The moment Tao Wenshu drew her sword, the area around the Watchtower dimmed, as though all the light had gathered upon her blade.
The Xiaoming Sect's sect master pushed off with her toes and leaped out of the Watchtower, racing toward the Zhen Estate as though riding the wind through empty air.
The sleeves of her black robe streamed behind her. She sped faster and faster, descending as she ran, and in the blink of an eye, she became a patch of darkness that plunged into the small building brought down by the raging wind.
Within that darkness, a shooting star suddenly appeared, cleaving the sky and illuminating the surroundings as it hurtled toward the top of Ji Hanyi's head with overwhelming force.
This was Tao Wenshu's sword light.
"Flying Star Breaks Dawn!"
The sword descended upon her like an immortal flying down from beyond the heavens. Though Ji Hanyi's expression remained unchanged, the abnormalities concealed by the Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing Divine Skill revealed themselves.
Her ears became rounded, tawny tiger ears. Sharp spikes sprang from her hands, resembling a tiger's claws, while patches of brown dog fur covered the backs of her hands. Two sharp, pointed teeth protruded from her mouth, and a tiger's tail some ten feet long trailed behind her.
The yellow-and-black-striped tail abruptly went rigid and lashed into the air with a crack, striking the side of the "flying star."
Amid the clang, Yan Changqing, who had fallen into the building's wreckage, opened his eyes.
The violent whirlwind had hurled him about, yet aside from his tattered clothing, he showed not a trace of injury.
At that moment, his dark eyes grew even more profound, as though he had drawn the deep night sky brought by Tao Wenshu into them without plucking out its stars.
In an