The tension in the air was thick enough to carve into. Whipping ferociously around Gu Yue were elemental energies, her eyes glowing as she glared holes through the male students. Even Tang Wulin felt suffocated just by being next to her.

  Damn! Is this Gu Yue’s true power? Tang Wulin wasn’t blind to the fact that Gu Yue held back during their matches. In fact, he knew he wasn’t a match for her in one-on-one combat, and this confirmed it.

  Gu Yue’s sudden flare of anger and might stunned everyone, including Wu Siduo who had just walked into the classroom. Doesn’t she still only have three rings? How’s she so powerful?

  “Gu Yue, they’re just joking,” Tang Wulin said, tugging her hand.

  She brushed his hand away, eyes remaining cold. “Whatever.” She sat back down, stone faced.

  What’s going on with her? Tang Wulin leaned toward Xie Xie and whispered, “Did you make her mad again?”


  Xie Xie clicked his tongue, fighting down a retort. On his other side, Xu Xiaoyan hid her twitching lips with a carefully placed hand, nearly bursting into laughter. Xu Lizhi was the most honest of them, simply pointing at Tang Wulin himself.

  “Huh? What about me?” Tang Wulin tilted his head. “What’d I do? I didn’t even see Gu Yue at all yesterday!”


  Xie Xie covered his face with a hand. “Ugh. Boss, you just don’t understand girls, do you?”


  “What? I don’t get it. What are you talking about? Say things more clearly,” Tang Wulin said.

  “Tang Wulin. I have something to ask you,” Gu Yue cut in, grabbing him by the arm and forcibly turning him to face her.

  “What’s up?” Tang Wulin asked, still bewildered.

  “That girl from yesterday is your little sister, right? Are you two related by blood?” Gu Yue stared him down with the intensity of a storm.

  “Yep. She’s my sister. We might not be blood-related, but we might as well be. I picked her up off the streets when we were children and my family adopted her.”


  “And she’s just a sister to you?” Gu Yue asked, her nails digging into his arm, leaving little red marks.

  Then it struck him. He could hardly believe the absurdity of the situation. “What’s it have to do with you? Jealous?” Tang Wulin smirked. “Don’t worry. No matter how pretty my little sister is, she’s still just my little sister. Besides, she’s still only twelve.” He swept his gaze through the rest of the boys. “So you guys better not even think about touching her. Unless you want to get beaten to death.”


  “She’s only twelve! God damn she’s pretty though!” Yang Nianxia exclaimed.

  Tang Wulin shot a glare at him.

  “My bad, Class President. But it’s okay! I’m willing to wait! I’ll wait until she’s eighteen!”


  “Wait all you want then. Let’s see if you guys got what it takes by then. Let me remind you all though, she’s not just another student here. She’s from the inner court. If you guys want a shot, you better give it your all,” Tang Wulin beamed.

  “Holy shit! The inner court?”


  “No wonder she’s here so young! She was actually an inner court student!”


  “Class President, you’re too much! This kind of encouragement is just…… Damn it! I don’t care anymore! I’ll work myself to death to make it into the inner court!”


  “That’s enough now guys. Class is about to start,” Tang Wulin said, calming and dispersing the crowd. From the corner of his eye, he saw Wu Zhangkong enter the classroom. Then he glanced at Gu Yue. Her expression was much better and she sat prim and proper, as if she hadn’t been about to raise hell a few minutes ago.

  Tang Wulin nudged her shoulder, giving her a coy smile. “So you’re jealous, huh?”


  “Go away.” She rolled her eyes.

  Tang Wulin chuckled and shook his head. “Jeez. Just all you kids got your minds in the gutter. We’re still too young for that kind of stuff. We should be focusing on our studies and cultivation instead. In case you haven’t realized, we’re not even fifteen yet.”


  “Screw off! What’s it matter to you what I’ve got on my mind?”


  “Fine, fine. Do whatever.” Tang Wulin retreated, stifling more laughter.

  Behind the lectern, Wu Zhangkong felt a strange mood in the air. He stood there, astonished to see the atypical sight of his students more focused than usual, absorbing each and every one of his words like a sponge. It made the lesson seem like it passed by quickly.

  “For anyone who signed up for this afternoon’s mecha classes, make sure you’re not late. That’s it for today,” said Wu Zhangkong. “Class dismissed.” He made for the door and left.

  Tang Wulin stood up and stretched, his mind turning to the afternoon. He knew the basics of mecha piloting and it had been more difficult than he had imagined. Fortunately, as a soul master with vigorous blood essence, he could bear the physical burden.

