The silence of Firelight City never lasted long. Beneath the blinking neon signs, deep within the underbelly of District 9, war drums were beating—not with sticks or fists, but with information, movement, and dread. The Iron Circle Clan, once thought vanquished, had returned from exile.
Jayden stood on a rusted rooftop near the Old Tech Exchange, watching the skyline flicker. Behind him, the wind whispered stories of the past, tales of blood, and fire, and family. He was no longer just a survivor. He was the heir. The bearer of the dragon flame.
And tonight, he wasn't hiding.
Firelight's New Order
In the weeks Jayden had been gone, everything had changed. Martial clans that once operated in secret now strutted openly, their sigils burned into city walls. Rogue cultivators occupied gang strongholds. Even the regular police had begun to defer to certain sects.
Worse, the Iron Circle had claimed Firelight's entire west side—enforcing brutal order with their elite enforcers: the Steel Fangs.
Jayden ducked into a side alley, avoiding a patrol. He needed information before he struck. For that, he'd need someone who never forgot a face.
Back-Alley Reunion
The door to Miss Maggie's Tea House creaked open.
Inside, a dozen eyes turned. Everyone here had once owed Jayden something—or tried to kill him. The tea house served both sides.
"Maggie," Jayden called softly.
A short, round woman with silver hair and tattoos on her fingers looked up from her book of debts. Her eyes widened. "You've got the gall to show up here, boy?"
Jayden smiled. "Need a map. Iron Circle turf, patrols, bunkers. All of it."
She studied him. "You're different."
He said nothing. But the flicker of golden chi in his eyes told her everything.
"You lit it, didn't you?"
Jayden's silence was answer enough.
Maggie sighed, stood, and rummaged beneath the bar. She pulled out a rolled scroll and handed it over.
"Steel Fang base is here," she said, pointing. "Their new leader? A real piece of work. Exiled from the Frost Tigers for being too cruel."
"What's his name?" Jayden asked.
"Kael."
Jayden's expression darkened.
He remembered Kael. Tall, brutal, with skin like granite and fists like iron. He had fought Jayden's father once in an underground duel and lost. But he had vowed revenge.
If Kael had returned… he was here for blood.
Storming the Steel Fang
Night fell like a guillotine as Jayden approached the Steel Fang compound. It was once an abandoned tech plant—now reinforced with chi-infused barricades and stone-forged gates. Two guards stood at the entrance, their cultivation faint but disciplined.
Jayden didn't sneak.
He walked straight up and knocked.
One guard stepped forward. "State your business."
Jayden raised his right hand. Fire ignited around his fist—quiet, intense, refined.
They barely had time to scream.
In two breaths, both were unconscious, buried in debris. Jayden leapt the barricade and entered the fortress.
Inside, five more enforcers rose from meditation. Their weapons crackled with chi. The tallest one—a hammer-wielder—roared and charged.
Jayden ducked the swing, spun low, and launched a chi-enhanced kick into the man's chest. Bones shattered. A second foe hurled throwing knives, but Jayden caught them midair, redirected one, and dropped him with his own weapon.
A third managed to land a hit—a palm to Jayden's ribs.
Jayden grimaced, then drove his elbow into the man's neck. He collapsed.
Kael, the Iron Terror
A slow clap echoed through the halls.
From the central chamber, Kael emerged. He was larger now, veins glowing with black chi tattoos, his left arm replaced with a metal construct forged from cursed iron.
"So the dragon cub has teeth," Kael sneered.
Jayden said nothing.
Kael cracked his neck. "Your father thought he could kill me with honor. But he never finished the job. I promised him I'd return for his son."
"You'll regret that promise."
Kael exploded forward, faster than Jayden expected. His iron arm moved like lightning, powered by soul-forged techniques.
Jayden blocked with both arms and was sent skidding across the floor.
Kael laughed. "What now, heir?"
Jayden smiled. "Now… I stop holding back."
Dragon's Might Unleashed
With a roar, Jayden activated his inner chi furnace. The fire within him surged, igniting the dragon-shaped circuit flowing through his meridians. Flames curled around his arms, his veins glowing like molten gold.
Kael charged again—but this time, Jayden moved faster.
He ducked under Kael's punch, slammed his knee into Kael's abdomen, and followed with a triple-palm strike that sent shockwaves through the chamber. Kael reeled, coughing blood.
Jayden summoned his flame and used Blazing Fang Style, a technique inherited from the Ancient Core. His movements became a blur—each strike leaving burning marks on Kael's iron skin.
Still, Kael endured.
He activated his cursed iron arm. It expanded, transforming into a massive gauntlet with jagged teeth and energy claws.
He grabbed Jayden mid-attack and hurled him into a stone pillar.
Jayden groaned. Blood trickled down his lip.
Kael laughed. "You're not your father."
Jayden's eyes blazed.
"I'm more."
He struck the ground, releasing a burst of pure soul chi. The chamber shook. The murals on the walls flickered with dragon fire.
Jayden rose and, with a scream, launched into the Fifth Form of the Dragon—a forbidden technique that fused speed, flame, and spirit into one devastating strike.
His fist landed squarely on Kael's chest.
Kael's armor shattered.
His iron arm cracked.
His body hit the ground with the force of a meteor.
And he didn't rise.
Victory's Shadow
Jayden stood over Kael's unconscious body, his breathing heavy. Around him, the compound was silent. No one else dared move.
He reached into Kael's robes and pulled out a jade slip—the Iron Circle's war plans.
Just as he suspected, they were plotting an all-out assault on the Eastern Districts, targeting cultivation families allied with the Dragonsoul bloodline.
He would need allies.
He would need time.
But now, he had momentum.
And Firelight City was watching.
Elsewhere, in the Sky Pavilion
Far above the city, in a floating pavilion invisible to mortal eyes, three figures watched the battle through a shimmering mirror.
One wore crimson robes. One was blind but saw more than most. The last, a young woman with cold eyes and a silver spear.
"He's progressing too fast," the crimson-robed elder said.
"He's still just a seed," said the blind man. "But he has inherited the Dragon Core. The prophecy may come true after all."
The young woman spoke last.
"I'll kill him before that happens."
Her voice was ice.
Her name: Elira—daughter of the Phoenix Sect and one of the future Seven Monarchs.
Jayden's greatest battle was yet to come.