In the outlaw wilds, there was a man named Windwalk

Decades ago, a game called Light of Freedom burst onto the scene...

Its innovative gameplay and the highest level of realism available at the time immediately drew players in droves. Supposedly, after decades of growth, its worldwide player count had reached 3.7 billion. It was blazing hot!

Ye Fengxing had only started playing five years ago. It was in Light of Freedom that he met the Yun Sisters-and, of course, a bunch of drinking buddies and fellow troublemakers. Well, in the popular slang of the day, they were his "bros."

"Bros" wasn't the same as "gay guys," nor did it simply mean "homosexuals." In online gaming circles, it generally referred to exceptionally close friends of the same sex, mostly men.

A bunch of homebodies had put together a guild in the game, and it had turned out rather respectable. As a guild officer, Ye Fengxing had done pretty well for himself too. His guild rank was rather interesting: "800,000 Imperial Guards Instructor." He was obsessed with PvP, so the guild leader had given him that title. (PvP was short for Player vs. Player, meaning competitive interaction in which one player attacked another.)

Although he had lodged a solemn protest, the guild leader had shown remarkable wisdom by holding a democratic vote to solicit everyone's opinions. Thus, a certain someone's lone vote against it had drowned beneath a sea of votes in favor.

A certain fellow was incredibly lazy about names. His in-game ID in Freedom was simply "One Leaf Windwalk." Mentioning that ID carried quite a bit of prestige. After all, he had competed in Light of Freedom's official tournaments and won championships in the 1v1, 3v3, 5v5, and fifteen-player team brackets. Back then, people called him "Windwalker Blade Saint, One Leaf Windwalk"!

Since a certain someone was always flirting and chasing women in-game, and had been romantically linked to several famous beauties, quite a few people simply called him the "Flirtatious Blade Saint"... And that was one of the nicer ones. Other nicknames, such as "Lewd Blade Saint," "Shameless Blade Saint," and "Rascal Ye," had failed to catch on thanks to Light of Freedom's built-in language filter. Still, they offered a glimpse of his "character."

Well, according to a certain someone, those were all just romantic rumors. "When have you ever seen me involved in an actual scandal?"

That wasn't entirely untrue. Compared with certain spoiled rich kids who stirred up some new "-gate" scandal in the game at the drop of a hat, he practically qualified as a gentleman.

As for the Yun Sisters, both had been among the most popular beauties in Light of Freedom!

The name "Sword Sovereign, Yun Qianshuang" was also extremely famous. The guild she led, Cloud Pavilion, was one of the largest in Light of Freedom and boasted formidable strength! She herself was a star warrior player, and her "Sword Sovereign" nickname was no empty boast. Even a certain someone who had won the tournament's 1v1 championship found this young lady, a fellow agility warrior, quite a headache.

Being the 1v1 champion... really made people hate you. In a roundabout way, it meant you were "invincible in single combat"... What did it mean to be the tallest tree that caught the wind? To show off and get smacked down? This was a textbook example...

For a while, the first thing Yun Qianshuang did every day after logging in was open her friends list, find One Leaf Windwalk, click his name, and send him a private message: "Duel."

At first, a certain someone was more than happy to give a beautiful woman some pointers. But after the system message "One Leaf Windwalk has defeated Yun Qianshuang in a duel" appeared for the umpteenth time, Ye Fengxing finally cracked...

"Qianshuang, this must be the thousandth time... Can we stop fighting?" he asked cautiously, a cigarette between his lips.

Her answer consisted of one simple word: "Never."

He stubbed out his cigarette and helplessly dissolved into tears.

By comparison, Yun Xixue fell considerably short of her older sister. She played an assassin, a class with low defense but exceptionally powerful attacks and control abilities. It was undeniably a strong class, yet it had never truly shone in this younger sister's hands.

Since her older sister had never defeated Ye Fengxing in single combat, our second young lady Yun had always been rather annoyed with him.

Of course, with her skills, she couldn't even get an "admission ticket" to something like a duel with One Leaf Windwalk-who were you kidding? What sort of figure was our gaming god Ye? His blade never slew nobodies! If you weren't good enough, you ought to have some self-awareness, right?

Whenever the ID One Leaf Windwalk appeared in a duel against so-and-so, a crowd always gathered to watch. If you failed to perform at an expert level, everyone would absolutely look down on you.

Yun Xixue might have been lousy at PvP, but her dungeon damage output was phenomenal. Ye Fengxing had helped them run several dungeons at Yun Qianshuang's invitation. The moment Yun Xixue saw him arrive, she turned into a red-eyed cow, pumping out such ferocious DPS that Ye Fengxing could only stare in astonishment and concede defeat. ("DPS" generally meant Damage per Second in gaming, and also referred to characters capable of delivering high damage output.)

Given her rather prickly, secretly soft-hearted personality, he often teased her and seemed to take considerable pleasure in doing so.

