The morning after the clan test, clouds hung low over Qingyang City.
Word of Ye Chen's stunning victory spread like wildfire. From servants to elders, from taverns to training yards, everyone was talking about the once-useless hound master who had shattered the stone and defeated Ye Qin with a single move.
> "They say he used a scholar's art instead of brute force."
"Nonsense. How could mere words move qi like that?"
"Still… Patriarch Ye Zhong looked pleased for the first time in years."
But admiration was a dangerous thing in the martial world.
Where light gathered, shadows stirred.
---
Inside the clan's main hall, the Black Tiger Clan envoy, Hu Yan, poured himself a cup of wine and smiled thinly.
> "Your family breeds surprises, Patriarch Ye. That boy—Ye Chen, was it?—might be interesting."
Ye Zhong's expression stayed calm. "He is young. Raw talent often dies before it matures."
Hu Yan chuckled. "Then allow my nephew to test that talent. No harm, of course—just a friendly spar."
Before Ye Zhong could answer, Ye Chen stepped through the door, robes neat, demeanor composed.
> "A spar, is it?" he asked, voice steady. "Then I accept."
---
The crowd gathered once more at the martial field. Rain began to fall in fine threads, dampening the air with tension.
Hu Yan's nephew stepped forward—Hu Jian, a prodigy of the Black Tiger Clan. Barely twenty, yet already at the Sixth Stage of Body Tempering, muscles taut, qi fierce as a coiled beast.
> "I've heard you read instead of train," Hu Jian sneered. "Let's see if your poetry can block a punch."
Ye Chen's eyes were calm as still water.
> "Every strike is a sentence. Every breath, a verse. Shall we write together, then?"
---
The duel began.
Hu Jian moved first—his fist cutting the rain in half, a roar following like thunder.
The ground cracked under his step.
Ye Chen raised his palm and whispered inwardly:
> "Art of Resonant Combat"—Chapter Three: Flow with the Enemy's Breath.
He shifted his stance, letting the fist's wind brush his sleeve, redirecting the force. The momentum coiled around him, harmless.
Hu Jian blinked. "What—!"
Ye Chen countered with a soft palm strike. No sound, no flare of qi—yet Hu Jian stumbled back two steps, eyes wide.
> "Impossible… you didn't use qi!"
> "Understanding," Ye Chen said quietly, "is the mother of all strength."
---
Angered, Hu Jian unleashed his clan's signature technique—Black Tiger Shatters the Heavens.
His aura erupted; a phantom tiger roared behind him, claws descending like a storm.
The onlookers gasped. Even Ye Zhong frowned.
But Ye Chen's gaze turned inward. In his mind, the Book Realm opened—pages fluttering in a storm of light. A new text appeared:
> "Reflections in Still Water"
Its words rang through his soul:
> "When the beast roars, the mountain echoes;
When the heart is silent, the echo fades."
He raised his hand, tracing a circle in the air. The falling rain curved, forming a shimmering wall of water that rippled like glass.
The tiger's strike hit it—and dissolved, soundlessly.
Hu Jian fell to one knee, qi in disarray.
---
Gasps broke out around the field.
Ye Chen lowered his hand. The rain stilled. Only his voice remained, soft yet resonant:
> "Violence shouts; wisdom whispers. Which endures longer?"
Hu Yan rose from his seat, face dark. "Your boy is gifted, Patriarch Ye. But pride breaks easily. The Jianghu will not show mercy to such arrogance."
Ye Chen met his gaze.
> "Then let the Jianghu test me as well."
For a moment, silence. Then Hu Yan laughed coldly and turned away.
---
That night, the Book Realm trembled.
New shelves unfolded, lined with faintly glowing titles:
> "Path of Understanding",
"Heaven and Heart in Harmony",
"The Record of Challenges Yet to Come".
From the void came a whisper:
> "Comprehension begets power; adversity writes the next chapter."
Ye Chen opened his eyes beneath the lantern light, rain still pattering on the roof.
> "So be it," he murmured. "If the world challenges me, I'll answer with words strong enough to shake the heavens."
The candle flickered—and in its flame, the reflection of a scholar's eyes burned with the will of a warrior.