Chapter 177

Hiccups POV:

It's been twelve days since we met Luo and, in that time, not much has happened other than Luo warming up to me and the other dragons even though it took five days. Besides that, nothing much has happened other than my usual chat with Blanca and Astrid through my wedding ring and like always it was relaxing but made me miss them. I did consider bringing them through a portal door but I'd yet to find a place where I'd be willing to put one since the villages are too small and most cities are full of stuck up nobles and I did not want Astrid being arrested for punching them. I wouldn't blame her if she did though since a lot of those nobles still treat me as if I'm beneath them despite me saving all of China from the General and the snake queen.

Now we were all up in the sky heading to one of the highest mountains in all of China where I'd begin my search for the Tian-long dragons. The reason for this is they are constantly up in the air all day without the need to land due to exhaustion but that's not to say they don't get tired. When nighttime falls, they come down to rest the caves they made their nests in and besides to rest they also use their down time to enjoy a meal or tend to their young. Due to their constant flying and love of high altitudes their nests are always set up at the tops of the highest mountains in all of China allowing them a comfortable place to nest that also safe for them since nobody has been able to climb the mountains easily. It is due to this they are said to guard the palace of the gods as well as their treasures while also serving as the ones that pull their chariots to wherever they desire. I wasn't sure if this were true, but I knew this was a dragon I wanted on my team since it would be a handy dragon to have in battle and guard my island.

It was then the mountain came into view and I knew right there that this was the mountain we were heading for since its peek is one of the few that's able to scrape past the clouds. I smiled and immediately began scanning the skies for any Tian-long so I could begin studying it, before training it and checking if it were willing to join me on my journey. Not seeing any and noticing that my dragons were getting tired I steered them towards the peek where we could land and possibly find some clues after taking some time to rest from the long flight. Once we'd landed on the peek, I dismounted Toothless and looked at my dragons as I said.

"Alright guys you can all take some down time to relax but keep an eye out for any Tian-long."

They each growled and nodded before laying down in numerous places on the mountain and resting making me smile and chuckle at the sight of them lounging around on the ground. Seeing them relaxing I decided this would be one of the few times I stood at the top of one of the highest mountains in all of China I might as well enjoy the view. I turned around and walked up to the edge of the cliff and smiled at the sea of clouds with the occasional mountain peak coming out of it like a small rock in the sea. It was a truly magnificent thing to see and I admit I'd seen this kind of thing before since I do ride on the back of flying dragons so it would be strange if I hadn't seen something like this. It was then a voice at my side said.

"This truly is a magnificent view is it not?"

I just nodded before realization hit me and I turned to find myself looking at a man with yellow hair that was tied into a high ponytail that reach down to his shoulders, big bushy eyebrows and sideburns. He was wearinggreen Kung Fu pants, long sleeve shirt actually has Cape like flaps near the end with red, brownish, maroon leather armor on his shoulders and around his waist and as well as boots as well as armbands that were all had bumps on them. Grasped in his right hand was a bronze bo staff with patterns etched into it and coming out and around his forehead was a golden circlet that looked to be on tight. He just continued to smile and looked out at the view as I asked.

"And you are?" He turned to me and bowed said.

"I am Sun Wukong." My eyes widened.

"Sun Wukong?" He nodded. "As in the monkey king who is also known as the famous victorious fighting Buddha?" He nodded again. "Father of master Sun Gokun, creator of monkey style kung fu." He smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I really am proud of that boy of mine." He then rubbed the headband. "He's a better man then I was back in the day." I bowed to him.

"It is an honor to meet you master Wukong." He chuckled.

"I am the one who should be honored to meet you Hiccup Haddock, I have heard many great things about you from both my son and my teacher, the Buddha." I stood back up straight.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing all the way up here."

"I could ask you the same thing?"

"I came here with my dragons hoping to find a Tian-long dragon." He nodded.

"Well this shall not be an easy task as they do not land that often." I nodded. "As for what I'm doing here." He turned to the view. "I just enjoy the view and it brings back on how my master taught me patience and humility." He rubbed his back. "I just wish his lesson didn't leave such an ache in my back." He shrugged. "Then again what do you expect after being stuck beneath a mountain for five hundred years." I raised an eyebrow.

