The west wind was cool and damp, carrying the scent of rain. It blew through the village, strong enough to stir the dust from packed dirt streets, raising up little dirt devils that ran around chaotically before dropping back down again.

  Jinhai watched them rise and dance and fall with a disconcerting regularity. Was this Heaven’s warning? Or Heaven placing fortune before him? His people had many sayings about the wind, which was always whispering of things to come, but this was beyond his own abilities to interpret.

  He sighed and turned his attention back to the group moving up the street away from him as they slowly walked uphill towards the north end of the village. He used his Cloud Step skill and launched himself across the twenty foot gap towards the next small building, landing soundlessly on the curved ridge of the tiled roof. He moved quickly towards the large stone chimney.

  Around him, the village stretched out in uneven angles of timber and stone and clay roof tiles. The sight was broken only by iron lightning rods and thick stone chimneys exhaling thin columns of unscented smoke into the late afternoon light. Such a crude place. Nothing like his home sect or even the frontier towns in the prefecture under their protection.

  He felt a pang as he thought about his home in the Argent Mountains. He wanted to return home but had promised himself and his elders that he would look in on the boy once more as he passed back through the area. He would need to provide an update and they would want a thorough report. Not for the first time, he regretted telling anyone about what he had found in this village.

  The previous two weeks had been spent in the nearest of the Western Kingdoms, ostensibly guarding a traveling trade caravan from his sect's provincial capital. In truth he was there to gather intelligence and put pressure on the higher level negotiations his city's administrators were conducting with the local nobility. This largely saw him standing in the corner of the room, day after day, looking calmly menacing and applying a little pressure when necessarily. It had been a long, boring stay and he was eager to return to the Empire.

  The trade talks had gone well though. Western lords haggled like merchants in a street market, puffed up with their shallow pool of power and confidence in their own strength. They bowed when required and poured out pleasantries when advantageous but still they drove a hard bargain. Not that it mattered in the end. His Argent Bastion was the bigger power and would receive what it needed from them.

  His role in the trade talks had been tedious but even jade must be carved to become a gem and it had given him time to consider what he would do about the boy in this remote village. After all, a youth of such potential, sitting right on their borders, could become a problem in the future.

  Not for the first time he considered just killing the boy and being done with it. There was no love lost between the magicians in the west and the practitioners of his homeland and he may be doing his people a service by removing a future threat. It would be far easier than trying to convince the boy to come train in the east even if slaying such talent might plant a seed of deviation in his own heart.

  And he needed training: the boy’s presence no longer flickered like a candle, but surged outward like a bonfire on the verge of being out of control. Without training he could potentially be dangerous to himself and those around him.

  Even from a distance, without directly focusing his senses, Jinhai could feel the unconscious pressure radiating from the young man even from across the street. It sent the surrounding qi swirling away in broad distortions.

  He was so much stronger than the first time Jinhai had laid eyes on the boy. It was rare for someone to progress so quickly without guidance and he wondered if the boy maybe had a teacher in the village that he would need to worry about. A wandering elder, or hidden master perhaps. To have come so far, so fast, he must have had some insight into his Dao at the very least.

  But he had sensed no other presence of note in the village. Just the boy. And yet, the boy had progressed incredibly fast in just a few short weeks, developing a weight that would take years of training for most outer disciples. Shockingly fast. He possessed a presence that brushed against Jinhai’s own cultivated senses like a distant storm.

  Jinhai watched as the boy laughed at something one of his companions said. Careless. Distracted. Or so it seemed until he suddenly turned his head and looked directly at the rooftop where Jinhai stood. He instinctively pulled back behind the stonework in surprise. What had that been? Jinhai was hidden behind layers of techniques. Or should be. He checked his skills. Mountain’s Shadow was still active. He looked down at the two illusionary veil talismans on his robe and confirmed they were as well. Cinnabar ink sigils glowed a pale blue on the yellow paper that had not yet burned up, showing they were.

  He should be completely invisible, not only to sight, but to any form of magical scrying. His talismans were tier III and should work to hide him from all but the most powerful magic users. Mountain’s Shadow was just as powerful. It was the first that he had learned after joining the inner sect. It was core to his training as an Azure Fang and should make even another Fang’s eyes slide away from him. He had used the ability to walk through busy streets and guarded gateways without raising so much as a breath of suspicion. Coincidence then?

