I covered myself in jade armor and shot toward the front gate like a sudden missile, pushing myself harder than usual, not caring about burning Qi. When I landed, the guards looked surprised, but seeing the black robe signifying my status as an inner elder, none of them dared refute me.

There, just about two miles from the front gate, stood a familiar figure.

Even from this distance, I knew that frame: the straight shoulders, jet-black hair tied tight, crimson-silver robes catching the wind like banners in a storm, and those deep blue eyes.

I locked eyes with Song Song.

Even though this reunion had come out of nowhere and despite all the fears about whether it would really be her. I... felt calm.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. I decided to take the lead in greeting her.

But before I could even raise a hand, her eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam.

A split second passed.

Then she reached out, and a blood sword formed in her palm, glistening with ethereal light and screaming with killing intent the moment it tasted air. Its aura twisted the wind, curling the snowy grass at her feet. The disciples near the gate staggered away, even though they likely couldn't even see her clearly.

She launched forward without hesitation.

One step.

Two.

Three–

And then nothing, just a blur of crimson that raced straight toward me, sword raised high and aimed directly at my neck.

A perfect, merciless decapitation strike. No warning. No hesitation.

This strike would kill me–

If I did nothing.

As her blade carved through the air, her face twisted. Not into rage, nor into bloodlust, but into an innocent-looking smile. One that didn't belong on someone trying to sever my head from my shoulders. It was almost playful. Almost… mocking.

And yet, I felt relief.

Twisted, inexplicable relief.

Because only she would smile like that mid-swing. Only she would test me with a killing blow instead of words.

Relief because this confirmed it.

It was her.

It was really her.

Now, it was time to push through.

She moved faster now, nearly blindingly so, but I had already activated my Foundation Establishment Technique to a moderate level. And with that, time stretched.

Not literally.

But my thoughts moved faster. My perception sharpened. Each heartbeat stretched into a minute, and every twitch of her muscle became a readable message.

To her, this was a lightning-quick surprise assault.

To me? This was a chess match. And I had the board all to myself.

She had committed to her move. Now, she had to follow through.

Me? I could pick from a dozen paths, test them all mentally, discard them, and pick the right one before even lifting a finger.

Unless she had the kind of overwhelming power that bulldozed through everything. Which she probably did.

But if she didn't. Then, this was my game. And I didn't lose games I had time to think through.

Two jade daggers shimmered into existence in my hands, their edges humming with the resonance of my Qi. Before her blade could reach me, I activated an array in an instant.

It burst to life beneath our feet like a complex geometric bloom of green light. In a blink, translucent jade chains erupted upward, twisting and coiling toward her limbs like serpents.

They caught her.

But only for a heartbeat. Just enough to stop her dangerous momentum.

Song Song's body shook, and she shattered the chains with a sudden flare of power. Her blood-hued sword carved through the bindings, angling again toward my neck.

I twisted and parried with both daggers, redirecting the force enough to avoid a clean hit. The clash rang out like sharp thunder.

Fuck! That felt like my arms were about to snap!

I spun with the momentum, flipping clockwise mid-air to bleed off the impact and re-center myself, one foot skimming the ground.

Ever since that day outside the Molten Sky Island, since Speedy's shell cracked, I'd sworn never to let that happen again. I'd spent months honing moves designed to dull overwhelming force. Not to defeat it outright but to survive.

Survive long enough to protect.

Even a single breath's worth of delay could make the difference between saving someone I cared about… or watching them break.

"Good," Song Song said, her voice light, almost playful. "But I haven't seen anything impressive yet."

Dozens of blood swords shimmered into existence around her in a perfect arc, each one pulsing with crimson glow. They hovered for a split second, like an executioner's sentence, then launched.

A deadly spiral of blades, aimed from every direction. Designed to pierce, skewer, and slice.

Damn. I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to lose this fast.

Should I use it? My second Sky Grade Technique?

Space was dangerous. It could tear me apart, and if that happened, there was nothing I could do.

I'd never used it. Too cautious. Too scared. Every book on spatial techniques warned the same thing: misjudge the fold, and lose your hand. Misstep, and lose your life. But right now? Hesitation was death.

Also, I hadn't tried using it while my Foundation Technique was active. With my thoughts this fast, I could react in an instant.

"I get the feeling you're hesitating about something," Song Song's smile turned malicious. Her deep blue eyes gleamed like those of a death god. "Perhaps the uncertainty makes you uncomfortable. I'll eliminate that for you... I will kill you if you don't dodge this attack!"

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I hadn't even tried the technique in a safe space.

But if I didn't try now!

If I didn't push myself–

Song Song would not hesitate.

Fuck it.

Voidstep Phantom Movement Art!

I used my second Sky Grade Technique.

It felt like invisible hands grabbing me. I didn’t see them, nor did I sense them. One moment, blood spears were racing toward me and the next, I was yanked into the void.

A dark hole swallowed me whole. There was no sound, no light, no sensation. Only a crushing nothingness.

But I wasn’t there long.

A heartbeat later, the world spat me back out, like whatever void I’d touched wanted nothing to do with me.

My mind, currently running faster than lightning, grasped the situation in a flash.

I landed two steps behind Song Song, just in time to see her stab the spot where I’d stood a moment before with blood spears erupting like a blooming crimson flower.

The ground cracked beneath the impact, jagged edges radiating outward.

If I’d been even a second slower... I’d be pulp.

She turned, eyes burning with focus.

I had a window. Barely.

A moment of a split second.

And no attack in my current arsenal could damage her.

So, I obviously had to create one.

Gripping my jade dagger in a reverse hold, I felt the cold weight settle into my palm. Then, something shifted. Darkness rippled across its surface, and the usual pale green was now laced with streaks of void black.

