The world had narrowed to a brutal calculus of angles and force. Jue lunged, a fist aimed at Lin Shu's throat. He caught her wrist, yanked her forward, and met her charge with a helmet-shattering headbutt that crunched cartilage. Before she could scream, his other hand shot for her neck. Spikes of solidified ink erupted from the earth at his feet, not to pierce his armor, but to spear upward towards the vulnerable slits of his eyes. He ducked, the spikes grazing his helm, and Jue was wrenched away by Ran.
Weize came from the blind spot he'd momentarily created, a palm wreathed in concentrated fire aiming for his kidney. Lin Shu sidestepped, but the evasion disrupted his balance. Yue was there, a low sweep aimed at his standing leg. He tried to pivot and drive an elbow into her temple, but she aborted her attack, pulling back.
It was a trap, and he was in the center of its final spring.
Ran ducked and slid, her leg hooking behind the ankle of the leg Yue had just forced him to favor. A sharp kick. Lin Shu's balance, already precarious, vanished. He was falling. He twisted in mid-air, releasing a tiny, directional Ivory Detonation from his hip to right himself, to get his feet under him.
Chi Su didn't let him land. With a final push of her waning qi, she summoned another forest of ink spikes from the ground. They weren't weapons; they were obstacles. They didn't pierce his armor, but they caught his falling form, jostling him, keeping him airborne for one critical, helpless second.
That was all her siblings needed. Jue, Ran, Yue, and Weize—all of them unleashed their remaining strength. A converging storm of high and peak-tier techniques—blades of flame, concussive pulses of force, whip-cracks of condensed shadow—slammed into his exposed back.
BOOM-CRACK-THUD.
The combined force was monstrous. Chi Su breathed heavily, her core aching. That one Quasi-Rank 2 technique had taken more than half her qi, and this coordinated barrage was draining the dregs.
Lin Shu, in that fraction of a second of flight, made a choice. He couldn't block. He could only minimize. He twisted violently, facing the onslaught as he fell. His right fist, already pulled back, met the wave of destruction head-on. He channeled 20% of his remaining Infernal Force into a single, concentrated Ivory Detonation in his knuckles.
The white blast collided with the multi-colored storm. His detonation was powerful, but it was one against four. The math was against him. The explosion was swallowed, and he became the projectile. He was blasted away like a stone from a sling, crashing through the trunk of a half-burned tree before skidding to a stop on a thick, surviving branch high above the carnage.
He looked down. The battlefield was a scar on the forest. A cratered, smoldering wasteland stretched for tens of meters, littered with splintered wood and scorched earth.
No time to admire the destruction. He dropped from the branch, a dark comet. He charged back into the fray, not with technique, but with refined, overwhelming strength. Su and her siblings, qi depleted and coordination fraying, tried to intercept. He smashed through their loose formation. A punch sent Jue sprawling. A backhand knocked Ran's guard aside. He moved with a predator's economy, conserving his precious remaining force.
He closed on Su, a straight punch drilling into her stomach. The air left her lungs in a pained whoosh. As her head snapped forward, his hand shot for her throat.
Chi Ran's blue eyes widened in terror. She didn't attack; she grabbed Su's arm and hauled her sister back with desperate strength. Lin Shu's grasping fingers missed the throat but closed over Su's hand. He felt the cool metal of a ring. He pulled. A spatial ring, along with a sliver of skin, came away in his grip.
His foes scrambled back, panting, forming a ragged defensive line. Lin Shu didn't pursue. He immediately poured his senses into the ring, shattering the weak owner's imprint with a surge of will. He ignored pills, ignored rations. His fingers closed around a smooth jade token. He pulled it out, pressed it against his own. A rush of points transferred, the numbers on his token climbing. Then he crushed both the empty token and the spatial ring in his fist. The minor spatial encryption inside unraveled with a sound like ripping silk.
