Thirty, thirty.

Although the lightsabers issued by the school were far inferior to the expensive, custom-made ones like Xia Mengrou’s, Yuan Hanshuang was still unable to put hers down.

Come on! It was a lightsaber!

She had rehearsed over a dozen cool ways to draw the weapon just for the activation process. Once back in the dormitory, she felt like sleeping while hugging the hilt.

Unfortunately, they were still in the middle of military training and could not access the holographic simulation combat rooms within Silver Star Academy; otherwise, Yuan Hanshuang would have spent three days straight inside just to get a feel for her new weapon.

However, Feng Bo’s remark about "earning a free lightsaber just by accumulating enough academic credits" was clearly a powerful motivator. Yuan Hanshuang’s initial lethargy vanished, and her enthusiasm for military training skyrocketed.

"When hunting Zerg, the lightsaber is the most commonly used weapon. Ordinary crystal-core firearms cannot penetrate the Zerg’s hardened shells; only psychic energy can produce an armor-piercing effect. Furthermore, the lethal venom of the Zerg might corrode traditional cold weapons, but it struggles to leave a mark on a lightsaber. It is environmentally friendly and pollution-free."

The next day, the instructor taught them how to activate their lightsabers.

"A lightsaber requires an infusion of psychic energy to function. You must maintain a continuous output of energy; once that flow is interrupted, the lightsaber will fail to hold its form."

Instructor Niu picked up a lightsaber. In his massive hands, the long-handled weapon looked like a glow stick used by a child at a concert. "It’s not difficult to use a lightsaber under normal conditions; the challenge lies in maintaining a stable energy output. To achieve this, you must spend a great deal of time practicing. That is the purpose of our cold weapon training."

With that, he signaled the freshmen to try it themselves.

As expected, everyone started off well, but after half an hour of playing around, they began to struggle. Often, the blades would simply vanish mid-swing.

"Stand at attention," Instructor Niu commanded. "Hold your lightsabers and maintain the blades for as long as possible."

The students complied.

Xia Mengrou also released her pink lightsaber, hesitated for a moment, and then clasped her hands in front of her.

Yuan Hanshuang had just set herself in a standard mid-range stance when she looked up and saw this.

"..."

The young lady had likely only studied the beautiful appearance of the lightsaber and hadn't learned a single proper technique; even her starting stance was incredibly amateurish.

Coincidentally, the group of instructors began patrolling the ranks to correct the freshmen’s grip.

Yuan Hanshuang lowered her voice: "Move your left hand up a bit, step out with your right foot, and shift your center of gravity upward."

From her angle, she could see the ears hidden beneath Xia Mengrou’s hair twitch as she silently adjusted her posture.

Just as she finished adjusting, Feng Bo happened to walk over from the front rows.

As he approached them, the adjutant’s sharp gaze pierced through his lenses, sweeping over both of them. His eyes lingered for a moment on their stance—which looked as if one had been copied and pasted from the other. "Not bad."

"Have you studied swordsmanship before?" He ignored Xia Mengrou’s slightly stiff movements and looked directly at Yuan Hanshuang.

Yuan Hanshuang replied, "I only have a rudimentary understanding."

This was not humility on her part.

The schools of ancient martial arts were vast and varied, as numerous as the hairs on a head. Even for a grandmaster, achieving mastery in just one style was incredibly difficult. Take Yuan Hanshuang, for example: in her previous life, her focus was on fist techniques. Swordplay was a different discipline for her, one she had only touched upon briefly—she knew a move or two, but it was far from mastery.

"Hmm."

Feng Bo nodded slightly, leaving it at that without further comment.

Yuan Hanshuang, however, cast a subtle glance at his retreating back. For some reason, she felt this adjutant was a bit strange, and her sixth sense was ringing alarm bells.

After finishing the inspection of the freshmen’s technique, Instructor Niu demonstrated the most basic sword forms on the spot.

"Skills cannot be used indefinitely. To maximize combat efficiency, whether it is swordsmanship or the hand-to-hand combat we will teach you in a few days, the goal is singular: to kill the enemy and increase the endurance of your skill rotations."

