It all happened so suddenly and surprisingly, that Qingge would later need several hours of careful reflection to piece together that the event that started the sudden descent into madness was a bright flash of blue light, accompanied by an ear-shattering explosion. A shockwave traveled outwards from the loge of the Elders, strong enough to knock swaths of people of their feet and shake the arena down to its foundations.

  Then, only fractions of a second later, the ambient Qi all around them which would normally drift around in slow and aimless currents was swept up by a violent pull, turning into a wild storm in a matter of seconds as, unbeknownst to Qingge, over four dozen cultivators of the Dao Contemplation Realm simultaneously pushed their souls to full power.

  Before that process had even finished, a second, smaller explosion could be heard and bright bolt of lightning shot out of the loge’s roof, spraying pieces of debris in all directions, before arching sidewards and shooting towards the horizon at a mindboggling speed. Moments later, several blurry figures shot out from that very same hole and raced after it.

  It was only after these figures had disappeared from sight that movement came into the crowd. Qingge was amongst the first to react, pulling Daiyu – who had been knocked over by the initial blast – to her feet while drawing her sword and making herself ready to fight. Many others did the same. Critically however, it was not immediately apparent to anyone, who was actually the enemy and so everyone just stood there, weapons drawn, waiting for something to happen.

  Tension was high and in hindsight, Qingge would realize that it would only have taken a single person breaking and mistakenly attacking someone else, for complete carnage breaking out.

  Before something like that could happen though, a familiar voice boomed put from the elder’s loge, its tone loud and commanding.

  “Nobody moves!”

  Surrounded by a blindingly bright aura of white flames, Master Wei came flying out of the loge and stopped above the center of the arena. His appearance, wreathed in flames, made him appear as an unchallengeable, higher authority and his tone brooked no disobedience.

  “You will all put away your weapons and stay where you are until you’re told otherwise. Now!”

  …

  Cultivators from the Dao Contemplation Realm didn’t usually keep their souls in their fully active state at all times. It interfered with normal activity because it constantly pressured everyone around them, required concentration and was also simply exhausting over long periods.

  Even while their souls remained in the dormant state, they still retained some access to their powers and when it came down to it, it took only a couple of seconds to fully awaken it. Because of that, it was usually fine not to have them active outside of exceptionally dangerous situations. Usually.

  When Xing Zhou had attacked Jinjing Liqiu, nobody in the room except him had had a fully active soul. Nobody could react, especially not her.

  It was an act of courtesy amongst cultivators to keep their souls inactive when they met up, a sign of mutual trust. Trust that, as it turned out, had been unwarranted. What Xing Zhou had done broke with all convention in a way which even Liu Wei, a breaker of convention himself, had never dreamt of. A guest attacking his host without warning, from behind no less. It was, by all standards, utterly despicable.

  Nobody had expected it, but cultivators were trained not to let their surprise paralyze them in situations like these. Within no more than three or four seconds, the entire Lunar Peaks Sect stood in fighting formation, souls powered up and weapons in hands, ready to defend themselves.

  But the need for that didn’t arise. They hadn’t been the target to begin with, and Xing Zhou wasn’t planning to stay around and fight several dozen cultivators either way. As soon as he had confirmed that his attack had connected, he had wreathed his entire body in buzzing electricity before jumping straight through the roof and flying off at immense speed. Patriarch Tengfei Ye, his face filled with a cold wrath that Liu Wei hadn’t thought the calm and measured man capable of displaying, had given chase.

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  As soon as it was clear that there was no immediate danger here anymore, the first thing that Liu Wei did was rush out of the loge and into the arena. He had to make sure that the disciples were safe. Luckily, it seemed that the Roaring Thunder Sect’s reckless surprise attack hadn’t extended to them, as its few present members and disciples seemed to be just as shocked and unsure of what to do as everyone else.

  Sensing high amounts of tension regardless, Liu Wei quickly addressed the crowd, telling everyone to stay put. He didn’t want any chaos erupting here, the mess was already big enough as it was.

  “I know that you are all anxious about what has happened, but please wait for a while. For now, none of you are in immediate danger.”

