Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 53

When Ling Xiao and Ying Feng passed by a certain dorm room, they suddenly heard a loud noise from inside. Ling Xiao immediately took a defensive stance, preparing for an imminent threat. However, after the initial noise, the room went silent. As Ling Xiao moved to investigate, Ying Feng stopped him.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking what’s happening inside.”

“Don’t bother.”

Ling Xiao could sense some aversion in Ying Feng’s demeanor and asked, “Whose room is this?”

“Zhu Yue’s.”

Ling Xiao immediately lost interest. Other nearby students had also heard the commotion, but due to Zhu Yue’s unpopularity, no one came to check on him. A neighbor even banged on the wall, signaling for silence.

Everything finally calmed down, and Zhu Yue gradually regained his senses. The metallic sweet taste of someone’s blood lingered on the tip of his tongue.

He vaguely remembered catching Zhen He off guard. Zhen He’s first instinct was to escape, but how could Zhu Yue possibly give him that chance? Just as Zhu Yue was about to draw blood from Zhen He’s heart, Zhen He, out of desperation, initiated the “coming-of-age ceremony” and even fought back with all his might.

Zhen He was truly powerful. Unfortunately, no matter how strong he was, he couldn’t surpass the power of the “Ember II” that was refined twenty times. In the end, he was defeated by Zhu Yue, whose strength was vastly inferior to his.

Of course, their abilities were now roughly on par.

Zhu Yue felt the effects of the drug gradually waning, and his mind was becoming clearer and clearer. He knew he had to act quickly to deal with the aftermath. Struggling, he picked up the soul binding stone and returned it to its original place. He then took a rope from a hidden compartment and tightly bound Zhen He, who was on the ground, several times around. If this had been in the past, he surely wouldn’t have had the strength to tie someone so securely.

Zhen He’s personal device was strapped to his wrist. Zhu Yue ruthlessly tore it off and, grabbing something at hand, smashed it into pieces. He then took out a box of tranquilizers that he had prepared earlier and injected Zhen He with one of them.

Having done all this, he staggered towards the table. On the verge of collapsing, he could only stretch out a hand, desperately searching the tabletop. Several books detailing the bond between a “Qizhu” and a “Qizi” were scattered on the ground. Some were open, revealing highlighted sections with red lines:

—A Qizhu will acquire all of the Qizi’s power and wealth.

—Aside from being influenced by hormones, as long as there’s a strong desire, the coming-of-age ceremony can be initiated actively.

—After the coming-of-age ceremony, the union of the two parties can promote secondary development.

…

Zhu Yue finally found the second syringe. Up until this moment, he was completely unaware of the side effects of the second generation drug, and even less did he know that one could die without the purification injection. He silently thanked Zhen He; he truly was a competent businessman.

His breathing became chaotic, and his blood felt as if it was boiling. His vision was reduced to a hazy fog. After several attempts, he finally managed to insert the needle into his arm and injected the clear liquid. He carelessly tossed away the syringe afterward and immediately collapsed, losing consciousness.

……

When Ling Xiao woke up, he still felt soreness in his waist and back. Recalling the events of the previous night, he felt incredibly uneasy.

Even if he was the one who initiated it—a residual psychological shadow from a risky period where he felt more secure being close to the other—what followed? Ying Feng, who usually had a rational excuse for even intimacy, actually took the initiative to break the equilibrium yesterday. In front of a Qizhu’s desires, a Qizi’s body could never resist. By the end, Ling Xiao was the one clinging to Ying Feng, making it hard to claim he was forced.

But he couldn’t accept it. “The time before last was to get through the safe period, last time was to vent, then what about this time?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“You’re not even bothering to make up an excuse?!”

Ying Feng sat up. “I’ve already given my reason. For the first time, we were together not for a specific purpose but simply because of desire.”

However, he didn’t wish to elaborate further. “Get up,” he said, turning away. “Don’t you have classes today?”

Ling Xiao jumped to his feet, reminded by Ying Feng’s words that the holidays were over, and he hadn’t attended class in a while.

“Yes!” Even the pain from injuries wouldn’t stop him; he wouldn’t laze around just because of some lingering discomfort.

Entering the familiar classroom, classmates greeted him enthusiastically. Ting Lei, as usual, wanted to hug him as a sign of missing him, but a glance to the back of the classroom stopped him. He hesitated, thinking, ‘Hadn’t the period of establishing dominion ended? What was with that warning glare? Was he blacklisted for good?’

During the break, many pairs had undergone the coming-of-age ceremony, leaving almost a third of the seats empty, even Zhu Yue’s.

