“I’m telling you!” A bearded man shouted. He was on a table in the library alongside his friends and the newcomer, a bald old man with sharp, onyx eyes surrounded by wrinkled skin. “There was absolutely no reason to keep them alive! Sheng Cong was only being reasonable when he slaughtered his enemies like chickens! Besides, who’s to say that mercy is a strength? Mercy to your enemies is always being ruthless to yourself and your family!”

“Huh?! Huuuh?! How does that make ANY sense to you?! Why perpetuate a cycle of violence and destruction when you can be its end?! If you fuel the cycle of hatred, you’re no worse than your enemies! Shen Cong would be better of being an antagonist than a protagonist! That guy is a mad man!” The bald old man shouted back.

“Please! It’s not his job to end a cycle of violence! His character is good because it plays to our imperfections as humans. Sheng Cong is a protagonist we can all empathize with!”

“But sympathize with?!” The bald geezer shouted back. “He killed all of his childhood bullies by purposefully guiding them to their demise on a mission when they were his comrades! He caused the death of an entire clan after one arrogant young master spat on him! He even went as far as to rape that young master’s betrothed until her imminent mental breakdown and suicide! He’s as evil as it gets!”

“Bah, they had it coming,” the bearded man shouted back.

Lao Chen closed his mouth and closed his eyes for a moment before considering whether it was worthwhile to educate his new reading buddies.

He hadn’t ever considered that after consuming several books in the span of a night that so many bearded, wrinkled fossils would approach him regarding characterization of protagonists. It was definitely not a waste of time to trade ideologies, Lao Chen felt. It was interesting to catch a glimpse of someone else’s world-view.

“Elder Bo Shi, please would you kindly pardon me, but did you just say that they had it coming?”

“Why, yes! The young master came from the Li clan, and they harvested the dantians of street children to bolster their own martial might! That is beyond disgusting. They deserved a million deaths.”

“What about the young master’s girlfriend? Did she deserve rape?”

“She conspired to have Sheng Cong killed by poison! She deserved more than just death, and considering she was beautiful…”

Lao Chen almost physically recoiled from the Elder’s perverse attitude, but reminded himself that every opinion was subject to argument and that verbally attacking him for his stance was counter effective.

“Let’s put the Li clan on a shelf for a moment. Sheng Cong’s largest backer is the Du Yi Conglomerate. Where do they make most of their money?”

“From harvesting the dantians and meridians of prisoners of war, right? Before you even begin to make an argument on that point, consider how the prisoners of war are being lead by a despotic tyrant hell-bent on personal power.”

Lao Chen raised a finger. “Warriors are not liable to what their leaders make them do, and harvesting them like livestock is beyond disgusting. In fact, the Du Yi Conglomerate is disgusting, and the way Sheng Cong- and even you for that matter- rationalize this is disgusting.”

“Let’s agree to disagree, Elder Chen. I grow weary of arguing. I need some water,” The elder, along with his friends stood up from the table and dispersed.

“So close,” Lao Chen muttered under his breath before going back to reading his book

Not even a breath had passed before he closed it in exasperation. Gold Stone City books always happened to be the same, in almost every case. Where his usual fare of books consisted of selfless main characters that would sacrifice their own wellbeing for the greater good or use an exceedingly roundabout solution to a problem to make as many people as possible happy, the ones in this library that weren’t hopelessly tedious non-fiction history books or biopics were just stories of one young boy who grew up disadvantaged, but would rise to the pinnacle of that world.

Hell, there were barely any females in these books aside from the obligatory conniving bitch, the fawning childhood friend, and family members there as a plot device for the main character to ‘protect’. Aside from family members, every other female was fair game for a love interest, and aside from being somewhat disgusting as it reflected such basic desires, it was also quite boring.

In a moment of inspiration, Lao Chen’s eyes lit up. Grabbing the nearest paint brush and parchment, he concentrated for a moment before jotting down words.

Most instructional tomes and scriptures were literal and straight to the point, with the author taking great pains to write down their Dao concisely and without double-meaning. To create a scripture is to be a peerless expert in a certain Dao.

Lao Chen was not going to create a scripture or a tome. It would be a story. Not his life story or any true story at all.

A story of a boy and his ceaseless dreams. The Dao of Dreams.

And with the first swipe of his paint brush, Lao Chen broke into the realm of Dao Seeking.

“Ladies and gentlemen, honourable citizens of Gold Stone City, the Magistrate’s family and the Blood Dragon Patriarch himself! Are we ready for this year’s Dragon Flight Gala?!” The master of ceremonies amplified his voice using an enchanted horn, riling the crowd up from the centre of the blue-tiled arena.

Far ahead of him, on a special box elevated from the commoner’s seats was the Magistrate’s family and the red-haired handsome man known as the Blood Dragon Patriarch, watching the proceedings with regal calmness.