"I'll pay those bastards who sold me his information a visit later," Su thought, fury cutting through her pain. "Not only did they get his strength wrong, they omitted his seemingly unending Qi reserves and a Quasi-Rank 2 technique. This bastard is no high-stage cultivator. He must be peak-stage, with an artifact that stores or regenerates qi. Even with my talent, I don't have reserves like that." She looked at her battered siblings. The thought of retreat was a siren's call. "No. I can't. If he gets away and recovers, he'll come back at full strength. If I couldn't beat him with Kun and Mang already wounded, and after seeing the trail of destruction he left... I have to end him now."
"Circle him now! Use everything you have left to kill him!" she screamed, her voice raw.
Lin Shu saw the desperate tactic—a final pincer to crush him. He wasn't about to be cornered. He unleashed a small, point-blank detonation against Su's hastily raised sword, using the recoil to blast himself backward, away from the closing circle. He aimed his retreat directly at Weize, who was trying to cut off his escape route.
"Damnit!" Weize spat, throwing a panicked punch.
Lin Shu ducked under it, swept Weize's leading leg from under him, and as the youth fell forward, Lin Shu caught his ankle. He didn't stop. He kept running, dragging the screaming Weize behind him like a gruesome anchor, straight through the path where Ran and Jue had been standing. He hauled the flailing body off the ground, the muscles in his armored frame bulging with terrifying force, and hurled Weize like a sack of meat into a standing tree. The trunk snapped.
Before the dust settled, Lin Shu fired a Scorch Piercer. He'd avoided using it to conserve force, but his relentless cultivation during the fight had ticked his Infernal reserves up to 15%. The Piercer, costing a mere 1%, was a worthy investment. The incandescent beam lanced toward Weize's defenseless head.
Ran, Jue, and Yue watched in horror. Su was already calculating her own retreat, seeing the futility.
A blade sheathed in crackling lightning intercepted the Piercer. The white fire splashed harmlessly against the steel. Holding the blade was a young man with black hair tied back by a headband, his vivid green eyes glowing with intrinsic power.
"Ah, you're from the Chi Clan, aren't you?" said Han Lei, his tone casually inquisitive. Three figures emerged behind him: Han Yi, her blue hair stark in the gloom, and Ouyi and Xiyao flanking them.
Lin Shu went still. His cultivation, both qi and infernal, hit its peak focus, a silent engine refueling. Chi Su froze, her mind reeling. She recognized him instantly. "Han Lei. Didn't think you'd join the event."
Han lei smiled as he said" my sister joined it and i couldn't just let her go alone as her older brother."
"Wait, where have I heard that name before?" Lin Shu's memory scrabbled. Su's next words provided the answer.
"I guess you brought your sister as well. Long time no see, Han Yi."
Recognition clicked into place, cold and unwelcome. "That's it. The Institute. He was the big shot, the 'best student they ever had.' Han Yi's brother." The implications unspooled rapidly. "The last time I was there, I had a bounty for desertion and nearly killing Han Yi. They labeled me a demonic cultivator alongside Lu Heng. She might not remember me since it's been three years. I changed my skin tone, my eye color, my hair. I healed my scars. My armor isn't its original white. That should allow me to stay hidden of course that is of course as long as my qi doesn't bottom out otherwise i won't be able to use my technique to hide my identity but even then i don't tjink she'd remember me. But if it fails..." The risk was acute. "And that's not even the main problem. Fighting Han Lei with only 14% Infernal Force is suicide. My lightning isn't ready for a Surge. My qi is at 20%, enough to mend armor, not rebuild it. I can't gamble on whether he has a Quasi-Rank 2 technique."
Han Lei stepped past the groaning Weize. "Chi Su, right? It's been, what, six years? Not that it's important." His glowing green eyes settled on Lin Shu with intense interest. "I'm more interested in your state. I saw five of you fighting this single guy. I assume he's the reason you're all so... damaged."
He took a step toward Lin Shu. "This might seem rude, and I apologize. I prefer to fight everyone at their best. While you don't look injured, your qi must be almost gone. But I can't give you a chance to recover. The event rewards are too promising. I want the points. So, if you'd be so generous as to just hand over your token, I'll be on my way. We don't need to fight. What do you say?"
