The phone receiver clicked as Hong Fei hung up. As a five-star citizen of New York, he'd done his civic duty—reporting the dead and injured before leaving the villa. His boots crunched on gravel as he strode toward the waiting car.
Number Two stood at attention when Hong Fei returned to the manor. "Boss." The greeting carried its usual mix of respect and wariness.
"Anything I should know about?" Hong Fei shrugged off his coat.
"Quiet as a grave." Number Two caught the tossed garment. "No incidents."
"Good." The single syllable carried more weight than the entire exchange. Hong Fei's mind was already elsewhere.
Upstairs, he locked the bedroom door before producing the card. Light caught its crystalline edges, revealing liquid gold swirling beneath the surface—like captured sunlight given physical form. Each tilt of his wrist sent new constellations dancing across its face.
His index finger hovered. A tap. The card dissolved into shimmering particles that streamed toward his skin, sinking into his fingertips like water into parched earth. Hong Fei's eyelids fluttered shut as power—raw and overwhelming—flooded his veins.
Golden light erupted from his pores. The air around him thickened with energy, mist coiling like living things around his limbs. Inside him, the foreign power gathered momentum, grains of cosmic sand rushing through his meridians in ever-increasing torrents.
When the last particle vanished beneath his skin, the universe hiccuped.
Darkness. Then light. Then—neither. Hong Fei found himself suspended in formless void. No ground. No sky. Just endless golden mist that pulsed like a living thing, its rhythms unknowable.
He looked down at translucent hands. This wasn't his body—this was his soul laid bare. Testing the theory, he reached toward the nearest energy current. It responded instantly, arcing toward his palm with sentient eagerness.
The influx made him gasp. Too much. With a thought, he stemmed the tide, feeling the energy's disappointment like physical pressure against his mental barriers. What remained in his palm coalesced, writhing until it took shape—a sinuous dragon wrought from pure power.
Hong Fei's nose wrinkled. "Really?" The creature roared soundlessly before he dismissed it with a flick of wrist. Arms spread, he let the void carry him upward as the decision crystallized.
All at once, the remaining energy surged. Golden rivers poured into his spiritual form, overflowing until luminescent tendrils bled from his back. His soul-body trembled under the strain, fists clenched so tight they threatened to shatter.
This action was to make his Soul the master, letting all the Dragon Power become an extension of his will. The knowledge had appeared unbidden—some intrinsic understanding granted by the card's fusion. Back in the physical world, his motionless body stood bathed in radiance, the bedroom now a crucible of swirling gold.
The dazzling light passed through the glass and curtains, shining outward and forming straight, golden paths of light in the night sky. And his body stood motionless in the same place. Seeing this, although Number Two didn't know what had happened, he still vigilantly ordered everyone to hold guns and seal off the surroundings of the manor, strictly preventing anyone from disturbing him.
At this moment, Hong Fei's state really could not be disturbed. His Soul was like a sieve; after the Dragon Power passed through his Soul and overflowed again, it seemed to have suddenly changed its appearance.
Although it was still the same color and the same lack of fixed form, the Dragon Power flowing out from behind him was more obedient, even clinging tightly to his body, unwilling to disperse. The Dragon Power in front was still impacting his Soul body like a flood, while the Dragon Power behind was like helping him erect a tough dam. This state could not be stopped once it began.
The brilliant golden light also bloomed in the night sky of the manor for the entire night. The next day. The Sun rose high. In the Soul space, the last trace of Dragon Power passed through his body. Hong Fei's body turned in the air, and he saw the Dragon Power that filled most of the space flowing gently before his eyes.
With a thought, the golden airflow rumbled and gathered inward, turning into a long shape in the blink of an eye. Its massive size seemed to span across the stars, and Hong Fei's Soul became an insignificant speck of dust in an instant. However, Hong Fei's brows furrowed even tighter. "Is this a dragon? It's not even a snake!" Upon hearing this, the Dragon Power dissipated.
Suddenly, Hong Fei felt that the faint dragon roar in the space seemed to carry a bit of grievance. Hong Fei's face twitched. When he opened his eyes again, he saw inside his own body. Energy has form but no substance, visible only to Hong Fei. Qi has form and substance, lingering in the Dantian of the abdomen. Dragon Power fills the limbs and bones, but it is between virtual and real.
Its location is not in the Dantian, but in the brain, and the space where it actually exists seems to be in a different dimension. Hong Fei's body is the only gateway to that dimension. If his body is strong and tough enough, he can actively call upon more Dragon Power; conversely, that massive Dragon Power will overload his body and cause an accident. No one becomes strong for no reason.
Sudden strength will not only cause physical mutations but also bring about spiritual, or Soul, impact. In other words, either you mutate, or you go crazy. Hong Fei couldn't help but think of Danny Rand. Danny probably also had such a dimensional space storing Dragon Power in his body, and correspondingly, there was a portal to this dimension.
