It hadn't been long since the incident in the arena, but the name "Long" had already spread like wildfire among the trainees. Everyone was talking about him—some with respect, others with hatred.
As for him? He looked at them the way an eagle looks at chickens.
The next day during training, a new challenger appeared—a second-level disciple from the Achi Realm. He was a massive figure, arrogance burning in his eyes.
"I heard you took down one of our stronger disciples. But what about someone… at my level?"
He spoke loudly, drawing chuckles from some and curious smiles from a few instructors.
Long walked forward slowly, his eyes calm, though inside… a storm raged.
A perfect dummy to test the second phase of my technique.
"What's your name, dog?" Long asked coldly.
The disciple growled, "You'll be begging for mercy soon, bastard!"
The fight began.
The disciple charged, his fist shaking the ground. Long dodged effortlessly.
Then came his calm voice:
"Phantom Steps."
He moved like lightning—but the opponent was faster than expected. He blocked the strike and retaliated with a brutal blow that sent Long flying several meters.
"Hmph… Your technique is worthless against me!"
the disciple shouted.
Long stood up, blood dripping from his mouth. He wiped it with his finger and smiled.
"Fatal mistake..."
he whispered—and then muttered another technique:
"Skybreaker."
He focused on the opponent's core energy. A faint gray glow flickered in Long's eyes—then vanished.
Within a second, he moved. He was nowhere to be seen. Everyone thought he had collapsed… or fled.
Suddenly—
A shockwave ripped through the air. A strike landed squarely on the disciple's chest.
The boy froze.
"What did you… do to my body?!"
The disciple collapsed to his knees. His internal energy had stopped cold. The point of impact… was spiritually freezing.
Long stepped close and whispered in his ear:
"For the next three hours… you'll be a breathing corpse. Powerless.
That's Skybreaker—born from the soul of a dead king who refused to stay dead."
The disciple fell. Silence took over.
Some trainees began to tremble.
Suddenly, the Clan Leader appeared. His voice boomed:
"Enough!"
He approached and stared at Long, eyes filled with a mix of awe and fear.
"You've broken the rules of training… but no one here can deny your strength."
Then, in a solemn tone:
"Ask, Long. You're granted one request—anything."
Long bowed slightly. After a brief silence, he said:
"I wish to enter the Forbidden Clan Library… and choose one technique for myself."
A collective gasp spread through the crowd.
Even the Clan Leader couldn't hide his shock.
But this time, Long wasn't smiling.
"This is just the beginning. And I don't walk ordinary paths."
---
Far away, deep within the clan grounds…
An ancient spirit stirred briefly.
It whispered:
"He has returned… The old darkness is waking once more…"