Kylen asked with concern: "Isabella, any discoveries?"
Isabella replied in a low voice: "It's Jasper. His magic fluctuations are very abnormal.
On the surface, he's a control-type Contractor, but he's actually hiding a mental-type talent."
"Additionally, when you were talking just now, there was another person whose emotional fluctuations were different from the others.
It was only a fleeting moment, and it quickly calmed down."
Kylen recalled the scene of scanning everyone earlier and asked tentatively: "Was it Zane?"
Zane's eyes had been wandering just now, clearly concealing something, completely different from the reactions of the others.
"Yes!" Isabella exclaimed in surprise. "Captain, do you also have an observation-type talent?"
Kylen shook his head: "No, I just noticed his eyes were strange."
"It really was just a split second. If it weren't for the sharpness of Star Gaze, it would have been impossible to detect," Isabella added.
Kylen nodded slowly. These two people were indeed suspicious.
Narrowing down the target from seven to two was already significant progress.
Compared to blindly investigating within the Azure Dragon Knights and the academy, this scope was clearly easier to break through.
"Thank you, Isabella," he instructed. "Keep this matter confidential for now. Don't tell anyone else."
Isabella smiled and nodded: "I'm glad I could help, Captain. I'll keep it a secret."
She returned to Elara and Selene. Elara asked curiously about what she had talked about with Kylen, but Isabella just smiled and brushed it off vaguely.
Although Elara was a little concerned, she didn't press further. Her eyes wandered, as if she were plotting something.
Avelia still lay lazily on Kylen's lap and suggested, "Should we capture them and interrogate them?"
Kylen chuckled: "Don't rush."
"Let them make the first move. We might be able to follow the clues and wipe out the people behind the scenes in one fell swoop."
"How?" Avelia pressed.
"After the exchange tournament, I'll find a chance to report to Mentor Seraphina and Principal Orion. Also…" Kylen glanced at Elara.
"Elara is from a top-tier Contractor family, which, like the Corvus family, is among the empire's nine great families. Perhaps we can use the power of her family."
After talking to Seraphina last time, Kylen had subtly confirmed that Elara's family, along with Lysander's Corvus family, were both among the nine great Contractor families supporting the empire.
Thinking of Elara's constant overtures to him recently, if he could show sufficient value, he might not be able to rely on this force.
And the core of this value was the championship of the Nine-Academy Alliance Exchange Tournament.
For others, this might just be a competition that determines the priority of combat deployment in the abyssal rifts.
But for Kylen and Avelia, it was a life-or-death contest.
If they couldn't win the championship, the masterminds behind the scenes would never let go of the chance to eliminate them when they next ventured deep into the abyssal rifts.
Avelia closed her eyes, her voice soft yet firm: "Well, I believe in you, little one. After all, you are my knight."
...
The airship soon arrived at the imperial capital. The group from Saint Laurent Academy transferred to a special vehicle and headed to Imperial Contract Academy.
Imperial Contract Academy was located at the entrance of the Shadow Abyssal Rift.
This was the most brutal battlefield of the Arcana Empire and the empire's only main offensive defense line.
Unlike Redrock City, which only had one frontline fortress, three mutually supporting defense fortresses had been built around the Shadow Abyssal Rift, confronting seven cities of the abyssal races all year round.
In recent years, Imperial Contract Academy has won the Nine-Academy Alliance Exchange Tournament championship multiple times in a row, with unfathomable strength.
As soon as they got out of the vehicle, the outline of Imperial Contract Academy came into view.
Different from the modern style of Saint Laurent Contract Academy, this place featured ancient and solemn Gothic architecture.
The most striking feature was a warning bell tower facing all four directions.
The bell on the tower was not used to tell time, but as an alarm signal for abyssal raids.
This martial design meant that once the bell rang, the entire imperial capital would enter full combat readiness, with every citizen becoming a soldier.
The group entered the campus under the welcome of Imperial Contract Academy staff. Suddenly, Kylen keenly sensed a gaze locking onto him.
Avelia handed him a telescope and whispered, "Look at that bell tower."
Kylen took it and looked. Sitting on the edge of the bell tower's top was a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl.
She wore a light blue dress and was barefoot. Her whole body seemed to be surrounded by an icy pure aura, like a spirit lady who had walked out of the extreme cold abyss.
Those calm eyes, like a lake's surface, were precisely fixed in his direction.
Sylvia sat on the bell tower, watching the Saint Laurent team walking in from the school gate with great interest in the breeze.
That freshman who had risen rapidly on the empire's potential rankings… A faint smile curved on her lips: "So you are also a descendant of the Origin Sequence."
There was a subtle spiritual connection between descendants of the Origin Sequence.
It was this connection that had made Avelia certain that there were other Origin Sequences in the abyss.
Separated by a great distance, the two actually whispered in unison: "The prey has appeared."
...
After a simple settlement, Seraphina gathered the freshmen participating Contractors from Saint Laurent Academy for a meeting.
"Take a seat, everyone. The exchange tournament schedule is tight, so we'll keep it brief."
The participating freshmen sat in a circle, holding exchange tournament handbooks and flipping through them carefully.
Seraphina said in a deep voice: "The main tournament starts tomorrow with the individual competition, which will be broadcast live across the entire empire."
"The first stage of the individual competition is a trial challenge. The specific rules will be announced on the day.
A total of 72 participating contestants from the nine academies will compete, and only 8 will advance to the elimination round."
"Most of your opponents in the individual competition are top talents on the empire's potential rankings.
You should have studied their information. If you have any questions or difficulties, come to me at any time."
"The team competition will be held after the individual competition.
The rules will be determined by drawing lots, with two formats: offensive and defensive arena battles and team battles."
"The results of the other three grades are not much different from previous years, so you, freshmen, are the focus of this exchange tournament.
For the academy and the safety of Saint Laurent City, please give it your all."
The abyssal war was about to break out. The results of the exchange tournament would directly affect the priority of combat deployment among the nine great Contractor academies.
Every academy wanted to prioritize protecting their own territories and families.
There was no right or wrong in this.
In the end, victory or defeat could only be determined through battle.
This was not a stage for the humble. The strong must fight, and only those who fight can win.
At the same time, the team from Riverside Beast Contract Academy arrived at Imperial Contract Academy under the leadership of several star-ranked mentors.
Inside the residence of Riverside Beast Contract Academy, Mentor Corvin asked, "Brandt, how are you prepared?"
The person being asked was none other than Brandt, who ranked second on the empire's potential rankings.
He nodded slightly, a look of confidence flashing in his eyes: "I'm lucky. The legendary race from the Thousand Lakes Abyssal Rift has finally been traced.
The principal personally made a move to capture one, and I have already completed the contract with it."
Corvin took a deep breath, unable to contain his excitement: "Great! With this contracted creature, you have a full chance of winning against either Sylvia or Kylen!"
Beside Brandt, a cute girl with pigtails smiled and took his arm: "Brandt, in my heart, you are the undisputed first place in this exchange tournament."
Brandt gently stroked her head and said softly: "Nia, don't worry. I will definitely win the championship of the exchange tournament, then go to your home to propose marriage… Will you wait for me until then?"
Nia nodded heavily, her eyes filled with admiration: "Yes! I'll wait for you!"
Night fell quietly.
Kylen fell into a deep sleep. In his trance, he seemed to see…