Among the emerald mountains that stretched hundreds of miles near Dragon Altar lay Floral Falls, a serene valley where peach trees grew in every corner and petals fell gracefully like snowflakes whenever a breeze blew past. People who lived there practiced the ancient oriental martial arts and were called martial artists by others in Cadia Riverlands.
In an early morning seventeen years ago, a baby boy drifted in a basket down the river to Floral Falls and was found and adopted by a local. He was named after the earthly branch for the Year of the Tiger—the year he was found.
Ten years quickly passed by, and grew up into a young boy training in martial arts. He seemed scrawny but had unexpectedly powerful strength, and the elder martial artists in the valley thought of him as a martial arts genius gifted to them by the heavens.
Fate was fair, however. possessed incredible physical talent, but had a critical flaw—he couldn't comprehend the intent to kill as he was too good-natured. For the innocent boy, every fight was only a spar between friends. On the peaceful lands of Floral Falls, he had no way to know what it meant to fight to the death, and so his martial arts skills never reached the standard for actual combat, which prevented him from becoming a real martial artist.
One day, went out to find a new place to try to comprehend the intent to kill, but accidentally lost his way on the meandering paths of the mountains.
He walked for a long while, tired and starving, when suddenly something tightened around his ankle and the world turned upside down—he was hanged up by a noose trap!
was trapped and mumbling complaints when a little girl's voice came from above, "Eh? I thought it was my dinner... Turns out it's you idiot in trouble!"
looked up to see a pretty young girl standing beside him, raising her hand and freeing him from the trap in the blink of an eye. After he was out of the trap, he looked at the broken noose and said apologetically, "Does it mean your dinner's gone? Here, you can have this—" Then he handed over the flatbread he brought with him, when his stomach started rumbling in the worst time.
The two kids burst into laughter together and became friends at that exact moment. liked to pull pranks on as he was quite gullible and often joked about how he fell into her trap that day and then called him an idiot.
That was how and first met. From then on, they would often hang out with each other and play games in the mountains.
Years quietly passed by as they laughed and played, until one day suddenly left for months.
One day, the gloomy rain clouds above Floral Falls stretched all the way to the horizon, and the thin drizzle seemed as if it would never stop. gazed into the distance by the mouth of the valley, before starting his training somewhere quiet.
Meanwhile, an evil entity shrouded in ominous, dark clouds descended upon the valley, and after a quick browse around, the entity chose .
was sitting in meditation when a sudden aggressive force rushed into his body! He felt something encroaching on his mind, his body in great pain as if it was being torn apart. "There's no point in fighting. You will become my new body!" The entity declared his victory to in a ruthless tone. In bewilderment, acted on instinct and fought over control of his mind and body with his inner strength.
It was then when hastened there.
Before could utter a word, lunged at him with a strong intent to kill. A fierce battle broke out! was forced to fight who wanted him dead, and it was a battle of life and death that he'd never experienced before—there was no stop before it went too far, and every move made aimed to take his life. managed to dodge the critical attacks, but his limbs were already covered in blood.
After the initial confusion and terror, an emotion that had never felt before began growing in his mind, burning like flames. Why is he attacking me? Why does he want me dead? rushed toward as fast as lightning, his one kick forcing the demigod to move a few steps back. stared at the young boy in front of him in surprise, amazed at the boy's incredible physical strength.
Flames of rage burnt in 's eyes. He'd finally comprehended the intent to kill—I didn't know you; I didn't do anything; I just managed to fend off the unknown entity's attack; the person I was waiting for is DEFINITELY NOT YOU! The thunderous roar let out sent peach blossoms flying in all directions. He threw quick, powerful punches at in a frenzy of rage. exposed his weakness while struggling to defend himself, and was hit in the stomach by 's heavy punch and knocked all the way into the river.
Breathless, stared at the ripples on the water surface and thought to himself, "Did I win?"
All of a sudden, a giant spout of water ejected from the river, and from the waves rushed out a ferocious black dragon!
, now as Black Dragon, growled and charged at in full force. knew that as a mortal human, he was no match for the Black Dragon, but he refused to flee. Instead, he shouted and raised his fists, ready to face head-on—I'll kill you even at the cost of my life!
The deafening sound emitted by their clash shook the ground, while their movements stirred up the air around them, causing the flower petals to fall like raindrops.
looked in surprise at his own hands blocking the dragon claws as they became strangely powerful, when the aggressive voice sounded in his head once again, "You've got guts, kid. I'll help you!"
In the blink of an eye, transformed into Lieh and used a special skill that he'd never seen before to drag the Black Dragon into another dimension, before launching frenzied attacks at him.
The life-and-death battle continued on, while 's consciousness began to fade. He was about to completely lose himself …
"Idiot!" A sudden shout awakened like lightning breaking through darkness—It was !
fought with every fiber of his being and finally regained control of his body. He panted heavily as if he'd just come back from death, and saw that it really was who was standing beside him!
Turned out had tracked all the way here to ask for an explanation from him!
raised her family heirloom, Crossbow of Tang, at and asked him with quivering words and tears in her eyes. She wanted to know why had lied to her, why he was hurting her friend, and why he'd betrayed her years of trust and friendship.
Seeing in rage, returned to his human form before heaving a sigh and revealing the truth: Evil God Lieh had been wreaking havoc in Cadia Riverlands since ancient times. It was him who'd possessed the greatest fighter of the lands—Black Dragon and evoked the falling out between him and the Great Dragon, leading to an internal dispute that had almost wiped the lands off the map. used to get the Black Dragon's power so that Cadia Riverlands could move in the direction he wished, and before that he must destroy Lieh and prevent any future trouble! Chased by , Lieh had possessed numerous strong warriors along the way but had only suffered defeat after defeat. He'd lost most of his power when he came to Floral Falls and sneaked into 's body.
looked at and and said in a calm voice, "He's been possessed by Lieh and will get people here killed sooner or later!"
And with that, left. lowered her arms as if she'd lost all strength, her crossbow dropping to the ground with a thud.
It was then when finally understood what horrifying power was within him now. The youngster looked at in front of him with a woeful smile and then cast his gaze upon the emerald mountains that raised him. It took all his strength to keep the Evil God at bay made up his mind.
On the same night, left his house with only a rucksack on his back.
As he gently closed the door and turned around, rows of sigils emerged on the bandage around his chest, while a disembodied voice wafted into his ears, "This Black Dragon charm can help you make it to Moniyan. You'll find info on the Evil God there..."
With a final glance at the place where he'd lived for seventeen years, said into the air, "I cannot protect you now, but I promise I'll be back once this is all over."
As so, the youngster left Floral Falls alone in seeking a way to rid himself of the Evil God …
