Chapter Eleven: The Four Capitals and Twenty-Seven Cities of Gravya

After Liu Wen was shot down, if not for his quick reflexes in grabbing the railing of the third-floor balcony, he might truly have fallen to his death. In his current state, he could only count himself lucky amidst misfortune.

Feeling the mocking gazes from the students below, Liu Wen was fuming with rage. On any other day, with his usual authority, how could these students ever dare to be so disrespectful?

In the end, he could only suppress the pain on his face and roar, “Pay attention to the lesson! Today, we’re covering the third chapter of the Era of the Seven Islands—Gravia!”

At his command, the students did quiet down a little, but their barely concealed amusement had already shattered the former solemnity of the classroom.

“In our last lesson, we spoke of the year 2000 of the Seven Islands Era. After the Holy War of Gravia ended, humanity welcomed its first era of peace. The Lord of the Human Race, Qiong, led our predecessors in reclaiming the northwest region that had been cut off by the Gravia Mountains. From there, they began to strengthen their bodies and study mecha equipment…”

“And today’s lesson covers the Four Capitals and Twenty-Seven Cities of Gravia! I hope you will listen intently, for this is our present-day Northwestern Domain—this is Gravia as we know it!”

(A gentle reminder: The floating continent of Asia is divided into five major regions; the Northwestern Domain is the human residential area. Because the Gravia Mountains cut across it, people habitually refer to the Northwestern Residential Area as Gravia.)

After saying this, Liu Wen began flipping through his textbook and, wincing with pain, continued, “Although humanity emerged victorious in the Holy War of Gravia, all the old cities had already been reduced to ruins by the monstrous beasts. Our predecessors thus began a century-long process of urban reconstruction.”

“At that time, to prevent another large-scale invasion by beasts, humanity divided the Northwestern Residential Area into two sections based on the natural barrier of the Gravia Mountains: one outside the safety boundary, and one inside!”

“Outside the safety boundary, there are seven cities—one capital and six cities—led by the Capital of Suyang, which governs Yuanhai City, Nanan City, Longlin City, and three others!”

“Inside the safety boundary, there are three capitals and twenty-one cities, the three capitals forming a triangle, each governing seven cities. Our city, Ruxia, is one of the seven governed by the Capital of Maple Sea!”

…

“These Four Capitals and Twenty-Seven Cities are the fruit of nearly a century of human effort, rebuilding Gravia. In total, we now have thirty-one cities in the entire human residential region!”

“Though each city is unique, all are without exception encircled by crystalline walls like prison barriers! All of humanity awaits the day when a second Lord of the Human Race—Qiong—will appear to lead us beyond these crystal walls, out into the world beyond, to see the wondrous beauty of the Asian Floating Island and the other six islands!”

“Ding, ding~”

Liu Wen’s voice, tinged with emotion, had barely faded away before the midday bell rang, signaling the end of class.

After two consecutive lessons under the students’ mocking stares, Liu Wen was about to explode with anger. The moment the bell rang, he hurriedly left, not even bothering to mention next week’s fourth chapter.

He was consumed with hatred for that little girl—not only had she ruined his plans, but she’d left him in this sorry state. If it hadn’t been for her last night, he might very well have finally gotten together with the woman he’d dreamed of: Shangguan Luohua!

Still, hatred aside, he had no intention of seeking revenge. The memory of her innocent, angelic face made him shudder, and besides, she was a first-rank mecha warrior. Wouldn’t going after her be suicide?

In truth, he didn’t know that if he hadn’t had that encounter with the little girl, he would have been beaten to death the moment he met Shangguan Luohua.

As soon as Liu Wen left, the classroom erupted with chatter; everyone speculated about what could have happened to leave Liu Wen in such a battered state.

Someone, letting their imagination run wild, suggested he had been caught cheating by his wife’s husband and beaten up as a result.

“Haha! Nangong, let’s go eat!” Le Han, in high spirits, noticed many students heading to lunch and tried to drag him along.

But Nangong Yuchen, seeing Angel sprawled across her desk ahead, felt his anger flare. He said to Le Han, “You go ahead, I have something to take care of. I’ll join you later.”

Seeing his gaze fixed on the class president, Le Han nodded knowingly and left with the others.

Soon, the classroom was empty except for Nangong Yuchen and Angel.

“Angel!” Nangong Yuchen walked up to her desk and slammed his hand down in anger. “Aren’t you going too far?”

At his words, Angel wearily opened her eyes and glanced at him, then shut them again, ignoring him completely.

“You—!” Nangong Yuchen felt even more furious at being dismissed. He couldn’t understand what he’d done to provoke her. Ever since their trip to Qinghu Town, he’d suffered nothing but bad luck every time they met. He angrily grabbed Angel’s ponytail, yanking her head up. “Still pretending, are you?”

Angel seemed utterly exhausted; she didn’t even have the strength to speak or resist. She simply glared at him with her gem-like eyes.

Now, Nangong Yuchen found it odd. Angel’s frail appearance didn’t seem like an act. A sudden thought struck him. “Don’t tell me—it’s that time of the month?”

That time of the month?

A faint blush crept over Angel’s pale cheeks, giving her a rare beauty. She snapped, “Get lost!”

“Oh! So it really is that time!” Seeing her embarrassment, Nangong Yuchen thought he had guessed right. Grinning, he said, “Who’d have thought our ever-dutiful class president would end up laid so low by her period!”

Nangong Yuchen felt an immense satisfaction—after always being on the receiving end, it was a rare pleasure to see Angel so weak and miserable. He seized the chance to tease her, knowing he might never get another opportunity.

After ten minutes, feeling his frustrations had been fully vented, he finally let go of Angel’s ponytail.

What he hadn’t expected was that as soon as he released her, she slumped forward with a bang, her forehead hitting the desk.

Nangong Yuchen was about to leave, but froze in his tracks, stunned by what he’d just seen.

This time, Angel was truly furious. Somehow, she found the strength to lift her head and glare at him, her eyes burning. “If you don’t want to die, get out!”

It was the first time Nangong Yuchen had ever seen her so enraged—not even at the convenience store had she been like this. Seeing the red mark on her forehead, he spun around and bolted out of the classroom.

After he left, Angel was alone. Her whole body trembled violently, and her black ponytail began to fade, turning purple. On her neck, dense, menacing black curse marks appeared, like the sigils of some dreadful hex…

Out in the hallway, Nangong Yuchen patted his chest in relief. The aura Angel had just emitted was truly terrifying—it made him vow to keep his distance from her in the future.

He made his way to the cafeteria for lunch, and, noticing that it was already 1:28, remembered that his class had physical training at two. He hurried to the locker room to change into his training clothes.

At this hour, his classmates had already changed, so he took advantage of the empty room to quickly change, then stealthily pulled a nutrient vial from his pocket, took a small sip, locked it in his locker, and ran toward the field.

Though the best effect of the nutrient solution is achieved after training, taking a bit beforehand also has its benefits, boosting energy and stamina for the session. That’s why he drank a little.

He planned to take more after training; it didn’t matter if he used up a little extra. Right now, improving his strength was his top priority, so he didn’t care about wasting some.

He had already decided—by year’s end, he must reach the first rank, and then find a way to rescue his parents, so their family could finally be reunited.

That wasn’t just Kexin’s wish—it was his own as well.