"No!"

Luo Yu crumpled the wriggling green squid into a lump and flung it straight at the Headmistress’s face.

It latched on instantly.

Watching the Headmistress struggle as the squid’s suckers and beak clung messily to her wrinkled face, Luo Yu snapped, "What garbage. Even dogs wouldn’t touch this."

"Cough... I’m dying... dying..." The Headmistress frantically peeled the squid off her face. After narrowly escaping suffocation, she gasped for air in huge, ragged breaths.

Once she’d calmed down, she sighed at Luo Yu. "Raw demon beasts like this restore massive mana. They’re incredibly useful."

"Just looking at it gives me trauma," Luo Yu muttered, her face paling. The squid’s writhing tentacles made her imagine herself naked, trapped by a squid monster probing every crevice of her body. A shiver ran down her spine.

"If you won’t eat it, fine." The Headmistress reached into her pocket and pulled out a decent-looking green vial. She tossed it to Luo Yu. "This is its extracted juice. Slightly weaker, but it’ll work."

"You couldn’t lead with that?"

Luo Yu rolled her eyes, uncorked the vial, and tilted her head back. She gulped down most of the potion in loud, hurried swallows.

The magic potion took effect quickly. Heat flooded Luo Yu’s body. She felt her muscles shift and instinctively dropped into a sitting position, knees bent outward, her expression dazed.

Mana surged through her, clearing blockages—but then her body rebelled. Patches of glowing green liquid seeped out through her pores, rejected.

"Same essence, different source... Most of the potency was resisted. So she *does* have an awakened bloodline?" The Headmistress studied Luo Yu’s vacant stare, deep in thought.

"Fairy Kind—elemental incarnates. Similar to Spirit Kind, but far stranger. Even individuals of the same species vary wildly." The Training Dummy stepped forward, answering the Headmistress’s unspoken question.

"So that’s it. An extinct demon beast... troublesome." The Headmistress rubbed her temples, muttering to herself.

Suddenly, she froze. Staring at the towering wooden dummy before her, she blurted, "Wait—how do *you* know all this?!"

"Guessed."

"Six."

The dummy continued, "Under different Demonic Gods’ blessings, even Training Dummies vary greatly. I got lucky."

"Understood—my ass!" The Headmistress’s eyes widened with terror as she stared at the battle-scarred wooden figure. "No semi-sentient being has this level of analytical depth! You’re not a normal Training Dummy—you’re practically alive!"

"What’s going on?" Luo Yu snapped out of her daze, frowning at the Headmistress’s horrified expression. "Old man, what’s wrong? Scaring Yang Wei again?"

"That thing’s long scrapped. Forget it—listen!" The Headmistress rushed over, yanking Luo Yu upright. She jabbed a finger at the wooden dummy beside them. "Luo Yu! Where did you find this semi-sentient being?!"

"Dumpster-dived it." Luo Yu glanced at her dummy, confused. "What’s the big deal?"

"Normal semi-sentients aren’t *this* advanced!" The Headmistress pulled Luo Yu aside, deadly serious. "Let me show you a proper Training Dummy."

Her irises flashed blue. An incantation hummed in her mind as she summoned her own dummy.

After a long pause, a second-generation Training Dummy—forged of steel, joints mimicking human anatomy, gemstone eyes gleaming with programmed intelligence—clanked hurriedly toward them.

The Headmistress snapped her fingers. "Begin."

"At your service, Master." The steel dummy whirred to life. "Commence combat simulation?"

"*You* dare challenge the Great Emperor?" Luo Yu shot into a fighting stance, reflexively puffing her chest. "Hmph! Since you’ve groveled so sincerely for the honor of battling me... I’ll *graciously* indulge you!"

She lunged, kicking the steel dummy’s knee.

Her face turned ghost-white. Agony shot up her leg as her toes rebounded off cold metal. Silently, she hugged her knees and crouched down.

"Great Emperor." Her wooden dummy rushed over, gently cradling her injured foot. "Are you unharmed?"

Luo Yu’s face was ashen. "I’m fine."

"Attack concluded." The steel dummy analyzed the strike. "Target’s combat proficiency ranks sixth from bottom among all demon mages."

"Hmph!" Despite the throbbing pain, Luo Yu beamed, baring perfect teeth. "Of course! My power is so overwhelming, even machines can’t quantify it!"

"Luo Yu, focus!" The Headmistress patted her steel dummy’s chest. "Normal dummies follow preset protocols. They don’t nursemaid you like living guardians! Yours isn’t semi-sentient—it’s *alive*."

"Huh?" Luo Yu squinted between her wooden dummy and the steel one. "Now that you mention it... yeah, kinda different."

"Different?!" The Headmistress’s gaze locked onto the ancient wooden figure, wary. "I don’t know which Demonic God forged you, but your existence defies all laws."

"Well..." The wooden dummy crossed its arms, helpless. "I don’t know why I’m like this either. I was scrapped decades ago. Yet when I met my master... I reactivated."

"Semi-sentients shouldn’t possess this much self-awareness." The Headmistress’s eyes darkened. Ethereal flames flickered in her palms. "Just in case—"

"*I* get it!" Luo Yu suddenly clapped her hands together.

"You get *what*?" The Headmistress blinked.

"That steel robot’s way cooler than mine." Luo Yu eyed the second-gen dummy enviously. "Ugh. My useless bot can’t even comfort a girl properly..."

Wooden Dummy: "...".

Headmistress: "...".

"Hey!" Luo Yu stomped over, scowling. "Old man! Stop yapping about robots! I came for something important!"

"What?"

"Aren’t you a Highborn Demon now?" She punched the Headmistress’s arm. "Xiao Shuang told me you were just a trash-tier demon mage and a pathetic Lower Demon back in the day. You *must’ve* cheated your way up!"

"That’s..." The Headmistress scratched her head, seeing the mischief in Luo Yu’s eyes. "It’s complicated. Don’t pry—"

"Less talk!" Luo Yu decked her, sending the Headmistress sprawling. She loomed over her, imperious. "I’m your student! Teach me! I want to become a Highborn Demon!"

Then she collapsed onto the floor, rolling and wailing. "I’ll *die* if I’m not Highborn! Xiao Shuang ignores me ’cause I’m not Highborn! Every girl rejects me ’cause I’m not Highborn! Waaah—I *need* to be Highborn!"

Headmistress: "...".