Tiiingg!
The metallic clang tore through the night. Sparks scattered, flickering like fireflies amid the wreckage of Yaohua's collapsing house. Inside the ruined chamber, two figures clashed—blades flashing, movements so fast that even trained eyes could barely follow.
Mo Long stood half-crouched, both hands gripping his jet-black sword. A thin current of Shadow Qi rippled along the blade, hissing softly—alive, sentient, almost whispering.
His opponent—a towering, broad-shouldered man with a thick black beard—swung a massive sword wreathed in blazing red qi. Each strike he unleashed seemed to ignite the very air.
Steel met steel again and again.
BRAANG!
The next collision shook the floorboards. Mo Long staggered back two steps, drew a sharp breath, and focused his cold gaze on his enemy.
'His eyes are wide but empty. He's being controlled,' Mo Long thought swiftly. 'The pupils are dilated, qi flow erratic. His veins are bulging, skin flushed, breath uneven… and he keeps roaring like a beast. This isn't rage—'
His gaze hardened. '—this is the Reversal Flow Technique!'
The bearded man howled, voice raw and strained, before charging again. His greatsword swept in wide arcs, slicing the air with explosive force.
But Mo Long didn't counter with brute strength. Instead, he rotated his wrist subtly, letting his blade slide against the attack to deflect the impact rather than absorb it. Each parry redirected the force, turning the man's power against him while Mo Long kept perfect balance.
A thunderous crack split the air. The enemy's sword smashed into a pillar, cleaving through it like butter, sending fragments of wood flying across the hall.
Their fight spilled out of the chamber into the main hall. Wooden walls splintered, jade tables cracked, and hanging lanterns burst, spilling oil and flames onto the floor.
When a grand mirror shattered—Kraang!—shards scattered everywhere, flashing under the firelight.
Mo Long twisted his body, blocking several with his sword, but one jagged shard flew unpredictably and buried itself into the bearded man's eye.
"GRRAAAHH!!" the man screamed in agony. Blood gushed from his face, but the pain didn't slow him—it only drove him wilder.
He swung his sword like a madman, crimson qi blazing brighter with every movement.
The roar of energy echoed like thunder as the aura condensed and spiraled around his massive blade, forming a gigantic chain of red energy coiling along its edge.
Mo Long narrowed his eyes.
"That technique… the Qi-Shattering Chain."
With a feral roar, the bearded man raised his sword high and brought it down with full force. The burning chain of qi extended outward, lashing through the air like a whip forged in hell.
BAAAANG!
The blast ripped through the entire chamber. Wood splintered, stone cracked, and debris exploded in every direction. Mo Long rolled backward, barely evading the shockwave that scorched the air.
ZRAAANG!
The crimson chain snapped again, cleaving straight through a supporting pillar and sending the roof above them trembling.
Strike after strike came relentlessly. Each swing carried the weight of a storm. The ground quaked, walls shattered, and tiles crashed from the ceiling. Dust filled the air, glowing faintly red under the chain's blazing aura.
Mo Long steadied his breathing, parrying what he could, his body a blur between explosions of qi.
'Damn it… that technique is monstrous!' he thought, eyes darting sharply. 'His qi flow has completely reversed—he's detonating his own life force to amplify each strike! Every blow is at least three times stronger than the last!'
The crimson chain coiled mid-air, twisting to ensnare him. Mo Long leapt back, channeling a surge of Shadow Qi into his legs. His body shot upward, gliding through the air before landing lightly on cracked stone.
But the instant his foot touched the ground, pain flared across his chest and rippled through his veins. His knee trembled; his breath hitched.
'No… my body still isn't fully healed. I can't draw too much qi—if I force it, my meridians will tear apart from the inside!'
The chain whipped toward him again.
Mo Long spun, deflecting with a sharp counter-slash.
Tiiinggg!
The clash reverberated through the ruins. The rear wall collapsed under the force, half the roof caving in. Moonlight poured through the opening, washing over the two men standing amid the rubble.
Mo Long clenched his jaw, his chest heaving. Sweat glistened down his temple as he muttered between ragged breaths,
"Damn it… this is getting difficult."
Before him, the bearded man roared once more—his sword raised high, his eyes blazing with mad crimson light. Strike after strike poured out in a frenzy, the chain of red qi lashing again and again toward Mo Long.
Each blow was deflected, each whip evaded by precise footwork and flawless timing.
Until—
One chain strike came too fast. It hissed through the air like a serpent of fire, snapping toward Mo Long's face. He blocked it at the last second, the sheer force rattling his blade violently—almost tearing it from his grip.
Whoosh!
The bearded man lunged forward with a burst of speed, closing the distance in an instant. As the chain recoiled, his left hand clenched into a fist engulfed in red qi and shot straight toward Mo Long's chest.
