Ling Wei Zhao carried Senior Sun under his arms. The distance between Yue Yun Sect and General Bo Ling’s mansion would be considered quite large even for a cultivator’s standards. After an hour’s travel, Wei Zhao has only reached the town over which he sensed Xiao Qing’s disturbed qi flow.

It was then that Wei Zhao felt the familiar trickle of qi emanate from his prisoner. Whereas, Wei Zhao’s qi flowed through his meridians like coursing serpents riding rapids, Senior Sun’s qi was akin to a broken water system. At places, the qi was thick and would flow quickly and haphazardly. On many places in his meridians, however, the circuit had gaps. The pressure of the previous heavier flow would seep out through those gaps to a great extent and severely inflame the meridians. Less than ten percent of the prior flow originating from the dantian would complete a full circuit.

Yet, at this moment, Wei Zhao felt the qi expand and pour forth as if overflowing from a geyser. With narrowed eyes, Wei Zhao flew even faster, moving his waist as a snake would slither quickly across sand.

By the time Wei Zhao reached a forest, Senior Sun’s disposition had taken a drastic turn.

The qi flowing had somehow reached a level impossible for a man with Senior Sun’s inherent lack of latent talent, lack of a spiritual reservoir or base, and lack of a complete circuit. And as far Wei Zhao’s intel had gathered, Senior Sun did not possess a divine physique nor had all 54 heavenly points opened; neither did rumors tell of Senior Sun possessing a mystical artifact or tool of a demonic nature.

The sudden explosion of qi in the middle-aged man’s meridians had cause his skin to gradually bloat up and turn an oily black. Wei Zhao felt sick from the residue sweat which drenched through the man’s robes. Senior Sun’s cute boyish charm had vanished. His face was now more masculine and squarish — boorish, in fact. Long tusks protruded from his lower lips as well like great ivory scimitars particular to the natives of the West.

As Wei Zhao studied the demonic changes to Senior Sun’s face, he found the middle-aged man to be bleeding from the center of his forehead.

Wei Zhao felt as if his entire being was grasped by an absolute force as he stared at the bleeding. It was as if a massive claw had gripped his soul and slowly drove itself deep into his being.

“Argh,” he screamed as he threw Senior Sun to the side and averted his eyes.

To his great surprise, Senior Sun floated in midair. Wei Zhao swallowed his soul back into his body. Senior Sun exerted a far more oppressive force than even General Bo Ling.

The middle-aged man’s muscles bloated to such extreme that his robes ripped. The bleeding on his forehead stopped and with a deafening noise a slit opened up on his forehead to reveal a third eye. It had no pupil. Senior Sun’s other two eyes flickered open.

The demonic man transformed unleashed a scream. That single scream was filled with such force that the rain caught in its path became spears.

Wei Zhao swore and immediately activated the highest form of Soaring Dragon, Sifting Leaves that he had comprehended. The movement skill allowed him flight as a basic principle (a coveted ability to fly through the air before stabilizing a base). Wei Zhao had cultivated the ability up to its fourth step of five. The second step allowed for an empowered linear burst — much like a soaring dragon — which would appear as though the user teleported to the untrained eye. The third step allowed one to move in such a profound and mystical fashion that one became like the leaf, untethered by wind. The fourth step was a union of the prior two steps.

And it was in this fashion that Wei Zhao managed to dodge each and every spear thrown at him while minimizing the blow of the roar! As he bolted forward, he was like leaf — flat when need be, yet supple. He would burst to one side to dodge one spear, immediately stop and bounce back like a leaf, and rush forward.

In the time of a single breath, Wei Zhao had moved into his range to strike. Without delay, he activated the absolute highest form of Piercing Hawk Strike. At the tenth form, Wei Zhao was able to extend each of his talon to a meter in length and width! Not only that, but the electricity generated would be several times more fierce to the point that the talons no longer resembled talons but lightning in its purest form. Crackling. Chaotic. Unpredictable.

As Wei Zhao descended swiftly like a hawk with his claws, Senior Sun did not bother to block. He flew forward with his fists flying. The collision created such an unforgiving aftershock that the forest which they battled above became cleared land.

For every strike that Senior Sun launched, the claws would decrease drastically in power. Yet for every punch he gave, Senior Sun’s fists would become further charred.

By the end of it, both had backed off with only a distance of a hundred meters in between them. A paltry distance manageable in a single breath. The reserves of qi Wei Zhao possessed had diminished by nearly two-thirds. A crestfallen expression adorned his face. Senior Sun continued to overflow with qi, yet he was more severely injured. His fists had become charred to the point that the skin peeled back to reveal the white of bone. Blood had begun to pulsate from all three of his eyes and trickle down from his lips. The disregard for defense had even left his chest battered, as if whipped, from the flare of lightning.

