The woman's laughter filled the destroyed room like wind chimes in a storm - beautiful and somehow threatening at once. "My, my, Thunder King. Who would have thought you'd manage to make a little runt care enough to throw his life away for you?" She stepped over a fallen beam with impossible grace. "The heavens never cease to surprise, even after all these years."

  Han's eyes never left her, but his words were for Jon. "Who was it that attacked you? What happened?"

  Jon's muscles remained coiled tight, every instinct screaming at him not to take his eyes off the woman who looked barely older than him but moved like time itself was her plaything. "Got away from them. But they're probably still following. White hair, white tiger. Used some kind of-"

  "Oh?" The single syllable cut through his words like frost. The woman's smile shifted. "You escaped Bai Feng?" Her gaze swept over Jon again. "Now that is unexpected."

  "Princess." Han's voice carried. "There's a town down the mountain. If we truly fight here, those innocent lives will be caught in the storm. Let us settle this without violence."

  The woman - a princess? - raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you held back?" Her lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer. What was it with all these smiles and sneers anyway? "Since when does the great Thunder King care about mortal lives?"

  She turned to Jon, her robes swirling like ink in water. "Your master here... oh, you should have seen him Eight centuries ago. When those mountain towns dared to execute his bastard son for theft." She traced a finger through the air, drawing invisible patterns. "Three cities, wasn't it, Thunder King? Hundreds of thousands of souls. The lightning storm lasted seven days. They say the screams could be heard all the way to-"

  "Enough." Han interrupted.

  The princess's eyes glittered. "Oh? You haven't told your little disciple what kind of monster took him in?" She clasped her hands together in mock surprise. "How terribly awkward."

  Jon's gaze darted between them. Han's shoulders had tensed, his weathered face suddenly looking every bit its centuries. The confident, unshakeable master who had taught Jon to breathe properly, who had patiently corrected his stance a thousand times - that man seemed to flicker and fade, replaced by someone older, heavier, weighted down by something Jon couldn't quite grasp.

  "I said enough." Han's words were quiet now, but they carried a different kind of force. The princess must have felt it too, because her smile shifted into something more contemplative.

  The princess's expression shifted into an exaggerated pout, like a child denied a favorite toy. "Oh, come now, Thunder King. I was merely telling stories. You've lost your sense of humor in your old age." She resumed her smile."Though I find it fascinating how desperately you wish to bury the past." She straightened, her height suddenly seeming to fill the broken room. "The boy looks at you differently now, doesn't he? That delicious moment when admiration cracks, when doubt seeps in..."

  Then she started moving toward the shattered doorway with grace, but paused at the threshold. Without turning, she added, "But then again, perhaps that's why you've grown soft. Trying to wash away old sins with new mercy?" The last words carried a lilting tone that made them cut deeper than any accusation.

  The tension in Han's jaw was visible now, a muscle twitching beneath his weathered skin.

  The princess finally turned to Jon. "Boy." She started. "I must say, when I heard about the demonic cult's summoned monster, I pictured something more..." She gestured vaguely in the air, "...impressive in stature."

  Jon felt his face heat up despite himself. Why were all these cultivators always the same? First Jianyu, then that Bao Feng fellow, now, that woman. They all had that little je-ne-sais-quoi that made you want to punch them in the face.

  "Still," she continued, tapping one long finger against her chin, "you'd make a fine addition to the Emperor's collection nonetheless. Such interesting qi patterns. Almost... foreign." Her smile widened. "The Court Alchemists would have such fun with-"

  "Leave the boy alone."

  Han then turned to Jon. "Leave this place. Find somewhere to hide, and trust no-"

  "Oh, I'm afraid neither of you will be going anywhere." The princess's voice had lost all its playfulness, becoming smooth and cold. Her jade-green qi unfurled in the room like frost spreading across glass. "When my brother the Emperor strikes deals with the unorthodox faction, it means the job must be done."

  The air grew thick with pressure. Jon's lungs struggled against it, each breath feeling like it was being drawn through silk.

