Chapter Thirty-Three: The Era of the Seven Islands

The familiar sound of the bell rang out. After greeting Le Han, Nangong Yuchen lowered his head and hurried toward the school gate. He didn’t dare linger on campus any longer, taking advantage of the fact that there weren’t many students on the road right after school to slip out. Otherwise, he might really get blocked at the classroom door, and that would be troublesome.

Though he wasn’t afraid of trouble, that kind of unwarranted disaster would be a headache for anyone.

As usual, he first went to the Mobile Rail Station in Area A, rode for over twenty minutes, got off at Area B, and hurried toward the café on Tianhua Street.

Today, nothing unexpected happened. The proprietress, Xia Yue, and Chen Hao were all present. As soon as he entered, he saw them busy attending to customers. After changing into his work clothes, Nangong Yuchen joined them.

Inside the café, that gentle warmth lingered—Xia Yue’s familiar teasing, Chen Hao’s reticence, and the gentle kindness of the proprietress.

Soon, the clock struck eleven, and Nangong Yuchen finished his shift and headed home.

But this time, on his way back, he didn't take the long route; instead, he planned to cut through the abandoned building from a few nights ago to save time.

Originally, after what happened that night, he'd always chosen the longer road, but after a few days, his fear had faded considerably, so he found himself once more before the derelict building.

At first glance, he was shocked—the entire building had vanished, replaced by a pile of ruins!

After staring in stunned silence for quite a while, he finally gathered himself and walked stiffly home.

Though he had no idea what had happened, he considered it a good thing. This way, no one would know that Mu Feng and Cheng Tianyou had fought here, making him feel safer.

He then recalled the battle that morning with Cheng Shiyu, and muttered, "Cheng Tianyou! Cheng Shiyu! What is your relationship?"

He felt his own strength was still lacking—he couldn’t even defeat a girl? How could he talk of revenge or facing Lu Shijie?

At this, he clenched his fists tightly and solemnly told himself, "It seems I must train harder every day from now on!"

With those words, he took off his jacket and began his basic training push-ups.

"One, two... fourteen hundred and ninety-nine, fifteen hundred!"

Finishing fifteen hundred push-ups in one go, Nangong Yuchen was drenched in sweat, his arms aching. But unlike before, not only had he done five hundred more in a single breath, his body still had energy to spare.

Of course, to avoid muscle injury, he didn’t push himself further, switching instead to sit-ups.

"Fifteen hundred!"

…

By the time he finished all his training, it was past one o’clock. Knowing he had class tomorrow, he hurried to shower and lay on his bed, bare-chested.

He took out a new bottle of nutrient solution from his bedside, drank a mouthful, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Actually, the effects of the nutrient solution are better after training; in the past few days, he hadn’t trained, so he just drank it directly.

Just as he was about to drift off, he suddenly sat up, remembering the reflection letter his homeroom teacher had assigned him.

Helplessly rubbing his sleepy eyes, he climbed out of bed, found pen and paper, and began writing.

Reflection Letter!

Respected Homeroom Teacher,

School is a place for learning, trust, mutual help, care, and growth. Because I am reserved, I concealed things from you, which led to misunderstandings. Here, I sincerely apologize to you.

There is also another matter for which I am deeply sorry—this morning, I accidentally saw your private matters, and I am truly sorry. I had no intention whatsoever.

There was nothing I could do...

…

Signed: Nangong Yuchen

After more than ten minutes, Nangong Yuchen reviewed his reflection letter and felt he had written it perfectly!

Tomorrow, as long as he handed this to his homeroom teacher, he was sure he’d restore his image as a good student in her eyes, and she would no longer target him!

The more he thought about it, the happier he felt. Carefully storing the letter, he drifted into a comfortable sleep.

When the first light of dawn pierced the horizon, a new day arrived. Like prison bars made of crystal, walls encircled the entire city, a summer that never ends.

If one could ascend hundreds of meters into the air and look down upon the bustling metropolis below, they would discover that the rays of light shooting in changed subtly upon entering the city; even the boundless sky appeared different than from below.

Just as Mo Liwei often told his students, "That is not the real sky!"

Tuesday morning, 09:00, Grade One (Class 12).

Liu Wen, as always, wore a smart black suit and transparent glasses, looking down at the students as he called roll.

But when he read out the name Nangong Yuchen, his expression darkened noticeably. He clearly remembered what happened during last Friday’s test. He’d intended to punish Nangong Yuchen, but ended up embarrassing himself instead.

What made him even more frustrated was that the homeroom teacher, Shangguan Luohua, had changed her opinion of Nangong Yuchen after last week’s incident and had criticized Liu Wen for targeting students, causing his image to plummet in the eyes of the woman he was pursuing.

Already pursuing her, this setback made him feel hopeless.

He blamed Nangong Yuchen for everything. Otherwise, how could things have turned out like this? As he thought about it, anger surged within him. He glared coldly at Nangong Yuchen, then slowly suppressed his rage and announced loudly, "Today’s lesson: Chapter Two—The Era of the Seven Islands: The Asian Floating Mega-Island!"

At his words, the students all straightened in their seats, each looking expectantly at Liu Wen, listening intently as he continued.

Among them was Nangong Yuchen. Although he felt some hostility toward this teacher, he had to admit that Liu Wen’s classes were always captivating, as though he possessed a magical power that drew them in.

"The Asian Floating Mega-Island is divided into five major zones. Our human habitation is one of them—the Northwestern Region, bisected by the ‘Gravya’ Mountains. But humans are not the only ones living here; there is also the tribe of demon beasts!" Liu Wen’s tone grew somber as he continued.

"Demon beasts are humanity’s greatest enemy. More than a thousand years ago, the war between humans and demon beasts never ceased and continues to this day!"

"Historical records show that before the year 1314 of the Seven Islands Era, humans possessed much land, and the northwest of Gravya was all our territory—the entire Northwestern Region."

"But at that time, human civilization was primitive. We lacked mechas, our training systems were undeveloped, and when demon beasts invaded, we were powerless to resist. We suffered defeat after defeat, cities fell, our land shrank, and we watched as they fed on our bodies and made our cities their nests!"

"For that thousand years, it was the darkest era for humanity!"

He paused, and the classroom fell silent. Every student felt a heaviness in their hearts, though thankfully it didn’t last long. Liu Wen’s voice rang out again.

"And so it continued until the year 2000 of the Seven Islands Era! Finally, a great leader emerged among humans. Not only did he possess extraordinary physical talent and strength, but his intellect was terrifyingly advanced. He perfected our physical training, discovered true mechas, and led humanity into a new era of hope!"

"It was he who opened the new chapter of human technological civilization!"