Chapter One: Longxuan

In the Central Plains, May marks the first hints of early summer, but in the boundless northern Wuyazhou, snow still falls from the sky, and the howling cold wind is sharper than a knife, scraping the skin with a sound like the cracking of thin river ice.

In such weather, most adults huddle by the brazier in their rooms for warmth. Only children immerse themselves in the snowy world, forgetting the biting chill of the wind as they play.

“Brian Carter, this time it’s my turn to be Longxuan, and you should be the dragon beast.”

“I don’t want to be the dragon beast! If I’m going to play, I want to be the great Longxuan who protects humanity!”

“You just played Longxuan. This time, it’s our turn to be Longxuan!”

In the small village, on a little square covered with more than an inch of snow, four children around twelve or thirteen years old, bundled in thick fur coats, argued so heatedly that their voices nearly drowned out the northern wind.

“Among us, I, Brian Carter, am the strongest! Of course I should be Longxuan!”

Of the four, the sturdiest one already looked like a little adult. He wore a sheepskin hat covering his ears, puffed out his chest, and looked at the other three with a rather imposing air. “Do you want to taste my fists, Brian Carter style?”

“You’re trying to cheat again!”

“That’s right! I am trying to cheat again!” Brian Carter looked at the smallest, skinniest child who kept talking, and waved his fist in the air. “Sam Miller, not convinced?”

“I... I...” Sam Miller rubbed his red, frozen nose with his big mittens, his gaze passing over Brian Carter’s burly frame to the young man at the entrance of the square, who was carrying a heavy bundle of firewood. Suddenly, he shouted, “William Clark gege, Brian Carter is cheating again!”

The previously cocky Brian Carter turned and also saw William Clark gege, who was walking by with his head down and back bent, and his bravado instantly diminished by half.

Although this William Clark gege never hit or scolded anyone, and had been rather quiet ever since he moved to the village with his younger sister a few years ago, Brian Carter always felt a sense of fear whenever he saw William Clark. It was like the feeling of being stared at by a fierce dragon beast while walking through a forest or wilderness.

William Clark stopped, exhaled deeply, and the white mist from his breath seemed as if it could freeze into ice shards at any moment in the cold wind.

He lifted the firewood on his back with both hands, straightening up as much as he could, and looked at the four children not far away. He showed a gentle smile, and there was a hint of envy in his eyes.

Becoming Longxuan is the dream of almost every young person.

Whether boy or girl, all dream of becoming Longxuan, wielding dragon weapons, slaying the dragon beasts that invade the continent from time to time, and becoming heroes admired by all!

William Clark once had such dreams too, but as time passed, reality gradually crushed those dreams until almost nothing was left. William Clark knew that no Longxuan Academy would come to such a remote place to recruit students. There were far too many youths who wanted to become Longxuan. When enrollment season came, each academy only needed to open its gates and test the potential of the swarms of applicants, then register them.

Besides, he had a frail younger sister to care for. Even if he could starve himself to save up tuition and travel to enroll at Longxuan Academy, what would happen to his sister?

Longxuan? William Clark paused, reached back to secure the firewood on his back, straightened up with effort, and exhaled a long breath toward the sky, a faint smile on his face. Longxuan was simply too far out of reach for him. It was enough to occasionally dream of being a hero—life still had to go on.

Sam Miller watched William Clark’s figure disappear into the wind and snow, a hint of regret flickering in his still-childish eyes. “William Clark gege is so strong. If he went to take the Longxuan exam, maybe he could really pass.”

“Not necessarily!” Brian Carter wiped his runny nose with his sleeve. “I heard the elders say that everyone and every creature on the continent has dragon blood, but the concentration is different. If you don’t have at least five percent dragon blood, it’s impossible to become Longxuan. You’ll be eliminated in the very first dragon blood test. That assessment doesn’t care how strong you are—only about your dragon blood concentration.”

“Then Brian Carter, you’re just strong. Maybe it’s Sam Miller who’s more likely to become Longxuan.”