ABFMV Chapter 8 Part 1

The commander’s mouth hung open, his eyes full of shock.

The young lady’s attitude toward Lu Xiao had shifted far too drastically.

Then again, it made sense—after being rejected so publicly, who could still be so enthusiastic?

The commander shut his mouth, deciding not to bring it up again. He had figured it out: the young lady clearly held a grudge against Lu Xiao now.

After several warp jumps, the starship gradually approached Lilan Star and slowly descended toward the landing zone.

Lilan Star had once been a barren, remote planet surrounded by magnetic fields. It was precisely for these conditions that the Empire chose it as the site of the Lilan Military Academy.

The planet was named after the academy itself.

In truth, the only things on this planet were the academy and its trial grounds.

As the official start of the school year drew near, many new students had already arrived early to handle enrollment and housing. A lot of them looked around curiously, studying both the campus environment and the other newcomers.

Lilan Military Academy was considered the Empire’s most elite military institution. Anyone who made it in was either a noble or someone with extraordinary ability.

Studying here meant building connections that were more precious than anything else.

Just as some freshmen were gawking at the latest models of aircraft, the sky suddenly darkened for a moment.

Looking up, they saw rows of massive starships blotting out the sun overhead.

None of the freshmen had ever seen such a display. Many thought it must be an emergency, that a battle was about to break out.

But instead, the starships descended in formation. From the central vessel, a line of officers disembarked, escorting a girl in their midst. She carried a small cat in her arms as she slowly walked down.

The freshmen began whispering among themselves:

“Who is that? What a huge entourage!”

“You’ve heard of Marshal Xu, right? That’s his daughter.”

At that, everyone understood.

If it were the legendary Xu Linlang, then such a grand entrance was indeed believable.

The way the students looked at Xu Linlang immediately turned strange—jealousy, resentment, disgust…

Every negative emotion possible, but not a single positive one.

Yao Mo’s expression was unreadable as she looked at the nearly sky-covering fleet. Beside her, Hao Xinyi tugged at her excitedly. “Mo Mo, I already registered us—we three are in the same dorm!”

Su Yilu shot Hao Xinyi a look, then gestured subtly toward Xu Linlang in the distance. “That pampered young lady from the Xu family is here now. Mo Mo’s days probably won’t be easy.”

Hao Xinyi’s excitement dimmed, worry creeping into her face.

The three of them had been friends back on Spei Star, and now that they had all gotten into Lilan Academy together, they valued that bond even more.

Su Yilu snorted coldly. “Showing off on the first day like this—she’s clearly trying to put us in our place.”

Hao Xinyi pouted. “It’s not like she can really do anything to us. Besides, Lu Xiao just rejected her. If I were her, I’d be too embarrassed to even show my face.”

Su Yilu smirked. “Her skin’s thick. What can you do about that?”

Yao Mo, however, had noticed the little white cat in Xu Linlang’s arms. “Why is she bringing a cat to registration? Or could it be some kind of rare beast?”

Hao Xinyi glanced at it. “Looks like just a regular cat.”

Su Yilu shrugged. “She brought an entire fleet just to enroll. What’s a cat compared to that?”

Yao Mo shook her head. “I doubt she’d bring a cat for no reason. And the Marshal’s residence wouldn’t raise any ordinary housecat. It’s probably some kind of rare beast people don’t know about.”

At the mention of “rare beast,” third-year student council president Miel perked up immediately. “Junior Sister Yao, what’s this about a rare beast?”

Yao Mo smiled politely. “Senior Miel, Marshal Xu’s daughter is holding a little white cat. I was just wondering if it might be a rare beast.”

Miel Peter came from the family that commanded the Empire’s Third Legion. His father, Robert Peter, was the only civilian to hold the rank of Grand Admiral.

The Third Legion had long clashed with Marshal Xu’s faction, yet they maintained a delicate balance of cooperation.

After all, the Prime Minister’s sister, Rong Ruyue, had married Marshal Xu, while Robert Peter’s sister, Leah, had married Rong Chen.

If anyone in the Empire could rival Marshal Xu’s power, it was Grand Admiral Peter—though being a civilian, he ultimately held no true military authority.

Miel glanced at Xu Linlang from afar, a trace of mockery in his eyes.

So what if Marshal Xu held immense power? If his heir was incompetent, the Xu family’s influence would eventually decline—and that would be the perfect opportunity for the Peter family to rise.

Miel said smoothly, “Rare beasts are of great interest to me. I already have quite a few. Since the academy’s trial grounds require rare beasts, we could arrange for Xu Junior Sister’s beast to be sent there as well.”

Yao Mo’s face betrayed nothing. “To the trial grounds?”

Miel’s smile was layered with meaning. “Yes—the trial grounds. They’re not just for students to be tested, but for rare beasts to be tested too.”

…

As Xu Linlang stepped off the ship, she immediately felt countless eyes on her.

A tall upperclassman strode straight toward her, introducing himself. “Hello, Junior Sister Xu. I’m Miel, president of the third-year student council.”

Xu Linlang quickly searched her memory for the name “Miel.” Nothing came up, meaning he didn’t appear much in the game—definitely not a key character.

“Thank you. Hello, I’m Xu Linlang,” she said politely, before moving on without further comment.

The onlookers had expected sparks to fly between the two opposing figures, maybe even an outright confrontation.

Instead, Xu Linlang simply walked away, without the slightest reaction.

Just this?