Chapter 4: The Academy Assessment

Academies and schools were different—in the Empire of the demon race, these were two completely distinct terms.

A school was a place that provided cultural education, where children could learn to read and acquire knowledge. But an academy was the exact opposite—it was where those who aspired to become martial artists received their training. Academies were divided into two types: martial academies that taught martial arts, and magic academies that taught sorcery. Generally, the two types of academies looked down on each other.

As for Liya, she naturally favored martial academies. Following her request, three days later, Sister Ailiya brought her to a local martial academy.

Speaking of which, although the church itself wasn’t very wealthy, Ailiya’s connections as a nun were unexpectedly extensive—probably thanks to her age. Moreover, the city where the church was located was Crystia, a core city in the southeast of the Empire, a crucial transportation hub, so it wasn’t remote. As a local martial academy, its standards were relatively high.

“I see, so this is the imperial street.”

Walking along the city streets, Liya looked around curiously. Unlike the time before her death, the streets had changed significantly. At least along this street, she had already seen many interesting new things, which couldn’t help but make her wonder how many years she had been dead…

“Do you like it here, Liya?”

“Yes, Grandma.”

“That’s good. If you study at the academy, you probably won’t be able to return to the church often. It’ll be tough.” Ailiya said with a smile. Although Liya immediately replied, “It’s fine!” Ailiya still smiled, as if she had expected Liya’s reaction.

The martial academy Ailiya chose was a public academy in Crystia, representing the city itself. It was considered the best in the southeast of the Empire. Realizing this, Liya couldn’t help but marvel at Ailiya’s wide network.

“Ailiya, is this the child you recommended?”

The person who received them was a middle-aged demon woman. However, the long lifespan of demons meant that appearances couldn’t be used to judge age—especially for those who had reached a certain level of magical attainment. One shouldn’t judge by appearance, a habit demons probably shared.

“She’s so small? Has she even been weaned?”

Retract that statement! These demons are all blind! Liya thought indignantly in her heart.

“Although Liya is young, she is indeed a good child. Give her a chance to test,” Ailiya said amiably, not minding the middle-aged woman’s surprise.

“Well… since it’s you… Little sister… your name is Liya, right? Come with me.”

The middle-aged woman stood up, pushed open the door behind her, and waved at Liya.

“The assessment is inside. Today’s examiner is a strict teacher. I hope you pass.”

Although her words were nice, Liya could see from her eyes that she had no hope of Liya passing. ‘Good, let me show you that you can’t judge a book by its cover.’ Liya nodded with determination and walked straight into the room behind the door.

“Good luck, Liya.”

Behind her came Sister Ailiya’s gentle encouragement, but Liya didn’t look back.

‘Don’t worry, in ten minutes at most, I’ll come out and celebrate success with you.’

****

The room behind the door was surprisingly large. From ceiling to floor, it was pure white. Rather than a room, it was more like an arena she had seen before her death. In the center of the white room stood a tall woman in black clothes, her eyes closed, but from her body, one could clearly feel surging magical power.

“Heh.”

A smile naturally curved on her lips. Liya walked confidently to face her. At the same moment, the black-clad woman opened her eyes. In that instant, Liya clearly saw a hint of surprise.

“…A little kid?”

“I’m ten years old this year. Hardly a child anymore,” Liya retorted.

“Oh? Whatever. You want to take the transfer student assessment?”

“Yes, please test me as you wish.”

Seeing Liya’s confident smile, the black-clad woman was stunned for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on her cold face, as if trying to seem amiable.

“Alright, little girl. My name is Christine. And you?”

“Liya.”

“Mm, Liya. Your assessment task is simple: defeat all the puppets I create.”

As soon as she spoke, the white floor began to change. Liya immediately sensed it: it was the effect of magic. Had she cast some spell?

“I offer a prayer to the goddess clan, dispatch the children of the abyss to the ground, and show the majesty of the myriad army.”

The white tiles cracked, earth burst out, then began to combine. Giant golem statues, each three meters tall, surrounded Liya in an instant. Each statue carried a considerable magical fluctuation. ‘So this is what they call puppets, creatures summoned using the secret ritual of earth magic. The goal is to defeat them?’

Liya stood still and smiled.

‘Just what I wanted!’

The mana that had been refined nine times surged out like a burst dam, then poured back into Liya’s body, enhancing her physical abilities in all aspects.

After all, this young girl’s body was far from mature—it couldn’t be trained to any degree—but mana was different. By relying on mana, miracles could be created. It was the same in her previous life: for both mages and martial artists, mana was crucial.

Mana formed abstract totemic runes in the air, arranging themselves according to Liya’s memories to construct a powerful magical effect. Its meaning was:

[Source of my diamond strength, manifest on the ground the power to move mountains and break peaks.]

Mana attached inside her body, replacing muscles and blood to fill her with power. Liya could truly feel her physical abilities continuously rising. This wasn’t traditional magic; it was a quick-cast magic manifested through words and imprints. The power itself might not be as strong as chanted magic, but for a martial artist who fought with fists, it was more than enough.

“Let’s play a little.”

Including her previous life, a battle after a decade-long hiatus made Liya’s blood boil. Her small body crouched slightly, assuming the [Steel Fist Style] of the Martial Combat Gate, her eyes fixed on the surrounding golem statues.

“What? Not attacking first?”

“Confidence is a good thing.”

Christine’s voice rang out along with the golems’ roars. The four giant stone statues surrounding Liya moved. Arms far thicker than Liya’s smashed down toward her head, completely disregarding that their opponent was only a ten-year-old girl.

But such attacks couldn’t hurt her.

She extended both hands, sidestepping while slapping her palms against the golem’s arm to deflect it. Then she twisted her body and leaped high to dodge another golem’s swing. Her long right leg swung in the air like a windmill, viciously striking the head of the golem directly in front, kicking the entire head off.

Like a human, a golem puppet that lost its head also lost its life. It quickly crumbled to the ground.

“I see. This level of difficulty is nothing.”

It might be somewhat challenging for ordinary children, but for her, there was no pressure. Even for some truly talented children, this degree of difficulty should be easily solved.

Then Liya understood.

“Unless you go all out, this level is nothing.”

Liya shouted loudly toward Christine behind the golems. After speaking, she immediately lowered her body, shifted her center of gravity forward, and began to gather mana.

“Only one down. Wait until you defeat all—”

“Haaah!!!!”

She punched. Starting from her heels, she mobilized every muscle, channeling her entire body’s energy to her right hand, then injected it into the golem her fist touched. And then she released the compressed, maximally focused energy…

Boom!!!

The statue exploded in an instant. The shattered rocks cleared away the surrounding statues as well. In the smoke, what emerged was Christine’s slightly surprised face.