoulders, and a black falcon slowly materialized, its wings folded but eyes fixed intently on the villa's door, as if ready to tear it apart with its talons, "Enough drama, come back home with me. The military academy is not where you belong."

"Why not? I have the right to choose freely!" Cen Yuehuai defiantly placed a chair by the door and sat down, protesting loudly, "Tianquan Military Academy accepted me, what reason do you have to stop me from studying here?"

Cen Haiyun was so frustrated she could barely catch her breath. Frowning, she looked like she wanted to scold Cen Yuehuai, but then the door opened swiftly.

Bai Sha leaned against the doorframe, gesturing for Cen Haiyun to enter, indicating that they should talk inside.

"Wait, Your Highness, why did you open the door..." Cen Yuehuai screamed, instinctively ready to run upstairs to hide. She saw Cen Haiyun pause in surprise, looking at Bai Sha unexpectedly, then composed herself and bowed to Bai Sha, "My apologies, Your Highness, for my lack of decorum."

Watching her sister’s respectful demeanor, Cen Yuehuai belatedly realized: Yes, she could seek Bai Sha's support! In Bai Sha's presence, her sister would have to restrain herself!

Realizing this, Cen Yuehuai quickly moved behind Bai Sha, cautiously peering out from behind her.

Cen Haiyun, seeing her sister's stubborn demeanor, frowned in frustration: "Yuehuai, come here."

"Only a fool would do that," Cen Yuehuai said with a laugh, "Go ahead, try to take me away in front of Her Highness."

Cen Haiyun: "..."

The falcon on Cen Haiyun's shoulder flapped its wings angrily, as if it was about to take flight and attack any moment.

Bai Sha, watching their prolonged argument, asked in confusion, "What exactly are you fighting about?" She turned to Cen Haiyun, "I know the Cen family has a tradition in medicine, but Tianquan Military Academy isn't that bad, right? Why are you so insistent on taking her back home?"

Cen Haiyun's expression stiffened, and she spoke in a low voice, "Your Highness, this is a family matter of the Cens—"

"No need to beat around the bush," Cen Yuehuai suddenly spoke up directly, "You just think I can't make it as a mecha pilot, right? And want to confine me at home forever."

"What do you mean confined at home? Haven’t we already discussed this? You can do anything you want, except attending Tianquan Military Academy," Cen Haiyun reprimanded softly.

"I don't need your permission," Cen Yuehuai retorted sharply, "I'm already enrolled in Tianquan Military Academy, and it's not up to you whether I stay or leave. If the academy's teachers find me untalented and unteachable, then naturally, I'll withdraw and return home. So, what are you worried about?"

"...Or do you think having a daughter who gets expelled from Tianquan Military Academy would bring shame to the family?"

Cen Yuehuai lifted her head, her clear amber eyes staring directly at her sister.

The atmosphere became tense in an instant.

After a long pause, Cen Haiyun conceded. Her tone was somewhat deflated, "I never thought that way."

"Then don’t stand in my way," Cen Yuehuai stepped forward, her expression resolute, "You know my character. I'm the type who doesn’t turn back even after hitting a wall, who doesn’t cry even at the sight of a coffin. I'm not as useless as you think. I just hope you’re not too fragile — attending a military academy isn’t like going to war. It’s not like I’m going to die, right?"

Cen Haiyun’s brow furrowed, she closed her eyes and admitted, "I can't control you anymore."

Cen Haiyun retracted her psychic energy, and the falcon on her shoulder vanished abruptly. She bid farewell to Bai Sha, "I apologize for making you witness this spectacle, Your Highness. I didn't expect you to be Yuehuai's roommate. Please take care of her. The Cen family will be grateful."

As a royal healer, Cen Haiyun was always diligent and responsible. Bai Sha was happy to oblige, "Of course."

Cen Haiyun straightened her back and left without a glance at Cen Yuehuai, her trench coat forming a crisp arc in the air.

Cen Yuehuai watched her sister leave, her face tense. Only after Cen Haiyun's figure completely vanished did her expression slowly fade.

Bai Sha glanced at her: "Explain what’s going on here."

Cen Yuehuai rubbed her hair, her gaze falling to the ground: "What else? When I was young, I had a psychic power outburst. My parents weren't home, and I almost hurt my sister. Since then, my control over psychic power has never been quite as sharp..."

