A vast and mysterious realm floats on the Great Red Sea. The entire Earth of this vast realm is divided into five great domains and two forbidden abysses, which are further divided into subdomains or regions.
The entire Heaven of this Realm is divided into nine distinct Heavens, from bottom to top.
Although there is some dispute regarding its precise name, the powerful forces in this Realm call it the 'Primordial Dragon Sealing Realm. The strongest dragon in the immortal realm above the Nine Heavens is said to have sealed in this Realm.
Almost everyone agrees with this title and the because while lower-quality, diluted dragon blood has been discovered in beasts in this realm, no species has been discovered that has a direct bloodline or resembles naturally born dragons due to the strong, invisible dragon formation; instead, they are only documented in ancient literature as mythical creatures.
And, importantly, there is a common issue in all lifeforms: a stronger curiosity about learning the unknown, which is typically given more priority, and this may have occurred in that particular realm. Because the name of the enigmatic mythological beast 'Dragon' has been used in a number of places throughout this world...
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The Celestial Dragon Millennium Calendar (天龙千年纪),
888 Years of the Lunar Dragon Cycle.
"Lord Venerable!" Suddenly, a young, uncertain, yet excited voice rang out in a quiet hall that was thousands of meters long and hundreds of meters high.
Although the hall was mainly empty, the walls and pillars were adorned with magnificent, royal, artistic, ancient decorations carved with gold and pearls. The boy inside the gorgeous hall was also very attractive, with two large eyes and black, pearl-like pupils, a narrow nose, somewhat thin lips, silver hair, and a well-built frame standing 1.6 meters tall. Overall, he was a stunning adolescent lad.
In fact, the boy was born into this world 10 years ago as a son of Destiny.
His birthdate was auspicious. On that day, a massive mythological beast, like a dragon, circled the entire city nine times, its scream echoing over the entire capital.
At the same time, on a sunny day, golden rain dropped from the sky all day, and numerous human-shaped figures sprinkled flowers around the city, which eventually landed on the bodies of various individuals in the city, prompting many of them to achieve breakthroughs in their cultivation, which then fell on the earth and boosted soil fertility. The skies appeared to be dancing with delight because of his birth, which is why he was given, Xia Jiutian (夏九天).
At the beginning of his life, Xia Jiutian lost his mother, the most valued thing in the universe, even though he came from the most powerful and aristocratic family in this realm. His early years were spent in pain and love for his mother, who died in her maternal stage, but also alone and without familiar attachments. Despite having eight siblings of his own, Xia Jiutian has never heard of any of them in the 10 years since his birth, with the exception of a few distant encounters with his father, and he is unsure if they are still living because these were topics that the maids or servants around him avoided when he questioned them.
So, even though he has a father and siblings in the New World, they are far away from him, which hurts him even more, as he misses them day after day in his lonely life.
Besides his father and siblings, Xia Jiutian had inherited endless wealth, which would not end even if he spent his entire life. But he was desperate to get his father's attention, the only close person he knew in this new, solitary world.
---
After the boy finished speaking, a middle-aged man with a strong physique, 2.3 meters tall, with silver hair, sharp brows, dark, abyss-like eyes, a strong jawline, a handsome face with sage-like features, and a diamond crown on his head, appeared a little ahead of him, his refined body clearly visible even through the navy-blue gold silk robe.
The man was already walking slowly towards an altar located a few meters above the ground in the middle of the hall. After hearing the child's words, the man began to speak without turning around, his voice full of regal authority, yet warm, filling the entire hall.
"You can call me Father when I am alone. And don't be anxious; when this ritual is complete, we will have plenty of time to talk."
Saying this, the man started walking forward faster, and seeing this, the boy also followed him.
After a while, both of them came within ten meters of the altar. Then, the boy, seeing his father, also stopped at that specific distance from the altar.
The altar was 3 meters high and half a meter in diameter, made of unknown, lustrous, crimson jade that shone the entire hall. It was surrounded by a lifelike golden dragon statue, which was so clearly carved that it seemed alive.
The dragon statue's head was on the altar, its mouth open. Floating slightly above its mouth was a golden, bone-like object that radiated heat so intense that anyone without protective measures would melt immediately.
This particular object was half a meter long and about the radius of an arm; it looked like a beast's bone. The scene surprised the boy a lot because, at the age of ten, with his prominent background, he had seen many things, but this was the first time he had seen such a golden bone and a beautiful, lifelike dragon statue with such a strange type of altar.
The man suddenly spoke with authority and seriousness, which awakened the boy from his thoughts.
"Listen carefully: first, take three steps forward and bow to the altar. Then, go closer to the altar and put a few drops of your own blood on it. That's it; that's all you have to do.
With that, the man held a new, golden-colored, small knife, almost identical to the floating object in front of the boy.
After looking at the ritual knife, the boy did not say anything further and took the knife in a somewhat surprised manner.
As his father said, he took three steps forward to the altar and bowed first. After bowing, he went a little closer and, keeping his eyes open, fearlessly stabbed himself in the palm of his right hand with the knife.
The boy felt an unbearable pain in his palm, and surprisingly, the pain was so intense that it spread throughout his body. But the boy did not want to humiliate himself in front of his father, so he endured it with his sheer willpower.
After enduring it for a few seconds, the pain started to subside.
At the time, the boy's hand already started to bleed, but surprisingly, the blood was not completely red like before; it was more like a crimson golden color shade. Then, without further delay, the boy immediately swiped his bleeding right hand along the altar, causing a small waterfall of blood to fall from his cut hand onto the altar.
