Nexus Planet
Northern High Academy,
Class B
"Ahh..."
Lu Shen clutched his head in pain as his vision became blurry. He shook his head to shake off the pain.
Looking around, all he saw were students who appeared to be about eighteen years old, attentively listening to the teacher's lecture.
Who am I?
Where am I?
His last memory was of working late at night, forced to work overtime by his black hearted boss. Now, he suddenly found himself in a classroom full of students.
He glanced down at his hands and noticed they looked younger, no longer showing the signs of years of hard work. Turning to a nearby window, he caught his reflection and confirmed his suspicion, he had become younger.
How did I get here?
Who am I now?
Lu Shen struggled to make sense of his situation.
As he collected his thoughts, a surge of memories suddenly flooded back.
"So that's the case..."
After digesting his new memories, Lu Shen realized he had been transported to a parallel world. This world was called "Nexus" and while the planet's name was different, its history and world map were the same as Blue Star.
In this world, his name remained Lu Shen, and he was still an orphan.
However, the major difference in this world was that, one hundred years ago, the sky had cracked open, and from that crack, unfamiliar beasts descend from that crack. These beasts began to wreak havoc, killing and devouring humans as if they were raising humans on the Nexus planet as their prey.
---
As Time Passed...
Those horrifying creatures brought unparalleled destruction, killing almost a third of the planet's population. Fertile lands turned to barren wastelands, ruled by the beasts.
In the midst of chaos, some people began awakening various bloodlines, granting them hope and strength to fight against the demonic beasts.
These individuals came to be known as "Bloodline Warriors."
The date, January 21st, 2080 AD, marked the beginning of was called the "New Era."
In the New Era, people found themselves with supernatural powers and longer lifespans. This led to rapid progress and advancements in development, far surpassing anything seen before.
With these changes, the New Era was born, and a new calendar system was adopted. Lu Shen had been reborn a hundred years into this era.
Today was New Era Year 100, July 7th.
This was all Lu Shen knew.
"Oh, holographic videos?" Lu Shen noticed a holographic projection in front of him.
He wasn't surprised as Nexus Planet was more advanced than Blue Star, but he found it interesting as Teacher Tang was explaining the history of the Nexus.
---
"After the attack by the demonic beasts, many lives were lost, but it also paved the way for a new future. People began awakening various types of bloodlines within their bodies"
"After years of research into these bloodlines, we discovered that individuals could awaken elemental affinities, such as fire, water, earth, air, and wood, among others. These bloodlines are believed to have originated from beasts or powerful weapons" he continued.
"After the crack in the sky appeared, a special type of energy was detected in the air. Warriors found this energy could strengthen their bodies or enable them to ascend to new realms of power. This energy became known as 'spiritual energy' "
"As people awakened their bloodlines, they gained abilities associated with their elemental affinities. After research of those demonic beasts revealed that these creatures possessed similar abilities tied to their elements."
"Now, a century later, we have developed advanced techniques and technology to fight against the demonic beasts and can harness spiritual energy to grow stronger."
Teacher Tang explain in deep about Nexus Planet's hundred year history, he sharing tales of ancient civilizations and legendary battles. He then explain the present modern society, technology, and culture on Nexus Planet.
"But despite all our advancements, we still inhabit less than 10 percent of the Nexus. We continue to face periodic waves of demonic beasts. We owe our thanks to the brave warriors and soldiers who protect our families and land, sacrificing their lives for our future" Teacher Tang said with respect.
---
"Ring, ring!"
"Alright, that's all for today. Get ready for tomorrow bloodline test" Teacher Tang Li announced before leaving the room.
Upon hearing this, the students reacted in various ways.
"I wonder what my bloodline beast will be" one student said shaking his head.
"I don't know about that, but Tangsu Ming is definitely going to awaken a rare bloodline"
"Damn it, after getting all those spiritual herbs and demonic beast meat, even a pig would awaken a rare bloodline."
You heard that right. If you had better resources, you could get anything. It was no different from back on the Blue Planet. If you had money, you could get love, power, job, everything.
People are slaves to money, and the greedy controlled all the resources.
In the Nexus Planet, after the appearance of demonic monsters, the animals and plants began to mutate. Animals became beasts, while some plants transformed into spiritual herbs. These herbs had the power to strengthen ordinary people's bodies.
Lu Shen recalled this information, realizing that if someone had a strong body before awakening, they were more likely to obtain a better bloodline.
"Shut up! Do you want to get in trouble? Keep your voice down!" another student wissper, cautiously glancing in Tangsu Ming's direction.
"God, man, you almost got us in trouble. Don't you know his family's wealth allows him to get as many spiritual herbs and demonic beast meat as he wants? His family is connected with high level warrior families. And haven't you heard what he's capable of? He nearly killed someone just because he didn't like them" Si Su said with fear in his eyes.
"Yeah, I also heard his big brother got into one of the top universities. With those connections, Tangsu Ming will definitely get in too. We shouldn't risk causing trouble for ourselves."