  “Gu Yue, let’s go grab lunch together,” Tang Wulin said.

  “Okay.”


  He turned to the others. “Hey Xie XIe, Xiaoyan, Xinglan, Lizhi, let’s all go together.”


  “I’m good. I gotta go visit the Tang Sect in the afternoon so I’ll just eat there,” Xie Xie answered swiftly.

  Xu Lizhi scratched his cheek. “I can’t either. I’ve got some stuff to handle with Big Sis Xinglan. You guys go ahead.”


  “Sorry! I need to go study! I got an important mecha designing class in the evening, so I’m just gonna get a quick bite then go review the class notes. I have to cram it all in during lunch since we got piloting class in the afternoon,” Xu Xiaoyan said.

  They’re all ditching me! Tang Wulin was speechless. Left with no other option, he left for the dining hall with just Gu Yue.

  “What are you feeling? I’ll get it for you,” Tang Wulin said.

  “Anything’s fine,” Gu Yue answered sweetly, not a trace of the morning’s fury in sight.

  While Tang Wulin inhaled plate after plate of food, Gu Yue watched patiently having long since finished her own meal. When he finally finished, she took out a napkin and wiped clean his mouth. There was no hesitation, as if she had done this thousands of times before. But Tang Wulin was still taken aback

  “Let’s get going. You need some time to digest and you got piloting class in the afternoon, right?” Gu Yue said as she stood up and made for the exit.

  Is she feeling the pressure? Tang Wulin broke into a huge grin. He rose to his feet and quickly caught up with her, walking shoulder-to-shoulder back to their dormitory.

  The working student dormitory was quiet. Unoccupied. nly Yuanen Yehui’s door and curtains were closed.

  As soon as Tang Wulin reached the door of his room, he glanced back, grabbing Gu Yue’s sleeve before she could leave. “Gu Yue, do you have something to say to me?”


  “No,” she said. Voice flat, deadpan.

  Tang Wulin flashed a smile. “i’m telling you, Na’er really is just my little sister.”


  Gu Yue’s eyes flicked back to him momentarily, settling for his face. “Remember those words.” Then she left for her own room, the door shutting with a click behind her.

  Tang Wulin rubbed his nose. He had watched every action of hers without averting his gaze, from her opening the door to her closing it.

  After meditating for a bit, he made his way to the mecha piloting class.

  ☀

  Before Tang Wulin knew it, a few days had passed and his second mecha piloting class was about to begin. Like previously, it was held in a custom field located in the southwest corner of the campus. Fifteen first grade students were assembled in a neat row on the piloting field, eager for their lesson to start.

  Their teacher was a tall, middle-aged man named Duan Shang.

  “Good afternoon, Teacher,” the students said under Tang Wulin’s lead.

  Duan Shang gave a slight nod. “We’ll be continuing with fundamental pilot drills today. Now then, get into your mechas and get on the comms channel.”


  “Yes!” The students ran to their white-grade training mechas. Each one stood a good twelve meters tall and weighed over ten tons. They had no equipment and only medium armor. At the chest region of each mecha slid open a door, giving the students a way into the cockpits.

  Inside, Tang Wulin pressed a series of buttons with practiced movements and started it up. The breastplate cockpit door closed. He strapped on a helmet while metal rings fastened his limbs in place.

  In front of his hands were a pair of small keyboards that allowed for small adjustments to optimize mecha operations. Although modern mechas were operated from circuit cores amplifying and translating pilots’ movements into information understood by the mecha, actions of a more fine-tuned nature still relied on a technology of days past: the keyboard.

  “Unit 1 connected to channel,” Tang Wulin said after flicking a switch. A moment later, all fifteen students reported in on the comms channel.

  “Good. Now let’s get started,” Duan Shang said. “First, always remember that balance is crucial to mecha piloting. By the end of this course, you’ll be operating mechas like they’re an extension of your body. So then, how do you make your mecha move nimbly?” His own mecha shrugged, arm-like appendages unfurling sideways in a wave. “Well, you have to be nimble yourself to begin with. Then you have to project yourself onto the mecha. Understand what it’s like to have a ten meter tall body made of a dozen tons of metal. The operation systems installed are really sensitive. The slightest mistake will be reflected.” Hidden in the safety of their cockpits, several of the students fidgeted nervously.

  “So, the very foundation of this is balance. Now follow after me. Raise your left leg.”