You're Famous Now

"You should know about Longyuan. Shen Shouli's grandfather, General Shen, is its principal," Kai Ang said, taking a sip of water before continuing. "Longyuan was originally founded by General Mori, who was said to be on good terms with the Galaxy Admiral. In fact, the name 'Longyuan' was the Galaxy Admiral's own suggestion. Their performance used to be middling, but after General Shen took over, they improved by leaps and bounds. Last year's final was Longyuan versus Lianda, and they narrowly lost."

"At the time, everyone said that once S+-class genius Shen Shouli joined Longyuan this year, winning the championship would be a foregone conclusion. But, well, unexpected things happen—Shen Shouli came to Moye instead." Kai Ang grinned. He was already planning to have a chat with Longyuan's recruitment officers at the next competition.

"Do you know why Shen Shouli insisted on joining Moye, Instructor?" Xu Lingqu asked. His joining had nothing to do with her—after all, she had been squeezed in through the back door, so the order of events didn't align. But ever since she learned that Shen Shouli might have sensed a fleeting trace of mysterious energy from her, she had developed a genuine curiosity about him.

His reasons for coming to Moye couldn't be simple.

Kai Ang shook his head. He had considered many possibilities before finally asking Su Li whether she had cast some kind of spell on Shen Shouli—and got punched for it.

"You're pretty close to him, aren't you? Why not just ask him? I'd like to know too," Kai Ang said earnestly.

Would he actually tell me if I asked directly? Shen Shouli isn't that stupid, Xu Lingqu thought wryly, signaling with her eyes for Kai Ang to continue.

"As for Dolanston, there's a bit of history there." Kai Ang rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Back when we were perennially ranked first, they were always second—the two schools were sworn rivals. After our school fell from grace, they didn't want anything to do with us and just ignored us. This year, the heiress of Sky Network, Jia Xiangying, enrolled there with an S-level psychic power. Her younger brother Jia Xianglan went to the Federation's Qingjun. Most people think the championship will be contested between Qingjun and Dolanston."

He sighed heavily. Every time he analyzed Dolanston, it was like reliving Moye's glorious rise and subsequent fall. Last year's defeat had nearly shattered his spirit and driven him away.

Good thing he stayed. Kai Ang looked at Xu Lingqu. Moye's chance to bounce back from rock bottom was finally coming.

The current chairman of Sky Network sent both his children to military academies in the Federation and the Empire? Xu Lingqu raised an eyebrow. She had assumed the chairman was just a shrewd businessman obsessed with money, walking the line between the Empire and the Federation. Sending both children to military academies on either side sounded like even-handedness at first glance, but the act itself was suspicious.

As long as he only made money, both the Empire and the Federation would turn a blind eye. But if he dipped his hand into matters beyond money, that was another story.

Kai Ang continued: "The remaining two of the six major academies are Shaji and Du'e. Their strength holds steady at the mid-tier level. The noteworthy thing is Du'e's Jinfang Taibai—the first S-level analyst in the Empire's history. Meanwhile, Shaji supposedly got an interesting new commander whose style completely diverges from their usual approach."

"An S-level analyst?" Xu Lingqu's attention snagged on Jinfang Taibai.

"And that's not all. Before his psychic power was even tested and activated, he was already a genius hacker. Later, Du'e recruited him, and he voluntarily chose the analyst path—no command, no combat." Kai Ang spread his hands. "He showed his abilities last year, infiltrating communication channels to steal opponents' command information with surgical precision. He carried Du'e to the semifinals, where they faced Longyuan. Longyuan's chief commander, Gu Tingzhi, simply abandoned command entirely, fought blind, and won through sheer brute strength."

Xu Lingqu silently committed the names to memory.

The final two imperial academies are Xiyue and Stuke, both regional schools with recent momentum. Last year, Moye lost even to them, earning the dubious title of 'bottomless pit with no floor.' Some in the Military Department even proposed removing Moye from the six major academies." Kai Ang massaged his temples, the memory of those smug faces giving him a headache.

No surprise there. Given that last year's battles were commanded by that idiot Feng Bu, Xu Lingqu found it hard to be surprised by any loss.

"Among the Federation's eight academies, Lianda and Qingjun lead the pack. The other six are all middling. The good news is that Lianda's formidable commander, Qike Meilin, graduated—so they shouldn't be as strong this year." Even Kai Ang had a headache thinking about Qike Meilin, the descendant of the legendary Federation Admiral Merlin, who led Lianda to two championships and a runner-up.

"Graduated?" Pity. Xu Lingqu had been noting these names with the intention of taking them down one by one.

Kai Ang had no idea that while he was listing them off, Xu Lingqu was already scheming how to counter each one. He sent her the compiled data from his personal terminal.

"This has more detail. Your job for now is to get familiar with them as quickly as possible." Kai Ang recalled how he had handed the same materials to Feng Bu last year, who memorized them with great enthusiasm—shouting out names of opponents on the field—only to get thrashed like a drowned dog in actual combat.

Though he didn't need to worry about that with Xu Lingqu, he still added: "You can skip the irrelevant bits. Oh, and do you know about Sky Network?"

Xu Lingqu nodded.

"The Sky Network forums have pre-match analysis and predictions for the academy league. Most of it is nonsense, but some is pretty interesting. You can use it as a reference." Kai Ang waved a hand. "Go on, Commander. I need to check on the others' training."

Remembering that command for one battle had been handed to Feng Bu, Kai Ang felt a pang of heartache—but it was Xu Lingqu's own choice to swap, so he couldn't say much. In the end, trusting Xu Lingqu was the safest bet.

She took Kai Ang's materials back to the dorm. Liu Ming startled at the sound of her entrance. "You're back early today."

"Studying." Xu Lingqu curled into the couch and began flipping through the data.

Liu Ming bounded over, planting both paws on her thigh.

"What is it?" She looked up at him.

Liu Ming said solemnly, "Did you know? You're famous on the Sky Network forums now."