Chapter 8: Snow in the Neon City
Azure Dragon City.
District 4 – Downtown Commercial Zone.
01:15 AM.
The city was screaming.
District 4 was the heartbeat of the nightlife. Neon signs advertised clubs, bars, and late-night noodle shops. Usually, the air smelled of grilled meat and ozone.
Tonight, it smelled of sulfur and burning flesh.
BOOM!
A bus was thrown through the air like a toy. It smashed into the side of a skyscraper, raining glass and metal onto the panic-stricken crowd below.
"Run! It's a Monster Break!"
"Where are the Hunters? Call the Guilds!"
"My leg! Help me!"
In the center of the chaos stood a nightmare.
It was massive, standing four meters tall at the shoulder. It possessed the body of a muscular lion, but its fur was matted with oozing green slime. From its back rose a second head—a twisted, horned goat that bleated sonic waves capable of shattering windows. Its tail was a thick, hissing python dripping with venom.
[Unidentified Creature]
[Rank: Estimated A-Grade]
[Type: Chimera]
The local law enforcement, equipped with standard mana-rifles, were firing uselessly at its hide. The bullets bounced off the lion's golden fur.
"Hold the line!" Captain Lei, a B-Rank Warrior, shouted, holding a mana-shield that was cracking under the pressure. "We need to buy time for the S-Rank Hunters to arrive!"
The Chimera's lion head opened its maw.
ROAR!
A torrent of liquid fire spewed out. It wasn't normal fire; it was alchemical fire, green and sticky like napalm.
"Shields up!"
The fire hit the police line. The mana shields evaporated instantly.
"ARGHHH!"
Screams of agony tore through the night as the officers were engulfed.
The Chimera stepped forward, crushing a police cruiser under its paw. The goat head cackled, a sound that grated on the sanity of everyone hearing it. The snake tail lashed out, impaling a fleeing civilian.
Captain Lei, burned and bleeding, looked up from the ground. He gripped his sword.
"Damn it... is this how it ends?"
The Chimera raised a massive claw to finish him off.
The fire in its mouth built up for a second blast, aiming to incinerate the entire street block.
Then, a snowflake fell.
It landed on Captain Lei's bloody nose.
'Snow?' Lei thought, confused. 'In the middle of summer?'
Another snowflake fell. Then another. Within seconds, a blizzard began to swirl in the middle of the burning street. The green alchemical fire hissing on the asphalt began to dim.
The Chimera paused. Its lion head looked up. Its goat head bleated in confusion. Its snake tail hissed at the sky.
Above them, standing on nothing but thin air, was a figure.
He wore black tactical pants and a white shirt that fluttered in the gale. His hair—silver and diamond—caught the neon lights of the city, making him look like a descending star.
Ye Han looked down at the beast.
His eyes were cold.
"You are noisy," Ye Han said.
He stepped down.
He didn't fall. He walked down an invisible staircase of ice.
The Chimera roared at the intruder. The lion head unleashed its breath weapon—a jet of green napalm aimed straight at the sky.
The crowd watched in horror. "He's going to get burned!"
Ye Han didn't dodge. He simply extended his hand, palm facing down.
[Sovereign Art: Downfall.]
He pushed his hand down.
WHOOSH.
The column of fire didn't reach him. Instead, a massive column of white frost slammed into the fire from above.
Cold met Heat.
There was no contest.
The green fire was instantly suffocated. The column of frost continued downward, hitting the Chimera.
CRASH!
The beast was slammed into the asphalt by the sheer weight of the cold air pressure. Its legs buckled. The pavement shattered into a crater.
Ye Han landed softly on the edge of the crater.
The Chimera shook itself off. It was enraged. It was a bio-weapon designed to kill high-level Hunters. Its regenerative abilities were insane. The frost on its back was already cracking as its internal heat engine kicked in.
'Master,' Tiamat's voice analyzed in his head. 'Look at the stitching. Look at the mana flow. It's chaotic. Someone took three different dungeon cores and forced them into one body.'
'It's suffering,' Ye Han noted.
'Yes. It is in constant pain. That's why it destroys.'
Ye Han walked toward the beast.
The Chimera's snake tail struck. It moved at the speed of sound, aiming for Ye Han's throat.
Ye Han didn't look at the tail. He raised his left hand and caught the snake by the neck.
Grab.
The snake hissed, sinking its fangs into Ye Han's hand.
Clink.
The fangs shattered against Ye Han's skin. His Eternal Ice Constitution made his flesh harder than diamond.
"Bad snake," Ye Han muttered.
Frost spread from his hand. The snake tail turned grey, then froze solid.
Ye Han squeezed.
Shatter.
