"Desert City's lord seems to be a Nine-Star Dou Wang, one of the Ten Strongest from the previous generation..."
Now dressed in a light, comfortable outfit, Yun Zimo walked at an unhurried pace. The closer he came to the massive ocher city on the edge of the desert, the more distinctly he felt the inexplicable heat.
"Move it! Pick up the pace!"
Since Desert City stood near the Tagor Desert, the Snake-People often raided the nearby towns. The soldiers stationed there were all elite troops from the empire, but perhaps because the weather had been scorching for so many years, the guards at the city gates seemed especially irritable.
He tossed a gold coin into the tollbox. It rang as it landed. Unwilling to invite trouble, Yun Zimo calmly stepped through the gate. Whether it was because of his generous payment or his noble bearing, the guards didn't curse him as they usually might. They even bowed respectfully.
After hesitating for a while at the crossroads, Yun Zimo still headed for the map shop. The other road led to the city lord's residence...
"Old sir, do you have the most detailed map of the desert?"
Yun Zimo had barely set one foot inside the dimly lit map shop when his voice rang out.
In the faint glow, an old man with white hair and blue robes lay quietly over the counter, carefully drawing a map.
"The maps are on the shelves. Help yourself."
The old man didn't even look up. His cold, indifferent voice made it feel as if they were in an ice cellar.
"None of these are detailed enough!"
Yun Zimo flipped through the maps on the shelves and spoke with apparent dissatisfaction.
At Yun Zimo's challenge, the old man straightened up and slowly raised his head. His wrinkled face was as cold as frost, and his eyes were like ice that had never melted in ten thousand years, lifeless and dull.
He pulled a map from the somewhat worn shelf and dusted it off before handing it to Yun Zimo.
"This still isn't detailed enough..."
Yun Zimo spoke again. He leaned down, watching the old man slowly bend back over his work, then continued,
"I want a detailed map of the desert's center, the Snake-Person Tribe's territory..."
The old man, who had once more bent over to pick up his pen, paused. But then he resumed drawing as if nothing had happened.
"There isn't one. No human can enter the Snake-Person Tribe's heartland and come out alive..."
His voice remained indifferent and calm. An inexplicable loneliness pressed down on the old man's shoulders like a range of mountains.
Looking at the old man, who seemed like an ordinary person, Yun Zimo furrowed his brow slightly. How had Hai Bodong become so despondent?
The spirit he'd shown when he fought two opponents at once during the sect tournament, the courage he'd had to challenge Medusa alone—all of it was gone.
"This plant looks pretty good. What's it called?"
Yun Zimo wandered around the shop. His sharp eyes spotted a potted plant in the corner that looked like a dandelion.
"Freedom Butterfly. Not for sale."
"..."
Yun Zimo finally understood which version of Hai Bodong this was.
His lover had died, his Dou Qi had been sealed, and all he had left was a lingering obsession. He'd stayed on the edge of the desert as a map seller ever since, no longer willing to return to the Mittel Family...
"Senior Ice Emperor, my teacher asked me to send you his regards."
Yun Zimo sighed, then gave him a solemn bow.
"Kid from the Misty Cloud Sect, for Yun Shan's sake, let me give you one piece of advice. Don't even think about going deep into the desert."
Now that he understood Hai Bodong's attitude, Yun Zimo could only take the map, bow, and leave the rustic old shop named "Ancient Map."
"I'll go straight to the desert's heart!"
Under the eyes of the crowd, white mist curled around Yun Zimo as his blue-white Dou Qi Wings spread open. He shot into the sky amid the astonished, reverent gazes of the onlookers and flew away from the desert-border city.
The Tagor Desert was the largest—and only—great desert in the eastern province of the Jia Ma Empire.
It had once served as a natural barrier between the Jia Ma Empire and other empires. The former emperor had governed with great diligence, pushing the border beyond Yixiantian and establishing Black Mountain Fortress to keep other nations at bay. But this had also reignited the war between humans and the Snake-People, which had continued into the present day...
"That human is far too arrogant!"
The strange creatures had human heads and torsos, but their lower bodies were snake tails. Clad in armor, they traveled in squad after squad through the depths of the desert.
"One human broke through the Eight Great Tribes. Even that human from over twenty years ago couldn't have managed such a feat, could he?"
"Broke through the tribes? I heard that human is a wind-type Dou Wang. He relied on his speed to force his way through and didn't give the elders time to send word!"
"Otherwise, how could a mere human Dou Wang reach the depths of our desert? Now all eight of our elders have arrived at the Holy City. I doubt that human will dare show his face again!"
