This was a mysterious school. Aside from the admission letter, there wasn't even a name. But in the early hours of this day, all the admission letters suddenly transformed into maps—maps showing the way to the school.
The letter also had the functions of a tablet computer.
Ming Wu followed the directions on the map and boarded a train. In order to uncover the truth behind his brother's murder, he had struck a deal with the man he hadn't even gotten the name of.
The destination was in Tianfu, deep in the mountains. Train, car, hiking—when he finally reached the foot of the mountain, Ming Wu suddenly noticed there were many others around him holding the same admission letter. There were over 100 of them. Actually, 200 letters had been sent out, and having 70% show up was already considered good. After all, not everyone would believe something like this.
They needed to head into the mountains to find the mysterious school. Ming Wu realized he hadn't brought anything useful for surviving in the wild. He had only set off with hot blood and determination. But now he was faced with the reality that the school was hidden deep in the wilderness—this didn't feel scientific at all.
Everyone holding an admission letter started gathering and sharing how they'd received theirs, discussing what kind of school this might be. The air was full of passion and curiosity.
"According to the map, the school is inside the forest just ahead. It's not far. Should only be about a two- or three-day journey. As long as we don't get lost, we should get there pretty fast," someone said.
Ming Wu listened for a while and got the general idea—these people were all heaven's chosen, the elite from all over the country. It was supposed to be his brother who would be among them, chatting and laughing. Ming Wu felt completely out of place. A street brawler like him didn't care for these big philosophical talks.
"Everyone, follow me. Let's move."
This was someone who had already started showing leadership and quickly earned the others' respect. Wherever there are people, there's a pecking order. Even among over 100 of heaven's chosen, someone needed to take charge.
Most followed him into the forest. Only a few stayed back, either unsure or waiting on something. Ming Wu thought to himself—he didn't bring anything, maybe he should find someone to team up with.
"You here alone?"
Just as he was thinking that, someone spoke to him first. The first thing he saw was a pair of small feet wearing sky-blue women's running shoes. Looking up, he saw a pretty woman staring seriously at him.
Ming Wu didn't know why the word 'serious' popped into his head, but her gaze really was very focused.
"If you don't mind, we can team up," she smiled. "I'm Liu Su."
"Ming Wu. Sure, I was just looking for a partner."
"Perfect, I brought a lot of supplies." Seeing that he had nothing with him, Liu Su offered to share.
So the two of them followed the larger group and entered the forest. Finding the school was the first test, but it wasn't all that hard. There weren't any dangerous wild beasts around—just rough terrain. Even without formal training, the mountain path alone was a real challenge for the newcomers.
Meanwhile, Liu A'dou had already arrived at the school with his two alien disciples. Built between towering mountains and surrounded by trees, the school gave off an air of mystery. The location alone was remote enough, but the faculty were even more unusual—martial arts masters, language prodigies, astronauts, and more. These were definitely not your average school teachers.
Of course, they still had the standard curriculum too—Chinese, math, physics, English. Because contact with aliens also meant presenting your own culture, students had to at least know their nation's history. They would one day represent Earth, and their home country.
"General, long time no see," Liu A'dou greeted as he met the General once again.
"Perfect timing. I want you to take over as principal of the interstellar school's branch," the General said.
Liu A'dou looked at the General and laughed. "General, you're joking, right? Hahaha."
The General was actually serious, but after seeing the look in Liu A'dou's eyes, he knew it wasn't going to happen. He sighed in disappointment. "Then how about just teaching for a couple of days?"
"That I can do."
"Great. Let me show you around the campus. There's a lot of stuff here that came from your contributions," the General said.
Liu A'dou had brought back a batch of educational materials from the Aldnoah world. It included a lot of content on space knowledge, detailed training requirements for pilots and space soldiers, and much more.
A lot of those things had been integrated into this school. But the most advanced feature was still the 3D simulation environment. Using camouflage tech to create a virtual training ground—this was originally cutting-edge American black tech. But now, China had it too.
In America, the X Academy had this setup as well.
All in all, the school was filled with high-end tools and systems. It definitely wasn't inferior to the interstellar schools in the U.S. In fact, it could be called the number one in Asia and number two in the world. There were only 12 interstellar schools globally.
Asia had 3—in China, Japan, and India.
With the General's endorsement, Liu A'dou and his two disciples could move freely. He took the chance to ask them about their plans. After their trip around the Earth, did they still want to leave the planet?
"I want to ask—do you guys want to go into space?"
Ben caught a glimpse of excitement in Kailan's eyes. Clearly, the princess had never stopped thinking about her people.
Kailan immediately spoke up. "Of course I want to go into space. I need to return to my homeland and save everyone."
Liu A'dou thought, 'Just as I expected.' "What about you, Ben?"
"I want to go too." Ben had already come to care about Kailan. There was no way he'd let her take that risk alone. Besides, he still had to fulfill his uncle's dying wish.
"If you're both set on it, then once you finish your world tour, I'll find a way to get you there," Liu A'dou said. But he also had to be clear with them. The two of them weren't going to save an entire planet on their own. When they returned, they'd need to link up with the resistance forces. That meant they had to learn how to fight a war.
No matter how strong you were in single combat, you couldn't take on Chitauri war machines and aircraft alone. Victory would ultimately depend on tactics.
It was time to teach them how to wage war.
Liu A'dou knew it wouldn't be easy raising these two. One was a princess carrying the burden of her entire race, the other a young man who had inherited his uncle's will. Neither of them was destined to live an ordinary life. Once they returned to their home planet, they'd likely spend years engulfed in war, living amidst flames and smoke.
There was no other way. Even though they were still young, in a time of national turmoil, no one could remain untouched.
Princess Kailan refused to run from her duty. She faced it with courage and held it tight. Ben, on the other hand, wanted to run, but in his uncle's final moments, all that weight had been passed onto him. If he didn't step up, he'd be a coward. So Ben followed Kailan's path, even if it meant gritting his teeth. But he was growing—slowly shedding his childishness and becoming a true man, just like his uncle had hoped.
Liu A'dou knew his disciples were anything but ordinary. So he was determined to pass on everything he could to them.