Splat!
The plump merchant, Baifung, hit the opposite wall with enough force to shatter the timber, groaning as he slumped into the mud. Nearby, the Golden Guards fared slightly better; they drove their red-feathered spears deep into the cobblestones, the metal screeching as it acted as an anchor against Lian's overwhelming shockwave.
"Tch... such power. What is his realm?" Zhao coughed, spitting a glob of dark blood into the dirt. He struggled to his feet as a crowd began to form at the edges of the street, whispering in awe as Lian stepped out of the ruined inn, his movements slow and predatory.
"Commander Zhao!" one of the guards called out, clutching his ribs and coughing. "He... he is a Master. We have to call for reinforcements immediately!"
"Tch! You think I don't know that?" Zhao thought bitterly, his eyes darting to the spectators. "But if the High Command investigates this matter thoroughly, they'll find the Fire Leaf bribe. I'll be executed before this brat is even shackled."
Zhao's expression hardened. He reached into his belt, pulled out a ragged red cloth, and tied it firmly to the tip of his spear.
"Shut up and get into formation!" he barked. "We will activate the Five-Flame Pillar Array!"
Following his lead, the remaining four guards tied similar red rags to their spear tips. They moved with practised precision, cautiously surrounding Lian in the centre of the muddy street.
Lian stood perfectly still, his long hair catching the wind as the men locked into their positions. "They are setting up a battle array, huh? I wonder how a mobile formation differs from a stationary seal."
As the five men hit their marks, the air began to howl. Their collective Qi surged, turning from a dull white into a blinding, incandescent orange. A wave of extreme Yang Flame erupted from the spears, the heat so intense that the mud beneath their feet began to bake into cracked clay.
"How interesting... let's see their strength then," Lian muttered. He leaned down, plucked a heavy cobblestone from the mud, and flicked it toward one of the guards. Before the stone could even cross the midway point, the intense Yang heat caused it to glow cherry-red, melt into liquid slag, and finally dissipate into grey dust.
"Hehehe... nice."
"DIVINE LION ROAR!" Zhao screamed, his veins bulging.
Above the five men, the flickering orange Qi condensed into a massive, snarling silhouette of a lion. It was as tall as a building, its mane made of pure white-hot plasma. The beast charged straight for Lian, the air around it fracturing and waving like a desert mirage from the sheer caloric output.
"Let's see, then."
As the flame lion hurtled toward him, he didn't dodge. He didn't even draw his sword. He simply reached out with his bare right hand, his fingers splayed, and caught the spectral beast by its flaming throat.
"What?! Who is that man?" a spectator shrieked. "He's holding back the Golden Guards' Divine Lion with one hand as if it's a common house cat!"
"Ha! How the hell is he doing that?" Commander Zhao's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull as the great Yang flames began to flicker and dim against Lian's palm.
"Pour more Qi into the attack! Now!" Zhao barked, spit flying from his lips. "There is no way he can remain unaffected by that heat!"
The guards roared in unison, their faces turning purple as they funnelled every drop of their cultivation into their spears. The flame lion tripled in size, its heat so intense that the nearby buildings began to smoke.
"This bores me," Lian sighed.
His hand shifted, his fingers curling into the shape of a sharp claw. With a casual squeeze, he crushed it. The massive lion vanished into thin air as if it had never existed, leaving only a faint smell of ozone.
Before the guards could even register the loss of their array, Lian vanished. Using the Fleeing Shadow Step, he reappeared directly in front of Zhao. His hand was already pressed against the Commander's midsection.
"Flowing Blossom Strike."
Lian's palm moved a fraction of an inch, but the vibration it sent through the air was deafening.
CRACK.
"DAMN IT! YOU DARE—!" Zhao's scream was cut short as he was launched backwards. He tumbled through the mud, his body convulsing in agony. "You... you broke my Dantian!"
The Commander lay shattered on the ground, the golden light of his cultivation leaking out of his body like steam from a broken pipe. He was no longer a Master; he was a mortal.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
The sound of shattering glass echoed through the street, but it wasn't windows; it was the sound of the four remaining guards' Dantians collapsing under the pressure of Lian's palm strikes. One by one, the Golden Guards slumped to the ground, their red-feathered spears falling into the mud.
"Ha... he actually did it. I thought he was just reckless, but it seems he has the power to back up his arrogance," a voice chuckled from a distance.
High above the street, in a lacquered wooden tower overlooking the inn, an elderly man sat at a low table. He wore light blue robes with a meticulously embroidered Yin and Yang circle over his heart. His beard was long and flowing, white as mountain snow, and he sipped his tea with the calm of a man who had seen empires rise and fall.
"That movement technique of his... I have never seen anything like it," the old man, Master Bao, mused. "If I were to guess, I'd say he has already stepped into the Sovereign Realm. What do you think, Li Fuang?"
Beside him, a younger man with sharp features leaned against the balcony, his eyes never leaving Lian. "Mmm... you think so as well, Master Bao? To reach the Sovereign Realm at such a young age... he is a true heaven-sent genius. But it's a shame. He has wasted his life fighting the Golden Guards. He's done for; the City Lord will never let this pass. Using Qi to cripple officials is a death sentence inside the city walls."
Master Bao didn't respond immediately. He just watched as Lian stood in the centre of the silent street.
"Well, I doubt the City Lord will find it so easy to punish him," Master Bao mused, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Lian's attire. "Those robes... and look at his waist. Most wouldn't recognise it, but I've travelled the four corners of this continent. That jade... that is the Azure Jade of the Crane Family."
"What? The Crane Family?" Li Fuang stood up abruptly, gripping the balcony railing as he squinted to see the shimmering ornament at Lian's belt. "If he's a scion of the Cranes, why the hell are the Tang and the Golden Guards trying to arrest him? Are they suicidal?"
"Perhaps they don't know. Or perhaps... he is testing them," Master Bao whispered. He leaned forward, his own Qi beginning to swirl as he projected a thread of Divine Sense toward the street. "I wonder if he is the real thing. Let me test him a little..."
The old man's consciousness reached out, invisible and weightless, intending to gently probe the depth of Lian's Dantian.
COUGH!
Master Bao jerked backwards, his tea splashing across the table. A spray of crimson blood erupted from his mouth, staining his light blue robes.
"Master!" Li Fuang rushed to his side, his face pale with shock. "What happened? What was that?!"
"Ugh..." Master Bao gasped, his hand trembling as he clutched his chest. The calm, scholarly aura he had maintained was shattered. "What the hell was that...? It felt like... like an ancient, primordial beast was guarding his soul. My Divine Sense was swallowed whole."
"Are you okay, Master?" Li Fuang reached out to support him, but Bao waved him off, hurriedly wiping the blood from his lips before anyone else in the tower could see.
"No, no... I am alright," Bao managed, though his breath was ragged. He looked back down at the young man in the street. "Li Fuang... we must not interfere. That boy... it would be best if you made a connection with him."