~~~五~~~

~~~纪念之海~~~

Xuělián recovered from her illness within two days as her fever subsided and she could start using her spiritual energy again without any nausea. During this time, Dàoyì practically lived with her and took care of her whenever he wasn't in classes, even though she insisted that she could take care of herself.

The female was used to living independently since she was young. In the adventurer's guild and even when she arrived in the Empire of Silver, she just stayed mostly to herself and did her best on her own. Of course, she couldn't stop the imperial family from stepping in, especially when she became a princess, but she still tried.

Even though she didn't tell him directly, the woman found his actions to be very sweet and she would find her thoughts drifting back to him whenever he left. Another thing she did when the male was gone was continue doing her paperwork, something she was specifically told not to do until she recovered. She was almost caught one time when her companion came back from his afternoon training, but she was able to cover it up in time.

As soon as the ravenette recovered, the first thing she did was pay a visit to the First Princess in her office to get updates on what happened. According to collective reports, the student that had given her the tarts was playing an active role for those who wanted to kill her. The first year's family was one who didn't agree with her crowning and wanted her dead.

The information was nothing new to the adopted royal, she knew that being part of the imperial family was the equivalent of being thrown into a pit of vipers. It was still disappointing though. All she wanted to do in this new life was to live simply, even upon being brought to the orphanage, that’s all she wanted, but it never worked that way.

"So how are they being dealt with?" the younger female asked as she sat on the plush couch with her hands in her lap. There was a small frown on her face as her eyes were focused on the tea sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"Qī-mei, you know the punishment for trying to assassinate a member of the royal family and you're a Soul Maiden on top of that," the blonde sighed as she took a sip of her own tea. Everyone in the empire knew the punishment as this was the largest crime one could commit. "But I spoke with the emperor and was able to convince him into sparing the children under the age of thirteen."

Purple eyes flicked up to her as she continued, "The children will be sent to work in the inner valleys while those above the age of thirteen will take the punishment." The Head Mistress then turned her attention to the large windows. "Their execution date is planned to be this week and you are expected to be there."

"Of course I am," the Seventh Princess chuckled although there was no humor in it. She leaned her head back and let out a long sigh. "I have to prove to everyone who had their hopes up that I'm still alive, after all."

When she left her sister's office the sun had just begun to set as she made her way back to the Spirit Tower. A small hiss brought her attention to the companion that was draped over her shoulders. Ever since she had been able to leave her flat, the Iron-Throated Devil started following her owner everywhere, never straying more than a few feet away.

"I'm fine now, Nana," the adopted royal cooed as she walked into the lobby of her tower. It was mostly empty, like always, but the quiet was nice. "That was a one time thing. I'm not always that stupid."

She kept speaking to the small reptile about random things until they were up in her flat where they both took immediate notice of the third being sitting at one of the couches. He was out of his school uniform and wearing a loose-fitting shirt with a pair of black pants.

"Dào-gē, if I didn't know any better I might think that you live here now," the ravenette teased as she walked into the kitchen to start making dinner. She missed the smirk on the male’s face as her back turned.

"Would you mind if I did?" he mused with a raised brow, keen eyes catching onto the way the woman tensed for a split second before continuing. He heard the way she let out a small huff before continuing, "It would be like when we were kids, right?"

The female shook her head at the student's reasoning and narrowed her eyes over her shoulder as she said, "Certainly I don't mind your company, but everyone else will." Her chest felt tighter upon meeting his gaze from across the room as she focused on the leftover rice she had plopped into a pan after cooking some bacon. "Jiějiě, Er-jiě, and San-ge will literally have your head if they find out."

"Why would they be angry? All I'm doing is providing some extra protection for you after you were almost killed," the man spoke in a light tone, but there was some truth to the statement. He didn't want to leave her alone when she could easily be taken away for good.

The nineteen-year-old's lips twitched downwards upon hearing the worried undertones in his voice. She turned around to see the male standing a few feet away from her and she reached out to wrap her arms around his waist. Her chin was resting on his chest as she gazed straight up into ocean blue irises.

"Dào-gē, I'll be fine. I was just a bit careless when I saw a student approaching me," she explained smoothly. She rubbed small circles into his back as she felt his arms drape over his shoulders. "I promise I'll be more careful from now on."

It was silent for a few moments before Dàoyì let out a sigh and said, "Alright, I trust you." He then pulled back with a soft smile as he brushed a stray hair out of her face. "I won't invade your space anymore if you don't want me here."

