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"Ugh... With the Dragon King towering above me, I'm destined to be second place for a thousand years! Sigh—" Howard Tiger was clearly helpless about being the number two on the China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard.
"Oh! So the Dragon King you mentioned is the top expert on the China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard!" Shawn Young's curiosity was instantly piqued. He now understood that everyone on the China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard was the real deal—powerful, legendary figures!
"That's right! Dragon King David Long is the number one on the China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard, and also the leader of our National Paranormal Task Force! He's a big shot with the rank of General, just a little stronger than me, haha—" Howard Tiger said with a smile.
"The China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard is ruled by one dragon and one tiger: Dragon King David Long and Tiger King Howard Zhang! The rankings keep changing—some fall, some rise—but these two have held the top spots for over thirty years, totally unshakable! True legends of their era!" Fiona Tang's eyes sparkled with admiration. After all, every woman admires extraordinary men!
Howard Tiger waved his hand and asked Shawn Young, "Ugh... Talents emerge in every generation, and there's no such thing as an undefeated legend—let's not talk about the China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard for now. Kid, tell me, how did you end up clashing with that traitor, Master Wuxiang?"
"Huh? Howard Tiger, how did you know I was fighting against Master Wuxiang? Wait, do you know him too?" Shawn Young asked curiously.
"Hmph! Know him? We're practically old enemies! That guy is the rebel of our Heavenly Master Order—a disgrace to the sect! Sigh—such misfortune for our order. He was born with incredible talent, but fell into the path of darkness!" Howard Tiger was both angry and deeply moved.
"Wait, Howard Tiger... are you also a master of the Heavenly Master Order?!" Shawn Young quickly asked.
"That's right, Howard Tiger is a top expert of the Heavenly Master Order, a direct descendant of the founder, Heavenly Master Zachary Dale of Dragon-Tiger Mountain! He's part of an unbroken line of true masters for two thousand years!" Fiona Tang explained from the side.
"Oh... So you're a descendant of Grandmaster Zhang! My apologies!" Shawn Young suddenly remembered that Howard Tiger's surname was Zhang. The Heavenly Master Order's two-thousand-year legacy was truly legendary. Despite the passage of time, it continued to produce talents—not only Howard Zhang, but even the so-called 'traitor' Master Wuxiang was a formidable master!
"Sigh... Kid, don't sell yourself short. Our Heavenly Master Order claims to be the top Taoist sect under heaven, but compared to your Clear Sky Order, we're a bit behind. Any experienced cultivator knows—all Taoist sects originate from the Clear Sky Order! Sadly, after the Eastern Han, the Clear Sky Order vanished into history, and its disciples faded away. I never expected someone like you to carry on the legacy! That's a blessing for all Taoists!" Howard Tiger said emotionally.
"Uh—Howard Tiger, about that traitor Master Wuxiang from your order, what's his story exactly?" Shawn Young changed the subject, not wanting to talk too much about himself. He knew all too well: the greater the power, the greater the trouble.
"Sigh... What a tragedy for our sect! Master Wuxiang and I were fellow disciples. He was exceptionally gifted, known as a prodigy among Taoists, and had more potential for leadership than any of us. But the previous Grandmaster, Walter Wise, didn't pass the position to him. Walter said that although Master Wuxiang was talented, he was too competitive, lacked integrity, and had a narrow mind. In truth, he only cared about pushing his powers to the extreme, no matter if his methods were righteous or evil. He'd do anything to achieve his goals!
Later, in his quest for power, he somehow got his hands on the forbidden Demonic Soul Devourer Codex—a tome banned by all Taoist sects. He secretly practiced its dark arts, hiding it from our master and fellow disciples!
Master Wuxiang was careful to keep his training secret, but he didn't realize that after practicing the Demonic Soul Devourer Codex, he started to emit an unmistakable aura of evil. Grandmaster Walter Wise soon noticed. He'd always valued Master Wuxiang and tried to persuade him to give up those terrifying arts, warning him of the consequences if he didn't!
But Master Wuxiang, furious and humiliated, thought Grandmaster Walter wanted to cripple his cultivation. Driven mad, he suddenly ambushed Walter Wise! The Grandmaster was gravely injured! Then Master Wuxiang went on a rampage, fighting his way down Dragon-Tiger Mountain, killing and injuring dozens of Heavenly Master Order disciples! His evil arts from the Demonic Soul Devourer Codex were so powerful that even with all the top masters joining forces, no one could stop him!
In the end, Grandmaster Walter Wise used the last of his strength, unleashed his primordial spirit, and managed to seriously injure Master Wuxiang, destroying most of his true energy! But that bastard was tough as a nine-headed bird—even when gravely wounded, he escaped to the back mountain and jumped into the Luxi River to get away...
Grandmaster Walter Wise was too badly hurt to recover. Before passing away, he used the Divine Empowerment Ritual to transfer all his cultivated power to me, then departed this world riding a crane!
So Master Wuxiang is our order's greatest traitor. Every disciple of the Heavenly Master Order has a duty to eliminate him on sight! But for almost four years, he's rarely appeared in the martial world. Over the decades, dozens of our disciples have died at his hands!
"Luckily, Grandmaster Walter Wise destroyed most of his true energy. Otherwise, the damage would have been much worse! These years, he's been almost invisible—probably hiding out somewhere, secretly training to recover his powers," Howard Tiger said.
"Oh! So I really lucked out. If I'd run into Master Wuxiang at full strength, I'd be dead for sure!" Shawn Young said, still shaken after hearing Howard Tiger's story.
"Yep, you really are lucky, kid. Facing someone like Master Wuxiang and living to tell the tale—well, two years ago, during the Five-Star Convergence, the Dragon King made a prophecy: 'Five-Star Convergence brings great fortune to the East, Lord Polaris descends!' He was talking about you. Looks like you're the hope for Taoism's revival!" Howard Tiger said, moved.
"Uh—That's a bit much, isn't it? Me, the reincarnation of Lord Polaris? That's way too mystical!" Shawn Young exclaimed in shock.
"Honestly, I didn't believe you were Lord Polaris reincarnated either. But the Dragon King's specialty is stargazing, and he said Lord Polaris would descend, accompanied by the Tiansha, Pojun, and Tanlang stars. So the one reborn as Lord Polaris is definitely no ordinary person! Not only does he have the fate of travel and destroying evil, but most importantly, he's blessed with crazy romantic luck—tons of women drawn to him! In today's words, you're basically a stud horse! I can see it in your eyes and the special aura you give off—there's no escaping that fate!" Howard Tiger said seriously, then glanced at Fiona Tang and winked at Shawn Young.
"I... I... Let's not talk about that—what I really want to know is, how did I end up here?" Shawn Young quickly changed the subject, noticing Fiona Tang's blushing face and awkwardness.