The frozen snake tail exploded into ice dust.
"ROAR!" The lion head screamed in pain as its tail was severed. The goat head began to charge a sonic blast.
Ye Han stepped forward, appearing instantly in front of the lion head.
He placed his hand on the lion's snout.
"Hush."
[Flash Freeze.]
A pulse of blue light rippled through the beast.
The lion head froze.
The goat head froze mid-bleat.
The massive muscular body froze mid-pounce.
In less than a second, the terrifying A-Rank Chimera was turned into a majestic, horrifying ice sculpture in the middle of District 4.
Silence returned to the street.
The fire was gone. The screaming had stopped. The only sound was the wind howling around the silver-haired young man.
Captain Lei stared with wide eyes. "He... he stopped an A-Rank Calamity... with one hand?"
Ye Han ignored the crowd. He walked up to the frozen statue.
He punched the lion's chest.
Crack.
He reached inside the frozen chest cavity and pulled out the core.
It wasn't a normal round sphere. It was a jagged, unstable lump of three different colors—Red, Green, and Purple—fused together with metal wires.
'Tech-Magic,' Tiamat hissed. 'Disgusting. This is the work of the Alchemists of the Void. A faction that worships the chaos between dimensions.'
Ye Han crushed the core in his hand.
[Consumed Corrupted Core.]
[Energy Filtered.]
[Seal Progress: 11.5%]
"Inefficient," Ye Han wiped his hand on his pants. "But it confirms one thing. Someone is testing the waters."
He turned around.
Thousands of civilians, police officers, and lower-ranked hunters were staring at him. Cameras from news helicopters were zoomed in on his face.
Ye Han looked directly into the camera lens.
His heterochromatic eyes glowed.
"This is Azure Dragon City," Ye Han spoke. He didn't shout, but his voice was carried by the wind to every corner of the district.
"This is my backyard."
He kicked a piece of the frozen Chimera debris.
"If you want to send trash here... send something that doesn't break in five seconds."
Crack.
Ye Han vanished. He didn't teleport; he just moved so fast using an ice-slide movement technique that he appeared to vanish.
Two Miles Away.
Rooftop of a Corporate Tower.
Two figures in grey cloaks stood watching the scene.
One of them lowered his binoculars. His hands were trembling.
"Did you see that data?" he whispered. "The thermal drop... he lowered the ambient temperature to absolute zero in a focused area without affecting the civilians standing three meters away. That level of control..."
"It's beyond A-Rank," the second figure said grimly. "That Chimera was designed to take down a team of five A-Rank Hunters. He treated it like a stray dog."
"The Masters won't be pleased. We lost a prototype."
"No," the second figure smiled, though it looked strained. "We gained data. We know his element is Ice. We know his personality is arrogant. And we know he defends the city."
"So, what is Phase Two?"
"Phase Two is the Red Gate." The figure pointed toward the ocean. "The Chimera was just a toy. The Red Gate opening in the Pacific... that is a calamity. When the S-Rank boss emerges, let's see if the 'Sovereign' can hold the sky."
"We retreat for now."
The two figures melted into shadows and disappeared.
The Ye Family Estate.
02:00 AM.
Ye Han landed on his balcony.
He walked into his room. Lin Lan was waiting for him, sitting in his armchair.
She wasn't wearing her armor anymore, just casual loungewear. But her eyes were sharp.
"You went out," she stated.
"I took a walk," Ye Han said, taking off his shirt. There were no marks on his body, despite the snake bite.
"I saw the news," Lin Lan said. "Chimera. A-Rank. Biological weapon. You handled it well."
"It was sloppy," Ye Han critiqued himself. "I froze the street lights by accident. Need to work on precision."
Lin Lan stood up and walked over to him. She looked serious.
"Han, do you know what a Chimera implies?"
"Artificial creation," Ye Han said. "Someone made it."
"Yes. There is a shadowy organization called The Cult of the Chimera. They operate in the underground. They kidnap Awakened humans and monsters to fuse them. If they are targeting this city... it means they are targeting you."
"Let them come," Ye Han sat on the bed. "I need more cores anyway."
Lin Lan sighed. She ruffled his silver hair.
"You are just like your father. Too arrogant. But..." She smiled. "You have the strength to back it up. Listen, the Academy entrance exam results are officially out tomorrow. But you already caused a scene."
"I broke the record."
"You broke the record, the boss, and the minds of the other students. The Dragon Capital Academy is sending a special envoy to pick you up. You are going to the Capital."
Ye Han paused. "The Capital?"
"Yes. Azure Dragon City is a Tier-2 city. The Capital is Tier-1. That is where the real Dungeons are. That is where the Federal Reserve Dungeons I told you about are located."
