[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-lies-hidden":3,"chapter-the-dragon-lies-hidden-the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon Lies Hidden",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2289319,4477,"Chapter 21: She Actually Blocked My Spear","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>Wei Yuan found the boy utterly inexplicable, unsure what he was angry about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This boy was unlike anyone else; under the resonance of fate, he moved with lightning speed in Wei Yuan’s eyes. Though also restrained by Wei Yuan’s fate, the effect was minimal—not as sluggish as Xu Gege, nor as slow as the others crawling like snails. His Thousand Lotus Sword Technique conjured countless phenomena, concealing a subtle trick: most of the lotuses were not aimed at Wei Yuan, but at the wild boar, instantly killing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this, Wei Yuan genuinely thought the boy impressive, treating him with full courtesy and paying special attention to his tone, making it sincere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the boy didn’t seem to appreciate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy grew angrier, and suddenly stars and rivers shattered in his eyes; the light from his long sword blazed fiercely, like a pale green sun rising slowly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Wei Yuan’s vision was filled with boundless green light—he could see nothing. His body rang like beads falling on jade plates, struck by countless swords. In his ears rang the boy’s furious voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The River Curves in Sorrow!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Loneliness Knows Not the Sound of Flutes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Fisherman’s Song Flows East with the Water!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General’s Tower, Seeking Immortal Fate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Barbarian, take this sword!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan felt as if caught in a storm of wind and rain, seeing only the boy’s shadow faintly amid the myriad green lights. In the heart of the green storm, thin strands of black qi rose from Wei Yuan’s body; as the Heaven’s Tyrant technique turned, cracks appeared in the sky of green light, and the boy’s figure kept appearing within them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan thrust his spear—but the boy flickered back and forth, and not a single thrust landed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several missed thrusts, Wei Yuan’s anger surged. He let out a heavy grunt; under the pressure of his fate, the sky of green light momentarily stalled, and the boy’s figure appeared in one spot. Without hesitation, Wei Yuan gripped his spear with both hands, swung it like a club, and brought it down hard!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack! Though the boy flickered twice more, this blow was a sweeping strike—he was struck hard across the waist. His body bent into a grotesque angle, then vanished in a flash of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The green light scattered. Only then did Wei Yuan see his heavy armor covered in dents and pits. Looking at the battered armor, he couldn’t help but feel a chill—this time, he had truly come within a hair’s breadth of being wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan turned again to the hilltop. Now only three or four people remained there. In the center stood a girl, breathtakingly beautiful, frail and delicate, holding a long sword in both hands—not so much in defense as in the opening pose of some dance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl lifted her sword with effort and said to those beside her: “Looks like I’ll have to go myself! Don’t be afraid—it’s just a barbarian, nothing to worry about.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, no one stepped forward. The remaining three boys and girls didn’t even possess fate techniques—they could only cheer and stand there as decoration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan strode up the hilltop and thrust his spear straight ahead; the girl lightly raised her sword and blocked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan was stunned. The force of this thrust was identical to the one that had just split Xiao Yu’s waist in two—how could this little girl block it so effortlessly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing an opponent for the first time, something within Wei Yuan seemed to awaken, stirred to fury—like a true immortal gazing down from above, watching the vicissitudes of the mortal world over ten thousand years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had felt this once before, at age three, when he had driven his short spear into a refugee’s heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heaven’s Tyrant technique activated automatically. Thin strands of black qi spilled from Wei Yuan’s faceplate; the spear, held in place, surged forward again—and then came a sharp *pop*, as if piercing an invisible bubble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl felt an unstoppable force crush down upon her. Her sword exploded into countless shards, flying in all directions. Three white lights rose simultaneously around her; she was drenched in blood, and toppled backward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the fallen girl, Wei Yuan grunted, then turned to survey the surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hssss!