"The Everpeace Empire really is plagued by endless disasters. First came war and chaos, then natural calamities; now the Wild Di and Wolf Juxu Kingdoms have teamed up to invade, and on top of that, this Dragon-Keeper Lord shows up to seize the main dragon vein."
Quinn Shepherd couldn't help but sigh. Emperor Evan's job as ruler of Everpeace must be exhausting—so much so that Quinn himself keeps having to clean up his messes.
"That Solar-Shooting God Cannon I built would be perfect for blasting this Dragon-Keeper Lord—except the cannon's still back in the capital, and Emperor Evan isn't here either..."
Quinn suddenly froze. He'd never been an Everpeace native—so why was he risking life and limb for the Everpeace Empire?
He'd left the Great Ruins to temper himself, to grow stronger—not to protect Everpeace. Had his original intentions changed without him even noticing?
Once, he'd even hated the Everpeace Empire—believing it treated the Great Ruins people as outcasts and slaves. When had he changed his view, started seeing Everpeace's troubles as his own?
Wasn't his real purpose just to temper himself?
Shouldn't he be fighting for the survival rights of the Great Ruins natives?
Had he started seeing Everpeace as another home? Unknowingly begun treating its problems as his own?
He examined his own heart and found the truth both cruel and amusing: the complexity of human feelings outstripped any reform, any change wrought by Dao arts or divine powers.
Quinn reflected calmly: as Human Emperor, he didn't serve Everpeace itself—he served the people on this land. If Emperor Evan proved unworthy, he'd replace him; if the Imperial Preceptor's reforms failed, he'd do it himself.
Even if Everpeace's reforms succeeded—if Emperor Evan invaded the Great Ruins and enslaved its people—he'd take him down.
Quinn blinked, finding his own thoughts both pure and straightforward.
"We're here!"
The twin flood-dragons beneath the Dragon-Keeper Lord suddenly halted. Quinn looked around in surprise: all around were massive volcanoes, their craters belching thick smoke but not erupting.
From time to time, cultivators flew up the slopes to gather earthfire—presumably to practice fire-attribute divine arts.
This was Volcano County in the Everpeace Empire, famed for its many volcanoes—over ninety percent of the empire's volcanoes clustered here. The largest by far was Mount Whitestar: its slopes towering, its summit capped with snow, yet its crater blazing with magma.
The Dragon-Keeper Lord scanned the surroundings, his gaze settling on Mount Whitestar. He smiled, "The dragon eye is here!"
The twin dragons beneath his feet soared, carrying him straight to the summit of Mount Whitestar. At the peak lay a sect's headquarters: aside from Everpeace's three great holy lands, other sects had been squeezed by the rise of imperial academies, leaving their disciples few and scattered.
This sect at Mount Whitestar's summit was called the Whitestar Sword Sect. Its numbers had dwindled; only about a hundred disciples remained on the mountain.