Smack-!!!
The crisp sound rang out with particular harshness over the silent summit of Azure Luan Mountain.
Before that pale palm, the churning sea of crimson fire filling the sky seemed no more than cooking smoke idly scattered by a mischievous child.
With a soft hiss.
It was extinguished completely.
The red-robed female cultivator spun more than a dozen times in midair, tracing a decidedly inelegant arc.
Then.
Boom-!!!
She plummeted heavily to the ground.
Dust billowed, and shattered stones flew.
The crimson flying sword's radiance dimmed as well, and it let out a mournful cry.
With a clang, it fell to the ground in the distance.
Clarity returned to heaven and earth.
Only the black-robed girl remained standing among the clouds.
Junior Sister Xu stared blankly at the azure sky overhead.
Her shimmering robe was now covered in dirt.
Her once meticulously arranged bun had come undone, her hair as disheveled as a tangle of weeds.
Half her face had swollen terribly, its purplish-red hue lending her a wretched appearance.
Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were unfocused.
Her head buzzed as though countless flies were crashing about inside it.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What happened?
She struggled to stir her thoughts, which had long since frozen.
Fragments of memory flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.
"Junior Sister, you were born a seed of cultivation. So long as you devote yourself to cultivating, you can reach straight for the Great Dao without ever having to endure battles to the death."
"Most of this world's so-called prodigies of your generation are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs before your talent. They cannot withstand a single blow."
"..."
Her senior brother's words still echoed in her ears.
She had always believed