Chapter 10: Just Who Exactly Is That Yuan Xi?
After all, the Grand Marshal is to be admired from afar, never to be defiled...
“The commander of the Third Legion, Xiong Sheng, encountered a level seven feral beast pack during patrol…”
Damn! Here comes another one… No, wait! This sudden surge of violent rage rising from the depths of her heart—
She had only felt it once before, and that was because of—
“Sis, what’s wrong?”
The girl sneered coldly.
So that’s it!
But even so, she would never yield!
“Holy crap! Everyone, get on StarNet! Huge scandal! The commander of the Third Legion, Xiong Sheng, was actually bound to an unknown D-level Guide?”
“This girl named Dilly, though awakened with powers, is pitifully weak in Wood affinity and barely a D-level in spirit. Her family didn’t even send her to the Talent Academy for formal training. Who would have thought the tables would turn, and now she’s the phoenix perched on the highest branch…”
Dilly!
The girl faltered.
“Sis, is that the same Dilly we know?”
The girl hidden beneath a tattered cloak clenched her fists tightly.
“There are thousands of Dilys in the world, but only one linked to the Xiong family!”
Her enemy!
Three months ago, she was framed, nearly killed and robbed, and treated like a mere tool to bear offspring for some privileged class before being abandoned on a desert planet. If not for her luck and a few life-saving tricks, the grass on her grave would probably be taller than she is now!
After all, that ugly beast truly wanted to tear her apart and devour her!
If she had spent a cycle inside its belly before seeing the sun again, who knows whose nourishment she would have become!
“So, sis, are you going to apply to the Guide Department?”
That Dilly was even openly sent to the Talent Academy’s Guide Department by the Xiong family!
“Sis, StarNet says that Dilly has been extraordinarily admitted to the Talent Academy’s Guide Department on Imperial Star! Her direct mentor… is none other than Li Mi, an S-level Guide? A guide worshipped by the Xiong family, no wonder…”
“If she herself were an S-level or above Guide, I might consider finding some leverage to deal with her! But a lowly D-level Guide, even with the Xiong family’s protection, what of it?”
“As long as you’ve tested your spirit level, even without forming a spirit link with a Sentinel, you can easily enter the Guide Department…”
“Applying to the Guide Department means at least six years, and since neither of us can form a spirit link, I’m not wasting that kind of money!”
The fees at the Talent Academy were enough to scare anyone! If it weren’t for the small fortune they had saved these past years, they couldn’t even afford it.
“But even for the Support Department, you’d have to test your spirit level, right? I heard the Talent Academy on Imperial Star has very high standards; the lowest spirit level accepted is A-grade.”
Spirit level test?
She suddenly felt that if her spirit level were exposed, she’d be in grave danger! Yet if she wanted to apply to the Talent Academy, spirit testing was mandatory... What was she to do?
Ye Moxi touched her palm.
“If Dilly was chosen to be sent to the desert planet, it means her talent isn’t that exceptional; the Xiong family plays a crucial role. For me, not only is Dilly my enemy now, but so is the Xiong family! I will never let Dilly off easy! If the Xiong family is determined to protect her, that’s going to be a headache…”
These past three months, if the Xiong family hadn’t secretly shielded Dilly, she would have found a chance to get revenge long ago!
“So, sis, are you going to take the Talent Academy exam?”
Ye Moxi had Wood affinity powers, had awakened spirit force, and had struggled in the safe zones of the Outer Rim for nearly a decade. If she went to the Military Academy, she would easily pass the basic Sentinel test.
Ye Moxi remained silent.
The Sentinel system, while hierarchical, ultimately operated on strength—whoever was stronger was right.
But the Talent Academy was rife with open and covert struggles!
Guides stood at the very top of the food chain; they didn’t even need to do anything themselves, having plenty of sycophants to do their dirty work.
Even among the Support Department, scheming was rampant; they would stop at nothing to rise above others. She simply could not accept such a life of intrigue and betrayal.
But to take down Dilly, she had to become a Talent Academy student. Otherwise, facing a Guide as a Sentinel—unless she could flawlessly hide her tracks—would only mean death!
“Sis, I actually don’t want you to go to the Military Academy…”
Occasionally, there were female Sentinels in the Outer Rim, but overall, their lives were harder than the men’s.
His sister had suffered far too much for his sake.
“Are you stupid? Do you really think any dumb Sentinel would be willing to form a spirit link with me? Have you been hit on the head too many times?”
Besides, she simply couldn’t form spirit links! Her spirit force was different from other Guides’—her main attack was better suited for Sentinel duties.
But living and eating with a bunch of rough men after graduation? She could never be a Mulan.
The siblings bantered as they passed two young men in combat suits—handsome, with righteous gazes—clearly not the impoverished, bitter mercenaries of the safe zones.
“I wonder who that ‘Yuan Xi’ the Tang Dynasty’s adjutant is looking for really is…”
Yuan Xi?
Wasn’t that the identity she had used three months ago to disguise herself? When she was framed, she was also using the name “Yuan Xi”…
“This is the last safe zone around here. If we can’t find her, we’ll have to report back first…”
Their eyes met in the air.
The youth understood instantly.
“Who were you just talking about, officers? I feel like I’ve heard that name before…”
“Yuan Xi! We’re looking for a girl, probably around eighteen or nineteen. She often moves between several safe zones and is nicknamed the ‘Scrap Queen’!”
The youth froze.
Because his sister had Wood affinity powers and could sense the level of spirit plants and medicinal herbs, but the safe zone folks didn’t know that many high-grade spirit and medicinal plants looked worse than ordinary edible weeds, they thought she was crazy for hoarding scraps. At first, she was called “Yuan Xi the Junk Collector,” but some jerk later changed it to “Scrap Queen!”
Of course, she wasn’t someone to be trifled with; she had made those people suffer quite a bit in silence!
But the nickname stuck.
“Scrap Queen or not, I know she was trading here just yesterday…”
“Really? Don’t lie to us, or else…”
Both were 2A-grade Sentinels with strong spiritual powers.
The youth held his head in pain.
“I just want to earn some pocket money. You don’t have to threaten me like that. If you don’t believe me, fine—I’ll just stop trying to earn this pocket money…”
He was about to turn away.
“Hey, wait! We just want to be cautious. By the way, kid, how do you know Yuan Xi? We’ve asked around, and no one seems to know her…”
Even if he did know, he wouldn’t say!
“Yuan Xi” has long been dead!
His sister wasn’t the first Yuan Xi, nor would she be the last. It was Dilly and that scoundrel who conspired with her who had kidnapped his sister in place of Dilly and sent her to the desert planet!