Deafening. A massive explosion blasted half of the mountain apart. All sounds of the world seemed to have completely vanished and the blue clear sky turned into a black gate of hell in an instant. Endless chunks of rocks, trees, carcasses along broken corpses kept raining down on the enormous crater. Hundreds of people were jumping and flying around, screaming in each other's faces. Yet no one could hear anything due to their temporary hearing loss and that made them roar even more furiously.

"A bunch of retards."

Ridiculed a male youth with hideous beast skulls on his back. He swung his right arm over his head and a huge orange, half-oval translucent shield appeared in the air, covering him and his group of around 30 people. They surprisingly have a totally different clothing style from him. All wore neat, blue tunics and each one of them held a big book under their left arm.

Suddenly the youth felt a chill on his back and turned his head. Far on his right side, next to the edge of the crater, there was a group of eight bulky men, wearing similar animal hides like his. Immense power radiated from their muscular body, creating an oppressive aura around them. Like eight sleeping beasts, they were just floating there, not even caring to dodge any of the falling debris. One of them was an old man with long, silky white hair. Heavy stones bounced off his big shoulders and a broken corpse got squashed to mush upon landing onto his head. Black, venomous liquid ran down slowly on his forehead, dropping from his eyelashes. His gaze focused on the male youth and became gentler.

"If you're ever tired on your journey, or feeling lost in the outside world, just come back home, child."

Told the old man.

The male youth glanced at the eight men's sturdy bodies and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes. The old man's warm voice made his skinny body tremble but he closed his eyes and slowly turned his head away from them. He took a deep breath and abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze was sharper and more determined than ever.

Not far above from the two groups in the sky, there was a party of around 50 people. They all wore shiny, golden robes and stood on various flying cooking utensils.

"Woah sis, is this the infamous skinny pig?"

Cried out a young girl on a flying pot and pointed at the male youth with beast skulls on his back. Her pot was abnormally big for her own size, compared to the other people next to her. It seemed quite unstable, as she kept jumping repeatedly on it.

"Don't be mean. He is just a sad kid, running away from home."

An older girl on her right side smiled and held the young girl's hands.

"I heard it's because his body is different from his brothers. They said he eats double as much like them but is still only half their size and his strength doesn't even match that of a baby cyan wolf."

Sighed the young girl. "But how come he went to those scrawny bookworms?"

She burst out in laughter.

"What I can't understand is, how can he use their magic? I haven't thought it's possible for anyone of his bloodline."

The older girl glanced at the middle age man on the young girl's left side.

"He should have come to me instead. I bet he just couldn't get a decent meal at home. With my culinary skills, even the skinniest monkey will become the fattest bear. Like that one over there."

Laughed the young girl heartily and pointed to a huge man sitting on the edge of the crater far on their left side.

"Show some respect to your elders, or you will stay home next time."

Glared the middle-age man with wide-opened eyes at the young girl and turned in the direction of the huge man to make an apologetic smile.

"Aye aye, dad."

The young girl giggled and waved energetically with her right hand high in the air, towards the huge man.

"Old man, be careful. More forces have arrived and are lurking in the shadow."

Smiled the huge man and even though he spoke quietly, his voice reached the ears of the middle-aged man's group as if he were right next to them.

The huge man's body was enormous like a small mountain. Actually, every single one of his group was. They were just sitting there on the ground and scanning the whole crater vigilantly for something. Sitting his left side was a young man, even though not quite as big as the huge man himself but his body seemed to be carved out of stones and his skins gleamed like steel. His gaze was resolute and yet his knitted eyebrows showed a hint of unwillingness.

"Have you found it yet?"

Asked the huge man and looked kindly towards the young man.

The young man kept his gaze straight ahead and remained silent for a moment.

"Father, should we really be here? Am I doing the right thing?"

His voice was so quiet, as if not asking his father but only himself.

"Whether we interfere in this war or not, he will lose IT this time. Instead of leaving IT to the hand of those corrupt factions, why not keep it in our protection."