"You were stuck under a mountain for five-hundred years." He nodded. "I've never heard about that." He frowned.

"Shame as it is quite a good story." I smiled.

"Would you mind telling me over a meal?" He smiled and nodded.

"Just give me a few moments to set up." I walked into the middle of the clearing between where my dragons were lounging but they immediately sat up and got ready for a fight seeing Wukong until I signaled them to stand down.

"Calm down everyone, he's just a man who'll be joining us for lunch." They all growled and nodded before laying back down but keeping an eye on us as I pulled out a blanket and set it down on the ground for us to sit on and began working on a meal.

2 hours later

It's been two hours since I met Sun Wukong and that time was spent enjoying a meal of chicken, sliced fruit and water while Sun Wukong told me about how he came to be trapped under a mountain and then freed by a humble monk. The story goes that the Jade Emperor and the authorities of Heaven got so sick of Sun Wukongs mischief they appealed to the Buddha, who came from his temple in the West. The Buddha then bet him that he could not escape from his palm a bet that Sun Wukong accepted without hesitation. As expected, Sun Wukong lost the bet but intended to flee and avoid the penalty of losing the bet. When he tried to escape, the Buddha brought down a rockfall, sending Sun Wukong hurtling back down to earth and forming a mountain on top of him. With his strength Sun Wukong would normally have no trouble lifting it off but before he could, the Buddha sealed him there using a paper talisman bearing the mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, in gold letters. For five hundred years he remained a prisoner beneath the mountain to 'learn patience and humility', with only his head and hands not being pinned down and sticking out at the base of the mountain. Due to him being a prisoner the Buddha arranged for two earth spirits to feed the Monkey King fruit and spring water in order to avoid him starving to death.

After five hundred years, the Bodhisattva Guanyin searched for disciples to protect a monk of the Tang dynastyon named Tang Sanzang, who was on a journey to the West to retrieve the Buddhist sutras. In the hearing of this, the Monkey King offers to serve Tang Sanzang, in exchange for his freedom once the journey is complete. Despite the deal being made Sun Wukong would still be difficult to control so Guanyin gave Tang Sanzang a gift from the Buddha. This gift was a magical circlet which, once the Sun Wukong put on his head could never be removed. This gave Tang Sanzang the power to punish Sun Wukong by chanting a certain sutra, that makes the band tighten and cause an unbearable headache. To be fair, Guanyin gave Sun Wukong three special hairs to be used in life or death emergencies. Their journey took months to complete and they did face many dangers

But on this journey they were joined by Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing both of whom accompanied them to atone for their previous crimes. They were often threatened by demons and other supernatural beings that believed by eating Tang Sanzang's flesh, one can become immortal and gain great power. The group encountered a total of eighty-one tribulations before accomplishing their mission and returning safely to China with their prize of the Buddhist sutras. It was during this journey, Sun Wukong learned about virtues and learned the teachings of Buddhism. It was then he attained Buddhahood, and became the "Victorious Fighting Buddha" for his service and strength. Now we were standing on the edge of the mountain looking out at the view once more talking about the various adventures we'd had and different opponents we fought. It was then Sun Wukong turned to me and said

"Hiccup, it's been a long time since I last enjoyed a good fight so would you be willing to have a sparring match against me?" I turned to him and bowed.

"I'd be honored master Sun Wukong." I then stood up.

"Let's walk away from the edge first since the last thing we want is to fall off the edge." I nodded before walking back to the clearing where we had lunch and stood across from each other.

"I don't suppose you have a spare bo staff do you?" He smiled at me before taking a single hair from his head and throwing it towards me as it let out a gold light that shimmered in the air until it grew into a golden bo staff that had Chinese dragons wrapping around the top, bottom and middle.

"I believe this one shall do." He tossed it to me and I caught it in my real hand with the gold feeling smooth against my palm and so light despite it being made of gold making me smile before I turned to Sun Wukong who readied his weapon. "Shall we begin?" I smiled.

"Just give me a moment to take off my gear since I would like a fair fight." Sun Wukong nodded with a smile.

