CH 9

After returning to the dormitory, Terry was still extremely excited. "Oh my goodness, I actually saw Marshal Zong Ye with my own eyes."

"But I wonder if he really came specifically to visit Shelly. My heart is broken." Thinking that his idol might have a partner, Terry felt heartbroken.

He held a cushion in his arms and sighed twice. Then he noticed Jian Ning looking absent-minded and couldn't help but push him with his hand, asking, "Ning, what are you thinking about? You're ignoring me."

"Terry," Jian Ning came back to his senses and asked slowly, "Has Marshal Zong Ye always been on the Imperial Star?"

"Of course not. The Marshal spends most of his time stationed in other star systems with the army, occasionally returning to the Imperial Star. He came back to the Imperial Star two years ago after dealing a heavy blow to the scheming Bug Race, which made those wretched bugs retreat for a decade. Before that, he had been away from the Imperial Star for quite some time," Terry explained.

Jian Ning then asked, "So, in these two years, has he stayed on the Imperial Star and not gone to other planets?"

Thinking for a moment, Terry said, "I don't think so. The Marshal has always been low-key, and he never discloses his whereabouts to the public. The last time he appeared was about a year ago. I heard that due to his constant battles, his old injuries recurred, and he had been recuperating without seeing outsiders until a couple of months ago when he showed up again."

"A couple of months ago..." Jian Ning's heart started pounding rapidly. It was about the same time that the father of his child left. And when he found the man, the man couldn't remember anything except for a name with "zong" in it, which he thought was "zhong," but it turned out to be "zong"!

But why did he suddenly leave? Could it be that he regained his memory and discovered that he was a prestigious Imperial Marshal, while Jian Ning was just a poor outcast with lower psychic power, which he felt might hinder his future? Hinder his relationship with someone named Shelly?

Terry, observing Jian Ning's continuously changing expressions, saw him first excited and then gritting his teeth in anger. Terry couldn't help but poke Jian Ning's arm with his finger, worriedly asking, "Ning, what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing," Jian Ning collected his thoughts and forced a smile. "Terry, is there any way we could meet Marshal Zong Ye in person?"

Terry was taken aback by his question. "Meeting a figure like the Marshal in person is already a stroke of luck. You actually want to meet him face to face?"

"Haha, the Marshal's charm is truly great. You've only seen him once, and now you're also his fan?" Terry realized and teasingly blinked his eyes.

Jian Ning smiled along with him on the surface, but in his heart, he was only thinking about confronting Zong Ye face to face.

However, as Terry pointed out, they were just ordinary students who had just entered the Saint Star Academy, with no status or position. It was simply impossible for them to meet Zong Ye. Jian Ning had to suppress his urge to question him and focus on their studies at the academy.

Apart from attending theoretical classes, they also took care of the tender seedlings they had planted on the farm on their first day of enrollment. Every day, Jian Ning and Terry took the school bus back and forth between the dormitory and the farm, watering and loosening the soil for the tender seedlings. The young plants had weak water absorption ability, so they had to use their psychic power to help them absorb water, one by one.

Though it seemed simple, it was actually quite challenging. The seedlings couldn't absorb too little or too much water, as both extremes could cause them to grow poorly or even die. It required them to handle it just right, with patience and meticulousness.

After a week, many students' tender seedlings had grown lush and green, but Terry's plants were the best, thriving and taller than those of the other students.

Jian Ning's psychic power was nearly depleted, and he dared not use it too much, fearing it would diminish further. He could only maintain his seedlings at the stage where they were neither dead nor overgrown.

In the afternoon, Teacher Kelly was going to inspect their planting progress. After lunch, Jian Ning and Terry rested in the dormitory for a while before taking the school bus to the farm. Their classmates gradually arrived as well.

"Terry, why are yours growing so well?" Before the teacher arrived, everyone gathered around Terry's plot, enviously looking at his vibrant seedlings.

Although everyone had a C-grade psychic power, their talent and dedication varied, resulting in different qualities of vegetables they planted. This would be recorded in their regular grades and used as the basis for final exams and graduation assessment.

