The darkness persisted.
A suffocating, pitch-black void where nothing could be seen.
The frustration of being trapped in such an emptiness pressed down on me.
The longer it lasted, the more it grated on my nerves, irritation bubbling up uncontrollably.
Crack.
A fracture appeared in the darkness.
It looked just like the scene when the master had struck the barrier of the Abyssal Pit.
The crack, stretching like a spider’s web, slowly spread across my entire field of vision.
Before long, the fractured surface shattered into countless shards, restoring my sight.
Crackle—
Like crushing charred remains or breaking apart an eggshell, the entire space splintered, and light seeped through.
"Ugh..."
The sudden brightness stung. It was so blinding that my eyes instinctively shut against the harsh light.
"What...?"
Struggling to adjust, I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and slowly lifted my upper body.
As I propped myself up, my other hand brushed against something unfamiliar.
A strange texture.
Looking down, I saw wild grass beneath my fingertips.
The moment I recognized it, all my dulled senses surged back to life.
The scent of grass filled my nose from every direction.
The rough texture of the weeds against my palm.
The faint aroma of the forest, the chirping of birds, and the warm rays of sunlight filtering down from the sky.
The sheer peacefulness of it all felt... unsettling.
"What...?"
What kind of situation was this?
I was suddenly in a forest. How the hell did this happen?
Where am I now?
I was supposed to be the master of the Myriad Realms. I had just faced my mother. Her hand had been reaching for my throat, about to pierce it.
But when I opened my eyes, I was here.
And more than that—
This isn’t the forest of the Myriad Realms.
The trees and plants weren’t the peculiar, twisted forms that filled the Myriad Realms. Instead, everything looked... normal.
It was a forest I recognized. Too familiar.
A forest straight out of Zhongyuan.
Is this an illusion?
Or... a vision before death?
It was entirely possible. If not, then—
Just as my ancestor had warned, something has happened.
I recalled what my ancestor had said just before my sight was swallowed by darkness.
"A contingency."
My mother had prepared a contingency plan for me.
Wasn’t finding all the Divine Trees supposed to be that contingency?
I didn’t know.
I couldn’t understand what was happening, but I couldn’t afford to stand still, either.
First, I needed to get up and assess the situation.
First, my body.
I lightly cycled my energy to check my condition—
...What?
A strange sensation.
The energy that had once filled me was now... missing.
A large portion of it had vanished.
The rest of my energy still remained, but—
The energy of the Divine Trees is gone.
Not just that. Even the divine power that had once dwelled within me had disappeared completely.
...And my body has changed.
There was a noticeable difference in my physical form.
I clenched and unclenched my fists a few times, trying to gauge my strength.
I’m weaker.
That much was certain. My body had definitely weakened.
The only relief was that my cultivation level remained intact.
Vrrrr...
At least my authorities are still here.
The powers I had accumulated—
Even the ones I had gained upon becoming a dragon—were still intact.
...This is absurd.
What the hell kind of nonsense was this?
I was still trying to make sense of it when—
Crunch—!
...!
Someone was approaching.
I immediately sharpened my senses, suppressing my presence as I concealed myself.
Not long after—
"Are you sure this is the place?"
"Yes. According to the report, it should be around here."
Voices.
And not just any voices—
Zhongyuan dialect.
Not the language of the Myriad Realms, but the very language I knew from Zhongyuan.
I widened my eyes and turned toward the approaching figures.
...Huh?
They were human.
"...There’s nothing here."
"No, but... I clearly heard that someone was found collapsed in this area."
And not just any humans.
Their clothing...
That’s the uniform of the Murim Alliance.
The distinct colors and patterns left no room for doubt.
Which meant—
...Am I in Zhongyuan?
Had I suddenly returned?
I couldn’t understand it.
Still in shock, I silently observed the two men as they scoured the area where I had been lying.
"Tch. There’s nothing here."
"...That’s strange."
"Probably another false report. Damn it, as if we don’t have enough trouble dealing with those demon beasts already."
The man who had been grumbling turned away first.
"Let’s go. If we waste time here, we’ll only get in trouble."
"But, senior..."
"Enough. Let’s just go back. Did you forget what’s happening today? If we’re late and the vice leader finds out, we’re screwed."
"...Understood."
The younger one hesitated, glancing back in my direction as if still suspicious.
But in the end, the two of them left.
"..."
Only after their presence had completely disappeared did I finally emerge from my hiding spot.
"What the hell..."
What kind of ridiculous situation was this?
I had suddenly returned to Zhongyuan?
Then what about the Myriad Realms?
What happened to everything I left behind?
Cheonma... Shin Noya... and the Divine Sword?