The huge man's gaze wandered on the thousands of people moving around the crater and their greedy expression. He could sense powerful energy fluctuations behind those black clouds high in the sky and heavy breathing coming from the vast forest around their groups.

"And why not offer help instead of looting a burning house? Why mobilize an army of cowards to corner a lone man? Why call it protection when it's obviously a robbery?"

The young man spoke faintly but his low voice sounded with each word louder and heavier. When the last word left his mouth, a huge sound wave expanded abruptly with his group as the centre and blasted everything around them away. Many people were caught off guard and received severe injuries from the massive air pressure.

"What the fuck are y…"

An old man wearing a white tunic not far away from the huge man's group cried out fiercely. He couldn't erect a stronger barrier fast enough and five disciples of his clan had suffered life-threatening injuries from the sound wave earlier. Yet before the old man could even finish his sentence, an enormous rock crashed against his head and reduced his whole body to blood mist in a glimpse of an eye. Everyone around him glared with shocked expression towards the direction, where the rock came from. A gigantic young lady was going back to sit behind the young man with steel-like skin. Her eyes were fixated on the young man's broad back. He was her mountain, her sky pillar and the future leader of her clan. Anyone disrespecting him would be crushed personally by her. The turmoil instantly calmed down and everyone cast their hatred glance at the huge man's group before moving back to their places.

"How great it would be if we can hold on to our pride, to our principles. But we aren't acting for our own here. We do it for our whole clan. Millions of our clan members are struggling every day, trying to survive in this harsh world. We can only speak about honour if we have the power to protect it. So what if they call me a disgraceful bastard. So what if my remorse is devouring my soul every night. To make the future of my clan a little brighter, I'm willing to even sacrifice myself. That's the destiny of a clan leader, my child."

The huge man sighed and his mind seemed to be lost in thoughts.

The young man grabbed tightly on the handle of his great hammer. All the muscles in his arms seemed to be popping out at any second. The rain of debris had stopped. The black mist over the crater was gradually fading away and the faint outline of a man's figure slowly appeared in front of everyone. The young man looked intensely, with his now blood-red eyes, at the figure. He could finally see that face clearly. He remembered those heroic stories about that man. His unfathomable strength, his outstanding glory and his unyielding courage. Coming from this forgotten forest, the man became the brightest rising star in the world and earned admiration from people of all generations. And yet, in the end, he stood here alone, surrounded by hundreds of thousand enemies. The ones he once called friends were driving him to his death. The woman he loved was now pointing her own sword at his throat.

"I'm sorry."

The young man gnashed his teeth and murmured. His voice was filled with anger and shame.

All people halted their movement and glanced intensely at the man's figure in the middle of the mist. The winds seemed to be too scared to blow and all the beasts didn't dare to make a sound. Only the slow and heavy breathing of hundreds of thousand people dominated the silent battlefield. The man in the middle of all that attention was very calm. His long, loose black hair was wet and stuck on his shoulders and back. Every now and then, thick red blood drops dripped from his hair and landed on his tattered clothes. Mixed with the dirt, they made the original colour of his clothes become unrecognisable. Even though his body trembled from pain, he still stood firmly in the air with his head high and his face emotionless. In his right hand was a broken sword with only half of its blade remaining.

In front of him was a young woman with a gracious figure. Her eyes were sharp like those of a hawk. Not a single of the man's movement could escape them. She watched his facial expression closely and the grip on her sword became tenser.

"Just give up already. You have no power left to protect it. We can let you go after you hand it to us."

Said an old woman, leading a group of around a hundred people.

"What right do you have to hold on to it. You can't even protect your miserable self."

Shouted a middle-aged man angrily. He and his several hundreds of men would have already flown over and killed the injured man if there weren't so many other factions around. He didn't want to fight mindlessly, only to let other people get that thing in the end.

All people on the battlefield knew the injured man was on his last breath, alas even then he could still bring a lot of them down before his death. His power was monstrous. Just the thought about his resistance during the last several months brought a chill down their spines. Only one-tenth of his pursuer had survived the recent battles. Of course, it wasn't just due to his power alone but also because all the participating factions were fighting secretly against each other. Nonetheless, the current situation was too dangerous for them to act impulsively. Especially at the end moment like now. The injured man didn't answer. No one continued to talk. Everyone seemed to be forging their own plan and waiting for the right moment.

