Desperate Outburst, New Power Reappears

The instant the stone slab sank, Chen Wuya knew something was wrong.

The tremor beneath his feet was not the sound of a single collapse, but the vibration frequency of three linked mechanisms. He had no time to pull back. He drove the broken blade at his waist into a crack in the sidewall, swung himself sharply sideways with its leverage, and barely pulled his right leg clear of the collapsing gap. Rubble crashed down in a thunderous cascade, kicking up a cloud of dust that swallowed his vision.

Before he had even found his footing, the system's icy prompt rang in his ears: [Multiple internal-energy fluctuations detected, not a single target].

The iron-masked figure before him did not stop. Instead, he retreated deeper into the fissure, vanishing into the shadow of the broken cliff. Chen Wuya was about to give chase when his peripheral vision caught faint disturbances in the airflow along both rock walls—an omen of true qi spilling from the bodies of experts gathering their strength.

Four black shadows sprang out at once.

One held Twin Hooks, short and powerfully built, landing without a sound; one carried a long saber on his back, his steps steady, killing intent already leaking out though his blade remained sheathed; the man on the left had palms tinged blue, clearly trained in a cold poison palm art; the last stood high above, his ten fingers curled like claws, balancing on his toes with extraordinary lightness skill.

The four formed a diamond formation, sealing every route of escape before, behind, left, and right.

"You have already been poisoned three times over." The hook-wielder spoke in a sinister voice. "You won't last five moves."

Before his words had faded, all four moved.

The Twin Hooks sliced in from his left ribs, swift as