Northern Territory, Xing Hui Continent — Fu Yun City
In a crowded tavern near the gates of Yin Lin Sword Sect, the buzz of gossip crackled through the air like firecrackers. At one of the wooden tables near the entrance, three men leaned in close, their voices were loud and very excited.
"I'm telling you," a thin man, with a sharp nose and narrow eyes, waved his chopsticks like a storyteller's fan, "it was a golden dragon! So big, it covered the whole sky before flying west—and then, bam! It struck Mount Hu with nine thunderbolts!"
The fat man beside him laughed, his round belly jiggling. He slapped the table hard enough to rattle their teacups. "Yeah! I heard it too. Now even the people in the west are saying Mount Hu doesn't even look like a mountain anymore—it's been fried black ah!"
The third one , a gruff man with a long scar slicing across his cheek, gave a low whistle and crossed his arms. "Tsk, really amazing. It's the first time I've ever seen a real dragon with my own eyes. Thought those things were all legends."
Anyway," the fat man said, scratching his chin, "does anyone know where that dragon came from?"
"Not sure," the thin man shrugged, then he lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. "But rumor says the dragon first showed up near Qi Luo City."
At that, Scarface suddenly straightened. "Qi Luo City? Isn't that where the He Huan Sect is based? Don't tell me—"
The fat man chortled, nearly spitting out his wine. "What? Hahaha! You think the dragon got tricked by a He Huan Sect disciple into becoming their cultivation furnace and got so pissed off it razed a mountain?"
"It's just a theory," Scarface shrugged, eyes glinting with amusement. "We'll probably never know the full story anyway."
Laughter echoed from their table, boisterous and carefree.
—-------
Middle Realm, Xīng Huī Continent, Qǐ Luó City — He Huan Sect
It had been nearly three days since the incident, yet the entire Xīng Huī Realm was still reeling from the disaster. The shock hadn't faded as conversations in every city and sect still circled back to that moment.
Three days ago, it had started as an ordinary day: People bustling about their work, Merchants haggling in the streets, children chasing each other through narrow alleys, and cultivators went about their training
However, in the afternoon, something changed within the movements of the sky. Without warning, the clouds began to churn, and streaks of golden and purple lightning twisted together, spreading across the heavens above Qǐ Luó City.
When the people of He Huan Sect spotted it, their faces changed instantly: It seemed that there someone was undergoing a lightning tribulation right in the heart of Qǐ Luó City.
As cultivators, they were no strangers to lightning tribulations. After all, it was something each of them would face sooner or later once their cultivation advanced beyond the Golden Core stage.
Normally, if someone underwent a tribulation in the city, it wouldn't cause much alarm — the protective array set up by the He Huan Sect could withstand several strikes, buying enough time for everyone to evacuate.
But this time… this time was different.
In the entire history of the Xīng Huī Middle Realm, no one had ever witnessed such an ominous tribulation. Usually, lightning tribulations were blue or white — fierce, but not too much.
However, the one now roaring in the sky was a deep, menacing purple light.
In many ancient books, purple lightning was called divine lightning. It appeared when a high-level cultivator was making a breakthrough — or, in extremely rare cases, when a low-level cultivator had done something so astonishing it defied even the will of the heavens.
And that kind of thing… usually only happened in the Upper Realm, where the true divine clans resided. For such lightning to appear here could only mean one thing — somewhere in Qǐ Luó City, a being of frighteningly high level was undergoing tribulation.
The moment they saw the phenomenon, the He Huan Sect Disciples wasted no time. Urgent warnings were sent out, telling everyone to get away from the danger zone and head toward the sect grounds.
But everything happened too fast. Before even half the crowd could evacuate, the purple lightning struck. The impact split the ground with a deafening crack, the force triggering an earthquake that tore through the city. Buildings crumbled like sandcastles, and the streets split into jagged fissures.
Dust and screams filled the air, and panic swept through the streets as everyone ran for their lives.
However… just when it seemed the worst had passed, a roar suddenly tore through the sky. It echoed across the entire territory, so loud it made the air itself tremble.
The sound left almost everyone momentarily deaf. The stronger cultivators felt blood trickle from their ears, while the weaker ones collapsed on the spot, unconscious before they even knew what had happened.
Suddenly, the clouds above tore apart, and a golden dragon emerged from the sky. Its massive body blotted out the sun. The dragon's eyes blazed, almost burning with pure hatred. Its presence alone was suffocating, and fear gripped the hearts of all who looked up.
For a moment, the entire city thought this was the end — that they would all perish under the wrath of the beast.
But then, without even batting them an eye, the dragon spread its colossal body, and shot into the sky at incredible speed.
A violent gust followed in its wake, so strong it knocked people off their feet and sent loose tiles clattering to the ground. Dust swirled, clothes flapped wildly, and the people's hearts pounded as they caught sight of the dragon's receding figure. It looked like it was chasing something… or someone.
Did they really just survive that
Was everyone's collective thought. People clung to each other, breathless but alive, exchanging shaky smiles as if confirming they'd truly escaped. A few even dared to laugh in disbelief — relief was so close they could almost taste it.
But before anyone could even think about celebrating, the ground suddenly trembled.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice…
Nine times in total, each tremor heavier than the last, as if something massive was hitting the ground.
And then—silence.
No one dared to breathe. The air felt thick and suffocating. Every pair of eyes scanned the skies and streets, hearts hammering, ready for the worst. And they were right to be on guard, because in the next second, a massive golden silhouette broke through the clouds — the dragon had returned.
Then, with its vast, gleaming body, the dragon circled above Qi Luo City like a predator sizing up its prey, Everyone tensed, certain that at any moment, fire would rain down and turn the city to ash.
But the attack never came.
Instead, the dragon banked sharply, soaring toward the far edge of Qi Luo City. When it finally reached the place it had been heading toward, something strange happened:
The golden dragon lowered its massive head and began rummaging through the scattered debris of fallen houses and shattered buildings. Its claws scraped aside rocks and splintered wood, digging with surprising precision for such a huge creature. It was almost like it was… searching for something hidden among the rubble.
A few moments later, maybe it had found what it was looking for, because after scavenging for a long time, the dragon stopped digging.
In the place where no one could see, the dragon lifted its massive tail and swept away the remaining debris with one powerful motion. Dust billowed into the air, and when it cleared, an open patch of ground was revealed.
At the very center of that space lay a figure.
Their clothes were charred and torn, most of the fabric burned away. The once silky white skin was now marred by blackened patches of soot and ash. The moment the dragon saw this, It tilted its head toward the motionless figure and let out a deep, mournful wail. The cry thundered through the city, echoing off walls and rattling windows. It was not the roar of a predator — it was the grieving call of a creature in pain.
Then, the dragon slowly curled its massive body, forming a perfect circle around the figure, as if shielding them from the world. Its tail tucked in close, and its golden scales shimmered under the light, creating the image of an unbreakable fortress.
If someone had witnessed this scene up close, they might have sworn they were looking at a living painting from ancient times
Because it was the very image of a dragon guarding its most precious treasure.
—-------