Kong Xiu rose trembling from the ground. He, the strongest Magus of the City of Heaven’s Stars, now moved with a difficulty worthy of an old man in his final, guttering years. In all his life, he had never once been so agitated, so utterly beside himself, as in this moment. Even back when Wuming had revealed the wolf-attributed power here, it hadn’t shaken him a fraction as much as this.

“Who… who are you?!” Facing Ye Tianxie now, he had none of his earlier serenity and gentleness left; that old face was wholly contorted by a shock he could not suppress. The muscles of his face twitched, his gaze quivered violently. He looked at Ye Tianxie as one might look at a monster from beyond the heavens.

Ye Tianxie studied his reaction with keen interest, then spoke slowly. “Xietian.”

“Xietian…” From Ye Tianxie’s expression, he saw nothing to give him doubt. Kong Xiu’s expression eased. Ordinary people might differ in latent power owing to constitution or talent, but the innate differences between ordinary people were slight — the true gaps were opened entirely by what came after. Yet there were some — a very, very few — who differed from ordinary people, whose bodies held a powerful force from birth. Where these forces came from, and why they existed, was difficult to know; and these unknown powers varied in magnitude, some awakening at birth, some awakening slowly as one grew, some needing to be drawn out through guidance, and some perhaps lying dormant a whole lifetime without ever waking.

In the real world, such people existed as well… They were called espers. Their numbers were exceedingly few, but a starting point so far above the ordinary made them almost another kind of human being altogether, existences transcending a whole plane.

And such innate potential often inclined toward some particular category or attribute — some manifesting as an element, others inclining toward the power of some kind of beast… Back then, before the God-Summoning Stone, the image of an enormous wolf had appeared upon Wuming… the power of the Wolf Soul!

And Kong Xiu was certain that what he’d seen just now was a dragon, and that tremendous roar was a dragon’s cry, a sound only a dragon could loose. In that instant he’d only dimly caught the dragon’s image, with no time at all to make out what kind of dragon it was. But what did a dragon’s image mean… In all his memory, in all his understanding, there had never been a person whose power manifested the attribute of a dragon.

The wolf symbolized aloof pride — but the dragon, that was the strongest body, the strongest power, a majesty that must never be offended, the true sovereign forever enthroned on high, worshipped and gazed up at by ten thousand living things! And the shattered God-Summoning Stone proved, in the most staggering fashion, just how terrible that latent power was.

But clearly, from Ye Tianxie’s expression, Kong Xiu could tell that not even Ye Tianxie himself knew what kind of latent power he possessed.

“Your potential… is very strong.” After a long spell of stunned absence, Kong Xiu at last produced these few pale words. Yet how could a power that shattered the God-Summoning Stone — which not even the Goddess Xiyao had the ability to break — possibly be described by “very strong”? Faced with power like this, even had Kong Xiu’s composure been ten times more resilient, he could not have kept it. But Kong Xiu was Kong Xiu after all, and he was already straining to master his emotions at the fastest possible speed.

“Then is there any method for me to advance into some other class?” Kong Xiu’s expression filled Ye Tianxie with waves of doubt; that ground full of fragments let him faintly guess what had just happened, though he could scarcely believe his own guess. Setting all that aside, what he cared about most was still his class problem. In the virtual gaming world, having no class was like having one’s hands and feet bound.

The white light was still dispersing, and the radiance of this sealed space grew dimmer and dimmer. Kong Xiu was silent; his heart still pounded madly from those scenes, not yet fully settled. Wuming’s latent power he had been able to preliminarily awaken through his own special magic — but if a person’s ability was enough to light more than four power crystals, that power was not something he could command, or even touch… because that should be the power of a true god!

“Your body’s rejection of the seven basic classes is by no means coincidence, but an inevitability, ordained. With the latent power you possess, the seven classes truly are unworthy of becoming your class… because what you possess is the power of the dragon!” Kong Xiu said slowly.

“The power of the dragon?” Ye Tianxie was faintly taken aback, and looked at Kong Xiu full of doubt.

“For those who possess this kind of latent power, the power always inclines toward some category. Back then, Wuming’s power was of the wolf; and yours… is the dragon! And a dragon stronger than Wuming’s wolf by who knows how many times over!” Kong Xiu spoke with his gaze fixed on Ye Tianxie, never once leaving him. Never in his dreams had he imagined such a person could exist in this world, still less that he would appear before him today with no warning whatsoever.

The appearance of such a person — what did it mean? Who was he, where did he come from, what was his origin, why did he possess so terrible a Dragon Soul potential… And his future — what manner of future would that be?

Ye Tianxie was silent for a long while. His course in the World of Fate had begun to exceed his own expectations more and more; one thing after another that shouldn’t have existed, that was beyond all reason, kept appearing before him. The power of the dragon… An NPC in a virtual game world telling him he had the power of a dragon — and with an expression and a voice of utter gravity, free of any falsehood. Such an assessment from an NPC ought to have been taken as a boring joke, yet in spite of himself, he seemed to hear something deep in the sea of his heart give a violent throb, his heartstrings plucked hard.

The power of the dragon… latent power… rejecting classes… Why was he encountering these situations in the World of Fate, situations that shouldn’t exist at all? Could it be… that his own strange power in the real world was affecting this world’s version of himself?

From as far back as he could remember, he had known his strength was far greater than other children his age, and as he grew older that advantage had only grown, gradually reaching a terrifying degree. Ordinary blades could not pierce his body, scalding water gave him no discomfort, and even bullets could do him no harm… This growth, utterly unlike an ordinary person’s, had proceeded without his ever noticing, not coming upon him suddenly, and so he had never seriously tried to seek out its cause. Back then, he had also always been glad he had such power… because with it, he could use his own strength to protect her.

“What do you mean by that?” Ye Tianxie finally asked.

Kong Xiu shook his head, his manner cautious in the extreme. “Your potential is too strong; I can’t help you… However, when the day comes that you have sufficient ability, you’d do best to make a trip to our Lost Continent’s Imperial City, the City of the Lost. There you’ll find the mightiest magi and war gods; perhaps they’ll have a way to help you.”

If that terrifying potential of his were awakened, then just what kind of powerhouse would be born…? At the very least, his strength would far surpass Wuming’s… perhaps even… the Goddess Xiyao!

The City of the Lost… According to the few explanations on the official site, that was a region players could only set foot in once they reached Level 50 or above — the central city of the Lost Continent.

(End of Chapter 62)