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long, endless inhale, all the black qi around him was drawn into his armor. His spiritual sense expanded further, and several small beasts came running. His gaze swept over rabbits, wolves, and mountain cats—all too light to bear. Finally, it settled on the wild boar. A thread of black qi shot from his brow and sank into the boar’s body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Screaming in agony, the wild boar experienced every kind of celestial torment; its body swelled instantly, becoming a monstrous beast ten feet tall and dozens of feet long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan walked toward the boar, his battle boots thudding steadily against the ground. His final step landed squarely on the sand table. The exquisite sand table shattered instantly, turning into flying grains of sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan stopped and looked down. Beneath his feet, only one corner of the sand table remained—a tiny hill, sculpted with astonishing precision, its origin unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His boot did not advance further. Instead, it turned, the toe sweeping across the last remaining hill, slicing it cleanly in half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the hill’s peak lay a girl, drenched in blood, prone and motionless—alive or dead, unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yuan walked to her side, raised his spear, and brought it down. A white light rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Evaluation Hall fell utterly silent. The young cultivator covered his face and didn’t move. The other evaluators wore varied expressions—even Fu Feng Daoist raised an eyebrow and quietly sucked in a breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Confucians had been calm and secretly pleased, but then they saw Wei Yuan mount the wild boar and turn south.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their expressions froze instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the southern path, Wei Yuan briefly reviewed the battle. The northern Green Team’s commander was a master of strategy, his soldiers fought with devotion, and his ranks included many experts wielding fate techniques. That girl in the pale yellow dress was herself formidable—she had actually blocked one of his thrusts!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he really wiped out an entire team like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To destroy an enemy fleet with a laugh—wasn’t that the hallmark of a military master? Wei Yuan suddenly wondered: Could he, too, be a master of strategy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wild boar ran like the wind. In an instant, Wei Yuan had crossed the central zone and entered the southern zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi sat restlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On both flanks, the two sides were locked in fierce combat. Yet facing the thirty-man Green Team on each side, Li Zhi had sent only twenty men to each flank. His main force—especially the thirty elite troops of the central army—remained utterly still, always facing north.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his flanks dwindle, Li Zhi still refused to commit his main force. A girl beside him cried anxiously: “Brother Li, if you don’t rescue the flanks now, our people will all die!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi suddenly exploded in rage: “What do you know? If the central army moves, and Bao Yun attacks now, we’re finished!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl flinched: “But she hasn’t come!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi paused: “That’s right… why hasn’t she come yet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since before the martial test, Bao Yun had consistently outmaneuvered Li Zhi. She had organized her team early, outnumbering him and possessing far more experts blessed with fate techniques. After entering the test, she swiftly annihilated Li Zhi’s vanguard. Now her flanking maneuver was an open strategy, forcing Li Zhi to waste his troops—and she had already secured absolute superiority. Li Zhi dared not move his central army because he feared Bao Yun’s main force would strike at any moment, and then he’d be utterly destroyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhi knew he’d likely lose—but how he lost still mattered. If he panicked, moved his central army, and Bao Yun then broke his formation, his score would plummet. Though he knew he had protectors, so did Bao Yun. Such a grave mistake would surely cost him more points than her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The alternative was to attack first—but Li Zhi knew Bao Yun’s main force was holding back precisely because she was waiting for him to advance. With his current forces, an offensive attack would still end in defeat. Better to hold his ground. Li Zhi refused to believe Bao Yun could turn a group of children into battle-hardened veterans in such a short time. By the time her troops marched from north to south, they’d surely be in chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Li Zhi, fresh and rested, could unleash his thirty elite troops—well-fed with all the gathered elixirs—and strike repeatedly, possibly defeating Bao Yun. Li Zhi was betting that Bao Yun, proud of her status, wouldn’t take the common candidates’ elixirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1475,"2026-06-20T03:38:27.933Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c1f7b9c0f26a748360e4b9ed630c60d25bfbd90de56e9940158a0b1893955496","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-22","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-20",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-lies-hidden-cover.jpg"]