Chapter 139

Chapter 139

"What's going on?" Tachibana Maki wasn't annoyed even after being splashed with water. As if accustomed to it, she calmly wiped her face under the doctor's surprised gaze. "Who's upset you now?"

"You're lying here all comfortable. Where are the others?" Grace asked.

"Their injuries aren’t serious. They went back to sleep after a medical pod session. Not like me—I got beaten half to death by the Mecha Department chief just to cover for you." Just mentioning it made Tachibana Maki wince; the memory of being choked and coughing up blood came flooding back. "The disparity between people really is something..."

"Let’s not dwell on that. What happened to you? Weren’t you with the Command Department? How did you get eliminated so quickly?"

It probably wasn’t the Command Department’s doing—Alice seemed like a pretty nice girl. With the Weapons Department nearly wiped out, Alice would be more likely to recruit the remaining members to join forces against the Mecha and Reconnaissance Departments rather than finish them off.

But if not the Command Department, who could have eliminated Grace so quickly?

"Isn’t there a live broadcast on the starship?"

"Oh, right," Tachibana Maki shrugged. "But Cecil brought a signal jammer, so we couldn’t see or hear what was happening with you guys—we could at first, but from a certain point on, the signal was lost, and then you were eliminated."

Why did Cecil bring a signal jammer into the competition... just to block the broadcast?

Grace found it a bit odd.

But soon she had no time to dwell on it. After the doctor recorded Tachibana Maki’s heart rate and other vitals, she brought disinfectant and a medical scanner to treat the wound on her arm.

A long, narrow cut remained on Grace’s arm, left when Eve violently destroyed her wrist device. It looked scary, but such bumps and bruises were commonplace in training.

As the doctor carefully scanned the wound with the medical scanner, she explained, "There are too many seriously injured students eliminated right now, and the medical pods are in short supply. So for minor injuries like yours, we’ll use the scanner for now. Once a pod becomes available, I’ll schedule you for a full-body scan, okay?"

"Oh, of course, that’s fine," Grace said. "But didn’t the school prohibit maliciously injuring others during the competition? How are there so many serious injuries?"

"Sorry, but I don’t know..."

Grace turned to look at Tachibana Maki, who had just peeled a crystal orange. Seeing Grace staring at her, Tachibana Maki looked even more confused. "Why are you looking at me? I was only concerned about you earlier. With so many people in the competition, how could I keep track of everything?"

"All you do is eat, eat, eat," Grace said, exasperated. "Eat less, and try to gather some useful information."

As soon as the wound on her arm was bandaged, she leaped off the sickbed and ran out, ignoring Tachibana Maki’s calls.

For some reason, hearing that many students had been seriously injured and eliminated in the competition, Grace felt a peculiar unease.

The people still in the competition weren’t just Eve—there was also the Empire’s Third Princess, the heirs of the Medici and Oliver families, and at least three department chiefs. To put it bluntly, if something truly went wrong during the competition, the forces behind these individuals alone would not let the First Imperial Academy off the hook.

She had been directly transported to the elimination point for the Mecha Department. Since she was eliminated early, only Tachibana Maki was still laid up in the medical bay. After stepping out, Grace realized what the doctor meant by "too many seriously injured students."

She quietly walked to the door of the medical pod room when the sound of rolling wheels echoed behind her.

"Another seriously injured student came out. Damn it! Didn’t the school consider the students’ capabilities when organizing this competition?"

"The First Empire has always been this hardcore."

"It’s not wartime—they could afford to be a bit more lenient with the kids! Hey, you! Don't block the door. If you want to visit a classmate, wait until they’re out of the pod. You’re getting in the way of the doctors’ work!"

"Sorry, huh?!"

Grace gasped as a strong arm reached from behind her, slipped under her elbow, and lifted her up as easily as if she were a doll, placing her out of the way.

The blunt doctor snorted and pushed the medical cart inside. Grace saw the student lying on the cart, half of their face drenched in blood, eyes tightly shut in pain.

—Who would hurt a classmate so severely?

The person who had pulled her aside spoke up: "What's your department?"

It was a somewhat hoarse young woman’s voice, not sounding accusatory, with a light, upward lilt at the end. Grace turned her head and was surprised to recognize the Mecha Department’s instructor, who was also the head instructor for their three departments: "Instructor Lin Ke!"