  Jinhai checked the sky behind him, looking for birds or anything else that might have caught the boy's attention, but saw nothing.

  Jinhai peeked back around the chimney. The boy was still watching his rooftop. It was a little unnerving. He didn’t think the boy could see him but his eyes roved back and forth across the rooftop before finally shifting away as one of his friends clapped him on the shoulder and began speaking animatedly.

  Jinhai remained motionless.

  His technique had not faltered, but something had attracted the youth’s attention. He watched as they moved further up the street, giving them some distance as he considered.

  He took a moment to centre himself and channeled a deeper thread of Qi into Mountain’s Shadow. He could feel a shimmer around him intensify for a heartbeat before settling again. Tapping his storage bag, he withdrew a jade amulet and muttered a short incantation to activate it. Amulet of the Midnight Moon, or so his master called it. It was one of his special creations and would mask all sound and banish all personal shadows from a circle around him.

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  Below, the boy glanced upward again as he activated the amulet. He held his gaze on the roof where Jinhai stood, then back at the roof he had jumped from.

  Jinhai felt a flicker of irritation. That was no coincidence. Possibly his leap from one roof to the next wasn’t as silent as he thought, which he knew was nearly impossible. Did this boy possess some talent or technique that allowed him to peer through Jinhai’s veil?

  He moved as the group turned onto the main street and disappeared from sight as they began their climb to the top of the hill, which meant their destination was the tavern. It was dinnertime, so that made sense. Now that he knew where they were headed though, he could circle around the group and find a better place to observe from.

  He stepped off the roof and landed on a narrow beam extending from the adjacent cottage. From there he leapt again, light as drifting ash, crossing above the street and the gap between buildings in silent arcs; each landing absorbed through bent knees and disciplined breath. He maintained his veil without interruption as he moved a street away and rushed up the hill from rooftop to rooftop. He found a new lookout on a three-story building with a flat roof near the top of the hill.

  He once again checked his amulet and invisibility technique as he waited for the group to appear around the curve of the street. As he watched the road, he considered his options.

  This village lay uncomfortably close to his prefecture's borders and closer to the Celestial Empire than the nearest Western Kingdom by at least two days' journey. The entire region was covered in villages and tiny towns full of farmers and craftsmen and it was uncommon to find anyone with much magical potential in this hinterland. And yet…

  He had three paths forward as far as he could see: Continue to observe and report; capture and transport eastward for formal evaluation; or eliminate.

  His fingers flexed inside his sleeves.

  Killing the boy now would not be difficult. A single strike of focused qi to the heart meridian would be clean and precise. The westerners would call it a sudden illness. He had performed this service for his sect before.

  But the boy was an oddity. His qi was not at the level of a Foundation cultivator, yet it was far more dense than it had been two weeks prior. Despite its power, his qi felt like it churned unevenly, like heat blasting out of an unsealed furnace.

  Such power in this remote location was strange. The speed of his growing power was stranger still. The fact that he seemed to be able to sense Jinhai in some way was absurd. He knew of no technique that could pierce the veil he had been trained to maintain.

  Because of this, it would be the better path to escort the boy eastward. Let his sect's elders wring out his secret. Jinhai would gain much esteem for this, but it would be difficult. The boy wouldn’t go willingly after all.

  As if summoned by this thought the boy and his friends appeared around a bend in the road below, still walking slowly up the hill. Jinhai knew it even before he saw the youth though, as a ripple of pressure rushed up the road in front of him.

  Strong. Far too strong for his age and training.

  If nurtured properly within the Empire, such potential could elevate an entire sect branch.

  If left here… well, it would be like allowing a rabid animal to live outside the walls of your town.

  As they walked up the road, the boy’s head rose upward again. His eyes narrowed slightly, scanning the rooftop. Jinhai remained perfectly still, breath thin but steady. He checked his veil, but it held. What was it that drew the boy’s attention?

  The young woman in the group leaned close, asking him something. She scanned the rooftops as well, but passed over Jinhai's position without a pause. The boy hesitated a moment longer then smiled at the girl and the two turned to catch up with their friends.

  Jinhai rose from his crouch, his robes stirring gently in the wind.

