The camp of the Norton City Imperial Guard Regiment is located at the northwest corner of the palace. They serve as the last line of defense for the palace and are the most loyal guards to the Norton royal family. Most of them are hereditary professional soldiers, trained from a young age. Those with extraordinary talents who awaken superhuman abilities even have a chance to be selected as palace guards or pursue even greater opportunities. During the Norton Empire's peak, every member of this guard regiment was a superhuman. Any soldier could be a welcomed guest among the nobles of the land. Now, Norton has declined, with its territory less than one-thousandth of its former size, and this regiment's strength is less than one percent of what it used to be. However, their loyalty might surpass that of the past.
Although called a regiment, there are only five hundred soldiers. The key personnel have been distributed among two other guard regiments, forming their command structure. Rumors of a military reorganization have been spreading throughout Norton, but the soldiers of the regiment remain unconcerned. They have served the Norton family for generations and are not worried about being affected. Only a few might be cut, but the topic still fuels heated discussions, especially since their new commander is an outsider named Li Xian, a man of mysterious origins.
Clearly, Li Xian is a "connected" individual. No one knows whose influence placed an unknown person in charge of the regiment, but it must have been someone with great power in Norton. In Norton, the only figure with such influence is Princess Ivy, but she rarely involves herself in military affairs. The soldiers could only speculate that this outsider was installed by a coalition of principalities for some special purpose, and many suspected that these principalities were exploiting Princess Ivy's seclusion to manipulate Norton's military and politics. After all, they had already placed people in the other two regiments. Could they now be aiming for the Imperial Guard Regiment?
Despite their suspicions, Li Xian proved not to be a mere figurehead or pushover. On his first day, he physically dominated the regiment, and no one dared to underestimate him. He single-handedly wrestled and threw down the remaining 499 soldiers in the regiment, including their extraordinary captain, Lin Bei, a five-time wrestling champion, without using any superhuman abilities.
Although many were still unconvinced, they had no words to challenge him. Thus, Li Xian became the first non-traditional noble commander in the regiment's history.
As expected, Li Xian was quite "attentive" to Princess Ivy. He attempted to approach her at every opportunity, even though she ignored him most of the time. He even tried to interfere in the Princess's "exploration mission," leading the regiment to "cause trouble" at the legendary resting place of Wen Xian. That day, the soldiers participated with an amused attitude, knowing the princess's true purpose, except for Li Xian, who was oblivious. The military formation that day was not aimed at the "recently awakened" Wen Xian but rather at the clueless, energetic Li Xian, who nearly earned himself an arcane pulse when he dared to step on Wen Xian's hand.
With rumors of military restructuring, many believed Li Xian would not last in Norton, let alone keep his command. Li Xian himself found the situation somewhat ridiculous. He hadn't cared much about being commander; his original plan was simply to secure a place in the regiment for easier access to his target. Who would have thought that a Norton guild leader would pull strings and land him the top position?
Being commander did have its perks, like getting closer to his target, which was beneficial for his mission. However, the target turned out to be a "lazy dog" with no interest in military matters. Despite weekly reports clearly outlined in regulations, the princess was never available. "If this were my place, they would've lost power long ago... This hereditary rule is inefficient and corrupt," he often grumbled to himself.
An opportunity to interact with another target finally arose, and Li Xian eagerly pursued it. In his experience, caution was essential when dealing with people who had long been dormant. Much of his past work involved "resurrected" individuals or "dream returners," and he considered himself an expert. Confident in his abilities, even with his limitations, he believed that aside from the departed Great Sage, he could hold his own against the local legends. However, he hadn't expected Wen Xian to far exceed the initial intelligence reports. Wen Xian reminded him of a certain category of "people" he had encountered in the "archives," entities so dangerous that even his father spoke of them in hushed tones. Li Xian was sure that Wen Xian wasn't in the archives, but his unease grew. If Wen Xian belonged to those "people" or was somehow excluded for dubious reasons, the situation was perilous.
As Li Xian pondered these possibilities, an officer rushed in, announcing, "Sir, His Highness Wen Xian requests your presence."
Li Xian entered the drawing room with heavy thoughts. Wen Xian and Princess Ivy were seated on the couch. Li Xian carefully sensed Wen Xian's aura. Today, Wen Xian was different from the day he emerged from the "tomb." Li Xian could feel nothing from him, no human or non-human emotions. It took double the effort to suppress his impulse to attack this "imposter" or "betrayer."
Wen Xian's question then shattered the tension: "Li Xian, you're not from around here, are you?"
"Commander, I come from the Kunshan Kingdom. My uncle does salt trading here in Norton, so I'm sort of—"
"You know what I mean. I wasn't referring to Norton."
Li Xian fell silent, but internally, he prepared for battle. If Wen Xian truly was one of those "people," then the only options were to hold out for reinforcements or die for the sake of gathering intelligence.
Sensing the change in Li Xian, Princess Ivy's demeanor shifted as well. Li Xian realized with some exasperation that Ivy was the real threat. The two began clashing in aura, with Ivy's computational power far exceeding his expectations. Facing her felt like confronting a warship equipped with a planetary-class computer.
Just as the tension reached its peak, a third force intervened—Wen Xian calmly diffused both their energies, as if catching their punches mid-air.
"We only wanted to ask which school you come from," Wen Xian said, defusing the situation.
Li Xian paused before answering, "You know about the schools?"
"Of course, while traveling the Eastern Sea with my teacher, we encountered merfolk and learned about the School of Reproduction," Wen Xian replied, though something in his words felt off. Ivy then chimed in, "Merfolk? Eastern Sea? Why don't I know about this? There's no mention of it in my teacher's notes—why didn't you record this as a natural history entry?"
Wen Xian broke out in a cold sweat. The notes clearly existed, particularly on merfolk, but they were hidden in a "private folder." He still remembered the Great Sage's expression when sending him off to the harbor—an indication that the Sage had thoroughly enjoyed the "local customs."
"I come from the School of War," Li Xian replied, sensing the awkwardness and stepping in to rescue Wen Xian. By now, he had ruled out some of his worst-case scenarios. At least for now, Wen Xian and Ivy still exhibited human traits, making them worth observing.
Wen Xian shot him a grateful glance, and Li Xian nodded slightly. Ivy, intrigued by his mention of the School of War, asked, "That doesn't sound like a benevolent group. I've met scholars from the School of Life who study nature. Do you experiment with war?"
"We're soldiers, so of course we study war, but we're not war-mongering madmen. In fact, many scholars from the School of Life work with us, even serving internally. We also collaborate with those from the School of Reproduction," Li Xian explained. "We're primarily a military institution, and there's a war that still hasn't ended. We're still at war."
"War? With whom?" Wen Xian asked. The schools were mysterious, and their location was unknown. Some speculated they operated beyond the borders of civilization, and Wen Xian knew that beyond the borders lay not only land but also the sea and the stars.
Li Xian fell silent, and both Wen Xian and Ivy understood: some things could not be spoken aloud, lest they attract unspeakable forces.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A clock's chime echoed.
"Where's that sound coming from?" Ivy and Wen Xian exchanged puzzled glances before turning to Li Xian, who stood frozen in place. Ivy waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of it. With a bitter smile, Li Xian said, "Your war is coming too."