Chapter 15:
"It's over. I was played by that old man." Li Ji cursed in his heart. He hadn't expected Lei Gong to suddenly strike and toss him off a cliff. One moment, they were talking. The next, Li Ji found himself flailing mid-air, far from the edge with nothing to grab onto. He tried to position himself mid-fall, preparing to use his power at the right moment to break his descent.
"I thought that after living two lives, I had a solid grasp on human nature. Guess not. That old fox has lived longer in this life than I have in both of mine combined. Cunning bastard. If I survive this, I swear I'll make him pay."
Li Ji had already fallen over a thousand meters, having been near the mountain peak. Now, he was passing through the cloud-covered midsection. The mist wrapped around him like a soft blanket as he dropped.
"…Huh? Why did I slow down?" He frowned. "Clouds don't slow people down… right?"
*Boom!*
He landed. The impact was loud, but surprisingly painless. Blinking in confusion, Li Ji sat up. The scenery had completely changed. No longer bleak cliffs and rocky slopes—he was somewhere else entirely.
"Welcome to Kunlun. What do you think? That welcoming ceremony scare you a bit?" a voice echoed from above.
Lei Gong descended gracefully from the sky, riding atop Amu. The beast's right wing looked much better now, though still not fully healed—it wobbled slightly with every flap.
"I was supposed to land with you, but Amu needed some ointment, so I was late. Sorry about that," Lei Gong said as he dismounted, giving Amu a few pats before the creature soared off.
"Come with me."
Li Ji followed behind him, still trying to process everything.
…
"So this is Kunlun?" Li Ji finally spoke after a long walk. "They call it a sacred city, but honestly, it feels… kind of empty."
"It was a grand place, five thousand years ago," Lei Gong replied. "Back then, it was filled with thatched huts and wooden houses, brimming with life. But time passed. Most moved on. Without people, even the grandest city fades."
Li Ji had hoped for some ancient catastrophe or hidden history, not just slow decay. That made it feel… mundane.
"Kunlun exists in a special space," Lei Gong continued. "Not a traditional space, not a mustard seed pocket, not even a secondary dimension. It's a crack—between dimensions. The first Jade Emperor discovered it and built Kunlun here."
Li Ji listened closely.
"Because of that, you should never approach the edge of Kunlun. In other pocket realms, nearing the edge just sends you back to the main dimension. But here? You fall into the dimensional rift. No matter how strong you are, there's no coming back from that."
He gestured toward the edge of Kunlun, where shimmering ripples formed a strange liquid-like barrier. It looked like the surface of a disturbed pond, surreal and slightly mesmerizing.
"That mark on your forehead—that's the key to Kunlun," Lei Gong explained. "Only those with the mark can find and enter. Without it, the welcome ceremony could have killed you."
"The person who told you to come probably never set foot here. Maybe a descendant of a former Iron Fist. If Amu hadn't mistaken you for prey, you'd still be wandering around, clueless."
He chuckled, clearly trying to soften Li Ji's stance on Amu.
"There were still a few people living here a century ago. The houses you saw earlier were built back then. But times change. Most residents eventually left and blended into the modern world. Now, only two people live here permanently—Shou Lao and myself."
He pointed toward a distant cave.
"Shou Lao lives there. He doesn't like visitors. Don't bother him unless absolutely necessary."
Li Ji nodded immediately. Even without meeting Shou Lao, he knew better than to provoke him. In Marvel lore, Shou Lao was the immortal dragon—an existence on par with a phoenix. Sure, the comics downplayed him, but in reality, Shou Lao was top-tier. Iron Fist supposedly defeated him, but Li Ji was pretty sure that dragon had let his guard down on purpose.
"As Iron Fist, your duty is to defend Kunlun," Lei Gong said, his voice suddenly more serious. "You might not grasp the weight of that yet, but don't think I tricked you into coming here. I need to ask: are you truly prepared to take on this responsibility?"
His sharp gaze pierced into Li Ji like a hawk sizing up its prey. For a moment, Li Ji froze. He knew his motives weren't pure—he had come to Kunlun to grow stronger—but he held no malice toward this place. If becoming Iron Fist meant defending it, he could live with that.
Li Ji's eyes lit up with resolve.
"I'm ready."
"Good." Lei Gong turned with a small smile. "Come. Let's begin."
…
"Master," Li Ji asked as they walked, "if only those with the mark can enter Kunlun, how can we have enemies? Wouldn't anyone else be torn apart by dimensional turbulence?"
"That's true for regular people," Lei Gong replied. "But there are countless threats in the universe. Kunlun is a unique beacon—its existence draws attention from demon gods and cosmic beings alike. Those are our greatest potential threats."
Li Ji's heart sank a little. Demon gods? In the Marvel universe, that meant beings on par with Dormammu or worse. Against such monsters, he was less than a speck of dust.
"But thankfully," Lei Gong added, "they haven't come yet. Karma Taj, right next door, has the Ancient One keeping them at bay. With her around, demon gods won't make a move any time soon."
"Right now, our main enemies are traitors. People who once trained here, earned the mark, and now use it for their own purposes. They want to subvert Kunlun from within. Once you become Iron Fist, they'll be your biggest concern."
Li Ji let out a small breath of relief. That sounded more manageable.
"Your strength is decent already. To be honest, some past Iron Fists were weaker than you when they first started. But your control? Your mastery of power? Still very raw."
Lei Gong stopped in front of a small house and brought out a large iron basin filled with tiny bird eggs—each no bigger than a thumb.
"This will be your first lesson: strike with full power… without breaking a single egg."
Li Ji raised an eyebrow, picking up one of the delicate eggs. It cracked almost instantly between his fingers, releasing a sharp, unpleasant smell.
"Huh?"
And so, training began.
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