The second young lady Yun was also very "cooperative." His "flirting" could set her off with a single spark. Ahem... wasn't that just throwing fuel on the fire? What sort of person was Ye Fengxing? He "liked" people who came at him with claws bared most of all. If they were men, he knocked them flat without another word. If they were women... how did that saying go? Without resistance, where was the fun?

Ye Fengxing had played several merciless pranks on Yun Xixue before, and she hated his guts...

Now, our second young lady Yun had appeared before Ye Fengxing, wreathed in an ethereal aura and radiating feminine charm. There could only be one explanation: this wasn't really her.

"Greetings, esteemed player. Please choose a handle for your travels through another world."

A clear, tender, gentle voice, so soft it seemed it might drip water if squeezed, rang out. Ye Fengxing shuddered... This absolutely wasn't Yun Xixue! When had that girl ever spoken in such a tone? What utter nonsense!

Still, "handle" was a nice choice of word. It suited his tastes. Not bad, not bad.

"One Leaf Windwalk," he answered without hesitation.

"Identifying your gaming pod's serial number... Awaiting confirmation... Confirmation complete! As you are a closed-beta player, your race will be randomly assigned. Thank you for your understanding."

"Understanding, my ass! I knew you were going to screw me over. Do I look like the kind of unscrupulous player who'd use his beta experience to run wild?" Ye Fengxing cursed indignantly.

The NPC clearly paid no attention to his outrage and continued, "Please select your class. Note that once selected, your class cannot be freely changed. Please choose carefully."

"War... wait..." Ye Fengxing suddenly frowned. He had always played a warrior in every game, all so he could punch people and hack at them with a blade. After all, those were his strengths in the first place! But now, a certain someone clearly had a few "unusual" ideas...

Sun Tzu's Art of War said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

The depths of ancient martial arts... were far too profound! Having come this far, Ye Fengxing no longer knew where his path lay. In that case, why not take this opportunity to "know himself and his enemy"? After all, stones from another mountain could polish jade. Why not give it a try?

"Mage," Ye Fengxing said in a low voice.

"Very well. Next, I will test your growth ratings." The beautiful NPC pointed a slender finger, and Ye Fengxing suddenly felt a slight pain in his own finger, much to his surprise.

Well, damn. They needed a blood sample for analysis too?

The beautiful NPC's delicate brows creased slightly as she said softly, "We're sorry, but we cannot detect your blood data. Please wait while we work to resolve the malfunction..."

Ye Fengxing was secretly amused. His Golden Bell Iron Shirt training hadn't been for nothing. The gaming pod's blood sampler had pricked his finger just now, only for the needle to buckle... How the hell was it supposed to collect blood, let alone blood data?

"Forget it. It's no big deal. It's just a blood sample." Ye Fengxing suddenly smiled, withdrew the protective qi from his finger, and let the needle pierce his flesh.

Ding! The system notification sounded immediately afterward. That was damn fast.

"According to our tests, your brainwave responses far exceed those of an ordinary person."

"According to our tests, your physical capabilities far exceed those of an ordinary person."

"According to our tests, you are an Ancient Martial Artist."

"According to our tests, you do not possess the traits of an Esper."

"We apologize, but because your base attributes are too high, we will reduce them by an appropriate amount to preserve game balance. Thank you for your understanding."

Son of a bitch... Ye Fengxing cursed helplessly to himself. This wasn't the first time he had heard that line. His base attributes had been "nerfed" back when he played Light of Freedom too. At the time, he had shouted, "Understand this, you bastards!" and the system had automatically muted him for three days. Utter misery.

Ding!

The system automatically generated an image for Ye Fengxing to inspect. The fellow facing him sported a short Native American mohawk, a tall, straight frame, a powerful build, and a bandit's face that begged to be punched. No matter how he looked at it, the man didn't resemble a law-abiding citizen.

Fortunately, Ye Fengxing had shaved off his stubble before the servers opened this time. Otherwise, judging by that image, anyone would have taken him for an outlaw hero!

An exquisite mage's robe somehow took on a distinctly bandit-like air when draped over him, and a slender staff in his hand somehow looked like a murder weapon! Damn it, even dressed in mage gear, this guy looked like the strategist of an outlaw gang! And a bumbling, harebrained strategist at that!

"Do I really look that fierce?" He was utterly flustered.

This time, even the young NPC woman couldn't help trembling. "We can modify your appearance," she said shakily. "Would you like this service? It is available for a modest fee."

"No money!" he answered with complete decisiveness.

"You may now enter the game. We wish you an enjoyable experience..."

Ye Fengxing took one last look at the pretty NPC's upper, middle, and lower regions before entering the world of Chronicles of the Sky.

A deep voice slowly rang out: "In this world, there is an ancient and mysterious race. Its name is... dragons..."