"I didn't say that you couldn't stay, you know?" the ravenette mused as she turned back to the stove and added some seasonings to the rice. A small chuckle left her lips as she tossed the food in the pan. "I was just warning you what would happen if you get caught. I don't mind if you actually want to move in."

"Alright, I'll bring my things up tomorrow, then," the male replied as he walked over to pull some plates out of the cupboards. He intentionally brushed shoulders while walking past her. "It's the weekend now anyway."

"For you maybe," the princess scoffed with a small smile, shaking her head before turning off the stove. After grabbing some utensils, she portioned out the fried rice before bringing everything to the table. "I need to read any last minute mission reports since a team is scheduled to be coming back."

The rest of the evening passed with the both of them eating dinner before reading together in the living area. When the time came to go to bed, the student stuck to the couch like he had been the entire time he was taking care of her.

'Well that's going to have to change,' the female thought as she took one last look at her friend from over her guard rails. She then flipped onto her side to come face to face with four glowing red eyes. 'Those couches are comfortable, but I'm not having him sleep there forever.'

Hiss!

Blue eyes fluttered open to be met with the scaled face of the serpent he had become extremely familiar with. After confirming that the male was awake, she dropped to the floor with a small thud and slithered off as he slowly sat up.

Dàoyì looked around to see that the first rays of sunlight had just begun to peek in through the windows before he processed the smell of something cooking. He then turned his gaze to the kitchen to see the princess moving around in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Dào-gē!" she chirped while turning her head over her shoulder. The female was already fully dressed in her purple hanfu and had her hair done in its simple fashion. "I suggest grabbing your things as soon as we finish breakfast. The students are never up this early on weekends."

"That sounds like a plan," he replied before standing up to stretch out his back as the other placed plates down on the dining table. "So we're eating inside today?"

"It would be easier for you, wouldn't it?" the ravenette shrugged as she poured out some tea for the both of them. When she placed the pot down, the matte black reptile had made her way back onto the table and curled around the vase that was in the center. "Would draw less attention to you."

A small smile made its way onto the male's face as he sat down in the seat right next to her to eat his eggs and bacon. He remembered that his companion would always be thinking of the small details to ensure their safety even as children. She didn't want to be noticed by others that didn't matter to her.

After finishing their morning meal, the male used the circle to get back down to his floor while the woman cleaned up the table. She quickly finished her task before going into one of her drawers and pulling out a piece of black chalk.

Immediately stalking over to her corner library area, the female scanned over the various hardcover spines before finding the one she needed. She let out a small hum as she flipped through the pages before finding an image of various alchemical arrays.

Purple eyes were quick to take in the words and various symbols on the page before she snapped the book shut and walked over to a blank space on the wall next to the bathroom door. The woman took her chalk and drew a circle with various symbols she took from the book and other geometric figures. Around the outer ring, she wrote various rules to map out exactly what she wanted to happen before setting the chalk down. She then cracked her neck before placing her hands at the edges of the circle and allowed her energy to flow through her fingertips.

'Drawing from the elements of Earth and Spirit: Transmute!'

The entire flat began to shake as the markings began to glow a harsh purple color. The wall began to stretch and distort as she pushed spiritual energy through it. A large rectangular hole began to form where her hands were before a door materialized and the shaking stopped.

"Alright!" she chirped while opening the door to reveal an additional room with its own closet. It was empty, but she could easily solve that. "Now all I have to do is bring in the extra stuff from storage."

After about fifteen more minutes, the female stood in the now furnished room with a queen-size bed in the back corner with a small nightstand next to it. There was a dark, wooden dresser set up next to the closet and dark blue sheets folded on top of them for the bed should he decide not to use the white ones.

'All done!' she internally mused before seeing the magic circle light up from outside the open door. A large smile decorated her features as she walked out to greet the male who was holding his bag over his shoulder.

"Welcome back, Dào-gē!" she greeted before leading him into the meeting space. Her grin seemed to grow larger as his head whipped around with wide eyes. "I had your room set up while you were grabbing your stuff."

"This... Lián-mei, did you do all of this?" the student questioned as he looked around the room that he knew didn't exist before. He set his things down into the plush mattress as he turned back to face her.

The ravenette pursed her lips as she closed her eyes and shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dào-gē," she mused before hopping up to sit on the dresser with her right leg crossed over her left. "Could you be a little more specific?"

The blue haired male only shook his head at her little game. Much like the original form of her Astral Spirit, she still liked to play tricks on people from time to time. He still hadn't seen her fight in over nine years, but he could only imagine how this allowed her to run around her opponents.

