C37 The Dragon Taoist

Ethan gently laid the unconscious Li Fei on the ground. He would not live on his knees. Li Fei was right—the Dragon Clan wanted him alive, for he knew the most about the Dragon Pearl. He was still useful to them. But Ethan would rather die than return to being a puppet.

He stepped firmly toward Dragon Five, staring directly at his former teacher. A real man would not bend.

“Master, spare Ethan! Please, stop this!” Howard dropped to his knees. He could not bear to watch his closest brother die helplessly after they had fought side by side for so long.

“Master, he was your student too! Please let him go!” Han Tao knelt beside him.

Ethan watched coldly, saying nothing. At this moment, words were useless. All he wanted was to be true to himself—and if he could not, he would die like a man.

“Ethan, kneel and admit your mistake. I will speak for you at the Dragon Clan trial,” Dragon Five said, looking at his two kneeling students and then at Ethan’s bloodied face. His heart ached, though he did not know why.

Ethan laughed. “At last I have two real friends. Get up. I don’t deserve your sacrifice. If you still remember our brotherhood, get my wife to safety. Don’t tell her I’m dead. Take care of her.”

“We promise.” Howard and Han Tao stood, their faces heavy. They lifted the now-elderly Li Fei gently and left without looking back.

Dragon Five watched in silence. He did not blame them. He now understood Ethan’s choice. If he killed Ethan here, no one would question him. The Dragon Pearl would remain, and they could continue studying it.

Dragon Five took a deep breath.

“Ethan, I respect your choice. You are truly my disciple. In another life, I would still take you as my student.” He prepared to strike. The clan had suffered too much to return empty-handed.

“Thanks, but no. Next life I want to be a simple farmer, living quietly with my wife. No clans, no secrets, no lies. Now do what you must. I won’t go easily!”

Ethan laughed wildly, unleashing the little energy he had gathered. His body erupted in flame—three colors, blazing bright. He would burn himself to achieve eternal freedom.

“The Three Pure Fires! Impossible!” Dragon Five screamed, leaping back. No one could stand against that legendary flame.

Worse, Ethan did not even fully understand its power. If he had covered himself in fire from the start, he could have charged straight out unharmed.

Then someone screamed.

“His face… look at his face!”

Ethan’s mangled skin began to heal under the flames, glowing with an eerie light. A strange mark of stars and moon appeared on his forehead, like a heavenly eye or a demon’s pupil. It chilled everyone who saw it.

Panicked, the warriors retreated.

“He’s Star-Moon Clan! The evil clan has returned! I raised a tiger to turn on me! Form the Sky Net!” Dragon Five shrieked in terror.

At last, the source of Ethan’s unnatural power was revealed.

Ethan sang aloud, whirling as the Sky Net formed again above him. “I sing for my life, I dance for my soul!”

He did not understand what Star-Moon Clan meant, but he could see the fear in their eyes.

The sky darkened. The warriors spun in the air, forming the deadly formation. Ethan wondered why everyone knew ancient secrets except him—he only fought by instinct. Still, he was grateful to Dragon Five. Without his guidance, he would have died young.

His flames blazed brighter. He was ready to see if the legendary fire could burn through the sky itself.

Then music came.

That strange, haunting flute melody.

It filled the air, soft and hypnotic.

Everyone froze. The warriors drifted down from the sky. The flames on Ethan died out. All anger, all killing intent, all hatred melted away.

The music spoke of peace, of home, of love, of quiet days. No one wanted to fight anymore.

A Taoist priest drifted down from the sky, walking on air as if strolling through a garden. He played a green bamboo flute.

Who was this? An immortal?

Ethan’s breath caught.

“Master?”

It was his dead master—the crazy old Taoist who had raised him.

“Dragon Taoist!” Dragon Five gasped in shock.

The priest landed gracefully. Ethan pinched himself—this was real. He had watched his master die in a storm, struck by lightning, turning to dust.

