The City of Eternity.
A pure white sky curtain screened out the freezing rain overhead.
A sun shrouded in dark clouds occasionally cast down a few rays of light.
The people living here occasionally looked toward the palace, genuine faith and gratitude showing in every one of their eyes.
This city, bestowed with the name "Eternity," had given ordinary people like them lifespans of over a thousand years.
And all of this was because of the king who had granted them their present lives.
King of Chalk · Fang Cheng.
At the pinnacle of the palace.
In the place closest to the sun.
Within a palace filled with splendor.
A man wreathed in black aura wearily opened his eyes.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
He coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
The instant that black blood touched the light, it evaporated.
The residents living in the city could never have imagined it.
Their king, who had not appeared for years, had grown so weak that he was nothing but skin and bones, like a broken skeleton.
Whenever the radiance in the hall dispelled the curse for him, it left a fresh burn on his body.
And those marks covered his entire body.
"My king..."
An armored administrative officer knelt before him in anguish, looking at Fang Cheng with tear-filled eyes.
"Your body... is there truly nothing that can be done...?"
Fang Cheng seemed to have grown accustomed to the pain that could strike at any moment.
He remained motionless, like a dying man at death's door, yet his voice rang out through the hall.
"Have you found that person?"
"Hua Su is patrolling the mountains to the west. According to him, he has already found that person."
"Who is he?"
"His name is Ye Qiyan."
"...A name I don't recognize."
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