"Struggling with psychic power control?" Bai Sha frowned slightly, "What exactly happens?"

"It's not like I can't use psychic power at all. Normally, I can only exert about 70 to 80 percent of my power. Beyond that 'threshold,' my psychic power starts to go haywire," Cen Yuehuai wiped her nose, "My sister says that without improvement, not only will it get worse, but it will also burden my body. The only solution is to completely abstain from using psychic power to ensure a long life—but how is that even possible?"

Bai Sha blinked, hearing about such a condition for the first time.

"Unbelievable, right?" Cen Yuehuai waved her hand tiredly, "Even so, Tianquan Military Academy took me in. I'm quite impressed with them. My case is rare, and not many with a history of psychic outbursts end up like me. Our family are doctors, and after much research, the conclusion is that there might be something wrong with my genes... In other words, I might have a genetic defect, born to be short-lived."

"It's nothing." Bai Sha sat next to her, sharing her warmth, "I'm a psychic entity who just awakened a few months ago—your sister must have mentioned my identity."

Cen Yuehuai nodded.

Bai Sha: "Have you ever seen someone like me, awakening in their teens? Also, my psychic entity is different from the royal symbol."

As she spoke, Bai Sha released her little white jiu. The snowball-like silver-throated long-tailed tit fluttered in the air, its chirps tender and delicate.

Cen Yuehuai's eyes lit up: "It's so cute!"

Bai Sha: "What about your psychic entity? Releasing it doesn't burden you, right?"

"No, not really."

Cen Yuehuai chuckled and summoned her own psychic entity.

Several white feathers tinged with grey floated in the air. A white falcon, half the height of a person, gradually emerged from the void. It stood erect, its white belly and chest proud, its wings gently flapping, creating a faint whooshing sound.

——This white falcon was at least twice the size of the one Cen Haiyun had!

Little White Jiu looked up in disbelief at the enormous creature before it, performing an abrupt stop in mid-air to avoid colliding with the falcon.

The white falcon extended its talons towards Little White Jiu, then began to emit a series of noisy, joyous, but not exactly melodious chirping sounds.

Cen Yuehuai: "Uh, cough, it's trying to be friendly, wanting to make friends!"

But Little White Jiu shuddered violently, its feathers puffing up. It chirped twice and darted towards Bai Sha's chin before hiding in her clothing.

Bai Sha, somewhat speechless: "That's not a friendly sound, it sounds more like a pre-hunt call."

Cen Yuehuai quickly waved her hands, explaining weakly, "My psychic entity had issues before; it's not very sharp-minded now—"

The white falcon hopped onto Cen Yuehuai's lap, mimicking Little White Jiu's actions with great enthusiasm, bumping its head into her chest, nearly choking her.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... stop it! Stop it now!"

Unappeased by the lack of comfort from its owner, the white falcon seemed poised to continue, but Cen Yuehuai forcibly dismissed her psychic entity.

"Anyway, that's pretty much the situation," Cen Yuehuai said dejectedly, "I can't even fully control my own psychic entity."

"Can't your sister help with this? I remember she's an expert in psychic entity research," Bai Sha asked.

"She's tried, but with no significant progress. She can heal many, but not me," Cen Yuehuai waved her hand, "It's fine, I'm used to it. It doesn't affect my daily life much."

But her aspiration to be a mecha soldier might be a major issue with this problem.

However, as Cen Yuehuai herself said, Tianquan Military Academy must have been prepared for this when they accepted her. The worst-case scenario would be dropping out... Cen Yuehuai could consider her alternatives then.

"What about you, Your Highness? Did you hide your identity because your psychic entity isn't the Xuan Bird?" Cen Yuehuai looked up at Bai Sha, her eyes reflecting a sense of shared experience.

"Not exactly," Bai Sha propped her chin, "My goal is to master three disciplines. I chose to hide my identity for a peaceful campus life."

Her public identity was "royal family," not "prince." While royal family members are rare, there is still a group of them; currently, there are no nobles with the title of prince, which would be too conspicuous.

The two exchanged a glance, each sighing, feeling that the other had it tough.

