The three-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye.
Formless City, the vast city that had stood in this gray-white world for untold ages, seemed especially somber today.
Oppressive gray clouds hung over its walls like slabs of lead. The heavy air seemed wet enough to wring water from, making even breathing feel sluggish.
The atmosphere within the city was stretched taut to the breaking point.
Every faction, great and small, had its eyes fixed on the City Lord's Manor, perpetually shrouded in mysterious mist.
Today was the day Chu Bai, the "Ancient Immortal" who had appeared out of nowhere and whom Ironblood Hall revered as a god, would attend the banquet of the world's foremost expert—the old city lord, Xuanmingzi, who had spent a century in seclusion.
This was no simple welcoming feast.
To everyone watching, it was a contest at the highest level, one that would determine Formless City's future balance of power, perhaps even whether they lived or died.
Would the mighty dragon overpower the local serpent, or did the old monster still possess a blade undulled by his century of seclusion, ready to slay this outsider here? No one knew the answer.
Under the eyes of the entire city—
Ironblood Hall's heavy bronze gates slowly opened.
Clad in blue robes, Chu Bai brought neither soldier nor servant. He had not even hung his usual Storage Bag at his waist. Empty-handed and utterly composed, he stepped through the gates.
"My lord, please be careful!" Lei Wu stood inside, his eyes filled with worry and frustration. How he wished he could take Ironblood Hall's death-sworn warriors and charge in alongside his lord.
"Watch over our home."
Chu Bai did not look back. Leaving only those quiet words behind, he walked unhurriedly down the broad main avenue toward