The South was far warmer and more pleasant than the Northern Continent.
Beneath blue skies and white clouds, sunlight spilled gently over the mortal world.
In True Dragon City.
Atop the tall tower in the city center, a huge steam-powered mechanical clock never stopped ticking.
Kerosene streetlamps stood tall on both sides of the streets.
Intelligent beings of every race came and went along the grid of streets, while vendors' cries rose one after another from the shops lining them.
Within this city, there was a distinctive scent of rust and everyday life.
Jiang Yang and Yusheng passed through the noisy Central Street, heading toward its far end.
Jiang Yang and Yusheng were dressed inconspicuously in long brown trench coats, their auras restrained.
Yet their bearing was difficult to conceal, and passersby gave way whenever they encountered them.
The end of the street lay near the western side of the city. The farther they went, the sparser the crowds became, until few pedestrians remained.
When Jiang Yang reached the end, an unusual little shop appeared before him.
It was a three-story building, with the shop on the first floor; the second and third floors were presumably the shopkeeper's living quarters.
The little shop looked highly distinctive. Even in the Bronze Age, when things changed with each passing day, it stood in a class of its own.
Though small, the shop was exquisitely arranged, with all manner of trinkets hanging across its deep-sea-blue walls.
Jiang Yang's perception and sense of smell were both exceptionally keen. Among these little odds and ends, he sensed an aura utterly out of place in this era.
That aura was ethereal and unfettered, carrying an ancient flavor of having weathered tribulations and emerged above the rest.
Just as Jiang Yang and Yusheng were curiously surveying the