Skycloud City.
The domain of Lord Ran Tianyun.
A territory established thirty-four years ago.
A sprawling land consisting of four major cities, nearly one million permanent residents, and tens of thousands of daily active adventurers.
When adventuring hours ended, several of Lord Ran's assistants entered the lavish, palace-like lord's residence to deliver the daily report.
Today's summary covered every corner of the territory—diplomatic negotiations with local factions, the latest movements of dark-race forces, trade with other dungeons, and the operational data of the territory's four secret realms.
"Today, the territory received 31,294 adventurers. Compared to yesterday, this is a 0.7% decrease…"
Skycloud City's numbers had dipped for three consecutive days.
The decline was small, well within normal fluctuation—but it still drew Ran Tianyun's attention. He immediately traced the data to pinpoint the cause.
"The greatest loss of adventurers is coming from… Blackstone Town?"
"And several Blackstone adventurers have terminated their contracts with Skycloud City…"
It wasn't enough to cause real damage.
Skycloud City was too large, too established.
But still—
Something was off.
Blackstone Town was one of the earliest adventurer hubs Skycloud City opened. It had long-standing ties to the local adventurer community. For fifty years, Skycloud City had been considered the largest and most successful dungeon associated with Blackstone Town.
Even though Blackstone itself was small…
Skycloud's influence there was massive and stable.
For years, Blackstone adventurers viewed becoming a contract adventurer of Skycloud City as a badge of honor. Each contract slot drew dozens or hundreds of competitors. Loyalty was high. Turnover was nearly nonexistent.
"My lord! We found the reason!"
"A dungeon called Miracle City has exploded in popularity recently. The decline in our numbers likely has a direct connection to this new dungeon."
A newly rising dungeon?
Blackstone Town produced new dungeons every year. Most didn't last more than a few months. Now and then, one would briefly go viral.
Some had talented lords.
Some were good at hype.
Some had prime location or resources.
But in Ran Tianyun's thirty-five years as a dungeon lord…
He had seen it all.
New dungeons might flare brightly for a moment.
But ten out of nine would collapse.
The weak were swept away.
Only a tiny fraction could endure.
A dungeon lord was a high-risk profession.
Not everyone could handle it.
Only those capable of crafting true, high-quality secret realms had the right to survive.
Skycloud City's secret realms were recognized as Blackstone Town's number one.
So Ran Tianyun didn't take Miracle City too seriously.
But to understand the situation clearly, he opened his lord interface and checked Blackstone's adventurer forum.
What he saw stunned him.
Five out of the top ten trending posts were about Miracle City.
Post #1 read:
"Shocking! The First Adventurer Returns! White Crane Hermit Announces Contract with Miracle City!"
"White Crane… went to Miracle City?!"
Ran Tianyun knew White Crane Hermit very well.
The old man had caused him plenty of headaches over the years—cracking Skycloud's newest secret realms over and over, costing him significant revenue.
Still, White Crane had always supported Skycloud City. Most of his best students had contracted with Skycloud and risen to success.
As for White Crane himself? Ran Tianyun had invited him many times.
He refused every time.
Ran assumed the old man had settled permanently in Blackstone.
Never did he expect White Crane to suddenly return to action—
And join an unknown dungeon.
Miracle City.
Something was not normal.
Ran Tianyun scrolled further.
Every headline was more dramatic than the last:
"Miracle City's Masterpiece 'Frenzy Apocalypse' Will Become the Strongest Secret Realm in Blackstone History!"
"Exclusive Breakdown of Stage Two: The Most Satisfying Dungeon I've Ever Seen—A Flawless Work of Art!"
"Zombie-Type Monsters! Miracle City's Unique System! Genius Lord Kanzaki Ren Creates an Entirely New Monster Line!"
"Soul Prices Triple! Miracle City's Souls Selling for Three Times the Average Market Value!"
"Breaking News! Miracle City Queue Expected to Reach 4–5 Thousand Tomorrow!"
"50,000-Word Lore Dive! The True Background of Frenzy Apocalypse!"
"With White Crane's Endorsement, Miracle City Will Shake Skycloud's Throne!"
…
Ran Tianyun had seen countless "overnight sensations."
But never had he seen the forum this unified.
Every single post praised Miracle City to the skies.
This had never happened before.
Could it be…
A true genius lord had finally appeared in Blackstone Town?
If so…
Skycloud City needed to prepare.
Competition between dungeons was normal.
It wasn't usually mortal combat—more like business rivalry.
Adventurers voted with their feet.
Better secret realms attracted more adventurers.
Some lords used underhanded methods to suppress newcomers.
But since human territories rarely bordered directly, open conflict was uncommon.
Ran Tianyun was an experienced lord.
He knew when to fight and when to cooperate.
First, he needed to understand Miracle City's true capabilities.
The Investigation Begins
Half an hour later, Ran Tianyun summoned representatives of the four major adventurer groups.
He shared the situation and the potential threat.
"It's just a new dungeon. What's there to worry about? Even if it steals traffic, how many can it really take?"
"Exactly."
"Blackstone is a small place anyway."
"Yes, but it's still part of Skycloud's foundation. We can't ignore it."
"What do you think, leader of the Hibiscus Brigade?"
All eyes turned to a young female adventurer.
Codename: Red Spider Lily.
Twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Striking beauty.
Slender waist, long legs—a stunning woman with an alluring presence.
The reason everyone looked to her was simple:
She was the only one among the four major group leaders who came from Blackstone Town.
Red Spider Lily folded her arms, visibly irritated.
"I was already planning to go there! My useless brat of a disciple got snatched away by Miracle City!"
Ran Tianyun nodded. "Miracle City isn't simple. Don't underestimate it. Even White Crane Hermit is standing with them now."
"Yes, that old man…" someone muttered.
"If I recall, he was Blackstone Town's number one adventurer, wasn't he?"
Red Spider Lily scoffed.
"Number one? That was years ago. I'm not afraid of him. I only gave him face because of his age."
Ran Tianyun remained calm.
"Regardless, we shouldn't rush into conflict before understanding its depth. We don't want unnecessary hostility."
He was confident.
Skycloud's secret realms were top-class for the entire region.
He doubted Miracle City could outshine them.
But he wasn't reckless.
"Miracle City is hard to enter right now," he continued. "Lineups are too long. Send a few people to queue. Get inside if possible. We need firsthand information."
Red Spider Lily nodded. "Give me three days. I'll find out everything."
Blackstone Town had many dungeons.
Skycloud was simply the largest.
With Miracle City suddenly dominating the spotlight, every power in the region had their eyes on it.
But there was one problem—
Miracle City was too popular.
Getting inside was nearly impossible.
So the major forces could only circle outside like anxious, frustrated flies.