That strange sensation from earlier, the one that had swallowed me whole, I reached for it again.

It wasn’t just a feeling anymore. It was a presence. A veil I could tug, wrap around my blade.

And I did.

The air around the dagger bent and warped like a heat haze, only colder. Sharper. The space around it shimmered as if it were struggling to exist.

With the power of space itself coursing through the weapon, I knew I could cut through anything.

That’s when Song Song turned to face me.

Her bloodied sword floated by her side, and that same brutal smile tugged at her lips.

“C’mon,” she said, tilting her head, voice teasing. “Give it your best shot.”

I didn’t reply.

I just moved.

And I swung my arm.

In that instant, blood surged behind her.

Two sharp horns of crystallized blood burst from her forehead, glinting like cursed jewels. Six wings unfurled with a wet snap, each one glistening red and raw, like muscle exposed to winter air. Veins pulsed across them.

Then her wings bled.

Literally.

From the open wounds, arms of condensed blood shot forth, reaching, grasping, and twisting through the air. They surged toward me, desperate to catch the path of my swing.

But I didn’t slow.

I didn’t flinch.

I smiled.

And I finished the swing with all the intent of a guillotine.

“Try and survive this,” I said coldly as the spatial blade hummed. “Because I’m trying my best to kill you.”

At first, nothing happened, except that I had spent nearly all my Qi on this one attack.

Then the air bent.

A single point in space collapsed inward, and a black hole bloomed. No larger than a fist, yet reality itself seemed to scream around it.

Cracks spiderwebbed from the center, splitting the air like fractured glass, distorting light, sound, and reality.

Song Song’s expression froze.

A flicker of shock.

Confusion.

And... something unsure.

Her blood-crafted horns shattered into dust.

Her wings convulsed and then exploded, torn apart by the gravitational madness at the center of the strike.

The blood arms reaching for me dissolved before they could even graze the blade.

And then, as suddenly as it came, the black hole vanished.

The cracks sealed shut.

The air stilled.

And the world snapped back into place, silent and whole once more.

Song Song stood there, chest rising and falling. A thin trail of blood ran from the corner of her lips, painting a sharp crimson line down her chin.

She looked at me, not with anger or disdain, but something brighter.

"Amazing," she whispered, voice soft, reverent.

Her eyes gleamed like stars, feral, hungry, and exhilarated. Like someone who had just seen the edge of death… and wanted to dance on it again.

Blood pooled at her feet, thick like syrup and dark, hissing as it soaked into the cracked ground beneath her. A surge of overwhelming Qi burst from her, and the killing intent that followed felt like a blade sliding across my throat.

A Core Formation Cultivator preparing her Ultimate Technique.

My heart skipped a beat. Wait... what? That was complete overkill. She didn't need her strongest attack. She could've taken me out easily just by blitzing me. After all, she was already operating at a level just beyond my reach, but this? This was beyond that. Absolute overkill!

Yet the blood continued to swirl, rising like smoke around her, her entire body trembling from the force.

Then, just as the power crested, her pupils dilated.

The air snapped still.

And she stopped.

The Qi receded. The blood dropped like rain. She exhaled a quiet breath, letting go of the technique before it ever fully formed.

"How long has it been since you became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?" she asked.

"Some months back," I said.

"So there was a time where we were both Foundation Establishment Cultivators…" she murmured. "That attack would've taken me out. It might've even killed me if I was still at that stage... You could've defeated me."

"If we met then, I wouldn't have had this Sky Grade Technique," I told her. "Want to continue?"

I was quite familiar with the disparity between Foundation Establishment and Core Formation. I never stood a chance. But she knew just how hard to push almost instinctively to allow me to improve.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm actually pissed off you got one on me. I've been blazing ahead, thinking no one could touch me. Then you go and nearly rip open space. I should hate that. But I don't. I just want to match it."

"You could have also defeated me instantly just by blitzing past what my body could do," I said. "Also, why didn't you try to dodge?"

"You know, I'm a Core Formation Cultivator, so going all out isn't fun. With the power I was using, I should have been able to easily take you out," she said. "Also, it seems like that was the kind of attack I couldn't dodge. One that can't be defended against."

"How much did it hurt you?" I asked.

"Not much. But it could probably kill any Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

Well, at least I could use my new Sky Grade Technique now. I was forced into it, but the results weren't bad.

"Seems like I've been getting a bit too comfortable with my meager progress," she said.

Meager progress? She'd jumped from the mid-stages of Foundation Establishment to Core Formation in less than two years. That was anything but meager.

"I spent so much time alone, I forgot you were one of the monster cultivators out there too," she said, smiling proudly. "By the way, your progress has been amazing."

I shrugged and took the compliment with grace. When Song Song said something like this, she usually meant.

"Still stuck with trash talent?" she asked with a smirk like she had some mischievous idea.

"Yes. This breakthrough was kind of pushed by heavenly treasures," I said.

"Well, I'm sure we can get my father to fork out some treasures. That bastard has a lot of things in stock," she said. "When you become a Core Formation Cultivator too, we can go and kill my father. But before that, we torture him a bit and split equally whatever Sky Grade Tecchniques we can get out of him."

At the mention of her father, a cold shiver crept down my spine. The weight of the situation settled over me like a heavy fog. I scanned the horizon, straining every sense. Nothing stirred. No presence, no pressure, not even the itch of being watched.

The air was still, and the shadows held nothing.

And yet... I said nothing. Because if he was here, lurking and watching, I wouldn't sense him anyway. Not until it was already too late.

Yes, I had gotten lost in thoughts after seeing Song Song again.

And for a moment, I'd forgotten all our troubles.