The Dragon's Spirit Amidst the Flames
The dying fires left only swirling grey smoke hovering above the ruins of Cloud-Mist Village. The surrounding atmosphere was suffocatingly silent, interrupted only by the occasional crackle of burning embers.
Everyone present stood perfectly still, their eyes glued to the center of the courtyard where a clash of titans was about to unfold.
Wei Qing rolled his shoulders, his black armor clinking sharply. The playful glint in his eyes vanished, replaced by the lethal focus of a hunting tiger. He took three steps back and assumed a combat stance with his massive Roaring Tiger Broadsword.
"I told you I would wait until your wounds were fully healed..." Wei Qing's voice rang out loud and clear. "But after watching you obliterate those bandits, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if we didn't spar right now. Come, boy... show me just how capable this 'Dragon' everyone speaks of really is!"
Zhao Long stood panting, overwhelmed by exhaustion. His ragged clothes were stained with soot and the blood of his enemies. The deep gash on his flank sent sharp spikes of agony through his body with every breath.
Yet, he stood tall and immovable. His calloused hands tightly gripped the broken half of his wooden carrying pole. Even though it was nothing but a charred piece of wood, it radiated a suffocating pressure that made the onlookers' skin crawl.
Standing a short distance away, Crown Prince Liu Tian felt his heart pounding so hard it threatened to burst from his chest. His eyes grew red with overwhelming emotion.
'He looks exactly like him...' he thought, recalling the dying words of his grandfather, the First Sovereign Liu Bei.
'That majestic face, those resolute eyes... a stance as calm as the eye of an unreleased storm... I finally found him. The White Dragon our family has been waiting for has returned to this realm!'
"Brother, look at him..." Princess Lao Ying whispered softly, stepping up beside the Crown Prince. Her eyes were fixed on Zhao Long in equal astonishment. "Are you thinking what I am thinking? That stance... there is no mistaking it."
Liu Tian did not answer with words. He simply gave a slow, deliberate nod, his eyes brimming with absolute hope.
Meanwhile, near the doorway of the ruined hut, Zhuge Qing stood beside Grandfather Zhao, with imperial guards supporting the old man.
The young strategist looked at Zhao Long, and the image of a fiercely loyal general from the past perfectly superimposed over the youth. His eyes trembled with an inherited, profound respect. 'The Zhao Clan truly never abandoned the Liu Clan. And today, destiny has brought us together once more.'
Grandfather Zhao looked at his grandson with a mix of worry and bursting pride. The old man knew that the secret he had guarded for twenty years was finally ready to be unveiled. 'Zhao Wen... you wanted your son to be a simple woodsman. But the dragon's blood in his veins is simply too magnificent to be hidden. A dragon is meant to soar the nine heavens, not wallow in the mud.'
Perched on the remaining roof structure of the barn, Lin Ying lay in the shadows, observing the scene below. Her eyes wavered the moment the duel was declared. Her slender fingers reached up and slowly pulled off her Nightbird mask, wanting to witness him clearly with her own two eyes.
'The forms I saw you practicing in the dead of night... I finally get to see them used against a true enemy,' she thought, her heart swelling with admiration.
The movements she had once thought simple now appeared devastatingly majestic and powerful when pitted against a general like Wei Qing. She couldn't tear her eyes away. 'Ah Long... I knew you were no ordinary man, but I never imagined that with a weapon in your hand, you would be this awe-inspiring.' The White Jade Cloud Hairpin in her dark hair caught the faint light, glinting like a star in the night.
"Receive my blade!" Wei Qing roared, launching himself forward. The Roaring Tiger Broadsword swept through the air in a massive arc, generating a howling gale.
Zhao Long closed his eyes for a mere fraction of a second. The image of his grandfather practicing staff forms in the moonlight when he was a child flashed through his mind. He remembered the flow perfectly. He abandoned his pain, allowing his body to move purely on instinct and muscle memory.
BANG!
The tip of the broken firewood thrust forward with terrifying precision! It didn't clash with the blade's edge; instead, it "tapped" precisely against the broadsword's guard at the exact moment Wei Qing exerted his maximum force. The rebound force was so absurdly violent that Wei Qing's hands went completely numb, forcing the mighty general to leap backward to regain his footing.
Wei Qing stared at his trembling hands in absolute shock. 'What in the world is this power... Is this truly the raw strength of a villager who chops wood for a living? The stance looked so basic, yet how could it harbor such monstrous force?!'
"Is this... the power of the White Dragon?" Wei Qing muttered to himself, his desire for victory morphing into deep reverence. "If the martial world knew a man like you existed here... the capital of Chang'an would be shaken to its core!"
Amidst the smoke and the chilling wind, everyone watching was absolutely certain: The dragon that had hidden for twenty years... had finally spread its wings over the realm!
