Lin Jie hadn't managed to find a cultivation acceleration method in the library, but he wasn't particularly disappointed. If such techniques were easy to come by, they would have been part of the school's curriculum. He had only been trying his luck. With no other options, he could only resign himself to the slow, arduous practice of the Origin Codex. He grabbed a late lunch at school and returned home in the afternoon. The empty house greeted him with a heavy silence that settled over him as soon as he stepped inside. It felt so lonely without his father. Usually, his father would have dinner waiting for him when he got back. He still wasn't used to the quiet. Not in the mood to cook, Lin Jie collapsed onto the couch and flicked on the television. He let the tinny sound fill the void as his mind drifted. It was an era with a limited number of channels. In Great Han, there was only the Great Han Sky-Mirror Broadcast and a handful of local affiliates. The Myriad Realms Battlefield had a strange effect on technology, severely limiting the range of television signals in the Vermilion Domain. Most people could only watch the broadcasts from their own prefecture. "Traces of the All-Races Sect have recently been discovered within Great Han," a newscaster's voice announced. "All citizens are advised to notify their local Swift Shadow Bureau if they encounter any suspicious individuals…" Lin Jie swore under his breath. Those bastards. A war raged between the myriad races, and while humanity held its own, it was far from the most powerful race in existence. Inevitably, some humans chose to betray their own kind, offering their allegiance to others for power or survival. The All-Races Sect wasn't one single organization but a blanket term for the various groups of human traitors who sowed chaos in the Vermilion Domain. His father had taught him from a young age to despise them, and the feeling had stuck. He looked up at the screen, where the image had changed to a square-faced, middle-aged man. Dressed in red, he had a heroic, unyielding air about him. With an expression as cold as ice, the man gave a single command: "Kill!" The scene shifted, revealing over a hundred kneeling figures, their heads bowed. Armored soldiers stood behind them, blades raised. As the swords swung down in a synchronized arc, more than a hundred heads tumbled to the ground. "All members of the All-Races Sect will be killed without mercy," the middle-aged man declared, his voice chillingly calm. He stared directly forward, as if his gaze could pierce the screen and see into every home. "For those who dare to enter my Great Han, only death awaits. From this day forward, the Divine Blade Guard will patrol the entire prefecture. So, you bastards of the All-Races Sect, stay if you're not afraid to die. Let's see how many heads you have to offer us." On the couch, a thrill ran through Lin Jie. Han Longwu! The prefect of Great Han! The public execution didn't faze him; people were used to such things. It wasn't the first time a broadcast like this had been shown. The human race had an iron-blooded policy for captured members of the All-Races Sect: execution on sight. The displays were a grim warning against betrayal. Lin Jie barely paid the executions any mind. His attention was fixed on Han Longwu. The prefect of Great Han was a man of forceful personality and formidable strength. Twenty years ago, he had been the commander of the Demon Slaying Corps on the Myriad Realms Battlefield—the same army Lin Jie's father had served in. In a way, Han Longwu was his father's old commander. Whenever Han Longwu appeared on television, Lin Tian would become impossibly animated. He'd grab Lin Jie, point excitedly at the screen, and say, "See that? That's your old man's former superior! Back then, he dominated the Myriad Realms Battlefield, looked down on all our enemies. He slaughtered so many of them that their armies would drop their weapons and run the moment they saw our banners." Over the years, Lin Jie had developed his own sense of awe for this legendary expert who had tamed the Myriad Realms Battlefield. "If only I could be as strong as the prefect," Lin Jie muttered, a deep longing in his voice. This was a true expert. No prefect was weak, but even among them, Han Longwu was one of the strongest. What was more impressive was his age; at around sixty, he was considered young for a top-tier cultivator. The other prefects were much older. Wang Potian of Great Wang, for example, had been alive since the early years of the Jianhong Calendar. He was over three hundred years old. Twenty years ago, Han Longwu had only been in his forties when he was strong enough to lead the Demon Slaying Corps. That was what Lin Jie truly envied. It was an insane level of power for someone so young in this era. What kind of strength did one need to command the Demon Slaying Corps? Lin Jie had no idea, only that it had to be immense. Han Longwu hadn't achieved it just because his grandfather was the legendary Great Han King who founded the prefecture. After all, other children of founding prefects were still around, and none had reached such heights. "Han Longwu… Martial Dragon Sage… Divine Blade Guard!" Lin Jie licked his lips, his young heart pounding with excitement. Of course he'd considered joining a war academy. Who hadn't? Great Han had many, but two stood above the rest. The Great Han War Sage was the oldest and most prestigious, with a history stretching over three hundred years. But there was another, newer academy that rivaled it: the Martial Dragon Sage. It was named for Han Longwu himself—the 'Longwu' in his name meant 'martial dragon.' Though established only fifteen years ago, it had already cemented its reputation as one of the best. The vast majority of its graduates went on to join the strongest army in Great Han: the Divine Blade Guard. It was said that even the mayor of Beihe City was a former member of the Divine Blade Guard, a testament to the army's prestige. Lin Jie's father, a veteran of the Demon Slaying Corps, had tried to join the Divine Blade Guard after he first retired, wanting to continue serving under his old commander. But he was rejected. Too old, they said. Too weak for such an elite force. Lin Tian had been furious, letting loose a string of curses at the recruiter—never at Han Longwu, of course, but at the man who had dared to turn him away. Rumor had it that a team of Divine Blade Guard was stationed in Beihe City, though Lin Jie had never seen them. "Great Han War Sage, Martial Dragon Sage…" he mused. "The Great Han War Sage mostly trains soldiers for the front lines. Graduates don't get much chance to come home. But the Martial Dragon Sage…" Lin Jie's eyes lit up. It was different. Its students were considered the