~~~

It has been one week since Xiao Fang left, and the city has seamlessly settled into a new routine.

Night has fallen, and most have already gone to sleep.

Over at the Xiao Sect, Su An is about to retire to her chambers. Her body is sore from the day’s training, but she walks with a satisfied smile on her face. Further up north, Xiao Zheng looks at a map of the Empire in his office, his mind busy at work. South of the main gates, Xiao Nan is sneaking back into the Xiao Sect’s compound, carrying a large bag full of all types of sweets.

In the Yun Sect’s compound, Yun Peng is wide awake, brooding and plotting, his mighty temper kept in check only by sheer will. His son, Yun Han, is locked in a cell beneath the main house and has been there for months, a punishment for his failure.

Further away, in the outer districts, Liu Jin and his father are engaged in a spirited discussion over the uses of Lonefire Blossoms and their unusual reaction when powdered and mixed with Thundering Leaf extract. Had anyone else been in the room listening, they would have surely been bored to sleep, but the two have long since lost track of time in their excitement.

There are, of course, many other people in the city. There is Hou Tao, who is doing closed-doors training over at Xiao Sect. He envies people like Su An and Big Nose Li and does not wish to be left behind. There is Wan Rong, who is pretending to be asleep while actually doing his best to hear the elders of his clan talk. It seems the Wan Clan is reconsidering its relationship with the Yun Sect. Then there is Gao Si, who has been home all day, preparing his house for the arrival of his children. That day is still far away, yet he and his wife cannot contain their joy.

Eastern Port City is made of people like them and many others. Once the sun rises, the city will be bustling with activity as usual. The merchants will sell their wares. The Sects will compete and scheme. The children will play.

That is what should happen.

It takes a single attack to put an end to that future.

That night, the skies of Eastern Port City are set ablaze.

~~~

The tea in Liu Jin’s cup suddenly spills over. That is the first sign something is wrong.

The second is nowhere near as subtle.

An earthquake. At least, that is what Liu Jin thinks at first. The table starts trembling. The tea kettle falls to the floor, its contents spilling all over. The entire house shakes and creaks and vibrates, the wood groaning in protest, almost as if threatening to surrender. Dust is knocked from the ceiling. Even though the medicine cabinet is tightly secured, it cannot stop shaking. Glass breaks, and as it does, Liu Jin suddenly rises to his feet.

If asked why he is moving, Liu Jin would not be able to answer. All he knows is that fear like none he has ever felt before suddenly seizes his heart. It takes less than a hundredth of a second for him to reach his father’s side. Perhaps not even a thousandth of a second. His Qi rises around him as Liu Jin pushes his father to the floor, covering his body with his.

The explosion comes next.

A fireball falls from the sky and crashes into their house. It breaks through the ceiling, turning everything it touches to ashes. Had it not fallen so close to the side and struck the center of the clinic instead, Liu Jin and his father may very well have died.

Instead, Liu Jin hauls his father to his feet and rushes for the door, tearing it of its hinges on their way out.

What awaits them outside is chaos and carnage.

The sky is alight with flames as dozens and dozens of fireballs rain down on the city as if the stars were falling from heavens. The outer districts, the inner districts, the commercial area, the docks, and even the area outside the walls. None are spared. The lucky ones turn to ashes. The unlucky ones burn and burn, spreading the fire to the surrounding areas. The night, which mere seconds ago was full of peace and quiet, is now full of cries and screams of fear and agony.

What is this?

Is this really the street in which he has lived for most of his life? Is this the house in which he has grown up? Liu Jin looks at his neighbors fleeing their homes and staring at the sky in terror. He looks at the raging fire, at the ash and the smoke—a burning house near the end of the street crumbles.

Xiao Zheng’s Qi rises in the distance, forcing all in the city to look towards the Xiao Sect. It surges with so much rage, even the fire suddenly doesn’t seem all that scary, and that force is soon unleashed on the skies of Easter Port City.

The clouds part. The fire is blown away as if snuffed out by a massive wind. It suffocates and sputters out, dying without even a whimper. It is as if the fire which raged in the skies barely a second ago was nothing but a bad dream.

Alas, it was no dream. The city still burns.

“Son!” His father shouts, grabbing him by the shoulder, looking more serious than Liu Jin has ever seen him before. “Focus! We need to act!”

Liu Jin can only stare at his father, not comprehending what he is saying.

