Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Seven

After Tisiya finished speaking, the classroom fell into a brief silence.

They were all freshmen, not yet familiar with their classmates, unaware of what their spirit forms were, so no one dared to challenge rashly.

"Spirit form combat, huh," Cen Yuehuai remarked. "I've indeed heard similar views. Some imperial researchers believe that spirit forms are a part of an imperial person's self. Training spirit forms can in turn strengthen the individual's own capabilities. Some even engage in wilderness survival and other methods to train their spirit to revert to its wild state—sometimes leading to unexpected enhancements."

Spirit forms possess intelligence, but their combat skills are not innate. Like young animals that leave the nest immediately after birth, without elders to teach them hunting skills, they can only accumulate experience through repeated real battles. The same applies to spirit forms. If elder spirit forms often accompany them, then training spirit forms can be much more effective.

Bai Sha had almost zero experience in this regard, and Cen Yuehuai had experienced a spirit form going berserk when she was very young. Her family even disapproved of her using spiritual power excessively, let alone specifically teaching her combat skills. Therefore, both of them were complete novices in this area.

"No one willing to step forward?" Teacher Tisiya on the podium revealed a faint smile. "Then I'll have to randomly select someone."

"Yu Yan, Xino Us—let's start with you two."

The two boys named by Tisiya stepped forward.

Xino Us, with his dazzling blond hair and features as profound as a sculptor's masterpiece, exuded the proud demeanor of nobility. Despite his young age, his attitude was languid, but his eyes were sharp. He walked slowly, as if on a path admired and revered by thousands, yet he seemed accustomed to it.

Behind the young man, a huge spirit form slowly took shape—a lion over a meter tall, with strong limbs and a noble countenance. What stood out the most was its dense, pure golden mane. There was no breeze in the room, yet the tips of the mane gently lifted with the fluctuations of spiritual power, making it look even more spirited.

"The Uss family is an old marquis lineage, and their hereditary psychic entity is a lion. Xeno Uss is their next heir, and he’s reportedly experienced battle, but never sought royal recognition for his exploits," Cen Yuehuai explained to Bai Sha, thinking she might not be familiar with these people, "Noble families receive actual rewards from the royal family for their battle achievements. The Uss family is a staunch supporter of the Ronin faction, unconditionally backing the royal family. Since the current Emperor ascended the throne, the old Marquis Uss has been even more cautious and humble... Xeno Uss, even if not pledging allegiance to you, is unlikely to be your adversary."

Cen Yuehuai was helping Bai Sha understand the relationships among her classmates, identifying who to trust and who to be wary of. Generally, those with bird psychic entities, known as "Featherkind" in the Empire, are most loyal to the Ronin family, even considering them mythical. However, those with beast psychic entities, the "Beastkind," tend to have complex internal factions and split loyalties, and not many families like the Uss are unwavering in their support for the royal family.

"The one fighting Xeno Uss, Yu Yan, is quite different," Cen Yuehuai said, tapping her chin, "He’s likely from a common background. Being able to enter Tianquan Military Academy and not some other military school might suggest he has support from a parliamentary official... It’s the people who don’t flaunt their backing that we need to be most cautious of, to avoid unwittingly falling into traps."

Bai Sha, somewhat helplessly: "Do we need to be this cautious?"

"What do you think, my Princess," Cen Yuehuai sighed, "Although every family's bottom line is to maintain the glory of the Empire, the position of the Empire's leader is quite alluring. The Emperor hasn’t designated an heir, nor shown strong intentions of seeking a partner. Seeing the Ronin lineage potentially ending... the throne is there, why not vie for it? It's just a matter of whether the methods used are honorable or not."

Bai Sha's gaze shifted to Yu Yan—a slender boy with black hair and eyes. His slightly long, unkempt hair and expressionless demeanor didn’t suggest he was up to no good.

Suddenly, a transparent ripple of psychic energy burst behind him, and his psychic entity, a massive white bear, emerged from the void. The bear shook its ears, its black round eyes fixing on the lion before it, its front half slightly raised, mouth gaping to reveal sharp teeth.

The golden lion and white bear locked eyes, and after a brief silence, roared and clashed.

The lion, agile and powerful, continuously tried to bite the bear. Meanwhile, the bear raised its stout forelimbs, slapping down repeatedly. Seizing an opportunity, the lion fiercely bit the bear's ear. The bear, pained, knocked the lion away, standing upright to protect its neck, then intermittently lunged at the lion's head.

