Military Training at the Start of the School Year

"ROAR!!!"

The Flame Demon Tiger roared at the sky again, and the glowing red stripes on its body erupted in flame!

Even in Spirit Form, Zhou Sining was startled by the sudden roar.

Then came a rush of excitement that set his heart pounding!

That was insanely cool!

It was already imposing at Servant Level. He could hardly imagine how powerful the Flame Demon Tiger would be at Warrior Level or Commander Level.

Only a Demon Beast this strong and this damn cool deserved to be Zhou Sining's Summoned Beast!

Zhou Sining was very pleased with the Flame Demon Tiger. He immediately turned his Summoning System Magic Energy into a gentle spiritual mark and cast it over the beast.

He remembered that treating a summoned creature kindly improved his chances of forming a contract.

The spiritual mark was the bridge between summoner and Summoned Beast. Only when it settled on the Flame Demon Tiger's forehead would the contract be complete.

Watching the mark quickly climb toward its forehead, Zhou Sining thought this gentle approach would go smoothly.

But the proud tiger seemed to sense something. Its golden-red pupils suddenly narrowed, and the nearly completed mark shattered!

His first contract attempt had failed just like that.

Zhou Sining stared at the mark dissolving into motes of light. He could not believe it had rejected him even after he had been so gentle.

"Grrr!"

A low growl like a V12 engine rumbled from the Flame Demon Tiger's throat. Its golden-red eyes locked onto the spot where Zhou Sining's Spirit Form stood, blazing with the will to fight.

Clearly, the proud, ferocious Flame Demon Tiger did not think Zhou Sining was worthy of making a contract with it.

Zhou Sining raised an eyebrow, his expression turning peculiar.

Oh, so kindness won't work on you?

Fine. I can do this the hard way!

He steadied his breathing and used the auxiliary Magic Equipment he had prepared.

The Magic Equipment was a single-use product from the system shop.

Once used, it greatly strengthened the summoner's connection to the summoning plane. Not only would his spiritual mark become more powerful, he could even project a Magic spell for the Summoned Beast to see.

As Confucius said: win them over with virtue.

And virtue came in the form of a fist the size of a sandbag!

"Gangsha!"

Zhou Sining swung a fist at the snarling tiger without hesitation!

Strengthened by the Magic Equipment, the spiritual mark doubled in power. It became a fierce white flaming fist that hurtled straight at the Flame Demon Tiger!

Having absorbed three Spirit Seeds, Gangsha's fire had long surpassed the power of a Spirit Seed. Once the white flames ignited, they radiated an aura of unmatched ferocity!

The white flaming fist itself could do no harm, but the Flame Demon Tiger, also a creature of fire, felt the full force of its overwhelming presence.

Its golden-red pupils contracted. Its fighting spirit vanished, and before those supreme white flames, it had no choice but to lower its proud head!

As a fellow wielder of fire, it faced a Flame Seed of a higher Advanced Level. Even its soul cried out for it to submit!!!

This time, the Flame Demon Tiger offered no resistance. It let the spiritual mark of the White Flame Seed climb onto its forehead, where it settled beneath the character for "king."

The white flames behind it made the flowing golden-red "king" look even more commanding!

"That's better."

Watching the tiger tuck in its claws and crouch on the ground, Zhou Sining confidently blew across his knuckles.

With the spiritual mark in place, his consciousness swiftly left the half-real, half-illusory continent and returned to his room.

He looked around. The room was far too small to show off his new pet.

But that was fine. Ancient Capital Academy's opening day was near. During freshman military training, he would have plenty of space and time to show off his imposing Flame Demon Tiger.

After a day's rest, Zhou Sining had more or less grown familiar with the Flame Demon Tiger, and Ancient Capital Academy officially opened.

Unlike other schools, Ancient Capital Academy began with military training.

The training uniforms had already been handed out during the two days of registration. On opening day, students wore them to school, assembled on the athletics field in classes of thirty, then headed to the Outer City Wall with their classes.

Yes, straight to the Outer City Wall.

The training lasted half a month. During that time, the freshmen would stay in the army's barracks at the Outer City Wall, eating, living, and marching alongside Military Mages.

The academy and the army had considered the students' safety, and the training was far less demanding than a Military Mage's usual routine. Even so, for most students who had made it into this university, it was clearly not what they had wanted.

In fact, it was the exact opposite.

They had all fought tooth and nail through the Magic college entrance exam to get here.

Yet what awaited them was not fine food and drink, but half a month of military life and tides of Undead terrifying enough to scare them half to death at a glance.

No wonder Ancient Capital Academy's freshman dropout rate was absurdly high. Once they learned the truth, most people would struggle to convince themselves to stay.

Fortunately, Zhou Sining was used to this kind of life and had no real objections.

Ancient Capital, East City Wall.

Second Defense Line, Third War Zone.

All seven elemental institutes had sent one class here.

Zhou Sining's class from the Fire Institute was one of those seven lucky groups.

Beside them stood the Ice Institute's third class. Mu Bai stood ramrod straight at the front of its ranks, so Zhou Sining spotted him at once.

"Mu Bai, what a coincidence. You're here too." Zhou Sining went over to greet him.

The moment Mu Bai, who had been acting aloof, saw him, his eyes lit up. He dropped his icy expression and pulled Zhou Sining into a chat.

They were not the only ones. The other students were young, and it was broad daylight with no Undead in sight. They chatted happily among themselves.

Then the commander of the Third War Zone arrived with a group of mages in army-green uniforms.

Only then did the seven noisy formations quiet down a little.

Su Zhe and Jiang Bowen stepped onto a higher section of the wall. Arms folded, they looked down sternly at the chattering students.

After surveying the crowd, Su Zhe raised his right fist high.

"Quiet!"

His voice burst from the loudspeaker like thunder in their ears. The students fell silent at once and waited for him to speak.

Su Zhe coughed twice and swept a cold gaze over them. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Su Zhe, commander of the Third War Zone. For the next half month, our war zone will be fully responsible for your military training."

"Deputy Commander Jiang Bowen will explain the training in detail shortly. For now, I'll briefly assign you to your units."

He pointed to the seven Military Mages waiting nearby. "Each group of thirty will form a company. These are seven company commanders I've selected from our ranks. They'll lead you through the next half month of training."

"Each company also needs a deputy commander. I'll give priority to volunteers. Anyone interested?"

Zhou Sining's eyes lit up. Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed Mu Bai and stepped forward.

"Chief Instructor, I'll do it! I'm Zhou Sining!"

The students behind him, still hesitating, were stunned.

Zhou Sining had guts. He had not even paused to think.

"Mm. Anyone else?" Su Zhe looked coldly toward the other companies.

Jiang Bowen was less stern. He took the chance to wink at Zhou Sining.

"You know the instructors?" Mu Bai had noticed.

Zhou Sining looked at him as though it were obvious. "They're my brothers."