Chapter 4: Heaven Has Fallen

“I’ll be back soon. Wait for me here.”

Beiyuan stood at the edge of the entire Yan Flame Mountain Great Map, speaking to the Yan King.

He was quite fond of this creature, the very first being he had seen upon being born.

It matched the majestic figure he had dreamed of in his previous life.

If possible, Beiyuan would have loved to bring it along, but he knew all too well what a stir it would cause for a map Boss to leave its own territory.

Right now, he knew absolutely nothing about the Tianjing Clan’s Yunshang Nation, and the Yan King’s enormous, eye-catching body couldn’t possibly be concealed.

All he could do was leave it here to wait for his return.

The Yan King met the boy’s golden gaze, and the blood-borne instinct to submit made it impossible to refuse any of his requests.

Yet, emotionally, it couldn’t bear to let such a youngling wander outside alone.

It had watched him hatch from his shell; not even a day had passed since then! He was still a fragile cub, not even a year old!!

Who could watch him leave? Who could bear to let him face the winds and rain of the outside world alone!?

Even the most foolish would never do such a thing, let alone when the boy before it was like a flower bud yet to bloom, a star yet to rise.

The Yan King understood his significance and value more than anyone else. It would guard him, staying by his side until it could personally witness his brilliance and ascent.

Until then, even if it had to sheath its claws for fear of threatening such a delicate blossom, it remained, in its bones, the violent and terrifying lord of Yan Flame Mountain.

Any mishap or harm that befell him would send this beast into a frenzy!

“How about this,” Beiyuan extended a finger, his golden eyes sparkling, “let’s play hide-and-seek.” He curled his lips in a barely noticeable smile. “Give me an hour to hide, and then you come find me. How about that?”

Despite its remarkable intelligence, the Yan King still mostly followed its beastly instincts and couldn’t process overly complex information. It could only roughly understand that the cub wanted to play a game with it.

Oh, of course, as long as it wasn’t dangerous, it would agree to anything he asked!

So the massive Yan Beast nodded, watching Beiyuan intently and sitting obediently.

“You have to turn around,” Beiyuan said calmly.

As the Yan King obediently turned its back, he activated the Teleportation Array that stood at every map boundary, quickly marking his destination as near Yunshang Nation.

Even if the Yan King couldn’t see, he still waved his hand. “Then, see you in an hour.”

One hour will do it! Let’s go—!

……

Yunshang Nation, true to its name, was a kingdom built above the clouds. Majestic, beautiful, sacred… like the city where gods dwelled in legend.

Beiyuan was teleported to the nearest Trade Station, which was set up on the land below Yunshang Nation.

Looking up, he could see the vast, faintly discernible city high in the sky, along with buildings that seemed to glow with holy light.

But for ordinary people, getting up there was not easy. Yunshang Nation was, after all, the Tianjing Clan’s stronghold.

Outsiders had to complete a series of applications to receive a Pass Permit before they could enter.

However, Beiyuan was only here to trade for some food, so the Trade Station was enough. That lofty kingdom could be admired from afar.

Inside the Trade Station, Beiyuan saw far more people than in Yan Flame Mountain—Players and NPCs alike, roughly a 70-30 split.

Not long after he entered, a few Players had already noticed him. In a world where looks mattered, being cute really was a free pass.

Especially for some Players who frequented the Trade Station, it was obvious at a glance that Beiyuan was an NPC, but it was their first time seeing this character—

So clearly, this was a new, wild NPC!

What did that mean?! It meant they could lick— no, they could interact, or even unlock unprecedented side quests!

Beiyuan could feel at least a dozen covert glances directed at him, but until he reached the service window, most people were still hesitating, not rushing over.

This was part of the “absolute realism” of the myriad races. Every NPC was designed with a unique personality, and some quests required Players to reach a certain favorability level before triggering.

For now, no one was sure what kind of NPC this child was. If he disliked being approached by strangers, rushing up would be a waste.

If such a cute kid disliked them, they’d have nowhere to cry.

So, they chose to wait and see.

“Hello, may I help you?” A female Tianjing Clan NPC sat behind the service window.

This was Beiyuan’s first time seeing a member of the Tianjing Clan. She looked like an angel with wings, except her wings shimmered with a metallic sheen, each feather seemingly solidified, though when folded they appeared soft— an amazing sight.

