The ground cracked beneath Huo Chen's foot and the familiar surge of earth propelling him forward launched his body across the clearing in a flash.

  Liu Feng was still standing there with blood streaming down his ruined face, still shouting threats, and Huo Chen had his claws raised high as he closed the distance with killing intent clear in every movement.

  Liu Feng's hand moved and crushed something against his chest in the split second before Huo Chen's strike could land.

  A shimmering barrier erupted around Liu Feng's entire body, silver-colored and translucent, forming a dome of complete protection that enclosed him from every angle.

  Huo Chen's claw strike came down with earth Qi coating the metal and the attack slammed into the barrier with brutal force.

  BANG.

  The impact sent a shockwave through the shimmering surface, but instead of breaking through, the force rebounded directly back at Huo Chen.

  The collision jarred his right hand and he felt the bones shake from the redirected energy, and the rebound sent his body flying backward through the air.

  Liu Feng's sword flashed three times in rapid succession while Huo Chen was still airborne and moving away from him.

  "Verdant Gale Strike!"

  Three beams of sword Qi light shot forward like lightning, cutting through the space between them with deadly speed. The attacks converged on Huo Chen from slightly different angles, all aimed to intersect at the same point where his body would be in the next heartbeat.

  "Stone Mantle Barrier."

  The defensive technique formed in the instant before impact and compressed earth materialized between Huo Chen and the incoming beams. The three sword lights struck the barrier simultaneously and the collision sent fragments of shattered Qi scattering in every direction, but the defense held and the attacks dispersed harmlessly against it.

  The moment the collision faded, Liu Feng had already closed the distance and appeared at Huo Chen's left side with his sword raised high above his head. The blade came down in a vicious arc aimed at Huo Chen's neck.

  Huo Chen's feet touched the ground and he was still moving backward from the momentum of the rebound when Liu Feng's strike descended.

  Two earthen walls erupted from the ground in front of him with barely enough time to intercept the sword, and the blade crashed into the stone barriers with enough force to shatter them both in rapid succession.

  Huo Chen continued his backward movement through the breaking of the walls and through Liu Feng closing the distance, his body carrying momentum from the initial rebound that hadn't stopped yet.

  Then the shimmering barrier around Liu Feng vanished as quickly as it had appeared, the talisman's energy exhausted.

  Huo Chen's feet hit the ground hard and his backward motion stopped completely. The broken fragments of the earthen walls scattered between them, leaving clear space with no obstruction in his path.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  WHOOSH.

  His body launched forward and the ground beneath him cracked with the force of his acceleration.

  Huo Chen closed the distance in a single moment and his claw-covered fist came up to meet Liu Feng's sword.

  CLANG.

  The weapons clashed together with a sharp ringing sound and the force behind Huo Chen's strike was overwhelming. Liu Feng went flying backward and his body sailed through the air before slamming into a rocky wall with a sickening crunch.

  Blood sprayed from his mouth as he coughed and his body slumped against the stone. In the moment Liu Feng hit the wall, movement blurred from behind Huo Chen.

  The woman's form shot forward like a streak of light and afterimages trailed in her wake as her movement technique carried her across the clearing with desperate speed.

  She appeared in front of Liu Feng before he could even process what was happening, and her sword was already moving. The blade drove forward and impaled Liu Feng's head, entering through his forehead and punching out the back of his skull to stick into the wall behind him.

  Blood ran down the steel and painted the stone red. Liu Feng's eyes focused on her face for one final moment and hatred burned in them even as the light began to fade. Then his body went slack and the life left him completely.

  The woman pulled her sword free and Liu Feng's corpse dropped to the ground in a heap. Her legs gave out immediately and she collapsed onto her knees, breathing hard and ragged.

  Exhaustion crashed over her all at once and her entire body shook from the effort of that final strike. Sword wounds covered her arms and torso and face, and blood still seeped from the injuries Liu Feng had inflicted during their earlier fight.

  Huo Chen stood where he was for a few moments and let the woman catch her breath. Then he walked closer and stopped a comfortable distance away.

  She looked up at him with eyes that showed gratitude mixed with exhaustion, and she spoke through labored breathing.

  "Young Master, this one is called Xiao Yue. The life-saving grace you've shown me today—I will be forever grateful."

  Huo Chen waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright. I interfered because my conscience wouldn't allow me to leave after seeing something like that."

  His gaze moved to her face again and took in the deep slashes that marked her skin, the wounds Liu Feng had inflicted during the torture. The cuts ran across her cheeks and forehead, marring her features with lines of dried and fresh blood.

  Since he'd already helped her this far, he might as well help her completely. Huo Chen reached into his storage ring and pulled out a small bottle filled with round pills.

  He tossed it toward Xiao Yue and she caught it reflexively, her hands fumbling slightly with the container.

  "Use those for your injuries," he said. "Especially the ones on your face. They'll heal you completely."

  Xiao Yue looked down at the bottle in her hands and then back up at Huo Chen, and her eyes widened with renewed gratitude.

  "Young Master, this is—"

  "Don't refuse," Huo Chen cut her off. "Just use them."

  He turned to leave and had taken only a few steps when Xiao Yue's voice called out behind him.

  "Young Master Huo!"

  He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder.

  She reached into her storage bag with trembling fingers and pulled out a folded parchment.

  "I don't have anything truly valuable to give you in return, but..." She held the parchment out toward him. "This is a detailed map of the Emerald Void Realm. It might help you."

  Huo Chen walked back and took the parchment from her hands. He unfolded it and his eyes scanned the contents quickly, taking in the markings and notations that covered the surface.

  A smile touched his face. "This is exactly what I needed," he said.

  He stomped his foot on the ground and earth Qi rippled outward. The bodies of Liu Feng and Guo Lin flew through the air and landed near him with dull thuds. Huo Chen crouched down beside them and pulled the storage bags from their waists, tucking them into his sleeves without ceremony.

  When he finished, he straightened and looked back at Xiao Yue one final time. He raised his hand in a casual wave.

  "Take care of yourself."

  Then he turned and walked away at a slow, measured pace. His figure moved across the rocky terrain and gradually grew smaller in Xiao Yue's vision, until eventually the distance and the scattered boulders obscured him completely from her sight.

  Xiao Yue sat there on her knees for a long time after he disappeared, still holding the bottle of healing pills in her hands, and eventually she opened the container and swallowed one of the pills before exhaustion finally claimed her and her eyes closed.