This is a square seal, perfectly shaped, its surface mottled with rust, yet its exquisite craftsmanship is still evident.

Opening the seal’s face, it seemed to be engraved with a long, snake-like creature. William Clark couldn’t see it clearly, so he rubbed it twice with his thumb, then suddenly cried out in pain, “Damn it, it pricked me!”

A few drops of blood welled up from his thumb and dripped onto the seal. Suddenly, the seal’s face began to change. In the dim light, William Clark widened his drunken eyes and saw, to his astonishment, that the rust seemed to dissolve in the blood, gradually revealing the pattern on the seal.

It was a dragon.

A golden dragon’s body hidden in the clouds and mist, its scales like armor, its head swallowing clouds, its claws treading fog, soaring through the clouds and mist.

William Clark’s eyes suddenly lit up. “What a beautiful design, what a finely crafted seal. This thing looks really valuable. If I sell it, maybe it’ll be enough to pay for tuition at the advanced academy.”

Right after, his eyes widened even more as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him—the dragon on the seal suddenly moved.

A golden dragon claw reached out, parting the clouds and mist, and the dragon actually flew out.

The light in the wooden hut suddenly brightened. A phantom of a dragon appeared before William Clark, its body a meter long, claws like hooks, whiskers floating, lifelike in every detail.

“This, this…” William Clark rubbed his eyes and slapped his thigh. “This holographic projection is so realistic, amazing! This thing must be worth a fortune. I’m rich, I’m rich! Now I can go to the advanced academy!”

Still drunk, William Clark reached out his finger, curiously stretching it toward the dragon’s head in the phantom, only to discover, to his surprise, that what he touched was solid.

The next moment, the dragon’s mouth opened and bit his finger. A strange force surged through his body along his finger, and William Clark’s mind buzzed.

“Identification initiated. Race: Huaxia, match.”

“Examination report: Bloodline pure, match.”

The dragon’s golden eyes suddenly shot out two beams of light, straight into his eyes, and another voice sounded in William Clark’s mind.

“Body strength: no internal energy generated, match.”

滴，滴，滴... The square seal dissolved as if melting, and a faint golden light, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, shimmered over William Clark’s body, then faded. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Chapter 003: A Fist of Blood!

Moonlight quietly crept up the old window frame, casting a hazy brightness inside the wooden hut, a patch of cold clarity. Like a lover’s hand, it gently caressed the boy’s youthful, delicate face.

William Clark groaned, slowly waking up. He sat up, rubbing his groggy head, feeling as if he’d drunk a hundred jin of strong liquor, his stomach churning so much it felt like he was about to vomit out his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

“I only drank one bottle, that shouldn’t be! Maybe I overtrained.” William Clark muttered to himself. “And the dream wasn’t even a spring dream, that’s rare.”

Looking at the empty bottle on the floor, William Clark vaguely remembered the drunken dream—he seemed to have picked up a strange square seal, and then the dragon pattern on the seal suddenly came to life and burrowed straight into his body.

“Tch, what a weird dream.”

Patting his throbbing head, William Clark gradually cleared his mind and checked the time. “Damn it, it’s already eight o’clock! I need to hurry back!”

After putting away his ancestral home’s belongings, William Clark finished tidying up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and quickly headed toward the city.

By the time he rushed back to Luoshan City, it was already nine o’clock. The city was bustling and lively, full of people and traffic, a stark contrast to the quiet desolation of the outskirts.

Walking along the crowded street, William Clark unconsciously arrived in front of a brightly lit high-rise, wild and passionate music faintly drifting out from inside. On the screen in front of the building, five words flashed—Starry Sky Fight Club.

Fight clubs were the most popular hangouts for young people these days, just like the arcades on Earth thousands of years ago, beloved by the youth.

The “fighting” here wasn’t real combat, but rather creating virtual characters on a “virtual fighting machine” and engaging in highly realistic battles. These machines were once standard military training equipment, but after the technology was opened up, they quickly became popular among civilians, and fight clubs sprang up everywhere like mushrooms after rain.

This was the best place for young people to vent excess energy and test their strength, and also an excellent place for many companies and families to scout for talent.

Checking his pocket, William Clark still had 0.003 credit points left. “0.003 credit points, enough for three rounds.”

This “Starry Sky Fight Club” was well-known in the southern district of Luoshan City, and the fees were very low—just 0.001 credit points per match. If you could keep winning, not only did you not have to pay, but you could also exchange points for prizes prepared by the club.

William Clark was a regular at this Starry Sky Fight Club, but his record was abysmal. After five years of hanging around here, he’d only accumulated 7 points, meaning he’d only ever won 7 matches.

“I’ll just play one round, and save the remaining 0.002 credit points for living expenses.” After hesitating for a moment, William Clark couldn’t resist heading toward the entrance.

Pushing open the door, deafening music blasted into his ears. The heavy metal rhythm made his blood heat up, wild female screams rang out from time to time, colorful neon lights flashed constantly, and the air was thick with the scent of strong liquor, cheap perfume, and pungent tobacco.