Battle was a messy business most of the time, even in the most clearly defined and clean cut of circumstances. Danger lurks at every turn on the battlefield and one slight slip up could be the death of even the most experienced of warriors.

Chun Dai knew this, his entire Path took root in the mastery of his preferred method of combat and he’d spent years honing his instinct and refining his outlook with the help of his liege.

So how was it that, for the second time now, this beast lord had managed to put him on the backfoot?

The crimson clad swordsman had taken the initiative in their fight swiftly and decisively, cutting away every possible means of escape and every venue of counterattack. The spider had given ground easily, chittering madly in its odious cadence every time a scar appeared on its dark chitinous body, running away at every turn as it knew it was no match for him in a face to face.

He’d felt vindicated, he was rectifying his previous mistake born of hubris and inattention, but ironically enough, in his haste to reclaim the honor that had been tarnished by the previous blunder he ended up falling for another of the cunning beast’s ploys.

The house sized spider deployed its domain and Chun Dai called forth his own to protect himself from what he believed was its last ditch effort to break away from him, but instead of launching an attack, the beast lord infused his power into the fabric of space.

The core disciple pulled back from his chase, suddenly feeling an ominous premonition, but it was far too late, he’d fallen once again into the beast’s trap.

The spiritual spider’s Domain expanded through the hidden world’s physical reality, completely bypassing his own Domain and immediately reaching his body. Such an indirect application of one’s Domain was however too weak to cause any sort of major damage, so the stoic swordsman called forth his spiritual energy through his body and prepared himself to weather the blow directly.

The poison still lingering in his spirit stirred.

A grunt of pain escaped from Chun Dai’s lips alongside a spray of blood, his control over his Inner World was momentarily sent into chaos and he started plummeting to the ground as the laws of the Heavens started to affect him fully once more.

His eyes narrowed and with a not inconsiderable amount of effort, he pushed through the pain and the poisonous miasma infecting his spirit to regain control of his Domain, just in time to land on the ground and deflect an earth shattering strike from his opponent.

He took advantage of its momentary unbalance to lop off the leg it had used to attack him with a back handed slash, but had to give up on any further retaliation as the beast lord pulled at the poison inside of him once again.

The two stood dozens of paces across from one another, their bodies unnaturally still while their auras and domains clashed with such violence that the space all around them started to twist due to the weight of presence.

Chun Dai knew he was at a disadvantage, and the shame and humiliation of being outdone once more burned at his insides even harder than the poison, but he was not yet willing to lay down and die, he still wanted to fight. He just needed a single chance to flip the situation on its head.

The Heavens must have smiled upon him, as that is exactly what he got.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chun Dai noticed a streak of color rapidly approaching their position, heading straight for the beast lord. He made sure not to directly lay his eyes on it, lest he inadvertently tip off the cunning beast of its coming demise, then he started moving around, leading the overgrown spider into giving its back to the shining spear flying through the air.

The crimson clad swordsman prepared himself, gathering his Domain around himself in a skintight cocoon, the beast lord made its own preparations, sensing his own.

Chun Dai almost smiled once the crystalline spear came close enough for him to send a wisp of aura its way.

It looked like the Golden Prince’s young protege had managed to fix things up with that rival of his. Good, that meant that despite everything that had happened, their mission was successful.

Whit his mood bolstered by that thought, Chun Dai stilled his mind for the handful of moments it would take for the shining spear to hit its mark.

The beast lord’s inhuman screech acted as his signal.

His domain shrunk in on itself, peeling away from around his body and concentrating on his blade. Moisture bloomed from the blade itself, fat drops of shiny grey liquid coming into existence from the depths of his Inner World.

An omnidirectional conflagration of power erupted from the beast lord, an instinctual reaction to the painful blow that had taken it by complete surprise and had it blow its load way too early.

Chun Dai strode forward implacably, the waves of chaotic energy unleashed by the wounded animal tugging agonizingly at the taint in his soul, but his will was stronger still, his conviction running deeper than the ocean churning at the center of his soul. His Intent sharpened into an unstoppable blade of belief.

Right here, right now, the king of this world would fall.

It was an almost casual motion, the one that the stoic swordsman performed. Nothing more than a flick of his wrist which sent his blade cutting through the air in a slight arc.

From his favored blade came a thin strand of grey water, a seemingly innocuous thing that floated forward through the still air almost gracefully.

The beast lord's remaining eyes settled in horrified silence on the blade of water as it reached its face before it could do anything to stop it. Its head was split into two parts, its bulbous, multi faceted eyes drooping down on either side of its body.

Then its thorax was cut, with its viscera spilling onto the ground in a disgusting pile of giant arachnid bits. Then the bastard's abdomen was cut in twain, with the two halves of its body now finally slumping to the ground lifelessly.

Relief flooded the injured swordsman, even if it didn't show on his face. But he still couldn't let himself let his guard down, as he'd learned from this trip, he never knew if there was another trap just waiting around the corner for him to stop paying attention.

Chun Dai flew through the air at breakneck speeds, reaching the battered and unconscious form of Yu Xiang in a matter of moments before he'd even hit the ground.

With his main charge now secured he then located the rest of his young followers, finding them still in the middle of combat with the horde of beasts and on the verge of being overrun.

With a casual leap forward he came right beside them, then raised his blade once more.

These beasts had no Domains to stop him, and most of them were nothing more than cripples, all dispatched with a single casual wave of his sword.

He didn't give his young charges even enough time to feel relieved before he picked them all up with a flex of his Domain, after which he immediately set off for the hole that was their exit point into the real world.

They'd spent far too long in this place for his tastes, and he wanted to leave this horrible place behind him alongside the embarrassment he'd suffered within it.

He called up the power of his Inner World, flowing through his Domain, and cut the space that separated them from their destination, shortening an hour long journey into barely a few minutes of flying.

Chun Dai didn't even stop to wait for the disciples outside to open the path, deciding instead to forcefully wrench the hole open so that he could step through.

"Senior Brother Chun!" A chorus of voices greeted him as he returned to the real world, at last.

Disciples trained in the healing arts took up his charges for some healing and rest, transporting them towards a flying barge that he could sense in the distance, while a familiar healer, no doubt sent by his liege himself, took him to the side by his shoulders, her firm grip the only thing keeping him from falling to his knees.

"You look like utter crap Dai! What in the hells happened to you?!" A feminine voice whispered harshly in his ear.

Chun Dai just shook his head, far too tired to explain himself on the spot. But still, he let himself smile a fraction, which almost made the woman holding him somersault back in surprise.

He was just that happy for this to be over.