Jin Hai City lay at the easternmost edge of the Cangyue Continent, facing the vast ocean directly. Its harbor, Jin Hai Port, was one of the four great ports of Cangyue, ensuring a daily flow of countless merchants, travelers, and wandering warriors from all corners of the world.

The largest inn within the city was the Cloud Arrival Inn! Not only was the Cloud Arrival Inn the largest in Jin Hai City, but it was also the largest in every other city across the Cangyue Continent. There were well over one hundred and twenty cities, large and small, and every single one housed a Cloud Arrival Inn.

To the average traveler or merchant, the Cloud Arrival Inn represented the most luxurious and comfortable accommodation. But to the wandering warriors, it served as the premier venue for exchange, gathering, and, most importantly, gathering intelligence. Any ripple in the warrior world invariably reached the Cloud Arrival Inn in the shortest time, where it would then be publicized. These reports came from Cangyue, and sometimes from other continents—if it was interesting enough, it could be found here. Naturally, information came in many forms, but it was categorized into just two main types: public announcements, which were usually posted free of charge by the Red Clothes onto the Red Boards; and classified secrets, which required payment, the price depending entirely on the value of the intelligence. In short, if you could afford it, you could buy any piece of information you desired here.

What the members of Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness hadn't anticipated was that information they expected to cost a great deal of effort to uncover would arrive so easily. At this moment, they stood dumbfounded, staring at several critical entries on the inn’s Red Board.

Headline—Vermilion Bird Alliance Smashes the Yellow Springs Cult Leader! Officially Recognized as the Premier Guild in the Mafa World. Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes.

St. Word Calendar Year 3743, May 23rd: The Vermilion Bird Alliance entered the Yellow Springs Domain. Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes...

St. Word Calendar Year 3743, May 29th: The Vermilion Bird Alliance encountered the Phoenix Nest Guild and the Heavenly Spider Guild, who had also blundered into the Yellow Springs Domain, along with the Wandering Dragon Guild from Biqi. No one expected this little-known guild to play the role of savior in the ensuing period. Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes...

St. Word Calendar Year 3743, June 7th: The Vermilion Bird Alliance met the Yellow Springs Cult Leader for the first time. The Vanguard Hall was utterly annihilated; the Seventeen-Man Thunder Formation was completely shattered. Eight Great Elders and seven young masters perished on the spot, leaving only Feng Qingtian and Xia Ya, who were rescued by the Phoenix Nest Guild, Heavenly Spider Guild, and others who narrowly escaped. It was this rescue that preserved the spark of victory for the later counterattack. Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes...

St. Word Calendar Year 3743, June 8th: The Vermilion Bird Alliance began modifying the Thunder Formation, expanding it from eighteen members to one hundred and eighty. This insane overhaul was spurred by the emergence of Blue Lightning. Because he could absorb the magical backlash almost infinitely, the power of the Thunder Formation could be enhanced limitlessly. Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes...

St. Word Calendar Year 3743, June 15th: The Thunder Formation entered its testing phase, achieving astonishing success in its debut. The Mafa World’s most powerful offensive spell, the Thunder Fireball, was born! Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes...

St. Word Calendar Year 3743, June 22nd: The Vermilion Bird Alliance challenged the Yellow Springs Cult Leader with the newly enhanced Thunder Formation and ultimately succeeded in slaying him. Here is the true report from the accompanying Red Clothes...

On another section of the Red Board was an equally arresting headline: The Demon Sealing Brotherhood challenged the Iris Cult Leader, annihilated. All warriors who entered the Demon Sealing Hall perished without a single survivor; the Brotherhood suffered devastating losses.

What exactly happened within the Demon Sealing Hall, no one knew, as the accompanying Red Clothes died and could not file a true report. Below this was a vast expanse of blank space, lending a shocking and powerful impact. Even the Red Clothes could not be spared; this suggested the sheer horror of what transpired inside the Demon Sealing Hall.

On yet another Red Board was a record tracing back over four months to the demon-slaying operation at the Zhumu Temple in Biqi.

