Sundown painted the city in shades of orange and purple. The slum lord, a 5th-level Qi
Condensation cultivator named Zhu, returned as promised. He had his two thugs (both
2nd-level) and this time, he carried a torch.
"Time's up, hag!" he bellowed.
"No."
Zhu and his men turned. Standing in the doorway of the orphanage was Kael. His sword was
still in its sheath. His arms were crossed. He looked, for all the world, like a simple-minded fool.
"And who the hell are you?" Zhu sneered. "Her 'champion'? You reek of the tannery, boy. And...
no Qi?" He laughed, a high-pitched, ugly sound. "You're a mortal! Get out of my way before I
burn you with the building."
"The building is not yours," Kael said, his voice flat. "And you will not harm them. Leave."
Zhu's face turned purple. "Kill him," he ordered his thugs.
The two thugs grinned, drawing rusty sabers. They infused them with their weak Qi, the blades
giving off a faint, sickly-green light. They charged.
From a rooftop a block away, Lin Yue watched, her heart thumping with a strange, clinical curiosity. What will he do? Endure? He can't possibly survive two cultivators.
Kael didn't move. Not until the blades were a foot from his chest. Then, he activated
[Guardian's Stance].
His Stamina bar began to tick down. The world's sounds muted, replaced by the sharp, clear
focus of his own defense. He uncrossed his arms and drew his sword.
It wasn't a flashy move. It was a simple, vertical block.
CLANG!
The sound was not of steel on steel. It was of steel on mountain. The two thugs' sabers struck
Kael's longsword and stopped dead. The Qi on their blades sizzled and dissolved against his
[Aura of Protection], which had reinforced the block.
The thugs' eyes went wide. They had expected to cut him in half. Instead, their arms were
numb, their blades vibrating.
Kael pushed. Not with strength, but with balance. He deflected their blades, stepped into their
guard, and slammed his sword's heavy pommel into the first thug's face. Bone crunched. The
man went down.
The second thug, terrified, tried to slash at his side. Kael, without even looking, performed a
perfect, low parry. His stance, his skill, was guiding him, moving his body with an alien,
defensive grace. The blade skidded off his sword. Kael kicked the man in the knee. The joint
shattered with a wet snap. The thug screamed and collapsed.
It took four seconds. Two cultivators, disabled, not by power, but by perfect, brutal, and efficient
defense.
Lin Yue's jaw was open. He didn't just endure. He... he fought back.
Zhu, the slum lord, was backing away, his face pale. "What... what magic is this! You're a
body-cultivator! A demon!"
"I am a knight," Kael said, his voice a low growl. He stepped over the groaning thugs. "And your
turn."
"I'll kill you!" Zhu shrieked, his fear turning to rage. He was 5th-level. He was strong. He
gathered all his Qi and unleashed his strongest technique. "Corrosive Palm!"
His hand glowed with a putrid, green-black energy—far stronger than the thugs'. He lunged at
Kael.
Kael didn't parry. This, he had to take.
He raised his sword in a two-handed defensive stance, planting his feet.
The palm struck the flat of his blade. A wave of force exploded from the impact. The ground
beneath Kael's feet cracked. The windows of the orphanage behind him shattered.
[Guardian's Stance (Active) Lvl 3 - Major Impact Absorbed!] [Aura of Protection (Passive)
Lvl 4 - Mitigating Damage!] [HP: 200/200 -> 185/200] [Stamina: 150/200]
Kael slid back a foot. His arms screamed from the strain. But he held. The Corrosive Palm, a
technique that could melt steel, had been stopped by a plain, mortal longsword, an unshakeable
stance, and a wall of pure Vow.
Zhu stared, his Qi spent, his trump card played. Kael... was still standing. His sword was fine.
He was fine.
"I... I..." Zhu stammered.
Kael took one heavy step forward. Zhu shrieked, threw his torch and his saber to the ground,
and ran. "It's yours! Keep the hovel! You're a monster!"
The matron and the children slowly crept out from the ruined doorway, their eyes wide. Kael
stood for a moment, his chest heaving, before his [Guardian's Stance] deactivated. His stamina
bar refilled, but his muscles ached. He was victorious.
[Vow Upheld.] [Evaluation: Excellent. (A-Rank)] [EXP Gained: 1500/2000] [Guardian's Stance (Active) Lvl 3 -> Lvl 4] [New Skill Unlocked: [Bulwark (Active)]] [Bulwark (Active) -
Lvl 1: Channel your Vow into your blade or shield. For a short duration, massively
increase blocking/parrying effectiveness at a high stamina cost. Can repel and shatter
low-level Qi constructs.]
He sheathed his sword. He turned to the matron, his expression softening. "You're safe now," he
said.
On the rooftop, Lin Yue slowly sat down, her mind reeling. She had just watched a Level 4
"Knight" systematically dismantle three cultivators, one of whom was a higher level than him,
without using a drop of Qi.
He hadn't won with power. He had won with resolve. She, the prodigy of the Azure Cloud Sect,
had just been given her first real lesson in what power truly meant. And she was utterly,
terrifyingly fascinated.