Dragon

Dragon is a long-form Eastern fantasy novel by Qidian writer Yinweizhe, inspired by the mythology and wuxia backdrop of the online game of the same name. Serialized on Qidian around 2010 and later completed, it runs to approximately 980,000 Chinese characters. The story follows Shen Yunfei, the third son of the Shen family, who is born with a keen eye for appraising treasures and distinguishing objects—a gift that draws the attention of the villain Xiao Wu. Coveting the dragon pearls scattered across the world, Xiao Wu wants to exploit Shen Yunfei's vision and luck to find them, and uses both carrot and stick to drag him into the conflict. Sparked by the war between Yin spirits and Yang spirits in the game world, the novel gradually unfolds the open and covert strife between Xiao Wu's remnants and the Xuanyuan imperial house. On his journey to find and protect the dragon pearls, Shen Yunfei grows continuously, encountering and befriending women of diverse origins and temperaments—Sanmiao, Nüwa, Youyan, Gusu, Wuyi, Loulan, Xuanyuan, and Kunlun—each of whom is connected to the dragon pearls. The book advances along four threads—loyalty, righteousness, love, and hatred—featuring both battlefield clashes and sword-qi-filled duels as well as tangled emotional entanglements, all in a light, brisk tone characteristic of an upbeat Eastern fantasy. As a derivative work of the online game Dragon, some of its plot elements echo the game's content.