On the final day to report to the academy dormitory, the materials Yan Changfeng had purchased for her forged dagger finally arrived. She donned an overcoat that could conceal her figure and headed to the Ghost Market.
Just as Yan Changfeng reached the entrance of the cold weapon shop, she heard the heavy thud of an object hitting the ground.
“Old Zhang, the materials are at your door.”
After the person left, the Shop Owner stepped out of the store to move the materials inside. He looked up to find Yan Changfeng watching him with an amused glint in her eyes.
“Old Zhang?”
The Shop Owner: “…”
“Get your materials inside,” he snapped, glaring at Yan Changfeng before lifting the door curtain and retreating back into the shop.
Left with no choice, Yan Changfeng hauled the materials into the weapon shop herself.
The Shop Owner tossed a toolbox near the entrance and turned back to his work. “You can use anything here as you please. Break one, and it’s a million Star Coins.”
“If the tool’s material is poor, it’s only natural for it to break,” Yan Changfeng argued reasonably.
“Bullshit. My tools are the best.”
As he spoke, the Shop Owner aimed a kick at Yan Changfeng’s backside. She dodged it easily, turned to scoop up the tools, and walked toward the forging bench. “Thanks, Old Zhang.”
“That brat.”
Yan Changfeng had always believed that the forging process was like polishing a work of art. In her previous life, she had spiritual energy, which made spiritual tempering much easier than physical forging. But now, as she personally gripped the forging hammer and felt the rough texture of the handle, it felt as though she was truly seeing forging for what it was for the first time.
Many metal ores contained numerous impurities, making it easy to compromise the purity of the extraction. Furthermore, the more precious the metal ore, the more difficult it usually was to melt and cast. While the melting process for the Mithril Ore she was using this time wasn’t overly difficult, Yan Changfeng still maintained twelve-tenths of her focus.
Yan Changfeng spent an entire day in the forging room. The Shop Owner went from being indifferent at first to occasionally glancing over, and finally, he pulled up a chair to sit beside her.
He didn’t say a word, but his gaze never left Yan Changfeng.
Only after the dagger was set in the mold did Yan Changfeng let out a long sigh of relief. Physical and mental exhaustion slowly washed over her, and there were several small burn marks on her hands.
“Who did you learn your forging technology from?”
The sudden voice startled Yan Changfeng so much her legs nearly gave out. She turned back in confusion. “I don’t have a teacher. I’m self-taught.”
“Impossible,” the Shop Owner said with absolute certainty.
Yan Changfeng spread her hands. “Perhaps this is just the trouble of being a genius.”
Shop Owner: “?”
“I understand. Geniuses are rarely recognized easily.”
“Hmph.” The Shop Owner gave a cold snort and didn’t press further. Instead, he reminded her, “It’s getting late. Weren’t you supposed to report for registration?”
Only then did Yan Changfeng check her optical computer. There was only one and a half star hours left before the registration deadline. If she didn’t report to the dormitory within the allotted time, it would be considered a forfeiture of her free dorm. She would be forced to become a commuting student, and rent near the academy cost 10,000 Star Coins a month.
That was more expensive than her tuition!
…
In the final minutes before the deadline, Yan Changfeng sprinted to the base of the dormitory building.
“Teacher, I’m here to collect my dormitory key.”
In the dimming light, Yan Changfeng couldn’t tell if the darkness on Xie Wanyue’s face was due to the time of day or if she was turning blue with rage.
Xie Wanyue’s eyes twitched, and her lips curled into a cold sneer. “Three minutes before the cutoff again. It seems this student has an excellent sense of time. Keep cutting it this close next time; I have high hopes for you.”
Yan Changfeng wasn’t so dazed as to think that last sentence was a word of encouragement. She immediately admitted her mistake. “There won’t be a next time.”
Xie Wanyue: “And what about this time?”
Yan Changfeng thought for a moment and replied, “Let’s just let this time slide.”
The surrounding freshmen silently gave her a thumbs-up. This troublemaker was clearly intent on offending Teacher Xie to the core.
