Victory in the First Battle

In the days that followed, Long Tian plunged headlong into cultivation like a tireless young calf.

Every day, he climbed out of bed before dawn and sat cross-legged in meditation, using the first ray of morning light that slipped through the crack in his window. Following Teaching Assistant Sun's instructions, he gathered his Soul Power inch by inch from his meridians into his dantian. The golden vortex grew increasingly solid, and the black vortex gradually became more subdued. Though it still gave the occasional twitch, it no longer caused stabbing pain at the slightest provocation as it had at first. He gradually got the hang of it-as long as the two powers each occupied one side of his dantian and left the other alone, all was well. Like two neighbors, each kept to his own yard, with a wall built between them that neither crossed.

The method was simple and crude, but so far, it worked.

Zhao Xiaopang began getting up early with him. The chubby boy's talent was ordinary, but he made up for it with diligence. Every day, he trained for as long as Long Tian did, refusing to stop even when the effort left his head drenched in sweat. On the third day, Zhao Xiaopang finally succeeded in drawing out a faint wisp of Soul Power for the first time. Though it only flashed at his fingertips before going out, he was so delighted that he ran three laps around the great banyan tree, nearly bowling over Teaching Assistant Sun as he passed by.

Teaching Assistant Sun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He gave Zhao Xiaopang a kick in the backside and sent him off to eat. But afterward, he still drew a small circle beside Zhao Xiaopang's name in the record book. The boy had spirit.

By the fifth day, Long Tian could skillfully channel Light Dragon Power into his right hand, summoning and dismissing it at will. Golden scales spread from the back of his hand to his forearm and could remain for the time it took an incense stick to burn. He deliberately kept his Dark Dragon Power suppressed and hidden, testing it quietly only when he was alone in the dormitory late at night. The black light in his left palm was much steadier than when he had first arrived, and the air warped slightly where his fingertips passed, carrying a faint chill.

He even tried something daring-while in a state of intense concentration, he sent both Light Dragon Power and Dark Dragon Power out of his body at once, but kept them apart.

Golden light shone from his right hand and black light from his left. He held his arms level, and the two lights came to rest three feet in front of him, separated by a palm-wide gap. That familiar repelling force surged up again, like two magnets of the same polarity pushing against each other, but he gritted his teeth and held them firmly apart. Ten breaths, twenty breaths... Only when the veins bulged on his forehead did he abruptly withdraw his power, and both lights vanished at once.

He knelt on the ground, panting for quite a while, but a grin spread across his face. He had done it. Though he could only maintain it for a few dozen breaths, and though his palms were slick with sweat, he had done it-he had wielded both powers at once without a conflict!

He kept this discovery to himself, telling not even Zhao Xiaopang.

The days passed one by one, and Chen Hao didn't come looking for trouble again. Only when they occasionally crossed paths in the courtyard would the tall boy walk past Long Tian with his two followers, deliberately bumping his shoulder or dropping a remark like, "The trash from Class C is playing in the mud again." Long Tian ignored him, while Zhao Xiaopang hunched his shoulders and didn't dare make a sound.

But Long Tian knew that Chen Hao's last words still hung over him-see you on the arena at the monthly assessment.

The day of the monthly assessment soon arrived.

At the end of October, the chill of late autumn had seeped into every corner of the academy. The ginkgo trees in the courtyard had shed all their leaves, their bare branches reaching toward the gray-white sky. The assessment was held at the open-air training ground behind the lecture hall, on a circular stone platform more than ten zhang across. Its surface had been carved from a single slab of bluestone, and formation patterns were engraved around the edge to prevent Soul Power from leaking out. Wooden railings stood around the platform for students to watch from.

Early that morning, students from all three classes at the academy gathered around the training ground. There were ten from Class A, thirteen from Class B, and twelve from Class C. Together with several teachers and teaching assistants, they packed the area outside the wooden railings so tightly that not a drop of water could have slipped through. Long Tian stood in Class C's line, wearing the rough blue cloth shirt his mother had sewn for him. He looked somewhat out of place among his classmates in their gray cloth uniforms.

