Paris (Third Update)

After getting the answer—a string of numbers—Xu Yue abandoned that idea.

To begin with, Sun Lin had had her memories tampered with by him, and she also happened to have some kind of Soul Casket. Xu Yue really did not want anything to happen to her.

If he could lend a hand while he was at it, he would still pull her through.

Besides, he himself had been dragged into their sights as well. If the other party had merely been some small fry, Xu Yue would have ignored it, just as he had with Wu Mo before. But this one had quite considerable abilities. If there was a chance to eliminate the trouble in advance, it was better to do so…

But the Reincarnation Space’s restrictions in the real world were indeed rather severe.

First, making a move would trigger a penalty assessment based on the level of power used, after which the corresponding points would be deducted according to the degree of interference.

Then there was killing. There were two criteria for judging the killing of a Reincarnator. One was the difference in the number of missions between yourself and the other party. Well, that was meant to prevent the slaughter of newcomers.

The other was based on the opponent’s own strength!

And whichever result was higher would be used. This was fucking outrageous—they wanted to drain every last drop of soup, their greed was downright ugly.

With his abilities, if he used enough power to swiftly erase the other party, he would also have to pay the cost for killing a Kage-level expert. It was simply too expensive.

A Reincarnator at his level would definitely have plenty of life-saving methods. Without knowing the other party’s full capabilities, Xu Yue might not even have a chance to kill them in one blow. If they had something like a Resurrection Cross, that would be truly annoying.

The Reincarnation Space’s protection of the real world was quite thorough.

As for that world war, and the Sino-Japanese war before it, they seemed to have been carried out using special legion privileges.

Perhaps higher military ranks, or higher-level legion authority, possessed methods to reduce or waive the penalties. Unfortunately, Xu Yue did not have those yet.

Since that was the case…

"Senior, you should know how severe the Space’s penalties are. Since you cannot make a move, we will not compromise either. And perhaps you do not know what kind of person her brother is. Take back what you just said now, and I can pretend I never heard it. Otherwise, hmph~"

The gentle expression on Xu Yue’s face gradually faded, replaced by a somewhat defiant attitude carrying a warning.

He looked like someone who did not seek trouble, but was not afraid of it either—and who had found himself a powerful backer.

Sun Chuanfang, were you scared?

Go ahead and try to touch us!

I encouraged you to try…

"Very good. It seems her brother has indeed given you tremendous courage. True enough, you are not worth me risking the Space’s penalties to act against you. Consider yourselves to have narrowly escaped disaster for now."

Qi Xieyuan still maintained that effeminate manner as he smiled, seeming unconcerned.

This guy…

His lack of intention to act, and what he said about fearing the Space’s penalties, definitely were not because he truly cared about the punishment. The greater reason was probably that it was inconvenient to cause trouble aboard this ship.

After all, in his eyes, they had only just become formal Reincarnators, while he himself was still an Elite Reincarnator and had not entered the ranks of the big shots. A little effort would be enough to handle them.

That was why the point deduction should still have been within an acceptable range.

Besides, Xu Yue guessed that Sun Lin was his main target. Of course, he definitely did not intend to kill her. Capturing her alive was likely his objective, which would mean an even smaller deduction…

Fine. As long as he did not cause trouble on the ship, that was enough. They could deal with everything else after disembarking.

Walking up behind Sun Lin, who had no idea what had happened and was crouching behind a seagull, preparing to pounce on it, Xu Yue reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

That sudden pat nearly scared the focused Sun Lin to death. When she turned around and saw Xu Yue, she shot him an irritated glare.

"What are you doing? Let me tell you, it was very hard to get one of these study-abroad slots. You need to cherish it, understand? Stop fooling around."

Sun Lin put on the airs of a team captain and lectured Xu Yue in an old-fashioned tone.

She was probably just repeating what her brother had told her. Besides, she herself was having the time of her life playing with seagulls, so Xu Yue had no idea where she got the nerve to say that.

Still, Xu Yue satisfied her desire to lecture him and said that he was going back to the cabin to study, leaving Sun Lin slightly dumbfounded.

Was I really that authoritative…

As a high-tech ship, the Jingyuan traveled from Shanghai to France not only smoothly, but in just a few days.

Qi Xieyuan did not make any moves during those days. Xu Yue did not even see him, yet he could still sense that he was being watched.

Especially whenever he met with Sun Lin, that feeling of surveillance became even stronger!

The other party must have already used some ability at a certain cost.

For the time being, though, it had no effect on him.

During this period, Xu Yue continued refining Chakra while studying things that required time to digest, such as the Longevity Art, Flying Thunder God, and Sealing Jutsu.

