Actions from all sides, strange abilities

High above the sky, a slightly odd-looking, petite falcon glided forward, riding the updrafts.

Now flapping its wings, now tucking them in, its small head constantly scanned the land below.

Suddenly, its eyes lit up.

Its body tilted, and it shot like an arrow toward the vast, majestic ancient city that stood on the earth like a giant.

Heavenly Capital, the great capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty that had stood unshaken for a thousand years.

At this moment, it was the liveliest time of day.

Carriages streamed like water, people came and went, and all kinds of hawking cries rose one after another—a thriving, prosperous scene.

Soon, this unusual falcon descended toward the very center of the capital, toward the magnificent and splendid inner city perched at the highest point, and finally disappeared into a government mansion.

Heavenly Governance.

In the dim surroundings, a single candle flame burned slowly.

Seated cross-legged in the room was an extremely strange old man. His body was gaunt, his face bore two pairs of eyes, and his head of white hair, which felt nothing like human hair, hung loosely.

If not for the slight rise and fall of his withered chest, one might have doubted whether he was still alive.

Suddenly, he slowly opened those two pairs of murky eyes, and a hoarse voice sounded in the silent, dim room:

"Another message has arrived?"

No sooner had the words fallen than a faint bird call rang out, causing the candle flame to flicker unsteadily.

Swoosh!

A faint sound emerged—it was an extremely tough, thin strand... no, that wasn't right, it was a strand of hair from the old man's head.

This strand of hair rose as if possessed, twisting like a living snake, and in a few swift moves, it bound the culprit that had made the bird call.

Then it rapidly retracted, finally landing gently in the old man's withered palm.

Only then did the old man unhurriedly release this slightly odd-looking falcon, pull a slip of paper from its foot, and then wave his hand.

The bird, somewhat frightened out of its wits, hastily flew away.

The old man chuckled softly, then opened the slip of paper and examined it closely.

A long moment passed.

"Another creature suspected of carrying dragon blood? Spoken with such conviction. Very well, very well, do as you please."

The old man shook his head slightly with a noncommittal air, then paid it no further heed, letting them go ahead.

After all, this wasn't the first time he'd seen such news. In fact, ever since he took up the post of master of Heavenly Governance in his youth, he had encountered countless reports like this.

But over all these years, from his vigorous youth to his decrepit old age, he had never once seen a true creature bearing the bloodline of a real dragon.

Nor had anyone else—this Great Zhou Dynasty had spent a thousand years without finding a true dragon.

If not for the founding emperor, Grand Ancestor Zhou, leaving a record of dragons in his personal notes, calling them the most perfect beings, and claiming that possessing one would grant the Great Zhou eternity, probably few would have taken it seriously at all. So the old man had long since given up hope.

Normally, such news shouldn't have reached him. That it had been passed to him now was only because the person who sent it was someone special, with an extraordinary connection to him.

Ah well, young people always need some vitality. Let him stir things up.

The old man's four eyes were filled with kindness.

Soon, as the old man made his decision, a secret order was transmitted outward.

Elsewhere, in Peace County, inside a certain hidden chamber.

"Everyone, what do you think? Is this intelligence credible?"

A deep, steady voice rang out.

"The information was sent by Snake Aunt. I worked with her for many years, and I know her character well. She wouldn't exaggerate or deceive on a matter of such importance."

Another voice replied, then shifted tone: "However, I still have doubts about this news. Perhaps Snake Aunt herself was deceived or mistaken?"

"No. Among us, Snake Aunt understands these creatures best. Many of our brothers owe their breakthroughs to her medicines. So what if this fact might actually be true?"

As soon as these words fell, someone questioned, "Ha, how is that possible! I admit Snake Aunt is indeed remarkable and has helped our brothers a lot—I respect her deeply. But the Great Zhou spent a thousand years without finding anything. How could Snake Aunt alone succeed now? More likely, the Great Zhou deliberately leaked this news. After all, ever since the River East incident, we've been on their radar."

In an instant, after the first person spoke up, all kinds of arguments erupted, a chaotic mix.

"Quiet!" A gruff voice suddenly boomed, instantly silencing everyone present. "What's the use of all this talk? Just ask yourselves: are we sending people or not?!"

The first voice paused for a moment: "Well... I know Snake Aunt's character well. If we don't go and the news turns out to be true, we'll be handing the prize to the Great Zhou for nothing. Then we really won't be able to resist them."

"But if we do go, I'm afraid our brothers might all be lost in there. How about this: we first send a few sharp-eyed scouts to investigate the situation before deciding?"

"Hmm... fine."

"I think that makes sense."

At this moment, Bai Chuan had no idea that simply sneaking away with a small wooden box had stirred up so much trouble.

Of course, even if he had known, he wouldn't have regretted it. From the moment he made up his mind, he had already considered the worst-case scenario.

And indeed, right now he was hard at work trying to dive into the sea.

By now, it was already the third day since Bai Chuan had entered the great river and drifted along with the current.

And on this day, he had finally fully scanned and analyzed the entire Ice Silkworm.

But the abilities displayed by this model were somewhat strange.

'Race: Silkworm (Ice Blood Cold Silkworm)'

'Abilities: Spit Silk and Form Cocoon LV2, Symbiosis LV2 (Loves Cold), Metamorphosis Development LV1, Dormant Molting LV1.'

These were the abilities Bai Chuan had scanned. On the surface, they seemed to have absolutely no connection to the power it had displayed, and the ability descriptions came with no specific explanations whatsoever.

It looked like nothing more than an ordinary little creature, yet this tiny being could unleash an icy attack that even made him somewhat wary.

This left Bai Chuan utterly baffled.

The only thing that made him slightly suspicious was the ability "Symbiosis LV2 (Loves Cold)," because it was the only one that had even a tenuous connection to ice.

[Symbiosis LV2 (Loves Cold): Allows the host to enter symbiosis with other organisms.]

But if this really was the ability, he felt something was off. He had first seen a similar ability on the Rat long ago, and other animals also possessed it.

It was a fairly common, ordinary ability. The only thing that seemed strange was the tag description attached to it.

This made Bai Chuan wonder—could this be a special species that had emerged from a mutation of this ability?

Or perhaps this icy power...

At a certain thought, Bai Chuan hesitated.

Instinctively, he found it hard to accept. Maybe what he truly wanted was something like the magical power, spiritual energy, or even internal force he had seen in media from his past life.

Ah, forget it. Before testing and verifying anything, he shouldn't jump to conclusions.

So, he decided to find a spot to strengthen himself first, to personally experience and test whether it was true or not.

He looked around at his surroundings. He had no idea where he was now, but he knew one thing—any decently large river was basically connected to the sea.

As the saying goes, the sea accepts all rivers, and its capacity is vast.

He firmly believed that as long as he followed the river's flow, he would eventually reach the sea.

But for now, it was time to go ashore first.