Burning with Impatience, Making One Mistake After Another

The instant his palm pressed into the sand and the shockwave spread out, Chen Wuya had not even had time to catch his breath before the corner of his eye twitched violently.

Bai Zhi had fallen.

Not been defeated—fallen. The blade wound across her shoulder blade had split open, blood sliding down her spine and dragging a long, slanted crimson streak across her moon-white robes. She dropped to one knee, bracing herself against the rock wall with her right hand to keep from collapsing completely. Her flexible sword had flown from her grip and rolled several paces away, the sapphire on its tassel smeared with sand and dull without luster.

Chen Wuya's throat tightened as though someone had clamped a hand around his windpipe.

He had meant to wait for her response to the signal, wait for her to steady the formation, wait for reinforcements to arrive—but now, she could barely remain standing.

"Aah—!"

A furious roar burst from his chest. Both arms surged with force as Misaligned Force rushed backward through his meridians, and he lunged forward like an arrow loosed from the string. He did not care whether Wu Chi stood in his way, nor did he care that his true qi had long since fallen into disarray. He only wanted to rush over, even if it meant using his own body to take a blade for her.

But at the very instant he leaped up, a black shadow slid across his path.

Boom!

The massive axe smashed into the ground, sending waves of sand rolling up and slamming straight into his chest. Chen Wuya grunted and flew backward, his back crashing viciously against a broken boulder. A dull crack sounded from his ribs, as though blunt weapons were stirring inside him. He opened his mouth, and a