"I admire your honesty Hiccup." He just smiled and removed his gear leaving him barefoot in a shirt and pants as he took the staff in both hands before pointing it at him. "Let's do it." And with those final words the battle began.

Nobodies POV:

Hiccup charged at Sun Wukong and tried a downward swing from above using one side of the staff, but Sun Wukong held up his staff up with his staff held sideways blocking the blow. Sun Wukong then slid his staff downwards to its right freeing it from the block while making Hiccup slide the staff down before Sun Wukong swung his staff upwards and to the side trying to hit Hiccup in the side. Hiccups reflexes were better though, and he slammed his staff into the side blocking the blow before swinging his staff upwards trying to strike the monkey king who jumped back dodging the blow.

He then used both hands to thrust the end of his staff at Hiccups stomach to try and knock the breath out of him, but Hiccup side stepped it and slammed his foot down on the pole. This pulled Sun Wukong forward before Hiccup swung his foot forward towards Sun Wukong's head to try and kick him in the face. Before his foot could make contact however Sun Wukong quickly yanked his staff back making Hiccup fall back onto the ground landing on his back. Sun Wukong jumped into the air with his staff held back and ready to be swung down on Hiccup and end the match, but Hiccup pulled his legs up and thrust them forward throwing his body up and avoiding the blow.

Hiccup then turned around swinging his staff at Sun Wukong while he was kneeling, but Sun Wukong jumped backwards doing a backflip avoiding the blow and landing on his feet with a smile. Hiccup smiled back enjoying the sparring session since he was having a good time testing his skills against Sun Wukong who was proving to be a more than worthy opponent. Sun Wukong then jumped back onto a large boulder slamming the end of his staff shattering it into small stones as he jumped off the crumbling boulder. Hiccup stared at him in confusion until Sun Wukong kicked five stones up and began bouncing them up and down using his staff as Hiccup watched the stones carefully. Sun Wukong then gave one last strike to each of them knocking them higher than before and when each came down, he struck each of them towards Hiccup at high speeds to the point that they whistled as they flew at him.

Acting quickly Hiccup held the staff in front of him and quickly began spinning it rapidly blocking all the stones and instead knocking them away in different direction except the last one which he struck right back at Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong smiled and caught the stone in his hand as he chuckled while tossing it up and down in his hand before throwing it over his shoulder. Sun Wukong then jumped at Hiccup before thrusting his staff at Hiccup once more, but Hiccup stepped to the side avoiding the blow and thrust his staff forward to stab Sun Wukong in the side. Sun Wukong smiled and grabbed the end of the staff and thrust it right into Hiccups gut extra hard knocking all the air out of him while he stumbled back in pain, using his staff to support his weight as he caught his breath, recovering from the blow.

Before he could recover however Sun Wukong came at him once more intending to end this match once and for all, but Hiccup stepped to the side when he was only a few feet away. He then shoved his own staff between Sun Wukongs legs from the side tripping him but before he hit the ground Sun Wukong caught himself and did a front flip back onto his feet. While his back was turned Hiccup thrust his staff at Sun Wukong's back, but Sun Wukong sensed the blow coming and jumped up landing on Hiccups staff making him lower it from the sudden increase in weight. Sun Wukong then front flipped over Hiccups body and then turning around and bringing his staff down in front of Hiccups body and pulling it back against his torso, pinning his arms down while making him drop his staff in surprise as Sun Wukong said.

"I believe this is my win." Hiccup sighed and lowered his head while smiling.

"I believe it is since you now have me both restrained and unarmed."

"Such are the markings of defeat my dear fellow." They chuckled before he released Hiccup from his restraint and allowed him to step away before he turned to Sun Wukong.

"Any advice for the man you defeated?"

"Only, keep training since despite your defeat you were still able to give me a minor challenge which is a feat not many have accomplished." I nodded.

"I will keep training and that is something I can promise you." He smiled.

"That's all I can recommend you do but I do hope you'll heed a request I have." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "If you have the items needed to make tea would you join me in enjoying a cup of tea as I have the ingredients for a truly calming brew that I often use to relax myself after a battle." Hiccup smiled and bowed.

"I would be honored master Wukong." He then turned to his spiderpack. "Fortunately, I bought the things required from a village a few miles back." He smiled before they got to work on preparing a fireplace to heat the tea pot.

