Wu Jian was traveling alongside Huǒ Shuchang when his instincts screamed at him that danger was approaching. His companion seemed to notice it at the same time, for the other man’s eyes widened.

“Dodge!” he shouted.

Wu Jian was already moving before Huǒ Shuchang’s scream. Something slammed into the ground just a few chih ahead of them. Lightning exploded in all directions. Wu Jian nearly yelped as he leapt into the air to avoid being hit.

That was a mistake.

A shadow appeared above Wu Jian and struck him in the back with enough force that he struck the ground. He nearly swallowed his tongue.

Rolling across the broken ground, he was able to avoid the shadow’s follow up attack, a powerful heel stomp that caused the earth to split. Cracks traveled across the ground as Wu Jian scrambled to his feet in order to put some distance between himself and his attacker.

Said attacker was someone Wu Jian had never seen before. He was a man with graying sideburns and a clean shaven jaw. It was hard to determine his age. His hair made him look old, but his face still retained a semblance of youth. The man’s green and yellow hanfu flapped behind him as he turned.

“Who are you? Why are you attacking me?” asked Wu Jian.

The man blinked several times. “I had no idea you were so young. Don’t take this personally. The young master wants your friend’s Three-Layered Red Yin Yang Pill, and he always gets what he wants.”

Wu Jian stole a quick glance at Huǒ Shuchang, who was already in combat with the one called Yin Xuefeng. His friend was on the defensive, forced to retreat as his enemy launched blades of wind and spears made of lightning.

“You should not look away from an opponent during combat,” said the man.

“!!!!”

Wu Jian’s eyes widened as a beam of condensed lightning and wind flew toward him. He dodged, but the attack curved around and attacked him from behind. Wu Jian was about to dodge that, but before he could, his opponent had appeared before him.

I’ve no choice!

Wu Jian bit back a cry of pain as he used his new phasing ability. His body became immaterial for a very brief moment.

His enemy’s eyes widened as his fist passed right through Wu Jian’s body, and he used that moment of surprise to his advantage. Wu Jian slid behind him and shoved. The man gave a startled cry of surprise as he was struck by his own attack, which he’d not been able to control in time to avoid.

Wu Jian shielded his eyes as an explosion of light overloaded his senses. He heard a scream of pain as the man was filled with however many volts of lightning had been in that attack. Blood splattered the ground as blades of wind cut into his flesh and ruined his clothes. The attack was so fierce Wu Jian was pushed back.

The attack soon ended, and Wu Jian blinked several times to rid his eyes of light spots. He looked toward where his opponent was standing. The man was still alive. In fact, now that he wasn’t blinded by the light, Wu Jian could see that the attack hadn’t done nearly as much damage as he had hoped. His enemy had a few cuts and his skin was black in some areas, but he was otherwise unharmed.

“What sort of technique was that?” asked the man. “I could have sworn I had hit you. Was that a clone technique? An illusion?”

Wu Jian snorted. “You can’t expect me to reveal any of my techniques to someone who wants to kill me.”

“No, I suppose I can’t,” the man said. “Ah. I forgot to introduce myself. That was quite rude of me. My name is Xu Wen. I am Young Master Yin Xuefeng’s bodyguard.”

“…Jian Wu.”

“A pleasure.”

The man quickly dashed forward, but Wu Jian had already anticipated this and threw a punch. This didn’t deter the man, who merely snorted as though he found Wu Jian’s actions funny, but that changed when something hard struck him between the legs. Xu Wen stumbled forward and cupped his injured nuts.

Wu Jian didn’t waste time.

He rushed the man and threw another punch. The man raised an arm to cover his face, but then he was struck in the kidney. He grunted and tried to block Wu Jian’s next attack, a punch to the gut, but he was forced to a knee when something slammed into the back of his leg. Wu Jian grabbed the man’s head in a clinch, leapt up, and slammed his knee into the man’s nose.

Unfortunately, while his attack did cause the other man to stumble, none of them did much damage. His cultivation simply wasn’t high enough. This man was obviously at the Asura Realm. Wu Jian not only couldn’t sense his cultivation, but he was so much stronger that the only reason Wu Jian hadn’t been killed was because of his unique abilities.

“Those powers of yours are quite unique. I cannot even fathom how they work. What are you doing? Ah. Pardon me. I know you won’t answer. I am merely speaking to myself,” said Xu Wen.

Wu Jian said nothing as he tried to analyze his opponent. This man used wind and lightning as his main elements to attack, and he was at least a Human Realm Cultivator, meaning his chi was denser, stronger, and he had a lot more of it than Wu Jian. He couldn’t win via a battle of attrition. He also couldn’t land a decisive killing blow since this man was so much more powerful than him.

What can I do? How can I emerge victorious from this?