Biqi Heroes' Assembly challenged the Zhumu Cult Leader; Blue Lightning appeared like a flash, a breathtaking glimpse, skillfully snatching the statue. The Heroes' Assembly nearly succeeded at the final moment, only to fail. Here is the true report from the Biqi accompanying Red Clothes...

This bulletin, easily running over ten thousand characters, also contained extremely detailed reporting, though this specific entry clearly emphasized the brilliant, fleeting moment of Blue Lightning’s spectacular appearance at the critical juncture. The contrast between the three reports created a powerful jolt.

After reading these few announcements, the members of Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness were struck speechless. Clearly, these three reports highlighted, from different angles, the incredible organizational capability of the Cangyue warrior world. Consider this: they had killed the Yellow Springs Cult Leader! Compared to that, the operation organized by the Biqi warrior world seemed utterly pointless, and the Brotherhood on the Demon Sealing Continent had suffered a complete failure, ending in total annihilation.

On another large display board were updates concerning the Demon Dragon Continent's warrior world. It was rumored that the four major guilds of the Demon Dragon Continent had begun uniting, forming a powerful alliance called the Azure Dragon Gang, and were actively planning to challenge the Demon Dragon Cult Leader. Initial reconnaissance work had already commenced.

It seemed a whirlwind of challenging ancient monsters was sweeping through the warrior world. However, some suggested that the two demon-slaying operations Blue Lightning participated in had both succeeded, leading many to believe he was a super-lucky charm. They even claimed the Demon Sealing Brotherhood’s annihilation was solely because Blue Lightning wasn't there to join them. Hearing this, the members of Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness were so enraged their lungs nearly burst.

“Damn it! This is utter nonsense!” Eagle Fierce Madman wished he could tear the so-called Blue Lightning to shreds.

“We fought with our lives on the line, and he got the spoils!” Bear Overlord was fuming, his seven orifices smoking: “Now that they’ve written it this way, it makes it sound like him taking the easy way out was the natural outcome.”

“There’s no justice!” Dragon Abyss Flying Snow, usually the most level-headed, was now flushed with anger, his expression radiating killing intent.

“That kid is strangely effective,” Li Xie muttered.

“This is unbelievable,” Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness still felt a sense of disbelief. “Why are these people speaking up for him?”

“...” Eagle True Swallow instinctively reached for the portrait again, making Tiger Roar Mountain Forest beside her intensely jealous. “If only that picture was of me!” Tiger Roar Mountain Forest grumbled softly.

Since arriving in Cangyue, the names they heard most often were Yellow Springs Cult Leader, Vermilion Bird Alliance, Feng Qingtian, Xia Ya, Han Yunzhen, and Starshine. Everywhere they went, they heard the legendary tales of Cangyue’s Four Young Dragons.

Initially, the Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness group was quite confused about the supposed Four Young Dragons of Cangyue. Feng Qingtian and Xia Ya were already famous names, ranking high even across the entire Mafa World, but who exactly were Han Yunzhen and Starshine? It wasn't until later that the group learned Han Yunzhen was the heir to the Han family of Tianyin City. And the so-called Starshine stunned Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness, because he was none other than Blue Lightning, the person they had pursued across oceans for ten thousand miles.

The Red Board even featured a dedicated section for Blue Lightning’s records, with an equally prominent title:

Miracle Mage—Miracle Warrior—Blue Lightning from Biqi—Starshine!

Below this were scattered reports, clearly embellished comments added by Red Clothes who enjoyed sensationalism.

Currently, the top ranker on Cangyue’s Warrior Saint-Magic List was no longer the Genius Mage, Han Yunxiao, but Starshine, the super young master from the Biqi Continent, known by the resounding title Blue Lightning back home.

However, in Cangyue, younger warriors preferred to call him the Thunder Mage—because the Yellow Springs Cult Leader was felled by his super Fireball. This spell, the most terrifyingly powerful fireball ever seen, was officially named the Thunder Fireball by the Han Family of Tianyin City.

