In the grand, undersea palace of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East, the currents of immortal energy swirled around pillars of living coral and glowing pearls. Erlang Shen moved through the banquet with a practiced, easy grace, a charming smile fixed on his face as he mingled with the other immortals, the powerful friends and allies of the Dragon King.
He wasn't here just to mingle. He was here to set a fire. He needed to give Jack a reason to back out of the Heart of Heaven tournament, a way to help him escape the coming scrutiny of the Jade Emperor without exposing his own quiet, treasonous report.
He laughed and shared drinks, his conversation light and witty. He steered the talk, a master of social manipulation, until one of the older immortals finally gave him the opening he needed.
"General Erlang, what happened at the Jade Palace today? The banquet was cut short so abruptly."
Erlang feigned a look of weary reluctance. "Ah, that… a delicate matter. I shouldn't say." He let the words hang in the air, a perfect piece of bait. As he expected, this only made the others more curious. Finally, after a few more prods, he "relented."
"It was Jack Hou," he said, his voice just loud enough to carry, just loud enough to reach the ears of a certain young dragon prince who was listening from a nearby table. "The Wukong reincarnation. The Jade Emperor has decided to let him be, for now."
He saw it. Ao Bing, his face a mask of shock and concern, stood and walked out of the party. Erlang's objective was complete. He made his rounds, saying a polite goodbye to the immortals he passed and a final, respectful farewell to the Dragon King.
As he left the grand gates of the palace, his fake, smiling face slowly faded, replaced by a cold, calculating stoicism.
"Don't disappoint me, Nezha," he muttered to the silent, swirling waters.
…
Ao Bing moved through the Heavenly Courts with a frantic speed, his white robes a blur against the moonlit clouds. He finally found him. In one of the celestial training halls, Nezha was a whirlwind of red and silver, his spear a humming, destructive force as he trained alone.
"Nezha! Nezha!" Ao Bing shouted, his voice echoing in the empty hall. "I have news about Brother Wukong!"
Nezha's movements stopped. He turned, his Wind and Fire Wheels still spinning at his feet. "It's Jack Hou," he said, his voice cold. "And he is not Wukong."
"Oh, right, anyway," Ao Bing said, catching his breath. "I overheard General Erlang Shen at my father's party. He said the Jade Emperor is letting him be. He'll still be at the tournament tomorrow."
The tip of Nezha's spear ignited with a brilliant, furious flame. He understood now. The Jade Emperor's ban, his punishment for flipping the table, wasn't a punishment at all. It was a cage. It was a way to keep him away from Jack Hou.
"Will you help me tomorrow?" Nezha asked, a dangerous, excited glint in his eyes.
Ao Bing sighed, a long, weary sound of a friend who had been through this a thousand times. "As long as it's not a bad idea…" He looked at Nezha's face, at the manic, determined glee in his friend's eyes. "…it is a bad idea, isn't it?"
Nezha just smiled and nodded.
Ao Bing's face fell into his hands. He let out a long, pained, and utterly defeated sigh that was lost in the vast emptiness of the heavens.
"Fuuucccckkkk…"
…
The new day dawned over the Heart of Heaven, bringing with it a palpable, electric energy. The crowds were a roaring, vibrant sea of faces from seven different worlds, their cheers and shouts echoing off the impossible architecture of the colosseum. The residents of the Under-City, ever the entrepreneurs, had already set up makeshift betting stalls, their chalkboards displaying the shifting odds for the semi-final matchups, their voices a cacophony of shouts and the clinking of coins.
In the K'un-Lun delegation's waiting area, Danny Rand stood alone, his hands wrapped, the vibrant yellow and green of his ceremonial garb a stark contrast to the nervous tension in his posture. Beside him, John Aman was a silent, coiled spring of green mist and quiet confidence.
In the entrance hall on the opposite side of the arena, Zhu Pang She saw Davos, his new, pale arm looking strangely out of place. The Fat Cobra walked over, his expression one of pure, visceral disgust.
"How many daughters did you have to kill to grow that back?" he asked, his voice a low, accusatory rumble.
Davos just turned and gave him a silent, cold glare. But Zhu Pang She, who had been on the receiving end of Jack Hou's infinitely more terrifying, chaos-fueled glares, was completely unfazed. He just looked back flatly, as if Davos were a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
"Alright," Zhu Pang She said with a dismissive shrug. "If you don't want to tell me, then." He turned and began to walk toward the arena as the announcer's voice boomed his name.
Meanwhile, in the other entrance hall, John Aman looked at Danny. "Don't worry," he said, his voice a cold, even thing. "I will take your revenge."
"What?" Danny asked, looking up.
"I will take revenge for K'un-Lun twice today," John Aman stated, not as a promise, but as a fact. "I will take care of Davos in my round, and I will take care of the Fat Cobra in the finals."
"What if I win against the Fat Cobra?" Danny asked.
