Chapter 3: The Hidden Dragon’s First Challenge
A Brewing Storm
The Long Clan estate was filled with whispers.
By now, every disciple had heard the news—Long Fei, the first-ranked genius, had challenged Long Tian.
Most assumed Long Fei would crush him.
After all, Long Fei had been groomed since childhood as one of the Long Clan's strongest. Long Tian, on the other hand, had always been an afterthought.
But after the clan trials, things had changed.
Some disciples had noticed something strange.
"He never struggled in the trials."
"It was like he already knew what was going to happen."
"Maybe… he's not as weak as we thought?"
Long Fei wasn't taking any chances.
That evening, he personally sought out Long Tian.
---
Long Tian was seated in his courtyard, eyes closed in meditation. He sensed Long Fei approaching before he even arrived.
The arrogant footsteps. The faint, simmering hostility beneath his Qi.
Long Tian opened his eyes.
Long Fei stood before him, smirking. Behind him, a group of disciples watched, waiting.
"Long Tian let's have duel,"Long fie provokingly said.
After thinking for a moment Long Tian readily agreed.
"You agreed to fight me," Long Fei said. "But what's a duel without a proper wager?"
Long Tian tilted his head slightly. "Oh?"
"If I win," Long Fei continued, "you will kneel and admit in front of the entire clan that you're nothing but a fraud."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Long Tian remained unfazed.
"And if I win?"
Long Fei scoffed. "If—when—you win? Fine. I'll give you something you'll never get otherwise."
He pulled out a small jade box, opening it just enough for Long Tian to see.
Inside lay a shimmering golden pill, faint spiritual mist rising from its surface.
Murmurs spread among the spectators.
"That's a Dragon Meridian Pill!"
"That pill boosts Qi absorption speed, making cultivation twice as efficient for an entire month!"
Even Lin Yue, who had been silently observing from the side, raised an eyebrow.
Such a pill was rare, given only to top-ranked disciples.
Long Fei smirked. "Scared?"
Long Tian, however, simply smiled.
"Deal."
---
The next morning, the clan's outer training grounds were packed.
More than a hundred disciples had gathered to watch. Even some elders were present, intrigued by the unexpected challenge.
Long Tian and Long Fei stood opposite each other in the sparring ring.
Elder Wei, overseeing the match, looked between them. "Both sides have agreed to the terms?"
Long Fei nodded smugly. "Yes."
Long Tian merely gave a small nod.
Elder Wei raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Boom!
Long Fei exploded forward, his red Qi flaring, his movements aggressive and confident.
'Strong. But impatient.'
Long Tian's Fate Eyes activated.
Immediately, he saw Long Fei's attack pattern, playing out in his mind before it even happened.
His right foot was too heavy—an opening for a counter.
His Qi was wasting too much energy in bursts instead of sustained flow.
His first attack always followed the same sequence—right punch, left kick, then a sweeping strike.
To the crowd, it seemed as though Long Tian barely reacted.
Then—at the last moment—he stepped left.
Whoosh!
Long Fei's punch missed completely.
"What?!"
Before Long Fei could recover, Long Tian flicked his wrist—a simple, almost casual movement—redirecting Long Fei's momentum.
Thud!
Long Fei stumbled, nearly falling out of the ring.
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
"He dodged him so easily!"
"It looked like he barely moved!"
Long Fei's face twisted with anger.
"You got lucky!"
He charged again, faster this time, aiming a powerful spinning kick.
Long Tian saw the golden thread of fate shift, showing him the perfect counter.
He didn't even move.
Instead, he extended two fingers.
Just before the kick landed, Long Tian lightly tapped Long Fei's knee joint.
Crack!
The force of Long Fei's own attack folded against him—his leg twisted mid-air, sending him crashing to the ground.
Silence.
Long Fei lay in the dirt, coughing. He wasn't injured—but he had lost completely.
Elder Wei's voice rang out.
"Winner—Long Tian."
---
The watching disciples erupted in murmurs.
"He won?"
"But he barely attacked… he just—redirected Long Fei's movements?"
Long Fei gritted his teeth, fists clenched. He had lost.
And the worst part? Long Tian never even looked like he was trying.
Lin Yue's sharp eyes lingered on Long Tian.
'That wasn't normal…'
Long Tian calmly walked forward and stopped in front of Long Fei, his gaze calm but unreadable.
"The pill."
Long Fei's face turned red with anger, but he had no choice. In front of the entire crowd, he pulled out the Dragon Meridian Pill and tossed it to Long Tian.
Long Tian caught it effortlessly.
"Thank you," he said lightly before turning and walking away.
The crowd erupted into even more noise.
"He really won! He's walking away with a Dragon Meridian Pill!"
"Long Fei looked helpless against him!"
"I thought this guy was weak, but…"
Elder Wei watched Long Tian closely.
'This boy… He's far more dangerous than he lets on.'
---
That night, Long Tian sat alone in his courtyard, the Dragon Meridian Pill resting in his palm.
Slowly, he swallowed it.
The moment the pill dissolved, a warm surge of energy flooded his meridians.
His Qi channels expanded slightly, absorbing spiritual energy from the air twice as fast as before.
Inside his soul realm, the Azure Dragon stirred, its golden eye briefly opening.
A deep, ancient power rippled through Long Tian's body. His Fate Eyes activated on their own, revealing new layers of unseen fate threads swirling around him.
A whisper echoed in his mind.
"Soon."
Long Tian exhaled slowly, controlling his breathing. His cultivation speed had subtly increased, making future breakthroughs far easier.
For now, he would remain in the shadows.
But when the time came—the world would tremble
---
End of chapter 3