The sound of space tearing apart lingered with a searing heat. When Xiao Yan stepped out of the spatial rift that stretched across heaven and earth, what lay beneath his feet was not the solid ground he had expected, but a void filled with churning, pale golden mist.
He instinctively circulated the Dou Qi within him, only to frown sharply. The Dou Di Power that had once obeyed his every command and overturned rivers and seas on the Dou Qi Continent now seemed bound by invisible shackles, its flow noticeably sluggish. Stranger still, the energy permeating the surrounding void was entirely unlike Dou Qi. It was vaster and purer, carrying a boundless sense of something "primordial." As wisps of it entered his body, they slowly assimilated his Dou Qi.
"So this is... the Great Thousand World's Origin Qi?" Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened slightly. In his previous life, he had heard a few rumors about the "upper realm" from the fragments of Yao Lao's surviving memories, but they were nowhere near as shocking as experiencing it for himself.
He looked up. Beyond the golden mist lay an expanse of unimaginable breadth. A gigantic landmass floated in the distance, streams of multicolored light winding around its edges. Through the haze, he could make out enormous peaks towering above any mountain range on the Dou Qi Continent. Their summits pierced the murky sky, with bolts of lightning snaking between them.
"Dou Di Power seems so feeble here..." Xiao Yan clenched his fist. The Heavenly Flames within him still burned slowly. The Green Lotus Core Flame, the Fallen Heart Flame... the many flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking all seemed somewhat "restrained," as though they sensed the suppression of this world. He could clearly feel that, to command the Heavenly Flames as freely as he had on the Dou Qi Continent, burning mountains and boiling seas, he would now have to expend at least several times as much mental effort.
Just then, a slightly shrill sound of something cutting through the air came from his left. Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened, and he turned sideways to look. An exotic beast shaped like a giant eagle, but with three sharp claws, was diving toward him, beating wings that blotted out the sky and sun. A vicious red light flickered in its pupils, and the presence it radiated had faintly reached the level of a Dou Zun expert on the Dou Qi Continent.
"I've only just arrived, and there's already someone here to 'welcome' me?" A faint smile curved Xiao Yan's lips, but he did not retreat. Even with his Dou Qi suppressed, his combat experience and control over energy were far beyond those of an ordinary expert.
He held two fingers together like a sword. The Dou Qi within him swiftly fused with a wisp of Origin Qi he had just absorbed, condensing into a concentrated ribbon of Dou Qi. The instant the beast drew near, the ribbon sliced through the air with a fierce gust, striking precisely at its wing.
"Rip!"
With a sharp sound, the ribbon of Dou Qi easily tore through the beast's tough wing, sending blood flying. The beast let out a piercing shriek. Its massive body lost balance and plunged into the golden mist below, where it was soon swallowed up and fell silent.
Xiao Yan did not pursue it. He knew that this beast was probably only among the lowest beings in this world. His gaze turned once more to the vast floating landmass in the distance. Faint but more powerful energy fluctuations came from there, and he could even sense the barely perceptible clash of presences between different factions.
"The grudges and conflicts of the Dou Qi Continent are behind us, Xun'er, Cai Lin... wait for me. Once I've gained a foothold in the Great Thousand World, I'll come find you." Xiao Yan spoke softly to himself, a determined light flashing in his eyes. He could sense that Xun'er's and Cai Lin's presences had not vanished completely; they had merely grown extremely faint across an endless expanse of space. That meant they too had ascended successfully, though he did not know where in the Great Thousand World they had ended up.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan hesitated no longer. He fixed on the floating landmass where the presence was strongest and moved, becoming a streak of light that shot toward it. Golden Origin Qi mist flowed around him, constantly absorbed and transformed by his body. Though the process was slow, it gave him a deeper understanding of the energy in this world.
