Chapter 83: Investigations and Bygone Days

"Phew!" After listening to the requirements for the first-tier, Nangong Yuchen fell into deep thought.

After all, becoming a first-tier mecha pilot was no longer a distant dream for him. He was only four points away from reaching 100 in all three attributes, which would allow him to become a rare triple-cultivation first-tier mecha pilot.

However, those final four points were giving him a massive headache. Ever since the fifth test in Class Three, he felt his physical strength, speed, and neural reflexes had hit a plateau, as if he had reached some sort of bottleneck and was stuck in place.

"You little brats, stop overthinking useless things. You’d better use this remaining time to accelerate your cultivation and reach the first-tier as soon as possible!" Shangguan Mulong’s expression turned somber as he finished speaking.

"Eh? Remaining time? Instructor, what do you mean by that?" Nangong Yuchen sensed something ominous and pressed for an answer.

"Remember the scenes you saw when you first entered the villa? Those are things that will truly come to pass in the near future!" Shangguan Mulong shook his head and continued in a hushed tone. "And you must have heard that over a month ago, the one metropolitan area and six cities surrounding our security perimeter were all occupied. Now, the monsters have begun attacking the inner cities, and the first to bear the brunt is our capital, the Feng-Hai Metropolis. Of the seven cities under its jurisdiction, now... only two remain!"

Hearing this news, the four of them were shocked. "Only two left? Which two?"

Shangguan Mulong gave a sorrowful smile. "Jifeng City and Ruxia City!"

As the words fell, the names of these two cities hit their minds like a bombshell. Five cities occupied in less than a month! What would happen next?

Seeing Nangong Yuchen and the others go pale and stand frozen, Shangguan Mulong continued, "So, enjoy this peaceful time and train hard. Otherwise, when disaster strikes, those below the first-tier will be like ants, destined only to become fodder for the monsters!" His tone shifted abruptly, returning to his usual unreliable demeanor. "That’s it for today’s class, you four. The afternoon is yours to arrange freely."

He walked straight out of the room. Once in the corridor, he muttered to himself, "I don't know if telling them this is a good thing or a bad one. I hope it forces them to train harder."

A while later, Nangong Yuchen and his companions emerged from the room. Their heavy footsteps betrayed their troubled hearts.

As they passed the classroom, Gao Xinyu didn't follow the other three. She turned into the room, as she was currently shadowing Shangguan Yueling and intended to wait there and observe the sparring.

As for Nangong Yuchen and his two companions, they left the villa and wandered aimlessly across the campus.

***

In the Principal's office of Star Academy.

Yang Long stood by the window, looking out at the azure sky, apparently lost in thought.

Just then, a knock on the door startled him.

"Come in!"

"Creak!"

The door opened, and Li Xiuyuan walked in before turning to close it behind him.

"How is the investigation going?" Yang Long sat back in his soft chair and asked, sipping some tea.

"Just as you suspected, Principal, Nangong Yuchen’s parents were framed by Lu Shijie," Li Xiuyuan replied respectfully.

"The reason? That boy Lu Shijie wouldn't target an ordinary family for no reason, would he?" Yang Long frowned and asked.

Li Xiuyuan organized his thoughts for a moment before replying, "Over half a year ago, when Nangong Yuchen was still in middle school, he and Mu Ningxue were a couple!"

"Pfft!" Yang Long spat out the tea he had just sipped, looking astonished. "Mu Ningxue and he were lovers?"

Li Xiuyuan helplessly wiped the tea leaves from his face and continued, "Yes... It seems the Lu family had been eyeing the Mu family and wanted to use marriage to bind them together. The only way to achieve that was through Mu Ningxue, which led to everything that followed."

"Haha, I really couldn't tell that kid Nangong Yuchen had such talent, being able to get the darling daughter of Mu Xiyan..."

"Ahem..." Seeing Yang Long about to show his rougher side, Li Xiuyuan coughed to remind him.

"Oh, go on then. What happened later? Shangguan Luohua told me that two months ago, that boy was still a waste, but he suddenly erupted during the fourth test. And the strange thing is, Shangguan Luohua feels this breakthrough was sudden, not something he had been hiding," Yang Long said, stroking his beard in thought.

"Afterward, the two relied on each other. Nangong Yuchen went to school during the day and worked at night to earn money, taking care of Nangong Kexin. At first, she blamed him, accusing him of ruining their family, but now the two seem closer than biological siblings..." Li Xiuyuan recounted slowly.

After hearing this, and not getting much useful information, Yang Long began to consider whether to release Nangong Yuchen's parents in a few days.

But then, Li Xiuyuan seemed to recall something. "Oh, right, Principal. While investigating Nangong Jianyuan and Fu Wanyu, I learned that their family of four were not originally from the city; they moved here from Qinghu Town. But strangely, when I went to Qinghu Town to ask about them, the residents avoided the subject entirely. It seemed as if they held some... resentment and hostility toward the family!"

"But in the end..."

"Get to the point!" Yang Long interrupted impatiently.

"Finally, an old man told me that Nangong Jianyuan and Fu Wanyu moved there ten years ago from a place called Luoxi Town, or something like that. He also said they brought some sort of 'disaster star' with them to Qinghu Town..." Li Xiuyuan spoke in fragments. He had only caught the old man's vague account, and some parts were unclear. When he pressed for more, the old man refused to say another word, so he could only relay what he had managed to hear.

"Luoxi Town?" Hearing the name, Yang Long felt a sense of familiarity. After thinking for a long time, his expression shifted and he said in shock, "Could it be one of the small towns under the jurisdiction of the Lingyin Metropolis, one of the four great cities from ten years ago?"

"Yes, yes! Principal, the old man did mention the Lingyin Metropolis!" Li Xiuyuan looked excited, but then confused. "Principal, did the four great cities include Lingyin? I’ve never heard of it. If there is one, wouldn't it be the Lingfeng Metropolis to the southeast of our Ruxia City?"

"Of course it did, because the Lingfeng of today is the Lingyin of ten years ago!" After explaining, Yang Long stood up with a grim face and paced back and forth by the window, muttering, "Lingyin, Luoxi!"

Seeing Yang Long suddenly act like a different person, Li Xiuyuan asked, full of confusion, "Principal, what’s wrong? Is there a problem?"

Yang Long didn't answer, continuing to pace. After a long while, just as Li Xiuyuan was about to ask again, he finally spoke.

"Ten years ago, Luoxi Town was slaughtered by demons. It was said that not a single soul survived."