The wind screamed, tearing at Yang Yi's cloak. The chain beneath his boots slicked with condensation and centuries of rust swayed violently over the abyss.
The Wind Eagle dove. A blur of gray feathers and razor-sharp talons, plummeting like a dropped stone.
Yang Yi didn't try to block. Blocking a three-hundred-pound bird moving at terminal velocity on a slippery chain was suicide.
He dropped.
His boots left the iron. He hooked his left arm over the chain, his body swinging down into the void just as the eagle struck.
Talons shrieked against the metal where his chest had been a second ago. Sparks showered down, burning holes in his sleeves. The impact shuddered through the chain, rattling Yang Yi's teeth.
He hung over the mist, looking down into the gray nothingness.
The eagle screeched, banking hard to come around for a second pass. It flapped massive wings, churning the air and sending the chain swinging in a chaotic arc.
Yang Yi gritted his teeth. He swung his legs up, hooking his knees over the rusted links. He hauled himself back onto the top of the chain just as the bird leveled out.
"Come back."
The eagle obliged. It tucked its wings, turning into a missile.
Yang Yi waited. He held the sword low, tip pointing at the rust. He didn't look at the bird's eyes; he looked at the soft white plumage of its throat.
Ten feet. Five.
Yang Yi lunged forward. He didn't slash. He thrust the blade straight out, bracing the pommel against his hip.
The eagle impaled itself on its own momentum.
Steel punched through feathers, muscle, and bone, exiting the back of the neck.
The impact nearly threw Yang Yi off the chain. His boots skidded on the slime. He locked his core, screaming silently as the weight of the dying bird threatened to drag him into the deep.
He twisted the blade and kicked the carcass.
The bird slid off the steel. It tumbled into the mist, trailing a ribbon of bright red blood.
Yang Yi wiped the spray of hot blood from his eyes. It coated the chain ahead of him.
"Great. Now it's lubricated."
To his left, the air chilled. The ice girl had stepped onto the parallel chain. She didn't walk. She slid. She had frozen the soles of her boots to the iron, creating a temporary bond with each step.
A second eagle dove for her.
She didn't look up. She flicked her left hand. A shard of ice the size of a spear materialized and shot upward.
It caught the eagle in the wing joint. The bird spiraled down, screeching, crashing into the canyon wall.
She glanced at Yang Yi. Her expression remained flat, but a flicker of acknowledgment passed through her eyes.
"Don't fall."
Yang Yi didn't respond. He focused on his feet. The blood made the iron treacherous. He moved with a shuffling gait, keeping his center of gravity low.
Behind them, screams erupted from the landing.
The other cultivators had panicked. Seeing Yang Yi and the girl progress, a group of five rushed the third chain.
"Move! Don't block the path!"
They crowded onto the swaying iron.
The eagles noticed.
Four birds rose from the mist, screeching in a frenzy. They didn't dive; they swarmed.
The lead cultivator, a man with a broadsword, swung wildly. He cut one bird, but another latched onto his shoulder. Talons sank deep. He screamed, losing his balance.
He fell, dragging the man behind him down by the robe.
They plummeted together, their wails swallowed by the wind.
The remaining three froze, clinging to the chain, paralyzed by terror. The eagles descended on them like piranhas.
Yang Yi didn't look back. The chaos was a distraction. While the flock fed on the panic behind him, the path ahead was clear.
He accelerated. He abandoned caution, trusting his reflexes. Step. Slide. Balance. Step.
The far cliff loomed closer. A stone platform jutted out to meet the chains.
He was ten feet away when the Alpha appeared.
It didn't shriek. It made a low, guttural clicking sound. It rose silently from beneath the ledge, blocking the end of the bridge. It was double the size of the others, its feathers black as midnight, its beak scarred and yellow.
It landed on the chain in front of Yang Yi.
The iron groaned under the new weight. The vibration nearly shook Yang Yi off.
The Alpha spread its wings, blocking the path to the ledge. It snapped its beak.
Yang Yi halted. He was tired. His shoulder throbbed. His qi reserves were scraping the bottom of the barrel.
He looked at the Alpha. He looked at the gap between the bird and the cliff edge. Five feet.
"I don't have time for you."
He sheathed his sword.
The Alpha seemed confused. It tilted its head.
Yang Yi reached into his pocket. He pulled out the Dragon Transformation Token. He didn't know if it would work, but the beast blood inside him reacted to the token. Maybe a real beast would too.
He held the token up. He pushed his killing intent into it.
Move.
The token flared with a dull crimson light. A pulse of ancient, predatory fear rippled out. The aura of a dragon, faint but undeniable.
The Alpha stiffened. The yellow eyes widened. The instinct to hunt clashed with the genetic memory of a predator far higher on the food chain.
It flinched.
Yang Yi didn't wait for it to recover. He sprinted.
He ran up the curve of the sagging chain.
The Alpha snapped its beak, but the hesitation had cost it the advantage. Yang Yi leaped. He vaulted over the bird's head, his boot pushing off the creature's bony skull for the final boost.
He hit the stone platform. He rolled, coming up in a crouch, sword back in his hand.
The Alpha screeched in fury, turning to pursue.
Yang Yi kicked a loose rock the size of a melon off the ledge. It hit the bird in the chest.
The Alpha squawked, lost its footing on the swaying chain, and flapped frantically to stay airborne. It abandoned the hunt, diving back into the mist to find easier prey.
Yang Yi stood up. His legs shook.
The ice girl landed softly beside him a moment later. She breathed hard, sweat beading on her forehead, melting the frost on her skin.
She looked at the token in his hand before he could pocket it.
"A Dragon Token. You aren't a peasant."
Yang Yi hid the metal disk. "I'm whatever I need to be."
He turned to the tunnel ahead. The darkness beckoned, cool and silent.
"Two thousand steps down."