A few hours prior to the happenings in the hidden warehouse.

Cheng Hao was in no hurry about reaching his new residence. His steps were in tune with his melody, and he'd occasionally sway from side to side as he hummed.

Right then, the leaves rustled, and the golden snake shot out from a bush on the side of the road. The serpentine dragon elegantly landed on the boy's left shoulder.

"Cheng Hao, the Mysterious Light-Shadow Ancestor should have landed himself an inheritance from a higher world. The Twin Star system was then put in place to safeguard and nurture promising talent worthy of it. Though the Spark might have sated your needs for resources and treasures, my recovery will quicken if we can get our hands on them," pompously announced Goldy.

"You'll be surprised once you figure out the true intentions behind the Ancestor's Twin Stars arrangement. A thousand years after his death, and the cultivation world of this entire plane still rotates around his Sect... What a brilliant mind, I'd be disappointed if he actually never made it to the Ageless Realm. Thankfully, the legends would suggest he did. If the countless planes will it, I'll have a chance to meet him someplace Higher." Cheng Hao sighed.

Then, the boy shared his learned opinion with the dragon,

"From the fact that the Reverend even bothered highlighting the position of and requirements of the Twin Stars, I can infer there is a candidate already... and that not only is that kid in a rival faction, but they are also ahead by a considerable amount in terms of cultivation base. I wouldn't be surprised if they had attained the Advanced Stage, and perhaps even completely condensed their Core. They are most likely pushing for the Superior Stage already. In the old man's eyes, even if the Sect were to unite in the goal of nurturing the two of us, I would just be a stepping stone for them and the faction backing them."

"I'm honestly surprised there would be another youth in a god-forsaken land that can somewhat hold a candle to the talents of higher worlds." The child with golden eyes clicked his tongue and pursued his lips. "Then again, there are the events from a thousand years ago. Even though the environment might not be the best, the influx of resources from higher Realms is not to be understated."

Goldy frowned as if he were pondering, but ultimately his wise eyes unfocused and he lazily stretched. Sounding like a purring cat, the small dragon yawned and then comfortably scratched its belly with one of its five tiny arms. It then pried, "But you'd hardly need a few months to catch up anyway? Why not ditch the old man and join the other side? By that time, no matter who came first, there'd be no one foolish enough not to favour you and drop the other kid."

Cheng Hao replied after a considerable while: "...this land, and this very Sect even, is rather bizarre. I'd feel too uncomfortable being tied down here. I need the freedom to act as I see fit. A loose agreement with a hidden power is leagues above formally joining the warring of factions. And as you pointed out, even Ageless Realm byproducts wouldn't make much of a difference to me now. Only to you." The golden-eyed child shrugged, "I know you're apprehensive about your weakness, but as you are now, the amount that the Liu Biao boy kindly financed us will be hard to digest in a few weeks, even for you. Especially the current you. Mind your greed, Heaven Devouring Dragon. What we have will be more than enough until next month comes. After that, we'll see. There are still those ruins' Aura Artefacts, for example- Mm?"

Cheng Hao's steps came to a sudden stop.

Blindlight has also noticed, craning his tiny head back as he listened intently; silence.

The summer song had died down.

"...somebody is coming our way.” Cheng Hao noted. Then, he muttered in astonishment, “These... the footsteps of a child?"

He turned around and, sure enough, a small figure in the distance could be seen running anxiously, trying to catch up with them.

"Oh? To be inside the walls of the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect's fortress he must have passed the exam…" the golden dragon was also reminded of this point.

Then, the draconic pupils excitedly lit up, "And for him to be coming our way, it must be that Lao junior's doing. To catch that Reverend fellow's eyes, clearly this one isn't normal. Twin Star worthy, perhaps?" he pointed out with a smug grin.

"...you're ridiculously lucky, you snake bastard. You at least acknowledge it, right?"

"Tch, says you, Youngster Li- Hao. Youngster Hao." Goldy beamed as if he were already delighting himself in the treasures of higher worlds, hidden in the depths of the Sect. Then, as if intoxicated, a small tongue moved to pursue his lips, “Now then, my sweetest meal ticket, won't you hurry up and meet with grandpa?”

"Primordial, Karma, invisible." Cheng Hao poked the dragon's forehead with a smirk, "Any of it rings a bell, you geezer? Rather, if he did see you, then we'd be in big trouble."

"...I'm just not used to it yet. Interacting with Mortals."

"Whatever says you, you antisocial, forgetful, lazy waste."

"The way I see it, I invest my energy solely as I deem efficient."

"Then spare some more by shutting up. Your buzzing is distracting me."

"Ooh, he's coming, he's coming!"

...

