The rain had passed, but the clouds remained low over Tianxu City.
Chen Yu stood on the balcony of Gallant Tower, staring at the skyline. From this height, the city looked tame—towers, highways, traffic lights blinking like orderly circuits in a machine he was slowly taking apart.
But today, he wasn't thinking about business or enemies.
He was thinking about the past.
More specifically—his own.
He clenched the jade pendant that hung around his neck. It wasn't expensive, nor did it match his usual sharp attire. But it was the only thing he had from his parents. Or so he believed.
His eyes narrowed as a memory rose—faint, brief, but sharp.
An old voice. A name whispered in reverence.
"Longwei."
He had heard it only once. At his grandfather's funeral, from a man who never introduced himself. Chen Yu was barely a teenager, but the word had burned into his memory like fire.
He never heard it again.
Not until this morning.
"Sir," Meiyun's voice cut into his thoughts as she stepped onto the balcony. "We intercepted something… odd."
She handed him a printed letter. No address. No seal. Just a line of archaic calligraphy written in blood-red ink.
"Even a dragon raised among mortals will one day hear the sky call."
Chen Yu's expression darkened.
"Where did this come from?" he asked.
"No trace. It was slipped into the reports delivered to our south branch. No cameras caught it."
Ruxue entered just then, towel in hand, her hair still damp from the shower. She noticed the note in his hand.
"That's the third message this week, isn't it?" she asked.
Chen nodded. "But this one... this one feels different."
Ruxue frowned. "You think someone's trying to tell you something about your family?"
"I don't know," he said quietly. "But whoever they are... they know more about me than I do."
He walked back into the room, hands behind his back. "Meiyun. Pull everything on the name Longwei. People, locations, legends. I want a full report by tonight."
She nodded and left without question.
Ruxue watched him in silence for a moment.
"Do you want the truth?" she asked finally.
Chen stopped. "What?"
"About who you are. Where you came from."
He looked at her, something unreadable in his gaze.
"I've built everything from the ground up," he said. "Without a name. Without a banner. But if the name I threw away turns out to be a weapon... I need to know how sharp it is."
She walked over and touched his arm gently.
"I don't care where you come from," she whispered. "Only where you're going."
He didn't reply. But he didn't move away either.
That Night – In the Study
Chen sat alone, the pendant still clutched in his hand. He turned it over again and again, until he noticed something strange.
A marking on the back.
So faint it could've been missed for years. A circle of flames with the character "辰" in the center.
Chen Yu narrowed his eyes.
辰 — Chen.
But it was written in an archaic style. Not common today.
He pulled out a scanner from the drawer and zoomed in. The character was etched into the jade, but almost erased by time.
Or deliberate wear.
He leaned back.
The pendant wasn't just a keepsake. It was a clue.
Suddenly, his computer pinged. A report from Meiyun.
Subject: "LONGWEI — ARCHIVAL DATA"
Chen scrolled through.
Mount Longwei, a sealed ancestral site in Yanjing Province. Access restricted. Rumored to be connected to an ancient branch of the Chen Family—one lost during internal power struggles a century ago.
The phrase "dragon born once in a hundred years" appears in Chen family legends, always tied to heirs with unusual destiny or power.
One document redacted even from national archives referenced the line:
"The heir will not grow under the clan's roof. He will rise among smoke, steel, and storms. And when the sky bends, the dragon shall awaken."
Chen stared at the screen, heart pounding.
Not because he was afraid.
But because he felt it. Deep in his bones. The resonance of something older than business and blood feuds. The weight of legacy.
Elsewhere – Unknown Location
A hidden chamber carved into the cliffs of Yanjing.
Ancient scrolls lined the walls. A flickering lantern cast moving shadows.
An old man in crimson robes sat cross-legged on a mat, sipping bitter tea.
A younger man knelt before him.
"Sir," the youth said, head bowed, "He has begun searching."
The elder opened one eye. Calm. Amused.
"He found the jade?"
"Yes."
The elder chuckled softly.
"So… the Chen Family's dragon finally stirs after a hundred years."
The youth hesitated. "Do we intervene?"
The elder's smile faded.
"No. Let him climb. Let him struggle. Let him bleed."
"But—"
"We are not nurturing a prince," the elder said coldly. "We are watching a storm. And if he survives…"
He set his cup down, eyes gleaming with cold fire.
"…then perhaps the world is ready to remember what the Chen bloodline truly means."