During his flight, he saw more wondrous sights: enormous chains stretched out from a giant mountain, binding a beast as massive as a mountain at their end; a great river of flowing light surged through the sky, with what seemed to be countless fragments of stars floating in its waters; and figures clad in strange armor rode various magical treasures through the clouds, moving so fast that even Xiao Yan took notice.
So this is the true Great Thousand World... Xiao Yan marveled inwardly, even as a fierce fighting spirit ignited within him. On the Dou Qi Continent, he had once risen step by step from a good-for-nothing to become a Dou Di. Now that he had come to this broader world, he was just as confident that he could reach the summit once more.
After he had flown for an unknown length of time, the golden mist ahead gradually thinned, and the outline of the floating landmass grew clearer. He could even see an incomparably magnificent city gate standing at its edge. Three ancient, bold characters were carved above it-
"Northern Region City."
A steady stream of people passed before the gate, all kinds coming and going: elderly men in fine robes with steady presences, young men with longswords on their backs and sharp gazes, and members of other races whose strange forms were clearly not human. They all passed through the gate in an orderly fashion, apparently undergoing some kind of inspection.
Xiao Yan slowed down and landed on a bank of clouds not far from the gate, observing in silence. He saw that every soldier guarding the city had a presence no weaker than that of a Dou Zong expert on the Dou Qi Continent. Holding long halberds that glimmered with Origin Qi, they swept their vigilant gazes over everyone entering the city.
"It seems getting into this city won't be easy." Xiao Yan rubbed his chin, pondering what to do, when he suddenly noticed a stone wall beside the gate covered with scrolls of all kinds. They appeared to be some sort of notices.
His figure flickered, and he landed quietly near the wall. Blending into the crowd, he turned his gaze to the scrolls.
On one yellowed scroll was writing that differed slightly from the script of the Dou Qi Continent, but was largely intelligible: "Northern Region City seeks adventurers to explore the Black Wind Abyss in search of Spiritual Origin Crystal. Those who successfully bring it back will be rewarded by the city lord's manor with a hundred Origin Qi Pills and a chance to join the manor's guard..."
"Spiritual Origin Crystal? Origin Qi Pills?" Xiao Yan's interest stirred. These unfamiliar terms were evidently closely tied to this world's cultivation system. It seemed that joining this so-called "expedition" might be a good way to quickly learn about the world.
Just as he was about to examine the scroll more closely, a somewhat arrogant voice sounded behind him:
"Hey, newcomer, what are you looking at? If you don't know the rules, don't block the way!"
Xiao Yan slowly turned around. A tall young man in silver armor stood there with his arms folded, looking him over with disdain. Two attendants in armor stood behind him, both with presences similar to that of the beast from earlier.
Xiao Yan's gaze remained calm and unruffled. "I was passing by. Just having a look."
"Passing by?" The young man sneered and looked Xiao Yan up and down. "Judging by your strange clothes and pitifully weak presence, did you just crawl up from some minor realm? Let me tell you, Northern Region City isn't a place any stray cat or dog can wander around. If you know what's good for you, get lost and stop being an eyesore!"
With that, the young man deliberately took a step forward. The Origin Qi fluctuations he emitted bore a palpable pressure; he clearly intended to force Xiao Yan to back down.
Seeing this, the surrounding crowd stopped to watch the excitement, most of them looking on with schadenfreude. In their eyes, this plainly dressed outsider with a restrained presence was probably about to suffer a great loss.
Looking at the face before him, Xiao Yan could not help recalling the people who had mocked him as a good-for-nothing back in Wutan City. The corners of his lips rose slightly, but his gaze gradually turned cold.
"What if I don't?"
The air froze in an instant.
The smile on the young man's face stiffened, then gave way to fury. "Good! Very good! You dare challenge me, Zhao Hu, at the gates of Northern Region City? You must be tired of living!"
Before he had finished speaking, Zhao Hu swung a fist fiercely. Thick Origin Qi gathered around it as it hurtled straight for Xiao Yan's face with a howling gust.
His first clash in the Great Thousand World had erupted.