Bai Sha had not interacted with peers for a long time, and Cen Yuehuai, with her straightforward and outspoken nature, quickly became familiar with her. The meal Bai Sha had ordered arrived soon, and as they dined together, their relationship grew even closer.

"Thanks for the meal!" Cen Yuehuai, picking her teeth, showed a tearfully grateful expression, "From now on, I’ll follow you, Your Highness!"

Bai Sha: "？"

Cen Yuehuai: "Well, actually, my family is probably going to cut off my allowance, sob sob."

After her harsh words to Cen Haiyun, it was impossible that Cen Haiyun wouldn’t impose some form of punishment.

To secure her meals, Cen Yuehuai decided to become Bai Sha’s follower.

"Are you really that strapped for cash?" Bai Sha asked curiously, "What about your mecha?"

"The mecha was bought with my savings before I ran away from home," Cen Yuehuai said with some pride, "I tried many ways to get on the list of a top-tier mecha designer. The mecha I finally got is named 'Cui Frost,' and I am very satisfied with it."

Cen Yuehuai showed Bai Sha the photos of her mecha. Bai Sha nodded as she looked, thinking the mecha was indeed impressive.

"But speaking of top-tier mecha designers, surely no one compares to our school’s Teacher Jiang," Cen Yuehuai spoke with longing, "Every mecha soldier dreams of getting a custom mecha made by Teacher Jiang."

Teacher Jiang?

Bai Sha suddenly recalled the name she had seen at the top of the mecha masters ranking list.

Jiang Gui.

"Jiang Gui is a teacher at Tianquan Military Academy?" Bai Sha said, surprised.

Cen Yuehuai: "Yes, you didn't know? Getting into Master Jiang Gui's mecha orders is tough, and even his mecha design classes are always packed. Some people can't even get a spot."

Everyone wants Jiang Gui's favor, or at least to learn a thing or two from him.

Bai Sha: "I forgot about course selection."

"I almost forgot too. Come on, turn on your device, it's almost time to scramble for courses!"

Bai Sha said she was pursuing a triple major, but in reality, she was only taking courses in both the combat and mecha engineering departments.

However, Tianquan Military Academy already had a packed schedule for students. To manage both, Bai Sha had to give up some classes. As long as she could pass the final exams, it didn’t matter if she didn’t complete the credits required for both majors; completing one was sufficient—this was the greatest leniency Tianquan Military Academy could afford her.

Bai Sha navigated her device to the course selection website, which automatically loaded some compulsory courses. Combat courses were marked in red, mecha courses in yellow. Whenever there was an overlap of red and yellow, it meant a scheduling conflict, and Bai Sha had to weigh her options, dropping the less important ones.

After a minute of this process, she had only two electives left to fill her schedule.

Tianquan Military Academy offered a vast array of independent study courses, mostly short-term specialized courses opened by faculty members. Following the course, completing reports, and that would be considered as completing an elective.

The hottest electives at Tianquan Military Academy, like Jiang Gui’s "History of Mecha Construction," were taught by academic heavyweights and packed with hardcore knowledge.

Next in popularity were the so-called “easy courses” with simple content, less homework, and high final grades.

The third category was interesting courses. If students couldn't get into popular classes, they would often choose areas or subjects of personal interest to relax their minds. After all, it was only two classes per week.

While browsing the website, Bai Sha accidentally clicked into the student message board:

"Course swap time! Elective for elective! Check my list of electives and see what I need—if anyone can swap with me, I’m ready to exchange immediately!"

"3000 campus credit points for a spot in Teacher Jiang Gui's elective course 'History of Mecha Construction'. Only available for intermediate mecha engineers and above. This course is in high demand, hurry if you want it!"

“……”

Bai Sha scrolled through, noticing that the school seemed to allow students to privately swap courses. Some traded courses for courses, others for money, all about speed. She suddenly felt like she was in a bustling market, quickly becoming overwhelmed by the choices.

"Tsk, didn't get the class I wanted," Cen Yuehuai, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, looked up at Bai Sha, "What classes did you pick, Your Highness? Let's try to take the same ones."

Bai Sha: "…I didn’t manage to get into any classes."

"Those guys must be cheating with scripts again, how else could they be so fast? Our signal was smooth and uninterrupted," Cen Yuehuai frowned slightly, complaining, "Look at mine."

