Baozhai leapt through the empty air like it was an obstacle course, darting from side to side to avoid the remaining wind vortexes still sweeping through the skies. The mere remainder of Wu Chang’s attack created a violent field in the sky. Jiyao was still caught up in a whirlwind, swirling and circling and unable to extract himself, but he still caught sight of Baozhai’s rush and yelled at her, “No, get back!”

She wasn’t swayed by his words, charging towards the scar faced man with a grimace on her face. Her rapid motion caused her hood to fall back and exposed her auburn hair and the copper color of her skin. The look on her face spoke of her pure determination and even Jiyao’s desperate cry wasn’t going to deter her. Wu Chang didn’t move yet, just watching her with an inquisitive look. Not a shred of fear or even wariness could be seen from him, just holding his rainbow hued fan and waiting for her to get closer.

With a final push Baozhai closed the distance and forced herself forward with her full strength, but she was met with a face full of wind. Wu Chang waved his free hand and it was like she was thrown into a wind tunnel. She kept pushing onward, but Wu Chang floated away effortlessly in the opposite direction. Baozhai roared and changed direction, jumping out of the area of strong wind and then approaching Wu Chang from another angle. It seemed Jiyao’s worry was for naught, Wu Chang didn’t even bother with battling Baozhai. While she could leap through the air, she had no hope of matching Wu Chang’s speed. He watched her warily for a bit longer and then waved his fan to bat her down to the ground with a building sized column of wind. Baozhai was slapped downwards and thudded against the ground. A cloud of dust was thrown up from the force of the collision, but when it cleared Baozhai was standing there brushing the dirt from her clothing looking completely unharmed.

Wu Chang didn’t seem to care about her, instead he held out his hand and the whirlwind capturing Jiyao flew back over to him and slowed to a stop. He glared at Jiyao, “Alright, that’s enough playing around. Let’s get to the point already. Who put you up to this?”

Jiyao felt like the air had solidified around him, holding him in place. The saber had been thrown from his grip and it had flown far into the distance, leaving him unarmed at the moment. He hadn’t been hurt greatly from the attack, but there was little he could do in his current predicament. Wu Chang continued to glare, “It looks like you lost your guts already, kid. Are the five of you just idiots that didn’t realize the size of the sky? I’m tired of messing around, so call out your boss.”

Baozhai had stopped struggling, realizing that she couldn’t even get close to the man flying around in the sky with effortless ease. Jiyao was completely at Wu Chang’s mercy and the other three were already covered in wounds. Thankfully, Juzui’s abilities had already stopped all the bleeding, so their lives weren’t currently at risk. At least for the moment. The difference in strength was now quite obvious. Baozhai and Jiyao started to look a little uneasy, but they grit their teeth.

Wu Chang noticed the change and frowned. A feeling of unease came upon him. He figured this group were either tricked into getting themselves killed or they were meant as a distraction. He didn’t want to lose all his subordinates so he was forced to step in. Now he realized he was correct, these kids were stalling, but from the looks on their faces they were confident in whoever it was backing them up. He recognized that look. It was just like the face of his best friend from when he was young. They had learned of a disastrous attack upon their Sect and Tao Xun had made him swear an oath to survive. Tao Xun returned to their Sect and Wu Chang never saw him again.

Wu Chang was contemplating how he was going to force the answer out of Jiyao when suddenly the sky changed colors. The clear blue shimmered and wavered like a film had just been drawn over it and Wu Chang immediately rocketed upwards. He swung his fan and a swirling ball of wind the size of a barrel flew upwards where it smashed against a barrier. The source of the darkened blue sky now apparent, an immense barrier having sprung up around not just the battlefield but the whole of Lionheart Town, a dome reaching a few miles into the air and trapping them all. Wu Chang flew back down away from the wall of the barrier and started scanning his surroundings, scouring the extent of the area covered by the energy shield.

Wu Chang realized another person had appeared next to the three he’d injured earlier and almost simultaneously another barrier appeared. A layer of green light appeared around Lionheart town, isolating it from the larger area covered by the dark blue screen. The Jade Horde, the Strongfist Brothers, the five attackers, and Wu Chang were now caught between the two barriers. Of course, there was also one extra person and that was where Wu Chang’s attention was focused. Something about him seemed familiar, but he didn’t recognize the man’s face. He flew down towards the ground and extended his Spiritual Sense, feeling out the new arrival’s aura. His uneasiness disappeared and he instead frowned.

“Is this it? Just you? Did you think these barriers would stop me? Don’t you idiots know who I am?”

Wu Chang released his fan and it flew behind him, the rainbow colored half circle looking quite like the tail of a peacock as he puffed up his chest. The golden crest on his helmet added to his splendor and he yelled to the sky, “I’ve ruled Lionheart Town for thirty six years and the Jade Horde for twelve. I’ve killed thousands of bandits, criminals, and Demonic Beasts. I stand now at the peak of the fifth rank, on the cusp of awakening my Nascent Soul. The bunch of you have just formed your cores, and even this fellow has only reached the eighth stage. What right do you rabble have to even be wasting my time! Do you think numbers can beat true strength?!”

The fan on his back started to spin, the appearance of a peacock tail replaced by multi-colored rings behind him. As it spun, the colors of the fan melded together and differentiated into a set of rings. After just a few moments those colored rings grew larger and expanded behind him. The many colored lights spread up towards the sky and all of the air within the barrier started to move. The winds began to pick up and everyone trapped between the two barriers felt the air grow thin and it became harder and harder to breathe. Wu Chang stared ruthlessly at his six enemies, “You idiots can’t beat me! I don’t even have to lift a finger to kill you all!”

The swirling winds pushed back the Jade Horde and the Strongfist Brothers. They could breathe a bit easier now, but it still felt like they were on top of a mountain. As for the other six, they felt the air getting thinner and thinner until it was utterly gone. As cultivators, they could hold their breath for quite a long period, but not indefinitely. Certainly, it was possible to completely forgo the need for food, water, sleep, and even breathing, but these were specialty skills. Using Qi to replace the needs of the body was an ability that could take years to master and most only learned the rudiments of it. Once their breath ran out they would start consuming a high amount of Qi every second which would be a huge hindrance to them in a fight.

The new arrival, a man with long black hair and simple grey robes merely smiled. His blue waist sash and hair tie swayed with the wind until it was suddenly gone, falling back down lifelessly. His golden eyes fixed upon Wu Chang, and the look made a chill crawl up Wu Chang’s spine. The chill only reinforced Wu Chang’s anger, but before he did anymore he heard the man finally speak.

“I’m not going to beat you. She is.”