The Spider Queen
chapter-7

(Main Story)

"Dad, I've been thinking quite a lot lately."

"I don't want to stay on the campus dorms anymore…. Can I move back home?" Sophie asked hesitantly.

There was a small interval of silence between the father – daughter pair which made her heart start beating anxiously in her chest. The original host had decided to live in the dorms to prove a point, but Sophie thought it would be better to return to the family home and get help in training for the class evaluation.

"Sure sweety, my doors are always open!" her father resolutely replied.

A few tears welled up in Sophie's eyes, this man had always been on her side and she had been foolish to reject his help. The class evaluation was an important event that determined the future path of the students.

There were many different universities and institutes of higher learning scattered throughout the earth federation, but only four elite schools stood out from the rest.

The four universities were each located on the main planets of the four different races of the federation respectively. A student of any race could enter one of these four universities but there was a strict selection process that eliminated over ninety percent of potential applicants.

To be admitted into one of these four universities was to have a guaranteed pathway to the elite officers of the imperial army. Cultivation resources, training and techniques of unimaginable strength were made available freely to students.

Each university contained secret training grounds where students could learn real life combat skills to hone their instincts in life and death battles.

Unlike the other higher education institutions who took students at the age of eighteen, the four universities accepted students from as early as the age of sixteen.

In fact, it was highly unlikely that any future student over the age of nineteen would be accepted as they would be deemed as lacking potential.

The first test begins with an initial selection of seeds and each school on a planet is assigned a quota of students to nominate for the second round of testing. The students are then randomly selected to go to different sites where a battle simulation would take place.

Students are judged by their cultivation level, combat strength and survivability. Only the strong would dare to go through the selection process as accidental death and injuries were fairly common during the simulation testing.

There was also a third round of testing, but the details typically remain a mystery and vary greatly from year to year.

The selection of seeds in the Royal Academy was determined by a tournament between all students of the sophomore grade. The top twenty participants would then be given a chance to move on to the second test.

At the current time, Sophie had no confidence in passing the first couple of rounds, much less qualifying as a seedling.

While her father had stated that he would be proud of any university that she attended in the future, the original host had strong feelings of following her father's footsteps. Sui Meng was also a highly competitive person and did not want to accept anything other than first place in the tournament.

Sophie did not want to remain in the shadows of her father's achievements, she wanted to forge her own legacy to repay all the love and kindness that she had received from her only family.

"Did something bad happen in the academy?" concern shone through the voice of the duke and Sophie was snapped out of her daze.

"No…It's just that I decided that I want to take part in the class evaluation and win a seedling spot for the four great universities," Sophie murmured gently.

"Are you insane?!" her father's loud voice echoes through the room.

Sophie was shocked, this was the first time that her father had raised his voice with genuine anger towards her.

His voice continued on with a stormy tone,

"Do you know the kind of people you will have to fight in the simulation?"

"Nobles raised from birth as cultivation prodigies trained to eliminate threats as soon as they appear"

"Freaks of nature from common families who possess extremely high cultivation talent."

"The average qi level of those who actually get into the university is qi spirit stage two. If you received a single attack from one of those students, you could die before the safety barrier kicks in."

Sophie was also furious and bit back a sharp retort in her mind before she realised her father was not lecturing her out of anger but rather a sense of deep concern. At her current level it would be highly unlikely she could qualify in the first place, but she even if she did, there would be the risking of her life against stronger participants.

(Meanwhile in the Peterlor mansion)

"Sire please calm yourself down," a cold voice echoed behind the duke.

Rokan stopped his rage and looked around his study, there were now books scattered all over the room and a conspicuous giant crack ran along the floor where some of his power leaked out.

The old butler at his side had placed the maidservants cleaning the room behind him so they would not be affected by his loss of control.

The duke was not in the right frame of mind to worry about the details as his mind was in a state of complete shock.

His precious baby girl wanted to join the imperial army as well!

She even wanted to aim for the top universities that even cultivation geniuses had slim chances of entering. The duke sighed slowly and sat back down in his chair with a weary look on his face and ordered the servants out of the room.

Part of him wanted to dissuade his daughter from participating in the tournament but another side of him remembered the figure of a graceful woman slaughtering her enemies.

The duke chuckled in mirth, he was known as one of the most powerful god stage cultivators in the federation but somehow against that woman he was powerless. It was part of the reason why he never quite believed his daughter had no talent in cultivation despite what others said.

While his family could have produced an offspring with no talent, there was no way an outstanding demon like her could not produce a fierce child.

Thinking of this fact, he calmed down and spoke in a much softer tone through the communication device,

"The tournament is roughly in two months time so I will apply for your temporary leave from the campus. You will come back home for training and if you pass my test at the end, I will have no objections to your participation."