Chapter 427: The Most Hopeful Year

Chapter 427: Chapter 427: The Most Hopeful Year

No wonder Daniel lost contact; it turned out he had been beaten until he disconnected.

Darian was somewhat speechless.

The status of Iron Fist in the comics is not low at all. It is said to be an entity that can even smash the Phoenix to pieces, which is the Phoenix Force inside Jean Grey.

As a result, in Daniel’s hands, the status of Iron Fist was stubbornly dragged down to the level of street brawls. Every day hanging out with a bunch of street heroes, using the power of Iron Fist to fight gangsters to the death is simply no different from carrying a nuclear bomb to blast an ant nest.

He truly deserves to be recognized as the weakest Iron Fist in history, living up to his reputation.

Under Lei Gong’s signal, a few disciples gently helped Daniel up, with his head tilted slightly backward.

Then, Lei Gong picked up a bottle of life potion, walked forward, pried open Daniel’s mouth, and poured it in.

The effect of the life potion took effect rapidly.

Daniel’s surface injuries quickly closed and healed, his pale skin gradually regained some color, and even his pig-head-like face returned to human shape.

Lei Gong looked at this scene, secretly startled in his heart.

What a miraculous potion.

If he could have a few more bottles of such divine medicine on hand, it would be equivalent to gaining a few extra lives for nothing.

Not long after, Daniel’s eyelids twitched and he slowly opened his eyes.

Lei Gong then came back to his senses: "Daniel, you’re finally awake. You’ve been unconscious for two days and were in critical condition. Fortunately, the potion brought by the Sorcerer Supreme saved you."

"Sorcerer Supreme?"

Daniel turned his head along Lei Gong’s gaze and only then saw that another person was standing beside them.

"Darian, why is it you... Wait, you’re actually the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj!?"

Darian wore a modest expression: "I just took office a few days ago. Originally, I didn’t want to take this position, but the previous Sorcerer Supreme insisted on hugging my thigh and begged me to take over as Sorcerer Supreme, otherwise she wouldn’t let go. Who made me such a soft-hearted person? I had no choice but to reluctantly agree."

Everyone:....

This guy is such a show-off!

Daniel, on the other hand, was full of envy.

He also wanted to learn to be as calm and breezy as Darian, claiming that he just casually performed and obtained the power of Iron Fist.

It’s just that reality didn’t permit it. Just in an ordinary succession ceremony, he was beaten until even his own mother could barely recognize him, nearly losing the title of Iron Fist.

Daniel sighed: "No wonder you’re so powerful, capable of defeating even an entity like the Black Sky."

Lei Gong raised an eyebrow: "Black Sky? You mean the vessel of the Beast?"

Although he was in K’un-Lun, he was not completely ignorant of the outside World.

Back then, those five K’un-Lun traitors built an organization called The Hand in the outside World, becoming the bosses of a bunch of islanders, worshipping a pure demon named the Beast.

He naturally knew how terrifying the power of such an entity was; even if it was just a vessel, it was enough to crush the vast majority of people in the World.

Darian was actually able to defeat the opponent, so his strength definitely could not be underestimated.

Daniel nodded: "Yes, back then the Five Fingers of The Hand attempted to rely on the power of the Black Sky, with the Black Sky commanding The Hand to lead them in attacking K’un-Lun to seize dragon bones to extend their lives. Fortunately, Darian stepped in and defeated the Black Sky, preventing their conspiracy from succeeding."

Lei Gong was immediately shocked. K’un-Lun was actually involved in this matter.

"Why didn’t you mention this matter to me?"

Daniel awkwardly scratched the back of his head: "I forgot."

Lei Gong:....

Is it still too late to replace him with someone else to succeed the Iron Fist?

Beyond his surprise, Lei Gong held a bit more regard for Darian in his heart.

At first, he didn’t have a clear judgment on the strength of this new Sorcerer Supreme.

After all, there were strengths and weaknesses among Sorcerers Supreme, just like their Iron Fists; the strength of each generation of Iron Fists also varied in levels.

As for Daniel’s strength ranking... one could only say there was a lot of room for improvement.

But now, he already had a rough judgment of Darian’s strength.

Being able to defeat the vessel of the Beast alone, this casually-looking young man was definitely much stronger than he had imagined.

Thinking of this, Lei Gong said gratefully to Darian: "Sorcerer Supreme, thank you for your help."

Darian said cheerfully: "Kamar-Taj and K’un-Lun have been neighbors since ancient times. As the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor; helping each other is only right."

Hearing this, Lei Gong laughed heartily: "Well said! If there’s any place in the future where K’un-Lun’s help is needed, just speak up, and we will definitely render our full assistance!"

Darian raised an eyebrow.

Doesn’t that mean he could really shout "Lei Gong, help me!" in the future?

He asked: "Then what about our deal?"

