The mountain wind howled.
Yang Ge walked into the wind toward the Sacred Fire Hall, step by step. With every step, his aura grew stronger, his terrifying presence stirring the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi until winds raced and clouds surged.
"Amitabha..."
The old black-robed monk standing atop the Sacred Fire Hall gazed at the dark clouds rolling across the sky. Pressing his palms together, he invoked the Buddha, then spoke slowly with an elder's earnest gravity. "The Zhao Family treats human lives like weeds and poisons all living things. Time and again, they have plotted against you, layman. Why abandon your home and livelihood and brave life and death for them?"
Yang Ge did not answer. He swung his saber at the Sacred Fire Hall, sending a ribbon of Blade Qi straight through it.
With a bang, roof tiles flew in all directions, and another figure shot skyward from inside the Sacred Fire Hall.
Yang Ge focused his gaze. The man was lean and dark-skinned, holding an ancient, unadorned prayer wheel and wearing vivid orange-red monk's robes. His long, graying hair was woven into two thick braids decorated with gold, silver, and gemstones... At a glance, the rugged air unique to the Grasslands swept toward him.
"A keen eye, layman!"
The man landed on the roof and raised one palm, speaking solemnly in a low, heavily nasal voice. "I have come to resolve your..."
Before he could finish, Yang Ge sprang up from below, his face expressionless, and swept his saber at both monks atop the hall.
Both monks leaped backward.
The black-robed elder drew a deep breath, then opened his mouth and roared, his beard and hair bristling. "Hah!"
In an instant, the bronze-colored phantom of a golden bell materialized before him. Terrifying golden sound waves rolled forward