  With that, he returned to the loge.

  The scene inside was one of tragedy and confusion. Most unaffiliated cultivators had retreated to the corners of the room where they were quietly whispering with each other. Most members of the Lunar Peaks Sect still stood where they had assembled in formation, unsure of where to go.

  In the middle of the room, Jinjing Liqiu laid motionless among the debris that was scattered over the floor. Meixiu Xia was kneeling next to her, her face strained with concentration as her hands, enveloped in water and glowing with Qi, slid over her back. Ma Rong was next to her, handing her ointments and occasionally feeding something to the unresponsive Matriarch.

  Around them, three elders of the Parting Clouds Sect and Patriarch Long Zhao stood, shielding the body from view and watching on with grim faces. When Liu Wei stepped to them, they made way for him as well.

  Upon closing in, Liu Wei was hit by the terribly familiar stench of burnt flesh. Where she had been hit, Jinjing Liqiu’s robes had been burned away, revealing her back which was entirely charred black. It was impossible to tell, where the burnt edges of her robes began and the wound ended, as they had been fused together by the heat. Her hair and eyebrows had entirely turned to ashes and her unburned skin was red and swollen. Despite all that, she was still breathing, if only in short, irregular bursts.

  After a few silent moments, Meixiu Xia addressed him without turning her attention away from her patient.

  “Elder Wei, can you make sure her temperature remains steady?”

  “Of course.”

  Liu Wei didn’t have much medical expertise, he had always been a pure warrior and built his Dao upon the destructive potential of fire, but he could do that much. He kneeled down, taking one of Jinjing Liqiu’s hands in his and spread his awareness throughout her body. Paradoxically, she was quite cold, so he pushed some gentle warmth into her, taking his time to make sure it spread evenly.

  “Good. Keep her like this. And if possible, try to help her circulate Qi through her body, I don’t have the capacity to do that right now.”

  He obliged, strengthening his awareness and taking control of Jinjing Liqiu’s Qi. Despite her state and that she didn’t fight him on it at all, it still required tremendous effort to do so, as her natural grip on her Qi was immense. Once Liu Wei had established his control, he began slowly circulating it through her body under Meixiu Xia’s instructions.

  He mostly followed her blood vessels, aiding the blood in continuing its flow, especially throughout the burnt area. Occasionally, he pushed small amounts of warmth into her to keep her temperature normal. This repetitive, almost meditative motion continued for a long time as the best healer on the peninsula, aided by its most skilled alchemist, worked her magic. Slowly but surely, the unconscious matriarch’s breathing stabilized, and she stopped losing temperature.

  “This is all I can do for her.”

  Meixiu Xia removed her hands and sat back, breathing deeply in exhaustion.

  “She will likely remain unconscious for a good time as her body heals, but she’ll make it. Bring her somewhere safe and have your healers keep an eye on her. Everything should be fine then.”

  “Lady Xia, we are forever in your debt. Your generous kindness will not be forgotten.”

  Meixiu Xia responded only with a nod and a gentle, exhausted smile. Somehow, Liu Wei had the feeling that this had been the exact reason for her efforts despite their sect’s nominal neutrality.

  Before any more words could be spoken, the rooms attention was caught by another elder of the Parting Clouds Sect approaching quickly through the air and towards the loge. She had been part of the group that had chased after Xing Zhou.

  Upon her landing, it was immediately clear that things hadn’t turned out smoothly. She wasn’t hurt, but her robes were messy, singed in some places and ripped in others. She had clearly fought someone, and her expression was one of grave seriousness.

  One of her fellow elders quickly approached her.

  “What happened?”

  “The Matriarch. Is she…?”

  “She is all right. She hasn’t regained consciousness, but Elder Xia has assured us that she will get through it.”

  “By our ancestors, that is good.”

  A momentary relief flashed over her face before it hardened again.

  “Judging by your expression, I don’t suppose that you were able to put down Xing Zhao?”

  “We didn’t follow him for long, he was simply faster than us.”

  “So you didn’t fight? But…”

  “We did, but not him. These bastards attacked the sect grounds!”

  – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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