“Act?”

“Go into the house. There is a red wooden box inside the medicine cabinet. The supplies inside are unlikely to be broken. Hurry! These people need help!”

Help?

His father’s words snap Liu Jin out of his shock, his eyes regaining their clarity. Of course! What had he been thinking? At a time like this, how could he stand by and do nothing?

Liu Jin’s body vanishes, accelerated by Ground Contraction. In a single step, Liu Jin is in front of the medicine cabinet. He breaks it open and takes out the red box his father asked for.

“Where should we start, Father?” Liu Jin asks as he reappears at his father’s side. His eyes are already going over those who have made it to the streets and cataloging their visible injuries.

“You’ll go to the Xiao Sect right now.”

It is as if cold water has suddenly been poured down on Liu Jin.

“What?” Liu Jin cries out as his father takes the red box out of his hands. “Father, I can help here!”

“Think, my son. Where can you help the most? If you stay here, you will be able to help the people around us. If you go to the Xiao Sect, you’ll be able to help the entire city. Go! Do not waste time!”

Go?

And leave his father here?

Even in his panicked state, Liu Jin understands his father’s words are not wrong. He can do more for the people of Eastern Port City by going to the Xiao Sect and helping organize the disciples. Since he is Xiao Zheng’s son-in-law, his words carry a lot of weight. Even bringing just ten Inner Disciples to the outer districts would drastically improve things. Yes, there is no doubt about it. Going to the Xiao Sect is the best thing he can do.

However, doing so means leaving his father alone.

The fire in the sky did not come from nowhere. That had been an attack, but from whom? Yun Peng? No, that wouldn’t make sense. The Yun Sect does not specialize in fire techniques. Besides, doing something so brazen in Xiao Zheng’s presence would be the height of insanity. The Yun Sect might as well slit their throats and save everyone else the trouble.

No, this was not the Yun Sect. However, that makes it worse. Someone just attacked the city, and they have no idea who it was.

If he leaves his father while that question still hangs over the city…

“NOW!”

His father yells at him for the first time that Liu Jin can remember. Faced with his father’s anger, Liu Jin cannot think. He can only react.

