The Fallen Dragon Continent

//Updated on June 21, 2024

***

It was already noon when Liu Feng and Zhang Yan left the cave. They didn't stop till it was dark.

Camping in the wilderness was not too difficult for them because they had both loaded some daily necessities from the bandit's hideout. It was all familiar to Liu Feng.

He had been out in the wilderness for about a month. His survival instincts have matured and grown razor-sharp. Even when he was relaxing, all of his senses were working at full capacity, and his new passive talents from martial arts were also aiding his five senses.

Liu Feng asked Zhang Yan to stop the carriage in a relatively safe location. Liu Feng walked alongside Zhang Yan for the majority of the journey, exchanging general information about the world.

The world was known as the Fallen Dragon World, and legend has it that it was part of a larger world. Nobody remembers what the other world was called, but some legends describe the fall of a divine dragon, the guardian of their land. Thus, the name of their continent is the Fallen Dragon Continent.

This land's history dates back several millennia of years. Warfare between nations was widespread throughout those times. After thousands of years of conflict, the continent was devastated. Cultivation sects existed back then but they were far more isolated and did not interfere in mortal affairs. They were frequently called upon to resolve conflicts between mortals since cultivators, even at the lowest stage of Qi condensation, were similar to gods in the eyes of the mortals.

This was not too difficult for them. They could fly, destroy a mountain with their palm, and cast spells that performed miracles. Other times this solved many problems but for some reason, even their intervention could not end this unending mortal struggle. They gave up on the mortals and secluded themselves in their mountains.

Many important people and pieces of knowledge were lost through the annals of history. The end of humanity was on the horizon until two powers rose above all and unified the people.

The war had ended briefly, but another form of conflict rose from the shadows.

Following their rise to power, the two emerging nations and their respective allies formed a rivalry. Every now and then, a silent and not-so-quiet war was waged on various fronts - political, economic, and the battle for the right of conquest.

Soon after, the secular cultivator sects joined their forces. It used to be a mortal conflict, but the scale of the war changed after the cultivators stepped in. Cultivators were more powerful than a hundred mortal soldiers. Countless mortal warriors from both sides died simply by staying near the battlefield.

Within a few hundred years, these monstrous superpowers, each of which possessed immortal cultivators capable of wiping out millions, grew stronger. They eventually established their empires.

It only took another couple of hundred years for the Qin and Song Dynasties to establish themselves as the major dynasties that reign over the Fallen Dragon Continent.

The country they were traveling through was currently the eastern half of the Fallen Dragon Continent, hence under the dominion of the Qin dynasty.

According to what Liu Feng learned through Zhang Yan, the current emperor is much more peaceful, does not want to engage in meaningless war, and is rather generous to the commoners.

The emperor represents the highest authority. After that, noble families hold the official positions in the empire. Some citizens hold official positions such as city lords rank beneath them, and after that, there are commoners or ordinary mortals.

While setting up the camp for the night and eating some roasted meat that they had brought, Liu Feng learned a lot from Zhang Yan about the world. Setting up a small campfire, Liu Feng then instructed Zhang Yan to sleep, but he refused, claiming he would stay awake for the night watch.

Liu Feng eventually persuaded him to sleep after a bit of nagging.

After a short break, Liu Feng sat in the lotus position and began cultivating.

Everything surrounding was dark and quiet, with only chirps, squeals, grunts, and growls from wild insects and animals, both prey and predator, audible. It was a terrifying environment for anyone ordinary, but after having spent over a month in the wilderness, Liu Feng had become accustomed to it.

Instead, he was concerned since his cultivation level had not increased despite several hours of cultivation. That was not the case previously.

He saw hope after a few hours of meditating when his cultivation level changed in his status.

[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Stage 2(2%)]

Liu Feng did not pause and continued his meditation, but the numbers in his status remained unchanged.

He soon realized that Zhang Yan had already awoken. Although it was still dark, but the dawn did not appear to be far away.

Liu Feng stepped inside the carriage to rest. Soon the mellow sunlight illuminated the horizon. It wasn't long after that Liu Feng heard some movement outside. He knew it wasn't anything serious, so he went outside quietly.

Liu Feng noticed Zhang Yan in the distance. He was practicing martial arts, and it appeared that he was attempting to mimic Liu Feng's claw attack.

Liu Feng rubbed his clean and clear eyes to make sure he wasn't having a hallucination. Liu Feng was speechless when he saw this sight. He couldn't say anything because he kept opening and closing his mouth.

'Are you serious?? Is this really a cultivation world? I thought everyone here should be longing to become a sword immortal, so why is a potential MC practicing a claw technique?' he was greatly shocked.

'Whatever, I don't think my techniques are anything special right now, so teaching him a move or two won't be a problem.', Liu Feng had already decided to teach him some of his techniques so it did not go against his plans.

'My techniques, given that they are generated from the system, may be unique, but I believe all martial arts evolved by imitating natural elements. I believe this claw attack of mine was primarily the result of replicating the claw attack of that crimson lion from which I obtained the dao fragments.', Liu Feng concluded.

Liu Feng approached Zhang Yan after observing him for a few minutes.

Zhang Yan was taken aback when he noticed Liu Feng. He stood up straight as if he had been caught red-handed in the middle of a crime.

"What were you doing there?" Liu Feng inquired with a serious face. He only wanted to have some fun while teasing the kid.

But what occurred next rendered Liu Feng dumbfounded once more. Zhang Yan began kowtowing in front of Liu Feng. Liu Feng was taken aback to see this "legendary" kowtow in real life in front of him, especially since he was on the receiving end.

"Sorry, Boss, please forgive me," Zhang Yan began to apologize sincerely.

"What are you doing? Get up." Liu Feng urged Zhang Yan to stand since he couldn't help but feel a bit of awkwardness.

"Please forgive me, I was not attempting to steal your martial arts." Zhang Yan rose up and continued to apologize.

To make things clear He further explained, "Boss, when you finished that Python yesterday with that move, I thought it was incredibly strong. It was as if something inside of me was awakened seeing that move," Zhang Yan began to babble again without allowing Liu Feng a chance to answer.

"All I've been thinking about since then is that move.", Zhang Yan bowed sheepishly, lowering his torso and head to a ninety-degree angle.

He apologized with sincerity. Zhang Yan was prepared to face punishment because stealing someone's martial arts was considered a serious offense. If someone attempts to steal cultivation techniques from someone and is discovered, they will be severely punished, and if a subordinate or slave is caught doing the same, they will be executed immediately for treason.

Zhang Yan was raised as one of the renowned Zhang family's young masters, and his grandfather was the patriarch of the Zhang Family. Although the last few years had been rough, he was still not used to being subservient to someone. He was desperate to seek the assistance of Liu Feng at any cost to rescue his sister.

He had learned from his mother on her last breath that his grandmother had a mysterious background. His grandmother, Zhang Meihui, was a direct descendant of the Ancient Wu Family, rulers of the Ancestral Inferno Lands. They were a secretive yet powerful family with influence all over the Fallen Dragon Continent.

Zhang Yan was astonished to hear this because he had seen his grandmother bedridden since he was a baby. She was an elderly and frail patient. Even though his grandma adored him and his sister, they did not spend much time with her. He deduced that her illness was not due to any natural causes.

Finally, he discovered that, as an only child, his mother had inherited a wooden token from his grandmother. A fiery phoenix carved into an indestructible wooden token and the 'Wu' insignia etched on the opposing side - This was a token from the Wu Family. Ordinary people can not even look at it for long since it causes a burning sensation in their eyes.