Fall approached with the arrival of September.2

The walls of Bright Moon Prefecture sprawled across the land like a crouching black beast, spanning over 50 kilometers of ramparts. Silent patrols swept the surroundings with cool eyes.0

It was a state within a state, a forbidden zone of the mighty, yet still open to merchants and cultivators, so long as no malice clung to them.0

Lines formed at the gatehouse. Everyone filled out slips, writing down their name, background, cultivation rank, and reason for entry.  The old national travel passes were useless now; each governor ran his own patch.0

Ocean Province enforced a register‑and‑report system. A person could lie, of course, but there was a bounty system for those who were reported to have faked their identities. The stronger the culprit, the fatter the purse.0

If a person was caught falsifying their own entry there and then, the punishment was blunt and final—death.0

Three years ago, a fifth‑rank martial artist claimed he was...0