Brothers Meet

Five black armored soldiers straightened their expressions, lined up, and simultaneously raised their left hands flat against their chests, saluting their fallen comrades.

Then, the burly man who was the captain stepped forward, unleashed his Blazing Battle Qi, and cremated the remains into ashes, which he then collected in a cloth bag he carried.

At this moment, the captain looked at Qi Bei with surprise, his gaze growing more and more convinced that he was the commander's younger brother, Qi Bei Nord.

"May I ask..." the captain was about to speak when a tiger's roar suddenly echoed from afar, interrupting him.

"It's the commander, the commander is here." The other black armored soldiers' faces lit up with excitement. This tiger roar was unmistakably the commander's magical pet, the Earth-Splitting Tiger.

The Earth-Splitting Tiger ranked fifth among magical beasts of tiers one to nine. It needed to be bonded with its master from a young age. Possessing both earth and wind attributes, it was incredibly strong yet swift as the wind, making it an absolutely rare combat-type magical pet.

Qi Bei also recognized the roar. The Earth-Splitting Tiger was a gift his elder brother, Huai'an Nord, received when he became a junior warrior at the age of ten. He was very familiar with it.

Qi Bei's emotions were complex. His body was the same, but his soul was entirely different. Could he truly integrate into this body's identity so easily?

He rubbed a simple, dull ring on his left middle finger. This was the Nord Family's clan ring of the Golden Leaf Dynasty. Every direct descendant of the Nord Family possessed one; it was a symbol of identity and power.

The first patriarch of the Nord Family, Simon Nord, had fought alongside the founding emperor of the Golden Leaf Dynasty, Great Emperor Golden Leaf, in countless campaigns. He was the founding emperor's most meritorious subject, wielding immense power.

Eight hundred years had passed. The Golden Leaf Dynasty had seen ten emperors. Many families that were powerful at the founding had gradually declined, but the Nord Family's glory remained unchanged. Their status as the foremost family in the dynasty was as solid as a rock.

Many commoners believed the Nord Family's enduring prosperity was due to imperial favor. However, the fundamental reason was that the Nord Family had always firmly controlled one-third of the dynasty's military power.

As for imperial favor, it was indeed present on the surface. But anyone at the core of power knew it was a colossal joke. Imagine, if you were the emperor, but your subject controlled one-third of the nation's army, could you truly feel secure on your throne?

However, despite constant internal strife, the Nord Family was united when it came to family interests. Furthermore, each generation produced several prodigies, which was the foundation of the Nord Family's unshakeable status for eight hundred years.

Qi Bei Nord was the biological grandson of the current Nord Family patriarch, Cody Nord, and ranked fifth.

The Nord Family produced many geniuses, but similarly, each generation had its share of failures.

Unfortunately, Qi Bei was a prime example of a failure in this generation. His mother had a difficult childbirth, and he was trapped in the womb for too long, resulting in a weak constitution. This doomed him to be unable to practice martial arts. His magic talent test at age five also proved he couldn't sense natural elements, thus cutting off his path as a natural mage. Coupled with his flighty personality and childish thoughts, he was naturally marginalized.

However, his status was undeniable. With an extremely protective father and elder brother, a life of wealth and comfort was assured.

The reason Qi Bei appeared here was due to an unexpected incident.

That was eight months ago. Qi Bei had sneaked into the Imperial Palace to see Princess Mingyue, whom he had been pursuing. Although Princess Mingyue had always been indifferent to him, he was determined to win her over with persistence, bothering her every few days.

On that day, an undead mage infiltrated the Imperial Palace and took Princess Mingyue hostage. At the critical moment, Qi Bei, without regard for his own safety, charged at the undead mage. Princess Mingyue was saved, but he fell into the mage's clutches.

The heavily injured undead mage fled with him, disappearing into the Undead Mountain Range, a place feared by all.

The undead mage's injuries were too severe to heal, and the frail Qi Bei couldn't endure the ordeal, nearing death.

Both of them collapsed, and both died.

Yes, both died. Qi Bei Nord was already dead.

The current Qi Bei was no longer the original Qi Bei. He was a transmigrator from another world called Earth, a university student who loved adventure, also named Qi Bei. He had found a dragon-shaped stone in the ruins of an ancient civilization, and then the strange power within it had shattered him into pieces. He was an unlucky fellow whose soul had traveled across worlds. However, when he possessed this body, he also gained all of its memories.

Along with Qi Bei's soul came the Dragon Imprint on his left palm and an internal cultivation technique called the Divine Dragon Art.

In the Undead Mountain Range, where undead creatures ran rampant, Qi Bei had no choice. He had died once and didn't want to die again, so he could only try to cultivate the inexplicable Divine Dragon Art.

After cultivating the Divine Dragon Art, Qi Bei's weak body surprisingly grew stronger day by day, and his senses became incredibly sharp.

Qi Bei plundered the undead mage's belongings and obtained some evil magic potions, some gold coins, some magic crystals, a magic staff, and a strange magic book.

However, Qi Bei knew nothing about magic; he couldn't even recognize a single magic character. But through the memories, he remembered the invisibility formation the undead mage had previously set up. This formation required a large number of Undead Beads and only needed a spell to activate the magic within the magic book to trigger it.

Hiding in a cave that saw no daylight for a month, Qi Bei began to venture out to kill some low-level undead.

Thus, for the next seven full months, Qi Bei spent his time in slaughter. Having hovered on the brink of death several times, his will became incredibly strong and calm. The deathly, cold aura he exuded was chilling, yet he did not lose himself.

Practice made perfect. He knew the characteristics of various undead like the back of his hand and understood how to eliminate them in the easiest and most effective way.

During this period, he found a bow, a quiver of arrows, and an archery skill book from an adventurer's corpse. This gave him a means of long-range attack and saved his life on several occasions when he was in desperate situations.

Just then, a gust of wind blew against his face, interrupting Qi Bei's thoughts. A large tiger with blue stripes, about a person's height, appeared before everyone. On the tiger's back sat a burly young man clad in heavy armor. It was Huai'an Nord.

Huai'an Nord scanned the surroundings, his pupils suddenly dilating. He stared intently at Qi Bei, his breathing deepening, his body trembling with excitement.

The moment Qi Bei saw Huai'an Nord's expression, his heart skipped a beat. That trace of apprehension vanished completely, replaced by a surge of familial affection from the depths of his being.

"Big brother, I'm back," Qi Bei said with a smile, his eyes surprisingly moist.

"You little brat," Huai'an Nord dismounted, rushed to Qi Bei's side in two steps, and embraced him tightly with his large arms.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. I knew a Nord wouldn't die so easily. Hahaha." Huai'an Nord patted Qi Bei's back a few times before releasing him.

The large tiger also trotted over to Qi Bei's side, let out a couple of low growls, and nudged his head into Qi Bei's arms.