“Good, very good.” Along with Xie Wanyue’s teeth-gritting voice, the corner of the table she was gripping snapped in half with a crisp *crack*.
Yan Changfeng suddenly felt a chilling sensation around her neck.
A senior student watching the spectacle immediately handed a key to Yan Changfeng, winking at her frantically. “Senior student, you’re a bit late. The freshman Individual Soldier Department female dorms are already full. I checked, and there are still empty beds in the second-year mixed dormitory. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay with the second-year students. Your room is Building 3, Room 701. Hurry back.”
Yan Changfeng took the key, cast a grateful look toward the kind senior student, and then, under Xie Wanyue’s murderous gaze, she pulled her windbreaker tight and headed toward her assigned dormitory.
Upon reaching the dormitory building, Yan Changfeng learned that Room 701 had originally been occupied by only one senior student. According to another helpful senior student next door, her roommate had an eccentric temperament. Last year, shortly after school started, she had driven away her other three roommates with beatings.
Yan Changfeng: …
*I won’t get beaten up too, will I?*
*Will I get a demerit if I fight back?*
Yan Changfeng didn’t worry about this for long, because even late into the night, she saw no sign of this eccentric roommate.
…
One month after enrollment, the freshmen of Blue Star Academy were required to participate in a collective freshman assessment. The points earned during this assessment determined the allocation of teaching resources for each major in the coming year.
Yan Changfeng had heard before that the teaching resources for the Individual Soldier Department had been the worst among the five majors for years. After looking into it, she realized why: every year, the Individual Soldier Department ranked last in the freshman assessment. Because their resources couldn’t keep up, their results only got worse, leading to even lower rankings.
For several consecutive years, the Individual Soldier Department had been trapped in a vicious cycle. Most senior and new students had grown accustomed to it. Many freshmen who had been reallocated into the Individual Soldier Department looked as if the sky had fallen.
Even the senior student who introduced the department to Yan Changfeng tried to comfort her: “Junior, I heard your mental power value is 80? It’s okay. You’ll have a chance to re-choose your major next year.”
Yan Changfeng suddenly felt like the Individual Soldier Department was doomed.
When the assembly time arrived, Yan Changfeng bid farewell to the kind senior student and ran back to her unit. Since her mental power value was the highest among this year’s Individual Soldier Department freshmen, she was positioned in the very front of the middle row, and her number was 01.
The freshmen nearby were whispering. “I heard the chief instructor for this freshman assessment is our department director. He’s very strict—the kind of person whose name makes the upperclassmen tremble.”
Someone asked, “How scary is he? Can he be scarier than Teacher Xie from the Mecha Combat Department?”
“Probably not. After all, she’s the Cold-faced King of Hell.”
Soon, Yan Wenzhi, dressed in a military uniform and wearing a chest full of medals of merit, stood upon the platform. “I am Yan Wenzhi, former commander of the Third Military Region’s Individual Soldier Regiment, a 2S-class Single Soldier Warrior, and commander-in-chief of the Jilan Star Campaign… Welcome to the Individual Soldier Department.”
Unlike the strict image described by the upperclassmen, this Instructor Yan seemed exceptionally… approachable.
The moment that thought crossed Yan Changfeng’s mind, Yan Wenzhi’s expression shifted instantly.
“However, I am very disappointed in you. You do not possess the same vigor I see in other majors or other schools; instead, you are lifeless. I know most of you were forced into the Individual Soldier Department.” Yan Wenzhi’s face was expressionless, his voice amplified across the entire training ground. “It’s true. In terms of combat power, we are inferior to the Mecha Combat Department. In battlefield coordination, we are inferior to the Command Department. In logistics, we are inferior to the Mech Manufacturing Department and the Pharmaceutical Department. It is indeed not worth being anyone’s first choice.”
For a long time, the training ground was silent. Under Yan Wenzhi’s gradually disappointing gaze, an arm suddenly shot up from the very front of the formation.
Yan Changfeng: “Reporting.”
“Speak.”
Yan Changfeng stood ramrod straight. “Instructor, I don’t think our Individual Soldier Department is that weak. We can fight, defend, scout, and even serve as vice-commanders. Aren’t we all-around hexagonal warriors?”