"You know me?" Lin Ke narrowed her eyes slightly, looking Grace over carefully, her gaze lingering especially long on the shoulder-length silver hair. "I have some impression of you. You’re from the Weapons Department... Grace? What are you doing here?"

She glanced at the fully occupied medical pods in the room and seemed to have an answer. "Visiting a classmate?"

"Not exactly. Our department was eliminated early, so there’s no one I know in there," Grace said awkwardly. "I thought it was strange that so many people were seriously injured and eliminated, so I wanted to find out what happened."

"Is that so? Well, you can ask me, then."

Grace looked up abruptly to see the instructor with a short ponytail smiling lightly at her, casually saying: "—Because a student’s Spiritual State went out of control."

Spiritual State went out of control.

Grace’s eyes widened instantly.

"Ding—"

A sudden notification sound came from Lin Ke’s comm device. Both of them looked down. The moment Lin Ke saw the message, she let out an "Oh, damn," her face a mix of surprise and seriousness, her expression seeming genuine.

"...The energy shield is abnormal. The starship can’t make an emergency landing on the Training Planet now."

-

Another loud roar echoed as a towering emerald vine and a golden tiger slammed a human figure into the mountainside once more. Various other Spiritual States of different shapes and colors also joined forces to attack the same target. Even though the billowing dust obscured their vision, they kept throwing everything they had.

Dark brown soil and sand rustled down the slope. Nearly everyone was exhausted. Qi Cheng, drenched in sweat, gulped down a Recovery Potion while using his Spiritual State to heal those around him, especially the two girls holding the line—Mu Huanzhu and Luo Lin. Their faces were paler than the others’, but as leaders and the only ones with an S-class Spiritual State, they couldn’t retreat.

If they fell back, it would mean even more merciless slaughter.

A night breeze blew by. When they saw the figure with empty eyes shake itself off and stand up again as if nothing had happened, despair filled everyone’s eyes.

"What the hell kind of Spiritual State is that?" someone muttered. "Is it a phoenix?"

Otherwise, how could one person withstand so many attackers, being smashed into the mountain repeatedly, even shattering the ridge, and still appear completely unharmed?

Mu Huanzhu’s face was unusually tense. She turned her head and snapped, "Haven’t they figured out why the wrist devices’ automatic transport function failed yet?"

The student from the Reconnaissance Department, skilled in network technology, whom she questioned, shook his head helplessly, his face pale.

"Damn it," Mu Huanzhu said, her face grim.

On the other side, as the dust settled, a usually reserved and delicate face was revealed—downcast eyes that made him look honest and kind, with black hair and black eyes. There was no mistaking Luo Wenzhou.

It all started half an hour ago. The Melee Department accidentally ran into a Reconnaissance Department squad being pursued by the Command Department. The two sides quickly and tacitly reached an agreement: eliminate the Reconnaissance Department first.

Perhaps driven to desperation, Luo Wenzhou, leading the Reconnaissance Department team, summoned his Spiritual State. No one ever got a clear look at what it was—only a slender, fleeting shadow appeared in the air for a moment before vanishing back into Luo Wenzhou’s body. Then he became like this: unresponsive to anyone, disregarding the academy’s rules, mercilessly attacking his classmates.

Life was more important than the competition. Some immediately tried to crush their wrist devices to escape, but something even stranger happened—the wrist devices’ connection to the outside world was cut off!

Help signals repeatedly failed to send, and crushing the devices had no effect. The transport function still worked when someone was beaten half to death, but after seeing Luo Wenzhou pull his bloody hand out of another Reconnaissance Department student’s stomach, his merciless expression sent chills down everyone’s spines. Who would dare risk their life testing the broken wrist device’s transport function now?

Department affiliations, the competition, winning or losing—all of it became meaningless. The only thought in every student’s mind was survival.

What could be more important than life?

"Are everyone on the starship dead? Can’t they see we’re about to die and come rescue us?" Mu Huanzhu was furious, for the first time feeling resentment toward the military personnel. "What are those people doing?"

Luo Lin was slightly calmer. "Eve and the others are on their way."

With a loud crash, the Mist Cloud Vine was torn apart by the black-haired youth with his bare hands, unable to hold up against his strength. Luo Lin let out a muffled groan, her face turned ashen. The golden tiger was also flung aside violently. "Luo Wenzhou" seemed to realize that the troublesome vine and tiger were being controlled by someone else. His jet-black eyes shifted and then lifted, locking onto the exhausted Mu Huanzhu and Luo Lin.