The Snake-People chatted freely as they moved off, completely unaware of the heat haze rippling around them.
"So we've reached the Snake-People Holy City. Good. That saves me the trouble of looking for them one by one."
As his vision blurred and warped, a young man in a white outfit suddenly appeared in the middle of what had been an empty desert.
Mirage Feather Technique. Yun Zimo used the properties of wind to distort the air, then combined it with mist formed from cloud-type Dou Qi to mimic a mirage over the desert.
Seeing the huge city's outline emerge in the distance, Yun Zimo stopped flying so recklessly. That would have made him a sitting duck for the Snake-People patrols.
Even he, a Dou Wang, didn't want to find out what it felt like to be shot full of bolts in midair by crossbows capable of piercing Dou Qi Armor.
"Attention! Someone's approaching!"
"It—it's a human!"
Many boulders stood before the Snake-Person Holy City. Hidden among them were scouts who guarded the city against surprise attacks.
"Human! Stop! Take one more step and we'll retaliate according to the law!"
The Snake Guard captain shouted. They didn't want to offend a human Dou Wang unless they had to!
"Yun Zimo of the Misty Cloud Sect, Jia Ma Empire, requests an audience with the leader of the Snake-People, Queen Medusa!"
Yun Zimo stood at the edge of Snake-People territory, his voice carried by Dou Qi across the entire Snake-Person Holy City.
"Please wait! We must seek Her Majesty's permission!"
Although the two races had been at war for a century, both treated envoys with respect.
"He forced his way into our Holy City and still wants to see the queen? Tell him the queen won't receive him!"
Mo Basi, elder of the Ink Snake Tribe, spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. His tribe was the farthest from the Holy City, which meant it was the first to be broken through. Naturally, he had no goodwill toward Yun Zimo.
"We should still seek Her Majesty's permission," Yue Mei, elder of the Charm Snake Tribe, said.
"Mo Basi, if the queen finds out you dared to falsify her orders, you'll probably lose your position as an elder under the laws of our tribe!"
"Yue Mei, you!"
Mo Basi's indignant expression stiffened, but he couldn't argue.
"Her Majesty's command: a guest is a guest. Welcome him!"
While several Snake-People elders quarreled, Hua She'er, captain of Queen Medusa's Snake Guard, had already climbed the city wall and called out.
Several figures leaped out from behind the boulders. The Snake-People guards rose halfway and bowed slightly.
Their spears angled to the side, and the ancient, melodious strains of music rang out from all directions.
As Yun Zimo entered the Snake-Person Holy City, he saw devout Snake-People kneeling and murmuring prayers before the statues of the Python God that stood everywhere.
It was his first time properly entering the city. The architecture and designs, so different from those of human cities, filled him with a strong sense of novelty.
"Hmph!"
Mo Basi's entire body was ink-black. As he passed Yun Zimo, he tried to do something, but a bewitching snake woman beside him stopped him.
Yun Zimo found it baffling. He couldn't remember when he'd offended this Snake-People elder.
"Why don't you bow before the queen!"
Mo Basi's voice rang out again. Yun Zimo had just entered the Snake-Person Temple. His brows knitted slightly, and a hint of coldness surfaced in his eyes. Did this Snake-Person really think he had no temper?
"Mo Basi, stand down!"
A clear, cool voice, haughty and aloof, suddenly rang through the great hall. The Snake Guard and several elders all bowed toward the throne above them, lowering their heads as they called out,
"We welcome Your Majesty!"
The throne, which had been empty moments earlier, now held a graceful, imposing figure in purple robes.
A sheer light-purple robe draped loosely over her shoulders, while red fabric partially concealed her figure. Medusa sat upon the throne, her purple robes flowing over her half-curled snake tail as she gazed down at everyone in the hall.
"Human, what do you want with this queen?"
Medusa's cool voice rang out, carrying an undeniable regal dignity.
"Your Majesty Queen Medusa, Yun Zimo has come to make a deal with you!"
Yun Zimo bowed slightly. When asking for someone's help, it was only right to show proper respect.
"What are you supposed to be? You think you're worthy of making a deal with Her Majesty?"
Yan Ci, elder of the Flame Snake Tribe, had the fiercest temper and hated humans the most. He shouted furiously.
In his eyes, the best outcome for these despicable, shameless humans was their complete destruction!
Queen Medusa didn't rebuke him this time. The Snake-People's laws were strict, but they placed few restrictions on the expression of such opinions.
And Medusa clearly shared the same thought. A mere Dou Wang—what reason did this queen have to believe you were worthy of an equal deal?
Before you continue