"Haa, hoo, cough!" The purple-haired child desperately gasped for air. Evidently, the sprint had taken a big toll on his small body. The cold ground below was biting into his back, his regal robes dirtied as he lay supine on the paved road. A few steps to the side stood Cheng Hao, looking pained as the priceless cloth was sullied before his eyes.

"Thank, thank you so much for waiting!" Initially unable to stop huffing and puffing, he had only been able to mutter those few words after resting for a while.

"Might I aid with anything? I could entertain you with a glass of water, perhaps?" Cheng Hao eyed the newcomer with curiosity as he handed over a goatskin.

The first things that got his attention were the crystalline, green eyes shining like emeralds. Incomparably radiant, bright.

Framing them, like ornaments encasing a jewel, were long, fluttering eyelashes a deep violet, and thin, arching brows. Cascading on his chest and rising and falling as he heaved were strands of long hair of that same purple, with hues of vibrant blue as they approached the tips.

The proportions of his face were immaculate, their flawless symmetry a delightful arrangement.

Every single feature of his was harmonious.

An adeptly refined gemstone given breath.

Cheng Hao, however, only felt stab after stab to his chest. Unknowingly, his eyes narrowed, and his heart painfully stirred as a deep melancholy overcame him.

Lips a dark purple voraciously gulped down the water in the goatskin. It felt like an eternity had passed by the time the emerald-eyed child stopped with a weary groan. Then, with a slight blush at his own unbecoming behaviour, he went to immediately hand the goatskin back. However, he found the blue-robed boy lost in a daze.

Awkwardly, he hesitatingly raised and lowered his hand repeatedly, only catching the other's attention after clearing his throat.

"...Yes?"

With a bow of his head, the emerald-eyed youth spoke, "Many thanks again, uh..."

"...it's Cheng Hao. Cheng Hao."

"Hey, Youngster Li- Hey, Youngster Hao. What should we do with this brat?” Goldy, slithered out of the boy’s pockets and landed atop his head. Immediately afterwards, however, as soon as the dragon focused his lazy gaze on the emerald-eyed youth, his eyelids twitched noticeably. He then asked with a deep frown, “That's odd? Now, now, doesn’t this boy look familiar? Hey Stupid Hao, why do his features look just like-"

"Ah!" a crystalline yelp interrupted the golden dragon’s words

As Goldy had been rambling on and on, the emerald-eyed child had been nervously looking back and forth between the golden-eyed child and the one-foot-long snake. In the end, breaking out of his stupor, he had pointed straight at the golden dragon, his screams echoing in the dead of night.

“S-Snake!”

Such a nice youth, to be worrying about others… Ahh, it warms my heart to see that this generation has actually grown up to be so thoughtful!

…Not.

Goldy's eyes widened like quail eggs, his minuscule, toothless jaws dropped to the ground.

Cheng Hao's eyebrows shot up, his gaze growing indescribably complex.

Something was terribly wrong with this scene.

...

As a young, mortal scholar wandering a higher world, Xu Ling had a sudden and strange encounter with a Primordial.

In a bid to flee from an enemy, he chanced upon the perimeter of a gargantuan death zone: the mountainous range traversing up a whole tenth of that higher world. With his pursuer right on his trail and his back against the wall, he was forced to venture further and further inside. The other followed him closely behind.

Unbeknownst to them both, that mysterious ground was the lair of a being from an olden Era.

The abode of a sleeping primordial dragon, Blindlight.

And it just so happened that, when Xu Ling's pursuer got too close, the dragon had twitches in his sleep. A fierce avalanche followed, drowning the man in a hail of debris and killing him instantly.

It had happened in his lethargy, but it sowed enough strong karma for Xu Ling to finally be able to See. The beast that extended far beyond the horizon, its sinuous body tens of thousands of miles long, possibly more than the young Xu Ling had even travelled in his lifetime, reflected in his starry eyes.

The chance encounter of a lifetime.

With the passing of the years, the beast had endlessly lamented his abysmal luck to be dragged along in that kid's quest. To Xu Ling, it was the start of it all.

There is no doubt that, without the golden dragon's guidance in his past life, Xu Ling would have had no chance to accomplish the smallest portion of what he had.

A touching story.

Now then, how could this child that, mind you, neither Cheng Hao nor Blindlight had ever even seen before, actually notice the golden dragon? As far as the boy knew, the Primordial had hidden deeply after Xu Ling's fall. It couldn't even have been a month since Cheng Hao had finished playing around with the Spark and located his companion, forcefully bringing him to his side. Since then, the two had stuck together.

For this reason, if a bond of Karma truly existed, it would have to have been a connection from more than a thousand years earlier.

"Fellow disciple! Fellow disciple! There's a snake on your shoulder! Watch out!"

Hearing the eight-year-old boy warn him again and again, Cheng Hao felt a whirlpool of emotions rampaging in his chest. However, he couldn't act upon his suspicions yet. Or rather, he wasn't sure he could bring himself to bear the misery of being wrong. Not this once.