“Zhu Yue’s an adult now?” He wondered if someone had just casually bit him.

Ting Lei glanced disdainfully at the empty seat. “He’s been skipping class a lot lately. Even the teacher gave up on him.”

The instructor arrived, and everyone took their seats. Noticing both Ling Xiao and Ying Feng attending and in good condition, the instructor was pleased. After class, he held them back.

“Decided on a major?”

“Yes,” Ying Feng answered. “We’re considering the Joint Combat program.”

“Joint Combat? It’s tough to get into. Is Ling Xiao up for it?”

Ling Xiao felt slightly insulted.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it that way,” the instructor hurriedly clarified. “I trust your combat skills, but there’s a written exam. How are you in academic subjects?”

“Huh?” Ling Xiao was dumbfounded. Academic subjects in military school?

“I previously thought that only Ying Feng was preparing for the exam, so I didn’t mention it.” The instructor pulled up their academic records from over the years. In the past, these would have been considered personal and private, but now, the privacy between the two had diminished significantly.

Ling Xiao had always considered himself on par with Ying Feng, but that was only in terms of physical abilities. Seeing Ying Feng’s scores in academic subjects was like a slap in the face.

“Your scores in biology, astronomy, and geography are decent, math is… passable, but what’s with your history? Ying Feng has been scoring full marks in history year after year. Even if you can’t excel, you should at least pass, right?”

Ling Xiao looked at his own scores and then at Ying Feng’s. He had long realized Ying Feng was academically gifted, but achieving perfect scores every year was downright terrifying, wasn’t it?

“History is a mandatory subject in Royal Sky. If you really decide to enroll in the Joint Combat program, you’ll have to start cramming,” the instructor said, checking the calendar on the terminal. “There’s less than a month before the next Royal Sky Military Academy entrance exam. You need to lift your academic probation, undergo mental strength training, and catch up on history. Are you sure you can manage all of that?”

Ling Xiao wouldn’t give up just because of mere history. He puffed out his chest and said, “No problem!”

“Let me briefly show you how to train your mental strength. In the elementary academy, we mainly focus on physical training. But in the advanced academy, mental strength becomes crucial. Here’s the simplest training method,” the instructor demonstrated.

He crumpled a piece of paper into a ball and placed it in his palm. After concentrating, the paper ball started to levitate and spin above his hand, leaving Ling Xiao in awe.

“This ability is very important for us. All future skills are catalyzed by it. It’s usually taught in the advanced academy, but early practice won’t hurt you.”

“How can we do that?”

“Focus. Channel your energy into your palm, then try to materialize it.”

Ling Xiao had already started practicing with a paper ball. The instructor playfully tapped the back of his head. “That’s secondary. The main focus is history. Ying Feng will supervise you. If you have any questions, ask him.”

Walking from the classroom to the library, then returning to the dorm with a stack of books, Ling Xiao tried to move the paper ball the entire way until Ying Feng confiscated it.

“Finish the content I’ve outlined for you first, then you can continue practicing,” Ying Feng ordered.

Ling Xiao, despite his disdain for history, remembered his promise to Ying Feng. Still, he couldn’t help but complain, “Reading is so boring.”

“What would make it not boring?”

“It’d be great if we could go back in time to see it,” he mused.

“Keep dreaming.” Ying Feng negotiated, “For every hour you read, you can have thirty minutes for mental training.”

“One hour,” Ling Xiao countered.

“Forty minutes.”

“Forty-five.”

Ying Feng glared, and Ling Xiao surrendered. “Fine, forty it is.”

While Ling Xiao was engrossed in the dry history textbook, Ying Feng secretly held a crumpled ball of paper in his hand.

Mental strength, huh?

He tried to do as the instructor had said, concentrating his attention on the palm of his hand, but he didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary, and the paper ball didn’t move an inch.

The method wasn’t working. Ying Feng quickly decided to change his approach. He imagined the paper ball as Ling Xiao and used the ability to control the contract beast to manipulate it. The ball in his palm immediately took flight, spinning rapidly in the air.

Interesting.

With a swift motion, Ying Feng grabbed the paper ball. Whether it was manipulating the Qizi or the paper ball, the same ability was used. So, this was what they call mental strength. Fu Yao had smashed a stone pillar with a single punch, and the principal had flown up to the rooftop in one breath. They had both used the same force before, presumably based on the same principle. For Ying Feng, who already had experience, using mental strength was effortless. He just wondered if Ling Xiao, being a Qizi, could grasp it quickly.

