Chapter 78: The Elite Student Division

Nangong Yuchen returned home that afternoon, but due to his prison visit that morning, he had no appetite. He eventually lay down on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he saw his parents, and the family was reunited, living happily as they once had in the Creek Garden of District C. He didn't want to wake up, but he was ultimately roused by his alarm. When he opened his eyes, he discovered it was already the next morning.

Dazed, he pulled out his phone and saw it was 8:05 AM. He sat up abruptly. Today was Monday, the day for the honors students to report. He hadn't expected to sleep from Sunday afternoon all the way until now!

Fortunately, there was still time. Nangong Yuchen quickly got dressed, washed up, dashed out of the house, and sprinted toward the station.

Along the way, his stomach growled incessantly. Nangong Yuchen endured the hunger; he had no time for breakfast. He arrived at Star Academy with an empty stomach, having gone without food for an entire day.

"Phew!" He checked the time again. There were still over ten minutes until nine o'clock. Only then did Nangong Yuchen breathe a sigh of relief and step through the school gates.

"Nangong Yuchen!" Just then, he heard someone calling his name. Nangong Yuchen looked in the direction of the voice and saw its lovely owner.

"Xia Juli? What are you doing standing here?" Nangong Yuchen slowed his pace and approached her.

"I... I just happened to see you coming," Xia Juli blushed. Naturally, she wouldn't tell him she had been waiting there for half an hour.

Nangong Yuchen nodded. "Let's go in together, then!"

"No... no need. Here, this is for you. I'm going!" Xia Juli handed him the homemade breakfast she had prepared and then scurried away.

"Uh..." Nangong Yuchen shook his head blankly. He truly didn't know what to say about Xia Juli. He could clearly feel the girl's affection. In the past, he would have rejected her outright, but after their experience at the amusement park, he found he couldn't bear to hurt her.

"Gurgle..." At that moment, his stomach betrayed him again. Helpless, Nangong Yuchen opened the lunch box and walked into the school while eating.

The Honors Department was located in the deepest part of the campus, behind the regular classrooms. It was like an independent entity that regular students couldn't approach. It took Nangong Yuchen nearly ten minutes to finally arrive.

"A villa?" This was his first time there. Nangong Yuchen stared in slight bewilderment at the beautiful garden and villa behind the tightly closed black iron gates.

"Regular students, leave at once!" Just then, a middle-aged teacher walked up from behind. His features were extremely delicate, and his hair was as long as a girl's, tied into a black ponytail. A well-fitted professional suit perfectly accentuated his slender frame. Had he not spoken first, Nangong Yuchen would have certainly mistaken him for a flat-chested female teacher.

"I am the new honors student, Nangong Yuchen!"

"Nangong Yuchen!" The teacher repeated his name, then walked up with a serious expression.

"Hmm?" Sensing that the newcomer didn't mean well, Nangong Yuchen tensed and took a half-step back.

But just then, the teacher's expression shifted, and he suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, flashing white teeth. He threw an arm around Nangong Yuchen’s neck and chuckled, "So you're Nangong Yuchen! I've heard quite a few rumors about you!"

"..." Nangong Yuchen felt a vein twitch on his forehead. After struggling for a long moment, he finally broke free, stepped back, and asked suspiciously, "...Who are you?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the sole mentor of the honors students—Shangguan Mulong!" The male teacher placed his hands on his hips, closed his eyes, and looked full of pride. Then, he opened his eyes and, without waiting for Nangong Yuchen to react, draped an arm over his shoulder again and walked into the villa behind the gates.

"Hey, Nangong Yuchen, tell me, how did you manage to cultivate all three paths simultaneously?"

"Hey, Nangong Yuchen, don't be like that. Let’s have a chat. Have you broken through to the first rank yet?"

"By the way, Nangong Yuchen, we've known each other for so long now. When you hit it big in the future, don't you dare forget me! Any third-rank mechs or fourth-rank mech frames you don't want, just throw them my way!"

"..."

The few dozen meters felt as long as a century. Unable to stand the incessant noise, Nangong Yuchen struggled slightly to pull away, then looked at this completely unreliable man with skepticism.

"Are you sure you're actually an honors student mentor?"

"Absolutely!" Shangguan Mulong patted his chest in assurance. Seeing Nangong Yuchen’s increasingly doubtful gaze, he said urgently, "What is that look for?"

The two finally crossed the garden and reached the villa entrance.

At that moment, Shangguan Mulong straightened his expression, adjusted his tie, cleared his throat, shoved Nangong Yuchen to the ground with a slap, and quickly pushed open the door to run inside.

"Damn it..." Furious, Nangong Yuchen chased after him and entered the villa.

"Bang!" The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut, plunging the villa into total darkness.

"This..." Nangong Yuchen’s heart tightened. Just as he turned to look back, he saw lights slowly rising in the darkness ahead—one, then two... more and more, countless of them. As those dense lights rose higher and drifted further away, Nangong Yuchen exclaimed in shock, "Are these... stars?"

Before the shock could even subside, a full moon rose beside them, hanging high in the heavens, merging perfectly with the night sky to form a true celestial expanse!

By now, Nangong Yuchen was numb with shock. Looking down, he saw that the ground beneath his feet was changing too. Under the bright moonlight, he saw all things coming to life; mountains, rivers, grass, and trees rose from the ground, forming a realistic scene.

"Am I in the air?" He couldn't believe that he was suspended in mid-air, with mountains and rivers beneath his feet and the moon and stars above his head.

"What on earth is happening?" Just as Nangong Yuchen was at a loss, he suddenly noticed that the environment he was in now included humans! And not just that, but monsters as well! "This is..."

He watched in horror as the ground became densely packed with first to third-rank mech warriors. They had gathered together and were locked in battle with various monsters attacking from the front.

The fires of war erupted; surrounding forests and jungles turned to ash, and corpses littered the hills and plains, staining the earth red. Soon after, humans and monsters began appearing in the sky as well. They were stronger than those on the ground; every strike was like a bolt of celestial light, crashing into the night sky and falling upon the earth.

"Are these fourth-rank mech frames and above?" Nangong Yuchen’s eyes widened as he watched the warriors and monsters of the fourth rank and higher. Every one of their attacks shattered the earth, destroying mountains and rivers, causing forests and grasslands to vanish...

He didn't know how much time had passed before the surrounding scene began to fade rapidly. Nangong Yuchen awoke from the immersive battle and found himself back in the pitch-black room.

"Snap!"

The lights suddenly blazed to life. Only then did Nangong Yuchen realize he was in a luxuriously decorated hall. Beside him, three figures had appeared—Angel, Nangong Kexin, and Gao Xinyu. Like him, they were looking around the strange environment with confusion.

At that moment, Shangguan Mulong’s voice rang out: "Haha, welcome, you four, to the Honors Class!"

Nangong Yuchen and the others looked over and saw Shangguan Mulong standing at the very front, with ten young figures standing behind him.

"Honors students!"