The clearing was a tableau of frozen tension, shattered only by predatory motion. Aoyan pressed closer to Lin Shu's side, her body a small, defiant shield. Kai flanked his other side, black gas coiling from his clenched fists. Everyone else stood locked in place, weighing violence against consequence—except for Yu.
Yu was already moving, a blur of intent aimed at Lin Shu. Before he could cross half the distance, a shadow fell over him. Shang descended from the canopy above. A storm of razor-sharp, obsidian-black feathers erupted from his wings, shredding the air between Yu and Lin Shu, forcing the light-wielder into a skidding, defensive retreat.
"Not so fast, Yu," Shang said, landing lightly between them, his striped hair wild around his grinning face. "Can't let you go after my brother."
Yu came to a stop, his placid mask cracking into a cold sneer. "I'll rip your wings out, Shang. I'll warn you once: move out of my way."
Shang's smile only widened, a flash of teeth. "No can do, light-boy."
His eyes flickered, catching Han Lei shifting to a better flanking position. Before anyone could make another move, Lin Shu's voice cut through, raw but commanding. "If any of them get close to me, I'll kill her. Don't risk her life by letting Xie Lang or Yu take another step."
His grip on Han Yi's throat tightened for emphasis. She gagged, her struggles weakening.
Han Lei's face contorted in helpless fury. Yun Qiu looked equally enraged. Xie Lang took a testing step forward, his magma-wreathed fist glowing. "Like I care about some—"
He was stopped by Xu Jin's heavy hand on his shoulder. The enlarged brawler pointed silently at Yun Qiu, whose eyes were wide with fear for Han Yi.
"Oh, right," Xie Lang said, the fire dimming slightly in his eyes. "Forgot about this moron." Xu jin Then said"well this "moron" is your friend so calm down."xie sighed as he got closer to Yun qiu His voice dropped to a low whisper meant only for Yun Qiu. "If I lose the first place I'm killing you myself for wasting my points. Just know that."
"Thanks," Yun Qiu mumbled, his face still unchanged.
---
In the arena, Yanqi allowed himself a sliver of grim satisfaction. His disciple, pushed to the absolute brink, had pulled a ruthless, classic gambit. It was dirty, it was dangerous, and it was working.
Lu Zhenhai's displeasure was a dark cloud next to him. Lanyue couldn't resist. "Of course he'd resort to such tactics. After all, he's your disciple. A disciple is a mirror to his master."
Yanqi ignored her, his eyes on the cube. Tianhun chuckled, appreciating the brutal pragmatism. Kuang Baotu leaned forward, utterly engrossed in the high-stakes drama. Only Lu Zhenhai found no amusement, his jaw tight as he watched his disciple used as a bargaining chip.
---
"Now," Lin Shu rasped, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Toss your rings over to me."
Han Lei didn't hesitate. The risk to his sister overrode everything. He pulled his spatial ring from his finger and threw it in a high arc toward Lin Shu's feet. Lin Shu nodded to Kai, who darted forward, snatched the ring, and retreated, his eyes never leaving the hostile crowd.
"Yours too," Lin Shu said, his gaze shifting to Ouyi and Xiyao.
Reluctantly, they followed their leader's example, their rings joining Han Lei's on the bloody ground. Kai scrambled to collect them. Lin Shu didn't bother demanding Xie Lang's ring. That would be a step too far, a provocation that might make the volatile brawler call his bluff and attack regardless,and he can't order Han Lei to take Xie Lang's ring the latter would never allow that and would most likely attack him without care for Han Yi's safety.
As Kai gathered the rings, Han Yi's mind was a whirlwind. "I'll save this for after the hunt. If I reveal I know him now, he might find a way to escape in the chaos. But after, when Master and the elders are present... he'll have no chance. General Tianhun will be there. Han Lei's elder will be there. But first..." Her eyes flicked to Aoyan, who stood stubbornly close to Lin Shu, trying to press a healing pill into his free hand. He shook his head minutely, his focus absolute. "I need that girl to move."
