Just as this was being discussed, suddenly, a delicate and charming voice drifted out from Dr. Carter's voice transmission bracelet.

　　“Grandpa doctor, where are you? I don't know how to put on this magnetic spirit suit. Please come help me.”

　　The voice was coquettish. As soon as Dr. Carter heard it, his body involuntarily trembled. He forced a cough, glared sternly at everyone, then hurriedly turned and left, speaking excitedly into the transmission bracelet as he went.

　　“Oh, coming, coming! Don’t worry, little darling, I’ll be right there to help you.”

　　This sudden reversal was so dramatic that everyone was dumbfounded. Even Brian Brooks was stunned for a moment. After a long pause, he gasped, and as the crowd erupted in an uproar, Brian Brooks gritted his teeth and cursed a few times.

　　“Shameless! That old pervert, everything he said before was nonsense! There are only so many female classmates, not even enough for us, and at his age, he’s still competing with us for resources, just because he’s an official!” The more Brian Brooks thought about it, the angrier he became. As he discussed it with the classmates around him, his dream of becoming an official grew even stronger in his heart.

　　As the alarm intensified, everyone finally ended their discussion, each heading to the spirit cultivation room with resentment in their hearts.

　　The spirit cultivation room was located in the core area of the airship. As the name implied, it was a place for these students to cultivate, and also the most heavily protected area of the airship when passing through special zones.

　　At this moment, as everyone gathered in the spirit cultivation room, under the arrangement of the teachers from the Ethereal Dao College accompanying the ship, all sat in several rows, wearing the airship-exclusive magnetic spirit suits distributed by the college.

　　Just after putting on the magnetic spirit suit, Brian Brooks was still immersed in his indignation toward Dr. Carter. He casually looked around, and his already gloomy mood worsened instantly because of a gaze from afar. Unconsciously, he furrowed his brows and showed a look of disgust.

　　Where he was looking sat a girl with long legs, quite attractive, but at the moment she was also frowning, showing an expression of annoyance. Clearly, in each other's eyes, they were both familiar and extremely displeased with one another.

　　“Bad luck!” Both of them muttered inwardly, quickly looking away, as if even a glance at each other was an eyesore.

　　“No matter where I go, I run into this flat-chested Megan Foster. So annoying!” Brian Brooks muttered. Ever since childhood, he and this girl named Megan Foster had always been in the same class. Especially since she always acted high and mighty, using her position as class monitor to constantly make things difficult for him. Even those two pieces of candy back then were given to her...

　　“What’s so great about her? She’s just a lousy class monitor. Once I get to the Dao College, with my killer skills in officialdom, I’ll definitely land myself an official position!” Brian Brooks snorted.

　　Soon, after everyone had finished putting on their suits and the teachers from the Ethereal Dao College had checked them one by one, they gave some instructions and sternly warned everyone that after the airship entered the thunder-magnetic zone, there would be danger, and there was a real possibility of a life-and-death crisis.

　　Seeing everyone’s expressions change, the teachers finally left solemnly. The door to the spirit cultivation room was sealed shut, and the lights gradually dimmed.

　　At this moment, although there was still some low conversation in the spirit cultivation room, as time passed, the tension grew stronger and stronger. Gradually, no one spoke, and the room fell into complete silence.

　　In this silence, where one could almost hear their own heartbeat, even Brian Brooks, who was still feeling indignant, couldn’t help but grow nervous. Until half a stick of incense later, the entire airship suddenly shuddered violently—it had entered the thunder-magnetic zone!

　　From the outside, the thunder-magnetic black clouds were incomparably vast, like a giant mouth, directly swallowing the hot air balloon airship, which seemed tiny in comparison.

　　This phenomenon seemed to contain the power of destruction, capable of sweeping away everything. Perhaps only that shocking sword sun in the sky could ignore it all, as if looking down on the world for thirty-seven years was not enough, and it would last even longer.

　　This year was the thirty-seventh year of the Spiritual Era.

　　In the year 3029 AD, Earth’s technology developed rapidly. With no more national borders, the world achieved unification and entered the Federation era. It was at this time that a giant sword flew in from the starry sky, pierced through the sun, and shocked the world.

　　Perhaps because the hilt of this great sword was already damaged, it shattered into countless fragments during the violent impact, scattering across the stars, with some pieces falling to various places on Earth.

　　With the arrival of the bronze great sword and the falling of its fragments, a new type of energy suddenly appeared on Earth, seemingly permeating the world and endlessly abundant. It was later named... spiritual energy!

　　Spiritual energy was like air—dense in some places, thin in others. Because the fragments were obtained by the Federation and various powers, they found on them all kinds of cultivation, artifact forging, alchemy, and spirit stone refining techniques. The characters on them were full of ancient flavor, leading people to study classical Chinese, which became a trend.

　　The emergence of spiritual energy quickly rendered previous energy sources obsolete and changed people’s lives. Not only did it give rise to the spiritual web, but it also altered the course of Earth’s civilization, ushering in an era of cultivation for the entire planet.

　　From then on, ancient martial arts flourished, the world underwent a great transformation, and the age of universal cultivation began.

　　This era was known as the Spiritual Era.

　　At this moment, within the thunder-magnetic black clouds, the slowly moving red hot air balloon airship was being struck by countless bolts of lightning from all sides. Fortunately, a gentle protective light shield spread out around it, keeping the airship perfectly safe.