Of course, everyone understood that this Thunder Mage was essentially a novice mage who only knew the Fireball spell. Furthermore, according to Miss Xia Na, the eldest daughter of the Xia family, Blue Lightning didn't even know how to cast the Fireball spell; he relied on some kind of extremely cheat-like method. Miss Xia refused to disclose what that method was.

Yet, despite this, the Cangyue warrior world still considered him the greatest magician of all time. Even though he possessed no magical power himself, and was not the strongest mage, the five judges of the Saint-Magic List unanimously agreed: greatness doesn't necessarily mean being the strongest; being the most crucial and the only irreplaceable person is enough.

Furthermore, all ten young mages who recently ranked in the top ten of the Saint-Magic List had participated in that Yellow Springs War, and they were all key members of the Thunder Formation. They wholeheartedly agreed with the judges' comments. As comrades who had faced life and death together, these young mages unanimously concluded during that campaign that the achievements of the Thunder Mage were unsurpassable, at least among the current generation of young warriors. They unanimously put forward the Thunder Mage, willingly taking the secondary position. The Thunder Mage deservedly became the number one figure on the Cangyue Saint-Magic List.

The number one on the God of War List was also the Thunder Mage, or rather, Blue Lightning, since they were the same person. Although his actual strength as a warrior was unknown—as no one had seen him use warrior martial arts, and he defeated the Yellow Springs Cult Leader using magic—this fact could not negate his status as a warrior. He might not be the strongest warrior, as he hadn't fought Feng Qingtian yet, but undeniably, he was the greatest warrior. At the very least, without him, everyone would still be trapped in the Yellow Springs Domain. It seemed the greatest is sometimes not the strongest, but absolutely the most important and irreplaceable. It appeared the old guard on the God of War List were too lazy to simply copy the exact comments made by the five judges on the Saint-Magic List.

Thus, Blue Lightning became the first person from another continent ever recognized by the Cangyue warrior world—note: the first person, not the strongest expert. Because he killed the Yellow Springs Cult Leader, that was enough.

—Reported by Qi Xianyao, Gold-Rank Red Clothes of the Cangyue Society.

..............................

Rumor had it that Starshine held many other "firsts" titles as well. For example, he was currently known as the youngest Crimson Moon Warrior on the continent, and he was the first to withstand the full force of the Zhumu Cult Leader’s strike and escape successfully...

In an instant, legends about the Thunder Mage, about Blue Lightning, swept across the entire Mafa World, with various versions circulating. But one thing was certain: this young man named Starshine had become one of the most revered idols among the younger generation of warriors throughout the Cangyue world. Holding the titles of Biqi's Top Young Master, Cangyue's Number One on the Saint-Magic List, and Cangyue's Number One on the God of War List, it was rumored that the Demon Sealing Continent and the Demon Dragon Continent were also eagerly anticipating his arrival to join their respective demon-slaying operations. Since the two operations he participated in achieved unbelievable success, perhaps they could borrow his luck next time to secure victory.

Previously, Blue Lightning’s involvement in the Zhumu Statue retrieval plan and this recent Yellow Springs Cult Leader execution had become his defining accomplishments. Because of this, the warrior world affectionately dubbed him the Miracle Warrior and Miracle Mage, as he constantly created miracles.

More stories about Blue Lightning were currently the best-selling gossip in the Cangyue warrior world. A portrait of him was worth at least ten gold coins. It was said that Blue Lightning was a master of disguise, ever-changing, and no one had ever seen his true face; even his appearance in the Yellow Springs Domain was not his real look.

Of course, many people were still focused on the true strength of Blue Lightning as a warrior—who was stronger between him and Feng Qingtian? On this matter, the Cangyue warrior world had clearly divided into two major factions. Those supporting Feng Qingtian claimed he was undeniably the strongest warrior, strictly in one-on-one duels.

However, the supporters of Blue Lightning were just as numerous.

It seemed the only way to settle the strength debate was to arrange a match between them sometime. Otherwise, no one would know who was truly stronger. With no other choice, the Red Clothes of the Qi family concluded their commentary with a rather unhelpful line.

—Reported by Qi Jiashe, Gold-Rank Red Clothes stationed at the Warrior Guild’s Cangyue Branch.