Lei Gong gave a carefree wave of his hand, very straightforwardly: "Since we’re neighbors, what else is there to say? The cultivation method is yours as long as you guarantee not to spread it outside."

The two chatted more and more congenially. After a few words, the distance between them closed quite a bit.

Lei Gong was in a great mood and fulfilled his duties as a host, immediately ordering his disciples to prepare a sumptuous table of food and drinks, expressing that he wanted to drink and chat happily with Darian.

Daniel also wanted to participate, but was directly blasted by Lei Gong to the children’s table next door.

When Elders are chatting, what are juniors meddling blindly for?

With a few cups of alcohol down, the topic opened up.

Darian didn’t know much about K’un-Lun; the descriptions in the comics were really too little, so he just took advantage of his intoxication to ask Lei Gong about it.

Lei Gong didn’t hide anything either, telling him quite a few secretive matters while drinking.

The ruler of K’un-Lun was called the Jade Emperor.

Of course not that Great Emperor in the sky; it was just a coincidence of titles.

The contemporary Jade Emperor was named Nu-An, responsible for managing the entire city of K’un-Lun. He belonged to a supreme existence in K’un-Lun, with a status even higher than the Iron Fist.

Simply put, the Jade Emperor was equivalent to the dragon head of a gang, while the Iron Fist was the double-flower red pole in the gang.

However, this beggar-version Jade Emperor usually didn’t manage things and rarely even showed his face, leaving almost all affairs to Lei Gong to handle.

The people of K’un-Lun worshipped martial arts. Through a special set of rituals, they would select their own warriors, called the Immortal Weapons, which was the Iron Fist.

When the previous generation’s Iron Fist died, the Elders would screen out the strongest warrior to challenge K’un-Lun’s guardian beast, Shou Lao.

The content of the challenge was very simple and brutal: the challenger had to take down Shou Lao bare-handed, and then drive both fists into its furnace-like heart, absorbing a portion of Shou Lao’s life energy to obtain the power of the dragon.

Obtaining power by killing one’s own city’s guardian beast—this setting honestly sounded a bit outrageous.

However, Shou Lao was an ancient and powerful immortal creature whose power wouldn’t truly disappear, but rather nirvana-rebirth like the legendary Phoenix.

Every time it was killed by a new generation of Iron Fist, it would turn into a dragon egg and hatch again, waiting for the next challenge.

Darian couldn’t help but exclaim, "Good fellow."

K’un-Lun was treating Shou Lao like a trial dungeon BOSS, and it could even auto-respawn.

Very unluckily, not long had passed since Daniel became the Iron Fist, so Shou Lao was still in the middle of hatching and couldn’t be seen for a short time.

Hearing this, Darian was deeply disappointed; he had originally thought of tasting what the legendary dragon meat tasted like.

As the alcohol buzz kicked in, Lei Gong casually brought up the Seven Capitals of Heaven.

Besides K’un-Lun, the other Capitals of Heaven similarly had their own Immortal Weapons and guardian beasts.

But what surprised Darian was that these guardian beasts were somewhat different from the settings he learned from the comics.

In the comic’s setting, the Seven Capitals of Heaven respectively represented seven different creatures, but each guardian beast was a divine dragon like Shou Lao, with crooked shapes and various large wings, very much matching America’s stereotype of Eastern dragons.

Yet according to Lei Gong’s description, the guardian beasts of the other six Capitals of Heaven were not some mutated dragons, but genuine divine beasts.

Their appearances were extremely similar to some of the divine beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, corresponding respectively to the most classic Four Divine Beasts: Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, plus the Mountain Spider, Xiezhi, and Huodou.

Lei Gong said seriously: "The ability of each guardian beast is extremely extraordinary, not much worse than Shou Lao."

Darian licked his lips: "Sounds delicious... Ah no, looks very impressive."

Lei Gong:....

What you said just now was delicious, right?

Darian closely asked: "Where are the other Capitals of Heaven? No other meaning, just want to make a house call and recognize some faces."

Lei Gong didn’t quite believe this statement, but still said: "The various Capitals of Heaven are distributed all over the World, and I’m not too clear on the specific locations."

"And the opening time of each Capital of Heaven is longer than K’un-Lun’s. K’un-Lun opens once every 10 years, while their intervals are even longer—at least 25 years, and up to 88 years. The difficulty of getting inside once is not small."

"So long."

Darian felt somewhat regretful.

These were ingredients from the Classic of Mountains and Seas recipe book; missing them like this was truly a pity.

Lei Gong suddenly changed the subject: "However, if you want to go, there is still one way."

Darian hurriedly pursued: "What way?"

Lei Gong hesitated for a moment and said: "Every 88 years, the Seven Capitals of Heaven will automatically merge to create the Heart of Heaven. At that time, all the Capitals of Heaven will hold a martial arts tournament in the Heart of Heaven, sending their best warriors to compete. According to the final ranking, the time for each city to intersect with the outside World is distributed."

