Bai Jin raised both hands and caught the descending golden sword light.
The blade never touched his skin.
But the layers of space between them shattered one after another. Golden flames burned along the cracks in both directions, making his silver hair look almost transparent.
A trickle of blood ran down his wrist.
The foothold beneath Bai Jin sank, and the force of the sword drove him dozens of yards downward. Every heartbeat brought a dull ache to his chest. Soul Power surged through his arms, only to dissipate rapidly beneath the blade.
Qian Daoliu did not press harder.
The third wave of sword force had taken shape. Now it was up to Bai Jin to find his way out.
The wings of light behind Qian Daoliu continued to feed power into the golden sword. Everywhere the domain covered the sky, that single edge drew everything toward it.
Bai Jin suddenly lowered his gaze.
He stopped looking at the sword as a whole.
The perception of his Six Eyes narrowed to the small patch of space before his palms. Golden flames burned along the Soul Power connections. Only after consuming one segment did they spread to the next.
In that process lay an exceedingly brief gap.
Until now, he had tried to keep the space solid enough to withstand the sword force. But the steadier the connections, the clearer the traces they left—and the more continuous a path they gave the flames.
Bai Jin turned his right hand half a circle.
The first layer of the barrier before his palm dispersed of its own accord.
Qian Renxue's breath caught.
The golden sword pressed down another inch, only to drop into a freshly formed layer of space. Its connections ran in an entirely different direction. By the time the golden flames