When Shu, Shuāng Wěi, and Fennec went to the land of Long, they took clothes and necessities with them. Along with these necessities was armor that Elder Huwang left for Shu. It was a black Dō, a samurai breastplate.
Shu wore this armor as he, Huli Jing, who wore full Ming dynasty-style armor, and Fennec, who looked more muscular and wore full red samurai armor, all went to the dragon gate.
The dragon gate was a red gate with a river going through it. It was on a mountain way taller than Nippon Mountain. The competition was so tough because once a year, in a radius of ten kilometers around the dragon gate divinity was overflowing. This divinity was too much for any mortal to survive without cultivation. Cultivation allowed people to go through divinity and not against it.
They went to the place where the competition started and saw many people waiting. There were demons, beastmen, Long-kin, angels, and other races.
"Why are there so many people here? Is there a prize?"
Shu asked. Fennec and Huli Jing both looked at him in shock.
"Hahaha! You come here, and you don't even know why?!"
A green-scaled Long-kin laughed.
"This is no place for a newb."
That same Long-kin said as he looked down at Shu.
He both literally and figuratively looked down on Shu.
Shu is one meter and eighty-seven centimeters tall, while each Long-kin is two hundred and ten centimeters at minimum. So he verbatim looked down on Shu, but he was also confident and saw Shu as a waste of space, so he figuratively looked down on him as well.
"So why are you here."
Shu answered with a smug smile. He could see the future. He knew this option would annoy his opponent the most.
"You little s-"
The Long-kin started cursing.
"You should wait until after I win because if you curse me now, it will be quite embarrassing later."
Shu cut the Long-kin. That Long-kin needed his friends to stop him from trying to kill Shu.
"If you get to the dragon gate first, you can take whatever treasure was placed inside the shrine."
Huli Jing answered Shu's previous question.
"Is this treasure so valuable?"
Shu asked.
"It's a treasure that was placed there by the gods."
Huli Jing answered, and Shu knew he needed to win.
"Let's go take good spots."
Fennec said.
"You go. I like this spot."
Shu said and shot a look at that Long-kin.
"Hey! Mister big-shot!"
Shu shouted, and the Long-kin pointed at himself to make sure Shu was speaking to him.
"You can stand wherever you want. I'm starting from this spot, and I'm gonna win!"
This was a declaration of war. Shu's spot was rather far from the closest location he could stand at. The Long-kin walked toward him and stood by his side.
"Whoever wins can request anything from the other party."
The Long-kin said.
"Fine by me. But don't regret it when you lose."
Shu agreed to the bet.
"I'm Lǜ Zūn. An outer circle disciple of the Èlóng family."
"I'm the heir to the Redfox family."
Shu deliberately delayed saying his name because he was unsure whether to tell his full name.
"My name is Shual. You can call me Shu."
Shu said. He wanted a fair race and knew that stating his family name, "Adom," would distract his opponent.
A moment after, they could feel intense pressure coming from the mountain. This was their signal. The race had begun!
Both of them started running at the same time. Long-kin could fly, but if he were to get exhausted mid-flight, he would be in trouble, so Lǜ Zūn chose to run alongside Shu.
They ran as fast as they could. Many people around them fell to the ground or stopped in their tracks. But they couldn't lose. Lǜ Zūn didn't have much power, but having Shu owe him would be his key to the inner circle, while Shu had to receive the treasure mister Danniel left for him.
Lǜ Zūn started feeling exhausted, and this was when he saw it. While he foolishly ran against the Tao around them, Shu was walking, and their speed was equal! Shu was able to walk together with the Tao and not against it. In the beginning, Lǜ Zūn looked down on him, but this beastman was a monster.
"I forfeit."
He claimed, and this beastman didn't even look back. Were they, the Long-kin, truthfully grander than the other beastmen? How could such a thing be when he, the strongest disciple from the outer circle, was weaker than one of them?
Shu kept running. He could feel the pressure becoming stronger. But it didn't matter one bit. He will get this treasure! There was no one left but him! And... What?!
