The morning combat training had been harshly criticized, leaving a fire smoldering in the students’ hearts—not a fire of anger, but a burning urge to prove themselves. The sudden announcement of a match caused all afternoon classes to be canceled.
After class, everyone agreed to meet in the combat room after lunch.
Su Cha quickly downed a bottle of nutrient solution and focused on studying everything he could about Wastestar.
In the interstellar age, two types of beings were universally regarded as enemies: strange beasts and star pirates.
Strange beasts had a taste for human flesh. The blood of the strong helped them evolve, and their rapid reproduction accelerated their invasions. Even powerful planets like Fog Star and Galan suffered casualties at their hands—let alone smaller planets.
Desolate Stars and wastestars were the most catastrophic examples of strange beast invasions. Unlike desolate stars, which people occasionally visited for training and which still had dangerous flora and fauna, wastestars were different. Due to their extreme temperatures, they were home only to primitive tribes or species. Once devoured by strange beasts, no one ever thought of reclaiming them.
The living conditions on wastestars were brutal, and few strange beasts remained after the initial bloodshed. So overall, wastestars were much less dangerous than desolate stars. That was also why Land agreed to let Su Cha participate in the match.
With him and a rescue ship present, Su Cha’s safety could be guaranteed.
By 3:00 PM, the students had mostly gathered, packed tightly into a combat room, brimming with fighting spirit. “Let’s go get him! We’ll show him we may be young, but we’re not weak!”
Su Cha was surrounded in the middle, nodding obediently, a master at appeasing all sides—everyone was right in his book.
“As members of the Affiliated School, we must not be looked down on!” The one expressing this righteous indignation was Zhao Shi, who had previously tried to start a fundraiser to get Su Cha to quit the competition. Now he looked at Su Cha: “You’re the commander for this match—you need to come up with a bold team name.”
Su Cha was hugging a large bottle of ice-cold mineral water, wishing he could glue himself to it. With no AC and so many people in the room, the temperature was rising fast. Pressing the bottle to his cheek, he sat cross-legged and said, “Then let’s call it ‘Don’t Look Down on the Poor Youth.’”
“Great name!”
Su Cha’s shoulder twitched; the sudden shout almost made him drop the bottle.
Liu Xiqin was the first to stand, face serious: “Su Cha, I’m entrusting you with my spirit form.”
“Me too.” Someone immediately followed: “We’re going to build the strongest team.”
One by one, they offered up their spirit forms as if ready to face death, voluntarily turning them over to the “spirit form farmer.”
Su Cha was stunned for a moment. “Are you sure? Saving face is still important.”
There was a high chance the event would be streamed across the network.
“Don’t worry, we’ve still got team pride.” One student stood and waved his hand broadly: “We’ll let that Land instructor see what we’re made of.”
Seeing everyone so sincere, Su Cha scratched his nose and relented. “Alright, then.”
The spirit forms were told to line up. Second in line, the peacock trudged over like it had lost the will to live.
Su Cha consoled it: “It’ll be over soon.”
Affected by its master’s fighting spirit, the peacock raised its head proudly. Bring it on!
After a few sips of spiritual energy, the peacock puffed up like a dazzling bowling ball and rolled back, humming.
Next was the honey badger. It calmly swallowed its spiritual energy and even wanted more—until an impatient hippo behind it shoved it aside.
The bloated spirit forms were too large for the room, so they were quickly recalled.
Su Cha continued feeding them in intervals, occasionally resting, and discussed strategy with the others.
“Go in hard and fast.”
“Find a small strange beast nest.”
“Charge straight in—hit them hard.”
There was no finesse to the plan, only brute force.
After a pause, Su Cha asked again, “You guys sure you don’t want a little flashiness for the camera?”
A bunch of charging ground pigs—he could barely imagine the sight. During the Ten School Tournament, only six people had spirit forms. Now there were dozens.
“Can style win battles?”
The students were especially idealistic today. Zhao Shi looked at Su Cha and waved him off: “Besides, you’re the captain. If you’re worried, throw on some flashy gear or think of a cool catchphrase.”
“Yeah, whatever works.” No one cared—they were just here to fight.
With lofty ambitions, the group walked out of the combat room, ready to make a statement that evening.
Senior students in the lounge noticed the juniors’ burning arrogance and exchanged looks. They knew tonight was going to be fun to watch.
“I kinda want to attend a joint training class.” Say what you will, Fog Star instructors really knew how to hit the mark.