The two colossal beasts howled as they fought, but the scene was less thrilling and more comical than anyone expected.

"Stop," Professor Tixia, anticipating this, gestured for them to halt, "Is this a fight or are you playing around? Where is the strategy, the wildness?!"

Yu Yan and Xeno Uss glared at each other, both hesitating to speak.

Wild animals' ferocity stems from their survival pressure. Nature is brutally unforgiving; if they aren't adept hunters, they risk starvation. Imperial people often receive elite education, but the younger generation lacks a certain ferocity.

With spirit but no ferocity, their fights seem more like play.

Tixia didn't expect them to seriously injure each other, even in a spar, but the performance of these two—no, their psychic entities—was quite unsatisfactory.

The lion and bear seemed to understand Tixia’s words, standing still and lowering their heads, appearing somewhat sheepish.

Watching the disheartened psychic entities, Bai Sha felt an itch in her hands. You never have to worry about the aesthetics of imperial people, including their psychic entities. Seeing two huge, handsome, fluffy beings so close, how could one not feel a bit eager?

"Looks like I need to light a fire under you," Professor Tixia announced as the training area’s enclosing facilities activated to prevent damage to other campus structures from the psychic entity fight, "I declare, from now, this class will be a free-for-all battle. Remember, you are assisting your psychic entities in the fight. Simply overpowering classmates with physical strength is against the rules. The last five standing in the arena will

Tixia’s announcement sent a wave of groans through the students.

Ten points! At Tianquan Military Academy, courses are graded on a hundred-point scale, with sixty as the passing mark. Based on past experience, the average score for combat classes is around seventy-five. Losing ten points would push many to the brink of failing.

Combat class is a major subject. The academy's rule is: fail one major subject and repeat the year, fail two and you’re on probation, and failing three leads to expulsion.

Tixia’s statement left everyone in awe.

"I never heard Tixia being so tough before!" Cen Yuehuai was caught off guard. Fortunately, her psychic entity was wild enough for a real fight. But what about Bai Sha? Was her little silver-throated long-tailed tit supposed to fight?

"This isn’t fair!" Cen Yuehuai protested, "There’s a size disparity among psychic entities!"

"Tianquan Military Academy isn’t about fairness," Tixia chuckled lightly, stepping onto the podium with a hint of rogue charm, "Noble ladies and gentlemen, don’t you always pride yourselves as the chosen ones? Then show me your strength, prove it to me."

Cen Yuehuai was taken aback. She forgot that Tixia was a retired military officer, not from a prestigious family. Her psychic entity, an albatross, though large, lacked sharp talons and was more suited for soaring in storms than fighting on land—yet Tixia’s ability to teach this class was proof of her formidable combat skills.

What reason did Cen Yuehuai have to stop this class?

The students exchanged glances and released their psychic entities.

Suddenly, the classroom was a whirlwind of wolves, tigers, sea eagles, and hawks, with psychic entities chaotically brawling, turning the scene into a wild “Animal World.”

Most students’ psychic entities were fierce beasts or birds of prey, with the weaker ones being large animals like antelopes or tortoises.

They instinctively avoided the three 3S-level students, Xeno Uss, Cen Yuehuai, and Bai Sha, almost conceding that they would be among the last standing.

"Jiu—"

Accompanied by a clear, delicate chirp, Little White Jiu fluttered out from behind Bai Sha, round like a white dumpling, and perched on her head. It seemed to enjoy the commotion, tilting its head and quivering its plush feathers, radiating extreme softness.

The room fell momentarily silent.

Many psychic entities, previously locked in battle, were instinctively drawn to Little White Jiu. They stared, lost in surprise, stumbling into their opponents; several students gaped at the tiny bird on Bai Sha's head, astonished.

...What is this thing?

Everyone's faces echoed this soul-deep question.

Even Professor Tixia, standing behind the podium, twitched the corner of her eye slightly—no wonder Cen Yuehuai had raised an objection! Who would have thought that Bai Sha, of royal lineage, would inherit not the legendary Xuan Bird but a psychic entity that seemed so... fragile and easily bullied?

Although the Xuan Bird is a symbol of the Imperial Royal Family, not every member of the royal family inherits it. It would be normal for Bai Sha to have a different psychic entity if her blood relation to the royal family was more distant.

