Lin Yaochen collapsed onto the grass, gasping for air, his mind still in chaos.
Passing through the rift had felt as if the entire world had flipped upside down—when he landed, he couldn't even feel his feet for a moment.
He looked up at the unfamiliar sky and the strange, fantastical forest around him and murmured,
"Is this… the Yao Realm?"
"It is. And luckily you didn't throw up."
"Who—?!" Yaochen spun around, fists clenched, scanning his surroundings.
"What are you looking at?" the voice said again—this time right beside him.
He froze.
Sitting calmly next to him was the familiar black dog—Mozi—its tail lazily swaying, looking far more composed than he was.
"You… you just spoke?"
"Obviously. Who else around here would be talking?" Mozi replied, mildly amused.
Yaochen felt like his brain was about to explode.
"You can talk?! All these years you never—"
"Not speaking doesn't mean I can't speak. I'm a spirit beast, not an ordinary dog."
Mozi shook its fur. "In your world I was sealed and couldn't use spirit speech. The moment we entered the Yao Realm, the seal was lifted."
Yaochen opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"…So you understood everything I ever said?"
"Of course. Your love confessions, your heartbreak sobbing, and even those times you secretly read adult magazines—I remember it all."
"..."
Seeing his frozen expression, Mozi finally softened a little.
"Don't just stand there. The Yao Realm isn't safe."
"Not safe?" Yaochen swallowed. "How much more is there that I don't know?"
Mozi turned slowly, tail swishing.
"Enough to talk about for three days straight. Let's focus on staying alive first."
"Then at least tell me where we are."
Yaochen looked up at the sky, streaked with five faintly glowing colors.
"You don't have any Yao power yet. What matters most right now is that."
Mozi nodded at the Yao Disc in his hand.
"Some Seekers have power but no disc. Yao Discs are extremely rare—and yours is one of the finest ever made. It assisted several Realm Emperors."
It paused. "You must bind it with blood."
"Blood?" Yaochen raised his other hand.
Mozi bit his finger.
"HEY—what are you doing?!"
"Helping you bind it. Hurry—drop the blood onto the Yao Stone."
Groaning, Yaochen did as told.
The blood vanished into the stone, and a beam of light shot into his forehead.
Warmth flooded through his body.
"I feel… lighter. Stronger."
"You've gained low-tier Yao power," Mozi said.
"And then?"
"Train it into mid-tier, maybe even high-tier. But if someone with mid-tier power attacks us now to steal the disc, we're in serious trouble."
"So… people want to steal it? Can't I just give it to them?"
Mozi stared at him darkly.
"The disc is bound to you. They won't let you go—they'll capture you and force you to use it for them. You'll lose your freedom… or worse."
A chill ran down Yaochen's spine.
"Then… just take me to see my grandfather, and I'll go home after that."
"In your current state?" Mozi looked at him. "You won't even reach him."
"Why? Is he… gone?"
"Spit that out!" Mozi stomped angrily. "The Realm Emperor is alive and well!"
"The capital is forbidden without imperial summons. You'd be executed before you reached the gates."
"My grandfather is the Emperor? That means my dad is—"
Yaochen's eyes sparkled.
"So I'm an imperial grandson? People will bow to me, right?"
Mozi shot him a cold look.
"The Emperor doesn't even know you exist."
"…What?"
"You were never registered. You're not royalty—you're an illegal outsider."
"…So I went from imperial grandson to illegal immigrant?"
"You can still meet him—if you gather the Five Yao."
Yaochen sighed.
"This is like Journey to the West."
He looked down at the glowing disc.
"Alright. Guess I really can't go home."
Mozi gently wagged its tail.
"Not if you train and find the Five Yao."
Yaochen slumped.
"I don't have that kind of willpower."
The sky darkened.
"Come," Mozi said. "There's a village ahead. Let's rest."
Yaochen followed silently.
Far away, thin smoke rose between the trees.
And his journey had truly begun.