Chen Fang broke off from the aerial stalemate. He wasn't fleeing, he was hunting, arrowing down towards the fourteenth node with killing intent.

  As a Qi Condensation cultivator, killing someone at Spiritual Awakening was easier than crushing an ant. But he was tired, and the formation-reinforced Liu Zhengan was determined to protect the boy with all of his might.

  "No–" Zhengan's voice cracked with exhaustion, darting between Chen Fang and Yuming. Simultaneously, he called to redirect the protective formation towards the fourteenth node.

  The flickering barrier around Yuming suddenly lit up, layers interlocking. The air trembled as condensed qi spilled outwards like tides.

  Yuming took a deep inhale of the condensed qi, which flooded his meridians with coolness. He steadied his breath as he rose upright and cleared his mind.

  Zhengan… is not from the Zhan Branch. I can do my best to help him.

  His hand stuttered slightly before he pressed it back onto the pedestal.

  But why would Chen Fang suddenly turn towards me and attack? I threw away the jade token…

  Chen Fang settled a few dozen feet above the plaza. Blood still poured from his lips from Zhengan's previous strike, but his eyes were unclouded and deep—like an abyss.

  Zhengan landed directly on the ground, his boots crushing debris. The Dantian Awakening formation controllers above quickly hurried to redirect the formation's power towards the courtyard.

  Both Qi Condensation cultivators stared at each other.

  I can make a clear move on the boy, but it will expose me to Liu Zhengan, Chen Fang thought to himself.

  "Why resort to harming innocent juniors?" Zhengan mused.

  Chen Fang sighed and drifted slightly lower, his qi mechanism shrouding the dark courtyard with golden light. "Liu Chengxu, that Great Beast, slaughters wantonly in the north. Your family doesn't complain… you only provide him with the resources he needs."

  Chen Fang squeezed his eyes closed and lifted a hand out. His fingers trembled as threads of pale gold gathered at his palm. Each strand hummed with remembered screams.

  "I once found myself in a pool of blood where acquaintances I'd met stood just moments before. Before, I had been a mere inspector—why not do something real for once?"

  Liu Chengxu, massacres in the north, the refugees from the north, Yuming's mind raced as he quickly connected some dots.

  Chen Fang glanced at Yuming with a look of pity. "I can't do anything to that Great Beast. But I can prevent another beast from rising—and show your Liu Family that actions have consequences."

  Another beast… he thinks I might become like Liu Chengxu?

  Yuming slowed his qi cycling.

  Will I?

  He thought back to Yang Feng. He'd falsely befriended him, put him into a near-death situation. Yang Lianxin—she'd been publicly humiliated and slapped by her husband. Why? Just so he could experiment with karma. There were almost certainly other ways to obtain similar results.

  Cold kid, you'll be just like them.

  Prevent another beast from rising.

  Everyone seemed to see the same thing when they looked at him. A Liu cultivator in the making. A future monster wearing a boy's face.

  He didn't want to be like them. But he desperately wanted to be real.

  Yuming's qi cycling faltered, causing the formation to flicker.

  "Yuming!" Zhengan yelled, "Focus!"

  But Chen Fang had noticed the opening—the moment Zhengan's attention was drawn away. Not having the stamina for one of his signature moves, he instead blasted towards Zhengan.

  Zhengan reacted instinctively, his pressure wall surging to meet the attack. For a heartbeat, the path to the fourteenth node—and Yuming—was clear.

  Chen Fang reversed course instantly, shooting a stream of pale qi towards him. Yuming had seen something similar before; he thought back to the time Liu Tianjue had melted the two demonic cultivators.

  But this time was different. Chen Fang was tired, focused on Zhengan, and Yuming still had the protection of the formation. The situation wasn't helpless.

  If it was truly helpless, someone would've probably swooped in to "save" me.

  Yuming pushed the barrier outward. The damaged formation responded, and the shimmer of protective qi flexed outwards towards Chen Fang's strike, creating a momentary resistance.

  Light rippled across the formation's surface in waves, each ring grinding against the invading force as traces of qi scattered into the air. The wall bowed inward, trembling, but held.