"Damn it!" Mo Long's eyes widened as the blow descended.
While the fierce battle raged inside—pushing Mo Long to his limits—another clash erupted outside the house.
Moments earlier, before the bearded man broke through the door, Gao Shan had been hurled off the rooftop and crashed behind Yaohua's residence. A masked warrior descended after him like a shadow.
"Arrgh!!" Gao Shan cried out as his body slammed against the stony ground, rolling several times before stopping on one knee. His breath came in ragged gasps, his face streaked with dust and sweat.
"Bastard!!!" he roared furiously.
He rose, drawing his sword with both hands.
ZRAANG!
The blade was instantly sheathed in dense, hissing Shadow Qi—black and writhing like a starving serpent. With a powerful step, he dashed forward, his form melding into the darkness.
TAAANG!
His first slash struck with brutal force—followed by a second, then a third—each carving through the air and sending waves of shadowy qi surging toward the red-masked figure before him.
The man—clad in a black hooded robe, his face hidden behind a demon-patterned mask—caught the blows barehanded. His fingers curved into claws, each wrapped in glowing orange qi that shimmered like molten embers.
KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!
Every time sword and claw collided, sparks of qi burst outward—flashing bright like lightning in the pitch-black night.
Gao Shan lowered his stance, sliding in close. In a single spinning motion, he swung his blade in a diagonal arc—aiming straight across the masked man's chest!
But his opponent was far too fast—his claw, wrapped in blazing orange qi, caught the strike head-on with overwhelming force.
BOOOOM!
The explosion of qi blasted the air apart, sending shockwaves that rattled the trees and hurled dust and stones into the night.
A thin veil of smoke billowed between them. When it cleared, the two figures were locked in a deadly stalemate—face-to-face, blades and claws grinding against each other.
Gao Shan's sword pressed forward with every ounce of strength he had, while the masked man's claw held firm, the ground beneath their feet cracking from the pressure. The veins on their arms bulged, and the air between them trembled with suffocating tension.
"That claw technique…" Gao Shan growled through clenched teeth, his voice strained and heavy. "You must be from the White Tiger Clan!"
The masked man gave no reply. Only his harsh, beast-like breathing came from behind the demon mask—and a faint orange gleam flickered within his shadowed eyes.
Suddenly—BRAK!
A violent crash erupted behind them. Gao Shui was flung backward, slamming into a stone wall. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he collapsed, groaning in pain. Three Kuchisake-Onna spirits glided after him, their pale forms swirling in white mist, long black hair snapping through the air like whips.
From above, a massive shadow swept across the courtyard. A crimson-skinned figure descended—clad in a long black kimono, wings of pure white spreading like those of a giant hawk.
Moonlight gleamed in its eyes. Its nose was long and sharp like a gnarled branch, and two short horns jutted from its forehead.
Gao Shan's head snapped upward, his face tightening.
"Damn it… a Tengu?" he hissed.
Then came the sound of approaching footsteps—firm, deliberate—followed by Hu Wei's shout that tore through the chaos like a war horn:
"MASTER!!"
The cry echoed across the courtyard, bouncing off the cracked walls and shaking the night.
The masked man turned sharply toward the sound.
"Look where you're going, bastard!" Gao Shan roared, seizing the opening. He poured every ounce of his Shadow Qi into his blade, black energy crackling violently as he forced the sword forward in a brutal surge.
The masked man braced himself—and with a single thunderous burst—DOOM!—his orange qi exploded outward!
The shockwave sent Gao Shan staggering back several paces, his knees nearly buckling under the pressure. Before he could regain his footing, the masked warrior shot forward like lightning.
A flurry of claw strikes, each wrapped in blazing orange qi, tore through the air with savage roars.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every blow carved fiery trails into the ground and air alike, sparks scattering with each clash. Gao Shan blocked as best he could, but the onslaught was too wild, too fast—his opponent's movements were a storm of killing intent. In the blink of an eye, the masked man had slipped past him, darting toward the sound of Hu Wei's shout.
"Damn it!" Gao Shan cursed, driving his sword into the ground to steady himself before pushing up to give chase—
—but from above, the winged creature descended.
The Tengu swooped down like a meteor, its long sword flashing under the moonlight, cutting off Gao Shan's path. It landed gracefully, wings of white feathers spreading wide, scattering dust and leaves across the courtyard.
Its crimson eyes glowed faintly as it stared him down. The creature's deep, resonant voice rolled through the night, calm yet imperious.
"Human," it said slowly, "your battle ends here."
Moonlight gleamed along both their blades—tension thickened the air—then the battlefield erupted into chaos once more.