  "The boy comes with me today." She raised one delicate hand, and the debris around them began to vibrate. "Whether he walks..." Her fingers curled inward, and Jon felt invisible bonds tightening around his limbs. "...or I drag him."

  What the fuck is this?

  The last rays of sunlight filtering through the broken windows seemed to bend around her, casting strange shadows that moved against the natural flow of light. Her robes stopped moving with the wind, instead floating as if suspended in water, and the temperature in the room plummeted until Jon could see his breath misting in the air.

  Jon's mouth went dry as every muscle in his body coiled tight, screaming at him to move, to run, to do something - but he remained frozen, caught between two forces that made his own power feel like a candle before twin suns.

  His heart hammered against his ribs. The sound of his own pulse drowned out everything except the subtle shifting of fabric as the princess's robes continued their unnatural dance. Han hadn't moved, hadn't even changed his stance, but something about him had transformed. The familiar presence of his master had become vast, like a storm cloud gathering on the horizon.

  Jon's skin prickled with goosebumps. It started with a smell - that sharp, clean scent that made his nose tingle, the one he remembered from summer storms back home.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Ozone.

  The same smell that filled the air right before lightning split the sky. His enhanced senses picked up the subtle shift in pressure, the way the wind died for just a moment, like the world holding its breath. Was this Han's doing?

  The hairs on his arms stood up. Static electricity made the dust motes in the air dance and swirl. Even the broken pieces of wood and tile around them seemed to vibrate with anticipation. That peculiar stillness settled over everything - the same stillness that made animals seek shelter and birds go quiet before a massive storm.

  Then came the wind, just a whisper at first, carrying with it the metallic tang that made his teeth ache. The air grew heavy, thick with potential, like the moment before a dam breaks. His senses screamed even more warnings at him, picking up distortions in the natural qi that made his meridians constrict instinctively.

  Thunder rolled in the distance - except there hadn't been any clouds moments ago. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, more felt than heard, rattling in his bones.

  Sweat beaded on Jon's palms. Any second now. Any moment, one of them would move, and the world would explode. He could feel it in his bones, in the way the air crackled with barely contained energy. His throat constricted as he tried to swallow.

  The princess's fingers twitched - barely a movement at all.

  Han's eyes narrowed a fraction.

  The broken beams around them creaked under an invisible pressure.

  Someone was going to move.

  Someone had to move.

  And then-

  Han moved, and even with Jon's enhanced perception, even with time seemingly crawling to a halt in moments of danger, his master was just... gone. No blur of movement, no displacement of air.

  There, then not.

  Thunder cracked overhead - not from clouds, but from Han's fist meeting the princess's barrier. The impact shattered every remaining window in the house. Jon felt the invisible bonds around him loosen for a fraction of a second as the princess's concentration wavered.

  He didn't waste it. Qi surged through his meridians as he twisted, fighting against the mystical restraints. One arm came free, then-

  The princess's laugh cut through the chaos. She flicked her wrist, and reality seemed to fold. Jon's stomach lurched as space itself warped around him. The broken room stretched like taffy, and suddenly he was flying backward, pulled by forces he couldn't see or fight.

  Han appeared above them, his form silhouetted against storm clouds that hadn't existed moments ago. Lightning coursed down his arms, not yellow like natural lightning, but deep blue-white that hurt to look at. The princess raised one hand, and the air solidified into sheets of crystalline force.

  It struck.

  The lightning struck them, fragmenting into a thousand smaller bolts that scorched the mountainside.

  Jon managed to get his other arm free, reaching for the sword in the at the woman's waist. The princess's power yanked him higher, toward the roiling clouds. The ground below shrank at a sickening rate. He could feel her qi trying to seep into his body, trying to take control.

  Han's voice boomed from everywhere at once in the heavens: "Wrong move."

  The storm clouds collapsed inward like a closing fist. Lightning erupted from every direction, turning night to day. The princess's shield shattered - but she was already moving, dancing between the bolts with impossible grace, still pulling Jon along like a puppet.

  Jon focused his qi into his core, just as Han had taught him, and pushed outward. The princess's control slipped, just enough for him to twist in the air. The sword came free, glowing with his own power - insignificant compared to the forces clashing around him, but it was something.

