Also known as: The Path That Bent Sideways
Wei Long arrived at the village of Liushan with a bamboo fan, one steamed bun, and a goat that had followed him against his will. Again.
The village was half-burned.
Red banners hung from gates marked with the symbol of the Cult of Pure Flame, a rogue group of fire-element cultivators who believed knowledge was dangerous and that everything — books, crops, arguments — should be settled by setting it on fire.
A crowd had gathered around a well, where a frazzled elder tried to reason with the cult's flame priest.
"You burned our storage house!"
"It insulted the heavens by containing pickled radish."
"YOU BURNED OUR CHICKENS!"
"They failed to reach Nirvana."
Wei Long wandered into the square mid-argument, biting into his bun.
The flames priest turned. "Who are you?"
Wei Long blinked. "Just passing through. Is this not the chili dumpling contest?"
The villagers gasped. The priest narrowed his eyes.
"You dare mock the Pure Flame?"
Wei Long shrugged. "I mock whatever's in front of me. Efficiently."
Within moments, a duel was declared.
Wei Long, still chewing, found himself standing across from Luo Xian, the Cult's flame prodigy — a Level 5 Flame Root Cultivator with red robes, burning eyes, and an ego large enough to be taxed.
"I will demonstrate the power of true cultivation," Luo Xian declared.
He raised his palm. Flames gathered, forming a lotus of pure fire above his hand.
Wei Long watched, unimpressed. "Do you do weddings?"
Luo Xian growled. "Burn!"
The flame lotus shot forward.
Wei Long tried to dodge… and slipped on a melon rind.
The blast hit a hanging gong behind him.
The sound echoed through the village… and resonated strangely.
Every cultivator present — including Luo Xian — suddenly felt their qi spiral backward. Dantian flow twisted. Meridians tangled. The air pulsed.
Luo Xian fell to his knees. "Wh-what is this technique?!"
Wei Long, flat on his back, stared at the cracked gong.
"Uh… that wasn't supposed to happen."
The village elder gasped. "He used Inverse Qi Redirection!"
Someone whispered, "That's a lost path from the Twelve Folding Heavens…"
Another: "No! That's the Chaotic Dao! He bends cultivation to his mood!"
Luo Xian clutched his chest. "My qi… my fire… it's cooking me from inside!"
Wei Long stood up and dusted himself off. "Drink some water, man."
The priest dropped his staff. "You... reversed his fire core. That's a forbidden level technique!"
Wei Long looked around at the awestruck crowd. "Seriously. It was the melon peel."
The villagers bowed.
The cultists fled.
And across the region, stories exploded:
"Wei Long bends the Dao with nonsense!""He cultivates without cultivating — a walking paradox!""He uses ambient chaos to affect qi flow!"
Back at Mount Chaos, Lin Qian read a message that had arrived on a flying sword:
"We request to become outer disciples of the Great Gong Master."
Duan Fei scratched his head. "...Do we even have an inner sect?"
Lin Qian whispered, "Master's not a cultivator."
The sword buzzed.
Another message appeared:
"That's exactly what makes him terrifying."
Meanwhile, at a hidden mountain far to the west, a group of true powerhouses gathered around a floating jade orb.
"He shifted fire qi without a foundation?"
"He reversed core flow without a technique?"
They turned to their leader, a blindfolded woman whose cultivation had long transcended mortal limits.
She smiled.
"…Interesting. Let's see how long fate protects him."
And for the first time, someone powerful began walking toward Wei Long — not to worship him…
…but to test if he was real.
To be continued...