1 hour later

Hiccups POV:

I let out a sigh of enjoyment as I took a sip of my freshly filled cup since the tea was delicious and I had to admit it felt as if warmth was flowing all around my body. I knew I'd have to ask Sun Wukong what type of tea this was since this is a tea I would love to share with Blanca and Astrid to relax, my father while we discuss ways to help Berk or my mother while we discuss dragons. Speaking of my mother I had the feeling I'll need it when I return home since she was most likely going to crazy with questions about the breeds, I bring home with me. It was then Sun Wukong let out a sigh as he said.

"A good cup of tea and good company is always something that soothes my headache from this circlet." He rubbed the circlet.

"I can understand that, but I am curious to know why you couldn't remove it after your quest was ended." He smiled.

"It is not that I am unable to as once my master had returned to the monastery I could remove it at will but I kept it on as a reminder of our journey and years later when my master departed this world it became a reminder of him." He sighed and rubbed the circlet once more. "I wear it now as a way to honor my master and the time we spent together." I smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure wherever he is, your master is smiling down on you." It was then he looked into the clouds.

"It seems we have a guest."

I raised an eyebrow before a large dragon flew down from the clouds and landed on an unoccupied rock with all of my dragons immediately stood up and got battle ready. I stood up myself and looked at the dragon immediately recognizing this dragon as a Tian-long who by the looks of things was not happy to see us. Sun Wukong slowly stood up and looked to the dragon while chuckling as he said.

"It would seem we have found the dragon you came here to train."

"Yeah, but he doesn't seem to be happy." Before I could reply the Tian-long let out a growl and a huff from its nose as if it were telling us not to speak about it as if it weren't there so I slowly approached him with my hands held out making it growl.

"Easy there, we're not here to fight you or cause any damage done to your mountain." It growled and let me get closer. "We came here hoping to find one of your kind to befriend and train it." The Tian-long growled once more. "If you give me the chance I'd like for you to join our little group and give us a chance but if you don't wish to join us I'll understand and find another one but if you do join us then I can promise you that any future problems we'll face together as allies and friends."

The Tian-long stared at me as my dragons each gave growls and roars of what I assume were encouragement before I held out my arm with my palm out and looked away hoping to train it and after a few seconds I felt a scaled muzzle against my hand. I turned to face the owner of the scales and smiled at the sight of the Tian-long pressing its muzzle against the palm of my hand as a bond formed between us. I smiled knowing that I could now mark the Tian-long species of my needed dragons list and was able too make a new friend in the process. I moved my hand to the back of its head and gave it a scratch while giving its body a full examination so I could get an idea of what I was dealing with.

From studying the body, I saw this Tian-long was male with sky blue scales that were nice and from the back of the side of its jaw down to its chin like a small beard and circling around its eyes were a set of orangish red scales that looked like medium sized flames. Also running down the back of its thirty feet long, serpent like body was a spine made of the same scales and the same kind of spine ran down his belly shaped like small flames. These scales traveled down to the very end of its tail which was the only part of its body that had a tuft of fur besides the end of its snout that had two golden whiskers on the end. His feet were the usual shape with four toes but they had golden colored talons while his eyes were a lovely amber brown and his horns looked to be a mixture between a bull and deer that somehow almost looked like branches with their color and texture.

All in all, he was a magnificent looking dragon who I knew would make a fine addition to the team, but it was then I remembered Sun Wukong behind me. I turned to face him and apologies for getting distracted but all I found was the bo staff I used in our sparring match standing straight up, in the middle of the clearing with a scroll tied to the middle of it with a small leather bag. I looked around looking for Sun Wukong but he was nowhere to be seen confusing me before I walked up to the bo staff and took the scroll hoping for some answers. I unrolled the scroll and read.

