In the grand hall of the Demon Dragon Palace, a black-clad, masked figure and a young boy stood facing each other. The black-clad man's sharp eyes gleamed, already marking the boy as his next target.
Shadow soldiers created by Ying Mei weren't physical warriors. They were manifestations of her Shadow Control Technique, imbued with a small amount of qi to give them basic, puppet-like awareness. These shadow warriors were entirely obedient to their creator's commands. Following Situ Juekong's orders, this shadow soldier was tasked with eliminating the boy.
With a swift step, the shadow soldier lunged at the boy, slashing down with a longsword. The boy sidestepped the blade, narrowly avoiding it. But the shadow soldier anticipated his movement. Spinning his body, he reversed his grip on the sword and swung at the boy again. The boy, unable to dodge in time, raised a short blade against his arm, channeling all his qi to block the attack. When the blades collided, the resulting energy surge sent the boy flying into the hall's stone wall, leaving him coughing violently from the impact.
"Third to fifth tier!" exclaimed a boy tinkering with a mechanical box from above the hall. "Ying Mei! What are you doing summoning a third-to-fifth-tier shadow soldier? Do you want to kill the Young Master?"
"I merely followed Lord Situ's instructions," the black-cloaked girl replied indifferently.
"Relax, Xiao Xie," the black-robed youth interjected, his voice calm. "I asked Ying Mei to create it. If he can't overcome such an opponent, he has no hope of surviving the outside world."
"But the Young Master is so young—how can he handle such a battle-hardened shadow warrior?" Xiao Xie protested.
"The Situ family doesn't produce losers," the black-robed youth said coldly. Despite his words, his eyes betrayed his readiness to intervene if the boy's life were truly in danger.
Xiao Xie said no more but watched the duel intently, his worry evident.
At the center of the hall, the shadow soldier locked its gaze on the boy. Spotting his continued vitality, it lunged again with a slash, relentless in its mission. Shadow soldiers, once given an order, would not stop until it was completed or they were destroyed.
Sensing the incoming attack, the boy activated his qi and shifted his body into a blur, leaving an afterimage. The shadow soldier struck the afterimage, missing its mark.
"It's Phantom Step! The move from Brother An Ye!" Xiao Xie exclaimed, his voice tinged with relief. While Phantom Step couldn't defeat the shadow soldier outright, it allowed the boy to evade its fierce strikes and bide his time for a counterattack.
The battle became a game of cat and mouse. Every time the shadow soldier found its target, the boy's Phantom Step allowed him to slip away. The two seemed locked in a stalemate, each waiting for the other to exhaust their qi. But the boy, only at the third to fifth tier, expended significant energy to maintain such an advanced technique. The shadow soldier, on the other hand, merely executed straightforward heavy strikes, consuming far less qi.
"What should I do? At this rate, I'll run out of qi first," the boy thought anxiously. "No choice—I'll have to gamble everything." He leapt into the air, splitting into three silhouettes that charged the shadow soldier simultaneously.
"Going for a direct confrontation? That's unlikely to work," remarked a swordsman beside the black-robed youth.
The shadow soldier, seeing the incoming figures, churned its internal qi and unleashed its full strength. With a sweep of its blade, two of the silhouettes dissolved into mist—mere afterimages created by Phantom Step. The shadow soldier leapt toward the remaining figure, prepared to deliver the final blow.
"It's over," the swordsman muttered.
"Not so fast," the black-robed youth replied calmly.
As the shadow soldier's longsword descended upon the last figure, it too dissolved into mist.
"Another afterimage!" the swordsman gasped. "He even managed to fool me—an observer of the sixth to seventh tier!"
The real boy appeared behind the shadow soldier, pouring all his remaining qi into his short blade. He aimed directly for the shadow soldier's head—the weak point where Ying Mei had imbued her qi.
But just before the strike landed, the shadow soldier dissolved into black mist, scattering across the hall.
"Shadow Dissolution!" the boy exclaimed, recognizing the technique. He hadn't expected a shadow soldier to possess such an ability.
"Shadow soldiers are inherently shadows; techniques like Shadow Dissolution are second nature to them," Ying Mei explained.
The black mist re-coalesced into a single hand that grasped the boy's throat, lifting him off the ground. Weakened from his earlier efforts, the boy struggled in vain. His short blade fell to the ground as the shadow soldier's form reassembled.
"The Young Master is in danger!" Xiao Xie cried, stepping forward with his mechanical box, only to be stopped by the black-robed youth.
"Relax. If it gets critical, I'll intervene," the black-robed youth assured him, his eyes fixed on the duel.
The shadow soldier tightened its grip around the boy's neck, raising its longsword for the final strike. The boy clawed at its hand but could not free himself. Darkness crept into his vision as he began to lose consciousness.
"How disappointing," the black-robed youth sighed, readying himself to step in. But just as he moved, a sudden surge of energy radiated from the boy.
A dragon-shaped mark on the boy's chest glowed faintly. His eyes turned a deep crimson, and he grabbed the shadow soldier's wrist with newfound strength. The intense heat of his touch forced the shadow soldier to release him.
Regaining his footing, the boy summoned his short blade back to his hand with a flick of his qi. In one swift motion, he dashed past the shadow soldier, severing its weak point.
The shadow soldier dissolved completely into black mist, save for a small wisp of black fire that entered the boy's body. The black-robed youth observed this closely, recognizing it for what it truly was.
The boy stood silently, his crimson eyes fading as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
---
The next morning, in a side chamber, the black-robed youth sat by the bed, watching over the exhausted boy. A small ground dragon curled up beside the bed, snoring softly.
The boy stirred, his eyes fluttering open. Spotting the black-robed youth, he immediately sat up. After a brief pause, he asked tentatively, "Brother, about yesterday's duel..."
The black-robed youth said nothing, his gaze unwavering.
"Did I lose?" the boy asked, his voice small. Then, mustering his resolve, he added, "It doesn't matter. Next time, I'll definitely win!"
"You won," the black-robed youth replied simply.
"Really? Then that means I—"
"You're ready to leave the Demon Dragon Palace and head to the Beast Realm to find Dongfang and the others," the black-robed youth said.
"Yes!" The boy leapt up in excitement, startling the little ground dragon awake.
"I have a question for you," the black-robed youth continued.
"Sure, what is it?" the boy asked, still riding the high of his victory.
"Do you remember how you won yesterday?"
The boy frowned, thinking back. "I only recall being strangled and passing out. After that, it's all a blur. I felt...like something else was controlling my body."
The black-robed youth contemplated his words for a moment. "If you've forgotten, so be it. Rest up and prepare yourself. You can leave for the Beast Realm anytime." With that, he left the room.
Watching his brother's retreating figure, the boy murmured, "I'm sorry, Brother Situ, but I must find Brother Dongfang. I need answers."