While the entire Nine Provinces buzzed because of Liu Yuan's actions…
The mastermind behind it all was crouching low, sneaking through the mountain paths.
From what he'd learned from Li Jia, Liu Yuan now knew that Li Yuanba's army had stationed 320 men throughout this mountain range, all to block the flow of information.
If anyone suspicious was spotted, they were to be executed on the spot.
Thank goodness he was smart enough to change out of his original uniform earlier—otherwise, he'd already be skewered like Zhang San and the rest.
Using the information he'd extracted, Liu Yuan had marked spots where spear-wielding soldiers were likely to be and carefully avoided them.
Even though he now had the "Tiger Pounce" skill and was significantly stronger, he understood his limits well.
One-on-one? Not a problem.
Two-on-one? He could at least come out unscathed.
But more than three?
Too many variables.
So when it was time to lay low, he had to lay low.
As the moon reached its zenith and hung directly overhead, the game world and the real world synced—signaling the start of a new in-game day.
Ding-dong!
A crisp sound echoed in Liu Yuan's mind.
In front of him, a huge spinning wheel appeared, covered in dense characters, with a central pointer. At its tip: two characters—"Chaos Fate"
Liu Yuan's expression darkened instantly.
He knew this thing all too well.
It had first shown up when he created his character and received the talent "Chaos Fate".
Then this damn spinning wheel appeared…
And it gave him the " Fortune and Misfortune are Intertwined ".
Which disabled his newbie protection.
And landed him in this mess.
"Again?" Liu Yuan twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Before he could even react, the pointer began to spin wildly.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! Player 'Liu Yuan' has obtained a new fortune: Hidden Dragon in the Abyss .]
Hidden Dragon in the Abyss?
The hell does that even mean?
They think he can't read?!
But he does have a human-shaped encyclopedia he can call on.
He quickly pulled up the in-game forum and messaged the player ID [Qingyu Lullaby].
[Liu Yuan]: Sis Qing, help me out—what's this "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" thing supposed to mean?
[Qingyu Lullaby]: Hidden Dragon in the Abyss?
[Qingyu Lullaby]: That's from the I Ching, the Book of Changes. It's from the Qian Hexagram. The original line reads: "The hidden dragon—do not act. Line 4: Or leaping from the abyss, no harm."
[Liu Yuan]: No, I mean—how's the fortune associated with it?
[Qingyu Lullaby]: It means a noble person lies in wait, planning carefully before taking action—only then will success be certain.
Right. Why are you asking about this, you brat?
But by the time the message went through, Liu Yuan had already moved on.
"Plan carefully before action"—that just means I need to stay cautious, and I'll be fine, right?
Hey, that doesn't sound too bad!
Eyes gleaming, Liu Yuan muttered,
"This time, I've got this in the bag."
With that, he resumed his journey.
Along the way, he spotted several spear soldiers, but managed to avoid them without incident.
By the time the horizon began to glow with dawn's first light, he finally emerged from the forest.
Glancing back at the mountain range, Liu Yuan turned and set his sights on Ping City.
This city was currently the stronghold of the Yellow Turban faction—home to the Immortal General and Great Teacher, Zhang Jiao.
But today, the air surrounding it was thick with killing intent.
From a distance, Liu Yuan could see dark masses of troops stationed on all four sides.
Tens of thousands of soldiers.
Among them, one large banner stood tall—"Li".
The Li Clan! From the Tang Kingdom!
The sight of the character Li immediately brought to mind one of the most dominant forces in the game.
When leaving the previous city, Liu Yuan had learned quite a bit about this world from Zhang Yingjun.
Cross-referencing that with official game intel had given him a solid grasp of the current political landscape.
The Tang Kingdom, modeled after the peak of the Tang Dynasty, was ruled by Li Shimin, a top-tier force and unrivaled powerhouse within the game.
But while the Tang was mighty, it wasn't the only force of its level.
There were the legendary Three Kingdoms—Wei, Shu, and Wu.
There was the Qin Kingdom, ruling the central lands.
The Han Kingdom, who grazed the Northern Sea.
Then came the slightly lesser forces:
The Yellow Turban Army in the southeast, beloved by the common people;
The Ming Kingdom of the southwest, founded by a commoner through sheer talent;
And the Tang's mortal enemy—the Sui Kingdom.
These top factions kept each other in check, preventing any one from dominating too quickly—leaving just enough space for small, wild factions to survive and grow.
To a new player?
This was an absolute nightmare start.
With titans blocking the path at every turn, knocking them down one by one to claim the world?
Not a task for the faint of heart.
But that's exactly what made "Dynasty War" so compelling.
Li Yuanba is attacking Liang City… but who's leading the army here at Ping City?
Liu Yuan narrowed his eyes at the distant battlefield.
Just as he leaned forward to get a better view, his ears twitched—he heard something.
Eyes narrowing, he spun around, grabbing his spear and sweeping it in a wide arc.
The tip of the spear sliced through the underbrush—
And out rolled a round, chubby figure.
"Mercy! Mercy! I'm just a passerby!"
Liu Yuan paused mid-strike and looked over.
It was a short, fat player with an ID above his head—"I Want To Fly".
A player? And you call yourself 'I Want To Fly'?
With your size, you'd be lucky to bounce!
Liu Yuan grumbled to himself,
"You passin' by, huh?"
Before he could say anything more, two system prompts popped up:
[Ding! Player 'I Want To Fly' requests to view your character info. ]
[Accept?]
Decline.
[Ding! Player 'I Want To Fly' requests to add you as a friend.]
[ Accept?]
Decline.
"You chubby idiot—you got a death wish?" Liu Yuan squinted as he jabbed the spear against the guy's chest.
Just a nudge, and this fatty would be respawning in his home territory.
The player waved his hands frantically, "Big bro! I was wrong! I'm just curious!"
"Boss! Big bro! Please carry me! I'm a noob! Help a noob out!"
The guy suddenly dove forward, dodged the spear, and latched onto Liu Yuan's leg like a koala.
"I'll give you all my resources—just please let me tag along!"
"Big bro? What the hell makes you think I'm a big bro?" Liu Yuan twitched at the corner of his mouth.
He used to be the one begging Sis Qing for help.
Now some other clown was calling him a big bro?
Still… it did feel kinda nice.
But this fat guy looked shady as hell.
"From… from your weapon…"
The chubby player pointed at the spear in Liu Yuan's hand.
It had only been one day since launch.
Weapons were rare—anyone with one was a certified badass.
Liu Yuan rolled his eyes.
Idiot.
"Outta my way. I'm heading into the city—no time for dead weight."
"Wait! Big bro! Don't go! I know a secret route in!"