A dragon that could be reared was no true dragon. A tiger that could be wrestled was no true tiger.
- Anonymous
A mounted leap across the sky, thunder falling from the nine heavens, flight beneath a sword, smoke dispersing and ashes scattering-all these events had unfolded in the flash of a spark. Yet that fleeting spectacle gave everyone present the illusion that they had just watched an entire heart-stopping battle of life and death.
Li Yangya's ferocious leopard mount had been reduced to ash by the thunderstrike. The black powder drifting through the air reminded everyone present that none of what had just happened was an illusion.
All the fighting before this seemed like child's play beside the Shangqing Palace Hall Master's power to command thunder and harness lightning. Now, in the vast wilderness beneath Firecloud Mountain, most of those present stood like wooden carvings and clay statues, all stray thoughts forgotten. Their eyes held only that golden figure still gliding forward.
At that moment, the youth had entered a state of utter self-forgetfulness. Even after his successful strike, his mind remained incomparably pure and clear; he spared no thought for deliberately deciding what to do next. His golden, gleaming figure barely touched the ground before rising again, hurtling straight toward the direction in which Li Yangya had fled!
Li Yangya, at whom his sword pointed, was no ordinary fighter either. He had actually found time to escape with his life from that seemingly unavoidable thunderstrike. Yet although he had dodged it by sheer luck, this iron-blooded warrior who had swept across the savage southern Yue frontier felt fear for the first time in his life in close combat.
Even as he dodged, Li Yangya kept watch in every direction. With the corner of his eye, he helplessly caught