Lost Empire

By the time Liu Tian's bus arrived—it was already a rather late route—several cars had long been parked outside Rose Academy. Quite a few startled white pigeons fluttered through the sky, occasionally dropping a lump or two of bird droppings as gifts for certain lucky individuals.

"It's been an entire vacation. Why is the academy still keeping so many pigeons?" The grumbling complaints of one such winner came from nearby. "We've raised this issue so many times. Can't they change it?"

"Who told you the principal likes pigeons? It's not impossible to change it. Just wait until some important person gets hit, and it'll be changed instantly. Until then, just wait!"

"Doesn't that mean there's no hope for the next three years? Important people ride straight into the academy without getting out. How could it be that easy..."

"Not necessarily. Maybe your family will strike it rich and become someone important with major influence?—Oh, right, I heard your family recently bought a small island to build an amusement park. When are we going to have some fun on the island?"

"Bring your sister, and I'll consider it."

Liu Tian slowed down slightly to listen to the conversation beside him. Once he realized the topic was gradually shifting to heights beyond his reach for the time being, he hurried into the academy to avoid being killed by their humblebragging.

The first class was history.

A hand-drawn world map hung on the podium, while the sleep-inducing voice of a balding old scholar drifted down from it.

"Ever since the storm that had enveloped half the world, including the New Continent, subsided five hundred years ago, humanity has entered an era of rapid development. A brand-new continent, unoccupied by humans, drew the attention and yearning of countless people. To reach that New Continent, innumerable new forms of equipment emerged, bringing about the first great leap in science. Fifty years later, humanity's footprints covered the entire planet for the first time, conclusively proving the truth of the theory that the earth was round!"

"Therefore, after the world war sparked by the New Continent ended twenty years ago, every nation unanimously agreed to designate the day the storm was discovered to have ended five hundred years ago as the first year of the New Era. That is the origin of the New Era calendar we use today."

"From that day onward, human history was divided into two stages: the Old Era, when the storm persisted, and the New Era, when the storm dispersed."

The lecturer at the podium spoke eloquently. This world differed from Liu Tian's original one. Aside from the genuine existence of martial arts, the most fantastical thing was the colossal storm that had covered half the planet for at least three thousand years. Archaeological data also indicated that six thousand years ago, the New Continent had housed a highly advanced civilization known as the Lost Empire. The time of its disappearance was unknown, as was the reason, but it had left behind many obvious ruins. Some of those ruins could still operate even after several millennia, allowing humanity to excavate quite a bit of black technology from them.

Because of this, archaeology, a profession that had not been worthy of notice in ancient times, had become a prominent field of study on the New Continent. Its meaning was basically equivalent to adventuring and treasure hunting. Every so often, news would emerge of someone finding black technology while treasure hunting somewhere and becoming rich overnight. The most renowned example was Blue Dream Company, headquartered at the northernmost edge of the New Continent. It produced a mysterious medicinal powder that rapidly healed wounds and could even directly reconnect severed limbs, claiming a huge share of the global pharmaceutical market.

The Lost Empire, archaeological treasure hunting, and getting rich overnight—these had been the New Continent's greatest tools for attracting immigrants. Even now, countless people had gone to the New Continent to hunt for treasure in pursuit of their dreams.

Could this thing beneath my feet have come from the New Continent too? It's something nobody can understand anyway, so I can't go wrong pinning it on the Lost Empire. And if it's related to the New Continent, maybe I can obtain more Origin Points?

Liu Tian felt the continuous warm current emanating from the Prism Pillar hidden inside his sock and thought of it subconsciously.

"Speaking of which, there is an irresponsible conjecture about the reason behind the Lost Empire's disappearance." While Liu Tian was thinking, the teacher had already finished his introduction and began bringing up miscellaneous anecdotes to raise the students' attention and interest in the next part of the lesson. "According to the latest archaeological research, the Lost Empire generally believed in Miko Theory. They believed that everything in this world was originally one, connected by mysterious Miko. Miko corresponded with one another, and intelligence was the greatest manifestation of Miko's existence. Through Miko, one could travel through space and time, revive the dead, and achieve all sorts of unbelievable phenomena—even become a god while still human."

"Thus, there has recently been a claim in archaeological circles that the Lost Empire had uncovered the secrets of Miko. Everyone, regardless of gender or age, became gods together through Miko. That is why the entire New Continent is flourishing with animals yet devoid of a single human."

"Of course, that is an irresponsible joke, with extremely low feasibility and credibility." Though he looked stern, the old scholar in charge of history was quite talkative. Otherwise, he would not have brought up a joke as part of his lesson. Naturally, to avoid confusing the students, he still explained everything clearly. "Perhaps it is precisely because the Lost Empire's science and technology were so advanced, and its disappearance so mysterious, that the historical community has produced so many conflicting theories."

"There is the theory that they went to another planet, the theory that they died out naturally due to a plummeting birth rate, the virus-space-time theory, and many more besides."

"The mystery of the Lost Empire's disappearance has been debated for nearly five hundred years without any conclusion. Perhaps one day, historians will reach a final verdict—or perhaps they never will, and it will remain an eternal unsolved mystery."

"But regardless, the legacy left behind by the Lost Empire has endured and influenced us to this day. Its influence will continue into the foreseeable future. Now, turn to Chapter One. We will study the discovery of the Lost Empire..."

Before long, the time for rambling ended, and the old scholar began explaining the subject matter in earnest. Having heard the parts he wanted to hear, Liu Tian also began listening seriously, occasionally taking notes in his textbook, looking every bit the model student.

After all, no matter which world one was in, knowledge was power. That had never been wrong.