Twelve Twelve

Page (1/3)

Yuan Hanshuang stared fixedly at the bag of crystal cores, her throat involuntarily rolling.

“Continue?” Goodze turned his head to ask her.

“Sure.” To avoid being too obvious, Yuan Hanshuang quickly withdrew her gaze. “But just doing this kind of contest is a bit boring. How about we add a little stake?”

“What kind of stake do you want?”

As she expected, Goodze did not refuse the proposal.

Although he had repeatedly been defeated by her, the young master had a commendable amount of courage—confidence, to be precise. Of course, this was partly thanks to himself holding back these past two years, leaving some hope for others, otherwise things wouldn’t have come this far.

So Yuan Hanshuang casually pointed at the bag of crystal cores in the hand of a man in a black suit.

The black-suited men suddenly glared at her in anger.

Although these earth diggers were low-level, they made up for it in numbers. That bag could probably be sold for tens of thousands of star coins, especially since it contained a second-tier high-level leader’s crystal core. Even for the jury members, it would be a nice little extra income.

“Hand it over,” Goodze said indifferently.

As the young master spoke, the black suits reluctantly handed over the bag.

“This isn’t considered a stake,” the young master said without even looking at the crystal cores, tossing them to her through the air. “Consider this your reward for the contest.”

“How generous of you, young master.” Yuan Hanshuang’s heart bloomed with joy as the full bag landed in her hands.

Feeling good, she decided to give Goodze some face. “There are corpses of earth diggers all around here, which messes with our performance. How about we find a new place for the match?”

“Since it’s just the two of us, we don’t need any unrelated spectators.”

Yuan Hanshuang thought of herself as a really kind person, not only thinking about subtly going easy, but also trying her best to save the young master’s face.

“Young master—” Peng Shi was the first to show disapproval.

But Goodze ignored him completely and simply said, “Mm, lead the way.”

Watching the two walk away, Peng Shi’s expression darkened.

The others in black suits asked, “Boss, the young master doesn’t want us to follow. What should we do now?”

“Why panic?” Peng Shi snapped. “We have trackers. We’ll just follow at a distance to protect him.”

There was a lingering thought in his eyes as he raised his wrist and tapped a few times on his light brain.

After a beep, the other end connected, and a cold voice came through: “Main family assistant department.”

“Hello,” Peng Shi smiled apologetically. “This is jury member number three.”

When they left earlier, he covertly scanned Yuan Hanshuang’s facial data with his light brain. Now it came in handy. “Please investigate the little girl in the footage. She has a particularly close relationship with the young master.”

Given the current situation faced by the Gu family, there were few options to choose from. Among these people, Goodze, who had awakened the family’s signature mimicry, naturally stood out.

This was a serious matter. Before making an official decision, everything about Goodze left on star 1999—including personality, relationships, and strength—would be recorded in files for review by the family’s chief examiner and head. No mistakes were allowed.

After the transmission ended, Peng Shi whispered: “One more thing. On the nearby star 5, a low-level polluted planet, there have been suspicious unknown movements. We saw a Bone Dragon mimicry talent and a starship from the Light Sanctuary here.”

“Bone Dragon mimicry?!”

The voice on the other side suddenly raised in pitch. “Does that dragon have pale blue ghost flames burning in its eyes and around its body?”

Peng Shi recalled: “Yes.”

“Abyssal Bone Dragon.”

The tone behind the communicator returned to cold after a moment. “Understood. This is not information you are authorized to access. The main family has no intention of intervening in the Sanctuary’s conflicts with other forces. Do not create trouble.”

Peng Shi instinctively straightened up. “Received!”

Nearby, Yuan Hanshuang glanced at Goodze, who had been silently following behind her all along. “They’re not from the school, right? What’s going on?”

Although she was Goodze’s officially recognized opponent, they at least had some daily interaction. After all, they belonged to the same school, with no deep grudges; they weren’t enemies.

The boy pressed his lips together.

Honestly, seeing Goodze, usually so arrogant, look like this was rather surprising.

Seeing that Goodze had no intention to answer, Yuan Hanshuang did not press further.

Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, a voice came from behind: “They are people from the Gu family’s main branch.”

The Federation was composed of five grand duchies, each dominated by one of five great family conglomerates; the Gu family was one of them. To control a duchy with the strength of a single family alone, one could imagine how vast these five great families were. Even on the remote star 1999, a collateral branch of the Gu family, merely inheriting the family name, could hold such influence that teachers and students in the entire school lined up to flatter them—a testament to their power.

Having opened the floodgates, the rest came out easily.

Goodze paused: “The only heir of the Gu family’s main branch had an accident not long ago.”

This wasn’t a secret; it had been a widely publicized scandal, known to everyone but Yuan Hanshuang, who had no light brain and didn’t follow current events.