“Regardless of whatever unique techniques you possess, you must know that you cannot win. I suggest you quietly consign yourself to death. It will be less painful that way,” Xu Wen said.

“Fuck you,” Wu Jian snapped.

His enemy shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Wu Jian tried to prepare for his enemy’s next attack. He kept his eyes wide open. And yet he somehow missed when the man moved. He hadn’t even blinked, and yet, the man was suddenly right in front of him.

Wu Jian twisted his body to the side. It wasn’t enough to dodge. A powerful fist covered in lightning slammed into his shoulder. Arcs of electricity skittered across his armor as he went into an uncontrolled spin.

He fell to the ground, but rolled across it to avoid several follow up attacks. The man threw out his fists, tiny wind bullets flying from each one. They struck the ground and left small holes. Wu Jian’s armor might protect him from those, but he knew his armor would break if he took too many hits.

Scrambling to his feet, Wu Jian tried to prepare for the next attack, but he barely managed to raise his arms in time to block the fist that came flying at him. He screamed in shock and pain as he was blasted off his feet and propelled backward. Something hard stopped his momentum--a rock maybe--and he fell to the ground, coughing up blood.

Xu Wen walked over to him, clapping his hands as though to dust them off. “You see? I told you it would be easier if you just gave up. You have talent. I’ll admit that, but you are still just a child. A naive young man who cannot understand the immensity between heaven and earth.”

“Cough… cough…” Wu Jian spat up a wad of blood as he glared at Xu Wen. “And how do you feel, beating on a child two whole realms below you? Do you feel powerful?”

“Not particularly. I cannot say I am a fan of bullying the weak. However, I am but a humble servant, and my master’s orders are absolute. If he tells me to kill someone, then I will kill them. That’s all there is to it,” said Xu Wen.

“And yet, you’re taking the time to explain this all to me,” Wu Jian mumbled.

Xu Wen shrugged. “I hold no animosity toward you. You at least deserve to know the reason you’re going to die.”

Wu Jian had already done a quick assessment of himself. He had some internal bleeding, but none of his bones were broken. That was undoubtedly thanks to his armor, which didn’t have a scratch on it even now. This man’s cultivation was not high enough to damage it without repeated attacks.

Wu Jian stumbled to his feet, eyes never leaving his foe. Past Xu Wen was Huǒ Shuchang and Yin Xuefeng. They were still battling. Huǒ Shuchang’s entire body was blazing like an inferno as he constantly retreated. Several cuts littered his body, though there was surprisingly little blood.

Yin Xuefeng was wielding a sword that seemed able to generate both wind and lightning, creating a cutting blade that sliced through flesh, cauterized the wound, and sent volts of lightning straight into the injury. It was a wonder Huǒ Shuchang was able to continue moving. Even Wu Jian would have been finished after being attacked like that.

“Just hurry up and hand over the Three-Layered Red Yin Yang Pill! If you do, I’ll give you a painless death!” Yin Xuefeng screamed.

“I’d rather not. I don’t like you. Since you came at me with the intent to kill, I’d much rather destroy the pill so you can never use it,” Huǒ Shuchang said in return.

“Then I’ll kill you now and take the pill from your corpse!”

“Careful. I have the pill on my person right now. You might destroy it if you attack too hard.”

Yin Xuefeng grimaced as he continued to attack, but they were shallow. Wu Jian finally understood. Huǒ Shuchang probably took out the pill and placed it somewhere inside his clothes. Yin Xuefeng’s entire purpose for attacking them was that pill. He wouldn’t dare go all out unless he wanted to risk destroying the pill, and Huǒ Shuchang was using that to his advantage, though he would eventually succumb to his wounds if he did nothing.

“Are you ready? Here I come,” said Xu Wen.

Wu Jian took a step back and threw out a high kick. Xu Wen raised his arm to block, but he staggered when Wu Jian’s foot struck his thigh instead.

Spinning around, Wu Jian threw another kick aimed at Xu Wen’s torso. The man didn’t block, expecting an attack from somewhere else, which explained why his eyes widened when the attack went through and struck him in the side.

Wu Jian had put all the power he possessed into that kick. Xu Wen was lifted off the ground and the flesh around his torso dented inward. Blood seeped from his mouth as he flew through the air in an arc.

But Wu Jian wasn’t done.

Xu Wen’s eyes widened when a hand suddenly grabbed his face. There was no one before him. Wu Jian was still on the ground, but there was a hand covering the entirety of his face. He screamed in shock as Wu Jian gritted his teeth and thrust his arm down like he was slamming something into the ground.

Earth upheaved as Xu Wen struck the hard ground. Cracks spread from the point of impact, creating a spider’s web.

“Do it now Yōuměi!” Wu Jian shouted.