She willed Aoyan to step back, to give her space. But Aoyan stayed stubbornly close, trying to press healing pills into Lin Shu's mouth. He shook his head minutely, his eyes never leaving Han Yi's throat, his focus absolute.
Yu watched the exchange, his mind working on a different kind of sabotage. "Well, if I can't get him here, I'll make sure he doesn't leave with those points." He focused, and the air around his throat shimmered imperceptibly. A sound technique warped his vocal cords.
"AOYAN, WATCH OUT! SOMEONE IS BEHIND YOU!"
The voice that rang out was an exact mimicry of Shang's—the same timbre, the same urgent cadence.
Shang's head snapped around. "Wait, is that my—?"
The damage was done. Lin Shu, operating on pure, hyper-tuned instinct, reacted before his brain could analyze. He shoved Aoyan hard to the side, his head whipping around to face the nonexistent threat.
It was the split-second opening Han Yi had been waiting for.
Her body, which had gone limp in apparent submission, suddenly became a conduit for contained fury. "Did you think I'd allow myself to be a damsel in distress?" she hissed, her voice thick with scorn.
Crackling lightning, not summoned from her bow but erupting from her own skin in a point-blank nova, enveloped them both.
ZZZAAAAPPP—CRACK!
The sound was the rending of flesh. Lin Shu had started to raise his arms, but the lightning was already there. It tore across his face, carving a deep, sizzling furrow from his hairline, across his brow, down to the corner of his mouth, peeling back skin to reveal the wet, red muscle beneath. His arms took the brunt of the blast meant for his torso; the already-bare right hand was scorched black in patches, the left, still in its cracked ivory gauntlet, smoked and burned. The smell of ozone and cooked meat filled the air.
A sound ripped from Lin Shu's throat that was less a scream and more a raw, animal roar of pure, shattering agony. "AHHHH! DAMN IT! DAMN IIIIIIT"
Cultivators could use qi to numb pain, to compartmentalize injury. Lin Shu had none. Every nerve ending was a live wire of excruciating fire. Through a haze of red pain, his eyes found Han Yi's. The rage he saw there was a mirror to his own, but it was cold where his was burning.
The moment of Lin Shu's incapacitation was the trigger for a coordinated onslaught. Han Lei, Xie Lang, and Yu moved as one. Their target wasn't Lin Shu now—it was Kai, and the rings he held.
A storm of techniques—a blade of lightning, a spear of solidified light, a fist of superheated earth—converged on the younger boy. Kai cried out, throwing up a desperate wall of black gas and flame. The attacks overwhelmed his defense, blasting him off his feet. The handful of rings flew from his grasp, scattering across the churned earth.
As Kai hit the ground, he saw the glitter of the prizes. He scrambled, snatching one ring that had landed near his hand. He lunged for another, but a spear of light stabbed into the dirt inches from his fingers. With a curse, he abandoned the rest, turning his scramble into a frantic, zigzagging sprint away from the center of the violence.
Han Yi, a new bow already in her hands from her spatial ring, drew back to finish Lin Shu. Aoyan was there before the arrow could fly, a hurricane of cyan flame and desperate fury. Her fist, wrapped in fire, slammed into Han Yi's side, knocking her aim wide and driving her back a step.
Kai, still running, saw Shang take to the air. The winged youth spread his arms wide. "Peak Rank 1 Technique: Feather Storm!"
A maelstrom of black feathers, each one sharp enough to cut steel, howled into existence, enveloping Han Lei, Xie Lang, and Yu. The three powerhouses roared in unison—not in pain, but in frustrated rage—as they were forced to defend. Lightning arced, light burst, and magma erupted in a desperate, dazzling display to shred the relentless feathery onslaught.
Yu saw his chance. Even as he defended, he opened his mouth. Another Deafening Roar, aimed directly at the hovering Shang.
