High above the sky, a petite falcon with a somewhat peculiar appearance glided forward, riding the rising currents of air.
At times it beat its wings; at others, it folded them. Its little head kept surveying the land below.
Suddenly, its eyes lit up.
Tilting its body, it streaked toward the vast, magnificent ancient city that stood upon the earth like a giant.
Heavenly Capital, the great capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which had stood for a thousand years without falling.
At this moment, it was the busiest time of day.
Carriages rolled along the streets, people came and went, and vendors' cries rang out one after another—a truly thriving scene.
Before long, the unusual falcon descended toward the very center of the capital, the splendid and imposing inner city standing at its highest point, and finally disappeared into a government compound.
The Heavenly Governance Bureau.
In the dim room, a candle burned slowly.
An exceedingly strange old man sat cross-legged inside. He was gaunt, and two pairs of eyes grew on his face. His head was covered in white hair that had a texture unlike human hair, hanging loose and unkempt.
If not for the faint rise and fall of his sunken chest, one might have wondered if he were already dead.
Suddenly, he slowly opened both pairs of cloudy eyes. His hoarse voice rang through the silent, dim room:
"Has another message arrived?"
Not long after he spoke, a faint birdcall sounded, making the candle flame flicker.
Whoosh!
A faint sound cut through the air. It was a strand of incredibly tough thread... no, that wasn't right. It was a strand of hair from the old man's head.
The strand rose as if it had a mind of its own. Like a living snake, it swiftly wrapped around the culprit that had chirped.
Then it tightened rapidly and finally settled gently into the old man's withered palm.
Only then did the old man leisurely release the somewhat peculiar falcon. He pulled a slip of paper from its leg, then flicked his hand.
The terrified bird immediately flew off in a panic.
The old man chuckled, then opened the slip of paper and studied it carefully.
After a while,
"Another creature suspected of carrying Dragon Blood? They sound so certain. Well, never mind. Let them do as they please."
The old man gave a noncommittal shake of his head and paid it no further heed, letting them get on with it.
After all, this wasn't the first time he'd received news like this. Ever since he'd taken up the post of head of the Heavenly Governance Bureau in his youth, he'd seen countless such reports.
Yet over all these years, from the prime of his life to his present frail old age, he had never seen a living being that truly possessed True Dragon blood.
And it wasn't just him. In a thousand years, the Great Zhou Dynasty had never found a True Dragon.
If the founding emperor, Grand Ancestor Zhou, hadn't left a record of dragons in his personal notes, describing them as the most perfect creatures and claiming that obtaining one would grant the Great Zhou eternity,
probably few people would have taken the matter seriously. So the old man had long since given up hope.
Normally, news like this shouldn't have reached him. The only reason it had was that the person who sent it was unusual, and had a very close relationship with him.
Well, the young always needed a little energy. He could let him run around and make a fuss.
Kindness filled all four of the old man's eyes.
Soon, after the old man made his decision, a secret order was sent out.
Elsewhere, in Peace County, inside a hidden chamber.
"Everyone, do you think this news is true?"
A deep, steady voice rang out.
"The report came from Snake Aunt. I worked with her for many years, so I know what kind of person she is. She wouldn't exaggerate the facts and deceive us about something this important."
Another voice replied, then changed tack. "Still, I have my doubts about this report. Perhaps Snake Aunt herself was deceived and got it wrong?"
"No. Snake Aunt knows more about these creatures than any of us. Many of our brothers owe their breakthroughs to her potions. So what if, just maybe, this is true?"
As soon as the voice fell, someone challenged it. "Ha! How could that be possible? I admit Snake Aunt is impressive. She's helped our brothers a lot, and I admire her too. But the Great Zhou spent a thousand years searching without success. How could Snake Aunt have found one all by herself? I'd say the Great Zhou deliberately released this news. After all, ever since the incident in River East, we've been in their sights."
For a time, after the first person spoke up, all sorts of debate broke out, and the room became a chaotic din.
"Quiet!" A rough voice boomed, silencing everyone present. "What's the point of arguing about it here? The question is, should we send some people or not?!"
The first voice fell silent for a moment. "Well, we know what kind of person Snake Aunt is. If we don't go and the news turns out to be true, won't we be handing the Great Zhou a windfall? Then we really will be powerless to fight back."
"But if we go, I'm afraid all our brothers will end up dead in there. How about this: we send a few clever ones to scout out the situation first, then decide what to do?"
"That works."
"I think that makes sense."
At that moment, Bai Chuan had no idea that simply sneaking away with a small wooden box had caused so much trouble.
Of course, even if he'd known, he wouldn't have regretted it. From the moment he'd made up his mind, he'd already considered the worst-case scenario.
And now, he was working hard to reach the sea.
It was already the third day since Bai Chuan had entered the great river and drifted along with its current.
On this day, he finally finished scanning and analyzing the entire Ice Silkworm.
But the abilities revealed by the model were somewhat strange.
'Species: Silkworm (Ice Blood Cold Silkworm)'
'Abilities: Spinning Silk and Forming a Cocoon LV2, Symbiosis LV2 (Cold-Seeking), Metamorphosis LV1, Dormant Molting LV1.'
These were the abilities Bai Chuan had scanned. At first glance, they had no connection whatsoever to the powers it had displayed, and their descriptions offered no specific details to explain them.
It looked like an ordinary little animal, yet this tiny creature could unleash Frost Strike attacks that even frightened him.
Bai Chuan couldn't make heads or tails of it.
The only ability he found suspicious was "Symbiosis LV2 (Cold-Seeking)," since it was the only one even remotely connected to ice.
[Symbiosis LV2 (Cold-Seeking): Allows the host to enter into symbiosis with other creatures.]
But if that really was the ability responsible, something still felt off to him. He'd first seen a similar ability in a Rat, and other animals had it too.
It was a fairly common ability. The only odd thing was the tag appended to its name.
Bai Chuan wondered if this was a special species that had appeared because the ability had mutated.
Or perhaps this power of Frost...
At the thought, Bai Chuan hesitated.
Instinctively, he found the idea hard to accept. Perhaps what he wanted was the sort of power he'd seen in the movies and TV shows of his previous life: magic, spiritual energy, or even inner strength.
Sigh, never mind. Until I've tested and verified it, I shouldn't jump to conclusions.
So he decided to find somewhere to strengthen himself first, then test it firsthand to see whether his guess was right.
He looked at the surroundings. He had no idea where he was now, but he knew one thing: nearly every sizable river connected to an estuary.
As the saying went, the sea could embrace a hundred rivers, and that was what made it vast.
He firmly believed that if he followed the course of the river, he would eventually reach the sea.
But for now, it was time to go ashore.
Before you continue