The sky above the Sacred Mountain was no longer gold; it was a bruised, angry orange, bleeding into a deep violet. The air felt thin, like it was being sucked out of the world by some giant vacuum. Every time that massive bell tolled from the peak, the stone beneath Xiao Yan's feet vibrated so hard he could feel it in his teeth.
"Ten minutes," Xiao Yan wheezed, glancing at the horizon. "Michael, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me we have an hour."
[I'd love to lie to you, Master, but unless you've learned how to stop time, we are officially in 'run-for-your-life' territory. Also, that guy in the cloak? He's not a disciple. That's a Demon Lieutenant. He's here to make sure nobody leaves the party.]
The cloaked figure at the foot of the bridge didn't move. He just stood there, his hands tucked into his sleeves, surrounded by a dozen black-armored demons who looked a lot more disciplined than the trash they'd fought earlier.
"You aren't crossing," the Lieutenant said. His voice didn't sound like a person; it sounded like two dry rocks grinding together. "Lord Shen Yuan has declared this mountain a tomb. Be honored—you get to be the first bodies inside."
A Few Hundred Yards Away...
Tang Shuya was pinned behind a massive, moss-covered pillar, her breathing shallow and quick. Her silk robes were torn at the hem, and her jade fan was chipped. She had been separated from the others during the teleportation mess, and for the first time in her life, the "Genius of the Tang Family" felt genuinely small.
She watched from the shadows as Xiao Yan stood his ground against the cloaked demon. He looked like a mess—blood on his face, clothes scorched, leaning on a sword that looked way too heavy for any normal person to carry.
(Why is he still standing?) She wondered.
She had seen the "Great Talents" of the empires today. Most of them were crying, hiding, or trampling over their own friends to reach the exit. But Xiao Yan... he was holding Jinyao's hand with one arm and keeping Lieya behind him with the other. He looked like he was barely holding himself together, yet he was the only thing standing between those girls and a very messy end.
As the sun dipped lower, a stray beam of light caught Xiao Yan's profile. For a second, he didn't look like a "trash" disciple or a lucky commoner. He looked... regal. There was an old, heavy authority in his eyes that made her heart do a weird, fluttering skip that had nothing to do with the battle.
(Wait, am I... seriously? Now?) Shuya felt a flush of heat hit her cheeks. (He's a stubborn, messy, loud-mouthed idiot. But... he's the only one who didn't run.)
She gripped her fan, her eyes narrowing. Fine. If he's going to be a hero, I might as well make sure he survives to be an idiot tomorrow.
Back at the Bridge...
"Xiao Yan, we can't take them all," Lieya whispered. She wasn't yelling anymore. Her orange flames were flickering low, and she was leaning on her knees, her face pale with exhaustion. "My spirit sea is almost dry."
"I know," Xiao Yan said. He looked at the bridge—it was a narrow stone span over a misty abyss. If they didn't get across in the next five minutes, the gate on the other side would seal.
"Master," the Azure Dragon rumbled in his mind. "I can give you one more burst. But after this, I'm going into a deep sleep to stabilize. You'll be on your own until we leave the mountain."
Do it, Xiao Yan thought. Give me everything.
Xiao Yan stepped forward. He didn't say a word. He just raised the Sword of Heaven and Earth. Blue and red lightning began to spiral around the blade, creating a miniature hurricane that started to rip up the stones of the path.
"Kill him!" the Lieutenant barked, finally losing his calm.
The black-armored demons charged. They moved in perfect formation, their spears leveled like a wall of steel.
"Get down!" Xiao Yan roared.
He swung.
It wasn't a sword strike; it was a disaster. A wave of draconic thunder slammed into the demon line. The ground buckled, and the black armor shattered like porcelain. But the Lieutenant was fast. He jumped over the blast, his hand turning into a jagged shadow-claw aimed straight for Xiao Yan's throat.
"Die, brat!"
WHOOSH!
A flurry of razor-sharp jade petals intercepted the claw. Tang Shuya dropped from the pillar, her fan spinning like a buzzsaw. She landed gracefully in front of Xiao Yan, her back to him.
"You're late to your own funeral, Xiao Yan," she said, her voice teasing but her hand trembling just a little.
"Shuya? I thought you were halfway home by now!" Xiao Yan grinned, feeling a second wind.
"And miss seeing you look this pathetic? Not a chance," she shot back. She turned her head slightly, catching his eye. "Now move! The bridge is starting to crumble!"
The Lieutenant let out a screech of rage. "TANG! You dare interfere with the Abyssal Decree?"
"I'm a Tang," she said, snapping her fan shut with a sharp clack. "We don't follow decrees. We write them."
The Escape
The bridge was literally falling apart behind them. Huge chunks of stone were tumbling into the white mist below.
"Run! Don't look back!" Xiao Yan grabbed Lieya by the collar and shoved her toward the span. "Jinyao, go! Shuya, move!"
They sprinted across the narrow stone. The Lieutenant tried to give chase, but the Azure Dragon's lingering lightning was still dancing across the bridge, making the stone slick and dangerous.
As they reached the halfway point, the golden sky flickered. The mountain let out one final, deafening toll.
BONG!
The Great Gate on the far side began to descend—a massive slab of white jade that would seal the Mist Forest for sixty years.
"It's closing too fast!" Lieya screamed.
Xiao Yan looked at the girls. They were a few yards ahead of him. He looked at the closing gate.
"Michael... give me the last 1%!"
Xiao Yan didn't run; he lunged. He slammed his shoulder into the girls, tackling all three of them—Lieya, Jinyao, and Shuya—through the narrowing gap. They tumbled onto the soft grass of the Outer Peaks just as the jade gate hit the ground with a force that made the world go black.
THUD.
Silence.
The mountain was gone. The mist was gone. They were safe.
Xiao Yan lay on his back, staring up at the normal, star-filled night sky. He couldn't move a finger. His sword lay beside him, dull and heavy.
"We... we made it," Jinyao sobbed, crawling over to him and checking his pulse.
Lieya sat up, spitting out a mouthful of grass. "I am going to sleep for a year. Don't wake me up unless the world is literally ending."
Tang Shuya sat up slowly, smoothing her hair. She looked at Xiao Yan—bruised, bleeding, and looking like a total disaster. He was breathing hard, a small, tired smile on his face.
She didn't say anything. She just reached out and gently moved a stray lock of hair from his forehead. Her fingers lingered for just a second too long, her heart hammering a rhythm she couldn't control.
(You really are a problem, Xiao Yan,) She thought, her eyes softening in a way nobody had ever seen.
Meanwhile, on a nearby cliff...
Yan Bingxue stood in the moonlight, watching the four of them from a distance. She saw Shuya's hand on Xiao Yan's forehead. She saw the way Jinyao was holding his hand.
She didn't move. She just pulled her white veil tighter against the cold.
"He survived," she whispered to the wind. "But the world outside is much more dangerous than that mountain. I hope you're ready, Prince."
She turned and vanished, headed toward the Imperial Capital. The test was over, but the war for the throne was just beginning.
To be continued!!!!