Heavenly Dragon Monastery, The Dragon Has Fallen and the Monastery Is No More

The name "Yunnan" is a modern term. In this world, until not long ago, this whole region belonged to the Dali Kingdom. The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Fragrant Kingdom for its Buddhist devotion, covered what is now Yunnan, Guizhou, southwestern Sichuan, northern Myanmar, and even parts of Vietnam and Laos. If you grab a map of China and draw a circle, you'll see this place is actually pretty huge.

Of course, nowadays this territory technically belongs to Kublai Khan—the Mongol Great Khan. To be honest, there aren't that many Mongol troops stationed here, and their real control isn't all that strong. Still, Kublai's flag is firmly planted on this land.

The Mongols are ruthless—city massacres and kingdom wipeouts are just business as usual. The tougher the resistance, the more excited they get about killing. The Sichuan basin suffered heavily, and the Western Regions were swept clean. The Western Xia were almost wiped out entirely; rumor has it that when they slaughtered the Western Xia, rivers of blood flowed and resentment filled the skies. Of course, Genghis Khan himself died in that bloodbath, so you could say he paid the ultimate price for his madness.

Compared to Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan is way more sophisticated when it comes to the business of killing and ruling. While his brother Möngke went all-in attacking Xiangyang head-on, Kublai took the scenic route, marching his army around Dali to strike at the Southern Song's rear. The results? Möngke, who went head-to-head, died in the fight; Kublai, who went for the backdoor, ended up turning the place into his own sunflower patch and bagged himself a whole load of 'melon seeds.'

He racked up epic military achievements, showed off his strategic genius, and brought home the glory—then became the Mongol Great Khan. After taking the Dali Kingdom, he didn’t massacre the city. Instead, he cozied up to the Dali nobles and soothed the local powers. He gave the Duan family the title of 'Duke of Dali,' and they had no choice but to bow their heads and serve him.

So now, Dali is Mongol territory.

Thanks to Kublai Khan’s policies, Dali’s doing way better than Chengdu—life and the economy here didn’t take a catastrophic hit, so the Mongol Great Khan can count on even more support from this place in the future. Kublai really nailed the balance between intimidation and unity, turning old enemies into loyal followers. Just for that, you can tell he’s got way more vision and kingly vibes than his late grandpa.

Inside Dali City—

"This place really lives up to the name 'Fragrant Kingdom'—it's got a real exotic vibe," Jill Young said, glancing around as she strolled down the street. The architecture here already had a touch of Indian flavor. With Central Plains style mixed with a hint of India, she almost felt like clapping her hands, shaking her hips, and belting out, 'Oh~~~ Shali wa Shali wa~~' (Note: This is a lyric from the 1983 CCTV Journey to the West song 'Tianzhu Girl').

Maggie Monroe nodded, clearly interested in the local customs. "Lots of different peoples live here, all kinds of traditions. The way men and women do things is totally different from the Central Plains—even got women marrying men, and men staying home with the kids. I've heard in some places, women work the fields while men are house-husbands. If we ever raise our banner here, this should be the first place we take!"

There are tons of different ethnic groups in the Dali Kingdom, so you get every kind of custom imaginable. The crew had only been here for a day, and already their minds were blown.

Take romance and marriage, for example—the whole process is nothing like the Central Plains. There, weddings are a huge deal: you need official matchmakers, a proper ceremony, and a million rules about not seeing each other before the big day. It's all about being formal and following tradition.

But here? It's all about speed and simplicity. Sing a love song, lock eyes, and if you both like what you see, the rest is basically heading out to the wilds for some private time. (Note to all you rascals: don’t go rushing off to Yunnan—things aren’t like this anymore. And honestly, why bother going all the way to Yunnan these days...)

Naturally, a different culture means a totally different mindset. Jill Young, Wu Zhengfeng, and Simone wandered around together, and all three were absolutely loving this place.

Wu Zhengfeng was thrilled by the potential—she figured her whole gender equality pitch would really catch on here. Just tell the local girls, 'If you train hard for three years, you can snatch up any handsome guy you fancy,' and you’ll have crowds lining up to join. Boom—recruitment problem solved.

Queen Jill loved how open-minded everyone was—she thought this place was perfect for building a united front. Just tell the muscleheads, 'If you join up and behave, you get a free ten-day tour of Ancient Nanzhao!' If you slack off, you’re banned for life from enjoying the good times here. That’s enough to get a whole army of gynecological experts sweating and hustling for the cause. Problem with the rascals? Sorted.

As for Simone, she was happy about...well, pretty much everything here. Especially the men. With Confucian influence so weak, as long as both sides agree, anything goes. So when Simone flashed her big eyes at the guys on the street, it wasn’t just fishing—it was like pulling in a whole net full. These dudes were nothing like the shy, uptight guys back in the Central Plains.

For Simone, who’s all about fast food and meat, playing hard to get is nothing compared to a feast of hunks. Why bother with endless teasing when flexing some muscles gets the job done? After a long dry spell, Simone decided to ask her boss for a night off. She was sure she’d come back with a parade of handsome guys at her feet. The whole 'watering the flowers' problem? Solved.

See? Everyone’s problems are solved. This really is a place where everybody wins.

Whether it’s the customs, the scenery, or the love for singing and dancing, Dali has everyone in high spirits. One particular someone who dreams of saving the world with song and dance has already decided to leave her mark here and in the Western Regions—planning to surround the Central Plains with rural charm and stage a cultural takeover.

The natural scenery in the Dali Kingdom is honestly next-level. Forget the clouds in the sky—the mountains and lakes down here are stunning. And you don’t even have to go far: right near Dali City, you’ve got the Cangshan Mountains and Lake Erhai, both must-see spots.

To avoid catching the attention of the Mongol troops, our standout trio didn’t hang around in the city. Instead, they took a boat out on Lake Erhai to soak in the view. This is highland country—lower than the Tibetan Plateau, sure, but still pretty elevated. The sky is high, the clouds are thin, and the air is so light that first-timers might get altitude sickness. Of course, if you’re a tough martial artist with solid internal energy, that’s not a problem.

—But seriously, who has time for a leisurely boat ride right now?

Whoosh—a dark shadow swooped in from the sky and landed squarely on Simone’s arm. It was a spirit eagle.

Simone took off the note, glanced at it, and told the other two, "Bosses, we’ve got it."

—That’s right, the whole crew was supposed to be rushing off to the Heavenly Dragon Monastery. But as soon as they hit Dali City, they ran into a major snag: where on earth is the Heavenly Dragon Monastery?

Sure, the Heavenly Dragon Monastery is famous—ask anyone and they’ll point you in the right direction. But when Shadow Ops did some advance recon, they found that the grand temple with the towering pagoda wasn’t the one they were looking for. The location was right, but those chubby monks weren’t the ones they wanted. Shadow Ops dug deeper and discovered that during the Mongol invasion, there was a fierce battle at the monastery. After the fight, the Mongols brought in a new batch of monks, but the old masters had vanished without a trace.

That battle was the final nail in the coffin for the Dali Kingdom.

So what now? Should they go drag the current Duke of Dali out of the governor’s office and ask for directions? If they did that, there’d be an urgent memo on Kublai Khan’s desk within three days. Our crew loves drama, but not suicide missions—so they decided to let Shadow Ops handle it.

After a full day of investigation, they finally locked onto the target: the Heavenly Dragon Monastery is hidden deep in the Cangshan Mountains, north of Dali City.