An extravagantly decorated fortress ship cut across the sky with two handsome youths at the vessel’s bow, admiring the scenery below. Lu Yun was finally on his way to Nephrite Capital.

Located in Life Province, the heartland of Nephrite, it was the glittering crown to both its locality and the empire at large. Once upon a time, the capital was known by another name: Xiankan!

It numbered amongst the nine greatest cities in all the world. The human territories were called ‘majors’ because of these cities that adorned them. Like its eight brethren, Xiankan wasn’t built by the present generation of immortals. Rather, all nine were the results of excavation.

The nine major capitals were older than even the ancient world,...