The first volley was fifty arrows. The second was fifty more. The third was fifty again.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBINirp06m
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pInWJJBpk
One hundred and fifty purple flames, falling like a curse from heaven.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRqqGgxJ8O
Liang Wei looked up. His hands moved before his mind could catch up. He drew a circle in the air – left hand tracing yin, right hand tracing yang. The two halves met, merged, and expanded outward into a shimmering disc of silver and gold light.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIl7z1Pk5rK
A sigil shield. The same technique he had used to stop Tao Zhongwen's fireballs.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPI5UAMUbt
He had never known it to fail.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ4h3QwGtS
The first arrow struck the shield.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ylDRDF7mB
And passed through it.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWCwDXjMcd
Liang Wei's eyes widened. The shield rippled like water, then dissolved. The purple flame did not care about yin and yang. It did not care about cultivation. It sought souls – and a shield had no soul.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJDqF805iX
The arrow flew straight for his left eye.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocSQELv4zX
He caught it.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9krMc38noa
His fingers closed around the shaft an inch from his pupil. The purple flame licked at his knuckles, hungry, but his skin did not burn. He had been touched by dragon fire before. This was nothing.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGJYhW8Os0
The second arrow took him in the chest.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQIQ6trJkx
It punched through his robe, through his skin, through the muscle beneath. He felt it stop against his rib. Warm blood began to soak his clothes.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiVhtxfYdJ
He did not cry out.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDPjaqUSpA
The third arrow came for his throat. He snatched it from the air. The fourth arrow struck his shoulder. The fifth grazed his ear.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iYFI8jK0K
Behind him, the sails caught fire. The purple flames spread quickly, eating through the canvas like locusts through wheat. The crew screamed. The servants wept.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrj77SqAKtX
Liang Wei took a breath.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPrWx3vTTy
One.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z7YNoMLHI
And another.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXTkd2sE7Z
Two.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn69OA35TSr
And another.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMI4qg5wWV
Three.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Eg3dfjOam
The world slowed.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjupzYNM0g6
He had learned this technique from a monk in the mountains, fifty years ago. It was not magic. It was breath. It was focus. It was the ability to stretch a single heartbeat into an hour.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKETGZMmeoH
The arrows no longer streaked. They crawled. He could see each one – the grain of the wood, the twist of the feathers, the purple flame pulsing like a living heart.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJDtBhASHp
He stepped left. An arrow passed where his head had been.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CO77Z3eSa
It turned.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeC98PifdFD
In mid‑air, the arrow curved. It changed direction, as if pulled by an invisible string. It was still seeking him. They all were.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbpYDTaAMt
He caught it. Snapped it. The pieces fell into the sea.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwb61a7BoiK
Another arrow. Another catch. Another snap.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBAvmEne8P
But there were too many. His chest burned. His shoulder throbbed. The sails were fully ablaze now, the fire spreading to the rigging.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMfF5Ldcuu
He took another breath.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzIu3sQ7PZ
The world slowed further.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEbjKd8xva
He looked at the arrows still falling. Fifty-three of them. He counted in the space between heartbeats.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNi1zynJ1Uo
He could not catch them all.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjN5OmoyqjF
He turned to the sails. The fire had already consumed half the canvas. If the ship burned, everyone drowned. The crew. The servants. The general.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3hma5tpKa
He had to choose.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tcjB37Yhn
He opened his mouth and blew.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgUmmJjRkB
Not a normal breath. A cultivated breath – years of qi condensed into a single exhalation. The wind that left his lungs was not air. It was a wall.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22YmCH4jWy
The fifty-three arrows paused in mid‑flight. They trembled, pushed back by the force of his breath. But they did not fall. They did not retreat. They turned, slowly, and began to crawl toward him again.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxlAHSMAgZ
Magnets. They were magnets, and he was iron.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlb84pV6K8e
Another arrow struck his back.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9HVzblqDS
He fell to one knee.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOYmWWKrYT
The purple flame from the arrowhead spread across his robe, seeking his heart. He slapped it out with his palm, leaving a scorch mark on his skin.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmFCQxa9q5
"Master!"
