Chapter 138: Shuyue’s Three-Day Seclusion

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There are two ways: first, go to Wolumonde Academic City under the guise of pursuing further studies, where you can stay for three years.

“The second is to head to the Tian Yuan Defense Line early and serve there for two years.”

From the moment they enroll, students of Baizhenye Academy are required to sign a contract.

Upon completing their studies, they must serve at the Tian Yuan Defense Line.

Most students depart in batches after the Recommendation Qualification Competition, while those granted the opportunity to further their studies at Wolumonde Academic City must fulfill their contracted garrison duty before turning twenty.

As a daughter of the Isolde Family, Lin is likewise required to travel to the Tian Yuan Defense Line to complete her two-year term of service.

Luolan has already been there for a year.

She’s only back in Frost City temporarily now; after a while, she’ll need to return to the Tian Yuan Defense Line to finish out her remaining year.

For her, though, this is a form of training, and Luolan doesn’t treat it as some kind of obligation.

Additionally, after she and Shu Yue married, Shu Yue became a member of the Isolde Family and would also need to go to the Tian Yuan Defense Line.

But Luolan can fulfill that duty on her behalf, so Shu Yue can simply remain at the Isolde Family castle.

Back to the matter at hand—when Lin heard the two options Luolan presented, she stood frozen in place.

Both options required leaving home for a long time: one for three years, the other for two.

For a girl of only thirteen, that was truly, truly long.

Lin deflated, though she knew there was likely no other way, unless she could convince Xiya.

But what good would that do?

Once Lin turns sixteen, she’ll formally enter the Empire’s noble circles, and at that point, the marriage question will come back around anyway.

“What if I go to Wolumonde Academic City, and after I return, can I serve another two years at the Tian Yuan Defense Line?”

Garrison duty could be stacked to five years, pushing all her worries five years down the road.

But going to the Academic City comes with another problem: Lin would have to face her suitors head-on, especially those from the Western Wind Royal Family.

Luolan nodded, confirming that, as Lin suggested, she could go to the Academic City first and then serve her garrison duty.

In truth, given Lin’s status, she should have been raised in the Western Wind imperial capital from childhood.

Nobles have the custom of sending their inheriting children to be fostered in the capital—first, to demonstrate loyalty, and second, to guarantee that there is always a direct heir who can succeed to the family’s title.

But Lin, of all people, simply couldn’t be sent away.

She inherits Lady Mel’s imperial bloodline, and the Blazing Sun Gold Flame is a branch that split off from the Blazing Sun Temple of the Holy Radiance Church, born from its union with the Imperial Royal House.

This bloodline carries the legacy of the Blazing Sun Temple as well as that of the Western Wind Royal Family—yet not a trace of the Isolde Family’s legacy.

The main line of the Isolde Family has been passed down through a single heir for generations.

Of Grand Duke Isolde’s three sons, some fell to conspiracies, others died valorously in battle.

Of his remaining two daughters, the one best suited to be a hostage is Luolan.

But Luolan happened to have her legendary bloodline revert to its source, becoming Holy Blood.

She holds the Isolde Family’s right of inheritance and is now its sole heir.

If anything were to happen to her, the Isolde Family’s bloodline legacy would be severed.

The Imperial Royal House would never be pleased to see a legendary bloodline come to an end—that would benefit no one in the entire West Wind Empire.

The argument went back and forth until, in the end, it simply fizzled out.

The Isolde Family does have collateral branches, but their numbers are equally thin.

The family has lost too many members on the Tian Yuan Defense Line.

Even the current Grand Duke Isolde was gravely wounded and fell into a coma while suppressing the Tian Yuan Defense Line and preventing the Deep Tide from encroaching upon the Northern Frontier’s lands.

Neither sister spoke again.

Lin needed time to accept the fact that she would be leaving home for five years, while Luolan was thinking about just how high she could climb in that same span of time.

Luolan is currently in the final stage of Tier 3, only one step away from entering Tier 4.

To make her path smoother ahead, she’ll have to remain at Tier 4 for a considerable period.

Five years should be enough for her to step into Tier 5, but achieving a Transcendence physique might require a stroke of fortune.

Tier 5 is the threshold for inheriting the Duke title, yet merely being Tier 5 doesn’t make one the Grand Duke of the North.

The title of Grand Duke represents a Tier 7 legend…

The next morning, the Silver Dragon Princess in the meditation room opened her eyes.

Her soft pink lips parted slightly as she let out a long breath, staring blankly at the empty space before her for a moment.

After roughly three to five seconds, she snapped back to her senses and looked up at the dim, fading orb of the Illumination Spell above.

“It’s morning already, huh…”

Shu Yue murmured to herself.

As she spoke, she stretched, loosening the body that had sat upright through the entire night.

A pleased smile graced her pretty face.

She’d gotten lucky—stumbling her way into creating her very first Sky Element particle, circulating it within her body, and successfully replicating it.

Feeling the core circuit within her, Shu Yue observed the flow of Magic Power through her Mana Circuit.

Each rotation triggered a transformation.

Counting the number of rotations within a single breath, she found her core circuit spinning thirty times per breath—though she wasn’t sure if that counted as fast.

“It doesn’t feel like enough. Forget nine thousand rotations per breath—surely I should at least hit a hundred?”

Shu Yue felt this was a bit slow, so she came up with an idea: using her Spirituality to drive Magic Power through her body at an accelerated pace.

This produced twice as much Sky Magic Power as natural circulation, with the rotation speed reaching sixty turns per breath.

Yet it still fell short of her expectations, leaving her quite frustrated.

This method also consumed a great deal of Spirituality.

After a night of experimentation, Shu Yue’s Spirituality was already running low, so she stopped using Spirituality to assist the acceleration and let her Mana Circuit run on its own.

“Though it consumes Spirituality, it’s not impossible. At the root of it, my Spirituality isn’t pure enough—there’s no True Spirit to support it. Perhaps after Tier 3, one needs to use Spirituality to accelerate the core circuit to sustain the massive Magic Power consumption of those large-scale spells.”

Shu Yue’s eyes lit up—she felt she had found the right path.

“Maybe one day I really can hit nine thousand rotations per breath—no, even ninety thousand isn’t out of the question!”

She glanced at the stone door behind her.

The one-night sealing period was almost up.

Shu Yue thought for a moment, then extended it for another full day and night.

She intended to complete her Sky Magic Power in one go.

And so, Shu Yue remained in seclusion inside the stone chamber until the third day, when she finally succeeded in converting all her Wind Element Magic Power into Sky Magic Power.

On the morning of the third day, Shu Yue opened those diamond-shaped draconic pupils once more.

Her demeanor had subtly shifted—shedding a trace of childishness.

Though a fair amount remained, there was genuinely a new layer of maturity.

This maturity wasn’t physical; it was in Shu Yue’s very bearing.

She extended her hand, and a silver-gray light materialized.

At times it became wind, at times it condensed into dew, at times it crackled like lightning—all of it obediently dancing in Shu Yue’s palm, shifting at her will.

Shu Yue had truly stepped into the mastery stage of Tier 2.

Five days in total?

Withdrawing the Sky Magic Power, she rose from the ground, her gaze sharp.

It’s time to settle some scores.