CHAPTER 2: BULLY
The clash of swords and bursts of fierce attacks echoed across the Long family training grounds. Haochen strolled by, eyeing the sparring pairs going at it.
Over on one side, his two brothers, Yize and Muchen, were locked in their own intense practice bout. He edged closer, studying their every move.
"What's he doing here?"
"Probably just gawking at his pushy junior brothers, what else?"
Whispers rippled through the crowd gathered around Muchen and Yize, all eyes glued to the fight.
Long Muchen unleashed his divine imprints, his body lighting up with wild green patterns that flared bright. He pulled out his Kung Fu Fan and lunged straight at Yize.
Long Yize fired back by activating his leopard imprints, violet patterns exploding across his skin. His fingernails sharpened into deadly leopard claws in a flash. He surged forward, smashing into Muchen's charge and unleashing raw blasts of absolute power.
"Today, we're settling who's the real powerhouse," Muchen declared, pulling back his strikes just enough to whip a massive surge of force from his fan right toward Yize's chest. Yize was quick, though, he twisted backward at the last second, slipping the blow.
Yize whipped out a pair of short daggers, moving with leopard-like speed to slip behind Muchen and drive one straight at his back. But Muchen reacted even faster; his imprints morphed into twisting green vines that shot up from the ground, blocking the dagger cold.
The two of them stumbled for a moment before steadying their footing. Haochen kept his gaze fixed on them, his thoughts spinning wildly as memories of his own shining days flickered through his head. A few unnoticed tears slipped down his cheeks, but he brushed them away fast, forcing his attention back to the duel.
"All I want is to save my mother, why's that so much to ask?" he wondered to himself, turning away from the scene.
"If you're so set on proving who's strongest, I'll give you a real show," Yize shot back, his hands blurring as he formed three glowing violet seals in the air.
"Leopard souls! Emerge!" Yize called out. Dozens of snarling leopard spirits burst from the seals, barreling down on Muchen.
"Perfect, that's just what I wanted," Muchen replied with a grin. He swung his fan wide, and a swarm of green plant souls erupted from thin air, slamming into the leopards and wrapping them tight.
"Shatter!" Yize barked, balling his right hand into a fist and thrusting it forward. The leopard souls detonated in a huge blast, shoving both fighters back a step before they caught their balance.
But before Yize could recover, Muchen was already right behind him, the tip of his Kung Fu Fan pressed against his back.
"You lost," Muchen said flatly. The crowd erupted, chanting his name again and again.
Long Haochen made his way along the narrow path leading down to the stream just behind his mother's courtyard. It was his usual spot to unwind whenever the weight of everything got too heavy to bear. He slipped into the water, letting it ease the tension in his muscles as the gentle current warmed his skin.
"Can I really get back to my old strength and earn that respect again? Man, that would feel incredible," he wondered to himself while plunging deeper into the stream. Around his neck hung a peculiar black-and-white round bead, hollow inside, tied on a simple thread,it bobbed in the water with him. After one more deep dive, he surfaced, soaked through, and climbed onto a big rock by the riverbank to sit.
He lifted the bead onto his right index finger, gazing at it for a second. "Everything started going wrong the day I put this thing on, the one Grandpa left me right before he passed. My brothers got all these powerful skills and weapons, but me? Just this worthless hollow bead." With that, he yanked it off his neck, ready to hurl it into the bushes.
But then he paused. "Grandpa was never unfair to me when he was around. And he always cherished this bead, saying it came from seven generations back. How could I just toss it?" Haochen shook his head and slipped it back on.
That's when he heard footsteps crunching up from behind. He got to his feet and turned to find his stepbrother Long Muchen approaching, he never missed a chance to mess with him, flanked by three of his toughs.
"Oh? Haochen, even in your sorry shape, you've got time to lounge in the stream's warmth? What a joke for someone from the great Long Family," Muchen sneered, his face twisting into a smug grin. Seeing his once-powerful stepbrother turned into the laughingstock of Nightless City gave him a real kick.
Haochen grabbed his discarded clothes, slung them over his shoulder, and started to brush past without a word. But two of Muchen's guys stepped in, blocking his way. He tried to push through, to fight them off, but he was too weak now,and couldn't do a thing against them.
"First young master, don't make this tough on us. We're just doing what we're told. With your puny strength, you can't take both of us," the guards said as they hauled him over to where Muchen stood.
"Kneel! You think you can stand eye-to-eye with this young master? Who do you think you are?" Muchen barked, and his men shoved Haochen down onto the sharp pebbles. Haochen's fists balled up at his sides, his face burning with shame. At his current level, he couldn't even twitch against his younger stepbrother.
"Big brother, remember how everyone used to sing your praises? Bet you never saw a day like this coming, huh? He spat on his face.
"Back then, you hogged all of Dad's attention, always going on about you and our poor, sick mom. He never even glanced at me or Yize. Haochen, you're my big brother and all, but I hate your guts, and I swear I'll make you pay for it someday. But guess what? Even the heavens couldn't stand you. Your mom got poisoned, and you lost all your powers." Muchen hissed right in his ear, then cracked a hard slap across his face. Haochen's vision blurred, his head spinning as blood trickled from his mouth and dripped onto the black-and-white bead hanging there.
"Tie him up with a big rock on his back and dump him in the deep part of the stream. Let the fish have him for the afternoon meal," Muchen ordered. The guards moved fast, binding him tight and weighing him down with a hefty stone.
"Once I hit the Imprint Manifestation realm before my eighteenth birthday, I'll beg Father to boot your mother out of the Long Family for good." Muchen spat in his face, and with that, they heaved him into the water.
"I might as well let it end here. The shame's just too much," Haochen thought, shutting his eyes as his body sank toward the stream bottom.
Suddenly, the hollow black-and-white bead began to glow, releasing streams of imperial dark and white imprint fragments, it expanded into a black hole portal that pulled Haochen's entire form inside.