Chapter 24

The weather was fine, with the scorching sun shining brightly.

At the entrance of the Imperial Military Academy, thousands of new students stood in perfect order, exuding an imposing presence.

Those who could enter the Seven Great Advanced Academies were the cream of the crop from various star systems. Coupled with the physical fitness test required for the college entrance examination, everyone was quite accepting of standing at attention.

Two hours of standing at attention might sound dreadful, but for those who had passed the arduous college entrance examination, it was a piece of cake, especially for the close combatants who were tough and rugged. It was more like warming up.

The two hours quickly passed.

“The punishment is over.” Feng Bo confirmed the time as he lowered his head. “Let’s continue with the briefing.”

“The military training lasts for one month. The first week is for physical training, the second week for cold weapons and combat training, and the fourth week for exercises and assessments.”

Having learned their lesson from earlier, the square was now quiet, with no one raising any objections, afraid of being singled out.

“Very well.” Feng Bo was pleased with their understanding. “Let’s go.”

The new students followed their instructors and walked neatly through the gates of the Imperial Military Academy.

Unlike the intricate and classical elegance of Silver Star, the Imperial Military Academy lived up to its name. Towering steel buildings surrounded it, exuding a grand and solemn atmosphere, with a pervasive sense of rigidity.

Being the top-ranked in the annual rankings was not just for show. The funding from the Imperial Treasury to the Imperial Military Academy was several times that of Silver Star, evident from the school’s infrastructure.

They stopped at the military academy’s parade ground.

Soldiers from the Third Legion brought over a dozen large boxes and placed them on the ground.

“One by one, come and get your armbands,” Feng Bo instructed.

Yuan Hanshuang followed the line and received two armbands.

As she weighed the two armbands in her hand, she immediately understood.

“Two armbands, one is the Manifestation Restriction Armband, and the other is the Weighted Armband.”

The adjutant said lightly, “Wear them on your left and right hands respectively. They must not be removed at will before completing the training objectives, or the weight will double the next day.”

The new students followed the instructions and put on the armbands.

Yuan Hanshuang was wearing the Manifestation Restriction Armband for the first time. As soon as she fastened it to her wrist, she felt as if there was a thin wall separating her from her manifestation form.

She wasn’t the only one; other students felt the same.

“What’s going on? I can’t use my manifestation form anymore!”

“Me neither. Not only can I not summon my manifestation form, but I can’t even resonate with it.”

“It feels awful. I’ve been in an amplified state before, but after putting on the armband, I feel like my body has become heavier.”

Yuan Hanshuang lowered her gaze and felt it for herself.

She found that the isolation effect of the restriction armband on her Koi fish form was very strong, but it was weak to the point of almost non-existent for her mythical manifestation form. At least according to her intuition, although she couldn’t summon the Koi, she could still summon her mythical manifestation form.

Of course, unless she was foolish enough to expose herself.

“So, the higher the manifestation level, the less effective the manifestation restriction armband is,” she pondered silently. She obediently lowered her hand.

The other armband was a regular Weighted Armband, marked with “10kg.”

Just as Yuan Hanshuang was contemplating what kind of training the military would have, Feng Bo spoke again.

“Now, let’s start by running five laps around the Imperial Military Academy and Silver Star College.”

There were only seven advanced academies in the entire star system, and each one was inevitably vast in size.

Moreover, the two colleges are connected. The distance run in one lap is no less than that of a marathon.

“Sure, we’ll start with closed simulation and long-distance weighted running.”

Feng Yuanming, who was standing nearby, was surprised: “You guys just brought the army training standards over here.”

Wei Wenwei smiled slightly, “I can’t hide anything from your eyes, teacher.”

“Well, these army academy students will all join the military in the future. This is just an early experience for them.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

But the students from the Imperial Military Academy are cadets, while we students from Silver Star are not!

Hearing their casual conversation, the Silver Star teacher on the side could only silently bear it.