  Chen Fang's eyes sharpened. He flicked his fingers, and three thinner lances of qi split off from the main stream, drilling into the same point with ruthless precision. Bright white cracks began to spread across the barrier's surface.

  "Hold!" Zhengan roared.

  A torrent of condensed qi surged from above as Zhengan forcefully redirected the formation's flow. His pressure surged down, slamming into Chen Fang's attack from the side. The pale stream wavered, destabilized, then shattered into drifting threads of harmless light.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  The barrier was weakened, and it flickered more rapidly, but it held.

  Chen Fang—facing the blowback from the missed strike—swayed midair, his golden light flickering unevenly as exhaustion finally took its toll.

  Zhengan's eyes hardened. He didn't give him a moment and squeezed his right hand.

  The air around Chen Fang's stomach compressed violently. There was no visible strike, just a sudden expansion of pressure from a single point, hitting like an invisible hammer.

  Yuming saw Zhengan revert back into his defensive position as Chen Fang coughed violently.

  Let's see if Zhengan can react quickly.

  Three Thread-Needles flew from his free hand. They were weak, desperate, and barely visible against the smoky sky. In Chen Fang's extremely depleted state, they could at best give him a small scratch.

  But Chen Fang's eyes tracked them instinctively. His head tilted a fraction to the left.

  Zhengan was already moving again, abandoning his defensive posture.

  His pressure contracted into a single point, carrying the weight of deep water. He drove it forward like a battering ram, aiming for the gap Yuming had created.

  The strike caught Chen Fang across the ribs. Yuming heard a loud crack.

  For a moment, the plaza fell silent.

  Chen Fang hung there, one hand pressed to his side, breathing in shallow gasps. His golden qi flickered erratically. He looked up and out towards the distance. Perhaps it was time to leave.

  Then a transmission technique brushed Chen Fang's consciousness.

  It was Gao Ping. He had defeated Liu Mingzen, but was greatly injured. He still managed to get close to Chen Fang. Close enough that he could send him transmissions.

  He recalled what Zhou Meiling had told him before they went to fight Liu Mei.

  'Lord Chen, the prodigy has an Earth-grade root… and a mortal brother. The brother is close, an official in the Eastern corridor. I can find him.'

  Just a mortal… Chen Fang's resolve wavered briefly. He forced himself to remember Pinewood Hollow.

  'Do it.'

  Beyond the smoke, Gao Ping started sprinting east. Yuming could sense it through the damaged formation—a cold spot disengaging, moving towards the mortal area.

  Why?

  Then he heard a laugh, followed by a mocking yell from Gao Ping. "Stay safe, Chenming!"

  Yuming heard the name and his heart seemed to seize, the world dropping into a hollow, airless silence around him.

  Why, how does–

  Then his breathing quickened. It was obvious. Zhou Meiling had listened to his conversation with Chenrui, and had told Gao Ping about it before they fought him.

  And now Gao Ping was running towards the mortal districts.

  Yuming's gaze turned icy.

  He's going to Chenrui.

  But Yuming couldn't outrun a Dantian Awakening cultivator. All he could do was wait at the pedestal, his blood-slick hands pressed against cold stone.

  One minute passed.

  Then another.

  Then another.

  Each breath scraped his throat raw. Each second stretched thin.

  It was the longest three minutes of Yuming's life.

  Run, Yuming thought to himself. Please tell me you already ran.

  Through the formation, he felt a cold spot appear at the edge and start making its way inwards, towards the courtyard.

  Gao Ping emerged from the western edge of the plaza, dragging a figure by the collar.

  He was Liu Chenrui. Twenty-three years old. A Mortal clerk with torn robes and a face bloody from a scrape. His eyes were wide with terror.

  "Lord Chen," Gao Ping's voice was thick with pain—he was exhausted from his earlier fights. But triumph burned in his eyes. "His brother."

  Chenrui saw Yuming across the plaza. Their gazes met.

  "Chen– Yuming—!"

  Chen Fang drifted sideways, positioning himself between Zhengan and Gao Ping. The geometry of the situation was immediately clear.

  Yuming saw it instantly.

  Zhengan can't move. If he goes for Chenrui, Chen Fang takes me. If he stays with me, Gao Ping kills Chenrui.