Oh no.

His figure vanished instantly from where he stood. Mu Huanzhu barely had time to shout a useless "Watch out!" before lunging toward Luo Lin. The two tumbled several meters away. Behind them, the Reconnaissance Department student who had been nervously checking his wrist device was left exposed before "Luo Wenzhou" after losing their strong barrier.

Despite the chaotic scene, the squelching sound of flesh tearing was unnervingly clear.

A breath later, another flash of white light signaled a teleportation.

Mu Huanzhu and Luo Lin pushed themselves up from the ground, watching as "Luo Wenzhou" slowly turned his head to stare directly at them. Their hearts sank to the pits of their stomachs.

A whoosh of wind swept by, and the black-haired, bloodthirsty God of Death vanished once more.

The two closed their eyes in despair, waiting to be run through together.

"At least you're with me in my final moments," Luo Lin gasped, suddenly speaking. "I find it a bit regrettable."

Mu Huanzhu: "...Do you think I want this?"

Luo Lin: "Then it's a shame we still can't agree even when we're about to die."

Mu Huanzhu: "Shut up!"

Three, two, one.

—But the expected pain never came.

What's going on? Luo Lin's long lashes fluttered as she cautiously opened her eyes. The moment she did, a deafening "Boom!" erupted. Startled, she shut her eyes again, bracing for death. Mu Huanzhu, who had just been bickering with her amidst the chaos, clung to her tightly in terror. The two huddled together, closing their eyes once more, waiting for the end.

This absurd, tumultuous night had long since stripped away the noble, aloof facade of the Medici family's young lady. Neither of them could handle any more shocks!

But this time, Luck finally showed up, albeit late.

A familiar female voice shouted angrily: "Who's going crazy? I attacked without looking! Wait, is that Luo Wenzhou? Hey, Ludwig, come explain your cousin!"

It's Eve!!

The two instantly opened their eyes and pulled apart. Mu Huanzhu remained wary but couldn't help sighing in relief. Luo Lin tried to speak but found her throat unusually parched.

"Eve," she called out weakly, "I'm here."

"Luo Lin!"

Eve finally spotted the disheveled young mistress covered in dust. Shocked, she hurried over to help her up. "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story," Luo Lin coughed twice, pointing at herself and Mu Huanzhu, who still wore a guarded expression. She summed it up briefly: "Water."

Dick promptly scurried over with two canteens, tossing one to Mu Huanzhu. Luo Lin, too thirsty to speak, gulped down the water like a long-dehydrated plant.

During their brief exchange, Luo Wenzhou had already clawed his way out of the mountain again. But now, a new wave of the three-department alliance—Command, Mecha, and Reconnaissance Departments—had replaced the Melee Department's position. With the pressure distributed more evenly, handling the situation became somewhat easier.

"He's going berserk again. We should find a way to contact the starship for help," Ludwig finally took in the devastation around them, gritting his teeth and rubbing his temples in frustration. "The last time his Spiritual State went out of control, it even alarmed the military. They had to call in the Fourth Army to suppress it. It was terrifying—far beyond what we students can handle."

"Shouldn't you explain what's going on right now?"

Eve straightened up, her expression deadly serious as she stared at Ludwig. After a long standoff, Ludwig remained stubbornly silent, hesitating and refusing to speak.

Finally, Alice whispered something in his ear. He turned his head, glared at the oblivious Luo Wenzhou, sighed deeply, and relented: "Fine. Since Cecil has already activated the signal jammer... I can tell you, but you must swear to keep this confidential. Otherwise, both the Luo and Oliver families will hold everyone here accountable."

"Stop wasting time with nonsense," Jessica said irritably, her hand on Liz's shoulder. "If you don't speak up soon, we'll all be dead, and then you'll have your silence!"

"..."

Eve coughed discreetly.

Ludwig's face turned pale with anger, but he kept his tone as steady as possible: "Spiritual State Abilities vary widely. Have you heard of one called 'Spirit Possession'? It allows the Spiritual State to possess its owner, thereby gaining power beyond their own limits."

Eve immediately understood. "So Luo Wenzhou's Spiritual State Ability is Spirit Possession? And now that it's out of control... he's being controlled by his own Spiritual State?"

"Yes," Ludwig said gravely. "And his Spiritual State is extremely powerful—one of the top S-class Spiritual States passed down through the Luo family for generations. It's called... the Dragon Maiden."