But why was her psychic entity so small? So white? So round? It's as if it had "I'm cute but weak" written all over its face!

Several large feline psychic entities eyed Little White Jiu, their pupils narrowing and emitting faint growls from their throats—a sign of predatory intent.

Although they bore no malice towards the royal family, it was free-for-all combat time, and the strong were meant to weed out the weak. Even the presence of the Emperor wouldn’t change that. Moreover, the royal member they had held in awe turned out to be a mere 'vase', and given the pride of these noble youths, they were inclined to 'touch' this vase.

Bai Sha quickly became the target of many.

A leopard was the first to attack Little White Jiu, seemingly eager to claim the honor of eliminating a royal. Its muscles tensed, it leaped like a spring, swift and elegantly agile.

Just as its claws were about to reach its prey, a loud screech echoed. A massive albatross appeared out of nowhere. From the leopard’s perspective, the albatross’s wings seemed to blot out the sky, its cold eyes fixed on it—the albatross tucked its wings, diving almost vertically from the sky, its grey-blue tail feathers glinting with a metallic sheen.

The albatross powerfully kicked the leopard's head with its hind toe, sending it flying five meters away.

"What skill is there in bullying a little tit?" Cen Yuehuai snorted coldly, "If you have the guts, come at me!"

Her psychic entity—a particularly robust-looking white albatross—responded, circling in the air. The recovering Little White Jiu also followed, protected within the albatross’s line of sight.

The white albatross then used its vast wings and sharp claws to chase away several other psychic entities trying to take advantage of Bai Sha.

"Cen Yuehuai, it's free-for-all combat, do you have to protect her so much?" The pain inflicted on psychic entities was also felt by their owners. Several students clutched their chests, sweating profusely as they spoke.

"The teacher didn't say teaming up was not allowed, right?" Cen Yuehuai retorted stubbornly, unfazed by the snide remarks about her staunch defense of Little White Jiu, "If you can't match my strength, why blame me for being too harsh?"

Professor Tixia, standing outside the combat area with her arms crossed, watched everything unfold without comment, tacitly permitting the actions.

By this time, half of the students had been eliminated, and those would have to spend a few hours in the healing pods. Among those remaining, three or five were known noble Beastkind. They exchanged glances and formed a team to confront Cen Yuehuai's albatross—not just to eliminate Bai Sha, but to target Cen Yuehuai, the stronger contender.

The ground-based psychic entities, unable to counter the swift and aggressive albatross, turned their attention to Bai Sha and Cen Yuehuai themselves.

Although the professor had stipulated that they couldn't physically knock down their classmates, using psychic entities to restrict their movements wasn’t against the rules, was it?

Several malicious beasts worked in close coordination; three stayed back to contain the albatross, while two charged directly at Bai Sha—

Just then, a lion with golden mane suddenly leaped out, biting the throat of an opponent and pinning it down.

However, as this was a spar, the lion didn’t deliver a fatal bite to avoid seriously injuring the opponent’s psychic entity. Another slender figure, a Clef-David, slipped past the lion, stealthily lunging towards Bai Sha.

Bai Sha, initially engrossed in watching the albatross fight against multiple opponents, noticed the tactics of the Beastkind but didn’t take them seriously. As the red jackal charged towards her, with Cen Yuehuai already in a defensive stance beside her, Bai Sha merely narrowed her eyes, focusing intently on the robust red jackal, unleashing her psychic energy—

The red jackal halted abruptly, its forelegs awkwardly scratching the ground a few times before it decisively chose to lie down two meters from Bai Sha, emitting a few short, weak whimpers.

In its eyes, Bai Sha was surrounded by dark energy fields, a sign of a surge in psychic energy concentration affecting the surroundings. These dark fields blurred Bai Sha’s silhouette, turning her into a shadowy figure in the eyes of the red jackal... In just a moment of distraction, Bai Sha had transformed into an indescribable “monster.”

Against such a monster, the idea of attacking head-on or even sneaking up from behind was far too daunting.

"Get lost," Bai Sha said.

The red jackal, as if granted a reprieve, turned tail and ran, not caring for its teammate still struggling under the lion’s jaws, disappearing without a trace.

Cen Yuehuai touched the goosebumps on her arm.