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFwuY0n9Af
General Feng Jian burst from the hatch, sword drawn. He had seen enough. He could not stay below while his teacher bled.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8d7OUFbx8v
"No – get back inside—" Liang Wei started.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOO9xJsM1G2
The general was already moving.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97DVt9EW0h
His sword flashed. Not one slash. Not ten. One hundred slashes in a single breath – a technique Liang Wei had taught him years ago, when the general was still a young officer with something to prove.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Vg3P8fvw0
The blade moved so fast it seemed to multiply. Steel became a silver net. Half of the incoming arrows – twenty‑seven of them – were cut from the sky. Their shafts fell to the deck. Their purple flames sputtered and died.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjXSlrnSiL
The general turned to face the remaining arrows.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDQOaBLYUg
He saw the ship's tiller – a thick wooden beam used to steer the junk in rough seas. It was heavy, longer than a man, and solid as a tree trunk.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6qvXFRMhO
He grabbed it.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbk5UfsZka
He swung.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUm03R0lkmo
The beam moved through the air like a giant's club. The remaining arrows shattered against it – wood splintering, flames scattering. The general spun the beam twice more, clearing the deck, then dropped it with a crash.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwnVsfjGeZ
He turned to Liang Wei. "Master, are you—"
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0hy8NuM35
Liang Wei's head snapped up. His eyes were wide.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw021bDX3ez
"Another volley," he said.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pueSMCtUs
The general looked up. The sky was dark with purple stars.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTgjusXkNC
He grabbed the general by the collar and threw him.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCKDGLwrs6
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk6AAPtN5y
Not gently. Not carefully. He threw him like a sack of rice, straight at the open hatch. The general flew through the air, crashed into the doorframe, and tumbled down the stairs into the cargo hold.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KMaFzYzuF
He landed on a pile of rice sacks, stunned but alive.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwLeDH5T0g
Above him, the hatch slammed shut.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz50XKW9St1
The general scrambled to his feet, reached for the ladder – and stopped.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8ywi6dVxR
Through the wooden planks, he heard Liang Wei's voice. Not speaking. Chanting.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHv9sSxW8Ke
And then he felt the wind.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡStzP2Dfr11
***
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCVgnnTIut
On the deck, Liang Wei stood alone.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8lbSILsj3
His robe was soaked with blood – his own blood, from the arrow in his chest, the arrow in his back, the arrow in his shoulder. But he stood.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJsEqwJarR
He raised his hands.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHLqHWUNny
He turned them slowly, palms facing each other, fingers spread wide. Then he began to rotate them – left hand clockwise, right hand counterclockwise. Faster. Faster. The air between his palms grew thick. It swirled. It spun.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEhqOLnY8a
A small tornado formed between his hands, no larger than a child's top.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zngFPPJyF
The arrows were a few seconds away.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4F5OBjSxYm
He spun his hands faster. The tornado grew. It became a column of spinning air, tall as the mast, wide as the deck. It howled.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMf8hwuW9Z
The arrows entered the tornado.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnu6fekCH1
They spun with it, caught in the current, unable to break free. Purple flames whirled in a circle, lighting up the deck like a thousand fireflies.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIb3kpw0TN
Liang Wei knew he could not release them. If he let the tornado go, the arrows would simply change direction and come for him again. They would never stop. Not until he was dead.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1v19FPsWUb
He had to destroy them.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSXSap9k9H
He reversed his hands.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2ybfTn459
Clockwise became counterclockwise. Counterclockwise became clockwise. The two currents clashed. The tornado shuddered. The arrows inside began to compress – squeezed by opposing forces, crushed by invisible pressure.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRD3I7xDl4L
Wood groaned. Metal bent. The purple flames flickered.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3YFkUWEnP
Liang Wei spun his hands faster than he had ever spun anything in his life. His arms ached. His shoulders screamed. The wounds in his chest and back wept fresh blood.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEEZi2ME7Y
The tornado contracted.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6WcruyONp
It became a sphere – a whirling ball of purple fire and shattered wood, no larger than a barrel. Liang Wei clapped his hands together.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHUdwpUQ6A
The sphere imploded.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfW3T2jrnb
A shockwave blasted outward, knocking over barrels, tearing ropes, splintering the railing. The arrows – all of them – were crushed into fragments. Tiny pieces of wood and metal rained down on the deck like black snow.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rl4WFkWfc
The purple flames went out.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoudVkfTkB
Liang Wei staggered. He caught himself on the mast. His chest heaved. His vision blurred.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpABDpq87c
He looked up.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kZI3OEFNd
The third volley was already in the sky.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYtUSnwaLv
Fifty arrows. Burning purple. Falling toward him.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FZze7qnAx
And in the distance, beyond the arrows, he saw them.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4T8XrKzAoo
Five military ships. Their cannons were already aimed at the junk.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp43xA0VdD
He could not stop both. He could not save the ship and survive the arrows and sink the warships.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dGMIIObWy
He made his choice.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8HGomwg8h
He sprang into the air.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozrGbL8BZg
Not a jump. A launch. His legs pushed against the deck so hard the wood cracked. He flew upward, toward the falling arrows, his body a missile of flesh and bone.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSr1vib1hOg
He landed on the water.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQa0B6H55zs
Not on the surface – on the water. His feet touched the waves and did not sink. He was running now, sprinting across the sea, leaving a trail of ripples behind him.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzJNjoYlsD
The arrows followed.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUonqUfu0cF
He raised his hands and slashed at the water. A wave rose – a wall of seawater, twenty feet high. He pushed it with his qi, sent it flying toward the arrows.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeh6rSnc67H
The water struck five of them. Their purple flames hissed and died. The arrows fell into the sea.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTsnxYHr4K
Forty‑five remained.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3SZCS3Nx5
Liang Wei kept running. If he stopped, he would sink. His feet pounded the waves. His wounds leaked blood into the ocean. Sharks would come later. For now, only the arrows mattered.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4W0DwGuSM
He leaped again.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDkdLJ2ssK
This time, he did not try to block. He twisted in the air, turned his body, changed direction. The arrows followed. They curved after him like obedient hounds.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5VP0gF2Qr
He smiled.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8M184N3tR
He dove.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxqjXkrdYV
Into the water he went, deep as a fish, his body cutting through the waves. The arrows followed – purple flames burning even underwater, hissing but not extinguishing.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDjviNcvcP
He swam deeper. The arrows swam with him.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03UhrO5QDa
He burst upward, broke the surface, and flew into the air. The arrows burst upward behind him.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUsnyTMFuJ
He looked toward the military ships. Five of them. Cannons aimed at the junk.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsJQNWXyCG
He could not reach them in time. He could not stop the arrows and sink the ships.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAdeKCUtxi
He had to choose the arrows.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9jLqi3iWC
He stopped running.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHp7PUF44H
He stood on the water, facing the volley. Forty‑five purple flames, streaking toward his heart.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UwKoIPLhy
He channeled all his energy into his left arm.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpRbndfrSg
Every drop of qi. Every breath of cultivation. Every year of training. He poured it into his fist.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtr8pwMuq5D
The air around his hand began to distort. Purple light – not the arrows' light, but his own – crackled around his knuckles.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CHB7zb8SY
He punched.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLejx0ue1Gi
The punch did not strike any arrow. It struck the air between them.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIXHwvqAxG
A shockwave erupted from his fist – purple and gold, expanding outward like a second sun. The sound was not thunder. Thunder was too small. It was the sound of heaven tearing.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQGazOCoSy
The shockwave met the arrows.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQxaL0vX8s
The arrows did not shatter. They did not burn. They ceased. Wood and metal and purple flame – all of it turned to dust, then to nothing.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zPrajup1K
The shockwave continued. It rolled across the water, toward the five military ships. Their cannons fired – too late. The wave struck them. The ships rocked violently. Two of them lost their masts. All five were pushed back.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVBMxOVplo
Then the shockwave faded.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpE9EtQ6oUn
And Liang Wei fell.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrQNGCTZ76
He fell from the sky like a broken bird. His left arm hung limp at his side. His chest was soaked red. His eyes were closed.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2AKsy6lYLA
He hit the deck of the junk with a sickening thud.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0NlqZux1a
General Feng Jian burst from the hatch. He had felt the shockwave through the wooden planks. He had heard the silence that followed.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxUquvVZ5j
Now he saw his teacher lying in a pool of blood.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDlSUY6Cwm
"Master!"
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyvsAiygFl
He ran to Liang Wei's side. He knelt. He pressed his fingers to the old man's neck. A pulse. Weak, but there.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bQwiMT1wP
"Master, don't die on us. Please. Don't die."
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPeB2lke5n
The servants emerged from the hold, weeping. The guards stood in a circle, their faces gray with fear. The crew stared at the distant military ships, waiting for the next attack.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjOeMzJB0e
Liang Wei's eyes did not open.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYiYrpos1q
But his lips moved.
58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DJrvWhPRf
"Give me your sword, general."58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsxNZxA19b
and then Add to home screen.