Luo Bing landed on the ruined stage. His boots didn't touch the soot; he hovered an inch above the filth, supported by a cushion of swirling azure qi.
The Core Disciple looked different this time. No boredom. No amusement. His face was a mask of cold, focused killing intent. The air around him dropped in temperature, frosting the edges of the broken floorboards.
"You stole from the Pavilion. You destroyed the stage. You hold a sword worth more than your entire bloodline."
Luo Bing raised his own blade, Frost-bite. The white steel hummed, singing a high, pure note that grated against Yang Yi's enhanced hearing.
"And you smell like a grave robber who fell into a vat of poison."
Yang Yi rested the massive Thunder Drake sword on his shoulder. It was heavy, balanced for a giant, crackling with arcs of blue electricity that bit into his gray-scaled neck. He didn't flinch. The pain kept the Wolf awake.
"I smell like progress."
Yang Yi stepped forward. The floor groaned.
"You wanted to test the Seed? Here I am. Full grown."
Luo Bing moved.
He didn't run. He vanished. Azure Flash Step.
He reappeared behind Yang Yi, Frost-bite thrusting for the kidneys.
Yang Yi didn't turn. He spun the Thunder Drake sword behind his back, using the broad blade as a shield.
CLANG.
Sparks showered the stage. Blue lightning met white frost.
The impact drove Yang Yi's boots two inches into the wood.
"Slow," Luo Bing whispered, appearing on the left flank. He slashed. A wave of ice qi cut through the air.
Yang Yi raised his hardened forearm. The Bone-Hardening density combined with the Basilisk scales took the hit.
The ice blade shattered against his skin. It left a white welt, freezing the scales, but it didn't cut.
Yang Yi grinned. His golden eyes tracked Luo Bing's movement. The Rat essence slowed the world down. Every twitch of Luo Bing's muscle was a telegraph.
"My turn."
Yang Yi swung the Thunder Drake sword.
He didn't use sword art. He used momentum. A horizontal cleave meant to bisect the world.
Luo Bing ducked effortlessly. "Brute force. Is that all you have? A monkey with a stick?"
"It's a very loud stick."
Yang Yi channeled his qi into the sword. Not refined human qi, but the chaotic, dirty slurry of the Chimera.
The blue lightning on the blade turned red. It screeched.
Yang Yi slammed the sword into the ground.
Thunder Crash.
The electricity didn't stay in the blade. It exploded outward in a shockwave of red lightning.
Luo Bing's eyes widened. He threw up a qi shield.
The red lightning smashed into the shield. It didn't pierce; it eroded. The chaotic energy ate at the refined structure of the shield.
Luo Bing slid backward, his boots skidding on the air. His shield flickered and died.
"That energy..." Luo Bing stared at the red arcs dancing on the floor. "That's not cultivation. That's corruption."
"Potatoes, po-tah-toes."
Yang Yi charged through the smoke.
He dropped his shoulder. He rammed Luo Bing.
Luo Bing tried to dodge, but the red lightning arced out, snagging his robes like static cling. The magnetic pull slowed him by a fraction of a second.
Yang Yi hit him.
It was like being hit by a boulder thrown from a catapult.
Luo Bing flew across the room. He smashed through a luxury booth, splintering expensive mahogany and spilling wine decanters.
He hit the back wall and slumped.
Silence fell over the destroyed hall. The surviving merchants peered out from under their tables.
Luo Bing stood up. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His pristine white robes were torn, stained with soot and wine.
His eyes burned. Real anger now.
"You hurt me."
He held Frost-bite with both hands. The temperature in the room plummeted. Breath turned to steam. Frost coated the chandeliers.
"Fourth Move: Glacial Tomb."
The air around Yang Yi solidified. Ice crystals formed instantly, locking his limbs. The cold bit deep, bypassing his scales, seeking the marrow.
Yang Yi felt his heart slow. The Basilisk blood thickened.
Luo Bing walked forward. He raised his sword for the execution.
"You have a strong body. But ice breaks stone."
Yang Yi struggled. The ice held him like a vice. He couldn't break it with strength alone.
He needed heat.
He focused on the Golden Toad Venom he had chugged downstairs. The toxins were still circulating, dormant in his liver.
He triggered the purge.
He opened his mouth.
He didn't scream. He exhaled.
A cloud of purple, acidic vapor erupted from his lungs. Venom Breath.
The acid hit the ice.
HISS.
The chemical reaction was violent. The ice didn't melt; it boiled.
Luo Bing stopped. He waved his hand to disperse the cloud, but the acid ate at his qi barrier.
"Poison?" Luo Bing coughed, backing away. "You have no honor."
Yang Yi stepped out of the melting slush. His skin was smoking, the gray scales bleached white by his own breath.
"Honor is for people who aren't starving."
He raised the Thunder Drake sword again.
"Round two?"
Luo Bing wiped the blood from his lip. He looked at the ruined auction house. He looked at the gaping hole in the stage where the security guards were starting to climb out.