She had certainly felt Bai Sha suddenly releasing her psychic energy.

Why do these people judge someone's strength based on their appearance? If it came down to a real fight, they wouldn't even know how they were defeated.

Meanwhile, the white albatross, facing multiple opponents, seemed to dominate effortlessly, even hinting at ending the battle. Bai Sha's psychic entity, the tiny silver-throated long-tailed tit, occasionally flew beside the albatross, chirping as if cheering it on. The albatross fought even more vigorously.

Cen Yuehuai looked up at her excited psychic entity, wondering why she felt so relaxed today, with no sign of losing control. Her psychic entity, though still willful, seemed more obedient, striking wherever directed.

Could it be that her psychic entity was inherently combative?

While Cen Yuehuai pondered, the defeated Beastkind were questioning their existence:

Those suppressed by Xeno Uss's golden lion were eliminated.

The two Beastkind fighting Cen Yuehuai's albatross were eliminated.

In the end, the only survivor from their group was the red jackal, which had approached Bai Sha and then opted to flee.

The last five spots, aside from the timely escapee red jackal, Bai Sha, Cen Yuehuai, and Xeno Uss, were claimed by a student who had stayed in a corner and lucked out.

What an odd turn of events.

"Alright," Tixia said, as only five students remained standing, clapping her hands, "Free combat time is over. Not bad, you all look much better now."

The students who fought desperately to avoid failing: "..."

This was their first day, their first class, and they were already injured enough to spend hours in the healing pods.

Tianquan Military Academy, formidable indeed.

Tisiya selected the first five who were eliminated and the last five remaining on the field, implementing corresponding score adjustments.

"That's all for today's class. I'm not in the mood to review such a chaotic session. But you'd better take some time to reflect on your own performance today," Tisiya said, her gaze sweeping over several students, finally resting on Bai Sha with a meaningful look. "I believe you realize that there's still much room for improvement."

"Although today's lesson is about spirit form combat, in essence, spirit forms are condensed from a person's spiritual power. The person is the key to the fighting power of the spirit form," Tisiya stated. "I emphasize the importance of spirit forms to an imperial person, but I also hope you realize—don't judge a person solely by their spirit form's race and so-called 'heritage.' Whether as teammates or enemies… never underestimate others' strength."

Tisiya may not have had the experience of being underestimated because of her spirit form, but she certainly never benefited from its race either. She wasn't too fond of some major families' disdain for ordinary spirit forms. Many students at Tianquan Military Academy come from such families. If she could slightly correct their views, then the significance of her class would far exceed a mere "brawl to cultivate the wildness of spirit forms."

However, after Tisiya finished speaking, she suddenly felt something was amiss—the many students below the podium were drooping their brows, looking dejected and uninspired, as if they were struck down rather than enlightened.

The root cause was Bai Sha.

Her spirit form was so frail, but with her powerful spiritual strength, she could nearly overpower everyone present.

"...Just a noble house is already this terrifying, how fearsome must the pure-blooded royal family be?"

The students' surprise and awe towards the royal bloodline differed completely from Tisiya's initial teaching philosophy.

Tisiya: "..."

Forget it, a noble house this strong is rare. It just happened to be her luck.

Tisiya then dismissed the class and called Bai Sha aside for a chat. The two stood in the school corridor, Bai Sha's Silver-throated Long-tailed Tit remaining active on her shoulder, not at all intimidated by the recent intense spirit form combat. The content of their conversation was mainly about Little Bai Jiu: Today, Bai Sha had managed to change her classmates' perception of her as a mere vase, but as long as her spirit form remained, there would still be many who misunderstood her, viewing her as an easy target.

Even when she achieves something in the future, many might lament: such a powerful noble house, yet it's a pity not to inherit the royal family's mysterious bird symbol.

Little did they know that such "pity," this perceived "minor flaw," could be the most demoralizing.

Tisiya wanted Bai Sha to relax, knowing that the empire's tradition of "judging people by their spirit forms" wasn't something new. The classmates who tried to attack her today weren't targeting her deliberately. As the saying goes, "Time reveals a person's heart—"

Before Tixia could finish her consoling words, Bai Sha chuckled softly.

"Teacher, I really don't care what they think," Bai Sha said nonchalantly, "So what if I don’t have a Xuan Bird? Just like today, they can only lose to me. As long as I keep winning, no one can shake my dignity."