~~~

Eastern Port City is now but a small dot on the horizon.

To Su An, it still doesn’t feel real. None of it does. Her memories of the battle are a blur of blood, violence, and flashing steel. For the first time in her life, Su An fought against multiple people who wanted her dead.

They hadn’t succeeded.

Su An fought proudly to defend her home and the dignity of the Xiao Sect, killing foe after foe. Alas, it hadn’t been enough. She was eventually overcome, her strength exhausted after so much fighting. As her eyes closed, Su An was sure she would never open them again.

It had been with mixed feelings that she had woken up the next day only to find herself in shackles and the city in ruins. It had been like waking up to a nightmare. Her fellow disciples, the ones who survived, helped her fill in the blanks. They told her they lost, that Xiao Zheng fell from the skies with such force the main house is now destroyed. They told her Xiao Nan is dead.

None of it makes any sense to Su An.

For her entire life, the Xiao Sect has been the strongest. To her, who has lived her whole life in Eastern Port City, Patriarch Xiao Zheng and the Xiao Sect have always been the peak of strength. Untouchable. Undaunted. Unmatched.

Not anymore.

Patriarch Xiao Zheng is dead. The Elders are dead. So many are dead.

She is not.

Even though she’s not a civilian, she has been left alive. It is not just her, either. A few other Inner Disciples are alive as well. At first, it reeked of arrogance and carelessness, yet a second glance showed her differently. Of the people who have not been executed, not a single one is above the Nascent Realm.

It only makes sense. By Su An’s estimates, most of the invaders are in the Nascent Realm as well. She is sure of this because it was people in the Nascent Realm who compromised the bulk of her kills during the attack. Meanwhile, the officers are in the Spirit Realm and above. Trying to keep those who are above the Nascent Realm captive, while not beyond the invader’s capabilities, would be a waste of resources.

Or perhaps not. Su An is only theorizing based on what she saw while she was in the city.

Unlike some who were put to work in the city or taken to Poison Fang Canyon for reasons Su An can only guess at, Su An was set aside and placed with another group.

A group of only women.

At first, Su An assumed the worst. She had heard many great and terrible tales about what happens to beautiful women when cities are taken, and beautiful is something she most certainly is. The rumors surrounding her and Liu Jin wouldn’t have gained so much traction if she were ugly. In a situation such as this one, unfortunately, her beauty can only be a hindrance. Indeed, Su An had even looked at a jagged rock on the ground and seriously considered wounding her face with it, if only so she could escape a worse fate.

However, just as she was about to do so, she overheard the soldiers talking. She wasn’t able to make out everything, but she did pick up enough words to understand what they plan on doing with them.

They are going to be sold.

She is going to be sold. That is why the soldiers have taken them out of the city and are now heading to a slave market somewhere in the Storm Dragon Empire. It is not the best situation to be in, but it is also not the worse one. If she is going to be sold, that means her safety is somewhat guaranteed. Her value would decrease if she were damaged. Of course, there is no telling what will happen to her after being sold.

Su An has no intention of finding out.

Right now, Su An is not surrounded by a hostile horde of invaders. Su An is one out of a group of twenty-five women guarded by only eight men. Of the eight, only two are in the Spirit Realm. There are shackles on her hands and feet, and chains bind her to the rest of the group. The chains are strong, yet Su An is sure she can break them.

Not now, though.

There is nothing but plains for miles. She can run, but she can’t hide. While they outnumber their captors, they do not outskill them. The women have been chosen by their beauty, not their might. Su An is easily the strongest one among them, and she cannot possibly defeat two people in the Spirit Realm on her own.

Thus, Su An keeps her head down and waits.

The march into the Storm Dragon Empire is long and tedious. At least for her. For the other women, it is quite harsh. The soldiers are torn between pushing them to cover more ground or keeping an even pace to ensure they all arrive in good health. That they even consider the second option means whoever picked the men for this job did so wisely. There is never a point where the women are mistreated.

It means Su An has no reason to intervene. A good thing. If she had to step up to defend these women… she’d only end up getting attached. She cannot allow that to happen. She cannot allow it to happen because…

Because she plans on leaving them all behind.

It is heartless. Su An knows this. If she thought there was a way she could save them, Su An would try her hardest to do so. However, the world is not so kind. She can see the odds quite clearly, and they are not in her favor. That is why, for the entire trip, Su An does her best not to interact with any of the other women.

Unfortunately, that leaves Su An alone with her thoughts. She tries her hardest to avoid thinking about the destruction of Eastern Port City, but she can only delay the inevitable for so long. As the days pass, her mind keeps going back to it, unable to ignore a singular truth.

Her father is most likely dead.

Su An did not have the time or opportunity to verify it, yet it feels like a reasonably safe assumption to make. He was a city guard, often stationed at the wall. He’d have been one of the first to encounter the invaders. The odds of him surviving that are… almost nil.

Su An is not sure how to feel about that.

She is sad, obviously, but that is not all she feels. There is regret as well. She and her father... they had never been that close. He had always been busy with his work, and once she entered the Xiao Sect, she had been busy as well. Sometimes months would pass before their paths crossed. Even though her father was the one who taught her how to make a fist... she had allowed herself to drift away from him.

