The Royal Palace was plunged into bedlam as the frantic shouts of messengers shattered the tranquility of the Lindao Royal Court. "Catastrophe!" A guard burst into the chamber, gasping for breath. "Wang has forcibly breached the Northeastern Border, destroying the blockade and moving with velocity toward the Sky Lord Empire!" Before the shock could settle, a second official entered, his complexion pallid with terror. "Catastrophe! The Academy Library has suffered a total loss; a massive volume of knowledge has been looted, leaving the shelves barren!" "Catastrophe!" A third voice joined the chorus. "The Royal Armory has been stripped; every Ancient Weapon is gone!" "Catastrophe!" A fourth messenger stumbled in, tears streaming down his face. "The Medicine Vault is empty; all pills and herbs have vanished!" Finally, Master Jin Sumo's personal attendant entered, trembling violently. "Catastrophe... Master Sumo... your personal quarters... everything has been pilfered."
Panic erupted within the Royal Palace as the gathered dignitaries lost their composure. "If I locate that boy, I will terminate him with my own hands!" one of the Sovereigns roared, slamming a fist onto the table. "He played us for fools; we should have suspected he was an Imperial spy from the genesis!" The damage was assessed quickly, and the reality was grim: the Kingdom had been stripped bare. Fury replaced fear, and the Seven Sovereigns—the strongest beings in the land—mobilized instantly, chasing after Xan with the burning desire for vengeance.
High in the sky at the border of the Forbidden Land, Xan Li Fang soared through the air, his heart buoyant. "Hmm, gratitude for the generous donations!" Xan shouted to the wind, delighted with his haul as he approached the demarcation between the Sky Lord Empire and the dreaded Ancient Ruins. But his smile soon faded into a calculating frown as he glanced backward. "It seems they cannot remain passive in their nest," Xan muttered, analyzing the distant energy ripples. "At this velocity, they will intercept me within the hour." He surveyed the paths ahead. "I possess two trajectories: the Sky Lord Empire or the Ancient Ruins." His mind raced, weighing the actuarial risks. "The Sky Lord Empire remains perilous; the Seven Sovereigns are inbound, and in open territory, detection is inevitable. Furthermore..." He glanced at his Space Ring. "...I possess their artifacts, some of which retain their owners' specific auras acting as beacons."
Xan hovered mid-air, caught between two perils. He looked at the swirling gray mist of the Forbidden Land. "The Ancient Ruins... although the texts warn of extreme danger, I am currently battle-ready; facing a monolithic environmental hazard is preferable to engaging seven furious Sovereigns simultaneously." A mischievous glint returned to his eyes. "Since I am departing, I should leave a parting gift. Hahahaha!" Xan moved with blurring speed, retrieving several high-grade artifacts radiating heavy spiritual pressure and arranging them in a complex geometric pattern on the ground. "I will establish the Ancient God Killing Formation," Xan whispered. "This should detain them for several hours." Then, he uncorked a small vial, releasing a scent of basil with a deep metallic undertone—a perfume mimicking the musk of a Dragon. "My intellect sharpens daily. Hahahaha!" He sprayed the scent to mask his human odor completely. With five minutes to spare, Xan finished his trap. "Enjoy the spectacle," he whispered. ZHOOM. He teleported instantly to the entrance of the Ancient Ruins, leaving the trap primed.
Five minutes later, seven streaks of light descended, landing precisely where Xan had stood. "Boy! I tracked his signature, he is right he—" The Seven Sovereigns halted, surveying the empty clearing. "Wait," Lord Xanluo frowned, sniffing the air. "There is his scent... but also... the scent of a Dragon?" "What is your hypothesis?" Lord Rudo asked, hesitating. "Did the Dragon Clan from the Sky Lord Empire intercept him?" "Perhaps," Master Sumo mused. "If they intervened, they wouldn't have gone far." They moved to investigate, stepping into the clearing. HUMMMMMMM. Suddenly, the ground illuminated as the buried artifacts erupted with blinding light. "This is...!" Lord Chenlia gasped. "A Killing Formation!" The trap activated, locking the space around them as murderous energy began to swirl. "Who established this?!" Lord Rudo roared, summoning defensive flames. "That boy lacks knowledge of such advanced arrays! I am certain now... this is the work of an Old Dragon!" "This... is an illusion?" Master Sumo realized too late as the world twisted into a nightmare. While the Seven Sovereigns battled the terrifying illusion, Xan Li Fang stood at the edge of the mist, hearing the distant explosions. "Adieu, Lindao," he smirked, stepping into the gray fog and vanishing into the Ancient Ruins.
CRACK! SHATTER! It took three grueling hours for the combined might of the Seven Sovereigns to shatter the Ancient God Killing Formation. The killing intent dissipated, leaving the exhausted Lords standing amidst scorched earth. "We... we dismantled it," Lord Rudo panted, wiping soot from his face. "But the trail is cold. We have lost him." Suddenly, a shadow fell over the group. "Look! Above!" Lord Xanluo pointed to the sky where a massive Red Dragon descended, its scales glinting like rubies. THUD. The beast landed, shaking the ground, and from its back leaped a Dragon-Newt—an elder with white facial hair and muscles like coiled steel cables. "Greetings," the Old Dragon rumbled. "Why do you regard me with hostility? I arrived personally because I sensed a powerful breach at my border." The Sovereigns paused. "What?" Lord Chenlia stepped forward. "You... you didn't encounter the boy?" The Old Dragon frowned. "What boy? Who are you discussing?" The Lords were shocked; the Old Dragon was famous for absolute honesty.
"We are tracking a thief," Master Sumo explained. "He smells of... well, he smells of you; he carries a Dragon's scent." The Old Dragon sniffed deeply. "Sniff... Sniff..." His eyes narrowed. "This scent... it is indeed the scent of a Dragon, but not of my clan; this is the musk of the Southern Continent Swamp Dragons. And underneath it..." He sniffed again. "...underneath, I detect human perception. It is a disguise. A perfume." "A perfume?!" Lord Rudo screamed, smoke pouring from his ears. "That brat! He deceived us again!" "Sir," Master Sumo bowed. "We have lost his trail; this thief has stolen our Kingdom's heritage. If you can track him, we would be in your debt." The Old Dragon nodded slowly. "I dislike humans who mock my kind with false scents," he growled. turning to his mount, he spoke in the ancient Dragon Tongue. "Anuhuramikasu." (Locate the counterfeit one.) ROAR. The Red Dragon caught the faint artificial scent and took flight, landing directly in front of the wall of gray mist.
The Old Dragon pointed to the swirling fog. "The individual you seek is inside," the Elder stated grimly. "That is the entrance to the Ancient Ruins. From this point... I will not interfere. You know the reputation of this locus better than I." "Gratitude, Elder," Sumo said, staring at the mist. "Fortune be with you," the Old Dragon muttered, mounting his beast and departing. The Seven Sovereigns stood in silence before the Forbidden Land—a place where cultivation was suppressed and few returned. "If we retreat now," Lord Xanluo said quietly, gripping his sword, "we return as failures who permitted a child to rob the Kingdom." "We cannot return empty-handed," Master Sumo agreed. "Our honor—and our lives—depend on retrieving those items." "Then we proceed," Lord Chenlia declared. "Let us advance!" With a collective burst of resolve, the seven most powerful beings of the Lindao Kingdom stepped forward. One by one, they walked into the gray mist, and the Ancient Ruins swallowed them just as it had Xan Li Fang. The hunt had moved from the sky to the abyss.