Cool air blew around Brandon and purged the soreness out of his body. His eye fluttered open, and he could see everything again.

Dust... So much shiny golden dust...

Fenghuang loomed over him, sprinkling golden dust at him with every flap of her colorful wings. The shiny particles merged with his body and caused it to glow with golden light. Beside him Katrina stood, a gigantic silver axe lying before her feet.

The shower of dust stopped, and Brandon's body stopped glowing. He picked up his axe and stood up, his face an impassive mask despite the fluidity of his movements. Losing sucked, especially when such a loss prevented him from achieving what he wanted.

David, you lucky bastard.

"Fenghuang, your healing power is amazing," Katrina commented, "but why does Mr. Wong forbid you from using it frequently?"

"In traditional Chinese medicine, an imbalance between yin and yang in the body will cause one to be ill. The same goes to this world. Yin is death, yang is life." Fenghuang folded her wings. "A prolonged exposure to my healing power can bring the dead back to life and make one eternal. If abused, it will cause an imbalance that will destroy the world."

Placing a finger on his chin, Brandon nodded. The slum was the proof of such ruinous imbalance; due to the dense population, slum dwellers had resorted to building houses by the rivers. Thinking about these people's life made his skin crawl, as they urinated and defecated in the river and washed their stuff with the polluted water.

Hmm, wait, if Fenghuang's healing power was that good...

"Fenghuang," Brandon began, "can you restore Mika's arm?"

"I can, but it will not benefit her in the long run," Fenghuang replied. "Her folk will not learn how to regenerate lost limbs."

Brandon looked down, his face sagged. He knew Mika was a strong girl, but having to live with one arm for some time seemed too much for her.

"Brandon," Fenghuang spoke again, "your life force was unnaturally weak for an undead man before the duel began."

Brandon scratched his head. Did an undead man have any life force to begin with?

"One is an undead because there is still some life force in one's corpse. When did you receive your last transfusion?"

"Before I made my way out of the university."

"Before you fought David?" Katrina asked from beside him.

Brandon nodded.

"That means you were not at your peak condition when you fought me." Katrina smiled like a proud teacher. "You're impressive."

Impressive? Brandon scowled. The rabbit woman was too easily impressed for her own good.

"Not quite satisfied of your feat? Well, I can't blame you. You still aren't ready for the misty capital, although losing this duel has triggered Empowering Scar."

Brandon quirked an eyebrow. "Empowering Scar?"

"Whenever a folk-infected individual is injured in a fight or a training, the folk will analyze the nature of the wounds. It will then use the results of the analysis to craft stronger body cells and tissues to replace the lost and damaged ones."

Brandon stroked his chin. Empowering Scar sounded like an exploitable ability; although nobody would want to have such a duel with him for the time being, there was Tie Long. Fenghuang had told Brandon that the jade dragon possessed a nigh-indestructible body and was always ready to be a punching bag. Moreover, Long had a lot of tricks up his sleeves.

Empowering Scar would let him develop destructive punches.

"We should go back." Fenghuang turned and bowed a bit. "Hop onto me, Brandon."

Brandon nodded and jumped onto the back of Fenghuang's neck. After running along the road for a few seconds, the bird leaped into the sky and spread her wings. She streaked across the horizon like a bolt of lightning.

With the wind blowing against him and threatening to knock him off, Brandon winced and gripped the soft feather on Fenghuang's head. He had always feared that he might accidentally rip the feather off, but for some reason, holding onto it had always turned the gale into breeze.

Maybe bending the law of physics was part of alien witchcraft. The surroundings were still blurred, though.

A moment later, Fenghuang slowed down. Brandon's vision was still blurry and spinning, but it gradually stabilized as the bird dived. Once she set her feet on the ground, Brandon hopped off the bird and studied the structure ahead of him: a massive stone wall.

An upturned roof rested atop the center of the wall. A huge circular hole lay underneath it; beyond the opening, a stone path and various plants awaited. The view resembled that of a forest.