There was no other way since Silver Star had indeed joined the neighboring military training this year; they had to go along with it.

After completing the preliminary procedures, Feng Bai stood there with his hands behind his back. Another tall and burly instructor stepped forward. This instructor was obviously from the defense department, even taller than Ke Junda, and his muscles were so prominent that they couldn’t be contained by his uniform, creating a strong sense of oppression.

“What are you standing there for? Follow the military orders, run, move!”

Under the rough roar of the instructor, the freshmen reluctantly began to move their feet.

At the beginning, everyone’s steps were still relatively easy.

For Tier 3-4 gifted individuals, ten kilograms wasn’t too heavy, except for Wu Haoxuan, who hadn’t exercised much. Especially since he had already run several kilometers this morning and his legs were sore, every step was agonizing for him.

“Help me! I shouldn’t have gone running with the boss this morning!”

Shortly after they started, Wu Haoxuan’s face was filled with pain as he fell to the back of the line, moving at a turtle’s pace.

Running five laps around the school without the assistance of resonance was indeed a super challenge.

To conserve energy, the students unanimously chose to jog at a steady pace.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Just as everyone was jogging slowly, the instructor’s deathly voice resounded again.

“Are you guys strolling through the streets? Did the Chief Instructor forget to mention that the last three hundred students to finish will be punished?”

The effect of this statement was no different from a starting pistol. The students immediately started to accelerate.

They were being trained by a bona fide Imperial Legion, and no one wanted to find out the specifics of the punishment.

In an instant, the originally compact queue showed clear stratification.

Most of the other majors were doing well, while the support majors were the ones struggling.

At the front were mainly close combat and agility majors, followed by defense, then control and ranged, and the few at the back, who didn’t need to be mentioned, were all support majors.

Yuan Hanshuang didn’t speed up and leisurely ran in the middle of the pack.

Ke Junda maintained the same steady pace, falling half a body length behind her.

“Boss, look at that person at the very front.”

In the stratified lineup, the student at the very front naturally stood out, especially with his remarkably bright golden short hair, attracting even more attention.

Everyone knew that this golden hair, which could rival the sun itself, was the exclusive representation of the Imperial Royal Family.

“Well, several posts on the forum mentioned that an imperial prince enrolled in Silver Star this year.”

“.”

Yuan Hanshuang replied absentmindedly, “He’s quite formidable. I heard he possesses an S-level mimicry ability, with a limitless future.”

“S-level?”

Ke Junda was shocked, “I remember S-level is not common even among the seven major colleges. Our school only has Chairwoman as an S-level.”

“His hair is so shiny. Speaking of which, the Boss’s  original golden hair was of the same shade.”

The sudden remark made Yuan Hanshuang slow down her pace.

She squinted her eyes.

To be honest, her activities on Star 1999 before the incident were not much of a secret. Anyone with a lead on her father could investigate and find out her identity. Moreover, Yuan Hanshuang had just crossed over not long ago and didn’t know what that golden hair represented. She had done many brazen things without hesitation.

Fortunately, back then, she had obtained two unlucky guys’ spoils on Polluted Star, accidentally obtaining a death certificate, which allowed her to escape her past identity, like a drop of water merging into the vast ocean, leaving no trace.

For many years, Ke Junda had been her little brother. The incident on Polluted Star was too bizarre, and coupled with her failure to cancel her certificate, as well as her sudden resurrection after cutting off contact with everyone from the past, as long as he wasn’t foolish, he could sense something.

Should she reveal some of the truth to her number one little brother?

Within a few seconds, several thoughts flashed through Yuan Hanshuang’s mind.

Unexpectedly, while she was still hesitating, Ke Junda spoke again.

“It’s a good thing the boss dyed his hair black; otherwise, it would be too eye-catching. The boss has great foresight!”

He chuckled, completely oblivious to anything amiss.

A qualified number one little brother could shower the boss with praise in various ways!

Yuan Hanshuang: “.”