"In duels between gifted individuals, swordsmanship is not used—it is only for combat against the Zerg. Therefore, its only purpose is to kill! You must be clear about this objective to achieve results."

Yuan Hanshuang stood nearby, watching with rapt attention.

All basic swordsmanship in the world, regardless of origin, consists of techniques like thrusting, slashing, hanging, pointing, collapsing, circling, wiping, piercing, and pressing.

Sure enough, this set of "Interstellar Basic Swordsmanship" was just old wine in a new bottle—very fundamental. After watching it once, she had already mastered it in her heart.

***

After the demonstration, Instructor Niu sheathed his sword. "Divide into pairs within your academy and practice with your partners."

Hearing that they were not allowed to pair up across different academies, the students looked disappointed. After shooting provocative glares at the other groups, they began looking for partners within their own academy.

Yuan Hanshuang was just about to properly discipline her "useless little brother" Wu Haoxuan, but when she turned around, she saw Xuanyuan Sheng walking toward her, lightsaber in hand, as if no one else existed.

Seeing her look over, Xuanyuan Sheng gave a bright, refreshing smile. "Shall we be partners?"

Honestly, every time he spoke, Yuan Hanshuang had the strange illusion of a Crown Prince inspecting the countryside to show his concern for the common people.

Looking back, she saw that Wu Haoxuan had already moved at lightning speed to pair up with another fellow student from the Support Department, standing as far away from her as possible.

"Fine, whatever." It didn’t matter who she teamed up with.

Yuan Hanshuang shrugged and walked over to stand opposite Xuanyuan Sheng.

As she took her position, her eyes were drawn to the unique and expensive-looking lightsaber hilt in his hand.

Yesterday, when they were issued their lightsabers, neither Xia Mengrou nor Xuanyuan Sheng had joined the queue.

One was the young lady of the Marshal’s Xia family, and the other was an Imperial heir. Since Xia Mengrou, an A-rank, had a custom lightsaber, there was no reason why an S-rank like Xuanyuan Sheng wouldn't have one too.

"Stand face to face! First, take your starting stance!"

While Instructor Niu was busy correcting the stance of other freshmen, Yuan Hanshuang asked curiously, "Where did you buy this lightsaber, and how much did it cost?"

"Huh?"

Xuanyuan Sheng hadn't expected Yuan Hanshuang to start with that. "I’m not sure."

He never looked at price tags; he simply left all his bills to his private butler.

"Kong Mu owed my family a favor years ago, so he customized this sword for me for free."

Yuan Hanshuang: *Good grief.*

Kong Mu was the preeminent weapons master in the entire galaxy. The weapon Xia Mengrou received was likely part of the Marshal’s estate quota, but for Kong Mu to owe Xuanyuan Sheng’s family a favor... well, thinking of Xuanyuan Sheng’s mother, the current Imperial Crown Princess, it suddenly seemed like a matter of course.

"By the way, I gave this sword a name."

Xuanyuan Sheng casually performed a flashy, ornate sword flourish and struck a starting pose.

His posture was impeccable—unlike Xia Mengrou, who was clearly a beginner. His arm lines were fluid, his muscles taut; it was a textbook demonstration.

With just one glance, Yuan Hanshuang knew this guy had at least ten years of hard training in swordsmanship under his belt.

"You are the first person at Silver Star I have recognized, and one day you will surely become a capable subordinate of mine—the future Chairman of Silver Star. Therefore, you have the honor of knowing its name."

Yuan Hanshuang was speechless. "Student Xuanyuan, do you know that talking like that makes it very easy to get beaten up?"

"Hahaha!" Xuanyuan Sheng laughed heartily, not taking her words to heart at all.

He flipped his palm, gripped the hilt with both hands, held the lightsaber vertically in front of his chest, and his eyes turned solemn. "This sword is named—Excalibur! It shall bring me glory and victory!"

The bright golden lightsaber paired with his blonde hair—you had to admit, the reflection was quite a match.

Yuan Hanshuang: "..."

*Friend, are you King Arthur?*

Perhaps sensing her sky-high level of silence, Xuanyuan Sheng brushed the hair from his eyes and struck an incredibly pretentious pose. "What’s wrong? Don’t you think that name is cool?"