But this man was real. No longer wild and crazy, he was calm, wise, almost godlike.

“Master… is it really you?” Ethan asked numbly.

“Real and not real. True and not true. Does it matter?” the old man said with a mysterious smile.

Ethan rolled his eyes. Either he was still crazy, or he had become a sage.

Dragon Five suddenly bowed deeply, respectful and nervous. “Greetings, Dragon Venerable! We have missed you. The elders still tell your stories. You are the pride of the Dragon Clan.”

Ethan was stunned. His crazy master was a Dragon Clan legend?

“Little Five. Your power is decent. Why all this noise? You even brought out your old tricks,” the Taoist said lightly.

Dragon Five’s face turned red. “Venerable One, we are capturing a clan traitor. He has killed many of us and holds the Dragon Pearl.”

“Ah. Who is this powerful troublemaker I must meet?” the Taoist asked, amused.

“Master, it was me. They’re here for me,” Ethan said, almost proud.

The Taoist burst out laughing. “My disciple has turned the world upside down! Excellent!”

Dragon Five’s heart sank. The Taoist was on Ethan’s side.

“Venerable One, he is Star-Moon Clan—evil! And he stole our sacred Dragon Pearl!”

The Taoist’s smile faded. “Tell the clan to withdraw. Have you not heard the ancient oath? If a Star-Moon descendant appears, we must grant them three pardons. This was our ancestors’ promise. I would not be here otherwise.”

He was not asking. He was ordering.

“But… the Star-Moon are our ancient enemies! The oath is thousands of years old! We don’t have to obey!” Dragon Five stammered.

“The Dragon Clan has fallen. Weak power, no honor. You disgrace us. Leave. I will answer to the Council. The Dragon Pearl was mine to guard anyway. Now get out before I make you.”

The Taoist’s voice turned cold with anger.

Dragon Five did not dare argue. “Yes, Venerable One. We will leave at once.”

He gathered his warriors and fled.

Ethan stared, amazed. His dead master had just saved his life.

His face was fully healed, smoother and brighter than before. But he felt no joy. He was alive, which meant he owed Li Fei even more. She had given up her youth, her power, her beauty for him. He had failed to protect her again.

He had wanted a heroic death. Instead, he was stuck living with the guilt.

But he now knew he could not run. He had to spend his life making up for the pain he had caused—Li Fei, Dana, everyone.

And he had just learned he was from some evil Star-Moon Clan.

What else was hidden in his life?

“Master. Are you truly cured?” Ethan asked quietly. This man was the closest thing he had ever had to a father.

“I was never sick. I was just exploring the limits of human potential. Anyone can become a god if they unlock their true power.”

Ethan believed him now.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t thank me. If you weren’t Star-Moon, you’d be dead. After today, we are enemies.”

Ethan’s head shot up. “What? Star-Moon Clan? Enemies? What are you talking about?”

He had spent his whole life as an orphan. Now everyone claimed he was some kind of cursed monster.

“Stop calling me master. We have no bond. You are Star-Moon Clan—the ancient enemy of the Dragon Clan. I am the Dragon Venerable. Next time we meet, I will kill you.”

Ethan snapped.

“What does any of this have to do with me?! I don’t know my parents! I didn’t choose this! Why does everyone want to kill me without explaining why?!”

Tears burned in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he let himself cry in front of someone.

This man was his only family.

And he was about to become his murderer.

“You’ve done nothing wrong. But you were born Star-Moon. That alone makes the whole world your enemy. Only death can free you.”

“Death? I tried suicide! After I died, everything changed! I woke up in a world I didn’t recognize! Why won’t heaven let me die? Why do I have to suffer?”

Ethan’s voice cracked.

The old Taoist looked at him, his eyes softening for just a moment.

He was ready to tell Ethan the truth.

The truth of the clans.

The truth of the Dragon Pearl.

The truth of who Ethan really was.