Ye Han's eyes lit up.
"Federal Reserve Dungeons... high-level cores."
"Exactly. If you want to grow, you can't stay here fighting stray dogs. You need to go to the heart of the Human Alliance."
Ye Han nodded.
"When do I leave?"
"Three days."
Three Days Later.
Azure Dragon City Airport.
The departure of Ye Han was a national event.
The Ye Family arrived in a convoy. Ye Tian was beaming, shaking hands with reporters. Ye Han stood by the private jet, wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes, though nothing could hide the silver hair.
"Remember," Ye Tian said, gripping Ye Han's shoulder. "In the Capital, the noble families are different. Here, we are kings. There, we are just one of the Great Houses. The Four Sacred Families rule the Capital. Do not... well, try not to destroy their monuments."
Ye Han smirked. "No promises."
Lin Lan hugged him. "Be safe. I will join you in a month after I clear up some Guild business here."
"Take care, Mom."
Ye Han boarded the jet.
Inside, the cabin was luxurious. He sat down and looked out the window.
'Capital City,' Tiamat mused. 'I sense strong mana signatures there. Ancient ones.'
'Ancient?'
'Yes. The Four Sacred Families... they are descendants of the first Awakeners. They might have artifacts from the Middle-Tier Worlds. Maybe even fragments of a High-Tier relic.'
Ye Han reclined his seat.
"Sounds like a treasure hunt."
Dragon Capital.
Hunter Academy – The Dean's Office.
The Dean of the Dragon Capital Academy was an old man named Ouyang Feng. He was an S-Rank Mage, known as the "Storm Sage."
He was looking at a file on his desk. The file was stamped [TOP SECRET].
Inside was the report of the Azure Dragon Monolith explosion and the Chimera incident.
"SSS-Rank..." Ouyang Feng muttered, stroking his white beard. "A variable has entered the board."
Sitting across from him was a young woman. She had fiery red hair and eyes like burning coals. She was Phoenix, the student council president and the heiress of the Vermilion Bird Family.
"Dean," Phoenix said, her voice sharp. "Is it true? Is he really coming to our class?"
"He is," Ouyang Feng nodded.
"He is arrogant," Phoenix scoffed. "I watched the videos. He walks around like he owns the world. He hasn't even learned proper spell-casting theory. He relies on brute force."
"Brute force that can freeze an A-Rank Chimera in one second is not to be underestimated, Phoenix."
"I want to test him," Phoenix declared. Standing up, sparks of fire danced around her hair. "The freshman welcome ceremony is the Battle Royale. I will participate."
"You are a third-year," Ouyang Feng sighed. "That is bullying."
"He is SSS-Rank," Phoenix smiled dangerously. "If he can't handle a third-year, he doesn't deserve the title."
Ouyang Feng looked out the window at the sky.
"Very well. But be careful, child. Fire and Ice are natural enemies. And this ice... it feels different."
The Sky.
En Route to Dragon Capital.
Ye Han was sleeping.
In his dream, he was back in the Soul Space.
Tiamat was restless. She was pacing around the remaining eight chains.
"The Second Seal," Tiamat rumbled. "It locks away your Weapon Authority."
"Weapon Authority?" Ye Han asked, floating in the void.
"Yes. Currently, you shape ice into crude shapes. Swords, spikes. But the Sovereign has a specific armory. The Second Seal holds the [Frostmourne: The Sword of Deleted Time]."
"Deleted Time?"
"A sword that freezes not just space, but the moment in time it cuts. It is an Eternal-Grade weapon. To unlock it... you need a catalyst."
"What catalyst?"
"Dragon Blood," Tiamat said, her golden eyes gleaming. "Real Dragon Blood. Not from me—I am a soul. You need physical blood from a descendant of dragons on Earth."
Ye Han woke up.
The pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"Young Master, we are descending into Dragon Capital. ETA 10 minutes."
Ye Han looked out the window.
The Capital was massive. It was a fortress city protected by a shimmering golden dome. In the center stood four massive towers, representing the Four Sacred Families: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
Ye Han's eyes focused on the Vermilion Bird tower. He sensed a heat signature there.
"Dragon Blood..." Ye Han muttered.
He remembered the lore of this world. The Azure Dragon Family (his distant relatives in the Capital) possessed the bloodline of the Wind Dragon. But the Black Tortoise... they were rumored to have the blood of the Deep Sea Dragon.
"Looks like I have a shopping list."
The jet landed.
As Ye Han stepped onto the tarmac of the Capital, the wind shifted. The warm breeze of the capital suddenly carried a biting chill.
The Sovereign had arrived.
Chapter 8 End.