Sanctuary Academy

Bai Mo was completely stunned by the sight before him.

It was a true megacity, sprawled across the boundless icefield like a colossal beast.

At a glance, it covered at least a hundred li in every direction, its countless towering buildings stretching beyond the horizon.

It was hard to imagine that such a magnificent city of miracles existed deep within this life-forbidden zone abandoned by the world.

Bai Mo had no doubt that its scale surpassed even the imperial capitals of every empire on the Douluo Continent.

It was only an academy. Did it really need to be this exaggerated? This much space could easily hold tens of millions of people, never mind a school.

As they drew closer, the academy's details gradually came into clearer view.

It was a steel forest of towering, streamlined megastructures, densely arranged yet harmoniously staggered.

The buildings had sharp, grand lines, all rendered in a distinctly futuristic polar palette—icy silver-white intertwined with warm dark gold, appearing both sacred and imposing amid the gray-white world.

There were majestic main halls, training buildings of various functions scattered throughout, soaring research towers, and grand observatories with domes that could open directly onto the starry sky.

The entire city's architecture was remarkably three-dimensional. Even from the ground, one could enjoy an extraordinarily broad aerial view.

When they passed through an invisible membrane of energy, Bai Mo felt as though he had instantly crossed into another world.

The freezing wind outside, cold enough to crack steel, and the biting chill were completely swept away in an instant, replaced by a springlike gentle breeze.

He subconsciously looked up and saw the "sun" high above the academy, radiating soft light and warmth.

He was certain that it was not the Douluo Continent's real sun, because at the heart of the Extreme North, its rays had long been completely blocked by the dense clouds of wind and snow.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Meng Hongchen noticed his surprise and enthusiastically explained, "The academy's perimeter has a citywide 'sky curtain' barrier that can isolate every extreme weather phenomenon in the heart of the Extreme North—frozen tidal chills, savage gale energies, eternal-night cold mist, blizzard disasters, and more. Inside and outside the barrier are two completely separate worlds. Beyond it lies a frigid wasteland, while within the academy is the stable world we have built for ourselves."

She pointed at the sun in the sky and proudly puffed out her little chest. "As for that, it is one of our academy's greatest creations: the artificial sun—Helios. It constantly bathes the entire academy in gentle light and heat, while the academy's central intelligence, the Tethys System, precisely regulates the temperature, humidity, airflow, and even seasonal rhythms throughout the region. It forcibly created a habitable holy land for cultivation deep within the Eternal Icefield, where spring lasts all year, vegetation flourishes, and the weather is mild and bright, with orderly dawns and dusks and constant light and shadow."

Bai Mo stared, dumbfounded.

What... an utterly terrifying undertaking. And wasn't this technological level a little too absurdly advanced?

He was now completely certain that this Douluo Continent had gone completely off the rails.

What happened to the standard heroic story that began with awakening a martial soul in some remote little village, then rising all the way up, plotting for immortal herbs, showing off and humiliating opponents at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, painstakingly undertaking the trials of the gods, and finally becoming a god before ascending to the divine realm with a group of beautiful companions?

How had it gone this far astray?

Bai Mo no longer knew what expression to wear in the face of all this. Everything he had seen and heard along the way had left even his heart, tempered by countless traversals, completely numb.

Looking around, the academy's transportation methods opened his eyes even further.

Countless crisscrossing translucent elevated rails had been laid throughout every corner of the city, weaving through the air above towering buildings and between major campus districts and training grounds, leaving no worry of traffic congestion on the ground.

Futuristic low-altitude hover vehicles traveled endlessly along the rails, silent and fast, rapidly delivering students and supplies to every part of the academy. The sense of technology was simply maxed out.

Bai Mo even saw quite a few upperclassmen in various uniforms speeding along dedicated runways atop cool-looking motorcycles.

Among them, one upperclasswoman with dazzling golden hair was especially eye-catching. Just as her silver motorcycle was about to shoot past the end of the runway, a pair of energy wings suddenly unfolded from its sides, blue flames erupted from its rear, and it howled straight into the sky.

The golden-haired upperclasswoman soaring through the heavens seemed to notice Bai Mo and the others on the ground.

She deftly maneuvered her silver ride, tracing an elegant arc through the air as she dived down.

Before landing, the magnificent wings formed from pure energy quietly folded away, turning into streams of light that sank into the vehicle's body. It finally came to a steady stop before them.

"Teacher Nangong."

The golden-haired upperclasswoman swung off her motorcycle with crisp, efficient movements. She first gave Natsuki Minamiya a slight nod, her voice cool and pleasant.

Only then did Bai Mo get a clear look at her true appearance.

She was tall and well-proportioned. Her fitted pure-white academy uniform not only failed to conceal her graceful figure, but added a touch of refined scholarly elegance.

Her dazzling long golden hair fell smoothly to her waist, each strand flowing with a sacred luster beneath the artificial sun.

Her skin was as flawless and fair as the finest jade, while her features were so exquisite that they seemed like the most perfect work of a god.

Most memorable were her clear, luminous golden eyes. Within their narrow, delicate shape lay a cool, indifferent gaze, carrying an innate pride and holiness that seemed detached from the mundane world.

She merely stood there quietly, yet naturally exuded a dignified authority that could not be profaned.

"That is Senior Qian Renxue," Meng Hongchen quietly leaned toward Bai Mo's ear and introduced her in an extremely low voice. "According to the 'history' I know, if nothing unexpected happens, she has a one hundred percent chance of inheriting the Angel Godhood and becoming a true Angel God."

She paused, then added in a somewhat complicated tone, "Of course, this world is already very different now. No one can say what the future holds."

Bai Mo naturally understood what Meng Hongchen meant.

The world Meng Hongchen and the others had originally come from was this world's parallel future, so they naturally knew the so-called "historical process" like the backs of their hands.

But now, this world had long been distorted beyond recognition by countless Transfer Phenomena. Viewing the present through past experience would undoubtedly be like marking a boat to seek a lost sword.

Therefore, Meng Hongchen and the others would never assume that Qian Renxue was certain to become a god simply because they knew history.