Terry humbly replied, "It's nothing. If you're more attentive, you can grow them well too."

As he spoke, a flying sprinkler suddenly zoomed over and plunged low into Terry's plot. The rapidly spinning blades on top shredded all the stems and leaves of his tender seedlings, leaving the ground in a mess.

Classmates gasped and looked towards the direction the flying sprinkler had left. Alan, who had occupied someone else's plot last time, leaned against the door of Terry's small house, accompanied by a few followers. In his hand was a remote control, and he insincerely said, "It's the first time using the new machine, sorry about that."

Terry's face turned pale with anger, his fingers trembling. Jian Ning also frowned, looking at Alan's plot. His seedlings were growing well too, but not as good as Terry's. If it weren't for Terry, his would be the best.

"Oh, by the way, you better not report this to the teacher." Alan suddenly smirked. "Otherwise, your crops won't grow big in the future."

Everyone in the class knew that Alan's parents were high-ranking military officials, so they didn't dare to offend him. Just as they saw Teacher Kelly's flying vehicle approaching, everyone dispersed.

Teacher Kelly checked the planting situation one by one in order and recorded the results on her optical computer. When she came to Terry, she saw the mess in his plot and furrowed her brows, asking, "What happened?"

Terry pursed his lips, and Alan from the adjacent plot chimed in, "Teacher, Terry borrowed my flying sprinkler to water the plants. It was his first time using it and accidentally made a mess."

Terry clenched his fist in anger. Kelly frowned and said, "Do you not realize how precious these seeds are? How could you be so careless?"

She was about to record it when Jian Ning suddenly spoke up, "Teacher, it's not Terry's fault. Alan did it on purpose."

Kelly paused, looking at Alan and then at Terry, with suspicion in her eyes. "What exactly happened?"

Jian Ning explained what had happened just now.

"Is that so?" Kelly listened and then glanced around at the silent students. She instantly understood what had occurred. She angrily said to Alan, "Come with me to the office."

Then, Kelly's expression softened as she said to Terry, "I'll give you new seeds tomorrow."

Alan glared fiercely at Jian Ning before following Kelly onto the flying vehicle.

"Ning, you've offended Alan for my sake. He might cause trouble for you in the future," Terry said anxiously after they left.

Jian Ning shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "It's fine. If we let him bully us, he'll only get worse."

Back in the dormitory, Jian Ning ordered a state-of-the-art planting robot from the star network. It would specifically care for the fields, preventing others from sabotaging them, and even resorting to force if necessary. The star network's delivery was swift, and the robot arrived within half an hour after placing the order.

When Alan finished being scolded and left the office, he was still fuming. He flew with his cronies to the farm, intending to destroy Jian Ning's crops in retaliation. However, as they approached Jian Ning's plot, the robot intervened, throwing them out forcefully.

Enraged, Alan stared at the robot. It was the latest creation from the Academy of Sciences, not an affordable item. How could Jian Ning, a bumpkin from the remote planet of Blue Star, afford such a thing?

The robot could connect to the optical computer and had surveillance capabilities. Witnessing Alan and his cronies being tossed out, Jian Ning and Terry couldn't help but burst into laughter.

In the following days, Alan would glare fiercely at Jian Ning every day, but seeing no other reaction, Jian Ning quickly dismissed him.

One day, while Jian Ning was attending class, Tuan Tuan grew tired of being cooped up in the dormitory and secretly slipped out of the window. Unconsciously, he ran to the back of the academy and found a grassy area covered in colorful flowers.

"Papapapa” Tuan Tuan’s little paws tapped the ball, and it sprouted wings, flying into the air. Tuan Tuan excitedly chased after it, playing with the ball in the grass.

At the Oster Empire Group Army Headquarters, Zong Ye had just stepped out of his floating car, about to enter the military building when his wrist communicator beeped. A signal fluctuation from Fei Yu appeared on his device. He paused his steps and instructed his adjutant behind him, "You go ahead; I'll visit Saint's Academy."

He turned around, returned to the floating car, and flew towards Saint's Academy.