After receiving that infusion of Sealing Jutsu knowledge, he had become even more proficient. His improved version of Adamantine Sealing Chains could even work in conjunction with an AT Field.

An AT Field version of barrier reinforcement?

That was probably a fair way to put it.

And just like that, the days passed in the blink of an eye, and they successfully arrived in France. Xu Yue and the others who had come to study in France disembarked, with Qi Xieyuan among them!

With staff from the Beiyang office in France receiving them, they were taken to Saint-Cyr Military Academy to complete the exchange procedures.

After catching only a fleeting glimpse of early twentieth-century Paris, Xu Yue found it generally fitting for the era. He did not see any products of the Reincarnation Space.

It was not until they left Paris and arrived near the Palace of Versailles in the suburbs, seeing the vast artificial lake that had been carved out and the futuristic complex of buildings in its center, that one could once again feel the terrifying influence of the Reincarnation Space.

"Within the grounds of Saint-Cyr Military Academy, you can use Reincarnation Space abilities permitted by the academy, such as practicing mech operation. This is also the world’s foremost sacred ground for mechs, second only to Germany. Although France does not have an independent mech space like Germany, they have moved over several mech production lines and possess a certain degree of independent manufacturing and maintenance capability. That saves them from being squeezed by the Space for quite so many fees."

On the railcar, the staff member from the Beiyang representative office in Paris gave Xu Yue and the others a brief introduction. Then, as though passing through a dimensional barrier, they rode onto the bridge spanning the lake.

The scenery outside the windows seemed to belong to an entirely different world from the gray, gloomy industrial city air they had just left behind.

The weather was bright and beautiful, birds sang amid fragrant flowers.

The bridge itself possessed a flowing elegance, making the "ancient" railcar seem somewhat out of place.

With the sound of a whistle, the train arrived at the station…

"Wow, another bunch of yellow-skinned monkeys."

"Keep it down. Do you want a demerit?"

"The mysterious Far East… I’ve never been there."

"The country of the legendary Dragon Soul Legion?"

"Though they’re a bit weak now, they still can’t be underestimated."

"…"

When Xu Yue’s group of foreign students got off the train, quite a few nearby blond, blue-eyed students turned to watch them.

Some looked down on them, some were disdainful, while others were friendly or curious.

Although China had been thoroughly squandered by the Great Qing, its foundations were still there. It still carried some weight, at least. Saint-Cyr Military Academy’s rules explicitly prohibited discrimination.

Traveling so far to study here was, in a sense, also something that brought prestige to the academy. China had contributed during the war that had ended not long ago as well.

A bald professor with blue eyes and an aquiline nose approached. He first exchanged brief greetings with the Beiyang official responsible for the handover, then looked toward Xu Yue and the others.

"You have all come from afar and must be tired. You will have plenty of time here to learn everything you wish to learn. Rest for today. Tomorrow, gather at Training Ground Three and display your respective mech units…"

After saying that, he paid them no further attention. Instead, he arranged for a student council member to lead the foreign students to their designated dormitory area.

The dormitory conditions were not bad, but Xu Yue did not care about that. After roughly sensing the surveillance arrays around him, he found the most suitable location and used Sealing Jutsu to temporarily shut down the spatial lockdown in its weakest area. He then completed a switch between his main body and his Wood Clone before using the Flying Thunder God mark he had left in the Paris suburbs to depart.

The military academy’s overall barrier was massive and comprehensive, and Xu Yue fully admitted he could not compare to it. However, with his skill in Sealing Jutsu, he could still find its weakest point and briefly seal part of its functions without drawing notice.

The combined boosts from the Rinnegan, Force Sense, and other abilities were simply too great…

Because the distance was not far, he had only used it simply and had not launched an attack, so the deduction was merely some Reincarnation Points—nothing that even registered to Xu Yue.

As for whether the Wood Clone would be seen through, Xu Yue did not care much. Was it not perfectly reasonable to use clones to study different skills separately and improve efficiency?

There were no rules forbidding the use of clone abilities.

In truth, he was not the only one who had done something like this. Before arriving at Saint-Cyr Military Academy, Qi Xieyuan had used an item similar to a substitute doll to make a switch.

However, aside from being discovered by Xu Yue, his action had also been detected by a surveillance array above Paris.

That surveillance array over Paris was much stronger than the academy’s…

Third update! This extra chapter was to repay everyone for pushing the average subscriptions to 3,600!

Three updates finished—now I can shamelessly ask for everything…

And once again, thanks to that reader whose name I have no idea how to type for the massive reward~ Uh, Integrity-kun’s reactions are a bit slow.