In a dark alley, tangible wisps of dark energy coagulated to reveal two silhouettes of man and beast.

"I hope this place is all right," the man said while curiously checking his surroundings.

Walking towards the light, the two shadowy figures were revealed.

"This should be fine," Lin Feng said as he watched the hustle and bustle unfold before his very eyes. He stepped out of the dark alley and eyed the ancient wooden buildings decked with hanging red lanterns.

His sudden appearance garnered attention from the onlookers. It was strange for a nicely dressed, handsome man to walk in a dark alley.

Lin Feng didn't mind the gazes and proceeded to walk forward, the little dog scuttling behind him.

"Fellow Daoists, with this, fishing dragons is no longer impossible," Lin Feng's attention was piqued by a shouting man. He walked towards the direction, and it wasn't only him that was snared by the man's bold words as a crowd formed in front of the neatly dressed man.

"Spare me a moment of your time, fellow Daoists," the man pulled out a simple-looking rod with a long hooked line at the uttermost end, "as you all can see... this is a fishing rod," carrying the rod with both hands, the man presented it to the crowd with a professional smile.

The sun shone upon the rod, bathing it with its golden light. The onlookers squinted their eyes to avoid temporary blindness from the shining rod.

A content smile plastered on the nicely dressed man, the effect he wanted to portray was an astounding success.

"Fellow Daoists, you must have started to realize this rod is not simple," placing the rod carefully on the ground, the man continued. One hand on his chest while the other raised." I, Pi Anzi, swear on my mother's grave that this is an unparalleled heavenly treasure that defies heaven and..."

"Old man, what are you trying to get at?" An impatient onlooker shouted, his eyes glued at the fishing rod trying to unveil its secrets.

An annoyed face was briefly shown on the man's face. Goddamit, how dare you interrupt my thoroughly rehearsed speech? The man dared to be angry but didn't dare to voice his anger.

"What I'm saying, fellow Daoists, is, this treasure is a family heirloom that has been passed down from my ancestors. And not even they were able to resonate with it," picking up the rod, he continued. "Fellow Daoists, as you all know, everything is determined by fate... us meeting on this eventual day is fate," eying the crowd, Pi Anzi secretly nodded after seeing the crowd's complete attention on him, "Fellow Daoists, after generations of owning this supreme treasure and having zero resonance with it, I, Pi Anzi, the father of my children... I'm benevolent enough to allow whoever has a fate with this treasure to acquire it."

"Why is this bastard acting like selling a treasure is the most magnanimous thing ever," one man in the crowd murmured.

"But that treasure is not so simple, didn't you see how brightly it shone under the sunlight?" An older man with a face that radiated knowledge spoke up while stroking his beard.

"I once heard that this is how mysterious treasures fall in the hand of nobodies, and later they find out that the seemingly ordinary treasure is actually heaven-defying," another man added what he had heard during his experience as a rogue cultivator.

"Haven't you guys heard?" Suddenly, a man joined the conversation, attracting the masses with his unconcealed loud voice.

"What is it, Shuo Huang? If you have something to say, then say it, stop acting mysterious," a man scolded.

"This... it is not that I don't want to say, but rather I don't dare, if I tell you the information, our lives will be in danger, and we will die a dog's death," on his words, the crowd was even more attentive. A cheeky grin plastered on Shuo Huang's face. He was enjoying the attention.

"If you don't want to talk, then take your stupid story elsewhere," a man hidden in the crowd shouted.

Slowly, people started to move towards Shuo Huang, intending to teach him a lesson.

"How dare you play with our interest? If you didn't want to say, you shouldn't have spoken up.

"Fellow Daoists, please leave a way out for our friend. He should be able to explain," just when things were getting out of hand, Pi Anzi chimed in and saved Shuo Huang from a possible lynching.

"Yes, I will immediately explain myself," Shuo Huang cupped his fists and assumed his most respectful posture.

"Then speak!" A man shouted, truthfully, they didn't want to kill him, but forcing him to speak was a must.

I, Shuo Huang, heard from my brother's uncle's third-martial-uncle's neighbour's wife's third son's fifth daughter's brother-in-law's second aunt that the current ruler of the Xudao starfield was once a waste with no talent." Not giving anyone a chance to ask a question, he continued.

