Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

“Speaking of which, 01’s current guardian is very competent, showing great care and protection. However, this morning, someone complained about his abuse of military power because he privately dispatched duty soldiers to rescue 01 yesterday,” the aide said, somewhat displeased.

If it were someone else, or if his stance were neutral, the aide would agree that it was indeed an abuse of military power. But this was for the sake of rescuing 01, and he couldn’t say that was wrong; even they would prioritize rescuing 01. Given the circumstances, deploying duty soldiers was the quickest way to reach the rescue site.

Moreover, 01’s guardian acted with discretion; although he mobilized the soldiers, replacements arrived within a minute. Thus, while the guardian made a mistake, it was minor and could be dealt with internally. Accusations like this could escalate a small issue into a major one, aiming to suppress the guardian and possibly remove him from his position.

The crown prince pondered for a moment and said, “Make arrangements to eliminate those obstacles within three years and transfer the highest military authority of that planet to 01’s guardian.”

“Is that feasible? He’s a member of the Lin family,” the aide hesitated.

In fact, the current ruler of that planet was originally inclined towards their side, while the Lin family was not part of their faction.

However, the relationship between the second prince and the crown prince seemed different now; even the second prince’s attitude toward him had significantly changed.

“He’s a pawn discarded after the internal conflicts of the Lin family; otherwise, with his abilities, how could he have been relegated to the edge of the galaxy? Yet, even in that situation, he managed to rise quickly—he’s indeed talented. But most importantly…”

The crown prince emphasized, “He is now 01’s guardian. Given his attitude toward her, he’s already aligned with us. Moreover, the current commander is just someone who might flee in a crisis; he can’t be left there.”

The aide nodded, “That guy is just too loyal; otherwise, he wouldn’t have suffered such a crushing defeat. He genuinely cares for 01.”

“The most important thing right now is to ensure that 01 reaches the Imperial Capital Star without any issues.”

“However, remember, she can’t attract too much attention; there can only be one or two geniuses,” the crown prince said each of these last two sentences slowly.

“Understood, I will ensure the mission is completed,” the aide replied with a military salute, expressing his seriousness.

The crown prince waved him off, and the aide respectfully exited without saying more.

During the challenge, Ruo Manni was only challenged once and then remained idle.

Unable to tolerate sitting around doing nothing, and with the assessment period ongoing, she couldn’t log off. After some thought, she decided to watch other competitors.

For her, observing others in combat was a great way to enhance her skills. She looked around and chose to enter the rooms of other contestants to watch the matches.

To eavesdrop and learn more about her future classmates, Ruo Manni decided to conceal her abilities and blend in with the audience. Otherwise, as a late-stage Level 3 martial artist among a crowd of Level 4 martial artists, she would stand out too much and draw attention as the famous genius girl.

As expected, her choice paid off. Once she entered the viewing box, she heard the audience discussing the candidates openly.

Initially thinking she would hear gossip about talented girls, she was surprised to learn that the candidate ranked ten thousandth in the last ranking match was actually a Level 5 early-stage martial artist.

“How is that possible? A Level 5 martial artist at fifteen or sixteen? When has the Gus Empire ever had a Level 5 martial artist that young? I remember the youngest Level 5 martial artist in our empire was twenty.”

Ruo Manni was no longer naive, so she was somewhat skeptical about this gossip.

It’s important to note that unlike mentalists, who can advance once their mental energy reaches a certain level, the potential for a mentalist’s training almost determines their future highest rank.

However, martial artists are different. If the probability of a mentalist reaching their highest level based on their potential is 95%, for martial artists, it’s only about 70%.

Advancement for martial artists requires more than just training; they also need to comprehend battle intent. The leap from Level 4 to Level 5 is significant; it’s not just about reaching the peak of Level 4 in physical techniques; they also need enough insight to grasp the battle intent that intermediate-level martial artists possess in order to advance to Level 5.

Young people, due to their limited experiences and thoughts, simply cannot comprehend battle intent. Therefore, no matter how good their potential, they often get stuck at the peak of Level 4 for a long time. It’s usually only after they mature into young adults and gain different experiences that they can finally grasp the necessary battle intent to advance. So, a sixteen-year-old Level 5 martial artist is indeed hard to believe.

“If he really is a Level 5 early-stage martial artist, who among this group of candidates could defeat him? He was ranked ten thousandth; is that even possible?”

“You shouldn’t doubt it; I have my sources. I have someone at the Xuan Gu First Military Academy. This boy only participated in the written exam and didn’t take part in the map PK competition, which is why his score is so low. He won all twenty matches in yesterday’s ranking competition and ended up in the top 4,000—he even defeated the seventh-ranked candidate.”

“That’s just good luck. The assessments at Xuan Gu First Military Academy are very strict, and this time the Crown Prince is personally overseeing it. The Crown Prince is known for his impartiality; how could he allow a candidate who didn’t participate in the second map PK assessment to enter the third round?” The listeners still couldn’t believe it.

Ruo Manni wasn’t too convinced either, because in the book, the highest-ranked candidate in this admission round at the Xuan Gu First Military Academy was the male lead, Hua Deli, who only advanced to Level 5 at nineteen.

“Don’t doubt it. That candidate’s room is locked. Besides the mentors from the Xuan Gu First Military Academy, no one else can enter. If you don’t believe me, try it; you definitely won’t get in.”

Curiosity sparked within Ruo Manni, and she found that candidate’s exam number and sent a request to observe. To her surprise, it was actually rejected. There were only eight spectators in his room, while the room could accommodate over a hundred.

However, just as she received the rejection notice and hadn’t had time to close the red signal box, it suddenly turned green. Wasn’t her application denied? Why was it connected now? While she was in a daze, the spectators around her had already changed.

As mentioned earlier, due to confidentiality, the appearances of candidates in the Sky Network are somewhat blurred, but general data is still visible.

For instance, among the seven “spectators” before Ruo Manni, she could clearly see that five of them were already adults, and their cultivation levels were significantly higher—at least three major ranks above hers.

The other two were clearly around her age, both at the late Stage 4 of cultivation. One was Neptune, whom Ruo Manni had met during the map assessment, while the other was a boy with black hair and black eyes.