The pages of history turned to the year 199 of the Red Moon Calendar, a year of undeniable significance:
For the first time in nearly a century, the first ice mage, Rego, emerged from the Tower of Ice's Wishes. From that day on, magical spirits across the continents began to stir.
The young mercenary king met his lifelong companion, Big Green Mountain.
The elusive ancient sacred dragons began to reveal their formidable power to the world, starting with the Ice Dragon.
Research notes of Neil Harbour, twelfth-generation descendant of continental historian Amy
In midsummer of the year 199 of the Red Moon Calendar, the long-quiet Harbour family in Haike Village suddenly became lively. Amy and his uncle Chi returned after a two-month absence, accompanied by two people and a peculiar animal.
Leading the group was an elderly magician in a brand-new blue robe, adorned with a mage insignia. As the robe fluttered, it emitted a powerful magical aura. His long, slender staff, embedded with a large green crystal at the curved top, rippled with green waves whenever it moved, indicating potent magic within. His pointed hat, also new, featured a rare milky-white crystal at its tip, likely offering significant protection.
If it were customary at the time to mark items with manufacturers or origins, these rare magical objects would undoubtedly bear the inscription: "ade Green Dragon Platform."
Walking behind the old magician was a tall boy, half a head taller than Amy. Dressed in black leather, he had shed his jacket due to the heat, revealing muscular arms glistening with sweat. He carried a steel crossbow on his back and held a knight's lance, its tip skewered with a large piece of fish.
Below the lance tip was an animal, larger than a puppy but similar in appearance, gazing intently at the fish. It jumped repeatedly, trying to snatch the meat, but the lance, extending six meters, kept it out of reach. Despite its desperate flapping of wing-like appendages, it remained unsuccessful.
"One, two; come on, one, two; come on, Greenie, you're doing great! Just jump another meter—or maybe two. Oh, it seems like three meters might get you the fish," chanted a large fly perched on Little White, buzzing away. Little White's eyes brimmed with tears, perhaps recalling similar past misfortunes.
This ordeal wasn't Chi Hanfeng's intention—though he did come up with the idea.
After being released from its seal, Greenie constantly caused trouble. It chased rabbits with fiery enthusiasm, accidentally incinerating not only the rabbit but the entire forest, forcing everyone to put out the fire. On the continent's roads, it would curiously nip at passersby's clothes, frightening horses and dogs, and often released fiery or icy dragon breaths when excited.
At one roadside store, it staged a "dragon raid" for food, grabbing lizard jerky from the counter. When the shopkeeper attempted to retrieve it, he was frozen waist-down by an icy breath instead of fire. After Rego thawed him out and confirmed he had children, he said, "That's good, that's good. Sigh," and quickly left.
It's said that six months later, the shopkeeper's wife divorced him.
Rego and Chi Hanfeng, unable to endure the chaos, began employing various strategies. Rego first sealed Greenie's magic, creating a field that absorbed all spells cast within it. Typically lasting three hours without a priest's intervention, the magic field lasted only half an hour on Greenie due to its inherent resistance to magic. After a day and a half of futile sealing, Rego gave up, seeking other solutions.
Chi Hanfeng tried using a steel muzzle to prevent Greenie from spewing fire, but the dragon's breath, a natural skill, melted the muzzle into raw iron within a minute.
Chi Hanfeng, ever the strategist, devised a plan based on his experience: he wouldn't let Greenie eat its fill every day.
Although Big Green Mountain felt sorry for Greenie, the inconvenience it caused forced his hand.
Thus, with its head held high, Greenie marched from Dragon Tooth Mountain to Haike Village. Legend has it that during dragon god ceremonies, Greenie never lowered its head, even before the dragon god Pilot, due to its experiences during this period.
With two new people and a dragon, the original cabin was insufficient, so another cabin was built. Mr. Chi Hanfeng naturally had a heart-to-heart with Greenie, resulting in Greenie signing the contract for the additional investment—incurring a debt of two gold coins. Dragons, at the time, calculated gold coins in "bundles."
Having finished his apprenticeship under Chi Hanfeng, Amy focused on learning magic from Rego, while Big Green Mountain took over Amy's honorable task of being subjected to training—forest running.
Witnessing such a pitiful scene, even the hard-hearted Rego prayed for the poor soul of Big Green Mountain, barely surviving the training.
In his drive to see his beloved apprentice ride a mount, Chi Hanfeng turned his attention to Greenie during Big Green Mountain's grueling training.
"Come, Greenie, be good, let me hold you," he coaxed with a wolfish grin. "Let me lift you higher, oh, a bit higher."
"Thud." As Greenie, held high and surveying its surroundings proudly, suddenly found itself falling, it landed mouth-first in the mud. "Boo-hoo," Greenie's eyes filled with tears.
"Boo-hoo," cried the imperial nobleman, sobbing as he spoke, "Greenie, you know dragons are magnificent, especially you, a gifted divine dragon. Although the future is bright, the road is arduous. To learn to fly, you must endure hardships. Only through suffering can you become a supreme dragon. You see, throwing you from the heights isn't what it seems. You must learn to flap your wings during the descent and learn to fly in the process. Boo-boo, I truly feel for you. You know how reluctant I am, but to see you soar in the skies soon, I must help you. Let me hold you."
A month later: "Come, let me hold you. Be good, let go, let go," Chi Hanfeng said, struggling as Greenie clung to him. "This isn't high, just standing on the rooftop, barely four meters. Get down."
Two months later: "Come, let me hold you. Be good, let go, don't glare at me. I've had Rego seal your magic; it's useless. Just accept it. We're merely on a ten-meter tree."
Six months later: "You know what I'm going to say, and you know what I'm going to do. Why don't you just jump? It's not high; we're just on a small cliff. Hmm, barely—boom," Chi Hanfeng said, dusting off his shoes. "Still not willing at this age? Just two hundred meters, and I had to kick you off. Ridiculous."
Diligent training indeed yields extraordinary rewards—one year later, Chi Hanfeng proudly announced that Greenie had learned to fly.
He confidently led Rego, Amy, and Big Green Mountain to the tallest mountain near Haike Village and commanded Greenie to fly. Reluctantly, with tear-filled eyes, Greenie bid everyone farewell, then extended its arms, performed a 720-degree flip, followed by a zero-degree side flip, and leaped off the cliff, miraculously surviving once again.
Legend has it that for over twenty thousand years, whenever Greenie's descendants misbehaved, a simple mention of "Chi Hanfeng is coming" would make them behave obediently.