At a Serpent Clan assembly Hydro Dragon envoys arrive to assess Lord Redfang, a Transformation-stage prodigy. They issue a challenge: within three days Redfang must defeat the Obsidian Turtle at Blackwind Cliff, retrieve its beast core, and present it to the Hydro Dragon outpost to win promotion to two-star. Redfang immediately selects fifty elite warriors and marches into Blackwind Cliff. Other clans note that promotion brings tribute and eye quick gains, with the Wolf Clan already overdue. Redfang's three-day hunt for the core begins, and the clan's promotion hangs on his success.