It didn’t take Nan He long to set her sights on the Imperial Academy.
As one of the Federation’s ten major military academies, the Imperial Academy was the cradle of officers for the Federation’s various legions.
The children of nearly all the prominent medium- and high-level gene families studied there.
Nan He decided to disguise herself as an S-rank mental-power user, fool the mental-power scanner, enroll in the Imperial Academy, and become one of its elite prodigies.
The Black Shield Rebel Legion knew her true identity and mental-power rank. They knew she was a useless nobody from a poor background, and would never imagine that she could transform herself into an S-rank mental-power prodigy at the Imperial Academy.
For Nan He, the Imperial Academy was the safest place she could go.
In this world, where high-level gene families monopolized resources and talent, almost every S-rank mental-power genius was born into one of those families.
Even at the talent-filled Imperial Academy, individuals with S-rank mental power or higher were exceedingly rare.
Nan He searched the StarNet and learned that first-year students at the Imperial Academy had few opportunities to participate in combat missions outside the school. In addition, the academy had a rule forbidding the use of mental power to fight anywhere on campus except in the training grounds.
The rule prohibiting the use of mental power anywhere outside the training grounds was perfect for her. With it, and relying on her physical strength and combat skills, she should be able to keep her true abilities hidden.
As for how she planned to fool the mental-power scanner, that brought her scumbag father into the picture.
When her scumbag father had been overseeing mining operations on Planet 31150, he had once found a grain-of-rice-sized red stone among countless pale-blue energy stones. Because the stone was so small and gave off no mental-power fluctuations, he had casually tossed it to her older sister, Nan Zhi.
Nan Zhi had treated it like a priceless treasure and made it into a tiny earring.
She treasured it dearly. Although her scumbag father had ultimately abandoned her, he had still given her a few smiles and the slightest scraps of paternal affection when she was little.
Those meager traces of affection had made her long for him throughout the years that followed, layering her memories with a thick filter of rose-colored nostalgia.
That earring could be said to be one of her sister’s most precious possessions.
Later, when Nan He was preparing to flee Planet 31150, Nan Zhi gave her the earring as a parting gift.
Nan He had nothing but contempt for her scumbag father, but this was the love her sister had given her—a keepsake to remember her by—so she kept it close at all times.
Then, quite by accident, she discovered that if she held the earring beneath her tongue, the mental-power scanner would identify her as S-rank. Once she took the earring out, it would display her true mental-power rank again.
As for why she had put the earring beneath her tongue in the first place… that was another heartrending tale that could make anyone who heard it weep.
Today was the final day for enrollment at the Imperial Academy.
Nan He had arrived at the Imperial Capital just in time.
She still had a little over 1.2 million star credits. Gritting her teeth and steeling her resolve, she spent a million of them on the latest, highest-end light brain.
The courier service on the Imperial Capital seemed to be much faster than those on other planets.
Barely half an hour after placing her order, the light brain was delivered to her.
Nan He sat in the spaceport lounge and drank the last drop of her nutrient solution. She casually tossed the empty pouch into a trash can, then boarded a flight vehicle bound for the Imperial Academy.
From the moment she set foot on the Imperial Capital Star, she was no longer the sunny and cheerful Xiang Zhi, nor the sweet, roguish Xi Miao.
She was Nan He—aloof and haughty.
For Nan He, if playing the part of someone sunny, cheerful, sweet, and loyal required a certain amount of acting skill,
then acting aloof and haughty came as naturally as breathing. Wasn’t it just a matter of keeping her face expressionless?
It couldn’t be any simpler.
Although it was the final day for enrollment, all kinds of private aircraft still filled the entrance to the Imperial Academy.
A long line had formed at the registration center, and the air was buzzing with noise.
Apparently, quite a few people, like her, had waited until the very last day to register.
When she arrived, the clamor suddenly dipped for a moment.
Nan He had a bright, delicate face, with exquisitely beautiful brows and eyes, vividly red lips, and long black hair cascading down her back like ink.
Yet her eyes were cold, as though a thin layer of frost floated over a frozen pool.
And yet, the combination of brightness and coolness did not feel contradictory. Instead, it possessed a strange, captivating allure—
enough to make people involuntarily hold their breath and want to look at her again and again.
“Who is she?”
“No idea. I’ve never seen her before.”
“Judging by her looks and bearing, she must be from a high-level genetic family, right? I just don’t know which one.”
“As far as I know, aside from Yun Shengjing, there aren’t any other people from high-level genetic families enrolling with our incoming class. There are plenty from mid- and high-level genetic families, though.”
“Yeah. Speaking of which, the Imperial Academy has been declining more and more these past few years. This year, there’s only one student with S-rank mental power—Yun Shengjing.”
“That’s right. I heard Locke Academy has three students with S-rank mental power: Nan Yue of the Nan family, Li Ge of the Li family, and Zhang Qianyan of the Zhang family.”
“Wow, all three of them are heirs to high-level genetic families, aren’t they? The Imperial Academy only has Yun Shengjing. How are we supposed to compete with them?”
“Exactly. Not just Locke Academy—even Jili Academy and Fengjiang Academy each have two students with S-rank mental power.”
“Seriously? Why have the heirs of these high-level genetic families stopped choosing the Imperial Academy in recent years?”
“How could it be false? The rules of this world have always been that the strong grow stronger while the weak grow weaker. The Imperial Academy has been in decline these past few years, so they’re even less inclined to choose it. The fewer students who choose it, the further it declines.”
“That makes sense. If I’d known, I would have gone to Locke Academy too. The Imperial Academy has only Yun Shengjing with S-rank mental power. In any competition from now on, we’ll lose to the other academies every time. It’ll be embarrassing for us.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to regret it too. But today is the final day for registration at all ten major academies. It’s too late to rush over to another one now.”
“I heard Yun Shengjing chose the Imperial Academy not only because of his connection with Principal Yun, but also for his friend Lu Lanzhi, who has A-rank mental power. Otherwise, he would have gone to Locke Academy too.”
“I heard that as well. Nan Yue of Locke Academy is also on good terms with Yun Shengjing. It’s a good thing Yun Shengjing didn’t go to Locke Academy. Otherwise, Locke would have four students with S-rank mental power, while the Imperial Academy would have none.”
“Actually, you don’t need to worry so much. Our academy may have only one student with S-rank mental power, but Yun Shengjing is incredibly strong. In a one-on-one fight, there isn’t a single S-rank mental-power user who can defeat him.”
“Exactly. Last year, he defeated three S-rank mentalists in the Intermediate Federation Championship and helped Jiasheng High School take the title. He’s a powerhouse, not just some ordinary S-rank mentalist.”
“Yun Shengjing may fear no S-rank mentalist in a one-on-one fight, but military academy competitions are usually team battles. No matter how strong he is, what good is it without capable teammates?”
“Ugh, I hate that I’m not an S-rank mentalist.”
It wasn’t only the students signing up who were worried about Imperial Academy’s prospects in the upcoming competitions. The school administrators and teachers were just as troubled.
This year, several schools had recruited multiple S-rank mentalists among their freshmen. Locke Academy had even admitted three S-rank mentalists.
Imperial Academy, on the other hand, had only one S-rank powerhouse in each year from freshman to senior class.
It had been four years—four whole years.
For four years, Imperial Academy had been unable to break the curse of recruiting only a single S-rank or higher mentalist, their one precious lone seedling.
At least they still had Ying Su, an S S-rank powerhouse, holding the fort as a senior. But once Ying Su graduated next year, what would become of Imperial Academy?
The school administrators grew even more anxious at the thought.