"He was rejected by his sect and shunned by his family. One day, after his peers bullied him, he walked out of his family, and it was then he encountered a random merchant," wetting his dry mouth with his slimy-flexible tongue, he continued. "The merchant was selling a treasure, but no one paid attention to him since it was ordinary, but he didn't ignore the man, he used his last remaining spirit stones and bought the treasure from the merchant, you can figure the rest on your fellow Daoists."

The crowd remained silent and still for a while. For starters, they were stuck trying to figure out the complex family tree. So, digesting the information was doomed to take a while.

"Fellow Daoists, you have heard Daoist Huang's words. Who knows, if fate allows it, maybe you could be the one destined to show the full potential of this treasure."

While Pi Anzi tried to sell his treasure to the masses, Lin Feng was still stuck at 'fish dragons'. During his younger years, he heard tales from his mother about dragons and other beasts of legend and how powerful they were—so hearing someone mention them was enough to garner his attention.

How wonderful would it be to witness a dragon one day...and even better, paint one.

Lin Feng had seen all kinds of beasts, but he never spotted the proud and fierce azure dragon or the silent and sturdy black tortoise, the noble and fiery phoenix, or the elusive crouching winged tiger. He hadn't seen a lot, and as a painter, he wanted to draw these beasts of legend.

Lin Feng smiled. Finally, he had discovered a reason to tread the mortal earth.

Hunting these beasts shouldn't be easy... this plus finding out who I am, should keep me busy for a while

"Old man, I think it's fate that we can meet today. How about you let me keep that rod for you?" Lin Feng's thoughts were interrupted by a man.

The man walked towards Pi Anzi as he eyed the rod with a greedy smile.

"I, too, think it's fate that we can meet today. The rod will naturally be yours if you hand over 335,588 high-grade spirit stones.

The man walking towards Pi Anzi stumbled upon hearing the number.

Where do you expect me to get that amount? I'm better off starting a sect with that much.

The man lamented. He was a simple man with average talent. His daily life consisted of chasing treasures' whereabouts, and his talent never allowed him to get one.

He wasn't alone. Others, too, after hearing the price, started to walk away. They consoled themselves that the treasure was a hit or miss, and who knew if it was real anyway?

As more and more people walked away, Pi Anzi was dejected. Even he knew the treasure was a hoax, but the part about it being a family heirloom was true. To guarantee the sale of the rod, he had prepared several machinations, like, the storytellers in the crowd were his men and the rod itself was covered in a special fluid to reflect the sun.

Just as he was about to give up and pack his bags and try his luck in another town, a black dog walked up to him, holding something in its mouth.

Stupid beast, what are...

Pi Anzi was about to vent his frustration on the dog by kicking it, but something within warned him. His kick was halted, and he eyed the dog carefully.

What's so special about this dog?

Pi Anzi was unable to uncover the mysteries behind the dog, but one thing was certain, the dog belonged to someone rich or powerful.

Judging by the silky and shining fur, this beast belongs to someone important, but what is it doing here?

Just as Pi Anzi was wondering, the dog dropped a spatial ring at his feet and grabbed the rod he was carrying with its mouth.

Pi Anzi watched as the dog walked with pride, tail and head raised high. Its very steps were carefully chosen.

He watched as the uncaring dog recklessly carried the rod sweeping some people off their feet, and finally, the dog arrived at the feet of a handsome man dressed in white and black robes. The man seemed happy to receive the rod as he put it in his ring before walking off.

Only then, Pi Anzi snapped out of his thoughts and picked the ring at his feet. He took a peek inside and was astounded.

Heavens! Did I manage to sell the rod?

Pi Anzi was pleasantly surprised. Who knew his attempt was to be this successful?

His joyous moment was suddenly interrupted by a deep and domineering voice.

"If my master doesn't find use for that rod, you better suicide before I reach you, and don't think you can escape. After all, I have already marked you."

Pi Anzi was startled and scared. The voice contained power that gave him a natural fear. He felt his chest burn, and to his horror, once he removed his top, a giant-tattoo like paw was engraved on his very skin.

What have I done to deserve this? I'm only a merchant trying to sell my stuff. Please, I don't want the money anymore. Take it back.

Pi Anzi wailed to no avail, he looked towards the direction the dog had walked off to, but he could see nothing, and as a last blow, the voice sounded again.

"For that, you can only blame yourself for existing and piquing my master's interest."