Curious as he was, now wasn’t the time to study wings. Beiyuan opened the large leaf on his back, revealing the fish inside. “I’d like to trade these for Small Rare Ore, is that possible?”

Poor Beiyuan was just tall enough to reach the window, and had to stand on tiptoe to hand over the fish.

The patient Tianjing Clan woman smiled and took the fish, counting them before confirming, “These are indeed Bigtail Catfish, a rare and hard-to-catch species. We can barter at a rate of ten pieces of Small Rare Ore per fish.”

Not far away, the Players watching secretly felt a jolt in their hearts. Was this kid from the Yan Flame Mountain area? They knew how hard it was to catch Bigtail Catfish, and the little guy didn’t look all that strong. Was there some hidden story here?

The sharper Players tried to check Beiyuan’s info, but all they got was “Insufficient favorability to unlock information”—not a single detail.

This only confirmed their suspicion that this kid was extraordinary.

“I’m sorry, I just received a message from the back office. All the Rare Ore—large, medium, and small—at this Trade Station has been requisitioned by Yunshang Nation. The last batch was reserved ten minutes ago. We have no stock left.” The Tianjing Clan woman apologized, her brows tinged with a fleeting hint of worry.

Requisitioned? A clan skilled in forging weapons collecting large amounts of prime materials? If he wasn’t overthinking it, in this world, that was a sign of a major war brewing.

Beiyuan didn’t show any disappointment, patiently repacking the fish. Luckily, Bigtail Catfish could withstand rough handling and still looked perfect for sale.

Maybe he could try grilling fish when he got back. Though his instincts told him it would be as awkward as a carnivore eating grass, at least it would help with his growing hunger.

“Or…”

A small child, coming and going alone, struggling to carry a huge, tattered bundle— his figure tugged at everyone’s heartstrings, thanks to their overactive imaginations.

Even the Tianjing Clan woman at the window seemed moved. “Or, if anyone here has Small Rare Ore and needs these fish, you could trade privately, without going through the platform.”

—Oh ho!

At those words, the Players who’d been watching for so long could barely contain themselves. “Opportunity” was written all over their faces!

In an instant, people surged from all directions, surrounding Beiyuan just as he was about to leave—

“Me, me, me! I need those Bigtail Catfish!!”

“I’ll take all your fish! I’ll trade Medium Rare Ore for them, okay? And if you have other tasks— or, I mean, if you need help with anything else, just say the word! I love helping others!”

“Hey, don’t push from the back! I’ve been mining for years— little bro, uh, I mean, don’t go, look over here!”

“I just want to get to know you, that’s all.”

“……”

Beiyuan raised an eyebrow, set down his bundle, and chuckled. “Sure.”

No matter how you looked at it, Players in this new era were just too enthusiastic.

When Bai Buwen arrived, he saw a crowd gathered in a circle.

Normally, such excitement at the Trade Station would have piqued his curiosity, but right now, all he wanted was to find the center of the blood’s call.

For some reason, though, the once-clear sense of summoning grew fuzzy as soon as he entered the Trade Station— not the kind of fuzziness that meant it was fading, but more like it was too close…

The nearer he got, the more excited he became, until his mind was nearly feverish, his senses overwhelmed, and he could barely tell north from south.

Where… where…

Meanwhile, Beiyuan, surrounded on all sides, had just traded away his last fish.

Some had exchanged several times the value in Rare Ore for a single fish, which he thought was a bit much, but seeing their faces light up with joy, he couldn’t bring himself to protest.

Maybe that’s just the unique happiness of the wealthy.

He bundled the Rare Ore together with the big leaf, then had a kind soul exchange twenty-five pieces of Small Rare Ore for one Medium Rare Ore.

In total, he ended up with one Medium Rare Ore and thirteen Small Rare Ore—a bundle about the size of one and a half fists.

He had planned to ask about forging the Greattail Catfish King’s Crystal Stone, but with the hour nearly up, and a sense that something big was about to happen in Yunshang Nation, he decided to leave this place of trouble.

The surrounding Players were a bit disappointed, but with so many strange NPCs in the world, they figured Beiyuan’s departure was just a matter of insufficient favorability.