Elsewhere, another shadow dropped from the rooftop of Yaohua's house.
Hu Wei landed with a soft thud, sweat trickling down his temple from the long leap. His breathing was heavy, but his focus sharp. Before him, at the doorway, the black-bearded warrior staggered inside—the same berserker whose eyes burned crimson and whose blade swung wildly without restraint.
Hu Wei dashed forward—only to be met by a slash of orange qi claws ripping through the air. Instinct screamed; he ducked low and rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike.
More orange streaks followed in rapid succession, slicing through the mist. Hu Wei twisted, leapt, and pivoted, his movements sharp and disciplined—each evasion brushing the edge of death.
He landed atop a stone slab in the courtyard, facing the doorway where the red-masked figure now stood tall.
The man's voice was cold and flat.
"Your opponent… is me."
"Then step aside," Hu Wei barked, his tone sharp and defiant, "or I'll turn you to dust!"
A thin layer of Shadow Qi surged from his body, swirling like a living storm. The wind of his aura sent his cloak fluttering free, his long hair whipping behind him. His pulse thundered with adrenaline—blood running cold yet fierce.
'The Young Master hasn't recovered yet… I have to protect him!' he thought grimly, tightening his grip on his blade as the night screamed with killing intent.
The masked man snorted. Orange qi wrapped his body as he tore his cloak aside, revealing a tattered hanfu beneath and the scars along his neck and arms. The orange aura trembled—and a human-tiger silhouette filled the air around him, its fur a streaked wash of orange. "Tiger Soul Technique," the man murmured with pride.
Hu Wei didn't hesitate. "Thousand Shadow Dragons!" he shouted. His sword flashed, wrapped in dense black qi; from its blade sprang shadowy dragons like giant cobras, coiling and lunging forth.
SRAK! SRAK! — slash after slash, the dragon-shadows cleaved the air, closing the space around the masked man. He countered with orange-clawed swipes; every shadow they struck exploded into dust.
Hu Wei kept striking without pause, breath heavy, sweat pouring down his face. He forced his qi to stay steady. As the technique pressed on, he launched one more move—Storm Shadow Kick. His foot drove like a gale, a vortex of black Shadow Qi smashing into the masked man. BOOM! The man was hurled back, slamming into a woodpile in a cloud of dust and splinters.
Dust billowed and qi smoke coalesced. Hu Wei steadied his breathing; his knees trembled—the sequence had drained him. 'Damn, I must finish this before my qi runs out!' he thought.
A sudden laugh split the dust. Orange claws cut through the mix of debris and fading black qi; a figure strode out, tall and upright. The voice rang with contempt and awe: "You're impressive. From your movement I can tell—you are the Southern Black Swan, Hu Wei!"
As the dust thinned, the half-shattered mask fell away; the remaining red fragment clattered to the ground. The face revealed made Hu Wei's blood run cold. Hiroshi—the chief of Long Ya's Law Hall—was grinning widely, his teeth grotesque. "So… you're the head of Long Ya's Law Hall!" Hu Wei nearly shouted, disbelief choking his voice.
Hiroshi laughed, a harsh and terrible sound. "At first I meant only to incapacitate you," he said, voice throttled with menace, "but now that you know who I am—you must die." He tensed, planting his stance, his hands reshaping into tiger-like claws ready to pounce. "Prepare to die!"
Tiles from Yaohua's roof rained down; a thunderous crash came from within the house. At the same time, a ferocious fight raged inside.
Hu Wei drew a breath. 'Damn, I must end this fast!' he sharpened his focus and felt the last trickles of his Shadow Qi.
On Hiroshi's forefinger, the ring that had lain hidden flared to life. Red light bled into the orange qi that coursed through him—as if something vast were being inhaled into his chest. His body stretched; muscles bulged so fast his shabby hanfu tore open, leaving only ragged trousers at his waist. Orange striped fur sprouted across his skin; fangs lengthened—his face twisted into a tiger's. He roared, a sound that split the night.
Gao Shan and Gao Shui, fighting a few paces away, turned—faces hardening.
"Bastard!" Hu Wei spat, sensing a new kind of danger—this was no longer a mere man.
The qi now pouring from Hiroshi was wildly potent, far beyond ordinary technique; this was a ritual transformation, and its consequences were terrible.
'What horrific technique is this?!' Hu Wei thought, eyes wide as the creature closed in.
The night itself seemed to hold its breath. Amid the splintered wood and fallen tiles, two combatants stood: Hu Wei, whose reserves were dwindling yet who refused to fall back—and Hiroshi, now half-man, half-tiger, sniffing the air with a feral grin. Only one thing was clear: the fight was far from over—it had just entered its deadliest chapter.