The sky carried a tinge of green, and a gentle breeze blew through this place, ceaseless through all four seasons.
A magnificent white city floated serenely in the high sky, refracting a faint golden glow.
By now, humanity had become the master of heaven and earth. The various non-human races that had once dominated for a time had retreated into the far corners of the world, struggling to survive.
And this Green Heaven Fragment World was the Shangri-La of one such non-human race—the Feathered Folk.
The Gu Immortal House, Feather Saint City, was the most fortified stronghold of the surviving Feathered Folk.
At this moment, colorful banners fluttered across Feather Saint City, and thunderous cheers erupted from the arena.
Every last Feathered Folk was chanting the name of one of their own.
"Yu Fei!"
"Yu Fei!"
"Yu Fei!"
The previous King of the Feathered Folk had passed away. According to Feathered Folk custom, the new king would be chosen through combat.
And just moments ago, the battle had concluded.
Dan Yu—the prince of the Feathered Folk and the overwhelming favorite—had actually lost. The dark-haired commoner youth, Yu Fei, had claimed the final victory.
"I, Yu Fei, have finally realized my life's dream—I am the King of the Feathered Folk!" Yu Fei was gravely wounded, but he didn't care in the slightest. He threw his head back and laughed heartily.
He spread his arms wide, and behind him, both pairs of wings unfurled as he savored the roar of the crowd.
His grin stretched so wide he could barely close his mouth, an exuberantly bright smile that even exposed his gums.
"This generation's King of the Feathered Folk seems a bit unique, doesn't he? Quite different from past ones."
"Heh heh heh, what an interesting little fellow."
"I hear he's ambitious, set on expanding our Feathered Folk's dominion. But once he's been king for a while, he'll probably settle down."
Behind the scenes, three Feathered Folk Gu Immortals chatted casually, smiles on their faces.
But at that very moment, a savage attack suddenly descended upon the peaceful city!
BOOM!!!
Amid an earth-shattering explosion, Feather Saint City shuddered violently.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Caught off guard, Yu Fei lost his footing and tumbled to the ground, rolling three times.
"Look, everyone—what is that?!" A sharp-eyed Feathered Folk citizen was the first to notice something was wrong, pointing at the sky. But he was so terrified that he stammered, unable to form words.
Then, most of the Feathered Folk raised their heads and discovered, with horror, that directly above them the greenish sky had been torn open by an enormous rift!
From within the rift, several figures descended like demon gods.
The three Feathered Folk Gu Immortals in Feather Saint City had already reacted. They awoke from their shock and flew high into the sky.
As they revealed themselves and rushed to meet the invaders, they shouted orders to the Feathered Folk in the city below.
"Beware—powerful enemies are attacking!!"
"Quick, sound the alarm! Defend our home!"
"Gu Masters, take your positions! Secure the formation nodes! Activate Feather Saint City's defenses!"
Panic swept through the city, and chaos erupted in an instant.
Feather Saint City had enjoyed peace for too long, living a life of seclusion, untouched by the outside world. Their military preparedness was woefully lax, and with the new king just crowned, neither soldiers nor civilians could mount an organized response.
The enemy came in overwhelming force. The three Feathered Folk Gu Immortals felt an immense weight settle over their hearts, but they clung to a sliver of hope, attempting a peaceful negotiation.
However, the enemy leader Bai Hai Sha Tuo shattered those hopes with a single command.
The elderly Gu Immortal's eyes were ice-cold. His voice was utterly frigid as he spoke: "Begin the assault!"
The three Feathered Folk Immortals were no match and could only retreat into the Gu Immortal House—Feather Saint City.
Feather Saint City endured a relentless siege from the Western Desert Immortals. Killing moves struck one after another, blanketing the battlefield. Countless mortal-grade and immortal-grade killing moves hammered against the Gu Immortal House, producing spectacular bursts of light.
Bai Hai Sha Tuo had clearly come prepared, deploying means to pin down Feather Saint City.
Feather Saint City was stuck as if sinking in mud, unable to extricate itself.
The Feathered Folk had known peace for too long. Thrown suddenly into a life-or-death battle, their responses were neither accurate nor timely. The three Immortals fared no better, and so they lost their chance to escape in time.
Two days later.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning lanced out and slammed into a section of Feather Saint City's wall.
The wall collapsed instantly, then scattered into countless fragments of Gu Insect.
The Feathered Folk Gu Masters stationed on the wall—every last one of them—had perished. Their shredded remains littered the ground.
Dust and smoke billowed up, and within them, a flash of emerald light flickered once before vanishing.
"Disaster!" Zhou Zhong, the Feathered Folk Gu Immortal who had been fighting for two days and two nights straight, saw the wall's collapse. His eyes were bloodshot.
Seeing the breach in the defenses, he immediately flew over to hold the position.
The essence of a Gu Immortal House was the fusion of countless Gu Insects. This section of wall had crumbled, and the Gu Insects within were destroyed—it was as if a hole had been punched through the Gu Immortal House.
It was like a ship taking on water, its defensive power drastically reduced. If the enemy broke through and exploited this gap, they could eventually bring down the entire Gu Immortal House!
Though the breach was small now, it absolutely could not be ignored or allowed to grow. Zhou Zhong rushed over to seal the gap, buying the most critical time for the Gu Immortal House's self-repair.
But the moment Zhou Zhong landed, a sinister chuckle reached his ears: "Heh heh heh, you've fallen into my trap."