Dear Hiccup

I enjoyed our sparring match and you were good company when it came to both a meal and tea and it is because of this I sincerely hope our paths cross again in the future. I must warn you though I have heard of the path you walk and I advise you to be careful, not of just the beasts you face on your travels but the ones awaiting you back home. These beasts I refer to are not the animals, dragons or snake guardians who patrol your home but the woman you call your wife as I can tell you that there is no beast more fierce or terrifying then an angry wife. I am sorry I left without a proper goodbye but we both have a long journey ahead of us that we must continue so I had to leave. Until next we meet to thank you for allowing me to feel the thrill of a good challenge in battle even if it were only a spar, I leave to you these two gifts. The bo staff that you used in our sparring session and wish you luck in mastering its powers and may it serve you well in battle and hopefully help protect you from your women when they are angered while in the bag are the leaves we used to make the tea we had. Till next we meet I trust we shall both be finished with this chapter of our journeys and have started new ones and I wish you luck on yours.

Sun Wukong

I smiled at the letter while chuckling at some of the jokes about me needing to be careful around Blanca when she's angry knowing it was true since when she got angry, she turned to her half snake form. I admit I thought she looked beautiful in any form she took but when she was in that form it often meant someone was going to be hurt by her striking them with her tail. Fortunately, she rarely ever got mad and when she did get mad it was at her own kind or those who could survive a strike from her tail. I then figured it best I store the tea leaves away in my spiderpack for now while tending to my new dragon and practicing a bit with my new bo staff and see what it's capable of.

Sixteen days later

It's been sixteen days since we met sun Wukong and trained the Tian-long who was now named Shāndǐng and in that time not much has happened aside from us camping on top of the mountain and me practicing with my bo staff. I figured it would just serve as a normal bo staff that might be unbreakable, but I had to say I had no idea how wrong I was since it may have been unbreakable but it had more abilities then I thought. For example, it could extend as long as I wanted with a limit of fifteen miles and still be light as a feather while also being able to shorten and shrink down to the size of a toothpick. Besides this I could also control it by my will like my golden arrow except instead of flying around at highspeed to pierce it swings around to strike, trip and other things as if I was wielding it. Finally, it could strike down or be thrust forward with enough strength to shatter a boulder into pieces while also making me worry what it would do to a human.

I'd spent a lot of my time training with the staff and bonding with Shāndǐng who was proving to be a powerful dragon with a blast of golden flames that could melt rock. Besides that I'd been practicing my pole-vaulting with my bo staff and had to say it came in pretty handy since when I was at the highest point I'd spread my wings and glide high while quickly shrinking my bo staff down to toothpick size. I enjoyed this and knew it would come in handy for future attacks on fortress's with tall walls or scouting things out from above without my dragons. Along with this I'd taken to trying to summon it from a distance by travelling fifty miles away from it and it returned to me in five seconds and at speeds that matched my golden arrow when I summoned it back to me. Also, despite its ability to shrink down it was like the weapons I got in Japan and couldn't be pulled into my prosthetic so I'd taken to carrying it in my spiderpack or carrying it like a toothpick in between my lips and teeth.

Besides that, we'd mostly just been doing the usual things like training, talking to Blanca and Astrid through my ring, had them give updates to Chin Wu, study my dragons and of course study up on the last dragon species I needed to collect which is the Shen-long dragon. I admit when it came to this dragon I'm a little uneasy since one of these dragons was chosen by the buddha and became Master Shen, the creator of dragon style kung fu, my sensei who trained me into a master of said style and one of the few men who I held in the highest respect as a warrior. It was because of this I felt a little uneasy since during my training Master Shen once showed me his dragon form which was incredible and when he told me about the power his kind wielded I knew they were not a species to take lightly. I just didn't want to see any of my dragons getting hurt fighting any Shen-long that we discover since I consider them my friends and after a while a part of my family and like any good person I didn't want to see my family hurt so I'd have to be on guard.

Now we were flying towards a large mountain range that surrounds a large forest with a large valley being the only way to enter on foot, but a rushing river runs by the valley stopping people from getting there easily. It was because of this that the forest was rarely ever disturbed by humans making it a peaceful and quiet place so perfect for the Shen-long to nest since from what master Shen told me they prefer to fight only to defend themselves and their territory. Sadly, because this forest was so peaceful and well protected from humans, I feared that they might assume we were there to try steal their territory and attack us. I took a breath knowing it best we enter the forest through the valley on foot since if they saw us flying in then they might believe we're invading their territory.

