Chapter 31:
"Phoenix Power?" Li Ji stared at the gem dangling from the fishing rod, not daring to get too close.
"Relax. It's just a fragment," Lei Gong said, casually unhooking the crystal-like shard and placing it into Li Ji's palm. "Not worth much here in the Forgotten Element. I only use it to warm my hands in winter. Waste of a good fishing trip, really."
Li Ji felt the stone's warmth settle into his skin. It wasn't scalding like when it first surfaced from the water — now it held a steady, gentle heat, maybe forty or fifty degrees.
"But I didn't think you'd recognize it," Lei Gong added, giving him a knowing look. "Phoenix Force isn't exactly common knowledge, Li Ji. Seems you've been hiding a few things."
Li Ji lowered his head, a little ashamed. "I—"
"No need to explain," Lei Gong waved him off, smiling faintly. "I've lived long enough to know what kind of person you are. You might have your own reasons for coming to Kunlun, but you're not the type to betray it. That's good enough for me."
His words were easy, but his expression turned heavier as he continued, "Though your luck's not great. The Phoenix is returning soon. That fragment's appearance proves it. And when it does, it'll come looking — and you'll be the first target."
Li Ji grimaced. That wasn't the kind of attention anyone wanted.
"Don't get too worked up," Lei Gong chuckled. "When I say 'soon,' I don't mean next month. Ten years at the earliest." He patted Li Ji's shoulder, but Li Ji knew something Lei Gong didn't: his senior sister, Qin Grey, was already harboring the Phoenix Force. And it wouldn't stay dormant for a decade.
Lei Gong looked up at the sky. "Get yourself ready. In a week, I'll challenge Shou Lao. The time's come for a new Iron Fist."
Li Ji stiffened. "Master?"
"It's not about sending you away," Lei Gong said quietly. "But with the Phoenix returning, I can't hold you back anymore. I've tempered your mind and perception these years… and I've also suppressed your growth. It's time to let you rise."
Without another word, Lei Gong turned and disappeared into his quarters, leaving Li Ji alone with his thoughts.
"A week from now…" Li Ji muttered, counting the days. The fourteenth day of the lunar calendar — though it wasn't a full moon night.
He lay in bed that evening, letting it settle.
One week later.
"Ready?" Lei Gong asked at the mouth of the cave.
Li Ji nodded. "I'm ready."
"Good luck, brother!" Danny called out, raising a fist in encouragement.
Li Ji laughed. "You keep training hard too, Danny."
Danny's face fell, remembering the endless days of pounding his hands into iron sand. The thought made his fingers ache.
"When you enter the cave, you'll be drawn into the secret realm created by the first Jade Emperor. There, you must defeat Shou Lao in that realm and claim his heart. Only then will you become the sixty-sixth Iron Fist," Lei Gong declared.
"I understand, Master." Li Ji cupped his hands respectfully before stepping into the dark.
The cave itself wasn't complex — a long, narrow corridor stretching ahead. At its far end, dimly illuminated, Li Ji could just make out a chained figure. The light flickered too much to see clearly.
"You've arrived."
A voice echoed in his mind, and in a flash, the cave vanished. Li Ji found himself standing within a vast crater, molten lava bubbling below. At its heart, a massive crimson dragon lay coiled in the liquid fire.
Above, an ethereal figure took shape and dove into the dragon's chest. The beast's ruby eyes snapped open, their gaze locking onto Li Ji.
"Shou Lao?" Li Ji ventured.
"Not bad," the dragon replied, its deep voice rumbling like thunder.
Li Ji's aura surged to life, a soft golden light radiating from his body and hissing against the oppressive heat.
The dragon's wings flared, stirring up a storm of molten rock. Magma rained from above as the beast rose into the air, studying Li Ji like a predator toying with its prey.
"You expect me to flinch?" Li Ji scowled, unleashing a burst of force that swept the falling magma aside.
"Honestly, I never liked lava. Cooks meat too fast — burns before you can even enjoy it." In a flash, he shot forward, appearing just before Shou Lao's chest. Though tiny in comparison, the power packed into his fist made the ancient dragon hesitate.
Shou Lao veered away, narrowly dodging the blow.
"I don't like it either," the dragon replied, spinning in midair and spitting a massive fireball. The heat was suffocating — hotter than anything Li Ji had ever felt.
Li Ji blurred away, narrowly avoiding the blast. The fight was on.
One strike each. Neither landed.
Li Ji clicked his tongue. "So this is the guy Danny fought? I swear, there's no way he beat this monster like it was nothing."
"You misunderstand," Shou Lao said, circling overhead. "The ancient dragon you face takes on power equal to your own. The stronger the challenger, the stronger I become. But the greater your prize, too."
The beast's claw lashed out, and Li Ji narrowly twisted aside, countering with a strike to Shou Lao's side. It connected, though the dragon's tail caught him a second later, hurling him downwards.
He stopped his descent just a few meters above the lava.
"Guess that means your current self is leagues away from the top of the ancient dragons," Li Ji muttered, flexing his hand. Several compressed air bullets shot from his fingertips, pelting the dragon's wings. It snarled as a few black scorch marks appeared on the crimson membrane.
"Among the Emperor of Heaven's captured dragons, I was the strongest," Shou Lao bellowed.
Three fireballs shot toward him. Li Ji clasped his hands together, forming a massive Qigong blast that swallowed the orbs and kept going, tearing toward Shou Lao like a relentless tidal wave of energy.
But the dragon twisted through the air, gracefully evading.
"You're fast," Shou Lao admitted. "But you won't hit me like that."
"It's fine," Li Ji's aura swelled further, golden light pushing outward.
"I don't know why the trial pit me against you. You're strong — but the gap between us is still clear," Shou Lao's voice echoed through the realm.
"We'll see about that."
Li Ji's confidence didn't waver as his power began to rise again.
He wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot.
*******
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