Western Corridor Plains, a new day began with relentless howling winds.
The airflow in the sky suddenly grew turbulent, and a translucent vortex unexpectedly appeared above the plains.
After a brief distortion, a cluster of figures tumbled out one after another.
Beiyuan spun skillfully, landing first, then loosened Sinsid’s belt.
The Cowboy slowly regained his senses from the dizzying fall and hurriedly checked the fragile creature he was cradling in his palm.
Beiyuan, scanning the surroundings, heard a crisp chirping and turned toward the sound, surprised, “What is this?”
The fledgling bird, with barely developed wings and covered only in a layer of pale blue down, looked up and flapped its short wings energetically, oddly cute in its awkwardness.
Seeing this, Beiyuan said lightly, “The Child of the Wind King actually hatched?” Sensing his approach, the little bird became even more excited, chirping frantically.
“Yeah, it just came out suddenly, startled me,” Sinsid exhaled in relief. “Luckily, I reacted quickly. If I hadn’t caught it in time, this fragile creature might not have survived the space-time turbulence.”
“It seems to really like you,” Sinsid suddenly noticed something and lifted his hand; sure enough, the chick got even more excited as it neared Beiyuan.
Beiyuan explained, “Probably because my power surrounded it inside the Ghost Spider Lady’s belly, so it’s very familiar with my aura.”
Sinsid suddenly understood and finally took in the familiar scenery around them, letting out a long breath as his muscles relaxed.
If he weren’t holding a chick, he wouldn’t mind spreading his arms wide across the grassland and running freely to vent his excitement.
Beiyuan noticed his mood and smiled at him, “We’re back.”
Sinsid grinned widely and nodded hard, “Back!”
Beiyuan asked, “Want to go to another world?”
Sinsid blinked, “Huh? I— do I have to go?”
The Cowboy shivered slightly. Although he had seen many fascinating things in the other world and met many people like Amai, it was far too intense. Coming here too often might be too much for him to handle.
“Don’t worry, I was just saying,” Beiyuan said as he scooped up the Flame King curling its tail on the grass and walked forward.
—He actually had a premonition. Although the Ghost Spider Lady was defeated this time, it probably wasn’t the end.
—It was just the beginning.
Without time to rest, the two agreed to first deliver the chick to the Wind King.
As they headed toward Extreme Frost Valley, they suddenly noticed a large group of people in rough, coarse linen clothes typical of novices gathering on the distant horizon.
The leader was very familiar to Beiyuan—none other than Bai Buwen.
Noticing Beiyuan’s footsteps pause, Sinsid stopped pulling out a cigarette, and his other hand, which was guarding the Silver Star from the shadows, relaxed slightly as he raised an eyebrow.
“You know them?”
“…” Beiyuan answered quietly, “They should be here for me.”
The group was still some distance away, seemingly engaged in a heated discussion. Fragments of their words drifted over:
“We’ve searched every other map, but the remaining clues all point to these few pieces of land.”
“The initial task for the Zhuilongzu is way too hard. When will I finally meet Longlong? Waaah…”
“Brother, hang in there! Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Challenges show our sincerity!”
Sinsid’s expression shifted, sensing Beiyuan’s hesitation. “You don’t look like you really want to see them.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Beiyuan thought for a moment, “I just don’t know how to face them.”
Ultimately, this boiled down to one problem: the inexperienced Beiyuan had no idea how to act as an NPC.
At that moment, a sharp cry rang out from the northern sky.
Two ice-blue silhouettes flew out from Extreme Frost Valley— none other than the Wind King and Ice Phoenix, who had caught the scent of their own Child of the Wind King.
Though Beiyuan had never met the Ice Phoenix before, her appearance was strikingly similar to the Wind King’s, making it clear they were of the same kind.
The players approaching from afar stopped upon seeing this but didn’t notice Beiyuan hidden behind the two massive phoenixes.
“…Where there’s a will, there’s a way?” a player shivered, uncertain what to make of this.
The group exhaled cold air, sensing the sudden drop in temperature from the two phoenixes’ arrival. They looked down at their frostbitten hands and sparse, nearly nonexistent equipment and hugged themselves, trembling.
On the plains, the Wind King flapped his wings slowly to land, his excitement barely contained.
Compared to the relatively restrained male bird, the Ice Phoenix, as a mother, immediately approached Beiyuan, even exposing her vulnerable neck as she lowered her head to nuzzle the chick in his palm with her beak.
Then, with one wing, the Ice Phoenix tapped the Wind King behind her and let out a prompting cry.
The Wind King shivered all over, then bowed deeply, preening his feathers meticulously before picking up a basket of items in his beak and eagerly placing them before Beiyuan.
Sinsid glanced over and his eyes lit up, “Whoa, Froststone!”
Unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, it had ended up in his hands.
When they handed over the chick, its pitiful cries tugged at Sinsid’s sympathy.
After finally lifting the chick, Beiyuan expressed immense gratitude, implying he could come to Extreme Frost Valley anytime he needed Froststone, as if a fire were burning behind him.
—Damn!
“Would you call this an overnight fortune?” Sinsid joked, helping Beiyuan count the Froststone.
“How so?” Beiyuan collected the Froststone carefully.
“Froststone is incredibly rare and precious outside. Now the Wind King has agreed to supply it to you indefinitely.”
“Compared to rare crystals or your Silver Star’s power crystals, how does it measure up?”
“…” Sinsid thought of Beiyuan casually throwing a power crystal from the Clock Tower and fell silent. Those were priceless treasures, incomparable to anything else.
Beiyuan sighed lightly, “Not even enough for a meal.”
Sinsid sighed deeply for his friend’s predicament, “This won’t work long-term. Have you thought about running a sustainable enterprise or organization?”
Beiyuan paused and then glanced at the hesitant, uncertain players in the distance, “I actually have plans for that.”
Dragging things out wasn’t a solution. Beiyuan had been thinking about these players for days. Compared to Sinsid, also an NPC, no other Cowboys who followed him in Western Corridor Plains had come searching during his days of absence.
Sinsid: ??? Although that’s true, isn’t it a bit sad?
Still, the saddened Sinsid firmly reassured Beiyuan, “They said it’s just a lack of security.”
“Like me, everyone knows my roots are in Western Corridor Plains, so no matter how many days I disappear, other Cowboys won’t worry because they know I’ll always return.”
“If you want to accept them, you just need to give them a sense of security— let them know you’re always there.”
So, what Beiyuan needed to do was provide the Zhuilongzu with the same sense of assurance. In other words— he needed a long-term base that could accommodate everyone, including himself, just like Western Corridor Plains.
This long-term base within the Wanzu World was officially called a “Subterritory.” Originally it belonged to a tribe’s leader, but for some reason, Beiyuan didn’t have one, meaning he needed to fight for it himself.
Beiyuan shared his plan with Sinsid, who suddenly grew serious and furrowed his brow, “There are only two ways: either you seize a Subterritory already owned by someone else, or you pioneer a wild no-man’s land.”
“Pioneering takes a very long time, and if the land is occupied by monsters or has harsh weather and scarce resources, you could fail anytime.”
Beiyuan considered this and said, “Sounds like you want me to pick the first option.”
Sinsid laughed, “Actually, there’s a third way,” pointing at himself, “My Western Corridor Plains—you can choose any part you want.”
Beiyuan: “…”
Beiyuan: “No thanks.”
Ignoring Sinsid’s disappointed “Eh? Why?” beside him, Beiyuan picked up the Froststone and started walking back. He needed to go to Yunshang Nation and hand the materials to a Craftsman.
“Don’t care about those people?” Sinsid nodded toward the players behind them.
Beiyuan paused, then continued, “Not the right time. I’ll deal with them after I find a well-established, ownerless Subterritory.”
Sinsid, overhearing this, found it hard to believe— he thought Beiyuan was joking. After all, wasn’t that like waiting to inherit billions overnight? Probably even less likely.
The next day, the Wanzu World suddenly announced a new instance—
The vibrant promotional image depicted an ancient city, silent and mysterious. Black, thick chains flashed across the screen, locking everything down and adding a terrifying atmosphere to the map.
An indecipherable Totem seemed to proclaim the civilization that once existed here. Faint whispers echoed across the desolate wasteland, telling untold stories.
【New Instance Map—】
【Eternal Instance: Ruined City, Prophecy of the Eternal Oath. Awaiting your arrival to explore the mysteries beyond.】
The news soared across StarNet, quickly rivaling the hot searches from two days ago— “Unknown Dragon Shadow at Saen Clan Royal City Crown Prince’s Ceremony,” “Most Beautiful Ice Dance in History,” and “Saen Clan’s Refusal to Respond to Performance Incident”— all wildly trending.
In the Wanzu World, where there was no promotional trailer, it was as if news of this ancient ruin had spread everywhere overnight.
Even the Parrotbirds known for mimicking human speech repeatedly squawked hoarsely—
“They say countless treasures are buried there.”
“They say there are even Abyss-level monsters! Shhh, don’t disturb their slumber!”
“You’re looking for death! You should know when to turn back!”
Almost every tribe immediately mobilized. Within just a few hours, Sinsid encountered several teams requesting to pass through Western Corridor Plains to negotiate with their leader.
“Look,” Beiyuan waved the scroll printed with the news in his hand.
Sinsid asked, “What?”
Beiyuan said, “My Subterritory has arrived.”
Sinsid: …!