I steered Toothless towards the entrance of the valley and the others followed us and joined us as we landed just at the entrance to the valley. I saw the entrance was around forty feet wide with large grey stone walls that had the occasional moss growing on it covering parts of the grey with green. As we walked through the valley however, I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched by something and the silhouettes I often saw on top of the cliffs for brief moments didn't help calm my suspicions. As long as they didn't attack us though I was happy, and we weren't going to attack them since I didn't know if they were really enemies or just curious about us. It was after ten minutes of walking I noticed we were coming to the exit of the small valley making me smile knowing we were closer to finding the Shen-long dragons.

We exited the valley and found ourselves in a large forest like the one me and Blanca walked through when we were on our way to precious jade workshop. I smiled at the memory of my time with the woman who back then would become the wife I longed to hold in my arms once more but for now I needed to focus on my journey. I signaled to my dragons to be careful and keep their guard up as I turned to the forest while giving it a scan with, they eye of the dragon but saw nobody. I figured it was just me being paranoid, but I could tell my dragons were on edge as well since they kept looking around as if they could sense something was there hiding in the trees.

As we got deeper into the forest I was hit by the sound of running water meaning there was a river nearby so I decided it best to check it out and give both Wā dòng and Lánbǎoshí a chance to moisten their skin. We continued to make our way towards the sound of the water, but I signalled my dragons not to let their guard down since I couldn't help but feel like we were still being watched. As we got closer the sound of rushing water got louder and louder and when we broke through the trees, I expected to find a river but what I found was something I was not expecting. There was a large river but it led into a small lake with a grotto behind it and in the middle of this lake was a large stone platform that had been smoothed down into a disc shaped top with smooth edges running into the water, smaller stone stepping stones lead to it and in the grotto was a large statue of a Shenlong dragon with it supporting the roof of the grotto. It was then a voice behind us asked.

"Admiring the hard work of me and my brethren?"

I immediately turned around to face the one behind me in my battle stance while my dragons got into their own battle stances with while growling. When I saw who it was though my eyes widened before I got out of my battle stance and dropped to my knees in a bow of respect knowing that I stood no chance against the person who spoke. Standing right there and smiling at me was none other than my sensei, Master Shen wearing his training attire of kung fu pants with hid hair tied back in a tight braid. He wasn't alone though since there was a single Shen-long with him as he chuckled before he said.

"It is nice to see you again my old student."

"I am honoured to be in your presence once more Master." He chuckled and gestured for me to stand up.

"It is respectful to bow to an old master but I'd prefer it if you stood up so we could speak face to face." I stood up straight as he walked up to me smiling. "It has been a long time since we last met Hiccup and, in that time, I understand you've gone up against more opponents and won against them." I nodded.

"The training and skills you taught me have helped me in many of those battles master."

"It's nice to hear that you have been keeping up with your training and if what Sun Wukong told me is true your skills have improved as not that many people can last so long against him or give him a challenge." I smiled.

"You honour me with your praise master, but I still lost to him."

"There is no shame in defeat Hiccup unless you allow there to be shame." I nodded making him smile. "Now I understand you are on a journey to recruit and train the dragons of this land." I nodded as he looked at my dragons. "I see you have almost all the species except for a Shen-long dragon." I nodded.

"That is why I came here Master; I was hoping to train one but have yet to see one other than the ones with you."

"That is because I informed my brethren of your quest and although many can respect you, few wish to leave their home and I did not want you to be disappointed if they chose not to join you so I asked that those who do not wish to leave this land to stay clear of you for now." He then gestured to the one behind him. "All except for this one who would be willing to pledge his allegiance to you but only if you can prove to him that you are worthy." I raised an eyebrow.

"How do I do that?" He gestured to the stone platform.

"Join me on the stone platform for a sparring match and he will judge if you are worthy of his loyalty." He then smiled. "And to be honest, I'm curious to see how far you've come in your training my student." I nodded before I removed my armour and allowed master Shen to lead me onto the over the steppingstones and onto the stone platform where we both stood on opposite sides and got into our fighting stances. "LET US BEGIN!"