He dashes towards the Xiao Sect.

~~~

Left.

Ground Contraction - Hundred-Yard-Step.

Forward.

Ground Contraction - Twenty-Yard-Step.

Right.

Ground Contraction - Eighty-Yard-Step.

Liu Jin’s house is located in the outer districts of Eastern Port City. The Xiao Sect is located in one of the inner districts. The distance separating the two is best measured in miles and quite a few of them at that.

However, that distance is not much for the current Liu Jin. If he took to the rooftops and used his fastest Ground Contraction, he’d probably just need five steps to make it there. Without a doubt, that’d be the fastest way to get to the Xiao Sect.

If he does that, he could die.

There is no telling if or when another attack will hit the city. If Liu Jin happens to be traveling over the city and using Ground Contraction when that happens, the odds of Liu Jin being unable to dodge in time are high. Much too high for his tastes. It is safer to travel using short steps while remaining close to the ground. It will take Liu Jin longer to reach the Xiao Sect like that, but at least he’ll get there alive.

“Please, someone help!”

“My house! My house!”

“He’s still in there! Please!”

Eventually.

Every street Liu Jin passes is a new horror. There are so many people whose livelihoods have been destroyed, so many whose lives have ended.

So many who are still in need of help.

People trapped under the rubble. People trying to escape the flames. People trying to save themselves, and people trying to save others.

In a situation like this, just what is the right choice? Should Liu Jin ignore their cries for help? Should he keep heading towards the Xiao Sect’s compound no matter what? Or maybe, he should stop to help everyone he meets, even if by doing so, he risks wasting valuable time?

If there is a right answer, Liu Jin doesn’t know it.

All he knows is that he cannot ignore every cry.

Liu Jin’s body is a blur of motion as he dashes in and out of the houses. His eyes begin to hurt, and his muscles cry out in protest as he pushes his body to his limits, pulling as many people out as he can. He does not stop to talk to them. He does not stop to hear what they have to say. That is a luxury Liu Jin simply does not have.

He just keeps making his way forward, inching ever closer to the Xiao Sect’s compound.

How much time has passed since the fire first rained down?

Has it even been minute?

The second attack chooses that moment to start. Liu Jin knows that for sure because he is suddenly knocked off his feet, blown away by a wave of force that erupts high above the air. The Qi of the aggressor can now be clearly felt.

Emperor.

The word flashes across Liu Jin’s mind, and he knows it to be true. The Qi hovering over the city belongs to someone in the Emperor Realm. Liu Jin can feel Patriarch Xiao Zheng and Yun Peng up there as well.

Liu Jin struggles to get back to his feet, only for his face to be shoved into the ground once more by the overwhelming power radiating from the skies.

An entire section of the city is gone by the time Liu Jin manages to stand up.

From the inner districts all the way to the eastern wall. A trench at least a hundred yards wide has been carved into the city, everything in it burned to cinders. Liu Jin can no longer feel the presence of the unknown Emperor-class cultivator, nor can he feel Xiao Zheng and Yun Peng’s Qi. He can only stare at the devastation that appeared in the blink of an eye.

Just what is going on?

Should he still go to the Xiao Sect? Should he go back to his father? What happened to Patriarch Xiao Zheng’s Qi? Why is it that Liu Jin can no longer feel it? Has Patriarch Xiao Zheng been defeated already? No, surely not. That is impossible.

Everything that is happening is impossible!

The screams begin anew.

This time it is not the fire that causes them. A section of the walls has been torn down, and from that gap, a new threat pours into the city. Hundreds of riders gallop in, their bodies covered in armor, spears and blades raised high.

Liu Jin knows that armor.

He knows that armor!

He can only watch in stunned shock as the riders keep pouring into the city like an endless wave because nothing about this makes any sense! He needs to move! He needs to do something! Already the riders are rapidly approaching his position, their horses moving with incredible speed, destroying everything in their wake. The people run in fear, tripping over themselves and shoving each other out of the way in a mad dash for safety.

He needs to move.

Liu Jin knows, yet somehow, his body seems unwilling to cooperate.

Move!

A rider sees him. He does not stop or slow down.

Move!

The spear is raised. Moonlight makes the blade gleam as the rider swings at Liu Jin’s neck.

Move!

The rider drops dead.

Liu Jin looks on in shock. It was not him who killed the rider.

“Elder Brother?”

It is Xiao Nan yet not. That is the only way Liu Jin can describe the person who suddenly surged from his shadow.

“I said it at least once, didn’t I?” The wispy, translucent form of Xiao Nan asks him, as he looks back at Liu Jin with a grin. “You’re much better protected than you think you are, Little Brother.”

Five more soldiers drop dead. Killed before Liu Jin can blink.

“Do you remember when we were walking to New Moon Town? I showed it to you, right? How to split a piece of your soul?”

Yes, Liu Jin remembers that. Xiao Nan had shown the technique to him and used it to scout ahead.

“Then you are…?”

The translucent Xiao Nan moves his hand in a so-so gesture.

Six more soldiers fall.

“The full explanation would take too long. Let us just say I am an imprint left behind by Xiao Nan in your shadow to protect you. I also left one in Xiao Fang’s shadow. Uncle agreed it was for the best.”

“So all this time…?”

“Since a year or so before the tournament at least. Of course, I had to get permission from your Master for it, and—Oh, dear, that’s no good.”

Liu Jin blinks. Xiao Nan, who was translucent to begin with, grows fainter.

“Elder Brother, what’s wrong?”

“The original is calling me back.” Xiao Nan frowns before looking at Liu Jin. “Little Brother, I need you to listen to me very carefully. This is a message from the original. Take your father and leave.”

“What?”

“Take. Your. Father. And. Leave.”

“You cannot expect me to—”

“I expect you to do exactly that!” Xiao Nan roars, much to Liu Jin’s surprise. “Do you not understand, Little Brother? If I am telling you this, it is because I cannot guarantee your safety if you stay here! Take your father and leave! Xiao Fang is already far away! Xiao Shuang cannot be harmed where she is! As long as you survive as well, the Xiao Sect will recover!”

Xiao Nan puts a hand on his forehead and smiles, but there is nothing happy about it.

“Please, Little Brother. For your own good, that of your family, and that of the Xiao Sect. Leave Eastern Port City. We both knew you would outgrow this place eventually.”

No, Liu Jin has never once known that. That is what he wants to say to Xiao Nan. Before he can, Xiao Nan fades away, leaving Liu Jin alone in the middle of a street, multiple corpses all around him.

~~~