On a mountain peak sat a lean, middle-aged man in white robes, silently watching the mist churn among the mountains, utterly absorbed.
Every day, beginning at dawn, this was his practice, and it continued until the mountain mist dispersed at noon.
Below the peak, a city appeared faintly through the haze. From time to time, swift streaks of light flashed across the sky and vanished. These were Card Adepts entering and leaving the city, but not one dared enter the territory surrounding this peak.
This was Northwatch Continent, the only place in the entire Tiandongli District besides Frostmoon Cold Isle that dared call itself a continent. Northwatch Continent covered a vast area. Though smaller than Frostmoon Cold Isle, it encompassed seventeen regions and 1,350 major cities. This made it the largest power outside Frostmoon Cold Isle, and its leader was the white-robed man on the mountain peak: Cang Lan, ranked second on the [Black Line Star Ranking].
Second on the [Black Line Star Ranking]-such a resounding reputation meant that even Tiandongli District's Frostmoon Cold Isle dared not provoke him lightly. No one would forget how Yangshan Fei, ranked ninth on the [Black Line Star Ranking], had left Frostmoon Cold Isle covered in dust and disgrace.
Cang Lan had risen to fame earlier than Yangshan Fei. And unlike Yangshan Fei, who stood alone, Cang Lan commanded a host of experts and countless Card Adepts. The Azure River Army he had founded was especially renowned, and to this day, it had never suffered a defeat. Who dared provoke a man like Cang Lan? Even when Jia Yingxia organized the Alliance this time, although Cang Lan was not participating, she still sent someone to deliver an invitation.
Reputations on the [Black Line Star Ranking] were forged through killing. Before he turned thirty, Cang