“Write to the principal’s inbox and suggest it.” But the speaker then frowned. “My family called yesterday, hinting at instability near the border. You think the summit might have problems?”
It just felt… off.
His friend wasn’t worried: “If there were, it’d be all over the star network already.”
Even if war suddenly broke out, the Empire had a rapid counterstrike system in place.
At 5:00 PM, the students boarded a ship and departed together. Just half an hour after they left, with Sanses’ approval, the government officially acknowledged Su Cha’s identity as a Fog Star citizen.
“Criminals stole samples from the gene bank and conducted experiments in the Empire.” At the press conference, the foreign minister glossed over the events of the past.
Although students and reporters had already leaked the news, the official confirmation still stirred another round of heated discussion. The timing of the announcement was perfect—before things could explode, the press diverted attention by mentioning the ship would soon arrive at Wastestar.
At 7:20 PM, the ship began its descent. Below, all was white.
It was a temporary match lasting only two hours, so the location had not been revealed beforehand, nor were the students advised to prepare any gear.
The spaceship wasn’t suitable for a direct landing on the ice field, so the students parachuted down in groups of five. Unlike traditional parachutes, these were fully automated, pre-programmed with safe landing coordinates—foolproof to operate.
Land wanted to jump together with Su Cha, but unfortunately, they were on opposing teams, and their drop zones were different.
After putting on their small AI devices for score tracking, the students parachuted down one after another like dumplings into the icy wilderness, accompanied by drones tasked with live-streaming the event.
In the snowy expanse, the freezing temperature made them shiver uncontrollably.
Sixty students were scattered throughout the surrounding area. Most of them were in combat suits, standing out starkly against the pure white landscape. To prevent ambushes from strange beasts, nearly everyone released their spirit forms immediately—dense swarms of spherical creatures that looked impressively formidable.
They instinctively began searching for Su Cha. As the overall commander, he represented a symbol of unity when teams were large.
“Southeast, near the edge of the ice lake,” a student suddenly reported—but it wasn’t Su Cha they had spotted. “There are two strange beasts over there.”
Compared to Land, their power levels were far apart. Their best bet now was to rely on sheer numbers and rack up points quickly.
A horde of students charged forward like warriors from a savage tribe. The strange beasts, having caught the scent of humans, were initially thrilled at the idea of a feast. But as the thick snow shook and the spirit forms came rolling in like boulders, the strange beasts panicked. Startled like quails, they flapped their wings and ran for their lives.
Chasing them down felt like too much effort, so the students stopped. Rong Shao stepped forward and raised his voice: “Victory is ours! Tonight, we open with triumph!”
“Victory!”
“Victory!”
There were no mountains nearby, so their rallying cries echoed far and wide. On one hand, they hoped to attract strange beasts; on the other, they wanted to signal to any students still lost so they could regroup.
A few strange beasts peeked out from the shadows, but upon seeing the spirit forms—each thicker than a pig’s waist—they decided to retreat and return with reinforcements.
After shouting to no avail, Rong Shao clicked his tongue and tried contacting Ji Tianjin through his communicator—but there was barely any signal.
Just then, a voice rang out behind them—
“Everyone, I’m here.”
They looked up. A boy was descending from the sky, riding a majestic white tiger. A layer of spiritual energy wrapped around him, shielding him from the cold. Su Cha’s left hand was entwined with vines, that hint of green the perfect touch of color.
In that moment, he looked like an elven spirit from the snow—an angel who had descended to earth.
The students, who had just been beaming, suddenly froze. Their bloated, pig-like spirit forms shrank back in shame, tucking away their stocky legs meant for conquest.
During the parachute drop, Su Cha had been grouped with Ji Tianjin, and they’d landed relatively close. They met in a deep snow-filled hollow. Due to his short height, Su Cha couldn’t move efficiently through the snow, so he ended up riding Ji Tianjin’s spirit form out.
The sudden change in expressions from the crowd made Su Cha think there was some kind of danger nearby. He quickly scanned his surroundings, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Little did he know, the viewers watching the livestream had also fallen silent.
[I think I understand how these students feel now.]
[I can’t lip-read, but I swear the kid in front mouthed “f*ck.”]
[How polite. He only cursed once.]
“I’ve said all along that Su Cha’s no ordinary kid,” the Deputy Chief of the Investigation Department sneered as he watched the livestream. “He leads others astray, then plays it straight himself.”
…
Rong Shao, who had just been leading the chant, fell silent for a moment before asking, “Su Cha, why are you different from the rest of us?”
Everyone nodded. Yeah, why?!