"Anyways, what took you so long to come back?" the female questioned as she tilted her head to the left. The skirt of her hanfu had started to flutter lightly as she unconsciously kicked her legs back and forth. "I'm sure you weren't spending that whole time packing."

"Unexpectedly, Hǎyáng was actually awake by the time I returned to the apartment," he explained while walking over and placing a hand on top of her head. She closed her eyes and pressed into it as he continued, "He started questioning me and almost didn't let me leave if it weren't for Shīmāo coming in to scold him for touching his things."

"Ah. The Young Master along seems to be quite the troublesome figure," the woman chuckled as she hopped off the dresser. "I'm sure Lady Long had the time of her life trying to keep him out of trouble."

Dàoyì opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of an incoming call from the crystal plate. A single look from the ravenette and he knew to stay out while she went out to answer.

Upon seeing that it was the Head Mistress calling, she immediately answered the call and watched the older woman's face pop up on the plate. From the background, it looked like she was sitting at the desk in her office.

"Jiějiě, how can I help you?" the Soul Maiden questioned as she looked up at the magical device. She stood right in front of the center couch with her hands held just in front of her waist and her back straight.

"Qī-mei, the batch of exchange students have been cleared for missions. Is that correct?" the blonde questioned as she looked down at a document on her desk. Purple eyes couldn't read what was on it, but she could assume it was one of the reports she sent up from the professor in charge of them.

"Yes, that is correct," the Seventh Princess replied simply. A small chuckle left her lips as she gave a smile up to the plate. "Do you have a mission in mind for them?"

Hikari nodded as she tossed something towards her plate, the piece of paper traveling through and coming out of the ravenette's device. "I want you to use this time to personally assess their skills and progress," she explained while watching her younger sister scan over the page. "Out of all the faculty, your eyes are the sharpest when it comes to identifying weaknesses and spots for improvement."

"Is there any other reason that you want me to accompany them personally?" the woman in purple questioned as her eyes flicked back up to the crystal. The mission seemed easy enough in her eyes, just get rid of a group of pirates that had been sighted right off their coast. She could have easily done it on her own, but knowing the First Princess, there must have been some reason for her set up.

"I want you to keep them in line," she sighed in return. Her perfectly manicured nails made small tapping sounds as they drummed across the wooden surface of her desk before she picked up a pen. "It's still too early to tell if they're trustworthy."

Xuělián let out her own sigh as her eyes flicked back down to the informational report before she said, "As you wish, Jiějiě." The line went dead after that. "But I wish you'd get to know them a bit before passing judgment like that..."

With a sigh, she went to plop down at her desk and get a thorough read of the mission description and began taking notes on the abilities of the crewmates. After comparing it to the abilities of the group she was supposed to take, the female determined that they would be an even match. Both parties had a decent spread of abilities, but the pirates had more in numbers which meant she would have to play an active role if she didn't want any casualties on her side.

Two days passed before the Soul Maiden had called all of the exchange students out to the front of the school instead of attending their morning classes. She wore the same outfit that she wore when she first greeted them as the assistant, save for the fox mask. The haori served to cover most of her skin from the chilly breeze while her choice of crop top and shorts allowed for ease of movement. Her basket was still hanging by her left thigh and Nana was perched on her shoulders.

"Good, you're all here on time," she said after spotting the seven students donning their new white uniforms. She honestly hated that they were white because of how easy it was to dirty, but due to how specific they had to be made, the color could not be altered. "Uniforms look great, by the way."

"Your Highness, if I may ask, why have you called us out?" Shīmāo asked as he held his elbows. The uniform seemed to match him perfectly, clean and proper. "Has there been any problems?"

"Not at all. It's just that I'm taking you all out for your first mission today," the ravenette replied casually, earning many confused looks from those before her. She let out a chuckle before shifting her weight while handing the oldest the mission description. "The Head Mistress wants to see how you work out in the field so she hand picked this mission for you."

Green eyes widened as their owner looked over how many opponents they would be facing. 'An estimated twenty or more crewmates all ranging from level forty-five to fifty-five?!' he thought as the others read the document over his shoulder. 'Is the Head Mistress of Yín Elite Academy trying to get us killed?'

"You don't have to look so concerned, this will be easy," the princess chuckled as she noticed how the male began clenching the paper in his hands. She bounced on the balls of her feet with her hands held behind her back. "I'll be coming with you, after all."

As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone was reminded that the nineteen-year-old was leagues ahead of them in terms of power and most likely experience. The eight full pins hanging from her brooch made a light jingle as she turned to face the gates to say, "I know it hasn't been long since I last saw your abilities, but I better see some differences today." No one could see it since her back was facing them but her smile became darker. "Otherwise, I'll have to enforce some stricter training from now on."

