In the shadow of the Cloud Serpent Mountains, the remnants of the Azure Lotus Sect clung to life.
Crumbling stone courtyards and vine-choked pavilions. Broken statues of Sect's old glory lay forgotten beneath the moss. Azure Lotus Sect, where once thousands of disciples trained. Now only a few figures remained — grey-robed elders with hollow-eyed waiting to die and some disciples.
Among them was Wei Yunlong. Sixteen year old, sharp-eyed, lean, and sun-browned skin. He became orphaned when outer branch guards abandoned their post during a beast tide. His only legacy was the junior outer disciple robe and a name given to him by his family. His family died during the beast tide while protecting him.
Most called him useless.
"No spiritual root," the Apothecary Master had said when he was five. "A child of stone — unable to draw in even a strand of qi."
Yet, Wei Yunlong endured.
Every morning, Yunlong climbed the Thousand-Step Path to the Training Hall. Every night, he sat in the library, copying torn scrolls by moonlight with homemade ink. He wasn't motivated by talent — it was deep-seated hunger.
Hunger - for freedom, escape, and chance to forge his own Path.
One morning, Yunlong stood in front of a collapsed storehouse behind the Hall of Treasures. It had caved in years ago during a thunderstorm, no one bothered to clear it. But something had called Yunlong in his dreams — a quiet pulse, like a heartbeat beneath stone.
Now Yunlong working tirelessly with his makeshift pickaxe, he cleared rubble for hours. Dust choked his lungs, blood stained his fingers. As the sun reached its peak, his pick struck metal.
Clang.
A dull chime echoed from the debris.
Clearing the last stones, Yunlong uncovered a small compass, intricately carved with interlocking rings and strange runes. The center bore a single jade shard — not a pointer, but a moving star.
When his fingers touched the jade, a cold wind howled through the ruined hall.
"Seeker of Exchange. Bearer of Balance."
A voice whispered into his mind.
"You who have nothing — become the bridge between worlds."
The compass pulsed. A flash of silver light swallowed him.
In the blink of an eye, he teleported from the mortal realm.
—
Yunlong now in a realm of floating islands, rivers of stars, and drifting palaces built upon comets. The sky shimmered with colors he had no name for. Strange merchants hawked wares beneath moonlight trees — selling flying beast eggs, flame-infused pills, and tiny universes sealed in bottles.
Hovering before him was the Celestial Trade Compass, glowing with soft jade light.
A panel opened on its face.
Access Granted: Initiating Trader's Path.
Realm Access Level: Locked
Starting Capital: 0
Initial Exchange Point: Activated
As Wei Yunlong stared in awe, the voice returned.
"Welcome, Jade Nomad. Let the first trade begin."