Realizing they were talking about his spirit form, Su Cha answered calmly, “My spirit form is a flower.”
No matter how fat it was, a flower was still a flower.
Not daring to direct his pitiful gaze at Ji Tianjin, Rong Shao turned instead to the now-regal white tiger.
“And that one?”
How do you explain a tiger?
Su Cha replied honestly, “If I feed any more, my spirit form will be overdrawn.”
It really had come down to timing. By the time he reached the last student, he was completely drained. In truth, he was already running low during the last dozen or so spirit form feedings—those final ones weren’t even very round.
“Time is short,” Ji Tianjin finally spoke. “Let’s not waste it on trivial things. We need to find a strange beast nest.”
Su Cha nodded. “Let’s have the bird-type spirit forms scout ahead.”
“Bird-type?” Rong Shao spread his arms. “Which of those even looks like it can fly?”
The chubby peacock, the plump nightingale, the almost unrecognizable pigeon… Honestly, at that weight, they looked ready to be cooked.
As Su Cha was still trying to think of a workaround, the ground suddenly trembled. A distant thunderous boom shook the entire landscape.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound. With a noise that loud, either an avalanche had just occurred—or someone was in a fierce battle.
Su Cha and Ji Tianjin exchanged a glance.
“Let’s go take a look,” Su Cha said.
Ji Tianjin nodded.
Due north, 8,000 meters ahead, Land was half-heartedly hunting strange beasts. The blood of the strong had a powerful allure to these creatures—Fasite once used blood as bait, but Land didn’t even need that. He could simply stand still, and the beasts would swarm toward him like moths to a flame.
“I wonder how His Highness is doing over there?” Without sparing a glance at the strange beast lunging at him, a trace of concern flickered in Land’s deep-set eyes.
Would he get lost? With snow this thick and His Highness’ legs not very long, what if he got stuck?
As worry gnawed at him, a group of people came charging from upwind.
“It’s a beast den!” someone shouted excitedly, though the voice was quickly swallowed by the wind and snow.
Land had already cleared part of the area, so the remaining number of beasts was manageable—time to strike.
A gust of wind swept snow into the air, and spirit forms dove in like wolves and tigers. From the outside, it was impossible to tell what exactly was rolling in that blizzard.
Su Cha leapt through the snow mist astride his majestic white tiger, waved toward Land, and called out—almost said “uncle,” but corrected himself in time, “Instructor Land, we won’t steal your kills—each to their own.”
With that, he led his team to the other side.
Amid the vast white expanse, Su Cha looked heroic, silver hair streaming in the wind. A surge of emotion rose in Land’s chest. This is our little prince—young, full of promise, and noble even amid slaughter, untouched by the filth.
Snow exploded several meters into the air as Rong Shao charged forward with his spirit form. As he ran, he muttered bitterly, “Guess what the outside world sees right now?”
Zhao Shi nailed it: “Su Cha and his pig teammates.”
Viewers weren’t quite that harsh—but they were taking screenshots like crazy. No matter how evolved humans got, people were still visual creatures at heart. A boy riding a tiger across snow—this was the kind of image you’d want as your wallpaper.
On the ice field, the students poured their frustration onto the strange beasts. Those with mechanical gloves switched to combat mode, fists raining down like a storm.
Their spirit forms worked in perfect sync—massive forms crashed down on beasts like mountains. After a brutal pummeling, the strange beasts howled in pain.
Su Cha calmly waited atop his tiger on higher ground, biding his time.
Land, meanwhile, casually slapped away an approaching strange beast with his spiritual power. Looking toward Su Cha, he mused aloud, “So this is what the children of the Galan Empire are like.”
Raising a spirit form like a pig for combat—this was a first.
The whole scene was so chaotic and ugly that Land found himself needing to glance at their noble little prince again, just to cleanse his eyes.
Still, His Highness is the best. Steady as winter plum, beautiful as a painting.
The audience heard that mumble loud and clear and immediately flooded the military’s account:
【Give them a StarNet account! Let the world see our Galan child’s true self!】
【Come on, really? The creator of the “pig-style combat method” is clearly Su Cha!】
【Heh, I’m just waiting for the Marshal of Fog Star to drop his jaw when Su Cha whips out the tiger pelt grass to put the beasts in heat.】
The viewers could barely contain themselves, eagerly anticipating the moment when beasts would tear each other apart in a snowstorm-fueled frenzy.
Just then, Su Cha found his chance. As a beast dived at him from the sky, he released his spirit form completely. In midair, magnolia lotuses burst into full bloom.