Opposite to the day that they first arrived, the mages from the Jin Empire followed the female through the inner city and through the outer city. She led them over to the docks where they boarded a small but luxurious ship called the Santa Maria.

Tiě's eyes widened as she looked at the high quality of the vessel. She had come from a farming family originally so she never got to experience such nice things. It was through sheer determination and luck that she even got into the Jin Magic Academy since their entrance exams were completely skewed towards only accepting those of higher classes. As she began comparing this to the Yín Elite Academy's greater chance of opportunities for those in lower classes, her attention was brought back to her house Soul Maiden.

A chuckle left the young woman's lips as she watched the students looking around the deck before she said, "Our targets only come out at night, so use this time to prepare and plan your attack accordingly." She then plopped down on the deck and pulled a book out from her basket. "My input in this part will be minimal."

"Eh, shouldn't we be focusing on actually finding them first?" Hǎiyáng asked as he tilted his head to the side. His lips were pursed as he tapped an index finger to his cheek and the ravenette looked up at them.

"No need," she chuckled in response before looking back down at her book and turning the page. Her posture was still perfect, but she held no tension. "With what's in the Santa Maria's cargo at the moment, it's guaranteed that they'll be coming directly to us."

"What is in this ship's cargo?" the pink-haired student questioned as she clung onto Dàoyì's arm. If she noticed him trying to wiggle away, then she ignored it in favor of clinging tighter as her eyes narrowed at the adopted royal.

The ravenette looked up from her book and raised a brow at the smaller female. Pink eyes were glaring straight into her and if she weren't in front of so many people, she would have laughed. Instead, she chose to say, "This ship is carrying two full crates of Spirit Crystals."

All eyes widened at the new information of the cargo and for good reason. Spirit Crystals were gems infused with pure spiritual energy that could be used to make enchanted items, but what made them so coveted was the fact that they could be absorbed directly. Doing so would increase one's level of spiritual energy and would refine certain aspects of their magic. It was a quick way to cultivate, but they were hard to come across.

The normal way of finding them was by hunting the magic beasts and praying that they would drop the gems, but it almost never happened. Even if the creature were to drop a crystal, the amount of levels one could gain would most likely be below ten.

'The imperial family must have an abundance of Spirit Crystals if they're willing to have two whole crates be used to lure out pirates,' Kāihuā thought as she watched the princess continue to read. 'That must be how she's at such a high level despite being our age. That cheater!'

Before the female could voice this thought to her senior, the orange haired female pried her off of him and began dragging her to another part of the boat. Her whines were ignored as she watched the male walk towards the female in black.

"Tiě, what are you doing?!" she huffed once she had been dragged out of sight. They were now inside and the Lùsè twins walked in as well.

"You need to behave yourself, Kāihuā," started San as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her sibling mirrored this as she continued, "This isn't Jin. You can't afford to offend anyone here, especially not a princess."

"Yeah, Her Highness seems like she wouldn't care too much about it, but her siblings are different," the tallest added with a scoff. Her hands came up to rest on her hips. "They treat her like their favorite doll, if she doesn't do anything then they will."

The girl with the butterfly spirit let out a huff. Her glare shifted to the floor as she spat, "That woman can't be trusted. She isn't even part of the royal bloodline." Her shoulders began to shake as she tried to keep herself contained. "She was adopted into it."

"That doesn't matter! What matters is that everyone respects her as an actual princess and we will be in big trouble if you try to fight her!" Tiě exclaimed in return. She knew that the one standing in front of her was obsessed with Dàoyì, but it couldn't get in the way of what they were trying to do. "You're an ambassador of the Jin Empire! You need to get your stuck up, rich, head out of your ass and think about what your actions could do!"

Hours passed and the group eventually came back together to discuss potential plans for facing the pirates based on the information they were provided. The crew had a widespread set of skills but so did they. It was decided that each student would find and handle any individuals that had a magical nature that was weak to theirs before switching if necessary.

As this happened, the Seventh Princess of the Yín Empire remained in one spot, turning the page of her book every few minutes. No one knew what her current skill set was or what she planned to do. All the information they had on her magic was provided by Dàoyì and it was from a long time ago.

When the sun finally set, each of the students was put on high alert, each searching around the small ship as they floated on the water. Meanwhile, the ravenette kept on reading with a small melody leaving her lips. Just as the students were about to give up for the night, she snapped her book shut and said, "They're here."

