HUALA
The breath attack slamd into the shield of flas.
HISSSSS
The world disappeared in steam.
Han Yu scread as the impact struck him with brutal force. The first half of the attack he blocked. The second half tore through. The breath hit him squarely in the chest and flung him against the mountain wall like a rag doll.
Crack.
His back struck stone.
The blood flas sputtered violently. Ice crawled over his limbs in jagged patterns, spreading like frost on glass. The skin on his arms went numb. His breath stung. His eyelashes froze together.
Han Yu gasped sharply.
"Ice Qi… invading ?"
His vision blurred as the cold continued to seep into his body, trying to freeze his very marrow. His muscles seized. His fingers stiffened until he could no longer even twitch them. His halberd slipped from his grasp and clattered onto the ledge.
Then the breath attack ended.
But the frost remained.
It held him against the mountain like a frozen corpse nailed to a wall.
FLAP FLAP
WHOOSH
The wyvern flapped its wings once and soared toward him, its massive form cutting through the moonlit sky. Every beat of its wings sent flurries of ice drifting downward. Its eyes glowed with deep blue hatred.
Han Yu's teeth chattered violently.
He tried to circulate fire elental Qi again, but the invading cold suppressed it. His ridians felt clogged, stiff, sluggish. Only one thing remained available to him.
Soul Qi.
The wyvern drew close, talons extended to rip him apart.
Han Yu could not even lift a hand to use Soul Needle
His mind scread the only move he had left.
Soul Petrifying Glare.
His eyes snapped open, glowing with violent violet light. Ripples spread out from the pupils like concentric rings expanding across a pond. A pulse of Soul Qi erupted from him and struck the wyvern straight in its spirit.
The wyvern's wings froze mid-flap.
Its pupils constricted.
Its body trembled.
Han Yu felt his soul Qi emptying like water from a shattered jar. A terrifying drain rushed through him, leaving him lightheaded. The wyvern was Nascent Soul realm, which ant his technique was fighting an uphill battle.
But it worked.
Even if only for seconds.
SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHh
The wyvern's eyes rolled back and its body fell limp. With no control, it plumted through the air, wings folding awkwardly as gravity seized it.
THUD THUD THUD
CRASH
It crashed into a field of jagged rocks four hundred ters below.
Han Yu's frozen throat allowed only a ragged exhale.
"That… took half… half my soul Qi…"
He had never seen Soul Petrifying Glare drain him so fast. But this was the first ti he used it on sothing far above his cultivation.
The ice holding him finally cracked.
Han Yu forced his will into fire elental Qi, calling upon the remnants of his Blood Flas. A violent burst of scarlet fire erupted around him, lting the frost and sending cracks spidering down the wall. He fell to his knees, coughing as warmth returned to his stiff limbs.
His chest burned. His back throbbed. His ridians felt sluggish.
But he was alive.
He did not look back toward the wyvern.
He did not check if it was dead.
He did not care.
The mont he could move, he grabbed the halberd, jumped onto it, and shot off into the night like a bat fleeing hell.
He flew low, weaving between stone pillars and cliffs, ensuring the mountain terrain blocked him from any aerial sight. His breath ca in sharp bursts. His fingers trembled from the aftereffects of the cold Qi.
He flew for minutes.
Then tens of minutes.
Only when he felt absolutely no trace of the wyvern's Qi did he slow down, landing behind a massive spire of ice-covered rock.
He collapsed to one knee.
"Not doing that again. Not ever."
He pressed a hand against his chest, feeling the residual cold lingering near his heart.
"That breath… would have killed outright if I did not react."
He took several deep breaths, forcing his circulation to stabilize. His body began repairing the cold damage. The Fire Qi in his dantian stirred, slowly lting away the leftover frost Qi still hiding in him.
Han Yu wiped the cold sweat that was about to freeze off his forehead.
"That glare skill saved my life. If that wyvern had not paused…"
He let the thought die. He preferred not to imagine his body being torn apart mid-air.
He steadied himself, forced his legs up, and checked his surroundings. Everything was silent, the mountains still and ominous in the moonlight. Only the faint echo of the wyvern's distant crash remained.
Han Yu shook his head and muttered bitterly.
"Next ti I see a Rocky Hoofed Ram… I am running the other direction."
He settled into a hidden spot behind a jutting mountain wall to recover. His soul Qi was dangerously low. His body needed rest. His mind needed clarity. The Inner Ring had welcod him with the worst greeting possible.
But he survived.
Barely.
Tomorrow would only be harder.
After resting enough that he could move well, Han Yu got out and flew up.
He flew until his limbs trembled and his mind buzzed with exhaustion. When he finally saw a shallow cave halfway up the cliff face, hidden behind a jutting ridge of rock, he descended at once.
His soul Qi was half gone, a hollow ache lingering in the depths of his consciousness. His spirit Qi was drained by a quarter, strained from the explosive Blood Flas he had unleashed earlier as well as flying so far.
His ridians still stung faintly from where the Frost Breath had forced ice Qi into them.
He needed rest. Real rest. Not just ditation while alert or a quick breather between fights.
He pushed at a flat slab of stone leaning near the cave entrance. It was heavy but movable. Han Yu wedged it tightly against the cave mouth until only a thin gap remained for air.
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