In the boundless continent of Wuchi, within the refining chamber of the Xuli Sect, Meng Huai was meticulously finishing the last piece of material, which she then affixed to the artifact she was currently forging.
She thought the artifact was successfully refined and let out a sigh of relief.
However, when she injected spiritual energy into it, the artifact caused a massive fluctuation. The entire refining chamber was affected. Meng Huai instinctively wrapped her spiritual power around her soul, yet still felt immense pressure on it.
Then, she lost consciousness.
Star Calendar Year 2355, in a dilapidated small house on Trash Star No. 915.
"It hurts so much."
Meng Huai opened her eyes, touched her throbbing forehead, and looked at the bright red blood on her fingertips.
"Wasn't I refining a spatial artifact? Meng Wu? Meng Wen?"
Meng Huai called out the names of Meng Wu and Meng Wen, but received no answer. Only then did she realize something was amiss. She looked at the furnishings in the room.
"This isn't my room?"
She recalled that after she thought her spatial artifact was successfully refined, it suddenly exploded, and she lost consciousness.
When she regained consciousness again, she was here, with a cut on her forehead.
Realizing this, her head ached, and a flood of memories surged into her brain. Meng Huai then understood that she was no longer in her own world but had transmigrated to some interstellar civilization.
Here, there were mechs, optical brains, and all sorts of high-tech products, but absolutely no cultivation.
And she had transmigrated into someone else's body?
"Hello, are you still there?"
Meng Huai used her spiritual power to probe the depths of her soul, but there was no response. It seemed the little girl who was also named Meng Huai was no longer there. This was why, after the spatial explosion, her soul was compressed. She instinctively wrapped her soul in spiritual power, and finally arrived here, becoming another Meng Huai.
Thinking of the recent memories, Meng Huai realized that the original Meng Huai was also an unfortunate child.
She was originally the daughter of a marshal. However, after her mother passed away, her marshal father remarried. When she was five and underwent ability testing, her B-grade spiritual perception drew ridicule from many.
In this world, spiritual perception was classified from SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, to D. Her mediocre B-grade was considered decent in ordinary families; attending a military academy would likely lead to a leisurely position.
However, Meng Huai was born into a family where most members possessed double S or S-grade abilities. Her B-grade was simply not enough.
Neglected by her father and disliked by her stepmother, she was framed and driven out of her home.
Meng Huai opened her optical brain and saw only a thousand-odd star coins. This was what Meng Huai had earned by working in a restaurant, an endeavor that had also led to her offending people and getting injured.
Meng Huai recalled the few hooligans from her memories and committed their appearances to heart.
A new message arrived on her optical brain, its notification sound interrupting Meng Huai's thoughts. She opened it and saw a message: "Student Meng Huai, you have been admitted to our military academy. Please report to our school between Star Calendar Year 2355, August 29th and September 1st."
The message was signed by the Imperial Military Academy.
"What? Me! The Sect Master of Xuli Sect, two thousand one hundred and thirty-two years old! Transmigrated to this interstellar era, and I have to go to school?"
Meng Huai pressed her forehead with her hand and murmured, "Should I... skip school?"
The optical brain, which was still displaying the message, immediately broadcasted, "Skip school? That's not allowed, not allowed at all. You'll be stripped of your Star Citizenship. Then you won't be able to do anything, starting with not being able to use your optical brain."
It then went on to list a long string of consequences, such as not being able to buy things or use transportation.
Meng Huai, annoyed by the chattering optical brain, promptly shut it down. However, she had to admit that what the optical brain had said was a valid concern.
Therefore, she had to attend this school.
However, looking at the balance on her optical brain, Meng Huai realized it was barely enough for the travel expenses to the Imperial Capital Star. This place was called Trash Star precisely because it was undeveloped and remote.
"But how could this Meng Huai, who was driven to this Trash Star, be admitted to the Imperial Military Academy?"
Wouldn't the current Marshal's wife want Meng Huai to stay far away from the Imperial Capital? Could it be that the passage of time had made her forget about Meng Huai?
"Never mind, I'll deal with whatever comes my way."
Meng Huai stopped dwelling on these thoughts and bought a ticket to the Imperial Capital Star. She sat in an ordinary seat on the spaceship, feeling its speed. She couldn't help but sigh: "In my world, only ships of the Immortal Artifact grade could reach such speeds!"
"Sigh."
Meng Huai sighed again, saying that if her spatial artifact had been successfully refined, it would have reached the Immortal Artifact level.
At this thought, a small world actually appeared in Meng Huai's spiritual consciousness! Meng Huai suppressed her speculation; there were too many people on the spaceship, and it wasn't the time to act rashly.
Restraining her excitement, Meng Huai went to a corner and opened her optical brain to search for information about this world. Everything here was unfamiliar to Meng Huai, and she disliked this feeling of unfamiliarity. Fortunately, the information here was very advanced, and she could make good use of the optical brain's search function.
However, to prevent anyone from seeing what she was searching for, Meng Huai moved to a secluded corner to find the information she wanted.
Oh, what Meng Huai didn't know was that the optical brain had a built-in privacy function... even if someone was sitting next to her, they couldn't see the contents of her optical brain if she didn't grant permission.
After she had a basic understanding of the common knowledge of her current world, the spaceship arrived at the Imperial Capital Star.
The Imperial Military Academy had thoughtfully sent flying vehicles to pick up students from the landing site. When Meng Huai saw the words "Imperial Military Academy Freshman Special Flying Vehicle" written on the transport, she walked in that direction.
Meng Huai was still observing the flying vehicle as she approached it, as she was a refiner and was curious to study it.
As she circled the flying vehicle, a girl wearing the Imperial Military Academy uniform, standing next to the vehicle, was also observing Meng Huai.
After all, such a beautiful girl was rarely seen, but she seemed a bit slow-witted...
And she really had a wound on her forehead. Why didn't she use a band-aid? The wound didn't seem that big; it would heal if she applied one.
"Junior student, are you a freshman at the Imperial Military Academy?"
Seeing that Meng Huai hadn't stopped her gaze from the flying vehicle, the girl stepped forward to strike up a conversation.
At this moment, Meng Huai was thinking about the spaceship designed to resemble the Xuli Sect, which was incredibly magnificent. Every time they appeared with the disciples of the Xuli Sect during major competitions, they would attract much attention.
Alas, thinking of how she and several elders had worked together to refine that artifact, consuming a considerable amount of materials and effort, and then leaving that world just like that, she felt it was a pity.
Meng Huai snapped back to reality, "Ah? Ah, yes. I am a freshman at the Imperial Military Academy."
The student took out a list and asked for Meng Huai's information.
Meng Huai directly replied, "My name is Meng Huai."
"Hello, junior student Meng. I'm Gao Peng. You can call me senior student Gao."
Gao Peng first found Meng Huai's name on the freshman list provided by the school. After a brief conversation, she let Meng Huai board the flying vehicle.