The woman opened her basket as the seven other mages perked up at her words and began frantically searching for their target. She placed her book inside and pulled out her bone flute as columns of water began flying up around them.

'Drawing from the elements of Air and Spirit: Siren's Blessing!'

Those wearing the uniform of the Spirit House could feel a rush of power flow through them as the sound of the flute hit their ears. When they turned to the source, they were met with glowing purple eyes with pupils that had narrowed into slits.

"That should make things a little easier for all of you," Xuělián said once she finished playing. She then stowed the flute away before cracking her neck. "That boost will only last for about ten minutes though, so use it wisely."

'What is this?' Kāihuā thought as she activated her soul. Her wings beat twice before lifting her into the air. 'This feels like a charm spell but it's been deviated to a support spell? Just what kind of things is this woman capable of?'

As the other six activated their Astral Spirits, Dàoyì unconsciously stepped closer to the princess who still didn't put out any of her spiritual energy. Her eyes flicked from place to place, observing everyone's actions as the first of their enemies emerged from the water.

'Uh oh, this is going to be more complicated than I expected,' she mused internally. Her energy wasn't felt by the others but she let small amounts flow down through her feet and felt a large presence underneath them. 'Someone got smart with their water magic and was able to turn a boat into a fucking submarine.'

When she looked back up, all seven of the foreigners had begun battling those from the pirate crew as the sailors of the Santa Maria immediately formed up to guard the cargo while keeping the ship floating. The woman shook her head before calling, "Dào-gē! You take care of things up here, okay?" He wasn't even able to utter a single word in response before she ran to the railing and dived straight into the water.

'Calling upon the Higher Self: Moon Carp!'

The ravenette's spiritual energy condensed as soon as she broke through the surface of the water and the flowing fish swam around her form. Her eyes glowed purple as she made her way through the water with ease, not having to worry about air thanks to her spirit. She didn't have to swim that far before seeing a ship with its upper half wrapped in a bubble of air with various mages on deck. 'Found you!'

The woman was about to charge forward when a certain thought popped into her head, causing her to stop and float where she was with a small smirk. 'I wonder what would happen if I were to dispel that barrier that's keeping the water out?' She shook her head. 'No! Bad Xuělián! This is supposed to be testing the others! Just find a way to get the ship to come up to the surface for now!'

'Hmm, now where is the mage who's supporting the bubble?'

As the princess spent her time underneath the water, the students were busy taking care of the pirates that had come up to the surface. The twins were taking care of two individuals that were using magic weapons. Their long time partnership allowed them to act on will, already knowing what the other would do. As a mage who primarily used fire magic, Tiě would have been put at a huge disadvantage if not for her teammates keeping the opposing water mages off of her. Instead, she focused more on those who seemed like they focused in close combat as she excelled at it. Shīmāo focused on the mages that took to the air as he was one of the only people in his team who could reach them at any point. Kāihuā could fly as well, but she lacked the speed her senior possessed so she focused on providing support closer to the main deck by drawing attention away from her team. This was mostly done to take the stress off of Dàoyì whom many of the pirates had targeted due to the seen flexibility of his Astral Spirit.

The Azure Dragon Vine was a strange and rare Astral Spirit to have. It originally stems from the element of water so it would have high resistance to those spells, but it also had high levels of dragon energy so it could resist fire as well. The secondary energy stem also made the vine stronger than any normal plant-based Astral Spirit, making it a great defensive spirit.

Meanwhile, Long Hǎiyáng was thriving with his Astral Spirit. Since his Astral Spirit was a Minor Water Dragon, he was literally in his element with how easy he was keeping his opponents on their toes. Surprisingly, he didn't act as he usually did in battle. Instead, he was hyper focused on everything around him, leaving almost no room for error.

Everyone was heavily engrossed in their battles until they felt a sudden burst of multiple energies. Just to the left of the Santa Maria, the water parted and a much larger ship floated up to the surface. The sails were made of a dirty white fabric, but what caught everyone’s attention was the black flag that flew from the main mast. It was the sure sign of a pirate ship.

Blue eyes immediately flicked over to see a familiar raven haired woman standing at the very tip of the ship’s bow. Her posture was still perfect and she seemed to have no trouble maintaining her balance as she flicked her hair back over her shoulder. The translucent purple carp was still swimming around her form as glowing purple eyes were aimed at the crew members who flared up at her. Many of them were injured and many more were lying on the wooden surface of the deck, unconscious and bleeding.

“Man, y’all were more resilient than I was expecting,” she offhandedly commented with a chuckle. She then reached up to stretch out her back before cracking her neck. “Good for you.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 5~~~