Chapter Two: An Unusual Guardian Spirit

"Uncle Feng, I'm hungry." Although she knew Uncle Feng only nagged out of concern, Zhuang Xiaoyuan was completely immune to his constant fussing. Sometimes, she felt he really was overprotective. She was already fifteen years old—in this world, that was considered an adult. Besides, she had grown up in the military compound, completed every training course perfectly, and graduated top of her class. Though her evaluation dropped after that frustrating test, if not for her gender, she probably would have been assigned to the Mech Unit or the City Guard, not the Logistics Team.

In fact, Zhuang Xiaoyuan had no idea that her assignment to the Logistics Team wasn't because of her gender. True, after years of war and population loss, women had to be carefully protected. Yet, with her outstanding record, even if her test results were poor, it would have been normal for her to receive a special recruitment into the Mech Unit. But due to Feng Guoqing’s discreet request, the military, out of respect for him, had easily sent her to the Logistics Team. All of this was for her safety—Feng Guoqing went to great lengths for Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s sake.

"Alright, alright, the delicacy in the pot has been simmering for days and is sure to be wonderfully flavorful now. I'll fetch you a bowl. Xiaoyuan, just hold on a little longer." The moment he heard her say she was hungry, Feng Guoqing dropped his nagging. After all, she had been unconscious for two days and nights, so she must be starving. Conveniently, the culprit from a few days ago was still stewing in the kitchen, so Feng Guoqing hurried out.

Watching him rush off, Zhuang Xiaoyuan felt a warm glow in her heart. This was what it felt like to be cared for. Whether as the orphaned Zhuang Xiaoyuan or as Zhuang Xiaoyuan who lost her parents young and knew the world’s chill, she loved this feeling of being cherished.

Now, alone in the room, she finally had time to sense the changes brought by the fusion of two souls.

As she examined her own transformation, her thoughts drifted back to a few months ago, when she had just graduated from the military compound and participated in a special Guardian Spirit potential test during the graduation exam.

A Guardian Spirit is a unique spirit entity—an energy being rarely perceived with the naked eye—sometimes appearing behind certain people in this world, protecting them from infancy as they grow. At first, these spirits were neither distinctive nor noticed by humans.

Until one day, as countless monsters crawled out from a spatial rift and began massacring humanity, someone awakened. That person, by chance, connected with their Guardian Spirit, gained divine armaments through their power, and destroyed the monster that had nearly devoured them.

Afterward, more and more people awakened, and humanity discovered these special spirit entities—Guardian Spirits. Those who could communicate with Guardian Spirits and wield divine armaments became known as Armored Saints, while the monsters from another world were called Demons.

Zhuang Xiaoyuan had been brought into the military compound as an infant. Upon entry, she underwent a basic Guardian Spirit aptitude test and was identified as a Guardian Spirit’s protégé, earning her special attention. Though not privileged, she was never mistreated. Her affable nature ensured she got along with many. That was her life until, at fifteen, she took this fateful graduation exam.

During the test, professional devices evaluated her as having only negligible divine potential, and her Guardian Spirit was of the rule-type, a Fantasia Spirit. Despite possessing the finest rule-type Guardian Spirit, her potential for divine cultivation was so weak as to be nearly untrainable. This verdict shattered her dream of becoming an Armored Saint.

Guardian Spirits, in this world, are classified by their abilities into six types: Rule Spirits, Elemental Spirits, Martial Spirits, Racial Spirits, Talent Spirits, and Artifact Spirits. No type is absolutely stronger or weaker, but Rule Spirits are considered superior—not because they are inherently more powerful, but because those they protect generally possess the highest divine cultivation potential.

Zhuang Xiaoyuan was clearly not among the fortunate majority—she was in the rarest minority. Typically, even the lowest potential would only be just below fifth class, but her negligible potential was one in a million, worse than the lowest grade, cultivating divine power at only one percent the speed of the lowest rank. This was essentially untrainable. No matter her effort, she would struggle to break through to the Faith level, let alone Prayer, Descent, Grace, or even higher ranks.

With her dream of becoming an Armored Saint dashed, she had no complaints about being sent to the Logistics Team. She settled in quietly, facing each day with optimism and a smile for everyone she met. Yet in the silent hours of the night, she still gritted her teeth and practiced divine cultivation. Even the barest flicker of change was enough to keep her striving.

Until, during the autumn harvest, she was bitten by a venomous snake and fell unconscious—the fusion of two souls gave birth to the new Zhuang Xiaoyuan.

She closed her eyes, folded her hands, and focused on her back. She felt a warm presence behind her. Though her eyes could not see it, her senses painted a clear image: a humanoid outline, constantly shifting. Its face and body transformed every second, never the same twice.

This Guardian Spirit seemed different from before. Was this change brought by the fusion? Previously, the Guardian Spirit had a humanoid outline too, but it never shifted forms; its face was simply unseeable, not ever-changing as now.

More importantly, every form her Guardian Spirit took was intimately familiar. Mami Tomoe, Mikoto Misaka, Artoria, Goemon Hachisuka, Shiro, Yuzuru Yamai, Ram, Rem, and so on—they were all beautiful girls from anime and manga she had seen before.

Could her Guardian Spirit be made up of those two-dimensional heroines she had once encountered in anime and comics?

After her soul fusion, had even her Guardian Spirit been influenced? So what exactly was a Guardian Spirit? It didn’t seem to be an independent existence at all, but rather something intrinsically linked to her soul… Clearly, this world still held many secrets.

But no matter what, since her Guardian Spirit had undergone such an unusual transformation, the most pressing matter was to test whether this soul fusion had changed her cultivation potential. If she still possessed only that negligible aptitude, no matter how powerful her Guardian Spirit became, it would all be in vain.