The gentle aura of the flowers dulled the beasts’ combat instincts. At the same moment, the white tiger twisted mid-leap and let out a sharp roar at a beast sneaking from behind.
Ji Tianjin and Liu Xiqin were the fastest—seizing the opportunity, they dove into the paralyzed beast pack and struck.
Su Cha smiled and gracefully withdrew, moving on to the next battlefield.
Meanwhile, the people of Fog Star were the most excited. Without StarNet access, they could only watch the live broadcast on embassy TVs.
No bullet comments—though even if there were, they wouldn’t want them; they would block the prince’s face. As the marshal’s right hand, the adjutant’s finger was going numb from snapping pictures, trying to capture every moment of His Highness.
The only downside to the broadcast was the lack of camera control—it kept cutting to Land now and then.
After an anxious wait, the camera finally returned to Su Cha. Surrounded by the glowing flowers, he was dazzling, his divine grace beyond mortal words.
Galan’s network had encryption limits, covering only 300 nearby allied planets. Unable to send files directly to Fog Star, the adjutant handed a flash drive to a soldier and solemnly said, “At dawn tomorrow, high-priority delivery—get this back to the King.”
For now, the competition came first.
Back on the battlefield, Su Cha’s team had shifted from defense to offense. He lashed out with vines, tangling a beast’s neck. It tried to slice them with its barbed legs—but Ji Tianjin intercepted it in time.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Tianjin asked, noticing a flicker of distraction in Su Cha’s eyes.
“Nothing,” Su Cha replied, focusing on manipulating the vines. “Just noticed my spiritual power is recovering unusually fast.”
The rush of excitement from the audience seemed to fuel his combat drive. Su Cha finally understood why Fog Star worshipped bloodlines—apparently, the purer the blood, the stronger the combat boost.
He glanced at his wrist device. Just like the Ten School Tournament, the mini smart brain was syncing Land’s score in real time.
After a brief serious effort early on, Land had been fighting lazily ever since the students arrived—his eyes fixed on Su Cha the whole time.
And yet, he was still 200 points ahead.
Realizing Su Cha was the real threat, the beasts stopped fixating on the attacking students and surged toward Su Cha instead.
Quickly estimating their numbers, Su Cha knew it was time. He made a signal, and the previously aggressive spirit forms suddenly pulled back. At the same time, a pot of tiger pelt grass appeared in Su Cha’s arms.
It wasn’t bright like an Overlord Flower, or pure like magnolia lotus. Just an ordinary-looking plant. But its sudden appearance shocked even Su Cha’s own teammates.
“Run!” someone yelled, urging Land to retreat too—out of respect for his past role as instructor.
Su Cha also shouted, “Hurry up and go!”
The ice field was way easier to retreat from than the canyon. The beast count was manageable, and the fierce wind kept distant beasts from approaching.
Su Cha’s plan was perfect. Once the beasts were done tearing each other apart, he’d swoop in for the easy points.
The previous battle had worn the spirit forms thin, but in retreat, they ran even harder—kicking up snow and obscuring the view.
Land, unaware of Su Cha’s strategy and oblivious to the danger, thought the beasts had just gone berserk. Nothing unusual.
“No need to worry, Your High—”
Before he could finish, the snow cleared—and two beasts began mating in broad daylight.
Land: “…”
Did they think he was dead?
He couldn’t let His Highness’ pure eyes be polluted by such filth!
Just as Land was about to kill the shameless beasts, he noticed more were fighting over mates.
Mad beasts were normal. But this much chaos wasn’t.
Seeing Su Cha hadn’t retreated, Land rushed over like a loyal knight and stood guard: “Your Highness, close your eyes!”
Su Cha blinked in confusion. “Why?”
“I can’t seduce the beasts if I can’t see them.”
Land’s spirit threads could sever a beast’s skull—but at that moment, he lost control in shock.
He turned to Su Cha: “What did you just say?”
Had the wind distorted it?
But before he could process, the beasts locked onto Land as their new enemy and surged forward.
Su Cha stepped in front of him, wind tossing his long hair, face set with resolve. “Uncle Land, shield yourself from the toxin with spiritual power. Stay close to me—don’t go too far.”
The Overlord Flower’s toxin was too strong—even the white tiger had to stay back.
Facing the beast onslaught, Su Cha held tiger pelt grass in one hand, Overlord Flower in the other. Overhead, the magnolia lotus spirit form bloomed again—and under his spiritual stimulation, the aura of all three exploded at once.