The Gu family’s designated heir had lived the life of a favored child, enjoying the best resources the conglomerate duchy had to offer, smooth sailing for over twenty years. But unexpectedly, while exploring an ancient civilization relic, he encountered a rare hallucinatory brain parasite and was declared brain dead on the spot.

Since the main branch of the Gu family had only this sole heir, they naturally spared no effort to save him. Recently, the old family head even secretly requested the Light Pope’s personal intervention. The outcome remained undisclosed, but Goodze knew it was not good.

Brain death was not like the brain injury Yuan Hanshuang’s father had; it was a complete vegetative state, incapable of thought.

The heir’s accident caught the Gu family off guard.

If they wanted to cultivate another heir, it would take decades at least, and the main family had no other young talent with outstanding gifts, so their eyes turned to the collateral branches.

Page (2/3)

Goodze was fortunate to be shortlisted.

In simple terms, it was like a pie falling from the sky—an instant elevation.

Yuan Hanshuang had long known the young master’s illustrious background, but not to this extent. “So, you became the heir of the Gu family’s main branch?”

Goodze took a deep breath. “No, several collateral branches were selected along with me.”

Several equally talented candidates vied for the position, but only the most outstanding would be adopted into the main branch.

Although the Scarlet Flame Spotted Tiger was extremely rare, that rarity applied mostly to outsiders. Those with Gu family blood were much more likely to awaken the family’s signature mimicry, a basic criterion for being favored by the main family.

“The people you saw earlier are the main family’s jurors. They’re responsible for taking candidates back to the main family and compiling investigation reports on collateral branches. Most people try to curry favor with them, hoping for a good word.”

“Oh, I see.”

Yuan Hanshuang lazily rubbed her round belly. “You don’t want to go?”

“I don’t know.”

Goodze was unusually confused. “I have no choice.”

His parents and everyone around him had high expectations. Upon receiving the news, they were ecstatic, praising him for bringing honor to the family, constantly reminding him in person, and secretly bribing the jurors.

If nothing unexpected happened, after this polluted planet trial, he would follow the jurors to the Gu duchy to begin the real examination.

No one asked for his own thoughts, and he could make no decisions.

It was precisely because of this that Goodze was so eager to issue a challenge to Yuan Hanshuang.

He wanted, before leaving, to have a proper rematch with the opponent who had dominated him for two whole years and had knocked him out cold with a single punch when he first enrolled.

There might also be some reasons even Goodze himself couldn’t quite articulate.

Unfortunately, the blonde girl standing nearby was oblivious.

“Oh, I get it!”

Yuan Hanshuang, straightforward as ever, completely missed Goodze’s hesitant subtext, instead understanding his desire to get beaten up one more time before leaving. “Let’s wait until we’re further away to fight.”

Having just sniffed the crystal cores, she was now so hungry her chest felt pressed against her back.

Since her promotion to second tier two months ago, Yuan Hanshuang had rarely eaten her fill. Nutrient liquids provided almost no feeling of fullness, even the most expensive ones.

She had been through worse hunger and could endure it.

But now, with delicious food right in front of her, who could resist?

As they walked, Yuan Hanshuang secretly slipped a crystal core from the bag.

The earth diggers’ crystal cores were about the size of a knuckle and appeared pale green under sunlight. This was the color of insect venom; the stronger the toxin, the deeper the green.

Yuan Hanshuang had spent the past two years intensively studying interstellar knowledge and knew that insect venom was the deadliest substance in the galaxy.

Insect venom didn’t just poison to death; it had strong corrosive effects. High-level insect species could even inject venom into a planet’s core, thoroughly polluting and transforming the environment into a nest suitable for insect survival and development—more potent than biochemical weapons.

Could this really be eaten?

Holding the crystal core, Yuan Hanshuang hesitated.

She only knew the core could be used as an energy source; whether it was edible, the books said nothing.

After weighing pros and cons for three seconds, she quietly popped the core into her mouth.

What the hell, her hunger wasn’t going to lie to her. It shouldn’t kill her.

Crunch.

The hard surface cracked open, releasing a cold liquid inside.

The venom that could corrode from mouth to stomach was instantly broken down, transforming into warm waves rolling into her belly, providing energy.

So fragrant!

Feeling the familiar fullness, Yuan Hanshuang was nearly moved to tears. She knew that not eating enough meant slower cultivation, and slow cultivation would drive her, a top competitor, crazy.

Now she finally understood why.

The nutrient liquids didn’t provide enough nutritional value; she needed to switch to a higher grade!

Good. After saving up money for two years, she now had a way to indulge.

As they moved on, Yuan Hanshuang kept stuffing crystal cores into her mouth.

Although eating these was like eating candy with no psychological burden, she still did it discreetly to save Goodze face.

After finding a new open spot, Yuan Hanshuang successfully filled her stomach with half a bag of crystal cores.

Since known fullness value related to the maximum combat power she could exert, she asked cautiously before the match started—and got a dark look from the young master.

“Are you looking down on me?”

