CHAPTER 211 — FIRST CLASH
For several seconds after the sky split, nobody spoke.
Not the Eight.
Not the civilians watching from the streets below.
Not even the Jade Dragon.
The battlefield had shifted so suddenly that everyone present needed a moment to understand what had just happened.
Moments earlier, a city had been seconds away from annihilation.
A dragon's beam had been aimed at thousands of helpless civilians.
And then—
Someone had punched through it.
Not deflected it.
Not blocked it.
Split it.
Now that same man hovered in the sky between the Jade Dragon and the hospital district, as calm as if he had simply stepped outside for fresh air.
Wind moved gently through his dark hair.
Black-and-gold energy curled faintly around his body like drifting smoke.
His eyes remained fixed on the dragon.
The Jade Dragon studied him just as carefully.
Its massive wings slowed their rhythm.