Could I really just return like this, leaving all of that behind?
My expression twisted in frustration.
No.
That couldn’t be.
Things wouldn’t just resolve themselves in such a ridiculous way.
That’s what I told myself.
I glanced toward the direction the two men had left.
For now... I need to find out what’s going on.
That was my top priority.
**********
I emerged from the forest.
Even though my body had weakened, I had still reached transcendence, so escaping wasn’t too difficult.
Following the presence of people, I moved forward, and before long, I saw a city in the distance.
At that moment, I realized where I was.
"Hanam."
The place I had originally resided.
This was the prefecture of Hanam, where the headquarters of the Murim Alliance was located.
Seeing it confirmed that I was indeed in Zhongyuan.
And yet—
Something’s different.
As I entered the prefecture and looked around, I quickly noticed several discrepancies.
The buildings are completely different.
This was definitely the same prefecture I had known, but it looked entirely unfamiliar.
Hanam had been devastated once before by an attack from those damned Ze Gal bastards. After that, everything had been rebuilt, so the streets and buildings had long since changed.
But here...
This place looks like the old Hanam.
No, even older than that—everything appeared ancient.
“Come, try this out!”
“Just take a look before you go!”
The atmosphere was different, too.
Hanam’s prefecture was always bustling, but even with that in mind, this place felt... far more peaceful.
Too many things were different from what I knew.
...Could it be?
Was this another world, like what Senior Tang had once described?
That possibility seemed highly likely. If this place was so drastically different from what I knew, then it made more sense to assume that this wasn’t my Zhongyuan at all.
Then what the hell am I supposed to do now?
If this really was another world, then what was my purpose here?
Mother said this was part of her contingency plan.
Did she intend for me to find something here?
I frowned, unable to make sense of any of it.
Tsk.
As I scanned my surroundings,
Hmm?
A faint fragrance brushed past my nose.
Wait, this scent—
I sharpened my vision.
It was a smell I knew all too well.
Turning my head, I spotted an inn.
...Huh.
It was a place I recognized.
A place I used to visit in my original Zhongyuan whenever I craved dumplings.
This place exists here, too?
Even in this messed-up situation, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity.
Maybe that was why—
My feet unconsciously carried me toward it.
I wasn’t particularly hungry.
It wasn’t like I was starving, nor did this feel like the kind of situation where I should be thinking about food.
And yet, I walked toward it anyway.
Perhaps simply because it was familiar.
“Ah! Welcome, young hero!”
As soon as I reached the entrance, the inn’s attendant greeted me with a bright smile.
Before I knew it, I had been led to a table and seated.
Soon, the attendant returned and asked,
“What would you like to order?”
“...Do you have dumplings?”
“Of course! Our dumplings are our best-selling dish.”
“I’ll take one order.”
“I’ll bring it right away!”
With a beaming smile, the attendant left to prepare my food.
I sat there absentmindedly, my thoughts spinning.
What the hell am I doing?
Was I an idiot?
I had suddenly walked into an inn to eat dumplings?
Even if it was a subconscious decision, it still made no sense.
...Is this really okay?
Of course not.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t right.
There were so many things I needed to figure out, and here I was, wasting time on dumplings.
I snapped out of it, intending to stand up immediately—
Until—
“Did you hear? The Divine Dragon was just appointed vice leader.”
“Oh? The Divine Dragon?”
I froze.
Divine Dragon?
A name I knew all too well.
If they were talking about the Divine Dragon...
Did that bald bastard become a vice leader?
The Divine Dragon of Shaolin.
It had to be him.
Even if this was a different world, I was still familiar with that name.
“That’s right. They say he’s the youngest vice leader in history.”
“Haha, not only did he join the Azure Dragon Unit at such a young age, but now he’s already a vice leader? At this rate, he might even become the Grand Leader of the Divine Dragon Unit someday.”
“Honestly, that wouldn’t be surprising.”
Vice leader of the Azure Dragon Unit?
Something was off.
Why the hell is he there?
If he was the Divine Dragon, then naturally, he should have joined the Divine Dragon Unit.
But they said he was part of the Azure Dragon Unit?
From what I was hearing, the Divine Dragon Unit still existed here.
Then... is it just not the same here?
If this was another world, maybe things simply worked differently.
I was about to dismiss it when—
“Well, it’s truly a miracle. For such an incredible talent to emerge from such an unknown place.”
“...?”
Something about that statement sounded odd.
What do they mean, ‘unknown place’?
“The place isn’t that unknown. It still holds a fairly high position in Shanxi Province.”
Huh...?
The moment I heard that, my head snapped toward the man who had spoken.
...What the hell did he just say?
