Imperial Capital,
As the first ray of sunlight broke through the earth's bonds and shone upon this historic city, the wide streets were already bustling with an endless stream of pedestrians and carriages, extraordinarily lively. Countless merchant caravans traveled to and fro, and towering palaces and buildings filled the city—all of which fully embodied the Imperial Capital's boundless prosperity.
"Caw!"
A pitch-black raven beat its wings to pierce through the clouds and dive downwards. It crossed the thick and towering city walls of the Imperial Capital and landed gently upon the highest clock tower within. Lowering its head to preen its feathers with its beak while letting out caw-like cries, its deep, mysterious eyes overlooked this city that had reached the absolute pinnacle of prosperity.
At this moment,
The street before the main gates of the Xiao Clan residence was already lined with rows of carriages. Fully armed members of the Xiao Clan stood guard beside the convoy, awaiting the clan head's command.
The young Xiao Yue, dressed in white mourning attire, with a waist-length mane of silver hair and crimson pupils as cold and clear as red agate, followed quietly beside her mother and slowly boarded a carriage.
Soon, with a resounding shout, the entire Xiao Clan convoy slowly set off toward the city gates of the Imperial Capital, and before long, vanished beyond the gates.
...
Inside the carriage,
Xiao Yue sat beside her mother, leaning against the carriage window with one hand propped under her chin as she calmly watched the scenery sweeping past outside.
This city called the Gama Empire's Imperial Capital was quite peculiar; many of the buildings and the pedestrians' attire bore a certain resemblance to the ancient Eastern style of her past life, yet they were simultaneously blended with a touch of Western fantasy.
However, over the five years since her rebirth into this world, Xiao Yue had already gained a rough understanding of what kind of place this was.
This realm was called the Dou Qi Continent.
It could be considered a rather strange world, possessing a chaotic fusion of Eastern and Western elements reminiscent of her past life.
For instance, the country she currently resided in was named the Gama Empire—which sounded thoroughly Western—and the titles of some hereditary nobles within the empire followed suit, such as the Mittel family, the Ireland family, and so on. Western-style items could also be seen everywhere, with things like high heels, red wine goblets, and butler formal wear all readily available in this world.
Of course, Eastern-style aesthetics were also a common sight here. Take her own surname, for instance—it was a distinctly Eastern surname, and the buildings on the streets were mostly classical Eastern pavilions.
Two completely different styles intertwined without the slightest sense of discord, as if everyone had long since grown accustomed to it.
Moreover, the landmass of this continent was terrifyingly vast, with numerous alien races standing like a forest. The books recorded all sorts of bizarre and eccentric races: in the north of the continent were the Barbarians, renowned for their boundless strength and ability to merge with beast souls, as well as the Snake-people in the eastern part of the empire; in the south of the continent were the dark races, famous for their eerie and vicious nature, alongside legendary giant dragons that freely traversed space and the sky-dominating Asura Phoenixes.
Most importantly, this world possessed a mystical cultivation system. Yet it was neither the Eastern cultivation nor Western magic commonly seen in various films and television works, but something called "Dou Qi." In this world, the cultivation of Dou Qi had developed to the absolute peak through the efforts of countless generations, making this a magical realm where nearly everyone had the chance to soar through the heavens and earth.
Yet,
In this era where everyone could practice cultivation, Xiao Yue was unable to cultivate the Dou Qi of this world...
Perhaps it was due to her physique? Xiao Yue was not entirely certain, but she did not mind it much. Although she could not cultivate Dou Qi, the martial arts she had learned in her past life could still provide her with a unique foundation to stand upon in this world.
Furthermore,
That item she had accidentally acquired in her past life seemed to have crossed over with her, granting her a glimpse of the path forward and hope for martial arts. Perhaps this heritage, which had gradually declined in her past life, could spark a new path forward in this special world.
......
......
The Xiao Clan's relocation of their entire clan this time was not entirely smooth-sailing. After all, as a major clan, they had inevitably offended quite a few enemies in the past. Although Xiao Zhan and the clan's strategists had made early preparations, staging a few deceptive plays to throw off outsiders by feigning a stealthy advance while repairing the boardwalk in plain sight, numerous obstructions and ambushes along the way were still unavoidable.
During this period, the carriage carrying Xiao Yue and her mother even nearly suffered an attack, though fortunately, everything turned out safe without incident.
A month later,
The Xiao Clan successfully arrived at their destination: Wutan City.
This city was merely a frontier town of the empire, but due to its geographical location on the edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range in the western part of the empire, it served as one of the vital traffic hubs connecting the Magical Beast Mountain Range and the empire. With no shortage of traveling merchants and guests, it could barely be considered a thriving, economically developed major city.
The Xiao Clan originally had a fairly formidable branch clan in Wutan City, possessing a certain local influence and foundation. This was why Xiao Zhan and the elders had chosen this place after multiple discussions.
The new residence was situated in the central district of Wutan City, occupying vast grounds. Although it could not compare to their original estate in the Imperial Capital, it was still quite magnificent. After all, they were once a renowned major clan of the empire; even in decline, a starving camel is bigger than a horse, and as long as the people remained, there would always be a day when they could rise again.
This time, the entire Xiao Clan's migration into Wutan City caused quite a sensation locally. Although the various factions within the city had made preparations in advance, a period of chaos was still inevitable...
After all, the pie in Wutan City had long since been carved up by the various local factions, and now that the Xiao Clan had come to stir up the waters, it meant that Wutan City was about to welcome a new round of shuffling.
Even though the Xiao Clan's original branch already held a certain territory in Wutan City, their numbers were now much greater. If a family of this scale wished to better survive and develop, they had to acquire more territory and resources. To this end, Xiao Zhan had also spared no expense, frequently dispatching the clan's remaining elites into action, and sometimes even personally stepping into the fray—all for the sake of firmly rooting the Xiao Clan in Wutan City.
Meanwhile, Wutan City itself had grown noticeably colder and quieter. The ordinary residents of the city, panicked by the unrest, began barring their doors and staying inside. Various invisible slaughters quietly began to play out, and every corner of the streets was secretly filled with the stench of blood.