Some had already decided to camp at the Trade Station for a while, hoping for future encounters.

Reluctantly, everyone made way for Beiyuan.

Thus, Bai Buwen, who had come in through the front entrance, finally caught sight of the figure slipping out the back!

“Wait…!!” His eyes widened, blood surging to his face in an instant.

The little child darted nimbly through the crowd and out the Trade Station door, vanishing into the brilliant daylight beyond, growing infinitely distant.

Bai Buwen was bumped by a passerby, stumbled, then scrambled to his feet, chasing after the boy without even steadying himself.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” someone yelled behind him.

But Bai Buwen couldn’t care less. Only one thought filled his mind—

Catch up!!!

The light of the Sky Kingdom spilled onto the earth.

Dressed in a simple Initial Robe, Beiyuan strolled slowly toward the Teleportation Array, popping a piece of Small Rare Ore into his mouth like a candy bean, finally easing the emptiness in his stomach.

Just then, he sensed hurried footsteps approaching from behind.

Someone was drawing near— not hostile, but not just a passerby, either. From the approaching aura, Beiyuan sensed something similar to what he felt from the Yan King, and so he suddenly stopped.

[Wanderer, the most Ancient Blood flows within you.] The words he’d heard earlier echoed in Bai Buwen’s mind as he ran, growing from a faint whisper to a thunderous roar, pounding in his ears.

The most ancient, blood.

It had all happened so suddenly. From the moment he was born into this world, he’d been searching for this person. How long had he searched? An hour, a day? No, it was from the very beginning! As a Dragonkin, before he even knew who he was, he had already been on this path of pursuit.

So now, thinking carefully— what kind of existence was he searching for? Setting aside all the ambiguous narration, who could be called the most ancient?

It was like being asked what color was the most dazzling. There was no single correct answer, but there was always one “color” that came to mind for most people—

Bai Buwen finally caught up to the child who had suddenly stopped. The other had noticed him, and this realization made his breath hitch.

His fingers twitched involuntarily, and before his mind could react further, the person ahead suddenly turned around.

And Bai Buwen saw those golden eyes.

From that moment on, gold became the brightest, most radiant color in his world.

But then, those eyes shifted away from him, looking up at the sky.

…What was he looking at?

Confusion slowly surfaced in Bai Buwen’s sluggish mind, but he had no energy left to dwell on it. Just keeping his wildly beating heart in check was already taking all his self-control.

As for Beiyuan, his attention was elsewhere.

He was gazing at the sky. Thanks to his hypersensitive senses, he was the first on this land to notice the changes above.

In fact, just moments ago, he had suddenly heard screams, chaos, and the sounds of battle from the cloud city overhead. There were also the crashes of buildings collapsing.

He didn’t know what was happening. He’d only arrived less than an hour ago, and though he’d sensed something at the Trade Station, he hadn’t expected things to change so quickly.

—Yunshang Nation was falling.

After Beiyuan, more and more people on the ground began to sense that something was wrong. The commotion in the sky was growing too loud to ignore.

More and more people looked up, seeing debris and stone from collapsing buildings raining down from above.

Even Tianjing Clan members, knocked from the sky, tumbled earthward, their shining wings and shattered spears staining the once-pure clouds with ominous shadows.

“What’s going on? What happened?!” Panic erupted among the crowd.

Bai Buwen, also late to notice the change, instinctively looked to Beiyuan the moment he realized something was wrong.

The little child was staring up at the heavens, seemingly deep in thought.

At that moment, a broken statue plummeted from the sky. It had once depicted a Tianjing Clan figure, but damage and shaking had rendered it unrecognizable, leaving only a pair of wings still intact.

The outstretched wings reflected in Beiyuan’s golden eyes, and in that instant, they too seemed to be tinged with a brilliant gold.

Bai Buwen’s heart suddenly pounded violently. A familiar vision swept over him— he saw a legendary creature, through those golden eyes and those broken wings, casting its shadow upon this world.

Not just him— everyone synced with his vision in the livestream saw it too: the creature spreading its wings, raising its head in a mighty roar.

For a moment, the previously lively chat, filled with all kinds of discussion, was swept away in a tidal wave, unified into a single sentence—

What was gradually awakening in those eyes was…

“A real dragon??!!!”