The tip of the sword hung to the ground. A drop of blood slowly slid down the wood grain and struck the dirt, punching a tiny crater into it. Chen Wuya did not raise a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, nor did he look at the backs of the three men retreating. He simply stood there. His breathing was steadier than before; the suffocating pain in his chest remained, but it no longer felt as though it would rip his bones apart.
Bai Zhi stood at the corner of the shed, her fingertips still resting on her sword hilt as her gaze swept across the edge of the crowd. She said nothing, but the tension in her eyes eased by a fraction.
Chen Wuya moved.
Bracing himself on the wooden sword with his left hand, he slowly shifted his weight from his right leg back onto both feet. A dull ache came from his shoulder blade, as though grit and stones were grinding through his meridians. He did not frown. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment. The warm current he had absorbed from the Green City Sect disciple's sword intent was slowly circulating through his Shanzhong Acupoint, patching the broken pathways of his meridians. Though the Misaligned Practice Connects to Spirit system gave no notification of energy recovery, that force was no longer an external enemy. Instead, it had become a catalyst, drawing his remaining true qi into a new arrangement.
When he opened his eyes, his gaze swept over the surroundings.
Representatives of the various sects gathered around the edge of the clearing. Some whispered among themselves, while others stood silent with cold faces. The people from the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Green City Sect had each withdrawn to one side, several paces