Defy the Heavens. Avenge the Fallen. Forge a Heretical Path. Mikel refuses to be a pawn. As the grandson of a powerful orthodox warlord, he is expected to swallow expensive pills and blindly follow rigid rules to force his cultivation. Instead, he secretly walks the forbidden "heretical" path of multiple affinities taught by his murdered father. When the Dark Sect assassin who killed his father poisons his mother, Mikel realizes his foundational Metal chi isn't enough to save her or exact his revenge, so he teams up with the brilliant ice-fairy apothecary Cyra, fierce former bandit Shea Lin, and exiled jeweler Bai. Together, this scrappy clan of outcasts must survive brutal academy tournaments, hunt deadly multi-node monsters, and unravel a conspiracy threatening the empire. Perfect for fans of A Thousand Li and Cradle, Hidden Tiger is a fast-paced, action-packed progression fantasy featuring deep magic systems, academy tournament arcs, and monster-hunting team dynamics.