3 hours later

It's been three hours since we began sparring and as expected, I had gotten my butt kicked by master Shen more times than anyone else in the past two years. I admit I knew I stood no chance against master Shen but it didn't stop me from wanting to show my sensei how much I'd improved nor did it stop the pain of being on the receiving end of my sensei's blows. This led to now with me lying on my stomach with various scratches and bruises littering my body as I breathed heavily in pain from the damage done to me both outside and inside. I looked up at master Shen who stared down at me with a frown as he said.

"Hiccup, you cannot win against me." He got down on one knee. "I admit your skills have improved greatly but mine still far surpass yours." I spat up some blood and forced my body up, slowly standing back up.

"I never give up master, as long as there's a burning flame in my heart I will never give up no matter how many times I get thrown down or how much pain I'm in." Getting back into my battle stance I looked the master of dragon style kung fu in the eye. "I will never stop fighting until I draw my last breath." Master Shen stared at me for a moment before smiling and turning to the Shen-long dragon that accompanied him.

"Well does this prove he's worthy of your loyalty since it would more than prove it to me." The Shen-long nodded and flew over to the platform before bowing its head to me as a sign of submission confusing me.

"But I didn't win any of our matches."

"The reason for our sparring was not to test your combat abilities but the strength of your will." I raised an eyebrow. "If you had given up at any point of our sparring session then you would've failed the test and left here without a Shen-long added to your team." I smiled but before I could reply the exhaustion and pain, I'd put my body through caught up with me and everything went black.

2 weeks later

It's been two weeks since I found the hidden forest of the Shen-long where master Shen was staying and two weeks since I got my butt kicked by the master so as expected most of that time was spent healing my body. When I woke up from my black out, I found myself lying on a simple mat with master Shen meditating next to me before he told me I'd been out for two days and to rest while my body recovers. It took four full days of healing before I was able to get up and walk around and even then, I had to use my bo staff as a walking stick to support myself. It wasn't all bad though since I was able to use this time to explore the forest and study the various shen-long who lived in it, including the one I was able to train who I'd given the name Fēngbào. Fēngbào

Had a forty-five feet long serpent like body with scales that are a shade of midnight blue and if the light shines on them they cast a purple tint, on the end of his tail was white fur that resembled a fish's tail and this fur travels up a little bit towards the rear end of his hind legs that had four toes with silver colored talons. Besides this hair he was also sporting a large thick beard, a small goatee and a long moustache that I measured to be about five feet long. His eyes were silver in color with black cat like slits in the middle while his horns were like deer antlers but much larger a silvery white in color. All in all, he was a fine dragon with who I knew would make a great addition to my team with his thunder like roar and powerful lightning blast that he often used to show off his power but to be honest I'm pretty sure he was trying to impress Wā dòng. Either way I was impressed with his capabilities and knew that in the future they'd come in handy when it comes to battles against large groups of enemies. Now we were standing at the entrance to the valley with master Shen standing before us as I bowed and said.

"It was both a privilege and an honor to spar with you again Master Shen." He bowed back as I stood up.

"It is always a pleasure to spar with an old student to see how far they have come Hiccup." He then stood back up straight with a smile and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I wish you luck on the path you walk and I know that whatever obstacles get in your way you shall be able to overcome them, no matter what they are." I smiled.

"Thank you master."

With that said I turned around and mounted Toothlessbefore we took off and I had to say I was happy to be off once more because this time I was going back to the Forbidden City. The reason why is I now had all eight dragons of China meaning I could now unlock the mystery of the five remaining dragon eye lenses. As I flew though I couldn't help but feel that the what I was going to find on those lenses was going to lead to a major headache. I sighed shaking my head knowing I was probably just being paranoid or overthinking it and for now I should just focus on getting back to the Forbidden City and enjoying a little down time with my wife and Astrid.

AN: And that brings an end to yet another chapter and in the next we finally see what the five remaining lenses have but until then I won't spoil anything for you all. I do feel it only right to tell you all that I am considering a small month-long break before I post the next chapter though. NOT! Just messing with you guys I'll try to have the new chapter out at the regular time so sometime next week but as usual I can't make any promises so until the next chapter be patient. Also, I would really appreciate getting more than six reviews this time since although I appreciate the ones I get but it would be nice to see some new avatar images on the list. Till next time stay safe and have a nice day.