reserve force for the Divine Blade Guard. They were sent to the front lines like any other academy's students, but the primary duty of the Divine Blade Guard was to protect the homeland. That meant they could remain in Great Han most of the time. Of course, when a major conflict erupted, the elite Divine Blade Guard would be the first deployed to the Myriad Realms Battlefield. If the Demon Slaying Corps was a standing army, the Divine Blade Guard were a rapid-deployment force. "Fewer restrictions, more freedom… but they're sent on the most dangerous missions. If I were to go to a war academy, the Martial Dragon Sage would be a good choice." But it was much harder to get into than the others. As the reserve force for the Divine Blade Guard, their recruitment standards were notoriously strict. Lin Jie rubbed his face and gave a helpless smile. It was just a dream. He'd be lucky to get into a regular war academy, let alone that one. What was the point in thinking about it? "Is the All-Races Sect trying to get themselves killed, coming to Great Han? Now the Divine Blade Guard are being deployed. I wonder if I'll see them here in Beihe…" Lin Jie wasn't too worried. The cultists were like rats, scurrying in the shadows. They only dared to scheme from hiding. With the Divine Blade Guard on the move, they'd probably burrow even deeper. And even if they did show their faces, Lin Jie had little to fear. This was an era of near-total militarization. While his neighborhood might not have any Boundless Vigor Realm experts, there were plenty in the Mighty Force Realm. His father was a veteran who had reenlisted, but several others who had retired from the battlefield still lived nearby. If the All-Races Sect was foolish enough to send a few Profound Vigor cultivators here, it would be suicide. Those old veterans were all hardened by war, their hands stained with blood. They wouldn't hesitate to kill. A single shout for help would bring seven or eight of them running in an instant. Finished with the television, Lin Jie made a simple meal of instant noodles, washed up, and practiced the Origin Codex. He went to bed early that night. His nightmares always found him, and the only way to get enough rest was to spend more time in bed. He'd learned they usually started around midnight; before then, his sleep was relatively peaceful. The scene replayed itself for the thousandth time. A massive, winged monster was chasing him. Lin Jie hated the flying ones most of all. They were too fast. He'd dreamt of land-based monsters before, and sometimes, just sometimes, he could outrun them and escape being eaten. He had never once escaped a flying monster. Every single time, it ended the same way: he would be caught, devoured, and jolted awake from the torturous nightmare. He hated these flying bastards. Tonight was no different. The massive creature was closing in fast, the complicated terrain below no obstacle for it at all. As he ran, he risked a glance over his shoulder, trying to see if it was a creature he recognized. There were countless flying races, and Lin Jie only knew about a dozen. This time, however, the monster chasing him looked familiar. Its form was blurry, but he could just make out a distinctive wart on its massive head. "That's… an iron-winged bird! Holy shit! After all these years, I finally met one I know!" A jolt of excitement shot through him. He knew eighteen different languages, but that didn't mean he'd ever seen the races that spoke them, even in his dreams. He had only learned their languages from the few people in Beihe Youth Sage who knew them, and had only a vague idea of what the creatures looked like. He'd never encountered an iron-winged bird before, but he knew its language! It was one of the eighteen he'd mastered. The iron-winged bird race was a common sight on the Myriad Realms Battlefield, often used as an air force by the more powerful races. Lin Jie hurriedly looked back again and shouted, "Weiyi xijiu yun (Why are you chasing me)?" The gigantic bird didn't reply, its pursuit as relentless as ever. "Luyi jiyou (We're friends)!" Still nothing. Lin Jie cursed inwardly. The creature's claws were descending, and he knew he was about to die again. It was probably an iron-winged bird, but it didn't seem sentient. Just a phantom conjured by his dream. As expected, a searing pain erupted in his head as the talons crushed his skull. The dream world began to dissolve around him. He knew he was about to wake up. But just then, as the pain peaked, the massive bird let out a shrill, furious cry. Lin Jie froze. A moment later, he woke up, drenched in sweat. "Moonlight… no, in its tongue, it means blood!" Lin Jie's eyes flew wide open. He had understood it! The bird had killed him, but it had sounded frustrated, as if it hadn't gotten what it wanted. "Blood! It was chasing me for my blood!" The creature had spoken the language of the iron-winged birds, and he had understood. In the past, the monsters had spoken too, but their words had been meaningless noise to him. Not this time. "Blood… what does that mean? They want my blood? But I bleed in the dream whenever I'm injured. That's never changed anything. What is it talking about?" He was still trembling from the nightmare, but he ignored the discomfort, his mind racing. "It wanted blood, but it couldn't get it from my dream-self. Or maybe… my blood isn't the point. Maybe I need the blood of its race?" "The blood of an iron-winged bird? What would happen if I got some? A dream is just a dream. Even if I found some, how could I bring it with me?" Lin Jie rubbed his temple with a sweaty hand, not caring about the dampness. Something about his dreams was finally becoming clear. It was the first real clue he'd had in years. All his effort learning those languages had paid off. Even one word was worth it. "I can't just leave it at that. I have to try something. What if I get some iron-winged bird blood? But what about tomorrow? I'll probably be chased by a different monster. Will it still work? Screw it." He sat up in bed, a decision solidifying in his mind. He was sick of being killed every night. He had to solve this, and soon. The feeling of dying over and over was unbearable. "When the sun comes up, I'll go to the Han Commerce House. They sell all sorts of things there. They might have some iron-winged bird blood. The creatures are common enough on the Myriad Realms Battlefield. I might be able to buy some." His choice made, Lin Jie was too agitated to even think about sleeping again. He waited in the dark, a nervous excitement buzzing through him, for the sun to rise. Even if there was only a tiny chance this clue would decipher his dreams, he had to take it. He was done being tortured in his sleep.

Chapter 5: Silence Before The Storm