However, judging from Danny's actual performance, he might not have discovered the existence of this portal at all, and his body and control certainly had problems, so much so that the Dragon Power could not flow freely into every corner of his body, only being able to flow to his two fists at a slow speed.
Hong Fei still remembered, in the state of Eyes of Death, the dragon-shaped mark on Danny's chest, and that obviously blocked passage connecting to his fists. Of course, it could not be ruled out that the Immortal Dragon "Shou-Lao the Undying" did this on purpose. The Dragon Power was given to you, but the method to fully control it was not given; thus, the Iron Fist became a useless fist.
Some people are inherently strong, so even if Shou-Lao the Undying did not truly impart everything, they could still rely on their own strong Soul and spirit to find the portal of Dragon Power, use a strong body to carry more Dragon Power into the body, and thereby use Dragon Power more perfectly to erupt with even greater strength! Mountains rely on mountains to fall, people rely on people to run.
A man must stand on his own. Hong Fei's eyes snapped open, the golden dragon aura surrounding his body surging inward. He shot upward with explosive speed, breaking through the clouds in an instant. The fierce winds parted around him as he ascended, leaving the turbulence below to hover in serene stillness above the cloud layer.
The Earth curved gently in the distance, its surface shimmering with a faint, flickering light shield formed by refracted rays. Hong Fei spread his hands—one facing up, the other down—and watched as the Dragon Power surged through his arms, turning his skin crimson. The energy's path was visible beneath his flesh, pulsing with raw power.
Golden light gathered between his palms, coiling swiftly into a luminous sphere. His face flushed, veins bulging on his forehead as he gritted his teeth, pushing through the strain. When he felt his body nearing its limit, he made his move.
With a sudden motion, Hong Fei thrust his arms skyward, palms striking outward into the void. A deafening roar erupted in the silent stratosphere, echoing like the cry of a dragon. The coiled Dragon Power surged free, stretching into the heavens.
For a moment, the fabric of space seemed to tear. The golden energy spiraled upward, undulating and twisting like a divine dragon breaking through the sky. A thousand meters away, it dissipated into a shower of golden sparks that drifted lazily before vanishing completely.
Though it hadn't fully manifested into the dragon shape he'd envisioned, Hong Fei grinned, exhilarated. The distant hum of a plane breaking through the clouds snapped him back to reality. He turned and dove toward the surface, the wind screaming past his ears. With a thought, Dragon Power surged around him, lending his flight an aura of draconic majesty.
Boosted by the Dragon Power, his speed skyrocketed. A sonic boom echoed behind him, leaving a trail of condensed clouds in his wake. As he landed at the manor, a group of his people looked up expectantly. "You've worked hard last night," Hong Fei said, his voice firm. "You've performed well in New York. Now, go rest. Number Two will distribute your rewards—everyone will be satisfied."
"Thank you, Boss!" they chorused.
Inside the living room, Hong Fei sat down and turned to Number Two. "Handle their rewards yourself. Money isn't an issue."
"Understood, Boss," Number Two replied. "I'll distribute diversified rewards tailored to each individual while ensuring equal value for all."
Hong Fei nodded. "I'm returning to Sokovia tomorrow. Leave this place in your hands. When the next rotation arrives, send a team near the Triskelion in Washington. Don't engage S.H.I.E.L.D.—just secure a plot of land within ten kilometers. And don't use my name."
"Consider it done." This was preparation for the future. If necessary, Hong Fei could strike S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters directly and seize their Helicarrier. Compared to the uncertain progress of his home base, the Helicarrier's speed and optical stealth technology made it a tempting prize.
That day, Hong Fei continued his training within the Dragon Power dimension, honing his control over the energy with his soul. Although these Dragon Powers had passed through his Soul and carried his aura, they could not yet be said to completely belong to him. Even possessions require refinement—only through tempering could he unlock their true potential.
True mastery would only come when he imprinted his very soul into the Dragon Power—a painstaking process that might take years. Only Dragon Power forged from within, wholly his own, could be considered pure. Like all energies, it obeyed conservation laws, its reserves finite yet self-renewing.
This force defied conventional understanding. The fusion card's descent had revealed its singular nature. Unlike the Phoenix Force's documented brutality—the way it drove hosts to madness—Hong Fei had yet to witness such extremes in the Dragon Power. There were depths here still uncharted, mysteries demanding his patience.
He preferred it this way. No instant godhood, no all-consuming rage. Just steady progress, each step expanding his potential tenfold. Let others crave the Phoenix's wildfire dominance; the Dragon Power was merely a tool, no different than a blade in the hands of a swordsman.
Even if it transcends "Qi" in essence, and even if its power scales to cosmic proportions, that changes nothing. The hierarchy remains absolute: the heart commands, the power obeys. That unshakable truth separates the true master from the weapon he wields.