Sword Princess Flees

Let us retrace the mental journey of Jialesi's university students over the course of the day: Morning. *Shocking! Paw-Stretching Swordmaster Suspected to Have a Romantic Partner!* *I advise that lucky fellow to step forward honestly. As long as you break two hundred and eight bones, this matter will be water under the bridge.* Noon. *It must be because the pressure of dating a Sanctuary sorcerer is too immense, which is why he turned her down, right?* *Urgent! Are there any photos of that guy? I'll get plastic surgery to match him right away! I wouldn't even mind being a body double!* Afternoon. *Breaking news! It's not Negs, nor is it Dimi! The other party is very likely just a Two-Wing Sorcerer, or even a One-Wing Sorcerer, and in all probability not a noble!* *Would the Sword Princess mind having an extra boyfriend?* Evening. Sonia kicked open the dormitory door, drew a wooden sword from her sword bag, raised it high, and brought it cleaving down toward Adele. Adele hurriedly darted behind Ingrid and shouted, "Why are you so sure it slipped out from me?! On what basis?!" "Even if you didn't say it out loud, you definitely used alt accounts to fan the flames!" Adele was momentarily tongue-tied. Clinging tightly to Ingrid, she held onto the shield for dear life. "But I really didn't say it! My lips are usually pretty sealed, and I still want to expand the Paw-Stretching Club! I'm counting on you to become a screen maiden on par with Daidalos... How could I possibly leak news of you dating and dampen the fans' enthusiasm?!" Sonia's fury cooled slightly. She glanced suspiciously at Lois beside them. Lois said nothing, merely meeting her gaze in silence. However, the country girl quickly withdrew her eyes and pondered aloud, "Since it wasn't Adele, then it wasn't anyone from our dorm who let it slip..." "I protest! Why was I the only suspect?!" "I probably know who it was." Everyone turned to Ingrid in surprise. Ingrid said, "Do you still remember Aisha?" Aisha Martz—a championship contender in the Meteor Tribulation who crushed Leonie's rhythm swordsmanship with the perfect parry of her prophecy shield combat. Ingrid explained, "Being a combat sorcerer is just a sideline for Aisha. Her primary specialization is information analysis. She isn't only a member of Truth University's Strategy Team, but also an official editor for the Jialesi Astral Daily." The Strategy Team, formally known as the Truth University Affiliated Strategy Team. From manipulating celestial phenomena above to conquering the Abyss below, from sociological evolution on the outside to miracle research on the inside, answers to almost every question could be obtained from the Strategy Team. However, the vast majority of people only knew about them from the screen drama starring Daidalos, *Flawed Blade of Preserved Cycles*—a workplace drama about a female protagonist who suspected her father had been framed by the Strategy Team and joined it to uncover the truth. Although the Strategy Team consisted mostly of prophecy sorcerers, many academic sorcerers also worked within it, handling tedious tasks like intelligence compilation. Because its primary clients were the Administrative Hall and the royal family, it could be regarded as an auxiliary administrative branch. Its official standing was not high, yet its influence was immense. Ever since she heard about the Gospel system from the Spectator, Sonia had instantly thought of the Strategy Team. One could say the Strategy Team was a severely downgraded, artificially influenced, and far smaller Gospel system. "Aisha has always had a Six-Phase Information Theory," Ingrid said. "It posits that when you try to conceal a piece of information, six people around you will vaguely sense your secret. Thus, prophecy sorcerers don't need to pry open your mouth directly; by aggregating information from the six people around you, they can deduce your truth. All this time, the Strategy Team has never given up on investigating Sonia." As for why the country girl was targeted by the Strategy Team, it went without saying—until Sonia revealed how she had climbed to the Distant Sky Realm from scratch within three months, the prophecy sorcerers of the Astral Country would inevitably regard her as the puzzle of the century that had to be cracked. To tell the truth, it had taken Sonia a long time before she felt lingering dread. If this weren't the Astral Country, but rather the Blood Moon Country or Gospel Country, she would have faced oppression from Sanctuary or even Legendary sorcerers, and might have had to flee into the Abyss as an exile. Yet in the Astral Country, all high-ranking sorcerers were nobles without exception and bound by the stars' blessing. Abiding by Astral law was etched into their very souls. As a result, sorcerers at most wrote letters offering various terms to entice Sonia, never daring to threaten her—the stars were watching. Open aggression was impossible, but covert probing was inevitable. Sonia had already braced herself for the reality of being a permanent target of the Strategy Team for the rest of her life. "This Six-Phase Information Theory is incredible," Adele said, nodding. "It's true. Once someone falls in love, even if they don't say a word, others can tell just from their eyes." "Mm-hmm." "Well said." Seeing Sonia reach for her wooden sword again, Adele quickly added, "So because the four of us knew the secret, according to the Six-Phase Information Theory, twenty-four people around us vaguely sensed it, and the Strategy Team deduced the intel from that?" "I think that theory could be expanded to sixty phases for you," Lois said. "On your way to the dining hall, everyone can vaguely sense you're dying to spill a secret." Instead, Sonia looked at Ingrid with curiosity. "Ingrid, are you close with Aisha?" "She was an older sister figure I played with as a child." Pausing, Ingrid added, "She protected me when I was little." "Huh? Weren't you the neighborhood boss as a kid?" "That was after I turned seven or eight. When I was four or five, I was small and scrawny, and I wore skirts. The other kids in the family often bullied me. One summer, Aisha stayed