Speaking of this, his tone carried a bit of pride: "In all previous tournaments, it was our K’un-Lun’s Iron Fist who won the championship, which is why we got the qualification to open once every 10 years, the most favorable among the seven capitals."

A martial arts tournament?

Darian immediately became interested and hurriedly asked: "How much time is left before the start of this tournament?"

Lei Gong replied: "About two months plus, which is why we held the succession ceremony early to see if Daniel had the ability to shoulder this burden, but now..."

He turned his head to glance at Daniel, who was eating happily at the children’s table, shook his head and sighed, feeling that K’un-Lun could almost study next season’s opponents in advance.

Right at this moment, the system’s prompt tone sounded in Darian’s mind.

[NPC Lei Gong has issued a new quest to you]

[Quest: The Most Hopeful Year]

[Objective: K’un-Lun is facing the risk of its winning streak being broken. This is the most hopeful year for the other Capitals of Heaven. Please help K’un-Lun win the championship of the martial arts tournament again and maintain K’un-Lun’s myth of invincibility.]

[Rewards: Experience Value +10,000, K’un-Lun Favorability +20, Random Item * 2]

Seeing the quest prompt, Darian immediately spoke: "Elder Lei Gong, aren’t there still over two months? There’s still time; with proper cultivation and nurturing, there might not be no turning point."

Lei Gong helplessly shook his head: "Craft and skills rely on accumulation over time; how could one make progress in just over two months."

Darian said cheerfully: "Following the steps step-by-step naturally won’t do. Elder Lei Gong, I actually have a good idea. Why don’t we hold a Kamar-Taj and K’un-Lun exchange meeting?"

Lei Gong was startled: "An exchange meeting?"

Darian nodded: "That’s right. Let Kamar-Taj’s mages and K’un-Lun’s disciples spar with each other, learn from each other’s strengths, and mutually promote each other. Only then can there be room for progress."

Lei Gong pondered for a moment: "That does make some sense."

Seeing Lei Gong’s expression loosen up and knowing there was a chance, Darian immediately struck while the iron was hot: "And I plan to hold a martial arts tournament similar to the Heart of Heaven, called the World’s First Martial Arts Tournament."

"At that time, let Kamar-Taj’s mages and K’un-Lun’s disciples take turns on stage to spar, draw lots for duels, and stop at a touch. It can test their levels and enhance their actual combat capabilities—killing two birds with one stone."

Hearing this, Lei Gong hesitated.

K’un-Lun had always been secretive, rarely interacting with the outside World, let alone this kind of large-scale exchange. It truly violated K’un-Lun’s consistent principles.

Darian quietly added a line: "Elder Lei Gong, you wouldn’t want K’un-Lun to come in last in this martial arts tournament, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lei Gong gritted his teeth.

"Do it!"

Darian and Lei Gong hit it off instantly, and on the spot decided on the time and basic regulations of the exchange meeting.

As for the time of the World’s First Martial Arts Tournament, it was set for a month later, and the location was established at the K’un-Lun Martial Arts Arena.

After the Kamar-Taj and K’un-Lun exchange meeting was confirmed, Darian immediately transferred a batch of mages from Kamar-Taj to K’un-Lun. There was no need for the K’un-Lun entrance; he directly had Wong open a portal in K’un-Lun—he brought Wong over precisely for this.

And among this batch of mages was the newbie Stephen Strange.

Darian found Strange, stared at him, and praised: "Extraordinary, extraordinary! You have a beam of spiritual light bursting out from your crown, you know? At such a young age, you already possess honed tendons and bones—you’re simply a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy."

"As the saying goes, if I don’t enter hell, who enters hell? The task of punishing evil, promoting good, and maintaining World peace is handed over to you."

As he spoke, he pulled out a cheat book and threw it to Strange, on which "Rulai Shenzhang" was written in Chinese.

Darian said seriously: "This Buddha’s Palm cheat book is a priceless treasure. Seeing that you have an affinity with me, I’ll charge you 100 million to impart it to you."

Strange: (; ￣ A ￣)

Is this guy sick again?

Darian didn’t care whether Strange agreed or not, and directly stuffed the Buddha’s Palm book into the other’s arms.

"train well, and don’t lose face for me... Sorcerer Ancient One."

Actually, this was not any Buddha’s Palm cheat book, but the basic cultivation method given to Darian by Lei Gong, which could absorb the qi in the air for one’s own use and enhance one’s physique.

Darian directly made hundreds of copies and distributed them to the mages who came to K’un-Lun, having all of them practice it. They weren’t required to master peerless martial arts, just grasp a little bit.

Strange clutched the Buddha’s Palm cheat book in his hands, his mouth twitching, and finally couldn’t endure it anymore.

"Master Sorcerer, I came here to learn magic, not to practice martial arts!"

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