Chi Su was stunned. "He's abandoning his 'honorable duel' moronics? I guess even principles have a price."
Lin Shu knew a clean escape was impossible. Stall. He had to stall.
"Don't you think that's a bit unfair?" Lin Shu's voice was a rasp. "I've been fighting for hours. How about you give me a break?"
Ouyi spoke up from behind Han Lei. "Lei, don't do this again. Let's just end it. Take the easy win. You can fight him properly later."
Han Lei sighed, but didn't argue. "Sorry, my friend. Request denied."
Lin Shu's mind raced. "Come on, cultivate. 20%... I need 80% for a Surge Detonation that can shake him. Just a few more minutes!" A desperate idea formed. "If you fight me now, I'll break my token. You'll get nothing."
Han Lei paused, then smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Alright. Do it. If it's broken, it's worthless to me. I'll just walk away."
Lin Shu hadn't expected the callous counter. He didn't hesitate. He pulled a token from his ring—an empty one he kept for such bluffs. "This is it. Take a step closer, and I shatter it."
"Are you sure that's not an empty token?" Han Lei's smile didn't waver. "You don't actually believe I'll fall for that."
"Can't think... wait." Lin Shu's gaze flicked to Chi Su. A temporary alliance? The thought was immediately discarded. "No. Betraying Yanqi's deal by joining team with people he wants dead isn't the smartest move i could make. And they'd never trust me."
Han Lei gave him no more time. He moved.
One moment he was ten paces away. The next, Lin Shu crossed his arms as a blade wrapped in lightning slammed into them. The force was staggering. Then Han Lei blurred, a burst of lightning-step putting him at Lin Shu's side. The pommel of his sword drove into Lin Shu's armored abdomen with a sound like a gong.
Lin Shu was airborne. Cursing, he saw Han Yi, her expression focused, raise her bow. A volley of lightning arrows, streaked toward his falling trajectory. "That damned pest is still the same. I truly wish I'd killed her back then, if not for Ren Hao and Yan Qing being complete Morons i wouldn't have to deal with her alongside this guy."
The arrows hammered into his chest and shoulders, driving him down into the churned earth. He hit hard. Han Lei was above him already, his sword a waterfall of controlled, brutal strikes. Lin Shu became a turtle in its shell, defending desperately, each parry sending shivers of lightning through his armor, each block chipping away at his steel coating and the qi sustaining it.
"Let's end this here," Han Lei said, not even breathless. "There's no need for me to injure you further."
Lin Shu, pinned, saw no immediate path to victory. A ruthless, pragmatic part of him accepted the temporary loss. "Fine. Damn it." He reached slowly to his belt, pulled out a token—a different one—and extended his arm in apparent surrender.
Han Lei reached for it.
Lin Shu dropped the token and attacked, a fist aimed for the throat.
Han Lei's smile returned. He'd expected it. Lightning burst from his feet as he sidestepped with impossible grace, driving a knee toward Lin Shu's side. Lin Shu twisted, the blow grazing his ribs. He counter-attacked, a hammer blow aimed at Han Lei's sword arm. Their fists and forearms met.
CLANG.
Lin Shu's eyes widened slightly behind his helm. Han Lei's physical strength, augmented by his lightning refinement, was not inferior to his own. Without a Detonation, Lin Shu couldn't overpower him.
Han Lei used the lock to his advantage. Lightning gathered at the point of contact and detonated outward. CRACK. A web of fractures appeared in Lin Shu's steel chest plate. Lin Shu poured qi into the repair and threw himself backward, creating space.
Han Lei didn't let him go. He was a lightning bolt given human form, relentless and fast.
Across the clearing, the battle had bifurcated. Ouyi and Xiyao, with Han Yi directing precise, supportive strikes, engaged the exhausted Chi siblings. Weize, already down, was out. Jue, Ran, and Yue fought a desperate, losing retreat against the fresh, coordinated attackers. Chi Su, her qi nearly spent, her artifacts gone, could only watch as the trap she'd helped create now ensnared them all, with a new hunter entering the fray.