“Time’s up!” Ling Xiao seemed to have timed it perfectly as he jumped up, then devoted himself wholeheartedly to making the paper ball fly. Ying Feng silently observed from the side. As forty minutes almost passed and the paper ball remained motionless, just when Ying Feng thought Ling Xiao couldn’t do it on his first try using mental strength, Ling Xiao suddenly exclaimed.

“Look!”

Ying Feng was taken aback. Sure enough, under Ling Xiao’s effort, the paper ball had slightly lifted from his hand, hovering in mid-air. Even though it was just a tiny distance, for someone trying for the first time, this result was already astonishing.

If only Ling Xiao made similar progress in history, it would have been much easier.

Ying Feng didn’t praise him but ruthlessly told him that time was up and casually picked up a history book.

“Now, let’s test what you just read. Legend has it that the Tianxiu people had two ancestors. What were their names?”

“Ah, I know. One of them looks like Xing Lou. He’s called…”

Ying Feng emotionlessly flipped to the next page. “The last emperor’s name in Tianxiu history?”

“Uh…”

“How is the New Era defined?”

“This one…”

Ying Feng slammed the book down. “Before the first year, it was the imperial system. After that, it became a republic. How do you not know such basic questions?”

What an idiot!

Ling Xiao was unhappy. “Even if I don’t know, you don’t have to call me an idiot.”

“If you’re not an idiot, then what are you? Even a first-grade fledgling can answer these basic questions.”

There was an awkward silence in the room for a few seconds.

“Hold on.” Ying Feng suddenly realized something. “I didn’t call you an idiot just now.”

Ling Xiao responded, “But I clearly seemed to have heard it…”

Searching his memory, Ying Feng quickly grabbed a book from the shelf and accurately flipped to a certain page. Ling Xiao leaned in to see.

—Mental communication: When the bond between the Qizhu and the Qizi, as well as their mental strength, reaches a certain value, they can mentally communicate. There are distance limitations to mental communication, usually directly proportional to mental strength. Using this ability also consumes mental strength.

Ling Xiao, always focusing on the wrong details, said, “What does it mean by feelings reaching a certain value? Who has such feelings with you?”

Ying Feng closed his eyes, concentrating slowly. The feeling from earlier gradually returned.

Ling Xiao!

Ling Xiao jumped up. “I heard it!”

It felt like a call within his mind.

Is it clear?

“Very clear!”

Then…

“Then what? There’s nothing after that!”

Ying Feng opened his eyes again. “I don’t know. My mental strength might have been depleted.”

“Just that much?” Ling Xiao thought they could at least chat for five minutes.

“I just grasped it; how much do you think I could have?”

Ling Xiao had a sudden idea. “In that case, I don’t need to study anymore, right? You can just tell me the answers during exams!”

Ying Feng’s eyes twitched. “You realize that’s cheating, right?”

“Of course not! Did you forget the Joint Combat Department’s enrollment brochure? This department primarily values the abilities between the Qizhu and the Qizi, as well as their emotional harmony. Isn’t mental communication the best proof?”

Ying Feng retorted emotionlessly, “Who just said our bond hasn’t reached that level?”

Ling Xiao awkwardly twitched the corner of his mouth, regretting not having commented earlier. Why was he settling accounts after the fact?

On the other hand, Ying Feng was deep in thought. Although Ling Xiao’s analysis seemed far-fetched, it wasn’t entirely without merit. Being the only major in Royal Sky that required both parties to take an entrance exam, it was unlikely they’d only use traditional testing methods.

Ying Feng didn’t believe that the military academy would be unaware of the existence of psychic communication. Perhaps they might even employ some monitoring method they weren’t aware of. Yet this wasn’t mentioned in the exam instructions, which was suspicious.

What surprised him even more was that he had assumed Ling Xiao hadn’t considered the Joint Combat major when browsing online. Yet, Ling Xiao remembered the admission brochure in such detail. Could it be that he’d been interested in this major all along?

“Here’s what we’ll do.” Ying Feng concluded after some contemplation, making up his mind. “I can assist you, but you must also put in the effort. For a total score of 100, if you can solve questions worth 30 points, I’ll provide you with answers for another 30 to help you pass.”

Ling Xiao was thrilled. “So if I score 50 points on my own, you can help me get a full score?”

“Exactly,” Ying Feng promised. “That’s the deal.”

Ling Xiao was filled with renewed vigor. “No problem. I’ll study history diligently. But you also need to practice your mental strength. Don’t run out of energy after just a few words during the exam.”

“Deal.”

Ling Xiao held his fist up high in a gesture that took Ying Feng a moment to understand. Once he got it, he too extended his fist. Ling Xiao brought his down with force, and their fists bumped together in the air.

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