As soon as these words were spoken, a faint murmur of agreement rose among the freshmen. After all, no one liked being belittled as worthless.
Yan Wenzhi sneered. “All-around? Hexagonal warriors? You think too highly of yourselves. You don’t actually think you’re the spear on the battlefield, the key soldiers who decide the outcome? Dream on. At most, you are the meat shields standing in front of the elite units! Do you know why? Because you are too. Damn. Weak!”
“Instructor, I don’t think that’s quite right. Looking at it from another angle—in terms of combat power, we are stronger than the Command Department. In terms of battlefield coordination, the Mecha Combat Department follows our deployment. As for logistics, as far as I know, the Mech Manufacturing Department and the Pharmaceutical Department usually cannot participate directly on the battlefield.” Yan Changfeng looked up, meeting Yan Wenzhi’s eyes.
“Therefore, our Individual Soldier Department is invincible.”
Having chosen the path she wanted to walk, Yan Changfeng was not the type to wallow in self-doubt. Moreover, she didn’t believe the Individual Soldier Department was useless; an all-around soldier who could function as a one-man team was something that should never be underestimated.
If they were weak, it was because they hadn’t found the right direction. If they were unskilled, they just needed to practice more.
Yan Wenzhi’s gaze swept across the freshman ranks. “Do the rest of you feel the same way?”
After a moment of hesitation, the freshmen gradually began to lift their heads.
“Instructor, our Individual Soldier Department isn’t a bunch of weaklings! I can take down ten Command Department students with one punch!”
“On the battlefield, the Mecha Combat Department has to listen to us!”
“Normally, the pharmacists and mecha manufacturers have to rely on us for protection!”
“Our Individual Soldier Department is invincible!”
Gradually, the voices of the freshmen on the training ground grew louder and louder until they resonated throughout the entire area.
…
“What kind of brainwashing potion did Yan Wenzhi give the Individual Soldier Department freshmen this year?” Ren Baifeng, who was in charge of the Pharmaceutical Department, looked toward the Individual Soldier Department’s training ground in confusion. Their field was adjacent to the Individual Soldier Department’s, and the slogans were clearly audible.
The Pharmaceutical Department freshmen couldn’t sit still either. Someone took the lead and shouted.
“What’s so great about the Individual Soldier Department? Our Pharmaceutical Department is the most badass!”
“That’s right!”
“Our Pharmaceutical Department is the! Most! Badass!”
A moment later, voices from the neighboring Mech Manufacturing Department drifted over.
“Mecha Manufacturing is the coolest of all!”
“Our Pharmaceutical Department is the most badass!”
The two groups of freshmen were like kids in a shouting match, going back and forth, neither willing to back down.
In previous years, the Pharmaceutical Department and the Mech Manufacturing Department were the most peaceful majors. They generally lacked combat power, and the Mecha Combat and Individual Soldier Departments usually didn’t bother fighting them to avoid being labeled as “bullying the weak.”
They couldn’t out-scheme the cunning foxes in the Command Department either. Usually, they just slacked off during the freshman assessment, coasting on points by staying on good terms with the other three majors, typically hovering around third or fourth place. Meanwhile, the Individual Soldier Department, sharing the same scoring criteria as the Mecha Combat Department, usually lost out and ended up in fifth place, at the bottom of the pile.
Ren Baifeng watched the scene, unsure whether to laugh or cry. He turned and asked, “What’s the situation with the Mecha Combat Department?” Given the layout of the fields, the Individual Soldier Department was in the middle; if the sound could reach them, there was no way the Mecha Combat Department on the other side couldn’t hear it.
the teacher next to him didn’t speak but instead used an optical computer to project the scene from the Mecha Combat Department’s field.
A crowd of freshmen was shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Mecha Combat, forever number one!”
The neighboring field responded.
“Our Command Department never gives up!”
Looking at this group of high-spirited youths, Ren Baifeng couldn’t hide his grin.
“It looks like there’s hope for this year’s Alliance Military Academy Assessment.”