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Ultimately, Wu Haoxuan concluded with a brilliant remark:

"I get it now. As long as the Student Council President from next door is on the field, we can forget about the shortcut of ending the match by seizing the badge. We have no choice but to fight the Imperial Academy head-on and rack up a hundred kills. In the meantime, we also have to protect our own badge bearer. So, isn't the way to test if he's a 'good guy' simple? Just see if he ends up participating in the confrontation match!"

Xuanyuan Sheng choked: "That logic holds, but what does proving whether the Saint of Light is a good person have to do with me? Forget it, don't change the subject; let's move on."

Setting aside the discussion of which upperclassman the Imperial Academy might invite for the confrontation match, the group decided to first finalize their own invitation list for Silver Star, while also taking the opportunity to discuss tactics.

"Since they're inviting their Student Council President, why don't we do the same?"

Wu Haoxuan felt the problem was easily solved: "The President is usually the one with the highest support among the department heads and is generally the strongest, so is there really a need to choose?"

"You're thinking too simply."

This time, it was Yuan Hanshuang who replied: "Although Senior Ming Jia is strong, she is from the Ranged Department."

"The Ranged Department? I see what you mean." Xia Mengrou suddenly realized: "If, according to the rules given by the Chief Instructor, the badge bearer cannot synchronize or merge with their mimic, then the Ranged Department's abilities are almost half-wasted."

"Exactly." Yuan Hanshuang nodded: "The stamina of the Ranged Department is only slightly better than the Support Department. If we designate a Ranged Department student as the badge bearer, we will inevitably have to assign more personnel to protect the badge from being taken, which would trap us in a purely defensive position."

Seeing the confused looks from her two teammates, she had to provide further explanation: "Given the overall strength of the freshmen, Silver Star is already lagging behind the Imperial Academy. If we only defend and never attack, even if the badge isn't taken, we will still be wiped out by the enemy's hundred-kill count. In the long run, defeat is inevitable."

"Under these disadvantageous conditions, if Silver Star wants to win, we must take risks and win by surprise. Only by avoiding a head-on collision can we have a chance at victory."

"Correct." Xuanyuan Sheng looked at her with slight surprise: "That is the purpose of forming our core team. Our team must focus on hunting down their support units and figuring out how to secure the badge."

He was just about to ask if his new friend had studied military game theory, but then remembered Instructor Niu muttering that Yuan Hanshuang was likely the last descendant of some hermit clan of ancient martial arts practitioners, so he swallowed his words.

"The problem now is how to pull off a surprise move."

Xia Mengrou suggested: "Since we can't take the defensive route, why not turn defense into offense? We could consider excluding the heads of the Control, Support, Ranged, and Defense departments, and look instead toward the Melee and Agility departments."

"The logic is sound, but to be honest, Silver Star's current situation is not great."

Xuanyuan Sheng said: "A group of our mainstays who participated in the ranking matches last year graduated, and now there is a clear gap in leadership across various departments at Silver Star. Let alone our current confrontation match, if Silver Star stays like this next year, we will likely face the worst academy ranking in a century."

"For instance, our current head of the Melee Department is only at the mid-stage of the fourth rank."

Compared to the Imperial Academy's roster of department heads—all S-rank, peak fourth-rank, and potentially breaking into the fifth rank at any moment—Silver Star's lineup was bleak. Even Ming Jia, their top-tier President, was only at the peak of the fourth rank.

"What about the Agility Department?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

"Didn't you already see the head of the Agility Department?" Ke Junda rolled his eyes.

"I've been thinking, Gu Dong is indeed a suitable choice." Yuan Hanshuang suddenly said: "The Agility Department's speed is faster than the average person even without synchronizing with a mimic, so at least their stamina is guaranteed."

"Yes, yes, yes." Wu Haoxuan was excited: "And Senior Gu specializes in the assassination business; his family must have given him special training. It's a perfect professional match."

"Ugh."

Xuanyuan Sheng looked conflicted: "Maybe we should look at other candidates first."

Although this young master of the Gu family did not follow the heir of the Black Tower to the Federal Military Academy and was considered somewhat of a maverick, he still couldn't shed his prejudice against the Gu family.

"How about this: I'll go ask the Student Council President for her opinion tomorrow, and then come back to finalize it with you all."

"Fine." Given the rules, Yuan Hanshuang felt a bit of regret: "It would be great if the badge bearer didn't have to be an upperclassman. Otherwise, Wu Haoxuan's passive skill could have played a huge role."

Closing that topic, they moved on to the next item: "Since the core elite team is determined, shouldn't we find a large training room in the academy to get all the freshmen synchronized? We don't want chaos on the actual battlefield."

"There's no rush for that." Yuan Hanshuang shook her head: "Whether it's eliminating a hundred cadets or taking the risky path to get the badge, our team is the main offensive force. We are the strongest combat power the freshmen can assemble, and we are destined to be the blade that tears through the opponent in the confrontation match."

"To achieve this, cooperation within our group is more important. We can leave the synchronization with all the freshmen for the last few days."

"That makes sense." Xuanyuan Sheng agreed: "But if that's the case, the training room facilities in the academy might not be enough. After all, Silver Star's facilities aren't as good as the ones next door."

"Team match training?"

Yuan Hanshuang thought of a great place: "I actually have a good location to recommend for practical training."

Upon hearing this, Wu Haoxuan and Ke Junda exchanged a look, both understanding what she meant.

Soon, the Star Rail arrived at the Imperial Memorial Hall.