Zhao Xiaopang leaned close to his ear and whispered, "For the monthly assessment, each class picks people to fight on the platform. Winners get academic credits as a reward. Class C always comes in last..."

"Not necessarily this time," Long Tian said.

Zhao Xiaopang looked at him, then swallowed whatever he had been about to say.

The rules were simple: Classes A, B, and C each sent three representatives, who drew lots to determine their opponents. A single loss meant elimination, and the class with the most victories at the end would win the monthly assessment. Besides Long Tian, Class C's three representatives included Zhao Xiaopang and another tall, skinny boy named Shitou. Long Tian knew that Class C had only twelve students in all. Apart from him and Zhao Xiaopang, the other ten had awakened no Soul Power and were there solely to study the basics. The two of them were the only ones in the entire class with Soul Power.

The first match had already begun on the stone platform. A girl from Class A faced a boy from Class B. Both had only level-one Soul Power. One had a vine for a Martial Soul, the other a short staff, and the two fought back and forth as cheers rang out from below the platform from time to time. Long Tian watched intently. He noticed that although these classmates with Soul Rings did not have much Soul Power, their attacks and defenses flowed far more smoothly than his when combined with their Soul Skills. He had level-ten Soul Power but not a single Soul Ring. To put it bluntly, he had brute strength he didn't know how to use.

Class A won the first match. Class C's turn came in the second, and the draw put Zhao Xiaopang against a yellow-haired boy from Class B. Zhao Xiaopang steeled himself and climbed onto the stone platform, his chubby face flushed red. With a shake of his hands, he summoned his Martial Soul-an iron wok. The yellow-haired boy froze for a moment, then doubled over laughing. The Class B students below the platform burst into laughter as well. Zhao Xiaopang was so embarrassed he almost wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground, but he still mustered his courage and charged with the iron wok raised. The yellow-haired boy's Martial Soul was a wooden stick. With a few blows, he sent it clanging against Zhao Xiaopang's wok, then swept the stick against Zhao Xiaopang's lower leg and tripped him.

Zhao Xiaopang lay on the ground clutching the iron wok. He got up with a grimace and saw Long Tian nodding at him from below the platform. His eyes grew hot, and he jumped down dejectedly.

Class C was down zero to one.

Two more matches between Classes A and B followed, and in the third, it was finally Long Tian's turn to take the platform. As he climbed the stone steps, the buzzing discussion below suddenly quieted. Everyone knew he was the new student with Twin Martial Souls, and they were all waiting to see just what he could do.

Across the stone platform, Chen Hao sauntered up. Today he wore a dark blue martial outfit with Class B's bronze-colored badge pinned to his chest, and his trademark arrogant smile played at the corner of his mouth.

"Class C, it's finally your turn." Chen Hao flexed his wrists, his bones cracking. "I hear you have Innate Full Soul Power? Tsk, tsk, what a pity. With Soul Power but no Soul Ring, how are you any different from a toothless tiger?"

Long Tian stood opposite him, nearly a head shorter. He looked up at Chen Hao, his expression calm. "Whether I have teeth or not, we'll find out once we fight."

"Still talking tough." Chen Hao sneered and abruptly unleashed his Soul Power. A white Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet and revolved faintly around him. Then the muscles all over his body swelled, a layer of coarse gray-brown fur appeared on his skin, his canine teeth lengthened slightly, and a beastlike chill gleamed in his eyes. The Ironback Wolf Martial Soul granted him strength and speed far beyond those of his peers.

"First Soul Skill, Ironback Charge!"

Chen Hao let out a low roar and kicked hard against the ground, charging straight at Long Tian like a crazed wild wolf! He was incredibly fast, whipping up a fierce wind and sending dust flying across the stone platform. Below, the Class C students cried out in alarm.

Long Tian's pupils contracted sharply, but he didn't retreat. The moment Chen Hao had activated his Martial Soul, Long Tian had already quietly poured Soul Power into his right palm. Golden light flashed, and several golden dragon scales covered the back of his hand. Though the change was far less conspicuous than Chen Hao's Martial Soul transformation, that awe-inspiring draconic might sent a chill down the backs of several nearby students.

He dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding Chen Hao's head-on charge. Unable to stop in time, Chen Hao rushed past him. Long Tian twisted at the waist and struck backward at Chen Hao's back with his right palm! The golden wind of the strike grazed the coarse fur on Chen Hao's shoulder. With a sizzle, it actually singed several hairs, releasing a scorched smell.

Chen Hao staggered, steadied himself, and turned around. For the first time, the disdain in his eyes gave way to surprise and suspicion. Though the scorch mark on his shoulder was shallow, it told him plainly-there was something strange about this kid! How could a rookie without even a Soul Ring strike with that kind of power?

"You're courting death!" Furious and humiliated, Chen Hao spun around and lunged again, attacking even more viciously this time, both claws aimed straight at Long Tian's chest. He was a little faster than before, and a gray blur flashed in front of Long Tian. Unable to dodge in time, Long Tian had no choice but to cross his arms and block.

Bang!

A burst of brute force slammed into Long Tian, knocking him back several steps until his back struck the wooden railing at the edge of the stone platform with a thud. His arms went numb, and a dull ache traveled from his forearms to his shoulders, but he gritted his teeth and stood firm. Through his clothing, he noticed that a layer of dark scales had silently appeared on his left forearm at some unknown point, absorbing most of the impact for him.

No one below the platform noticed the dark scales, which almost blended into the shadows. Only Mr. Wang, watching from a distance, suddenly narrowed his eyes behind his glasses.

Long Tian shook his arms to cast off the pain, took a deep breath, and brought the golden dragon scales on his right palm to their fullest. This time, instead of defending passively, he went on the attack! His small figure shot straight at Chen Hao's center like a golden-black projectile!

Chen Hao hadn't expected him to have the strength to strike back and hurriedly smashed down with both claws. Long Tian ducked low, slipped beneath Chen Hao's arm, and thrust his right palm flat against his abdomen-

Thump!

Golden light flashed!

Chen Hao grunted as a searing force sent him staggering backward five or six steps. At last, his feet caught, and he fell onto his backside at the edge of the stone platform. He looked down and saw that a patch of cloth over his abdomen had been scorched black, and the skin beneath burned with pain. He braced himself against the ground and tried to stand, only to find that his legs had gone a little weak. The palm strike hadn't injured his muscles or bones, but it had scattered both his momentum and his fighting spirit.

The entire crowd fell silent for a moment.

Then a shriek erupted from Class C's line. Zhao Xiaopang leaped up in excitement, clapping his chubby hands until they turned red. "Long Tian won! Long Tian won!"

The Class C children without Soul Power joined in the cheering, shouting out all the frustration they had bottled up for most of the day. The Class A and Class B students looked at one another. Many of their gazes fell on the golden scales that had yet to completely fade from Long Tian's right hand, their expressions complicated.

Mr. Wang stood at a second-floor window, gazing at the small figure in the rough blue cloth shirt on the stone platform. He slowly removed his glasses and wiped them, the corners of his mouth curving almost imperceptibly.

In an inconspicuous corner of the crowd below, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man in gray stood among the watching students and quietly saw the entire match through. He touched his cuff, turned, and silently squeezed out of the crowd, heading toward the academy gates.

An hour later, on the official road outside Bluestone Town, a gray communication soul tool sparrow took wing and flew southwest. A small scroll of paper was tied to its claw, bearing a single line of fine handwriting:

"Long Tian, six years old, no Soul Ring, level-ten Soul Power. Already able to use Light Dragon Power in actual combat. Suspected traces of shadow power on left arm, pending confirmation. Recommendation: monitor closely and make contact at an appropriate time."

The communication sparrow swept across the autumn sky, flying farther and farther toward Spirit City.

At that moment, back at the academy, Long Tian was surrounded by Zhao Xiaopang and the Class C children, who all clamored to ask how he had delivered that palm strike. He scratched his head and smiled a little shyly, but his gaze drifted involuntarily to his left arm.

In that instant, Dark Dragon Power had emerged on its own to block the blow for him. He hadn't summoned it; it had come on its own.

Deep within his dantian, the black vortex turned slowly, like a silent giant beast opening its eyes in the dark.