Chapter 8: Blood in the Courtyard
The courtyard was a battlefield, its ivy walls trembling under clashing qi. Ten Zhi Clan cultivators, 5th to 7th Layer of Qi Gathering, surrounded the pavilion. Their leader, a gaunt man with a scarred cheek, sneered. "Hand over the art, or we burn this place."
Lin Xuan stood firm, gray robes fluttering, crimson eyes glinting. "You'll burn first." He lunged, Tooth Dagger tearing the leader's arm. Their qi blades stormed, but Illusion Diversion's clone drew fire. Celestial Glide wove him through, Tooth Dagger leaving bleeding wounds. Energy Devour siphoned qi, weakening attacks.
A 7th Layer cultivator's qi serpent bit his leg, but Iron Body Art mitigated poison. Lin Xuan siphoned its qi, ending the foe with Tooth Dagger. The rest fell, their qi pushing him to the 5th Layer of Qi Gathering.
Liu Yue emerged, awestruck. "You killed them all." Luo Shuang urged, "We can't stay." Lin Xuan nodded. "The Alchemist's Guild competition—resources and allies." In his room, he refined a healing pill with his hidden silver-blue flame.