After removing his hand, the boy immediately looked up because he suddenly felt a strange connection with the bone floating above.
Until he saw nothing strange happen, he thought maybe it was because of the ritual. So, without thinking about anything else, he turned back towards his father hurriedly, because he could not bear the delay to talk with his father alone.
And with an excited face and a bright smile, when he was about to take a step towards his father, the boy saw a strange look on his father's face, a mixture of shock and sadness, something he had never heard of or seen, and he was sure no one in this entire domain had ever seen that kind of face on his father before.
At the very moment when his father's hand rose towards his head, he realized that something had really happened. The boy turned back immediately and saw that the golden, bone-like object that had been floating on the altar had disappeared from its place.
Then, realizing something, when the boy looked up, his whole body went cold at the sight, because the golden bone had already risen a little above his head and was vibrating crazily, yet silently, while floating strangely, as if someone had forcibly held it in place.
Although the boy was very scared after learning the situation he was in, an unknown warmth began to flow in his heart, thinking that his father was protecting him. But it did not last long, because immediately his father's uncertain and sad voice reached his ears: "Son, you are destined to do great things, and this is just a test for you. All of our ancestors are watching us from above. So, with respect for them, accept the challenge fearlessly and confidently as my youngest child.
As soon as the words were finished.
Bannnng?!
The boy felt a blow on the back of his head and neck, causing unimaginable pain, more intense than before, throughout his body. It was as if something was entering his body, burning his flesh and blood, breaking his bones into pieces.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
This time the pain was so unbearable that the boy couldn't control himself and screamed. When the pain further reached beyond his tolerance, and he felt that he might die from it, suddenly some strange symbols floated before his eyes, which he did not recognize but unknowingly understood. Without finding any other way, he began to read them unconsciously.
Bone-amber pillars gleam.
Tears Flow Through Fractured Dreams.
The moment he uttered this gibberish, the pain in his body subsided a little, and, as a result, he regained some of his mental balance.
Then, before he could say anything to his father, his eyes went up to his forehead in fear because, even though he didn't feel any pain at that time, his foot started to disappear into nothingness, and he couldn't feel that foot, as if someone were quickly, yet slowly, erasing ink on paper.
At this time, the boy's fear had reached its peak, even more than his pain. Without delay, he looked to his father for help to protect himself from the sudden disappearance of his own existence.
At that very moment, the boy found some hope in that extreme fear when he saw a look of understanding on his almighty father's face.
But time waits for no one because already, silently, without any pain, something had happened that made his whole existence feel cold. First, his legs disappeared, and now his waist and upper body began to become invisible.
Later, seeing his father's vaguely emotional face without him doing anything, the boy could not help but realize that it was too late and that he would now be lost in the realm of eternal sleep.
Fear had taken over his entire brain, yet he felt a great deal of peace at the moment, as the last wish hidden in his heart was to spend time with his father, which had been partially fulfilled.
So, for the last time, the boy looked at his father's face so that he could see his father better before he went to sleep eternally.
This gradual, complete disappearance, although very fast, seemed like an eternity to him, like an endless despair.
When his disappointment moved from his chest to his throat, suddenly his father, who came closer, placed his hand on his remaining hair and said the last words with warmth yet assurance.
"Don't be afraid; becoming obliterated like this is also a test for you that will further purify your mind, body, and soul from the fear of death, which is the ultimate enemy of havendifiers like us.
You seem to be teleporting somewhere. I wanted to keep you to myself and protect you, but fate had other plans. My blessings are with you on this uncertain journey, and I only want to tell you one thing: never betray yourself in this hellish world. And promise me that you will never give up, never.
After finishing speaking, the man looked at the boy with a heavy heart.
Then the boy, suppressing all his sorrows, pains, and emotions, said loudly with unwavering confidence, "I will, Lord…FATHER.
Saying this, the boy could feel that his time was running out, and this journey was going to be too long for him, so he finally looked at his father and began to picture his face in his mind until he vanished.
Fooosh!!!
Immediately, the boy disappears from there, as if he never existed in this shrine, this city, this dynasty, or even the entire domain.
There were only a few moments between the start of the disappearance and the end, but that was enough for the father and son to say their final goodbyes not.
Now, in this long, empty shrine, the man stands alone, looking at the altar with a strange gaze that appears to be a vague expression of emotion accompanied by a strong killing intent that could vaporize an entire ocean.
Drip drop!... Drip drop!... Drip!
Suddenly, a few drops of blood dripped from the corner of the man's mouth onto the floor, making a thumping sound that echoed throughout the silent hall.
The impact of the events that took place in those few moments was so immense and unimaginable that if the outside world found out about this incident, there would be a huge uproar and chaos.
Forget about the incident. Just in case someone sees that man in this emotional state, they would be scared to death, let alone see him shed a few drops of blood, which was absolutely unimaginable.
Because that man was worshipped by the entire land before he ascended the throne, now, after thousands of years of sitting on the throne, no one can even think of hurting him, let alone have the strength or courage to shed his blood.
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Author's Note:
Phew! What an explosive start! I've been so excited to finally unveil the first chapter of Three Fires, One Heaven! This chapter sets the stage for our hero's journey, and as you can see, his path won't be an easy one.
That final scene with his father left me with chills—what do you all think happened? What's the true purpose of this "test"? The mysteries are just beginning to unfold. Let me know your thoughts in the comments! And of course, don't forget to add this novel to your library and come back tomorrow for the next chapter! Your support keeps the legends flowing.