Ah, this was the Garden of Contemplation, wasn't it? According to Fenghuang, this garden existed to contain Long's colossal body. The jade dragon also radiated Tranquility Aura, which amplified the peaceful atmosphere of the garden and helped one's focus. Fenghuang had also told him that the aura had helped Mika learn many things in a short time.

A tap echoed from behind. Glancing over his shoulder, Brandon spotted Katrina with her green aura fading.

"Let's go," the rabbit woman spoke.

With a nod, Brandon entered the garden. Plants of various sizes stood around him, their stalks and leaves swaying in the gentle breeze.

Brandon looked around as he walked. Despite his ignorance about the type of plants, he smiled a bit at them. The many shades of green refreshed his mind.

Or is it Long's Tranquility Aura doing its job?

In the distance, the burbling of water echoed amid the rustling leaves. Brandon sped up, and in a few seconds, he arrived in a grassy opening with a large koi pond.

A gargantuan serpentine dragon hovered above the body of water, sunlight glinting off the jade metal scales across his segmented body. This must be Tie Long, an eastern dragon known for his legendary strength and durability.

Approaching the pond, Brandon quirked an eyebrow at Long's body. Eastern dragons never had segmented bodies, did they? Then again, this was the State of Billion, where a crystalline chicken samurai and a giant blob of lard with helicopter blades used to exist.

"Ah, you finally came, Brandon 'Beyond the Grave' Heat." Long pointed at the gazebo beside him. "Mika Asagi is practicing her powers in here."

Brandon shifted his gaze to the gazebo, which lay across the wooden bridge beside him. Mika stood at the center of the building, her hand extended. Standing beside Mika, Jyuji stuck out his lengthy tongue at the silver-haired girl.

"That camera flash thing is useless, missy."

Mika turned and grasped Jyuji's face. A beam of light shot out of her hand, but Jyuji only laughed and shoved Mika away.

"Useless!" He cackled. "Really useless!"

Scowling, Mika pointed at Jyuji face.

"More jokes?"

In a flash, she poked Jyuji in the eye. The dragon pulled away and howled, a hand clasping his eye.

Grinning, Brandon began striding along the bridge. Silly Jyuji. Did he know that she learned to fight from him, a master of dirty tricks?

Just as he set a foot on the gazebo, Mika turned and ran to him. "Brandon, how did the duel go?" She wrapped her arm around his waist, a small smile creeping into her lips. "Did you win?"

Brandon looked away with a frown, his lips trembling. Why? Why couldn't he at least shake his head to tell her that he lost?

Give me some time. He took a deep breath. I need it.

"Lemme guess." Jyuji approached them. "Somebody lost to a rabbit woman."

Hands balling into fists, Brandon gritted his teeth. Why couldn't Jyuji keep his mouth shut?

"Pfft, if you lose to that rabbit woman, you should just forget about tackling the misty capital." Jyuji shrugged. "Everybody there is much stronger than her, you know?"

"Mr. Jyuji, don't," Mika spoke.

"I'm just speaking the truth."

With searing pain radiating in his chest and a lump forming in his throat, Brandon gently pushed Mika away and walked towards the wooden railing of the gazebo. He did think of slapping Jyuji with his axe, but the dragon had a point. What monstrosities lurked in the mist? Couldn't be just something as weak as orgmen and gargoyles.

I'm weak.

As Jyuji's laughter filled his ears, Brandon continued to stare vacantly at the pond. The dragon would laugh even louder when Fenghuang arrived with the video of the duel.

Long lowered his head to Brandon's eye-level. "Losing is not the end of everything, Brandon."

Brandon remained still.

"Humans always say, 'There are no successes without failures and losses.' It is especially true for those with Empowering Scar," Long commented, "because this ability replaces the lost and damaged body cells and tissues with stronger ones. Losers of a fight are bound to suffer more injuries than the winners, correct?"

Brandon nodded slightly.

"More injuries mean more stronger body cells and tissues."

Brandon gasped. Why had he forgotten his plan of developing destructive punches through that ability?

Smiling broadly, he told the jade dragon, "Thank you, Long." He put down his axe. "I have been thinking of exploiting Empowering Scar to develop powerful punches. Can I train with you?"

"Certainly."