The two men recognized each others as equals. The storm had died down, as if the rain god has grown tired of throwing her tantrum and half-heartedly threw out tears. The wind similarly dulled to a whisper.

Wei Zhao spoke first. “You are a mad man, Senior Sun.”

“I do not believe I can classify as a man any longer,” he replied. It was a coarse voice. It sounded as if he spoke across a raging ocean from within a dark cave.

“That is one of the forbidden demonic techniques. Though I do not recognize which one.”

“It is one of Yin Yin’s own creations. She came up with it specifically to allow me to circumvent my incomplete circuit. Naturally, my absorbtion of qi is high enough that not all qi is lost before completing a circuit. And if a rapid is fierce enough, it will leap across any gap like a pack of tigers.”

“Yin Yin?” Wei Zhao asked with a smirk.

“This face cannot form expressions well, but if it could, I would be frowning.”

Wei Zhao covered his mouth, a certain shine in his eyes. “I am not judging. I think it is sweet of you, Senior Sun Sun.”

“You brat.”

“My, my, the adrenaline high must be melting our brains. So what is the technique called?”

“Azure Sky; she never did have the best naming sense.”

“Is that why your daughter has such a common name like Qing?” Wei Zhao chuckled. It was evident that it was the first time in a long time that the man laughed genuinely.

“Oh shut up. I am sure you figured out the technique’s weakness from our clash.”

Wei Zhao’s eyes darkened. He cracked his neck. “Of course, I am a subordinate of the great General Bo Ling. It seems the energy exerted is unstable, hence why you are not attacking me. If you were to attack, even though you do not use any skills, your meridians would implode and your dantian will collapse. Second, you can only enhance your physical body as the mere thought of using any special skills would kill you. Third, such a technique of pulling strength from nowhere into a trash vessel would result in death. Time is severely limited for you: either you run out of steam and die, or you overexert yourself and explode.”

“Truly deserving of being General Bo Ling’s man. Though, rather than pulling strength from nowhere, the technique is a stockpile of almost two decades of qi.”

“That explains why it smells of old man.”

“At least, I do not smell of death.”

“What can I say? I am best at what I do.”

The wind died down. The rain ceased. The clouds lifted. The smile of the moon beamed down blinding both men.

Senior Sun squinted. Wei Zhao left. A game of cat and mouse where both men were mice and both were the arrogant feline!

“I just have to survive.” Wei Zhao concentrated all his efforts in maintaining the second step of Soaring Dragon, Sifting Leaves. He kept moving toward General Bo Ling’s mansion in bursts. Wei Zhao grimaced, though amusement danced on his lips. He felt the distance between Senior Sun and Wei Zhao decrease more and more. “I should not spare even a glance behind me.”

He grunted as he flooded his meridians with more qi than he ever managed to prior. Yet, the distance continues to close to smaller and smaller margins. As the distance became increasingly smaller, Wei Zhao felt both an excitement and desperation he felt he had lost.

As the game of cat and mouse continued, the sun began to rise. Wei Zhao had flew the entire night. So much sweat and blood has been shed that Wei Zhao felt as if he transcended mortality. The light danced in front of him, and he chased it.

He laughed for his body was as light as emptiness. Wei Zhao forgot he was running away. He simply flew toward the light.

At last, Wei Zhao felt Senior Sun’s body collide with his back. The sudden moment knocked Wei Zhao out of his movement skill. He suffered a massive backlash as he coughed up blood by the pint.

Wei Zhao was prepared to die. Yet, he found Senior Sun’s body simply lying on top of his back.

“Ah,” Wei Zhao said with realization. He felt no qi emanating from Senior Sun. He turned his head and looked at the corpse. It no longer even resembled anything that could have at one point been alive. Rather, it was a mangled pile of flesh. Shaking his head, a certain muddiness and dullness returned to his eyes. Wei Zhao closed the lids on Senior Sun's dead eyes the best he could.

Ling Wei Zhao carried Senior Sun under his arms. The distance between here and General Bo Ling’s mansion would be considered a short distance by a cultivator’s standards. The sun hung over the two like a drop of gold. He carried the corpse under his arms and glided slowly toward General Bo Ling’s mansion, toward the light.

Author's Note: Did anyone think Senior Sun would live? Or was his death completely predictable? I feel like in this chapter, Wei Zhao gets developed a bit more, but I'm wondering if his development felt too out of character. Thanks for reading.