Below this was a massive pile of various reports concerning Blue Lightning... everything imaginable, from the color of Blue Lightning’s clothes and his shoe size to even rumors about his lovers, all recorded in detail.

“.............” Dragon Abyss Flying Snow was somewhat stunned. Even reports concerning the current King were not this detailed; an uninformed person might mistake it for a private chronicle of some noble aristocrat.

Eagle Fierce Madman stared blankly at Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness after reading for a while, suddenly realizing something. “What is going on? How did he join the Yellow Springs operation? That started over a month ago!”

“You ask me, who do I ask?” Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness murmured. “Could he fly? To arrive more than a month earlier than us?” Only then did the group suddenly realize that something seemed amiss, though they couldn't figure out what right away.

“And to have gained such immense fame,” Bear Overlord exclaimed in shock. “This is truly bizarre.”

“He’s very popular here, it seems,” Eagle True Swallow said strangely. Her mind involuntarily drifted to the unimpressive blue-haired youth she’d seen in the Zhumu Hall previously. Looking at the portrait in her hand, she wondered what face he currently presented in Cangyue. Who would have thought that just four months later, he would be a figure known throughout the world?

“We can be certain of one thing now,” Bear Overlord said with a bitter smile. “If we dare cause trouble in Cangyue, we’ll definitely be torn to shreds by these warriors.” Just seeing the succession of reports on the Red Board was enough to illustrate how resounding Blue Lightning’s name was in the Cangyue warrior world, and how fiercely he was supported by its warriors—a rarity in the Mafa World. After all, the warrior worlds of different continents had varying degrees of xenophobia. But Blue Lightning achieving such status in Cangyue as an outsider could itself be called a miracle.

Who could have imagined that after crossing oceans and thousands of miles, this person was already making waves here? Moreover, it was certain that Blue Lightning currently enjoyed excellent relations in Biqi, or even the Demon Dragon Continent, or the Demon Sealing Continent. He was no longer just an ordinary wandering warrior. To stir up trouble with him meant triggering a chain reaction; even the mighty Heroes’ Assembly would have to consider the terrible consequences before moving against Blue Lightning.

If Blue Lightning were merely a member of the Star Moon Alliance, an established enemy, moving against him would be without hesitation. But at this moment, Blue Lightning was the number one figure on both the Cangyue God of War List and the Saint-Magic List. Attacking him would undoubtedly mean making an enemy of the entire Cangyue warrior world. Even across the ocean, Cangyue had the largest population of warriors in the entire Mafa World—three times that of the Biqi Continent. No one could imagine what they might do if provoked. Furthermore, the warrior worlds of the Demon Dragon and Demon Sealing Continents were still hoping Blue Lightning would join them. The most likely scenario was that warriors from all four Mafa Continents would end up harassing the Heroes’ Assembly. Even if they survived, they would lose a layer of skin.

“Now, what do we do?” Tiger Roar Mountain Forest instinctively looked towards his senior brother, Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness.

“First, find out his location. Proceed with caution and do not alert the Cangyue warrior world,” Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness said grimly. “Otherwise, our troubles will be immense.”

The others looked equally complex. It was true that Tiger Roar Mountain Wilderness, Dragon Abyss Flying Snow, and the others gained fame through their exceptional skills, but their status was also significantly tied to the prestigious sects behind them—the saying ‘famous lineage produces famous people’ held true.

But for an ordinary warrior like Blue Lightning, with no known background or even a sect, to reach this level of achievement was nothing short of a miracle. Dragon Abyss Flying Snow and the others genuinely didn't know how to describe it. Blue Lightning had effectively shattered the ingrained tradition of inherited status across the Mafa Continent. Think of the top ten pinnacle experts on all four continents—which one didn't possess deep family resources and background? A person with such a clean slate as Blue Lightning was truly unprecedented.

Although they hated Blue Lightning to the bone, the four of them had to admit that the kid was incredibly adept at navigating the world—at least better than they were. Compared to Blue Lightning holding three number-one titles across two continents, the "Four Young Masters of Biqi" seemed rather meager now.