The sonic blast hit Shang like a physical hammer. He faltered, his wings spasming, the Feather Storm stuttering for a critical second. "Damnit!" he snarled, fighting to maintain altitude.
But Shang has already got Aoyan enough precious seconds. She hauled Lin Shu's arm over her shoulders, and began to half-drag, half-carry him toward the densest part of the treeline. Kai covered their retreat, firing blasts of fire and gas behind them to obscure their path and slow any pursuit.
Shang shook off the disorientation. He saw Aoyan struggling with Lin Shu's weight. "Jump to me!" he shouted, swooping low.
Lin Shu, through the blinding pain, managed a stiff nod. He met Aoyan's eyes. She understood. With a surge of strength, she tightened her grip and jumped into a tree branch and then she and Kai jumped to Shang as he caught them both by the wrist she kept a close hand around Lin shu as she hugged him closely, "Kai I need some momentum!"Kai nodded releasing one final explosive push using his flames, hauling them upward just as a fresh volley of lightning, light spears, and magma projectiles tore through the space they'd just occupied.
"Haha! He got away!" Yu laughed, the sound bright and mocking as he watched the ragged group ascend. He turned his smirk on Han Lei and Xie Lang. "I am a bit disappointed with your performance Lei I expected more from you." He smiled as he continued with his mockery "you are the chosen one after all hahahahaha."
Han Lei said nothing, his knuckles white on his sword hilt. Yu didn't wait for a reply. Light enveloped him, and he flashed away into the forest, gone in an instant.
Han Lei could only watch as Shang, already a distant, winged silhouette against the gray sky, carried his prizes away at a speed he couldn't hope to match in his wounded state.
He felt a hand on his arm. Han Yi stood beside him, her expression a mix of guilt and simmering anger. "Sorry, Lei. It's because of me you lost your ring."
He placed a gentle hand on her head, the anger leaving him in a weary sigh. "It's fine. I'll get those points back when I find him again. There are still enough days. And..." He looked toward where Ouyi was carefully gathering the scattered rings from the ground. "...there's a good chance he didn't get mine. Kai only grabbed one before he fled."
Ouyi returned, holding the rings. Han Lei took them, his breath easing as he identified his own. "They didn't get mine. Good. But they did take Xiyao's." He turned to the brown-haired girl, offering his gratitude. "I'll make sure you get your points back. Thank you for helping my sister."
Xiyao accepted it with a warm, understanding smile. "It's fine. I didn't have that many points anyway."
The moment of tenderness was shattered by Xie Lang's growled interruption. "I'm pretty sure this is still a battle. Keep that talk to yourselves, please. Now, give me my points, or—" His glowing hand lifted, not toward Han Yi, but pointedly at Xiyao. "—I'll cripple her."
Yun Qiu nudged him hard. "Lang!"
Xie Lang shrugged him off. "Piss off. I said her, not Han Yi."
Zeng Shiyang and Xu Jin, both bleeding from multiple feather-cuts and looking exhausted, moved to flank their leader. Xu Jin spoke, his voice a tired rumble. "Do you even have a quarter of your qi left? Look at us. Do you think we're in any state to fight them?"
Xie Lang avoided his gaze, his bravado deflating.
"That's what I thought," Xu Jin said. "So let's make a deal and leave. We can find them later, hunt them down when we're healed. I don't want to get backstabbed by some scavenger while we're busy fighting each other."
Xie Lang scowled at the ground, then spat. "Fine. I'm becoming more of a coward by the second that I spend with you, Jin." He turned his glare back to Han Lei. "Alright. We'll end it here for now. We'll continue our fight later."
He turned and stalked away without another word, his team falling in behind him. Yun Qiu cast one last, longing look at Han Yi, who met it with a frosty frown. He sighed, shooting a glare at Xie Lang's back as if this were all his fault, before trudging after his team.
Han Lei watched them go, then looked down at the rings in his hand, and finally up at the empty sky where his enemy had vanished. The hunt was far from over.