At his desk, Lu Shen sat in silence, feeling depressed about his situation in this new world.
"Damn it, other people get powerful systems, come from strong backgrounds, or have some other cheat when they're transported to another world. But me? I've got nothing except this weak thin skinned body."
As someone who had spent his lonely life reading manga, novels, and watching anime, Lu Shen had imagined he would be the main character after his rebirth. But now, he realized he wasn't even close to being a side character.
"Haah..."
"If you don't have strength, you're just a slave to those who do" Lu Shen thought, filled with sadness and disappointment.
Without a powerful background or physical strength, he realized his life in this world would be far from peaceful.
Gathering his belongings, Lu Shen left the academy,
As he walked from the academy's developed area toward the slums where he lived, Lu Shen couldn't stop thinking about his new life. After the demonic invasions, surviving warriors had built several strongholds to protect the population.
The Azure Cloud Stronghold, where he lived, was one such stronghold.
After some time, Lu Shen arrived at his small, damaged house in the slum. He grabbed some eggs and bread from his old freezer, eating a small meal before heading to the shop where he worked for pocket money.
Ten minutes later...
Lu Shen entered the shop, and the owner, an elderly man, noticed him.
"Lu Shen, you came today too?" the shop owner asked in surprise.
"Yeah, why are you asking, old man?"
"Stingy brat, I thought you'd be busy preparing for tomorrow."
"Old man, you know my situation. I don't even know what my bloodline will be with this weak and unfit body."
The shop owner sighed and glanced at Lu Shen.
"Be positive, brat. Who knows what you might awaken?"
"Yes, yes, old man"
The shop owner wasn't optimistic about Lu Shen's chances either, but he knew that a bloodline's strength didn't always depend solely on one's physical condition,luck and hidden potential also played significant roles.
Thinking about bloodline , the shop owner remember something. He went to the back of his shop and returned with a small package containing demon wolf meat.
"Here"
Seeing the demon meat, Lu Shen remembered from his new memories that it was expensive and hard to get for ordinary people. The shop owner must have paid a high price for it.
Lu Shen felt conflicted about accepting such a valuable gift.
"Old man, this is way too expensive. How can I accept it?"
"Take it and eat it before you go to bed" the shop owner with out care, forcefully handing the demon meat to Lu Shen.
"Take it or throw it away. It's your choice"
Before Lu Shen could say anything, the shop owner silenced him with deadly gaze.
Reluctantly, Lu Shen accepted the meat, feeling the pressure from the old man's intense gaze.
"But... how do you have demon meat? Isn't it only sold by warriors?"
"I got it from a friend. Just take it" the shop owner said ignoring Lu Shen's question.
Lu Shen knew the old man was lying. After all, he only ran a cake shop, how could he have demon wolf meat? Despite this, Lu Shen kept quiet. A warmth filled his heart as he felt that not everyone in this world was as caring.
Thanking the old man, Lu Shen headed to his usual work in the shop.
The shop owner watched him go, felt pity.
"This boy doesn't talk much, but he's well behaved. What a shame... If only he'd been born into a better family, he could've had a good life"
"What a pity..."
---
Far away, in the dark depths of space, a mysterious object was floating and emitting a strange aura. Even in the chaos of space storms, it remained untouched.
As if waiting for something or someone.
"Hmmm..."
Suddenly, as if sensing its long awaited target, the object surged forward at an unimaginable speed. After traveling for some time, it arrived at a planet full of greenery, which appeared to be blue from space.
"Hahaha! Finally, I've found you!" A middle aged voice echoed from the object as it rush toward its destination.
---
After finishing his part time job around 7 p.m. Lu Shen walked home alone, gazing up at the night sky, which was filled with two glowing moons. He couldn't help but hope that tomorrow, he might awaken a high level bloodline.
The sight of two moons confirmed to him once again that he was indeed in another world. But what puzzled him was the absence of stars in the sky only the two moons and the sun during the day in the sky.
Bloodlines in this world were divided into four grades: low, middle, top, and superior, with low being the lowest and superior the highest. This was common knowledge among people, but as for higher grades, Lu Shen didn't know anything about them.
As for warrior realm.
He only knew about the Refinement realm and Integration realm, with Integration realm being known as the true warrior realm. These were the warrior realms he was aware of.
In the Azure Cloud stronghold, Integration Realm warriors held significant power. Higher beings were typically found in stronger strongholds. Azure Cloud, being a low level stronghold, Integration Realm warriors hold major power.
Lu Shen didn't have many friends and didn't know much about warriors and their powers, he lacked information about the Bloodline Warrior Realm, as it was not taught until students turned 18 in school.
Every person who turned 18 years old would awaken their bloodlines, and all related to the Bloodline Warrior Realm were taught after they awakened their bloodlines, except for warrior families, because they passed down their knowledge to their descendants.
As Lu Shen recalled information about bloodlines and the warrior realm, A bright light suddenly appeared, and something flew toward Lu Shen really fast. He try to dodge it but it still hit him hard, it still hurt a lot. Everything went dark as he passed out.
"..."