The bell continued to ring.
BOOOOOONG.
Its enormous sound rolled across the Imperial City like thunder.
Dao stood in the middle of the street, staring toward the Imperial Palace.
The golden rooftops of the palace reflected the afternoon sunlight, but something about the sight had changed.
A strange tension had settled over the city.
The merchants had stopped shouting.
Children were being pulled away from the streets by their parents.
Cultivators who had been casually walking through the city now stood still, their expressions serious.
Even the guards surrounding Dao had forgotten about him for a moment.
Everyone was looking toward the palace.
BOOOOOONG.
The second bell shook the windows of nearby buildings.
Dao felt the vibration travel through the stone beneath his feet.
He looked around.
Dao: "Why is everyone acting like the world is ending?"
One of the guards swallowed.
Guard: "The Imperial Alarm..."
Dao raised an eyebrow.
Dao: "Yeah, I figured that part out."
The guard looked at him as if Dao had said something ridiculous.
Guard: "That bell hasn't been sounded in over three hundred years."
Dao paused.
Dao: "Oh."
He looked toward the palace again.
Dao: "That's probably bad."
The guard pointed his spear at him.
Guard: "Don't move!"
Dao looked at the spear.
Then at the guard.
Dao: "You still care about this?"
The guard's expression hardened.
Guard: "Hand over the token!"
Dao sighed.
He had completely forgotten about it.
His fingers touched the jade token hidden inside his clothes.
The moment he touched it, that strange sensation returned.
It was faint.
Almost impossible to notice.
But it felt similar to the sensation he had experienced inside the Void.
Dao's expression became serious.
Dao: "This thing..."
Before he could finish—
A figure landed on the roof above them.
The impact cracked several tiles.
Dust drifted through the air.
Everyone looked upward.
A man stood on the rooftop wearing dark Imperial robes.
He looked to be in his thirties, with long black hair tied behind his head.
A sword hung from his waist.
His eyes swept across the street.
Then stopped on Dao.
The man's expression changed.
For just a moment, Dao felt something strange.
Pressure.
Not qi.
Something much heavier.
The surrounding air seemed to become denser.
Several ordinary people immediately dropped to their knees.
The guards lowered their heads.
Dao remained standing.
The man stared at him.
Man: "You."
Dao pointed at himself.
Dao: "Me?"
Man: "What did you do?"
Dao shrugged.
Dao: "Nothing."
The man narrowed his eyes.
Man: "Then why did the Imperial Alarm activate?"
Dao looked toward the palace.
Dao: "I don't know."
The man slowly descended from the roof.
His feet touched the ground without making a sound.
Man: "Give me the token."
Dao looked at him.
Dao: "Why?"
Man: "Because that token belongs to the Imperial Family."
Dao glanced down at his clothes.
Dao: "Then why was a thief carrying it?"
The man's expression became colder.
Man: "That is something the thief will explain."
Dao looked toward the thief.
The man was still lying on the ground.
He had been completely silent throughout the conversation.
Dao noticed something.
The thief wasn't afraid of the guards.
He wasn't afraid of the Imperial cultivator.
He was staring at Dao.
His eyes were filled with fear.
Not fear of Dao's strength.
Fear of what Dao represented.
Dao crouched beside him.
Dao: "Who are you?"
The thief didn't answer.
Dao leaned closer.
Dao: "You stole this token?"
The thief shook his head.
Thief: "No."
Dao frowned.
Dao: "Then why did you have it?"
The thief's lips trembled.
Thief: "It was given to me."
Dao's eyes narrowed.
Dao: "By who?"
The thief looked toward the Imperial Palace.
Then he whispered.
Thief: "A man who shouldn't exist."
Dao became silent.
The wind moved through the street.
For some reason, those words reminded Dao of Kio.
A man who shouldn't exist.
A fragment of Nothing.
The Void.
Dao stood.
Dao: "What did he look like?"
The thief swallowed.
Thief: "He looked..."
He hesitated.
Thief: "Like you."
Dao's expression froze.
For the first time since entering the Imperial City, he didn't have a joke ready.
The Imperial cultivator immediately stepped forward.
Man: "What did you say?"
The thief pointed toward Dao with a trembling finger.
Thief: "He looked exactly like him."
The crowd began whispering.
Dao slowly looked at the token in his hand.
The nine stars around the black crown seemed darker now.
Then—
The token moved.
Not physically.
The engraving itself seemed to shift.
One of the nine stars disappeared.
Dao stared.
Eight remained.
A cold sensation passed through his body.
Dao: "Interesting."
The Imperial cultivator drew his sword.
The blade came out with a sharp metallic sound.
SHING!
Dao looked at him.