"How long does she want to point that sword towards him? Does that dirty snake still want to humiliate him one last time before his death? How can such a despicable woman exist in this world?"

A young woman from a group of over a hundred females couldn't bear with long silent anymore and complained impatiently. Her eyes were widened from anger and if her gaze could have real power, it might have pierced through the back of the gracious young woman in the sky a thousand times.

"What can't you have with absolute power. To be powerful, to be respected by other people, a woman has to be able to forgo of nonsense like this love. It's his own fault that he isn't strong enough. He says he wants to protect his homeland, yet his foolishness has destroyed it. He says people are greedy, yet after seeing all his fellow villagers were killed, he still can't let go of that power. He is just a hypocrite, who only loves himself. What love dares he to expect from her?"

Answered a young woman next to her righteously. She had always admired the gracious young woman in the sky since she was a child. She wanted to wield heaven shaking power, to be as beautiful and to have just as many admirers like her.

Leading their group was a middle-aged woman. She was not an outstanding beauty like them all but her deep eyes seemed to possess boundless intelligence. She looked at the gracious young woman in the sky, then at the other factions. She saw the hostile atmosphere between every participating parties. Her gaze landed on the destroyed landscape. Only half of the enormous mountain remained. Crackling sounds could still be heard from the burning forest. The rivers were now filled with blood and decayed corpses. It was a forgotten land when they came. It was peaceful but somehow lifeless. She had sensed that something was missing from this land but she still hadn't figured out what it was. She glanced back at the gracious young woman and the injured man. She knew there was more to this war than it seemed but it didn't matter. The mission of her group was to secured that power and to not let it get into the hand of those evil factions, even if they have to destroy it in the end.

"Power only belongs to the destined one."

Said the gracious young woman softly. Her voice seemed to be out of this world and let everyone soul enter a mysterious state of tranquillity. Even the most powerful cultivators on the battlefield still need a second to reclaim their clarity. Many of them broke out in sweats. They couldn't believe she had become even stronger during this war. Many young girls' eyes brightened up as they looked at her. Their admiration transformed into reverence.

"You don't have the right to keep it."

"Hand it over. Our patience is limited."

"What use is power, if you die because of it."

"Give it to us and we promise to fulfil one of your wishes."

"You will lose it anyway, so let it be with us. We are the only one worthy of that power."

"Give up already."

…

People started to break the silence and began to shout at the injured man. Some tried to threaten him. Some tried to persuade. Their voice was even louder than the roar of hungry beasts. Yet he didn't look at anyone of them, not even at the gracious young woman in front of him. His gaze rested on the black sky. His heartbeat had been slowed down even more, with every second since that last explosion. His vision was getting blurry. Only the gracious young woman's voice resounded in his mind.

"Where my voice resounds, none shall invade.

Where my shadow covers, lands shall be safe."

The injured man said quietly with his last strength. His voice was so weak that only the young woman in front of him could hear it. That special power within him, the one that so many coveted, began to tremble restlessly. Despite feeling the injured man's critical condition, it didn't want to leave and tried to hide deep within the man's soul. The man took a heavy breath and sorrowfully looked one last time into the young woman's eyes and slowly opened his mouth. However, before he could say anything, the last beat of his heart ended and his eyes became dull.

The young woman's face, which was emotionless during the entire war, changed drastically at that moment. Her clear, blue eyes became blood-red all of a sudden and hatred filled her heart. A shrill scream shook the heaven and blazing blue light dazzled everyone's eyes. The sword in the young woman's hand finally moved and a wave of blue energy burst out from her sword. Another thunderous roar resounded through the sky as the blue energy wave transformed into a gigantic cyan dragon after piercing through the injured man's chest. Everyone present took in a deep breath and their gaze was filled with greed. The dragon was carrying a dazzling golden something in its claws. The young woman chanted some unknown words and the dragon let out a vicious cry before dashing through the black clouds in the sky and flying far away from the battlefield.

