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"Visiting students certainly don't receive quite as good treatment, but Leikedasi has the best teaching resources of any military academy in the entire Alliance. Give some more thought to whether you want this visiting student spot. I'll return to Federation space the day after tomorrow. You can come to me anytime before then."

After a moment's thought, Xu Jintang replied, "Thank you, ma'am, but I decline."

Zhuang Silin froze, curiosity showing in her expression. "Why?"

Xu Jintang pressed her lips together and sank into thought.

Her sea of consciousness was relatively large, so she definitely wouldn't reach tier two before the joint entrance exam for all star regions. That meant her results might not stand out much, and she could very well lose her chance to enter Leikedasi.

So this visiting student spot really was quite important to her.

But she refused to accept it.

It would have been fine if she hadn't been given any expectations. Now that she knew her abilities were exceptional, she naturally couldn't accept having to attend the military academy as a visiting student.

She wanted to earn her way into Leikedasi fair and square as a regular military cadet.

Standing before Zhuang Silin, Xu Jintang wore a confident smile as she said firmly, "Ma'am, I know my current situation doesn't qualify me for special admission to Leikedasi. I want to take the joint entrance exam. In six months, I'll enter Leikedasi as a regular military cadet."

Zhuang Silin paused, then smiled. "That confident?"

Xu Jintang nodded. "I believe in myself."

And Brother Dragon.

It was just a military academy. She refused to believe she couldn't get in.

Zhuang Silin studied Xu Jintang with interest.

"I admire your courage." She rose with a smile and lifted her hand. A round nameplate appeared in her palm.

The nameplate bore the emblem of Leikdasi Military Academy.

Zhuang Silin held it out and explained:

"This is a Leikedasi visiting student nameplate. Regardless of your joint entrance exam results, you can bring this nameplate to Leikedasi and study there as a visiting student."

"Of course, if you get into Leikedasi, just return the nameplate to me after you enroll."

Xu Jintang looked at the nameplate in delighted surprise.

That meant that even if she failed the joint entrance exam and scored terribly, she could still choose to attend Leikedasi as a visiting student.

It was essentially a safety net for her.

"Thank you, ma'am!" Xu Jintang accepted the nameplate with both hands.

"Special admission to Leikedasi can only be granted after a vote by all the academy's senior faculty. Your current circumstances really don't meet the special admission criteria, so this is all I can do for you."

Zhuang Silin explained.

Xu Jintang pressed her lips together, then smiled and nodded. "I understand. I also know you've done everything you can, Ms. Zhuang. I don't blame you."

A smile appeared on Zhuang Silin's face. "I look forward to seeing you again at Leikedasi next year."

"You will!" Xu Jintang nodded and answered firmly.

Zhuang Silin watched Xu Jintang turn and leave, a hint of amusement rising in her eyes.

She wasn't sure how to describe that spirit in Xu Jintang. Perhaps it was the vitality of youth.

Full of passion, she thought nothing of failure.

Sometimes, she rather admired students with that kind of fighting spirit.

After leaving the lounge, Xu Jintang put the visiting student nameplate into her bracelet's storage space.

Jiang Lu, who had been waiting outside for her, approached and peered nervously into the lounge. "How did it go? What did Teacher Zhuang talk to you about? Nothing serious, right?"

Xu Jintang took a deep breath and recounted their conversation in full.

Jiang Lu's expression changed instantly, his tone turning somewhat urgent. "Your ability might evolve? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Xu Jintang lowered her head guiltily and cleared her throat. "I wasn't sure before, either. I only gradually realized it recently."

Jiang Lu sighed regretfully.

"What a shame. If I'd known your ability might evolve, I could have reported it to the guidance personnel right after the ability awakening ceremony. I might have been able to secure special admission to another military academy for you."

"But it's definitely too late now."

Xu Jintang smiled and comforted her homeroom teacher. "It's all right. Things are pretty good for me now. At least I have the Leikedasi visiting student spot as a safety net."

Jiang Lu shook his head helplessly and patted Xu Jintang on the shoulder. "A visiting student spot at Leikedasi is still very valuable. Visiting students don't receive the same treatment as regular cadets, but it's the top military academy. Even studying there for six months or a year would definitely help you improve enormously. Since Teacher Zhuang thinks highly of you, make the most of this opportunity."

"Mm." Xu Jintang nodded, determination rising within her.

She would definitely get into Leikedasi!

Two days later, Zhuang Silin left, and the school returned to its usual peaceful routine. Song Tianqi, who had been under tremendous pressure all this time, could finally relax as well.