John didn't say anything. He just looked at Danny incredulously, his silence a more potent insult than any word.
Danny's jaw tightened. He finished tightening his hand wraps. "I don't need anyone to take revenge on my behalf," he said, his voice a low, determined thing. He stood and, as the announcer called his name, he walked out toward the arena, his heart a determined, burning drum.
High above, floating invisibly on Zephyr, Jack Hou looked down as the two champions entered the arena.
"Kekekeke," he said to his loyal cloud. "Iron Fist vs. Fat Cobra. Let's see if the kid's got the protagonist effect. Kekekeke."
The arena was a sea of anticipation. Zhu Pang She and Danny Rand faced each other, the air between them thick with a tension that was part respect, part challenge.
"The Dragon of K'un-Lun," Zhu Pang She said, his voice a low, rumbling thing. "I have fought your predecessors. Does the new fist have the same weight as the old?" It was not a taunt, but a genuine question from a seasoned master to the new generation.
Danny settled into his stance, his nerves hardening into a focused calm. "It has its own weight," he replied, his voice steady.
Then, they began.
The first phase of the battle was pure, unadulterated martial arts. It was a clash of philosophies made manifest. Danny was the iron in the Iron Fist—his movements were linear, powerful, and direct. Every strike was a piston, every block an unyielding wall. He was the unstoppable force.
Zhu Pang She, in contrast, was the flowing water that surrounds the stone. His massive frame moved with a deceptive, rippling grace. He never met a strike head-on. He yielded, he circled, he redirected. His every movement was a curve, an arc designed to unravel Danny's linear attacks and turn his own force against him.
The crowd watched, mesmerized by the deadly dance. The masters in the stands saw the truth: it was a perfect stalemate of styles.
Then, they both leaped back, creating a dozen paces of distance between them.
"It is still too early for you to defeat me, boy," Zhu Pang She said, a note of genuine respect in his voice.
Danny took a deep breath, the air hissing through his teeth. He slammed his fists together, and a brilliant, golden light erupted around them. The raw, untamed chi of the Iron Fist had taken form.
In response, the ancient sutra tattoos on Zhu Pang She's body began to glow, a web of golden light spreading across his massive frame. He, too, was now using his chi.
They clashed again.
This time, the impacts were not of flesh and bone, but of crackling, explosive energy. Danny's fist was a miniature sun, a branding iron that sought to sear and destroy. Zhu Pang She's chi was a diffuse, golden aura, a shield of force that absorbed and dispersed the focused power of the Iron Fist. His own strikes were now venomous, each jab carrying a numbing, disruptive jolt of chi.
It was a battle of a cannonball versus a mountain. And the mountain was winning.
Danny was faster, his attacks more explosive, but Zhu Pang She's experience was an unassailable fortress. He weathered every storm, his defense perfect, his counters precise and draining. Danny grew tired, his chi flickering, his movements becoming a fraction of a second too slow.
The Fat Cobra saw his opening. He moved, a blur of motion, and landed a single, powerful palm strike to Danny's chest. The blow sent Danny flying, his golden chi extinguishing as he crashed to the arena floor, the taste of blood in his mouth.
He was defeated. The crowd could see it. The champions could see it. Lei-Kung, from the stands, closed his eyes in quiet resignation.
But then, as Danny lay on the ground, his energy spent, something changed.
A new power, a brilliant, overwhelming surge of chi, erupted from within him. It was not his own. It was deeper, purer, more ancient. His eyes snapped open, now glowing with a light that was not just his own, but that of a thousand generations of Iron Fists. He shot to his feet, his body a blazing beacon of golden energy.
High above, Jack Hou, who had been watching with a detached amusement, suddenly sat up. His eyes turned a brilliant, burning gold. He activated his Fiery Gaze.
He saw it. A thin, almost invisible thread of pure, golden chi, stretching down from the heavens, from the celestial position of K'un-Lun itself, and connecting directly to Danny Rand. It was a secret, divine lifeline, pouring an impossible amount of power into the young champion.
Jack's lips curled into a slow, wicked, and utterly cynical grin.
"Kekekeke," he laughed, his voice a low, knowing thing. "It seems K'un-Lun always has something up its sleeve to make sure they're the protagonist, huh? Kekekeke."
In that single, shattering second, Danny's world folded.
It was as if the very fabric of reality was a sheet of origami paper, and an unseen, cosmic hand was creasing it, folding plane upon plane of existence onto itself. He saw figures on each folded plain, each one looking at him. They all wore different costumes, from ancient dynastic armor to modern tactical gear, but they all bore the same burning, golden light in their fists, the same dragon sigil on their chests. He saw a woman, her face a mask of fierce determination. He saw a child, no older than ten, his small hands already blazing with the power of Shou-Lao. They were all Iron Fists.
Then, a figure leaped from one of the folded plains, landing before him with a quiet, confident grace. Danny readied his stance, his own chi a flickering candle in the face of this impossible storm.
