The city of Nansha had transformed almost overnight. What was once a quiet imperial border city was now overflowing with people. Every inn was full, and the streets were packed with young men and women wearing expensive silk robes and carrying glowing weapons. They had all come for one thing: the opening of the Sacred Mountain.
Xiao Yan sat on the roof of a small building, watching the crowds below. After the demon attack, his name was on everyone's lips, but he preferred the quiet. His body was still recovering, the lingering fatigue from the Red Thunder Merge making his bones ache whenever the wind blew.
"You're brooding again," Michael's voice chirped in his ear. The golden spirit floated into view, looking bored. [Master, the energy in this city is changing. There are at least fifty cultivators in the Divine Realm within three blocks. If you don't recover soon, you'll be a punching bag when that mountain opens.]
"I'm working on it," Xiao Yan muttered. He closed his eyes, focusing on his internal breath. He could feel the three paths—Body, Spirit, and Soul—slowly swirling around his core. The balance was returning, but it was slow. "Three weeks... It's not much time to prepare for a Dragon."
Xiao Yan hadn't told anyone his true goal yet. While others were looking for herbs or ancient swords, he was looking for the Azure Dragon. According to the old records he had found, the Azure Dragon wasn't just a beast; it was a guardian of the Trinity Laws. If he could form a pact with it, he wouldn't just be a "Balance Breaker"—he would be a legend.
"Hey! Xiao Yan!"
He looked down to see Jinyao and Shi Lieya standing in the courtyard. Lieya was polishing her gauntlets, the metal sparking under the sunlight. She looked more excited than ever.
"The City Lord just released the map of the outer peaks!" Lieya shouted up to him. "Everyone is gathered at the plaza to see it. Even that annoying Haoran is there, acting like he owns the mountain already."
Xiao Yan jumped down, landing softly on his feet. The name Haoran always made his blood boil. The young master who had ignored the screams of the people during the demon attack was now parading around like a hero.
"Let's go see it then," Xiao Yan said. "I want to see exactly what we're up against."
As they walked through the city, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Groups of "geniuses" from different empires glared at each other. Near the center plaza, the crowd parted as a carriage made of white jade passed by.
Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks. He felt a sudden, familiar chill in the air. Through the window of the carriage, he saw a glimpse of a white veil. Yan Bingxue. She didn't look out, but he knew it was her. She was cold, silent, and incredibly powerful.
"That's the princess of the north, isn't it?" Jinyao whispered, her voice full of respect. "They say she's already reached the peak of the Divine Realm. Some even say she's touched the Celestial Realm."
"She's a monster," Lieya added, though there was a hint of competition in her voice. "But she isn't the only one we have to worry about. Look over there."
On the other side of the plaza, Haoran was surrounded by a group of followers. He was laughing, tossing a gold coin to a beggar with a look of pure disgust. When his eyes met Xiao Yan's, the laughter stopped.
"Well, if it isn't the lucky brat," Haoran said, walking over with a smirk. "I heard you played hero while the demons were here. Don't think that little trick with the red lightning will save you on the mountain. In there, status and real power are the only things that matter."
Xiao Yan didn't back down. He stepped forward, his eyes calm. "The mountain doesn't care about your status, Haoran. It only cares if you're strong enough to survive."
Haoran's face darkened, but before he could speak, a new carriage arrived at the city gates. This one was simpler, made of dark wood, but it carried an aura of deep intelligence and mystery.
The door opened, and a young woman stepped out. She wore scholarly robes and carried a fan, her eyes scanning the city with a sharp, calculating look.
Xiao Yan felt a strange tug in his heart, similar to the one he had felt with Bingxue and Lieya. It was as if his very soul was recognizing these women one by one.
"The city is getting crowded," Xiao Yan murmured to himself.
For the next few hours, they studied the map. The Sacred Mountain was divided into three sections: the Outer Peaks, the Mist Forest, and the Dragon's Heart. Most people would get stuck in the forest, but Xiao Yan knew the Azure Dragon was waiting in the Heart.
That night, Xiao Yan returned to his room to meditate. He pulled out a small, old scroll. It was a map of the internal meridians of a dragon.
(Michael, if I find the Azure Dragon, what are the chances of a successful pact?)
[Truthfully? 5%,] Michael said, his tone dire. [Dragons hate humans. They see us as ants. But you have the Trinity Path. To a dragon, you aren't an ant—you're a curiosity. You have to prove you're a king, not a beggar.]
"Then I'll prove it," Xiao Yan said, his voice firm.
He spent the rest of the night practicing his Codex Eye. He needed to see through the illusions of the mountain. He also worked on his Tendon Strength, pushing his muscles to the limit until they glowed with a faint golden light.
The three-week wait felt like a lifetime. Every day, more news came in. Rumors of demon sightings near the mountain, news of Haoran breaking through to a new stage, and the mysterious silence of Yan Bingxue, who stayed hidden in her inn.
Xiao Yan used this time to bond with Jinyao and Lieya. They trained together in the woods outside the city. Lieya taught him how to put more explosive power into his punches, while Jinyao helped him refine his spirit control. Slowly, they were becoming a real team.
"One week left," Lieya said one evening as they sat by a campfire. "Are you scared, Xiao Yan?"
Xiao Yan looked at the dark silhouette of the Sacred Mountain in the distance. It looked like a sleeping giant, waiting to wake up and swallow them all.
"No," Xiao Yan said, a small smile appearing on his face.
As the moon rose high, the world grew quiet, the tension of thousands of cultivators hanging in the air like a storm about to break.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!