Cen Yuehuai stretched her fingers and dived into the student exchange area, setting up an intricate course-swapping system. She negotiated deals between numerous students, securing her desired course and even managing to grab an easy-to-score course for Bai Sha while making some profit in the process.

Bai Sha watched her complete all this and gave her a thumbs-up for her "business acumen" and impressive execution skills.

"It's nothing," Cen Yuehuai said, "Too bad we couldn't get into Teacher Jiang Gui's class. His classes are extremely popular, and we started with nothing, so our options were limited."

Bai Sha browsed the exchange area again and managed to swap for Jiang Gui's course from another student, curious to see the style of this top-ranked mecha master.

The other student reminded her, "You must have an intermediate mecha engineer certificate to attend."

Bai Sha replied, "I know."

The other student: "But looking at your student number, you seem to be a freshman. You're already an intermediate mecha engineer? What a promising future! Trading this class to you doesn’t seem like a waste."

Bai Sha: "Can you give me a discount considering this?"

The other student: "I can give you a pat on the back, but no discount."

Eventually, Bai Sha successfully added Teacher Jiang Gui's elective course to her schedule.

The next day, the course schedules were officially finalized, and the freshmen were set to start their classes.

Bai Sha's class, Class A, had over thirty students. When they all gathered, Bai Sha suddenly realized the terrifying caliber of the Empire's talent.

The baseline in Class A was S-level, with about four or five students at SS-level. It was truly a place where S-levels were commonplace, and geniuses were as common as dogs. Class A's edge over other classes was having three 3S-level students, while the neighboring Class B only had two.

Besides Bai Sha, the other two 3S-level students were a golden-haired boy named Xeno Uss, the heir of the Marquis of Uss, and surprisingly, Cen Yuehuai.

These three attracted a lot of attention.

Xeno Uss was well-known, coming from the illustrious Uss family, and he was a strikingly handsome and somewhat flamboyant youth, standing out among the military academy students.

Then there was Cen Yuehuai. Everyone was surprised that the Cen family, known for generations of medics, had produced a combat prodigy. However, the Cen family ancestors had warriors who fought alongside emperors, so Cen Yuehuai's prowess could be considered a throwback.

The real person of interest was Bai Sha.

Bai Sha Ronin.

The imperial royal recently retrieved by the Emperor from the Federation. The Emperor’s outrage over Bai Sha’s imprisonment by the Federals, to the extent of deploying a fleet, had shocked many. It led to speculation about Bai Sha having a close blood relationship with the Emperor... cough, like being his illegitimate daughter.

But given the Emperor’s character, if Bai Sha were truly his daughter, he would have announced it to the world with great fanfare. Why would he wait so long and only bestow the title of “royal family” on her?

The Emperor's anger last time was likely due to the Federals daring to provoke him. Even a distant royal family member's dignity is a matter of imperial pride, so the Emperor's sudden display of power was not surprising.

However, there was another possibility...

Many eyes covertly glanced towards Bai Sha. These gazes held little malice, mostly filled with curiosity, inquiry, and a strong sense of rivalry.

...What the heck, fighting spirit?

"Please, they've just met, there's no need to develop a desire for a challenge so soon, right?"

The teacher for their first class was named Tisiya. This female instructor, dressed in crisp military uniform, with fiery red lips and a radiant look, resembled a beautiful yet thorny rose. Her spirit form, an albatross, stood silently in one corner of the podium, quietly observing the students.

"Dear students, welcome to Tianquan Military Academy," Tisiya said with a slight smile, her voice loud and clear. She gazed at the students and continued, "Today is your first lesson. And the topic we are covering is—Spirit Form Manifestation and Combat."

"You might think that your spirit forms, having accompanied you for so many years, serve no special purpose other than being mascots," Tisiya spoke slowly. "But here, I must assert a view: Spirit forms are a part of you. You and your spirit forms are inseparable. Sometimes, your state affects your spirit form, and vice versa—the diversity of support that spirit forms can provide on the battlefield is far beyond many people's imagination."

"To strengthen your spirit forms, there is a way of returning to the basics: engage in spirit form combat. Training the fighting spirit of your spirit forms also benefits your own combativeness."

"I've said so much..." Tisiya's bright gaze swept across the crowd, "Who wants to go first?"