Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 24 - Baichuan City

If he thought about it in passing, numerous basic moves flowed through his mind like water, as clear as a mirror. If he thought more carefully, images of basic movements would flash before his eyes.

His mastery of the Wind Elephant Sect’s basic Combat Techniques had skyrocketed, reaching a whole new level.

Cassius had a hunch that if he used the the extreme stage of the Wind Elephant Sect’s Basic Combat Arts to learn the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts with, it would yield twice the result with half the effort. A tree with strong roots and stems would allow its branches and leaves to grow faster and more lushly.

It continued to drizzle. By the time Cassius came back to his senses, his clothes were already soaked through. He stared up at the sky, the rain falling like spiderweb threads. Cassius followed their trajectory and saw an endless expanse of deep black clouds. Thunder was rumbling like cannon fire, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

Time to head back to the inn. Cassius checked the fake documents in his inner pocket, then picked up his wide-brimmed hat and the umbrella that had flown away. He turned around and his figure blended into the light rain.

A day later, at the train station in the northern suburbs of Fengnan City.

The tall, gray-white flat roof building loomed in the morning mist, a gray rectangular platform in front. Dozens of passengers with luggage waited for the train to arrive.

A shrill whistle sounded from afar as a black-green train spewing black smoke approached the platform. The train\'s headlights shone like an oncoming meteor and cut through the mist.

All the passengers took a step back, and a bald middle-aged man bumped into something. He spun around.

A man, nearly 1.85 meters tall, stood behind him. He looked like an ordinary morning passenger with a common black coat and wide-brimmed hat. In one hand, he held a travel wooden box, a serious look on his face.

"Sorry about that," the middle-aged man quickly apologized.

"It\'s okay," Cassius said, taking a few steps to the left, revealing a black rectangular iron pillar behind him.

"Over here! Over here! Come aboard!" a train attendant in a blue uniform disembarked and shouted loudly. The passengers in coats and windbreakers quickly gathered around and started lining up to board, luggage in hand.

The train attendant shouted a few more times, "Check your tickets carefully, don\'t get on the wrong train! And watch your luggage and kids!"

In the crowd, Cassius glanced at his watch. It was five minutes past seven.

"All aboard," the train attendant patted the painted train body and yelled for the last time.

Cassius picked up his suitcase and stepped onto the train. His seat was by the window, allowing him to gaze at the scenery outside. The white curtains were tied to one side, and the glass was wet from the condensation.

Clang, clang, clang...

White steam spewing from above, the train began accelerating as the wheels started to spin quickly. The train gradually gained speed. He reached out and wiped the glass clean.

In front, rows of guard trees rushed by like fleeting shadows. Behind, the scattered lights of Fengnan City gradually got farther and farther away. Cassius took a long look.

He would be back...

***

Half a month later, in Beiliu County, Baichuan City.

Edelweiss Middle School ranked fourth in the province and first in Baichuan City. It had both junior and senior high school divisions. Its faculty members were skilled and many students enrolled there.

Edelweiss Middle School was dedicated not only to improving academic performance but also actively expanding the students\' extracurricular interests. The streets around the school were lined with food and entertainment shops along with various sporting venues for basketball, baseball, swimming, and even archery and fencing.

In addition to the multiple sports fields, Edelweiss Middle School covered a large area, with numerous tall, new buildings that were all the same style and all used for teaching. There were many similar buildings behind the teaching area. Out of all the middle schools, this was the most well-equipped and boasted the best education for students in all of Baichuan City.

A towering teaching building with white walls and a blue base stood next to a circular flower bed. The sounds of the teachers\' lectures along with the occasional student being called to answer questions could be heard from outside.

In the first classroom near the stairs on the third floor, a middle-aged teacher with glasses placed his textbook on the desk. "Alright, now let\'s turn our books to page 107 to the next chapter, \'International Situation and World Structure.\' Everyone, please take a look."

He turned and picked up a piece of chalk, quickly sketching something on the blackboard. Before long, a fairly standard world map was created, with some major countries marked and several oceans labeled in the empty spaces. The teacher dragged the chalk across the board, snapping it in the process.

"The Hongli Federation has been established for 156 years and, right from its inception, is one of the three major powers in the world! Look here!" The middle-aged teacher pointed to a section of the map, which represented a large coastal country. The overall shape resembled a hand grenade, with a small indentation in the center.

The Hongli Federation occupied a vast area of the map. It was almost two-fifths of a continent called the Northern Reef Continent. The Southern Reef Continent, another continent of similar size, was just below it. The eastern part of the Southern Reef Continent was also occupied by a large, flat country called the United States of Yana.

To the east of the Southern and Northern Reef Continents was an exceptionally large landmass. Called the Blue Star Continent, this landmass was about four-fifths the size of both continents combined.

Marked on the map was the largest country in the world, the Blue Star Empire. It was about a fourth larger than the Hongli Federation and a third larger than the United States of Yana. Dotting around the Empire were some smaller islands.

The teacher used up half of the class time just to introduce them one by one.

In the classroom, by the window, in the second-to-last row, a handsome boy with brown hair and attractive eyebrows was carelessly flipping through his textbook. His eyes flicked occasionally at the blackboard and then out the window. His mind was clearly not on the lesson.

"Phil, the teacher is calling you." His deskmate suddenly nudged him with his elbow.

Phil snapped out of his daze and shot to his feet. With his deskmate\'s whispered reminder, he managed to muddle his way through the question.

"Whew... Thanks Milo," Phil said as he sat down.

"Why have you been so absent-minded lately?" Milo, a freckled-faced boy, leaned over and asked Phil quietly.

"Ah, I\'m about to be kicked out of the Combat Club. I was in the bottom three again last time. Two more times, and I\'ll have to quit." Phil sighed, feeling regretful about being kicked out of the Combat Club and disappointed at not being able to see Senior Sister Tifa anymore.

After all, that was the whole reason he joined the Combat Club in the first place!