at our home for a while. During that time, I ran around playing with her every day..." Although Ingrid didn't care much for reminiscing about the past, everyone was clearly fascinated by her social circle. "You've been studying here in Jialesi for a year. How come Aisha never came looking for you?" "She reached out to me many times, but I was busy practicing my sword and turned down every invitation. It was only after the Intercollegiate League, when school went on break, that I met up with her." Adele was flabbergasted. "Wait, why? She's a genius at Truth University!" "But she isn't a sword sorcerer," Ingrid replied, looking thoroughly bewildered. "Why would I seek her out?" Though Ingrid sounded like a legendary figure who lived purely for the sword and desired nothing else, for some reason, in the eyes of her roommates, she seemed more like an absolute shut-in who turned down all socializing because she was addicted to gaming... "Hold on," Sonia said with a frown. "Even if the Strategy Team deduced this intel, why spread it around?" Lois replied, "Because you'd get anxious." "I'm not anxious!" Lois said, "Getting flustered makes you likely to reveal more information. They might think your absurdly fast advancement is connected to the person you like. So by finding who you like, they could further uncover your secrets." Sonia panicked. "I told you, that was the person my friend likes!" "Still, the Strategy Team's direction is probably wrong," Lois remarked to the others, ignoring Sonia completely. "A sorcerer can't receive assistance from anyone else in the Void Realm. Even if Sonia's lover were a Legendary sorcerer, could he explore the Void Realm with her?" Adele analyzed, "Could it be that just by holding hands with her lover, Sonia's absorption speed of sorcery power accelerates..." Ingrid actually gave it serious thought. "Is romance that effective? Is there a way to anthropomorphize my sword? If it were a sword, I might be able to fall in love with it." "You... you guys..." Seeing Sonia on the verge of exploding, Lois deftly shifted the topic. "Right, didn't your friend get interrupted halfway through her confession, so she couldn't tell whether it was a success or a failure?" The flame of the Paw-Stretching Club's president died down instantly. "Yeah." "Then the solution is actually very simple," Adele chimed in. "You've seen *Upside-Down World*, haven't you?" "Of course, that's Daidalos's most famous romance drama—" Sonia froze halfway through her sentence. "Just like that famous line in it," Lois quoted, "'If you didn't hear it once, I'll say it countless times.'" "Sword Princess?" Sonia snapped back to her senses, hastily taking a step back and pointing her sword forward. "What do you want?!" "See if you need this sorcery spirit," Yaxiu said, brushing her blade aside with his hand in mild irritation. "If not, it goes to Weise." Sonia took a quick glance. It was a sword-blood sorcery spirit, a hybrid of the suffering and swordsmanship factions. Its passive effect boosted physical combat power, making punches and claw strikes more likely to trigger a 'sharpness' effect. For a Sanctuary sorcerer, however, it held little significance, so she shook her head. "I don't need it." Having distributed the spoils, Yaxiu frowned at Sonia. "Sword Princess." Sonia stepped back like a startled cat with its fur raised. "Huh?" "You've been spacing out far too much during combat today," he said seriously. "This is the Distant Sky Realm, not the Time Continent or the Sea of Knowledge. A single affix effect could kill you outright. If you're not in good condition, stay in the back with Weise and search for affixes instead. That's better than treating combat like a game." Sonia lowered her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Her mind had been occupied with whether last night's confession counted and whether she should confess a second time. She had swung her sword entirely on instinct throughout the battle, so it was no wonder she was being scolded. Judging by Yaxiu's attitude, Sonia knew that half-finished confession from last night was a declared failure. As for confessing again... While watching screen dramas made that scene feel romantic, when it came to doing it herself, she only felt mortified! How could she possibly summon the courage to do it again?! It wasn't a basic attack! It needed a cooldown of at least three days... ten days... a month! While Sonia was lost in thought, they had already arrived at the next illusion bubble. Looking at the pillars of light scattered across the city, Yaxiu said, "This is a bonus stage, a virtual-real bubble. Just like before, we'll split up to gather virtual-real materials. Taking one virtual-real material consumes ten percent of your soul energy, and we have plenty left today... If the virtual-real materials are truly suitable, each person can take two at most. Once you're done collecting, regroup at the city center." "Understood!" Sonia picked a direction and quickly slipped away. Once separated from the others, the country girl felt a wave of relief wash over her, even finding the leisure to admire the architecture and pedestrians in this bubble. This was an underground city, yet the urban planning was modern and picturesque. High-rises stood everywhere, and in the distance hung an enormous elevator leading to the upper layer. The pedestrians along the streets looked spirited, and the shops on both sides bustled with noise... "This is Nabistin's underground city." Sonia turned her head and saw Yaxiu standing beside her at some point. "Your final stop in Gospel?" she asked. "Yeah." A hint of nostalgia seemed to surface in Yaxiu's eyes. "Let me show you around. I should still know the way." "Sure!" Sonia's tone was cheerful, but she soon noticed a problem. "Wait, wasn't your path in another direction?" "It was," Yaxiu said lightly. "So I came looking for you on purpose." Sonia paused, exchanging a look with Yaxiu. Suddenly, she pointed behind him with an exaggerated look of astonishment. "Look over there!" Yaxiu looked in that direction, only to see an ice cream parlor. Yet when he turned back, he found that the Sword Princess had already fled.