“So let’s all cooperate from here on,” the Prefect said, eyes narrowing like crescent blades, a thin mist of hostility drifting over the crowd. “Best outcome, no one’s harmed; the naughty ones get sent back. If they insist on trouble, we won’t mind using confinement.”
For gods, confinement starts at a hundred winters, and the form of your cage changes like weather—whatever suits the jailer’s mood.
“Please step up to the stage in order,” she continued, voice smooth as still water. “We have special detection. If you cooperate, it’ll be over in no time.”
“Hmph.”
A disgruntled freshman snorted and walked up. One stone thrown, and the river moved; everyone followed in ripples. When it reached Qianya’s turn, she and her crew exchanged a glance, then flowed with the crowd.
The Prefect watched the orderly steps like beads clicking into place, nodded, and was about to proceed. A red-haired girl in the freshmen ranks stepped forward, her stance like a drawn bow. “Prefect, aren’t you coming up? You said the culprit’s among us—is that the Council’s stance or your personal claim?”
“It’s my personal claim,” the Prefect replied, calm as frost. “But having you gather here is the Student Council’s decision after reviewing my report.”
“Oh? So that means—”
“The Disciplinary Committee is the Council’s executive arm,” she said, words crisp as bamboo. “As the Vice to the Chief Prefect, I’m authorized to make rulings on freshmen. If you doubt my standing, you’re welcome to challenge me—as long as you can beat me.”
The air tightened like a drumhead. A few hot-blooded freshmen were already itching to swing. The Prefect didn’t yield an inch. Qianya felt a bad moon rising; her heart sank, and her feet slid back on their own.
If fists fly, I’m running first.
“Bringing you here was indeed the Council’s arrangement.”
A sweet voice chimed in. A flurry of petals drifted like pink snowfall across Qianya’s vision. A smiling woman with pink hair stood there, cradling a grimoire like a candle of knowledge. Her uniform gleamed like polished lacquer; her long hair danced in the breeze, and a clean fragrance brushed every nose like a passing spring.
“Let me introduce myself,” she said, voice lilting like a bell. “I’m Taoran, Vice President of the Student Council. You probably know a bit about me, so I’ll keep it short. Calling you here was… unavoidable.” Taoran sighed, a small cloud on a sunny day. “Our President can’t appear for personal reasons. The Academy’s security system hit a snag. To keep opportunists from slipping in, we have to bolster our defenses.”
“Enough talk. If you’re clear, let’s continue.” Taoran turned, giving the floor back to the Prefect.
“I’ll explain what you’ll do next,” the Prefect said, posture firm as a pine. “You’ll enter a special space. You’ll live in a forest for a time. Beasts—many—will attack. I’ll collect your combat data and compare it with intel from last night. This performance will also count as your first grade since enrollment. In short, your first test starts now.”
“Does that even help…?”
Annoyance first, then a sigh—Qianya’s thoughts flickered like fireflies. You spelled it out. Won’t people hide on purpose?
“Useful or not is our business,” the Prefect said, gaze moving like a slow blade. “You just follow the rules and complete the task.”
She looked at the crowd one by one, eyes cool as rain. “Clear? Any questions?”
“Me!” Xuewei shot up her hand, face grave as stone.
“Mm?”
“If… we die in there, what happens?”
That’s just dying, right? What else? The question was so simple Qianya couldn’t help rolling her eyes, a pebble skipping across an irritated pond. Why does this dummy ask things that dent IQ?
Everyone turned to Xuewei, faces knotted in odd shapes.
Die? Aren’t gods undying?
“Relax. You won’t die,” the Prefect said, her tone as mild as dusk.
“Any other questions?”
“If not, we begin.”
No one else spoke. Taoran smiled and stepped forward, opening a pocket space like unfolding a silk fan. Qianya’s vision blurred; she blinked, and the world flipped into a strange jungle. Sunlight speared through the canopy; it looked like any forest under a blue sky.
“You and that little one are together, right?” Taoran’s voice brushed the leaves like wind. “I placed you both at one site. Do your best. We’ll be watching every ripple here.” Her glance at Qianya was a lantern behind paper, then she vanished.
Unease first, then suspicion—Qianya’s chest tightened. Does this woman… know something?
A dizzy wave rolled through her skull. She grabbed her forehead and leaned against a tree, then squinted up. The sunlight was a blade; she slipped under another tree’s shade like a fish into deeper water.
“Please wait. Can I ask you a few questions?”
“…”
“Taoran, I know you can hear me. Could you answer a few?”
“If you pass cleanly, I’ll consider it~”
“Deal.”
Survive first—then fight. The thought settled like dust on stone. Qianya crouched and let out a breath, feeling the magic in her veins surge like a warm current. Same as before, stronger even. She just didn’t know the local benchmark.
“She said they’re watching. She won’t toss me monsters I can’t possibly handle… right?”
“My head… where am I?” Xuewei dangled from a branch, eyes fluttering open like sleepy moths. She looked around, then caught Qianya’s half-stifled laugh.
“What’s going on!?”
Fuming, Xuewei grabbed the branch. She used all her strength, a storm in a teacup, and it didn’t even creak.
“I refuse to believe this…”
“I can’t break you? Watch me!” Cold surged from her like a winter tide. The tree holding her iced over, thin frost skinning the bark in a glittering veil.
“…” Qianya spread ghost wings—inky feathers unfurled—and kicked into the air. She lifted Xuewei off the branch like plucking fruit.
“What are you doing…!” Xuewei puffed her cheeks, glaring at Qianya, as if her failure was Qianya’s fault.
“Ow!”
“Watch closely.” Qianya flicked her eyes at the Xuewei now on the ground. Red light pulsed in her right hand, and her crimson pupils flashed like embers.
Boom!!!
The sound rolled through the forest like thunder across hills. Qianya’s fist slammed into the trunk. Her small hand, wrapped in blood-glow, made the giant wood shudder, shaking frost free. Fine cracks spidered along the bark.
Boom!
“Ugh!!” Xuewei scowled at Qianya, anger fizzing like boiling water. “You showing off to me?”
In Xuewei’s eyes, Qianya looked smug as a cat in sunlight. In truth, Qianya stared at her like she was the village fool.
“I’m not showing off, you—dummy! Don’t you notice? Our full-power hit can’t even break a tree here!”
The forest’s echo was a drum. Her shout bounced back again and again, like stones thrown into a deep canyon.
“…”
“Qianya, um…”
“Do you feel that—an earthquake?”
As if I needed you to say it. Sour first, then resignation—Qianya’s face puckered like biting a lemon. She turned, unwilling, toward the tremor.
A tiger, tens of meters tall, thundered toward them, rage burning like a brushfire. Trees that needed their full strength to crack toppled under its bulk like paper in the rain.
