Sheryl opened her eyes with great difficulty at the constant nagging of her maid and assistant - Tzui.
> Sheryl(yelling) : What is it that you want?! Go away! Don't waste my sleep.
>
> Tzui : Young miss, please wake up! You need to get ready for the school's opening ceremony. Otherwise, you will be late on the first day. Please miss, get up or the madam will punish me.
>
> Sheryl : Aaah! Today is the opening ceremony! I forgot! We need to get ready. Tzui, prepare my bath immediately.
After freshening up in the morning, Sheryl prepared herself for the ceremony. She wore her uniform admiring herself in the mirror. Sheryl was beautiful, enough to see that herself. She was so attractive that all her peers and even her seniors noticed her. But, it was not her beauty or talent that was really remarkable in this super-plane. It was her background. She was Sheryl Marx, the only daughter of the current leader of the Marx family - Gordon Marx. Marx family was a colossal force in the Federation, more powerful than the Lang family. In the federation, the three most prominent families were Marx, Black and Tang. Gordon Marx was the patriarch of the family and was a very powerful cultivator - someone who was at the peak of the lower-transformation realm. He had already gone through four transformations, making him very powerful even among the ascendants.
Lower and upper transformation realms represented a major demarcation line. The gap was even bigger than the one that existed between a mortal and an ascendant. Upper transformation realm experts were pillars of super-forces, capable of holding entire primary planes on their own. A primary plane represented boundless prosperity. A bonafide primary plane had billions of people. To become the holder of such a plane was to be one to be above all, being revered by billions of people. Upper transformation realm was a realm that most ascendants never reached in their life. The creator of endless life scripture had died in the lower transformation realm, the same for the several ancestors of the ancient races of Aterna. Aterna in its entire existence and glory had not produced an upper transformation realm cultivator. Thus, the ones at the peak of lower transformation were the kings of their own territories. Given that upper-transformation experts were generally busy roaming the law ocean, it was these experts that were at the peak of the publically known figures. It was quite easy to see that Sheryl was the princess of the Marx family, someone who was loved and adored by the entire family.
After looking at her figure, she got out of the house and went to the teleportation formation of the mansion. She went through with her assistant - Tzui and one bodyguard, Darius. Tzui and Darius were younger-generation members of one of the subordinate families of the Marx family. They too were going to be enrolled in the Federation Academy. The Federation Academy was the greatest educational institution in the Federation. It was customary for the children of the major families to attend even though they could learn the same knowledge in their homes. It was a kind of legacy. If you did not have a degree from the Academy, it would hamper you in your political career throughout your life. Thus, all the nobles from the federation still attended the Academy.
The educational institutions in the Federation were the following two - Federation school and the Federation Academy. The Federation School was meant for imparting general studies and knowledge to the students. After finishing school at the age of 16, the students were left for two years to gain experience in the world and decide the direction they wanted to pursue in the future. Then, when they were 18, they could enrol in the Federation Academy and learn specialized knowledge. Darius, Tzui and Sheryl were all the same age and were the freshman batch of the Academy. Being from well off families, they were quite powerful among their peers. They all had a cultivation of peak-purification realm and could break through to the conception realm with some more time. While it would not be hard for families like Marx to arrange for law inheritances for their children, such a practise was generally frowned upon. After all, everyone had their own understanding and it was generally inadvisable to practice another's laws. It would obviously be a different case if the inheritance came from an upper transformation or divine expert. As a result, even the young masters of the large families were not too pampered when it came to cultivation.
Darius had been trained in martial arts from a very young age and could handle even most conception realm experts. He was training to become a combatant. This was the truth of many super-planes. Battle sense, martial arts and fighting techniques were things that only combatants learned. In a place where peace was the norm and there were a million different things to choose from, hardly anyone chose the martial path of rigorous training. It was completely different from Aterna where martial arts and cultivation went hand in hand. If you were not a fighter, what good were you when another race invades? There, all experts were combat-tested brutal murderers. But in Jupyter, it was not the case. Even though the cultivators here had more resources and better conditions, in a battle of life and death, they were no match for an average cultivator in Aterna. Darius was actually not much better than the family guard of the Ragebergs all those years ago. But that already made him stronger than most of the students in the Academy.
As soon as the three disappeared from the teleportation formation, four people appeared from thin air. They brought out transmission medallions and contacted their colleagues. They were family guards of the Marx family. How was it possible for the young princess of the Marx family to not have decent protection. Darius was only a front to scare away other nobles. These guys were the real protection. It was not surprising that all of them were demi-ascendants.