Ultimately...

The best course of action would be to act oblivious and panic. Then, I should just shrug my shoulders a little. Blindlight should guess what's up and will fall off his own accord, slither his way out of view, and that would be the end of it... but then there's this sudden hitch; a hunch that this is an opportunity I should not miss?

Suddenly, Goldy felt a cold shiver run down his tiny spine: once he looked at Cheng Hao, he found the golden-eyed youth staring back intently... Goldy gulped and shed a drop of cold sweat once he noticed the thin, crimson lips twitching just barely-

No, screw 'twitching'. Hey, hey, hey, you're just outright smirking now! At least don't make it obvious, you brat!

The poor, one-foot-long snake could only watch as a small palm was raised in the air.

"Ah. A snake. Scary." Cheng Hao unenthusiastically exclaimed as he took a step back and his palm blurred...

This is for sending me to challenge the final boss halfway through the story, you golden worm bastard!

PAM!

The sound from the slap had even the purple-haired youth wince as he watched on. Within the blink of an eye, the miniature dragon had disappeared like magic.

It had face-planted at a considerable distance of more than seventy feet away, amidst the bushes.

His teeth should have cracked. Ah, again, if he had any.

"Ahh! That was close, man!" Cheng Hao artfully heaved and let out a sigh of relief, now again fully immersed in his eight-year-old persona.

He was both 'shocked' and 'terrified' that he had not noticed the dangerous beast resting atop his shoulders. His gaze fell upon the startled green-eyed youth and bowed 'gratefully': who knew what kind of 'dangers' could have befallen him had he not been warned!

As soon as he got to slap the damn snake, a burst of energy flooded his body. He was feeling especially refreshed, so at least his gratefulness wasn't just an act.

"Many thanks, fellow disciple, for your aid! I'm Cheng Hao, a humble disciple of the Sect starting today! Very, very nice to meet you. What's your name, fellow disciple?"

This can go one of two drastically different ways...

Naturally, although Cheng Hao's face was full of gratefulness, he had already secretly grasped the golden lotus hairpin in his hand, ready to strike at the first notice of any danger.

Thrown off by seeing Cheng Hao this friendly all of a sudden, the other boy didn't hesitate to bow and struggled to respond in a similar manner. "T-This humble disciple is called Li, Li of Xiao... I doubt however that Disciple Cheng Hao has ever heard of such Clan, as I... herald from afar."

Xiao Clan...

"Afar?"

"Yeah. Well, it took me six months to get here. I have only arrived in the sect grounds today."

Six months? If I had to chart a path to their Plane, it would probably take seven months to travel...

"What a coincidence! I also only got here today! But did it really take you six months? That must have been tiring. You weren't alone that whole time, were you?"

"...well, a committee of trusted elders accompanied me and dropped me off. After all, I joined this Sect as per my esteemed Clan Master's instructions. It was an order from our revered Ancestor after all!"

"...Ancestor."

...And that's why it only took you six months.

Of course it did!

Of course 'He' would figure out the way...

Cheng Hao fought back the urge to cry: to this day, Xiao stood strong!

He had never once doubted, but this confirmation was so, so precious.

They had to have suffered a huge blow after the rebellion against Tian failed. Fortunately, the Clan of the Bright Smile could not be forced from their Clan Grounds. The countless gifts the Jade Emperor had granted his most beloved Clan over his long reign would have been more than enough to brave the retaliation of a deeply scarred Nine Heavens. It would have been beyond foolish for Tian not to call for a truce, especially so because it was Tian, the cold, calculating despot.

Cheng Hao's gaze fixated on the pair of emeralds with extreme interest.

"Xiao Li of Xiao."

"Mm? Yeah?"

Why was it that the more Cheng Hao entertained the notion, the more increasingly sure he became that this "Li" was a young master of the Xiao Clan?

"Xiao Li of Xiao..."

"Yes?"

Was it the regal robes?

Maybe... No. No, it was not the regal robes.

"Xiao Li. Of Xiao."

"..."

Was it the familiar emerald of his eyes? The nostalgic, vibrant violet in his hair and the deep purple of his lips?

No. Not quite. It had gone beyond proof and confirmation now.

It had already become an axiom.

A melody of a thousand years ago.

"Li. Of Xiao."

"...yes. What's wrong?" Xiao Li felt a shiver run down his spine. Secretly, he clenched his fist.

"Eh-Eheheh," the emerald-eyed boy let out a crystalline laugh and smiled cheekily to overcome his uneasiness, "Could it be that the snake from earlier bit your tongue off? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Cheng Hao blinked. And smiled.

How unfair.

You're just too unfair, Xiao Lan of Xiao.