On a box further beneath them was a single pair consisting of a breathtakingly beautiful lady with strange eyes and Zhang He, the undisputed champion in his age-group, drinking tea as they, too, watched the proceedings.

“This year is quite the special year, as it so happens, because we have been joined by an anonymous Imperial talent scout, on the search for rising dragons, but what better place than to do it in Hong Province’s very own Gold Stone City?! Younglings from all over the province have travelled far and wide to have a place in the tournament, just to show off the strength of Hong Province, and to take the necessary steps required to further their martial path! Give it up for the three hundred and forty-five youths that had managed to secure a spot in this tournament!”

Another round of cheering broke out. From the large arch, several lines of youths filed out, marching towards the center of the arena, taking in the adulation of the masses.

From the private box that Zhang He sat in, a figure leaped out, but it was only when he landed that people saw him. Zhang He stood in front of the youths, domineering and aggravating at the same time, causing the bloodthirsty contestants to gnash their teeth.

“To make sure that you all are aware of the rules, we shall have an abridged read-through. No treasures are to be used during fighting. Only weapons created with Qi are allowed. No killing shall be permitted. Minimum punishment for killing will always be disqualification, but it may escalate to fines, sanctions, imprisonment or death sentence, reviewed on a case by case basis. No cultivation base crippling allowed, either. A type 1 cultivation crippling can earn you the same penalties as killing would while a type 2 cultivation crippling would invariably result in disqualification. Other than that, no holds are barred.

“Round One will grant no reward upon completion. If you win Round Two, you are eligible for one Foundation Establishment Pill of your choosing, with a moderate impurity rate at 2%. Round Three victors will be rewarded with an enchanted version of any of the four major weapons, a staff, a spear, a sword or a sabre. Quarter Finals victors can pick from four treasured weapons, each half a millennium old. Semi-final winners will be rewarded with ten million wen in gold bars each while the Grand Champion of the tournament will be gifted an authentic Gold Dragon ready for taming!”

The crowd went wild.

“To begin the tournament, there needs to be sixty four people standing, regardless of how long it will take for it to happen. I wish you all luck. And with this, I commence this Dragon Flight Gala for all to see!”

With those words, the lined up youths leaped from each other and about fifty made a circle around Zhang He while the rest fought it out.

“Give it up. You might be talented, but you’re far too outnumbered to survive this.”

One lady came forward and confronted Zhang He, who just scoffed.

“Come one or come all, it will make no difference,” Zhang He sat down and assumed a lotus position. “Fight while I cultivate. You don’t require my attention.”

“Incensing and sharp-tongued as always, this Zhang He!” The MC shouted loudly as the ring of young talents mobbed Zhang He. “But does his might justify his mouth?”

Or at least attempted to, but the closer they got, the heavier the air they breathed became, and the harder it was for them to stand upright.

The lady who initially confronted Zhang He began to buckle under the pressure. “H-how immense… This pressure…”

From the arena seats, Wu Shan gnashed his teeth. “That arrogant bastard. Why doesn’t he honour those who wish to test his mettle?!”

Eventually, the cultivators that hadn’t passed out from Zhang He’s overwhelming pressure had resorted to attacking each other, fully content with the fact that only 63 of them would be able to proceed onto the first round.

Wu Shan’s knuckles turned white as he pressed his fingers into a fist. Few things made him as mad as blatant disrespect, and Zhang He proved to be every bit of a spoiled young master as the stereotype went.

Just watching him sit there and cultivate! While people shed blood and put their dreams on the line to gain attention, to rise above their station, he cared not one wit about it! How- How dare he?!

…

“A spectator has leaped into the fray of battle! A well dressed young noble, it would seem!” The MC shouted as Wu Shan walked with a brisk pace towards Zhang He. “Is-Is this even legal?” The MC asked, looking at the crowd for affirmation. The Magistrate’s private box seemed to have another guest, a cloaked and hooded figure who gave a thumbs up. Realizing that this man was probably the anonymous talent scout, the MC amended himself.

“This seems to be going according to agenda, folks! Everybody give it up for our hidden dragon who just joined us!”

The crowd cheered as Wu Shan brought himself closer to Zhang He with every step. Once he was a tenth of a li away from him, he could feel the subtle repulsive force of Zhang He’s pressure, but decided to disregard it completely.

Picking up his pace, he began to jog lightly, which turned into a fully-fledged sprint as Wu Shan bulldozed through the trifling pressure.

Mere fractions of a moment before Wu Shan could kick Zhang He, the arrogant noble’s eyes popped open in urgency, untangling his legs and lying flat with his back against the ground to dodge. Zhang He looked up at the face of the man who was strong enough to attack him, and rejoiced to see Wu Shan’s furious rictus.