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As soon as the trio emerged, they were already in the main grounds of the Academy. They went to the auditorium and took their assigned seats. Today was the opening ceremony for the new batch. All the freshmen would come to listen to the director's speech. It was not every day that they could listen to the lecture of a grand-scholar. This was also the day the students would become aware of the curriculum courses that the academy was going to offer and the teachers who were going to teach them. It was an important day and sure enough, all the students attended. The entire hall was filled packed with students from different backgrounds. There were commoners, students from well off families and then nobles. Then, there were Sheryl Marx, Mason Black and Tang Sing. All students waited patiently. The director came on time and gave a brilliant lecture causing the eyes of all the students as well as the teachers to shine. Almost everyone gained something from his lecture. After that, the candidates who had scored well in the test were awarded and given recognition. Sheryl too was one of them. It was only at the end that the academy teachers came up to declare the courses that they were offering and gave a brief description of what was contained within.
All students were quite attentive in listening as many teachers came up to the stage. But after some time, the students started getting distracted. After all, these teachers were only intellectuals and not a grand-scholar. In the queue of these teachers with greying hairs, one young teacher went to the stage. This teacher as soon as he went up to the stage attracted the attention of many students. He was tall and well-built, fair-skinned and held himself up in proper posture. He would be considered extremely handsome by any standards. Most importantly, his sea-green irises were extremely unique and carried a unique charm. His eyes seemed to shine with a mysterious light that could draw in and drown anyone. It is needless to mention that many girls from the freshmen were enchanted by his appearance. Not only them, but quite a lot of female teachers too were giving him looks that showed their clear interest. Sheryl too looked up and saw him. She was immediately hooked. The boys in the group could also see these looks. Jealousy was written all over their faces. The teacher on the stage smiled wryly looking at the variety of expressions that he was receiving. After a moment of silence, he began speaking:
> I am offering a course on survival skills. This class will mostly focus on how to survive in an unknown hostile environment. It will be a practical course that will help you in the future. What I am teaching you is not ways to become more powerful or increase your cultivation. It is about how to use the power that you already have to survive. For example, if you find yourself in a forest, even if you are plenty powerful, if you cannot find your way out, you will still die. Or if you go to a completely new plane, what should you try doing? This class will basically be about surviving real-world dangerous situations. Of course, you will not be in as much danger as I am portraying. Still, it is a dangerous class. So, you are advised to think clearly and get consent forms signed from your guardians before joining. The detailed instructions and curriculum about the course are available at the Academy server. Have a good day.
He left gracefully from the stage. But one could see that the eyes of many students were shining with interest. Not only the girls but even more the boys. Who did not like an adventure? In this plane where safety was no longer an issue, facing danger was inconceivable. But it was only these dangerous conditions that one hoped to face. After all, these students had recently started their cultivation journey. Thus, they wanted to show off their powers, spells and treasures. All of them were bubbling with excitement. Many students began checking the course the instructor was offering. Through it all, Sheryl's eyes kept on following the teacher in a daze. She was feeling completely different from what she had ever felt before. That face, that perfect posture and that aura. It was as if she was awestruck by the beauty of that teacher. Tzui elbowed her out of her reverie. Upon realizing that she had been staring stupidly at the teacher, her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Darius too was looking at the teacher with a solemn gaze.
This teacher is acting refined but he is definitely a deadly killer. His aura was very restrained. He has complete control over his body and aura! This is the level of control that is the same as master! Could he be a combat expert? He might be! This guy is dangerous. There is no way to gauze his power without challenging him. If he is an ascendant, even the security of our family would not be able to hold him. I must report this to master.
As he was thinking this, he heard Sheryl say
> Sheryl : Tzui, quickly find out what the name of this teacher is. We have to enrol in this course. We can not leave such a good chance to progress!
>
> Tzui (mentally) : Humph! Young miss, you think you can hide your intentions. But it is so clearly visible on your face. You are infatuated by that fellow. This might be dangerous. I must report this to master!
>
> Tzui : Young miss, it is written here that he is named Michael Rageberg. I don't think his family is a noble. They may be fallen nobles. He is an intellectual. His age is given as 37 years! Oh! He is indeed young like he appears. He is teaching the course - Survival - basics. He had put the proposal to the academy last year. After academy's internal verification, they have approved of the course content and his ability to teach this course. This is indeed a good course. I will ask the madam and sir to give you permission to join this course.
>
> Sheryl : Oh! You will do that? Please, please, please. Just get mother to agree. Dad will definitely not stop me. Also, ask the family intelligence to find out more about Teacher Michael. He is very young and already quite capable. We should try recruiting him to our family!
How could Tzui not understand Sheryl's intentions? The young miss was experiencing her young love. While there were many suitors who had chased her due to her position and background, they were not as impressive as this teacher. He was good-looking all right. In fact, he was so good-looking that even Tzui's heart had raced when she saw him. What was remarkable was his aura that could cause people to go into a daze. Even Tzui had needed some time to get used to his presence. While it was nice that the young miss was finally experiencing some feelings that she should have before, it was a huge burden for her. After all, she was the young miss' protector and assistant. She could only hope that her young miss' infatuation does not turn into a bitter experience.