The school's assessment tournament had reached the semifinals, with four teams competing for two spots.

Considering the importance of this round, the school decided to hold the draw early to assign opponents.

On the day of the draw, Xu Jintang stepped forward on behalf of her team to draw their opponent.

"Number one." She displayed the number card in her hand.

Beside her, Xu Bohan, who had just finished drawing, revealed his own number card, a cold glint flashing through his eyes. "We're number one too."

The venue immediately fell silent.

Then lively discussions erupted:

"It's only the semifinals, and Xu Bohan's and Xu Jintang's teams are already facing off!"

"This is exciting. It's practically the championship match happening early."

"Let's make a bet. I'm backing Xu Jintang's team."

"But honestly, all three members of Xu Bohan's team are pretty strong overall. They have a good chance of winning too."

Jiang Zhongtian, Class Two's teacher, folded his arms and said with a smile, "Looks like luck is on our side this time."

Four teams remained in the tournament. Two were from Class One, while the other two came from Class Two and Class Three respectively.

Now that Class One's two teams were meeting early in the semifinals, only one of them could reach the final.

This actually put Class One at quite a disadvantage.

Jiang Lu's expression remained calm as he folded his arms. "It doesn't matter. As long as we win the championship in the end."

Jiang Zhongtian sneered. "Then we'll wait and see."

After the draw ended, Huang Binhan dismissed everyone.

He headed toward the office with Jiang Lu.

"Xu Jintang got a visiting student spot at Leikedasi?" Huang Binhan sounded somewhat surprised.

Jiang Lu nodded, looking rather proud. "My students have always been outstanding. But keep this to yourself for now. Whether Xu Jintang's ability can evolve is still uncertain. I'm worried people might gossip about this visiting student spot later. That wouldn't be good."

Huang Binhan was happy for Xu Jintang too, a smile appearing on his face. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

The magical treasure retail section at "Have You Earned Money?"

Xu Jintang took out the dagger whose blade already had several notches and set it on the counter. "Hello, can I trade this dagger in toward a new one?"

The staff member picked up the dagger and examined it, brows tightly furrowed. "The damage is pretty severe. It's worth around a hundred star coins at most."

"That's fine." Xu Jintang nodded. She might as well get whatever she could for it. Keeping it wouldn't do her any good.

She turned toward the magical treasure display cases, bent over, and leaned against one as she carefully examined each magical treasure.

She had saved up quite a bit of money selling inscription talismans recently.

This time, she planned to get herself a slightly better weapon, so the dagger's blade wouldn't keep getting notched in future fights.

The staff member followed her over to the display case. "What type of magical treasure are you looking to purchase? We have offensive, defensive, and multifunctional magical treasures. I can recommend some for you."

Xu Jintang rubbed her chin and thought for a while. "Do you have any good-value offensive magical treasures?"

Her ability's effects were all supportive at the moment. What she lacked most was offensive power, and she could only make up for that with magical treasures.

The staff member gestured invitingly. "This way, please. These are all offensive magical treasures. Our current best-selling offensive magical treasure is this ruby sleeve crossbow. It's a tier-two concealed offensive weapon that can be worn on your arm. It's normally hard to notice, letting you catch your opponent off guard when you attack."

"And the bolts can be retrieved and reused, so it's excellent value too."

After explaining, the staff member took the ruby sleeve crossbow out of the display case and handed it to Xu Jintang.

Xu Jintang accepted it and examined it. It was indeed very finely made.

"How much is it?"

The staff member smiled. "Sixteen thousand star coins. Ability users at tier two or below can all use this magical treasure, and its power depends on the mental power you pour into it. The stronger you are, the more power it can unleash. It's a very reasonable price."

The corner of Xu Jintang's mouth twitched.

Sixteen thousand star coins was enough to cover her food expenses for a whole year.

Luckily, she had money now. Otherwise, she really couldn't have afforded it.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Xu Jintang gritted her teeth. "All right. I'll take it."

The joint entrance exam was coming soon. She needed a weapon that suited her, no matter what.

The staff member's smile deepened, and they added a reminder. "This magical treasure can also have inscriptions added to it for an even greater enhancement."

Xu Jintang put the ruby sleeve crossbow on her right arm.

Her old dagger hadn't counted as a magical treasure. When fighting tier-two demonic beasts, it couldn't even pierce their outer shells.

It couldn't have inscriptions added to it either. It was just an ordinary dagger.

But this magical treasure was far better than her old dagger in both offensive power and functionality.

There really were benefits to paying more.

"All right, thank you." Xu Jintang quickly paid, and her previously ample account balance instantly dropped by half.