Elder Han's vision swam.
His body refused to obey him.
No matter how fiercely he tried to circulate his qi—no matter how desperately he commanded his limbs to move—nothing responded.
It was as if his cultivation had been severed from his flesh.
As if his body no longer belonged to him.
His knees trembled violently, muscles spasming against his will. The sword slipped from his numbing fingers and clattered uselessly onto the stone floor.
Clang!
That sound echoed far louder in Elder Han's ears than it should have.
Panic surged.
This feeling—
It looked like what those elders had experienced.
Realization struck him like a hammer.
So this is why they fell.
Cold sweat drenched Elder Han's back.
He tried to speak, to roar, to do something—
But even his breath came out ragged and shallow.
His eyes lifted shakily toward Bai Zihan.
Confusion twisted his features.
Fear!
And something closer to disbelief.
"What… did you do…?"