“What is this--nggg?!” Xu Wen released a surprised cry as his own shadow speared him through the back, shoulders, and thighs, then coiled around him, trapping him.

Wu Jian knew his opponent would break free before long. Yōuměi wasn’t powerful enough to hold him.

He raced forward as his enemy exploded with chi, burning away the shadows that bound him, and yet it was already too late. Wu Jian thrust his hand forward just as the man stopped using chi. Xu Wen tried to block, but Wu Jian’s hand was not there. It phased through the man’s back instead. He unphased his hand once he had wrapped around the man’s heart, then squeezed.

“Cough!”

Blood exploded from Xu Wen’s mouth as Wu Jian removed his hand from inside the man’s chest. He looked at the man who was already dead. Sightless eyes stared at nothing as blood ran down his mouth. No one would know quite how this man had died since there were no external wounds.

“Good job, Yōuměi. Come on back,” Wu Jian said.

Yōuměi appeared from Xu Wen’s shadow, then merged with Wu Jian’s.

He turned in the direction of Huǒ Shuchang and his battle with Yin Xuefeng. It looked a little more even now. Wu Jian could only assume Yin Xuefeng’s caution had caused him to expend more chi than he needed to.

Now is my chance!

“Get ready, Yōuměi.”

His shadow writhed as Wu Jian raced forward. Yin Xuefeng must have heard his footsteps. He spun around and used the flat of his blade to block Wu Jian’s fist. The chi running through the weapon prevented Wu Jian from using his phasing ability. The young master gritted his teeth as he realized who had attacked him, even as he slid back.

“How are you still alive! What happened to Xu Wen?!”

“He’s already dead, and now it’s your turn,” Wu Jian declared.

“What?!”

Yin Xuefeng glanced behind Wu Jian, toward the corpse of his bodyguard. Wu Jian smiled grimly.

“Now, Yōuměi!”

Shadow spears emerged from Wu Jian’s shadow. They couldn’t pierce through Yin Xuefeng’s body. He had armor similar to Wu Jian’s, though it didn’t look as powerful. Still, Yōuměi wrapped her shadows around the young man, who wasn’t as strong as Xu Wen and therefore unable to break free.

“What… are these… shadows?!”

“You’re mine now!” Wu Jian shouted as he thrust his hand forward.

“Ah! Wait! Don’t kill him, Wu!” Huǒ Shuchang shouted.

But it was already too late.

Wu Jian had placed the remainder of his chi into his hand, which he shaped into a knife as he thrust it forward. The armor protecting Yin Xuefeng was a medium-grade earth profound artifact. It was strong, but that meant nothing when Wu Jian could just tear through space instead of the armor. His hand bypassed the armor and speared through his heart.

Perhaps because his heart had not been completely destroyed, Yin Xuefeng remained alive for a few seconds, long enough to grab Wu Jian’s wrist. His lips moved but no sound came out. Then the hands fell backward and Yin Xuefeng’s head tilted forward.

Wu Jian removed his hand from Yin Xuefeng’s chest and watched as the man fell backward. He took several deep breaths. That last attack had used the last of his chi. He was honestly lucky he had enough left to even use an attack.

He turned to look at Huǒ Shuchang. “You okay--owch!! The heck was that for?!”

“You idiot! I told you not to kill him!” Huǒ Shuchang as Wu Jian rubbed his head where the older man had hit him. He could feel a bump forming on the surface of his cranium.

“And why shouldn’t I kill him? He was trying to kill us. If I hadn’t killed him, he would have continued to chase us until either we died or he died,” Wu Jian grumbled.

Huǒ Shuchang took a deep breath as he pressed a hand to his face. “You really have no idea what you just did, do you? Listen, Wu. Clans like the Wind-Lightning Pavilion have a place called Soul Crystal Hall. It contains Soul Crystals, which are spirit stones that have been linked to important individuals within the sect. Whenever someone dies, the Soul Crystal linked to them shatters. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Wu Jian was not stupid. He knew now why Huǒ Shuchang’s battle had lasted so long. He had never been trying to win. He had been trying to make his opponent so exhausted that he was forced to give up.

“Oh… shit,” Wu Jian said.

“Shit is right. I’m sure by this point, the Wind-Lightning Pavilion already has our unique chi recorded. They don’t know who we are, but their sensors will recognize us if we’re near them. And they will begin a search for us. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wind-Lightning Pavilion sends a squad all the way to the Qing Province just to kill us. They know that’s where we’re going.”

Wu Jian’s shoulders slumped. “What should we do?”

“Nothing to do but keep moving and getting stronger,” Huǒ Shuchang shrugged. “Let’s head out and hope… hope that the White Tiger Sect ruins provide us with the opportunity to become much stronger, so that we might survive another day.”