In the half-light of the Qianlong wilderness, just as silence settled its shroud upon the encampnt once more, the underbrush gave a sudden shudder.
~rustle rustle~
Every muscle in Li Wuji’s body tensed.
Yuan Yi’s hand flew to her blade. Her gaze snapped to the thicket, narrow and calculating, like a falcon preparing to strike. The warriors scattered behind her each shifted uneasily, forming a crescent formation with weapons drawn. Tension surged like storm clouds over a still lake.
"Sothing stirs..." Yuan Yi whispered, her eyes fixed on the motion.
From the thickets erged a figure, lean as a starving hound, his smile slick as oil. The man had a rat-like face—sharp cheekbones, thin lips curled in a permanent sneer. Wicked eyes flickered with mischief and malice alike.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" he drawled, swaggering into the clearing with all the gall of a fox who thought himself king of the hunt.
Li Wuji’s fists curled slowly, knuckles cracking ~snap~ as he stepped forward, gaze unmoved. The faint glow of Qi rippled along his skin like threads of fire beneath paper.
"Speak your na and purpose, stranger," he said coldly. "Or turn your back to the forest and walk away whole."
The man chuckled, unbothered. "Oh, just a wanderer, my good sir. The forest speaks many tongues, and I follow whichever one sings loudest." He tossed a twig aside, eyes glinting. "Though I must admit, this camp slls of ambition. I’m drawn to ambition."
Li Wuji’s patience dissolved.
[Devil Fla Fist Art – First Move: Mad Devil]
There was no warning, no signal. Just fire.
His fist surged forward—engulfed in crimson fla, a wave of heat that cracked the nearby stones ~crackle~ as it hurled forward with explosive force. The underbrush howled in protest as flas licked skyward.
"You are quite rash, frien—ARGHHH!" the man’s voice shattered into screams as the fla caught his chest, hurling him backward. His smirk dissolved beneath the agony of burning flesh.
In desperation, the scrawny intruder gathered his remaining Qi.
[Dragon Subduing Palm Art – Fourth Move: Divination Palm]
A radiant golden dragon spiraled from his palm, roaring defiantly, eting the inferno mid-air ~BOOM~. For a heartbeat, fla and spirit collided, the heat twisting the air.
But then—
A shadow tore through the fire. A grotesque demon form erged from the heart of the inferno and seized the golden dragon like a child snapping a toy in half.
CRACK!
AHH! AHHHH! AHHAHAHA!
The man’s cries curdled the blood. His arms blackened and cracked as the flas devoured his limbs up to the shoulder. He crumpled like a broken reed.
"This is the cost of hubris," Li Wuji said, stepping over the scorched soil. "The heavens favor the cunning, not the arrogant."
Yuan Yi stood frozen, the ghost of awe flickering across her features. He strikes like thunder. Ruthless... focused... unyielding.
The scorched figure trembled on the ground, teeth clenched in fury.
"You bastard!" he growled. "You strike like a coward. Had I known—had I known your power—"
"You’d have begged," Li Wuji interrupted.
The air shifted again.
[Ghost Martial Claw Art – Second Move: Banishing Claw]
Yuan Yi’s figure flickered into motion, her hand slicing downward in a blur. From the void behind her, spectral claws materialized—black, translucent things shaped by death Qi.
They descended upon the writhing martial artist, tearing through his body with a ghastly chorus of rips and tears ~. Blood sprayed. Flesh parted. Bone crunched.
The warriors scread, several stumbling back and collapsing, eyes wide in horror.
Then a voice thundered from the trees:
"HANG WONG!!!!"
From the shadows surged a mountain of a man. Muscles like granite slabs rippled under tattered robes. He stood easily over four ters tall, hair wild and knotted like vines twisted by ti. His eyes glowed red with fury.
He took one look at the torn body at Li Wuji’s feet, and his howl shook the branches above.
"Who dares harm my blood!?!?"
[Aztec Fist – First Move: Fist of Fury]
The ground trembled as the giant lunged, fist cocked back. The air scread around his knuckles as he punched forward, creating a whirlwind that tore leaves and limbs from nearby trees.
Li Wuji’s pupils dilated.
[10th Gate of the Ardent Gates – Ardent Wave]
Behind him, an ethereal gate shimred into existence—scarlet, veined with golden script, radiant with divine light. The gate opened, and Li Wuji stepped through.
Yuan Yi gasped. "A tenth gate? That’s... impossible... he’s still within the Qi Shattering realm!"
The flas surged anew.
[Devil Fla Fist Art – Second Move: Abyssal Conflagration]
Li Wuji’s next strike was no re fist. It was an avalanche of fire, a blazing demon’s howl wrapped in heat that liquefied the air. The inferno surged toward the towering intruder, engulfing the world in light.
The giant bellowed, pushing back with brute strength, but even he couldn’t remain untouched. Flas wrapped around his legs and arms, searing deep, leaving charred flesh in their wake.
"I am Hang Feng!" the man roared, slicing the flas with a crescent arc.
[Tyrant Saber Art – Fourth Move: Battle Tyrant Slash]
His saber—massive as a cart’s axle—whistled through the flas, parting them with brute force. He leapt into the air, cleaving downward in a brutal arc.
CLANG! ~ The impact shook the clearing, stones thrown aside, trees bending in supplication.
Li Wuji skidded backward, the dirt beneath him furrowing under his feet.
The battle had escalated.
Yuan Yi’s heart thundered in her chest. This... this is beyond us.
[Tyrant Saber Art – Third Move: Heavy Guillotine]
The saber pulsed black with energy. Hang Feng brought it down like a thunder god, the ground splitting under the weight of his strike. A wave of energy—sharp and wide as a ravine—cut through the earth, tearing a path straight for Li Wuji and the helpless warriors behind him.
"You shall DIE!" Hang Feng roared.
~BOOM!~
The world exploded in dust and force. Warriors scread. So dropped their weapons. Others dove aside, too slow, too weak to escape.
Yuan Yi stood her ground, sword drawn, sweat on her brow.
Li Wuji remained where he was, eyes locked on the saber-wielding beast.
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