He looked at Yang Yi.
He sheathed Frost-bite.
"No."
The killing intent vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating pragmatism.
"You ruined the auction. You stole the headline item. You humiliated the security."
Luo Bing stepped over a pile of broken glass.
"But you proved a point. The weed has thorns."
He tossed a small pouch toward Yang Yi.
Yang Yi caught it. It jingled.
"What's this? severance pay?"
"A down payment," Luo Bing said. "That sword you're holding? It was auctioned by the Thunder Sect. They will want it back. They will send hunters."
"Let them come."
"And the pills you ate? The alchemy logs will show missing inventory. The Pavilion will put a bounty on your head."
"I'm used to bounties."
Luo Bing smiled. A thin, dangerous smile.
"Keep the sword. It suits you. Ugly and loud."
He turned to the entrance.
"The tournament is in twenty days. Don't die before then. I want the pleasure of killing you in front of an audience."
Luo Bing walked out. The crowd parted for him like the Red Sea.
Yang Yi watched him go. He lowered the sword. The adrenaline crash hit him hard. His knees shook. The Blood-Root Lotus was holding his soul together, but his body was a wreck of torn muscle and chemical burns.
He looked at the hole in the stage.
"Time to go."
He didn't walk out the front door. He grabbed a heavy velvet curtain, ripped it down, and wrapped the Thunder Drake sword.
He jumped back into the hole.
Down into the storage room.
The guard he had killed was still there. The fire from the explosion was spreading, licking at the crates of artifacts.
Yang Yi grabbed a sack. He stuffed the remaining jade bottles of pills he hadn't eaten into it. He grabbed a handful of random artifacts—a jade comb, a dagger, a strange compass.
He kicked the back door open.
The alley behind the Pavilion was dark.
Lin waited there with the wagon. Fat Cai was shivering, holding the reins of the terrified spirit-oxen.
"You blew up the building!" Cai squeaked. "You said you were just going to steal a box!"
"Plans change."
Yang Yi threw the sack into the wagon. He threw the wrapped sword in next.
He climbed onto the bench seat. The wagon groaned under his weight.
"Drive, Cai. Before the fire brigade shows up."
The wagon lurched forward.
Yang Yi leaned back. He felt heavy. Tired. Full.
Lin looked at him. She saw the gold eyes. The scales. The smoke rising from his skin.
"You look like a monster," she whispered.
Yang Yi closed his eyes.
"Good. Monsters scare the predators away."
The return trip was silent. They took the back roads, avoiding the patrols that were swarming toward the smoke rising from the Crimson Pavilion.
When they reached the perimeter of the Dregs, the sun was rising.
The walls of Block 9 were higher than when they left. Zhang had been busy.
The wagon rolled into the square.
The Pack was waiting. They saw the smoke from the Pavilion. They knew something had happened.
Yang Yi stepped down from the wagon.
He unwrapped the velvet.
He held up the Thunder Drake sword.
The morning sun hit the blade. It sparked with red lightning.
"I went shopping," Yang Yi announced. His voice rumbled through the square.
He stabbed the sword into the ground. It sank deep, quivering.
"This is the new standard. If you want a weapon like this, you earn it."
He looked at Zhang.
"Report."
Zhang limped forward. He looked at the sword, then at Yang Yi. He grinned.
"We found the vein, boss. The miners broke through the basalt layer an hour ago."
"And?"
"And it's not ore down there."
Zhang's expression darkened.
"It's a door. A big one. Sealed with blood wax."
Yang Yi felt the vibration in the ground. The Myriad Beast Assimilation Record in his tunic grew hot. The Dragon Token pulsed.
The source.
"Secure the tunnel," Yang Yi ordered. "Nobody goes in until I say so."
He turned to Lin.
"Get Liu Feng. We have pills to analyze. And I have a sword to master."
He walked toward his hut. He needed sleep. He needed to let the Chimera settle into its new configuration.
But as he reached the door, he stopped.
A figure sat on his doorstep.
An old man. Dressed in rags. Blind eyes milky white.
It was the Elder from the library. The one who had chased them through the vents.
Yang Yi froze. His hand drifted to the hilt of the Thunder Drake sword.
The old man didn't move. He sat perfectly still, holding a wooden bowl.
"You run fast for a statue," the Elder croaked.
Yang Yi tensed. "How did you find me?"
"I followed the smell," the Elder tapped his nose. "Old paper. And stolen destiny."
He turned his head. The blind eyes stared straight at Yang Yi's chest, where the forbidden book lay hidden.
"You have something of mine, boy. And I think it's time we discussed the late fees."
Yang Yi gripped the sword. He was tired. He was hurt. But he was cornered.
"I don't pay late fees."
The Elder smiled. It was a terrifying expression on the withered face.
"Then pay with tea. Sit down. We have much to discuss before you turn into a lizard completely."