“Haha, brother, you don’t know, do you? The scariest thing about northern nights isn’t the mutated lifeforms—it’s the unpredictable weather. You’ve heard of sandstorms, right? Here, we have something called cold storms. Not only are the temperatures insanely low, but the storms are also filled with countless razor—sharp ice blades. If you get caught in one, unless you’re a seven- or eight-star expert or have top-tier defensive gear, you’re dead. And the further north you go, the worse these storms get. When we ran into you, it was getting dark. No one would risk traveling at night. Those list deliverers value their lives too much—they wouldn’t come.”
Hearing about this strange phenomenon, Ye Zhongming and the others grew intrigued. They were also grateful they hadn’t encountered such a storm yet in the north—even if it hadn’t harmed them, it would’ve been a hassle.
According to Black Brother, in the Arctic, cold storms reached their peak. Nothing—not level seven, eight, or nine lifeforms—could survive them. They’d be torn to shreds.
Hearing this, Cloud Peak’s people fell silent. No matter how strong humans became, nature’s fury seemed unmatched.
Humans changed, but so did nature.
Ye Zhongming felt a faint unease.
He had witnessed the collapse of a massive space and the instability of endless darkness. The fate of the Blue Secret Realm still haunted him.
He feared Earth might one day suffer the same fate. With these extreme weather events appearing, was the planet entering a cycle of destruction?
“But people must still travel at night sometimes, right? What do they do then?” Xiao Min voiced the question on many minds.
Now they understood—this was how people avoided the terrifying cold storms.
“What about cities or settlements here? How do they protect against these storms?” Ye Zhongming pressed.
Black Brother scratched his head. “In these parts, cold storms follow certain patterns. Some places have never seen one—those are ideal for building camps. Others build their settlements underground. The permafrost here is thick, so there aren’t as many mutated lifeforms belowground as in other regions. The rest rely on terrain advantages. Take Black Dragon City, for example—mountains surround it on three sides, which block the storms.”
Hearing this, Cloud Peak’s people couldn’t help but think that surviving in the north meant battling mutated lifeforms and struggling against nature itself. Life here was much harder than in other places.
As they chatted, they soon arrived at a city before nightfall.
Cloud Peak’s people stared awestruck at Black Dragon City in the dim light.
The city resembled a giant dragon coiled within a winding and sprawling mountain valley.
Huge bonfires burned atop the towering city walls, their flames connecting in the distance to outline the entire wall’s shape.
Though Ye Zhongming’s eyes hadn’t fully recovered, the light here was decent, and the distance wasn’t too great. He could make out four massive, dark objects evenly spaced along the walls. He couldn’t quite tell what they were yet.
“Heh, those are dragon heads.”
Noticing Ye Zhongming’s gaze, Black Brother spoke with pride.
“Real dragons?”
Xiao Peng was astonished and quickly pressed for details.
“Haha, of course not!” Black Brother laughed and shook his head. “Two are mutated snake heads—the kind that evolved four legs and wings, like flood dragons. Who knows, maybe they’ll become real dragons someday. The other two are fish heads—the kind that ‘ascended’ and could leap the Dragon Gate. If you ignore the body shape and just look at the heads, the whiskers and all, they really do resemble dragon heads.”
“Old An of Black Dragon City modified these four dragon heads. Together with some devices on the walls, they form a defense system. When activated, they can unleash devastating energy beams. I don’t know if they can kill a level nine, but they definitely threaten level eight lifeforms. Just a month ago, they drove off a level eight mutated tiger king and its cubs that came looking for food.”
“They didn’t kill it?”
Black Brother’s pride lasted less than a second before Xiao Min’s question cut him off. He glanced at her, noting she was a pretty girl, and thought, Since when are level eights so easy to kill? But he kept that to himself and explained, “The tiger king’s mate was also level eight, plus two level eight cubs. The rest of the litter were level seven—over a dozen of them.”
It wasn’t that Black Dragon City didn’t want to kill them—they simply couldn’t. They could rely on the four dragon heads for defense. But if they ventured out, no one could face four level eight mutated Siberian tigers, known for their combat prowess.
After saying this, Black Brother glanced at the group and led them toward the city gates.
“Has Black Dragon City been completely secured by humans?” Ye Zhongming asked curiously as they walked.
“Not a chance. Even though mountains surround it on three sides and sturdy walls block the remaining side, this place isn’t a dead end. Between the mountains are many gaps—some wide, some narrow. Some lead to large lakes, others to pine forests, and some simply exit the mountains. The city is split into two. Only our side is fully controlled by humans. The other side belongs to the mutated lifeforms.”
He chuckled self-deprecatingly. “In other cities, downtown is the most prosperous area. Here, it’s the most dangerous. People die there every day. Both humans and mutated lifeforms treat it as hunting grounds.”
Black Brother led Cloud Peak’s people into the city as they spoke. Ye Zhongming sent a mental message to Yangos, Yellow Ball, and the others, telling them to hunt on their own. If they could find that tiger king’s den, even better. Three against four—they’d still win easily.
With Black Brother guiding them, the group entered the city without trouble, though many women in their party drew many stares.
Black Brother’s organization was called Moonfall Ice Plains—a poetic name. It was one of Black Dragon City’s major factions. Though he wasn’t the strongest in the group, he had extensive connections and quickly arranged lodging for Ye Zhongming’s people. After settling them in, he left, saying they should rest well and that he’d return tomorrow.
“Boss, this man…”
Xiao Min hesitated, but Ye Zhongming nodded. “He’s sharp—much smarter than his rough exterior suggests. He already realized we weren’t here for what he thought, but didn’t give us a chance to explain. He figured we needed to enter the city and disliked trouble, so he enthusiastically brought us in, hoping to align us with his side. At the very least, he didn’t want us as enemies.”
“Send people out to gather intel—discreetly. Stick to the original plan and ask about the north, but also see what’s been happening in the city lately. Whatever it is, it must be serious for Black Brother to take such a risk to keep us close.”
Ye Zhongming issued the orders.