  The princess spun in mid-air, her robes spreading like wings. The very air began to crystallize around her. Han appeared behind her, his hand crackling with power - but she had anticipated it. A dozen mirror images of herself and Jon scattered in different directions.

  "Too slow, old man," her voice echoed from everywhere.

  Han's response was another thunderclap that shook the mountain. Rain began to fall - no, not rain. Glowing droplets of pure qi that sizzled where they touched anything solid.

  Jon managed to slice through one of the bonds holding him, but for every restraint he broke, two more wrapped around him. He was a leaf caught in a hurricane, and the storm was only beginning.

  The princess and Han clashed again overhead, their impact creating a shockwave that cleared the clouds in a perfect circle. Jon caught glimpses of their true forms through the chaos - Han's body crackling with lightning that coursed through his meridians, visible through his skin; the princess's form shifting and fluid, like she was made of living jade crystal.

  They weren't cultivators fighting with supernatural power - they were forces of nature wearing human shapes, and Jon finally understood just how far he had to go. Every technique he'd learned, every breakthrough he'd achieved, felt like a child's first steps compared to this dance of giants.

  But he kept fighting against the bonds anyway, because that's what Han had taught him. Even when the mountain itself began to tremble beneath their power, even when reality buckled under the weight of their clash, he kept pushing. One small freedom at a time, while titans waged war above.

  A particularly violent clash sent them spiraling over Zhilan town, their battle illuminating the night sky with unnatural colors.

  "Jon!" Han's voice cut through the chaos. "Break free! Now!"

  Jon felt Han's familiar qi surge through the bonds holding him, weakening them just enough. He pulled with everything he had, channeling qi through his meridians until they burned. The crystalline restraints shattered - and then he was falling.

  The wind howled in his ears as the town rushed up to meet him. People below looked like ants, screaming and running as debris rained from the sky. Lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the panic in stark bursts of blue-white.

  "Get out of the way!" Jon shouted, though his voice was lost in the wind. He gathered qi in his core, forcing it out in a desperate attempt to slow his descent. The air around him began to spiral, but controlling it at this speed was like trying to redirect a river with his bare hands.

  He crashed through the roof of a house, wood splintering around him. His hastily formed qi cushion absorbed most of the impact, but he still hit the floor hard enough to crack the boards. When the dust settled, he found himself staring at a terrified family - mother clutching two children, father standing in front with trembling hands raised.

  "B-brother Jon?" The man's voice shook, but he didn't move from his protective stance. "Please... my family..."

  "I'm not-" Jon started, but another explosion rocked the town. Pieces of the ceiling fell around them. "You need to run. All of you. Get as far from town as you can."

  He didn't wait for their response, bursting through their door and into chaos. The streets were filled with people fleeing, their screams mixing with the thunder overhead. A cart had overturned, trapping an old woman. Jon rushed over, lifting it with qi-enhanced strength.

  "Go! Run!"

  Above, the princess's laugh echoed across the town as she deflected one of Han's attacks. The redirected energy carved a glowing trench through three buildings.

  Jon ran through the streets, helping where he could. A child separated from their mother. A man trapped under fallen debris. Each rescue reminded him of the impossible gap between his power and the forces clashing overhead. He was trying to bail out a sinking ship with a teacup.

  The wind picked up, carrying the scent of ozone and something else - incense? A familiar white shape emerged from the chaos, padding toward him with supernatural grace. The massive tiger's fur seemed to glow in the strange light of the battle above.

  "My, my." A lazy voice cut through the screams and thunder. "They're really going at it, aren't they?"

  Bai Feng stepped out of the shadows, pipe dangling from his lips, looking for all the world like he was watching an afternoon performance rather than a catastrophic battle. His eyes reflected the lightning above as he gazed skyward.

  "Beautiful technique, really. The Thunder King hasn't lost his touch." He took a long draw from his pipe, then fixed Jon with that unnervingly calm stare. "Now then, boy. Shall we pick up where we left off?"

  Jon's muscles screamed in protest as he shifted into a fighting stance. This was madness.