Game’s Dogma

Ice and fire were polar opposites due to their elemental nature. However, when considering their underlying nature, ice was a force of ‘yin’ while fire was a force of ‘yang’.

The world was vast, and the balance of energies and forces in the world was a sophisticated subject. Similar to how the moon rose when the sun fell and vice versa, there also existed a cycle of yin and yang. Despite being opposing forces, they couldn’t exist on their own without their counterpart. Such was the profoundness of the ‘Two Polars’.

Drako Yau had once briefly read a book named Classic of Changes, a book on ancient oriental divination. He could recognise the formation within his body—it was the Eight Diagrams!

Using the forces of ice and fire, he created the yin-yang symbol in the centre. It constantly absorbed the opposing forces in his body, transformed them into co-existing forces through circulating them in the yin-yang symbol, then released them to his body through the Eight Diagrams. The process spelt nothing but perfection.

The Castellan, Chris, and all other masters never taught him what to do. Even if they had known the method of harmonising ice and fire, they wouldn’t have told him, nor could they.

Every cultivator trod on a path of their own. Walking on another person’s trail may appear smoother, but said trail was only perfectly attuned for the pioneer and no one else. Moreover, Drako Yau’s forces, born from the Vitality Mantra, formed an unprecedented combination that was an entirely new cultivation style. He was the only one who could’ve saved himself.

Fatty the Castellan’s advice didn’t instruct him on how to tame the two forces. Rather, it was merely a reminder that no matter how feral the forces seemed, they were still his powers. Even a vicious tiger wouldn’t devour its cubs, and the same went for the two forces—his powers. They wouldn’t intentionally make their owner perish either.

The idea of using the Eight Diagrams gradually took shape during his two years in the Abyss of Durin. When Val’s attack almost struck him, the two forces exploded to protect him, which also made him realise the meaning behind Fatty’s words. Upon enlightenment, he then put his thoughts into action, and everything naturally clicked.

Drako Yau widened his eyes. He now had heterogenous pupils of blue and red. Letting out a long sigh, frost and smoke emerged from his mouth. He then noticed Val was almost a hundred metres away from him. The ferocious-looking Balrog was scratching its head, unsure what to do, and that made him chuckle.

Drako Yau stood up. When looked from above, he was surrounded by a hundred-metre wide circular yin-yang symbol that was red and blue.

‘Val, about time we get out of this damned place!’ He grinned, his smile as warm as the rising sun at dawn.

Castellan’s Residence, Yoda.

The fat Castellan’s eyes turned into a thin slit as he smiled from ear to ear. With a glass of wine in hand, he signalled Idyllic Poet to sit and said, ‘Beautiful miss, have a seat.’

‘What do you want?’ Idyllic Poet asked with a complicated look.

‘Nothing in particular. All I did was invite you over for a glass of wine.’

Idyllic Poet remained silent. She was rather wary of the mysterious NPC who had never made his existence known. Seeing that she was unmoved, Fatty sighed and downed his glass of wine.

He put down the empty glass and said, ‘Mask. He’s my friend.’

Hearing the word ‘Mask’, Idyllic Poet shuddered and looked at Fatty in disbelief, yet he was as tranquil as always.

‘I’ve heard about his situation. He’s trapped in a terrible place, and no one knows whether he’s still alive or not. As his friend, I should do what I can for him.

‘Go, don’t kill people in the city again, or I’ll be in a tough spot as well.’

Idyllic Poet was visibly startled as she asked, ‘You’re letting me go just like this?’

Fatty laughed. ‘If it’s just once or twice, I can do that much. Better not do it again though, the prison isn’t a place for everyone.’

The next day, Yoda was bustling once again. However, it wasn’t because of their thriving business.

The Empyreal Alliance, joined by over half the guilds in Empyreon, initiated the first-ever ‘City War’.

Challenger: Empyreon.

War target: Yoda.

A City War was no simple matter. As its name suggested, it was a war between cities, and the conditions of initiating it were harsh.

1. Two-thirds of all guilds in the challenger’s city must agree to join the City War.

2. One million gold coins, which was ten million in actual world currency.

The way City Wars worked was simple. When the war began, two portals that were connected to a special warzone would appear in the two participating cities. Killing an enemy would grant one point, and the war would end after sixty minutes by forcefully teleporting all players back to their respective cities.

The city with more points would become the victor. As the victor, they could adjust the loser’s tax rate and receive thirty per cent of such taxes. It didn’t sound too terrible, but it was in fact deadly.

For example, the victor could set the price for Health recovery to a maximum of 100 gold coins when the original price was only one gold coin. They could also charge players fifty gold coins via taxes for every teleportation that used to be free of charge. Purchasing a bundle of potions usually cost several gold coins, but with maximum taxes in place, the tax for the purchase would cost more than the potions themselves.

Although the victor only had control of the loser’s tax rates for a month, it was enough for Empyreon to deal a deadly blow to Yoda’s reputation and functionality as a commercial city. With tens of thousands of players teleporting to and from Yoda every day, simply adjusting the tax rate for teleporting could paralyse the city.

Regulations also limited City Wars to once a month, which meant Yoda couldn’t retaliate by initiating a City War on Empyreon right away. In other words, Yoda would fall apart as a commercial city if they lost this war.

Indeed, Chau Yu had launched a precise and fatal attack on Yoda. It also showed how confident he was. With Mask’s fate still uncertain, Chau Yu decided to strike Yoda when it was without its leader, shattering the city’s foundations. Even Mask couldn’t turn the tables around if he only returned after Empyreon had won the City War.

Everyone knew launching a City War now reaped great profits, but no one had the charisma nor guts to take the initiative. The conditions were harsh after all.  Apart from persuading other guilds to participate, there was also the hefty price tag of one million gold coins.

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