"After it!"

"Hurry, don't let those bastards get it first."

"What is the meaning of this? Why did you let it escape?"

"And why is that stupid dragon flying towards that direction?"

"Wow, today is really our lucky day. That dragon is flying towards us. Grab it for me!"

The battlefield broke into chaos instantly. Everyone tried to fly as fast as possible after the cyan dragon. Some didn't forget to glare viciously at the gracious young woman before leaving. It was obvious that the woman had planned it from the start. Even though many of them were chasing, about a third of them was still floating around the gracious young woman and the now-dead man. They knew they weren't a match against those mighty factions in the race for that power, so they stayed here in hope of looting something from the dead man and his homeland. They didn't forget what a powerful cultivator the man was. There were definitely more secrets to find. Yet before they could make a move, the gracious young woman chanted another line of words. Ten other men and women appeared and chanted the same words. Together with the gracious young woman, they formed a mysterious formation. Golden flames rose from the ground and engulfed the entire forest and mountain. Few people were caught by surprise and were reduced to ashes after touching the fire.

"What the heck are doing? Do you want to destroy everything?"

Everyone was furious and shouted angrily at the young woman's group. Looking at the burning forest, they know it's too late to stop the fire and for it to be able to expand so rapidly, meant that the young woman's group came with thorough preparation. She had never intended to let them roam this land since the beginning.

"Fellow cultivators. The power you all seek has escaped. Hurry up and you might have a chance to obtain it. This is a forgotten land when you came, so let it also remain forgotten in the future."

An old man smiled and spoke slowly. His clothes had the same style as the gracious young woman's and appeared to be her senior.

"This is all we can do for you. Remember your promise."

After giving the young woman a short glance, he swung his arm and left with his group.

The remaining people looked at each other, then at the young woman in the air. They grabbed their weapon tight and sniggered. Just as they wanted to make a move, a colossal translucent dragon appeared in the air and smashed its claws against them. Blood splattered everywhere and people were fleeing for their life. The dragon flew up into the sky and swung its tail against the black clouds. After clearing them all, it let out a content roar and started to chase after everyone again. Agony screams resounded in the forest.

"Where my voice resounds, none shall invade.

Where my shadow covers, lands shall be safe."

The gracious young woman looked at those remaining cultivators with her emotionless eyes while her ethereal voice reverberated through countless lands, far beyond the forest itself. Like an empress declaring her edict, she left a deep imprint in the mind of every one hearing it.

Many people didn't fear the translucent dragon, but their mind trembled when they think about the young woman's tremendous growth potential and what monstrous power she will possess in the future. They sighed and left unwillingly after considering what trouble would have been waiting for them. They could hunt down the dead man floating in the forest this time, only because he was alone and had no one backing him up. Against the young woman, however, it was suicide for them.

The sky was clear again and silence returned to the forgotten land. The dusk sun cast its sorrowful light upon the blazing forest. Only the crackling sound of fire could be heard every now and then. In the sky were two lonely figures. The young woman was still looking at the man's lifeless face. Her sword was still stuck in the man's chest. No, it was holding his body, preventing it from falling. It seemed like he still stood tall and firmly there. His voice might not be heard any more in this world but his shadow still covered his homeland, showing his will to protect it, even after his death. There was red light flickering around his chest. Blue energy wave continued to flow out of the sword into the man's dead body. After a while, a red glowing sphere formed in front of his chest. The young woman raised her left hand and gently stroke the man's cold cheek. She grabbed the red sphere and let it hover above her palm. She sighed mournfully and look at the man's bloodless face, then at the lifeless forest down below them. Her gaze became determined and a blue sphere slowly floated out of her chest. She gazed at the man's dull eyes affectionately. Her last sentence to him resounded in her mind.

"Power only belongs to the destined one."

Everyone could hear it but none knew there was a second part of this sentence. The part only he and she knew.

"But the destined one can create power."