The Avian Shadow's Dance and the Oath Beneath the Flames
Though the roaring fires had somewhat subsided, the tension in the courtyard spiked to a terrifying degree. Wei Qing stared at the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, which was still vibrating with residual force. Beneath his obsidian armor, his heart hammered with the sheer ecstasy of finding a worthy "opponent" in such an isolated valley.
"You really caught me off guard," Wei Qing chuckled deeply, his tiger-like eyes blazing in the dark. "But I was holding back. I didn't even use thirty percent of my strength. Since you could handle that with a mere twig, let me see... if you can still take my blade when I get serious!"
The young general tightened his grip on the heavy broadsword. His inner Qi began to surge, superheating the surrounding air and sending ash blowing outward in a massive shockwave.
Zhao Long gritted his teeth so hard they audibly clicked. The gash on his flank flared with agonizing, stabbing pain.
The heat of the fire and the stench of blood made his breathing shallow and ragged. Crimson blood seeped through his hemp clothes, blooming into a large, dark stain over his old bandages. Yet, his trembling hands firmly gripped the broken wood. He could not retreat... because behind him was his home and his only remaining family.
Suddenly!
From the flickering firelight, a pitch-black silhouette plunged from the roof above like a legendary mythical bird!
The figure descended lightly but with phantom-like speed. The wind caught her black robes, making her look like a majestic swallow spreading its wings across the night sky. In the exact moment her feet touched the earth, time in Zhao Long's world ceased to exist.
Before him was a face of world-toppling, peerless beauty. The orange glow of the embers bathed her flawless skin, creating a striking contrast against her stygian-black attire.
Her beautiful eyes, once famously cold and detached, now shimmered with an overflow of emotion. She was no longer wearing her mask, revealing the "truth" that Zhao Long had been yearning to see all night. And there, resting in her silken dark hair, the White Jade Cloud Hairpin sparkled against the firelight like a fallen star.
Zhao Long stood frozen. His heart, previously burdened by the heavy duty of protection, violently skipped a beat. He stared at the woman before him in pure awe. Her beauty in this moment was so breathtaking and commanding that it eclipsed any woman he had ever seen.
"Ye Nian..." Zhao Long whispered her name, his voice hoarse. The suffocating worry he had carried since she vanished was instantly replaced by overwhelming relief and tenderness. For a brief moment, he entirely forgot the agonizing pain in his side, solely focused on etching her face into his deepest memory.
CLANG!
The deafening crash of metal snapped Zhao Long out of his daze! Lin Ying had drawn her 'Hundred-Form Flexible Sword' from its concealed scabbard. The blade, as thin as paper and as fluid as a river, lashed out and perfectly coiled around the edge of Wei Qing's heavy broadsword. She stood firmly between Zhao Long and the general, an unblemished, crystalline shield.
"Stay your hand, Wei Qing!" Lin Ying ordered, her voice laced with an icy authority that made one's soul shiver. "Are you blind to his condition? Bullying a defenseless man with a grievous wound... is this the glorious martial honor your clan boasts of?!"
Wei Qing froze. He furrowed his brows, looking at the woman in black with a highly complex expression. Reluctantly, he pulled his broadsword back and rested it on his shoulder. "To think you would reveal your face and draw your sword against me for this man... how truly fascinating, Ye Nian." He let out a dry chuckle, noticing the deeply affectionate gaze she secretly cast toward the young man behind her.
Zhao Long looked at her slender back, his heart torn between confusion and guilt for putting her in danger. "Ye Nian... you are injured too. Don't do this."
Lin Ying did not turn around, but her grip on the sword hilt tightened. "Ah Long... you have done more than enough for others. From now on, let it be my turn to protect you."
Those few, simple words felt warmer than the raging inferno surrounding them. Zhao Long felt an unbreakable bond forging between them amidst the ashes and death.
At that moment, Crown Prince Liu Tian and Princess Lao Ying stepped forward into the courtyard, accompanied by Zhuge Qing, who was supporting Grandfather Zhao. Every pair of eyes met amidst the cold wind that scattered the glowing embers.
"That is enough... Everything is now as clear as day," Crown Prince Liu Tian spoke, his voice gentle yet carrying the undeniable weight of a sovereign. He looked at Zhao Long's face once more with absolute certainty. "Zhao Long... your wounds are severe. See to them first. The world beneath the heavens still holds many truths waiting for you to discover."
Zhao Long looked at these strangers radiating immense majesty. He turned to meet Lin Ying's gaze once more. She gave him a look carrying a profound, unspoken message... a look that told him that from this second forward, his life would change forever.
His grandfather's secret... the true identity of the woman standing before him... and the destiny waiting in the capital of Chang'an. All of it was bound together on this night where the Cloud-Mist Valley flowed with blood and tears. The dragon that had hidden in the deep woods was now inexorably pulled into the roaring currents of fate.
Zhao Long slowly lowered the broken wood. His body, having endured the absolute limit of pain, began to sway, but the light in his eyes shone fiercer than ever before. He knew it now...
The true journey had only just begun.