Yuan Hanshuang: "It is quite cool. So, do you know King Arthur?"

"King Arthur? Never heard of him. To dare to take the title of King—is he a Grand Duke of some principality?"

Xuanyuan Sheng looked confused. "According to interstellar law, only the Holy Xiyi Xia Empire can confer the titles of Emperor and King. Once any planet or independent organization is discovered establishing their own kingdom, they can be reported to the Privy Council, and the Empire will send troops to resolve it."

"Never mind then."

Thinking that the blonde idiot in front of her was actually her cousin, Yuan Hanshuang felt a wave of suffocation in her chest.

***

She simply set her own stance on the spot. "Since we're introducing swords, what a coincidence—I also thought of a good name for mine."

"Oh? I’d be delighted to hear it."

"Caliburn, how about that?"

"That’s a good name!"

Xuanyuan Sheng paused, not even asking why a lightsaber would be named "Sword in the Stone," and habitually gave a thumbs up. "It goes very well with my Excalibur."

*Of course it does, they’re both King Arthur’s swords.*

In the interstellar era, Earth itself was gone, and it was clear that the myth of King Arthur could not have survived here. Yuan Hanshuang was simply too exhausted to complain about how Xuanyuan Sheng had come up with such a name; perhaps people with abnormal brain circuitry were just like that.

As they spoke, the instructor finally finished adjusting the stance of the last student.

After reporting to the chief instructor, Niu Hu stood in the center of the open ground and summoned his mimetic beast.

A massive Purple-Polar Gorilla appeared beside him.

As it manifested, Niu Hu’s muscles bulged until they looked like they might burst, crackling with energy. His hands transformed into those of the gorilla, growing from the size of a wall to the height of a small hill, and his purple pupils peered down at the formation of students with overwhelming pressure.

All the students looked at the shadow looming over them: *gulping silently.jpg*

If that hand came down, they would surely die.

Niu Hu didn't know what these little brats were thinking.

He roared, beat his chest, and released his fourth skill.

"Hah—!"

In an instant, the surrounding area was enclosed by a light purple defensive barrier, as if a massive slab of purple jelly had been pulled up from the ground. It was just the right size, perfectly enclosing the freshmen of both academies on the drill field.

"Students," Feng Bo clapped his hands, signaling the freshmen to stop whispering and talking. "Silence! I will count down from three. Attack each other simultaneously. Remember, keep it restrained."

Hearing this, Xuanyuan Sheng quickly focused his mind.

Once he entered combat mode, the flighty, restless aura that usually hung about him vanished. He became like a king’s sword, waiting to be unsheathed.

Yuan Hanshuang couldn't help but look at him sideways.

She had always felt this Imperial grandson was too ostentatious and confident, lacking a sense of depth. Now, it seemed she had underestimated the methods used by this vast, long-standing interstellar empire to cultivate its heirs.

Little did she know, Xuanyuan Sheng was also feeling a bit hesitant.

He had practiced swordplay for years. His instructor was the renowned Commander of the Seventh Legion, and his usual sparring partners were professional soldiers.

Over time, Xuanyuan Sheng’s swordsmanship had become increasingly sharp and fierce. Combined with the time he spent training on the front lines during the vacation before enrolling, his lightsaber had tasted blood. Even now, that sharpness hadn't faded. If he struck, it would be difficult to hold back.

To avoid accidentally hurting his classmate, he thought for a moment and lowered his voice.

"Student Yuan, I’m quite proficient in swordsmanship. Why don’t you attack first, and I’ll defend?"

Xuanyuan Sheng felt this was a very good suggestion. After all, he was S-rank, and Yuan Hanshuang was only A-rank. In terms of the physical enhancement provided by his mimetic beast level, he was naturally a cut above.

He was always very considerate toward those he recognized, taking care to preserve their pride.

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure," Xuanyuan Sheng said.

"Since you insist so strongly, very well."

Yuan Hanshuang weighed the hilt of the lightsaber in her hand and gave him a meaningful look. "I told you, talking like that really makes it very easy to get beaten up."