Contract Release

Frostfall stood on the steps, watching the young man stagger downward, pounding his chest with heavy blows.

Each time Chen Ping'an struck, golden light spilled from his chest. He was like a blacksmith hammering a sword billet: every blow sent sparks flying and disturbed the River of Time, warping the light around him until it flickered between brightness and shadow.

Chen Ping'an was descending from above, so even with his eyelids lowered, Frostfall could clearly see those unnaturally golden eyes from the steps below.

Chen Ping'an stumbled onward. The commotion in his heart was enormous. After refining the heart from the Spirit's remains, it felt as though he had moved an entire furnace of molten fire into his chest.

The characters Nian Xin had peeled from the Golden Talisman and Jade Scroll were of exceptionally high grade, each containing the true meaning of Daoist magic. Yet with every punch Chen Ping'an threw, several melted in the golden light and vanished into the air.

Frostfall asked, "You shouldn't have finished refining it so quickly. Are you hiding another secret?"

Chen Ping'an remained silent. He had no wish to speak, and in truth could not. He only kept striking his chest, doing his utmost to suppress the drumbeat in his Heart Aperture.

Frostfall stepped aside to let him pass, then walked alongside him. Frostfall kept his gaze on Chen Ping'an's profile while using his divine ability to examine the inner workings of Chen Ping'an's Human Body Small World.

Chen Ping'an stopped and covered his mouth with both hands. He coughed up a mouthful of golden blood, tilted his head back slightly, and swallowed it all. Then he continued forward, pounding his chest again.

Frostfall was beside himself. Strange. Far too strange. Even with those two dragon-eye flames as catalysts for refining the