  He didn’t understand how the boy seemed to sense where he was. Perhaps he possessed an ancient bloodline. Or he stood under Heaven’s favour. Either way, he felt capture would be the better option. His master could learn the truth of the boy's abilities and Jinhai would gain great favour for bringing such a promising disciple back with him.

  His gaze followed the retreating figures until they reached the Silver Gate Inn and stepped inside.

  ***

  Jinhai landed on the warehouse roof without a sound. He remained crouched for a moment, palm resting lightly against the curved tiles, senses extending outward. It was out of habit more than anything else. Nothing here should be able to sense him at all.

  He watched as the boy and his companions entered what looked like a guildhall, although not one of any affiliation he knew of. He lowered himself into a seated posture atop the roof ridge, spine straight, cloak settling around him. He had followed the group back and forth across the entire village now and while he felt confident that his presence remained hidden, it did not seem to be entirely unknown.

  Even with his techniques, the talismans and the amulet activated, even suppressing his own qi, the boy he followed kept turning to look towards him. Not at him. Not like he could see Jinhai. But towards him consistently. It made no sense. The entire foundation of the Azure Fang training was to remain invisible to even the most powerful magical techniques.

  And yet, this untrained boy seemed to know where he was at every turn.

  He studied the youth through the high windows of the guildhall as he and his friends moved from room to room, and considered how he could best confront him. The village would be a poor choice during the day. Too many witnesses. Better to isolate the boy at dusk or dawn. Talk to him if possible, else a quick strike from above to disable him, then carrying him out of the village to discuss his options.

  Transport posed greater difficulty.

  The distance to the Eastern territories was not small. Cloud Step could carry Jinhai swiftly, but not while bearing a resisting captive for extended durations.

  He considered his third option again. A blade across the throat in a shadowed alley. A fall from a rooftop made to look accidental. It would be so much easier…

  He exhaled slowly. Killing the youth would waste potential and he would never learn how the boy could find his location with such ease.

  The setting sun lit up the horizon in orange and purple bands as Jinhai sat there and considered. He watched the group climb towards the third floor and realized they may be staying here for the night.

  Jinhai made his decision. He would return to the inn for now and report, put the burden of choice in the hands of his elders. There was no hurry to finish this task in one day.

  With that decided, he rose fluidly to his feet and stepped lightly across the roofline. The tiles did not shift beneath him. At the rear of the warehouse, he paused, gauging the yard below.

  Empty.

  He gathered his qi and dropped from the roof, descending in a controlled glide that dissipated the moment his sandals touched packed earth. He made no sound, and left no footprint.

  Dropping his invisibility and pocketing his amulet, he circled along the rear wall towards the main street, thoughts turning towards food and the message he would send back to his sect.

  But as he rounded the corner of the warehouse he came to a sudden halt. The boy stood three paces in front of him. The boy he had been following for the past couple of hours. The boy who could not possibly have seen him on the rooftops. The boy was here, staring at him.

  Jinhai’s breath caught in his suddenly closed throat as his killing intent flared.

  ***

  Enemies often meet on narrow roads.

  Idiom of the Eastern Empire

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  The dungeon must grow. The stolen power must be reclaimed. Everything else is of no consequence.

  Viktor had been called many names: the Impaler, the Tyrant, the Dark Emperor. And he couldn’t have cared less. Those who dared oppose him all met swift and brutal ends. Kingdoms fell as he carved out his own empire. With his unparalleled power, he brought the entire world to its knees. Yet, even the mightiest could fall. One day, he made a mistake, a mistake that cost him everything. His reign abruptly ended when he was slain by a group called the Six Heroes, who not only took his life but also stole his power and divided it among themselves.

  Three hundred years later, Viktor came back to life. He awoke in the body of a young boy named Quinn and found himself in a world changed beyond recognition. His castle had been left in ruins, his capital had been razed to the ground, and the once-prosperous Central Plains had become a wild land ruled by trees and beasts. Of all the treasures he once possessed, the only thing he had found was a Dungeon Core, small and underdeveloped, buried under rubble, forgotten by everyone.

  His power was now scattered among the Six Heroes’ descendants, who reigned as kings and queens of this new world. And he wanted it back. With a fledgling Dungeon Core as his only ally, he set out to exact vengeance on his enemies and reclaim what was rightfully his.

  What to expect:

  - A competent, ruthless MC who stops at nothing to achieve his goal

  - A long and epic story

  - Book 2 completed on Royal Road