Dao: "You're going to attack me?"
Man: "If necessary."
Dao sighed.
Dao: "I really don't want to fight right now."
The cultivator raised his sword.
Man: "Then surrender."
Dao looked around the street.
Hundreds of people were watching.
The Imperial guards had surrounded him.
The palace alarm continued ringing in the distance.
And somewhere beyond the city...
His companions were waiting for him.
Dao scratched his head.
Dao: "Fine."
The cultivator relaxed slightly.
Dao: "I'll surrender."
The cultivator blinked.
Man: "You will?"
Dao smiled.
Dao: "After I do this."
Dao disappeared.
The cultivator's eyes widened.
BOOM!
A burst of air exploded through the street.
Dao appeared behind him.
The cultivator immediately turned and swung his sword.
Dao ducked underneath the blade.
The sword passed above his head.
Dao stepped forward and tapped the man's chest with two fingers.
Dao: "You're slow."
The man's eyes widened.
Dao kicked him.
The impact sent him flying through the wooden wall of a nearby building.
CRASH!
People screamed and scattered.
Dao looked at his foot.
Dao: "I didn't even kick that hard."
The guards charged.
Dao sighed.
Dao: "Seriously?"
He moved.
His body twisted strangely.
One guard swung a spear.
Dao stepped inside its range.
He grabbed the shaft, pulled the guard forward, and used his momentum to throw him into another guard.
Two more attacked from opposite directions.
Dao leaned backward.
Their weapons passed inches from his face.
He spun between them and swept both their legs out.
They crashed onto the pavement.
Dao looked around.
Dao: "Anyone else?"
Silence.
The guards stared at him.
Dao smiled.
Dao: "Good."
Then—
A voice came from behind him.
Voice: "Enough."
The entire street became silent.
Dao turned.
An old man was walking toward him.
He wore simple gray robes.
No armor.
No sword.
No visible treasure.
Yet every cultivator in the street immediately dropped to one knee.
The Imperial guards lowered their heads.
Even the man Dao had kicked through the wall struggled to stand before kneeling.
Dao looked at the old man.
The old man looked at Dao.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the old man smiled.
Old Man: "Interesting."
Dao tilted his head.
Dao: "You're the guy from the palace."
The old man's smile disappeared.
Old Man: "You saw me?"
Dao shrugged.
Dao: "I felt someone looking at me."
The old man stared deeply into Dao's eyes.
His expression slowly became more serious.
Old Man: "You truly don't have qi."
Dao smiled.
Dao: "Nope."
The old man stepped closer.
Dao could feel something strange around him.
It wasn't simply cultivation.
The old man seemed connected to the entire Imperial City.
The buildings.
The formations beneath the streets.
The enormous walls.
Even the air.
It was as though the city itself recognized him.
Old Man: "What is your name?"
Dao: "Dao."
The old man repeated the name quietly.
Old Man: "Dao..."
His eyes narrowed.
Old Man: "You shouldn't exist."
Dao laughed.
Dao: "I've heard that before."
The old man looked at the jade token.
Old Man: "Where did you get that?"
Dao pointed toward the thief.
Dao: "He had it."
The old man looked at the thief.
The thief immediately lowered his head.
Old Man: "Bring him to the palace."
Two guards grabbed the thief.
He began struggling.
Thief: "No! Don't take me there!"
Dao watched carefully.
The fear in the thief's eyes was genuine.
Dao: "Why doesn't he want to go?"
The old man didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Dao.
Old Man: "And you will come with me."
Dao blinked.
Dao: "Why?"
Old Man: "Because the Imperial Palace has been searching for you."
Dao's expression changed.
Dao: "Searching for me?"
The old man nodded.
Old Man: "For a very long time."
Dao looked toward the palace.
The golden roofs seemed much less beautiful now.
They looked like the entrance to something enormous.
Something ancient.
Something that had been waiting.
Dao smiled.
Dao: "Then I guess I should finally visit."
The old man turned around.
Dao followed.
But before they could leave, the jade token suddenly became hot.
Dao stopped.
The black crown on the token began glowing faintly.
One of the remaining stars disappeared.
Seven remained.
Dao's smile vanished.
Far away—
Beyond the Imperial City.
Beyond the realm.
Beyond countless worlds.
Something opened its eyes.
A voice whispered through the endless Void.
Voice: "Another fragment has awakened."
And somewhere even farther away...
Something answered.
Voice: "Find him."
The seven remaining stars on Dao's token began to tremble.
Dao looked down.
For the first time...
He felt something watching him.
Not from the Imperial City.
Not from this realm.
From somewhere beyond everything.
Dao slowly smiled.
Dao: "So it begins."