  Only I can make a move—to leave the formation and try to beat Gao Ping.

  He looked at Chenrui, who was looking down, not daring to meet his younger brother's gaze. He understood what he was here for. He didn't want Yuming to save him.

  But he couldn't bring himself to tell that to Yuming.

  Yuming heard Zhengan's transmission in his ear.

  'Even if you try to save him, the blow will kill you both. Yuming, you have to stay strong and make the right choice.'

  But Yuming knew that wasn't true.

  If he went to save Chenrui, he would get attacked. Then, a Zhan Branch cultivator would probably swoop down and save them both.

  Why else did I have that jade token? Why else did I get targeted? Why else have reinforcements still not arrived?

  Yuming knew what the Zhan Branch wanted to see.

  The night that Liu Xuehan had told Yuming about the Sea of Suffering, he'd dreamt of his family melting. Maybe it was because he'd realized his family had never been real. Just illusions maintained by Heaven and Earth.

  But he still cared deeply about those illusions. That's why the dream stuck with him until this day.

  If he stayed still—watched Chenrui die in front of him—how could he live with himself?

  He'd need to wear his cold mask again. No, he'd need an even colder mask. He'd need to tell himself that no goals mattered but one: to become real. Everything else would be secondary.

  And who would he be then? Himself?

  He'd just be another Liu Chengxu, another Liu Family beast.

  This is exactly what the Zhan Branch wants to see, I'd be walking into their trap.

  But he found that his legs had started moving before the thought finished.

  So this is my answer.

  "Yuming—!" Zhengan's voice cracked with alarm. "Stop!"

  He didn't stop.

  He crossed out of Zhengan's protection. It fell away like a discarded cloak.

  Chen Fang's golden pseudo–domain swallowed him.

  The pressure was immense—guilt, shame, judgment crushing down on him from every direction. His own doubts amplified, weaponized, turned against him.

  You experimented on Yang Feng like a specimen.

  You pushed away everyone who cared about you.

  You're becoming exactly what they want.

  He laughed it off, thinking to himself: Look at me now!

  He kept running. Thread-Needles flew from his hand towards Gao Ping, completely useless against a higher realm.

  Zhengan desperately tried to salvage the situation, but the geometry of the battle was no longer in his favor.

  Chen Fang moved into Yuming's path. Not attacking. Just there.

  Chen Fang studied him for a long moment. Something flickered in those inspectors eyes—surprise. Or perhaps recognition.

  He didn't feel happy as he raised his finger towards Yuming, conjuring a fine bright light at its tip. The motion was reluctant, but necessary.

  Before the light could fall, the courtyard dimmed.

  It wasn't a shadow that fell over the courtyard, but depth.

  A pressure like the weight of an unseen ocean settled over the ruins. Sound dulled. Flames bowed their heads. Even Chen Fang's golden radiance seemed to sink, dragged beneath some invisible water.

  A man descended without wind or fanfare, robes hanging plain and unmarked. Each step downward rippled the air as if space itself was parting for him.

  He stopped between Chen Fang and Yuming.

  The bright point at Chen Fang's fingertip wavered and went out.

  Yuming sighed inwardly as he saw the satisfied expression on the man's face.

  Chen Fang was horrified. His composure slipped, and a cold, bottomless weight took its place. He recognized the man, a Foundation Establishment from the Liu Family.

  "L-Liu Jinghan," he managed to stutter.

  His thoughts raced. Liu Jinghan, Abyssal Mirror immortal foundation.

  A cold, hollow clarity settled over him.

  Abyssal Mirror… No wonder my thoughts grew clear, my eyes felt like they were flushed with water!

  He fell to his knees.

  Why did I even come here? Such a dangerous attack! Liu Xueyin and her Bait Spring Script!

  He took a final look at the solemn prodigy in front of him, gears clicking into place. He mustered together his remaining strength to let out a final cry. "Don't—"

  But he never finished the sentence.

  Liu Jinghan snapped his fingers. Gao Ping and the other followers of Chen Fang melted into the earth. Chen Fang held on a second longer, but soon his eyes rolled into the back of his head as body quickly decomposed.

  Liu Jinghan walked over towards Yuming with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.

  He spoke in a reassuring tone.

  "You are safe."