"Drive the metal deeper into the bone." Ye Tian commanded his trembling hand.He sat in the center of the stone meditation chamber at Dragon Spring Villa. His skin glowed a dark unnatural crimson. The air around him warped and rippled with distorted heat waves.The fragment of the void hilt had ignited a Heart Burning Flame within his core. His heart raced a frantic chaotic rhythm against his ribs. Nausea flooded his throat. Every breath tasted like inhaling molten fire.My physical vessel is too fragile. Ye Tian fought a wave of agonizing pain. The mortal flesh cannot contain the rage of a sovereign soul. If I lose focus the fire will incinerate the entire mountain.He gripped a thick silver acupuncture needle. He drove the sharp point directly into his own sternum.He struck three more major acupoints along his chest and abdomen. He used the metal to forcefully lock the raging fire deep within his marrow. It was a volatile temporary seal. The intense heat vanished beneath his skin b

"Stay back." Ye Tian gasped.His boots hit the center of the Dragon Spring Villa meditation chamber. The impact cratered the floor tiles. The stone beneath his feet liquefied into bubbling black slag. Heat rolled off his skin in visible distorted waves.Su Qinghan stumbled forward into the room. She ignored the blistering heat radiating from his chest.Ye Tian dropped to one knee. His lungs burned. Every breath tasted like inhaling molten copper. The Heart Burning Flame devoured the remaining oxygen in the chamber. The orange aura flickered and licked at his skin. It threatened to consume his physical form.The vessel is failing. Nausea clawed at his throat. His vision blurred with bright orange spots. The Heavenly Void shard triggered a chain reaction in my core. The fire will melt this entire mountain."Your skin is turning to ash." Qinghan grabbed his arm. The silk of her dress singed upon contact."I hit a cultivation bottleneck." Ye Tian forced the words through gritted teeth. "T

The Su Corporation atrium held a suffocating silence. The overhead fluorescent tubes flickered and hummed a discordant frequency. The ambient temperature plummeted.A Hu stood by the executive elevators. He dropped his hand to the hilt of his combat knives. The shadows stretching across the marble floor detached from the structural columns."Show yourselves." A Hu called out to the empty room. "This building is closed to the public."Twelve figures wearing crimson petal masks glided into the lobby. Their boots did not produce a single decibel of noise on the polished stone. They moved with a terrifying fluid grace that defied mortal physics."State your business." A Hu drew his twin steel blades. "You are trespassing on private property.""We claim the bounty on the Ice Queen." The lead assassin spoke. His voice sounded like grinding rocks. "Step aside guard.""You chose the wrong building to infiltrate." A Hu leveled his blades. "You will need to bleed to reach that elevator.""We ch

"Tuck your elbows closer to your ribs." Ye Tian instructed the senior disciple on the training field of the Cloud Step Academy. "You project your force outward but leave your center hollow. An enemy will step inside your guard.""Is this better Supreme Instructor?" The young martial artist adjusted his stance and shifted his weight."Drop your heels." Ye Tian walked around the student. "Draw the energy from the earth. Do not rely on the momentum of your shoulders."Ye Tian stopped walking. He froze in place.A sharp phantom pain pierced his sternum. His breath caught in his throat. His heart skipped a beat and hammered a chaotic rhythm against his ribs. Nausea twisted his stomach into a tight knot.The spiritual tether. Ye Tian placed a hand over his chest. The guardian imprint is fracturing.In his mind he saw the purple dome splintering into jagged pieces. He felt the desperate terror radiating from Su Qinghan. The psychic connection snapped like a dry twig under a heavy boot."Seni

"Pack the foreign currency into the duffel bags right now." Doctor Sun screamed at his private security detail. "We do not have all night to load this transport."The apothecary stood in the center of a decommissioned military bunker on the outskirts of Jiangbei. Three feet of reinforced steel separated his makeshift vault from the surface world. He scrambled to fill a leather suitcase with gold bars and stolen medical patents. He knew the Su Uncle failed his mission the moment his burner phone turned to static."The external cameras are dead." The lead mercenary backed away from the security console. He racked the slide of his assault rifle with trembling hands. "Something breached the outer perimeter gate. The video feeds cut out before we could identify the target.""Do not stop packing." Sun commanded. He tossed another gold bar into the suitcase. "I pay you to hold the line. Secure the main concrete corridor.""Sir the motion sensors are malfunctioning." Another guard tapped a di