There was someone else. He was also a Long-kin. Shu ran closer to him and could notice he was older than Lǜ Zūn. Was this an elder of the Long-kin?
At that point, the elder was sure he was alone, and when Shu passed him from behind, he was astounded. A common beastman passed him?! He wasn't a beastman of some legendary beast like a phoenix or a kitsune but a common Vulpini as well. And a young one at that... What is this turn of events?!
The elder sped up but couldn't keep up with this young beastman.
Shu arrived at the shrine.
It was a small stone shrine with two metal doors. Shu opened the shrine and reached with his hand inside. He felt a familiar feeling he was sure he never had in this timeline. It was his brass knuckles. Golden brass knuckles that fit perfectly in his hand. He wore the brass knuckles and smiled.
Now, he was sure he was never as ready to fight that damned weather god as he was in this timeline.
The pressure of the divinity around the mountain had stopped. This signaled somebody won.
Shu went down the mountain and found Fennec together with Huli Jing. They told him they went rather far, but Fennec fell first, and Huli Jing knew Shu was supposed to win first place, so he did not need to succeed.
Shu told them to wait a bit and went to speak with someone.
He looked for Lǜ Zūn and found him being scolded by that same elder from before.
"You impotent fool! Where were you?! Why weren't you at your designated spot?!"
The elder spit on him.
"Excuse me."
Shu interjected, and the elder's pupils widened.
"It's you!"
He was shocked.
"Oh, you are that elder I saw earlier! You kept running for longer than anyone else. That's an impressive achievement."
Shu acted dumb.
"Don't spew this bullshit! You are that youngster who outran me and won!"
The elder exclaimed.
"Yes, and I see you are still scolding little Lǜ Zūn over there, even though you both lost to me."
Shu's tongue was like a snake's. He knew what he wanted to ask from Lǜ Zūn, and this elder annoyed him.
"How is this that you know his name?!"
The elder cried in frustration.
"He and I bet on the winner before the start of the race. The loser vows to serve the other for the rest of his life."
Shu lied. He locked eyes with Lǜ Zūn, who understood his objective and agreed.
"Oh, right. I forgot. Sorry great elder, but I'm not part of the family anymore."
Lǜ Zūn cupped his hands and apologized. His struggle to keep a straight face was commendable, but he barely succeeded.
"Who are you?!"
The elder kept yelling.
"I am the heir to the Redfox family."
Shu answered, and the elder was annoyed. He lost to one of these "self-righteous" Redfoxes.
"What is your name?"
The elder spoke more calmly now.
"Shual A-D-O-M."
Shu stretched every letter and vowel in his family name.
"Adom?! There's no way you are related to Geo-"
The elder was terrified by this family name.
"George Adom is my stepfather."
Shu cut him midquestion, and the elder shrieked in fear. Lǜ Zūn never saw the elder act like that, but he knew why he did. George Adom is a legendary monster. The Yāo Lóng. The demon dragon.
"You are the Yāo Lóng's son?!"
Lǜ Zūn asked. Shu didn't tell him that either.
"Yes."
"Please spare me, Chìhú Lóng."
The elder cried for mercy. Shu and Lǜ Zūn were both dumbfounded. When did Shu ever say he would kill this loud elder?
"Chìhú Lóng?"
Shu couldn't stop his curiosity.
"Redfox dragon."
Lǜ Zūn translated.
"Well, let's go."
Shu said and signaled to Lǜ Zūn.
As they walked, Shu spoke with Lǜ Zūn.
"I want you to join me, but I won't force you."
"It's okay. I did bet to agree to whatever you requested, and I'd rather join you than stay with them."
Lǜ Zūn said and pointed at the elder, who was comforted by a bunch of straggling disciples.
They both laughed as they reached Fennec and Huli Jing.
"Who's that?"
Huli Jing asked.
"My new disciple!"
Shu claimed proudly. And Huli Jing looked at Lǜ Zūn with pity.