Combat Trial Competition

Having been greatly provoked by her opponent, Xi Xiu once again buried herself in hard work. Most of the time, Zhen trained alongside her in the training room, sweating it out together.

Xi Xiu found time to give Zhen plenty of extracurricular guidance so that she would have the ability to fully protect herself should she encounter danger in the future.

They would likely part ways after turning sixteen. Zhen's Mental Power level had never improved, as though it had become fixed at that value.

She had already decided to go to Jinghui Star in the future and enter the education field, becoming someone like Vivian.

She simply could not bear to part with Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui. However, over the past few years, her temperament had changed considerably, and she had developed the resolve to face the rest of her life on her own.

No one could accompany her for a lifetime. Sooner or later, they would have to part.

Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui had even harder roads ahead of them. She would not make them worry about her.

So Zhen trained alongside Xi Xiu, striving to ensure that after leaving Xi Xiu and the others, she would be able to protect herself when facing danger and not make them worry from faraway Gaia.

Xi Xiu combined several Martial Skills suited for close combat and urged Zhen to practice them. Then, together with Xue Fanhui, she repeatedly developed several techniques tailored to Zhen's weaknesses, making sure Zhen mastered them all.

After the trip, they would not have much time together.

Xi Xiu lived through days of being utterly crushed, but she also learned a great deal from her opponent and improved every time.

This made her opponent see her in a new light, and in later matches, they became much more serious and humble.

Opponents in the virtual training rooms were matched, and once a match was successful, it would not be changed unless one reached the age limit and was forcibly sent by the Central Brain to a higher-level room.

Speaking of which, Xi Xiu and her opponent were probably the strangest pair of "online friends." The moment they entered the Battle Room, they fought, never wasting words.

After successfully matching with her opponent, Xi Xiu informed them of the times she entered the Battle Room. Once the two had agreed on a schedule, they never chatted again!

Unlike Xue Fanhui, who could laugh and chat with her opponent entirely through text, sometimes even making the screen scroll with messages.

Recently, Xue Fanhui had been busy designing weapons. She planned to participate in the Alliance's design competition this year. If she won a prize, there would be a substantial cash reward.

Meanwhile, during breaks from training, Xi Xiu began considering ways to make money.

There was only one opportunity each year to search for Shulai Stones, and the time was limited. Even if she had eight hands, it would be difficult to become rich overnight.

She would probably have many places to spend Star Coins in the future. After all, she had quite a few wishes.

Xue Fanhui spent more and more time shut away in her room each day, and the original trio became just Xi Xiu and Zhen.

Neither of them disturbed Xue Fanhui too much. Mechanical design greatly feared interruptions to one's train of thought, and Xue Fanhui was aiming for third prize in this competition. She was determined to win it.

Thus, Xi Xiu and Zhen did their best to provide her with a quiet environment. They only returned to the dormitory after dusk, spending the rest of their time in the training room or the Orphanage's shared virtual pods.

After spending a month in seclusion, Xue Fanhui finally emerged from her room. Xi Xiu clicked her tongue as she looked at her creation. As expected of someone determined to become the chief mechanical engineer.

Her work was no worse than the one Wei Lanshan had hastily assembled back then.

It was a miniature Atomic Light Cannon, compact enough to be carried easily. More importantly, she had improved the design. Despite its small size, it could fire twenty consecutive shots.

One had to know that even the Alliance's large Atomic Light Cannons could only fire thirty consecutive shots before needing to be recharged with energy.

Zhen was delighted for her roommate. Both of them were such outstanding people. She looked forward to the day when she saw them standing in the depths of the starry sky, each contributing their own strength to protect it.

She would silently bless them from behind the scenes.

Xi Xiu seemed to see a future master mechanic before her. Xue Fanhui truly possessed exceptional talent in this area.

After compiling all the parameters and experimental data for her creation, Xue Fanhui uploaded it to the competition organizers. All that remained was to wait.

The three of them returned to their former routines, burying themselves in training and diligently absorbing knowledge, leaving everyone else at the Orphanage far behind.

Xi Xiu had been fighting her opponent in virtual space for half a year, and recently, she had finally begun to score the occasional small victory. She was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Her hard work and sweat had finally brought satisfying results. Xi Xiu was so happy she wanted to throw back her head and howl at the sky.

After improving, Xi Xiu slowed down her physical training and balanced the time she spent on academic subjects with the time she spent training.

Xi Xiu had been growing very quickly lately. She measured her height. At a physical age of nine, she was already 1.65 meters tall. Xue Fanhui was about the same height, while Zhen was shorter.

Xi Xiu thought of Wei Lanshan's height. It seemed that women in the Alliance averaged around 1.8 meters, so it looked like she could still grow taller.

This was already Xi Xiu's fourth year here. It was autumn on Ningkui Star, and after Xue Fanhui emerged from seclusion, the Orphanage's annual tournament began once more.

That morning, Vivian gathered everyone together and gave her customary address.

"In ten days, our Orphanage's annual combat trial will begin. This time, it will be team-based combat, with teams of three. The team that defeats the greatest number of opponents will win. You may form teams freely. Once you have decided, report your team's name to Shally." Vivian announced the details of the test.

"Do you understand?"

"We understand."

"Also, I hope you will place equal importance on your academic exams. In the Alliance, there are no generals who are poor at academics. If you cannot even master this basic knowledge, then even if you truly become a general or marshal in the future, you will not command respect."

Vivian reviewed the children's academic exam results one by one. Aside from Xi Xiu, Xue Fanhui, and Zhen, whose academic and physical training scores were on par, no one else took their academic subjects seriously. Passing was enough for them.

They needed to know that the Central Brain recorded all of their examination files. Their future promotions and salaries were actually closely tied to them.

"Furthermore, the amount and grade of salary the Alliance gives you in the future will also depend in part on your academic subjects. It is not true that the more military merits you have, the higher your salary will be.

"When you first enter a military corps or begin working, you will only receive the lowest-grade salary. At that time, the grades in your records will play a decisive role. They can increase your salary by twenty percent."

The children erupted into an uproar. When the robots had told them before, they had not taken it seriously. They had not expected it to be true.

The older children immediately began to panic, thinking that they would go make up for their academic subjects as soon as the meeting was over.

Xi Xiu smiled broadly. Ah, what a wise decision. With an adult's self-discipline, I actually got myself a pretty decent salary. Hehe.

After the meeting, the three of them returned to their dorm together. They had no need to worry about forming a team. As long as nothing unexpected happened, the three of them should be able to sweep through the Orphanage.

Zhen's physical fitness level was considered high; only her Mental Power refused to improve. However, the competition was purely a Martial Skill sparring match, and Mental Power could not be used.

Since last year, Zhen had already been able to narrowly defeat her opponents. Therefore, Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui were not at all worried about the match seven days later. At worst, they should all be able to place in the top three.

After the star had risen seven times, Xi Xiu and the other two got out of bed before six that morning. Once they had washed up, gotten ready, and eaten breakfast, they headed to the training room.

The competition would be held there. Corinne and Su Xiangyu from the rear building would serve as referees, robots would handle logistics, and Vivian would oversee the video monitoring.

After a batch of children graduated last year, only a little over a hundred children remained at the Orphanage. Those aged twelve to sixteen were one group, those from nine to twelve were another, and those from four to eight were the last group.