The students from both academies stepped off and gathered at the entrance. Passersby who were visiting the memorial, upon seeing the insignia of the two prestigious academies, showed immediate respect. The looks they cast in passing seemed to speak of their eager expectations for these future pillars of the Empire.

"Actually, in the eyes of outsiders, Silver Star is still pretty impressive."

"Of course," Ke Junda replied. "There are only seven advanced academies for talented individuals in the entire galaxy, and the entrance exam is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge; just getting in is a huge achievement. You were A-rank the moment you awakened, so you wouldn't know—in the border star where I came from, having even one person get in a year is cause for celebration."

As they chatted, they walked through the gates of the memorial.

The exhibits in the Imperial Memorial Hall documented the major historical events of the Empire. The Holy Xiyixia Empire had a history spanning 4,700 years, and everything that had happened, both large and small, was condensed within this massive hall. It was divided into five levels, with each level representing a millennium. To tour it thoroughly would normally take at least seven days.

Although military training was strict, it wasn't that unreasonable.

After entering, the instructor bypassed the less important halls and walked straight to the Hall of War History.

"Because time is limited, what we mainly need to visit and learn today is the history of humanity's fight against the Zerg. More precisely, the history of humanity fighting the Zerg since the birth of talented individuals."

The galaxy had almost no paper books; when survival was a struggle in the past, such conditions clearly didn't exist. Later, during the five years after her father was taken away, Yuan Hanshuang had purchased a light computer. Through it, she had gradually begun to understand the history of this world.

The origin of the conflict between the Zerg and humanity was lost to time. As far back as historical records went, the Zerg had existed and were in a state of hostility with humanity.

At first, faced with the Zerg, humanity retreated at every turn and suffered heavy losses. The Zerg carried terrifying Zerg toxins. This toxin could pollute an entire planet, corrupting its core and transforming it into an environment suitable for the Zerg to survive.

Furthermore, the toxin itself was a lethal poison. Even in the modern era, thousands of years later, there were still very few support-type talented individuals capable of directly purging it. If one were unfortunate enough to be contaminated, they still had to rely on the slowest, most basic medicinal methods.

Fortunately, in the face of such powerful Zerg, humanity did not yield and evolved talented individuals. The mental mimics of these talented individuals were naturally resistant to Zerg toxin. Only after their evolution did humanity finally have the qualifications to contend with the Zerg.

Even so, in the star sectors explored by humanity, the Zerg occupied seven-tenths, while humans occupied only three.

As they toured, the guide interjected with the history of the Imperial Royal Family: "The Xuanyuan royal family is known as the Golden Family, not only because of their brilliant hair color, but also because the mimics awakened by the royal bloodline are also entirely golden."

"As everyone knows, after awakening their mimics, members of the royal family do not need development; they are born with one skill: the Holy Shield."

At this point, Xuanyuan Sheng's face turned pale and dejected. Without a word to anyone, he turned and walked quickly out of the memorial.

Yuan Hanshuang noticed his departure and fell into thought.

The intelligence she had gathered in the Black Street wasn't just about finding her father; she had also done her homework on her own background. There was no such thing as a dynasty that could rule for thousands of years unless the royal family possessed some special ability that no one else could replace.

The Xuanyuan royal family possessed just such an ability.

The Holy Shield could not only purge a whole planet of Zerg toxin, restoring it to a habitable environment, but could also provide large-scale collective treatment for patients suffering from severe Zerg poisoning. Throughout the history of talented individuals in the galaxy, only members of the Xuanyuan royal family could achieve this. It was precisely because of this ability that Xiyixia's rule had lasted for a millennium.

Of course, all of this came at a price.

The powerful purging and purification ability came at the cost of an extreme lack of combat capability. Every serving member of the royal family, regardless of their mimic level, possessed only one skill: Holy Protection. They traded all their talent and potential for the ultimate development of this one skill to safeguard the safety of the galactic citizens and repel Zerg invasions.

However, in this family, Xuanyuan Sheng was the mutated oddity.

Based on Yuan Hanshuang's half-month of contact, this guy's combat ability hadn't been lost like other royals; instead, it had become exceptionally formidable. According to the law of conservation, since Xuanyuan Sheng's combat power was strong, his protective ability should be quite poor.

'No wonder Xiao Hua mentioned before that although the young imperial grandson is the child of the Crown Princess, he is a marginal figure in the royal family. Normally, royal family members without combat ability are surrounded by heavy guards, live inside the palace, have private tutors, and don't go out to school.'

In a royal family where the Holy Shield was the bedrock of imperial power, the appearance of such an outlier meant Xuanyuan Sheng's situation was inevitably awkward.

Pondering her "cheap cousin's" predicament, a rare trace of sympathy surfaced in Yuan Hanshuang's heart. She decided to bully him less in the future.

Gradually, the team reached the corridor of eras filled with honorary medals.

"Next is the history of modern Zerg warfare. The huge turning point in modern times occurred ten years ago. The Doomsday Zerg Wave that erupted back then was fierce and nearly destroyed the Empire, if not for a hero who stepped forward."

The guide's tone shifted: "However, this hero long ago fell into disgrace as a sinner who colluded with the Zerg. It is speculated that the Doomsday Zerg Wave back then was likely a result he orchestrated himself."

"He is the public enemy of the galaxy who has been in hiding for more than a decade, was captured five years ago, and then openly escaped from prison—the arch-sinner who committed the most serious act of treason in the Empire's history: the Gyrfalcon."

Outside the group, Feng Bai stood silently watching the scene. Not only him, but all the veterans of the First Legion were closely observing the black-haired girl with twin tails, not missing a single fleeting micro-expression on her face.