It was Orson Randall. His grandfather.
"So," Orson said, a wry, world-weary smile on his face. "My ward's son has a fire in him."
"Huh? Where am I?" Danny stammered, his mind reeling.
"Welcome to your own mentalscape, kid," Orson explained, his gaze sweeping over the endless gallery of their predecessors. "It's here where all the past Iron Fists reside."
A dawning realization clicked in Danny's mind. "Is this… is this what Master Lei-Kung meant? That I would never need an immortal's help?"
"Why would an Iron Fist need immortality," Orson asked, his smile softening, "when we can get something so much more valuable?"
"What is that?"
Orson looked at him, his eyes holding the weight of a hundred lifetimes of battle and sacrifice. "A better life for the next generation of the Iron Fist."
Meanwhile, in the arena, Zhu Pang She's head tilted, a look of profound confusion on his face. He saw Danny, lying on the ground, his eyes closed, yet at the same time, he could not sense a single opening in his still, defeated stance. It was as if the boy was a mountain, unmoving and unassailable.
"What the hell is going on?" the Fat Cobra muttered to himself. He steeled himself, his own chi flaring to life once more. He would end this honorably.
He charged, his voice a booming, respectful roar. "Yield, kid!"
But then, in the space of a single, impossible instant, Danny moved. His eyes snapped open, now glowing with a pure, ancient golden light. He didn't just counter; he became the counter. His fist connected with Zhu Pang She's face.
None of the crowd could see the movement. It was a blur, a ghost of motion. Only Jack, from his invisible perch, saw it clearly. And it was fast. Impossibly fast.
The sound came a second later. A deafening BOOM echoed through the colosseum as Zhu Pang She's massive body was slammed into the far wall of the arena, leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the ancient stone. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
The golden light in the Iron Fist's eyes dimmed, then faded. Danny stood in the center of the arena, looking around, confused. He looked at his own hands, then at the still, unmoving form of the Fat Cobra, slumped against the wall.
A moment of stunned silence, and then a loud, thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd.
High above, Jack just laughed, a low, cynical cackle.
"Kekekeke. Alright. I'll let it slide this time."
The Peng Lai elder gripped the arms of his seat, his knuckles white. He shot to his feet, his voice a furious roar that cut through the stunned silence of the arena. "What was that, Lei-Kung?! Did you let your city cheat in this sacred tournament?!"
Lei-Kung, his own face a mask of profound, unfeigned shock, could only stare at the victorious Danny Rand. "Even I never thought he would awaken it here," he said, his voice a quiet, disbelieving murmur.
The Crane Mother, her eyes narrowed in a mixture of suspicion and greed, leaned forward. "Awaken what?"
Lei-Kung finally tore his gaze away from his student, his eyes full of a dawning, terrible awe. "The Shou-Lao Legacy," he breathed.
The words sent a shockwave through the leaders of the Seven Cities.
…
Meanwhile, in the tranquil halls of the Jade Palace, Erlang Shen was calmly sipping his tea, his loyal celestial dog sleeping obediently at his feet. The rest of the divine court was abuzz with commentary on the tournament's surprising outcome.
"Having to rely on the legacy in the semi-finals," Guan Yu stated, his voice a stern, critical thing. "It seems this year's Iron Fist is lacking."
Mo Li Qing, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, countered, "It is still a great thing that he awakened it at such a young age."
"Indeed," his brother, Mo Li Shou, added. "Though the fairness of such a thing can be questioned."
Mo Li Hong, the final brother, just laughed. "It is his legacy. From my eyes, it is about time something interesting happened."
As they watched the arena being cleared for the next round, a sudden, violent BOOM rocked the foundations of the Jade Palace, sending a tremor through the very clouds.
The Jade Emperor, his serene expression instantly turning to one of cold authority, sensed the disturbance. "Investigate," he commanded a squad of heavenly troops. In a flash of golden light, they were gone.
They waited, the banquet hall now silent. Minutes later, the troops returned, their faces pale with a frantic urgency.
"It's from the Eastern River of Heaven, Your Majesty!" the lead soldier reported.
"What is it?" the Emperor demanded.
The soldier stammered, "It's… an experiment gone wrong, Your Majesty! Prince Ao Bing was attempting to create a new talisman, but he has instead created… a hurricane. Thousands of them."
The gods and immortals all stood. The Jade Emperor himself rose from his throne, his voice a thunderclap that shook the heavens. "All immortals! Split up and seal these hurricanes before they reach one of our territories, or worse, Earth!"
In the midst of the divine chaos, as gods and immortals scrambled to form a response, Erlang Shen calmly walked away. He took one last, slow sip of his tea, then casually tossed the empty cup aside, where it dissolved into mist. Beside him, his loyal dog followed without a command.
A slow, satisfied smile touched Erlang Shen's face.
**A/N**
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**A/N**