“Alright.”

Since Goodze said so, Yuan Hanshuang decided to be a good person to the end and finish quickly.

Hopefully without leaving him any psychological scars.

Page (3/3)

She quickly synchronized with the koi fish spirit, her pupils shimmering red.

At the same time, Goodze’s forehead flared with red flames, faintly revealing the red character for “king.”

Honestly, if her opponent had much higher-tier talent, she might have had no effective countermeasures. But Goodze was not only of the same rank, he was a genuine child. Standing there before a master of ancient martial arts, his entire body was riddled with flaws.

While Yuan Hanshuang pondered how to go easy without being obvious, her brow suddenly furrowed.

Her hand hanging by her side slipped silently behind her back. The steel bracelet around her wrist glowed faintly, and the cold hilt of a dagger silently dropped into her palm.

The next moment, she rolled on the ground, narrowly evading a shadow lunging at her. Without hesitation, she threw the Tang-style dagger forward!

Over the years, a large portion of Yuan Hanshuang’s earnings had been spent on this blade.

Having paid a hefty sum to a black market craftsman, it was certainly no ordinary cold weapon—otherwise it wouldn’t be worth the price.

The Tang dagger traced a beautiful, sharp arc through the air, striking perfectly into a tree branch and pinning the rushing black shadow.

The strap on her wrist flickered, and the steel wire on the hilt automatically reeled the dagger back into its sheath, ready for reuse.

“Ah!”

Goodze was startled at the moment she threw the dagger but quickly calmed down thanks to years of family training. He immediately noticed something behind him and broke out in a cold sweat.

It was a person—or, rather, calling it a person was no longer accurate. From his spine protruded several sticky spider legs dripping blood and flesh. His face had decayed beyond recognition, replaced by a broken mask of mandibles and countless compound eyes resembling insect eggs.

“It’s a parasitic insect.”

Parasitic insects specially infect humans, developing and growing inside the body. Upon reaching maturity, they burst out and devour their host entirely.

Yuan Hanshuang recognized the parasite’s strength was at least third-tier and immediately steeled herself: “Run!”

Talents find it harder and slower to cultivate at higher ranks. She had advanced from zero to first tier in just over a month, but from first to second tier had taken a whole year—and that was with considerable effort.

For this reason, the gap between levels grew increasingly difficult to cross. Even with powerful ancient martial arts, it could not make up for a full rank difference.

Without hesitation, she quickly threw off all her burdens and tossed them behind her.

Seizing the moment, Yuan Hanshuang dragged Goodze along, running forward without looking back.

Goodze ran while pressing his communicator, contacting the black suits they had left behind.

“This is just a low-level polluted planet. How come there have been repeated appearances of third-tier insect species?”

Even usually careless Goodze sensed something was off.

If the earth diggers were a coincidence caused by seismic activity, the parasitic insect definitely was not.

The junior academy sent students here yearly for training and knew this low-level polluted planet well. Otherwise, Xiao Yunmeng would not have so confidently let Yuan Hanshuang train alone here, assured of her current strength to handle herself.

“I don’t know. Something must be going on.”

Yuan Hanshuang shook her head. “Otherwise, how could the Light Sanctuary appear here?”

The blonde girl nimbly ran and jumped through the forest. Having survived many outdoor ordeals in her past life, she quickly found a cave hidden under fallen leaves, signaling Goodze to stop.

“It’s fine. That parasitic insect hasn’t fully consumed its host yet; it can’t catch up.”

“Mm.” Goodze nodded awkwardly. “Thanks for earlier.”

With their contest interrupted multiple times and the strange situation on the polluted planet, neither felt like continuing. Once they confirmed temporary safety, silence settled between them.

After a while, Goodze suddenly spoke: “What are your plans for the future?”

“What plans?”

Yuan Hanshuang was examining the cave they were using as a temporary refuge, staying alert.

The young master didn’t notice her distraction and sheepishly added, “You’re already second tier and could graduate to the intermediate academy anytime.”

Then, fearing misunderstanding, he quickly added, “I just want to keep tabs on my opponent. Don’t think too much of it!”

In fact, Yuan Hanshuang wasn’t thinking about it at all.

She tapped inside the cave and glanced outside, responding perfunctorily, “Why ask? You go back and be your young master self. We’ll meet again at the advanced academy.”

Goodze said no more.

After a moment of quiet, Yuan Hanshuang spoke again: “Something’s not right about this cave.”

She carefully inspected the surroundings and found many traces of artificial excavation.

Although this polluted planet was low-level, it had been contaminated by insect venom for hundreds of years. Logically, there shouldn’t be such traces.

As she spoke, the ground, which had been quiet only moments ago, began to tremble again.

This time, it was different from the earlier slight tremors—it felt like a deep rumbling from beneath their feet.

Yuan Hanshuang silently cursed her own bad luck: “Get out now!”

Before she finished, the cave suddenly collapsed.