Su An is starting to regret that, yet she’ll never have the chance to make amends.

Because he is dead now.

Meanwhile, the Xiao Sect she had spent so much time in is also gone. Xiao Zheng, the undisputed strongest, is no more.

Xiao Nan, the dazzling prodigy, had passed away.

Like many girls in the Xiao Sect, Su An had been attracted to Xiao Nan. She had been drawn in by his handsome looks and talent. Of course, that attraction had never gone anywhere. In his eyes, she had never been more than Liu Jin’s attendant. That is something she had understood for a while.

Three years ago, she’d have lamented his death. Now, any sorrow Su An feels over Xiao Nan’s death cannot possibly compare to her worry over how Boss will react when he finds out.

Boss… Liu Jin has to be alive. Su An refuses to contemplate any other alternative. He has to be. He could be reckless, and he allowed himself to become too invested in the oddest of things. However, Liu Jin is smart. If anyone could have gotten away from Eastern Port City in time, it is him. He is probably out there with his father.

Yes, that has to be it.

Su An does her best to ignore the thousand tiny voices that poke holes at her theory.

Liu Jin is alive. That is why he must be sad right now. He loved Xiao Nan like a brother. To lose him so quickly and suddenly must have been a huge blow to him. That she is not at his side to help him through it makes Su An feel useless. It makes her want to get away all the more quickly.

However, she has to be patient.

Her chance will come. She just needs to wait for it.

As the days pass, the plains give way to rocky cliffs, a deep, jagged scar left upon the earth. The Whispering Depths, the soldiers call it.

Here.

Here is where she’ll make her escape. Su An’s eyes narrow, reflecting the iron-clad determination in her heart. There is no doubt or hesitation in her.

The paths are narrow, and the cliffs high. They all have to walk in a single file, or else they risk falling to the depths. The invaders are forced to put their strongest at each end of the group. Meanwhile, Su An is closer to the middle. The conditions are almost ideal. Her only obstacle is the soldier closest to her. He is in the Seventh Level of the Nascent Realm, likely there to keep her in check.

She will not let him stop her.

Su An waits until a day where the mist rises high enough to suit her needs, making sure to build up her Qi slowly and carefully so as to not draw any attention.

Now!

The chain breaks as Su An strikes it with all her might. She cannot go forward. She cannot go back. However, there is one path she can take.

She needs to leap.

The fall would be lethal to the other women. However, she is not like them. Su An is a cultivator who has reached the Third Level of the Nascent Realm. Had her placement in the tournament brackets been different, she could have made it to the top four.

The hand of the soldier closest to her closes around her wrist as soon as she starts moving. His grip is like iron.

She is Su An of the Xiao Sect.

Ground Contraction.

Qi gathers in her legs and explodes, sending them both accelerating off the cliff and into the depths. Her lips curl up in a smile as she sees the shock on the invader’s face.

“You insane woman!” The soldier yells at her. His hands reach for her neck, choking her.

Ground Contraction.

Once again, Su An accelerates, this time in mid-air. Once upon a time, this would have been beyond her. However, seeing Liu Jin do it during the Eastern Port City Tournament made her train harder. After all, she is the one who showed the technique to him. She could only let him surpass her by so much.

The guard gasps as Su An uses the acceleration to slam her head into his face, breaking free of his grip. Most people would now try to gain some distance and focus on landing safely. However, that is not a luxury Su An has. They are both strong enough to survive the fall. If she lets him land on his own terms, he’ll slow her down just enough for the other invaders to come down and recapture her.

In order to escape, Su An needs to take him down before they hit the ground.

Su An yells as she hits the soldier on the face with her shackles once then twice, drawing blood. He glares at her before punching her in the stomach, a heavy blow that knocks the air out of her lungs. The soldier’s Qi flares as he grabs Su An by the shoulders. His body suddenly gains new momentum thanks to a movement technique he uses to slam Su An against the rocky cliffside.

Sharp rocks pierce her back, making her gasp in pain, yet Su An refuses to give up. She grits her teeth and quickly channels Qi to her hand.

She had seen Young Master Xiao Fang perform the move countless times when he sparred together with Liu Jin against Young Master Xiao Nan. Liu Jin may have been too respectful to try to copy the move, but the same cannot be said of her.

Su An slams her palm against the soldier’s armored chest.

Void Fist.

At this distance, there is no way her attack can miss. Her Void Fist bypasses the armor and ravages the soldier’s organs. The light goes out of his eyes.

A second later, they hit the ground, Su An barely managing to put his body under hers to soften her fall.

It still hurts.

Keep going.

Su An stands up. She has to. She cannot fall here, or else this will all have been for nothing. And yet, her vision sways. Some of her bones are broken. There is blood coming out of her mouth.

Remember.

“If only the legs are reinforced, you’ll just trip and fall. Similarly, if the entire body is reinforced equally, the boost will be substandard.”

Yes, that is what she said back, wasn’t it? So what if her body is not in top condition? She only needs to focus on specific bones and muscles and…

Ground Contraction.

~~~

One jump. Two jumps. Three jumps.

Su An keeps using Ground Contraction to make her way across the Whispering Depths. She does not hear anyone following her, but that’s not surprising. All she can hear right now is the sound of her blood beating through her body.

Su An frowns.

No, that is a lie. There is something else.

As she heads deeper into the misty depths, she can hear something else. A hum. A melody.

It calls her.

Even though Su An has never been here before, she knows where she needs to go. Even though the mist covers all, she never once trips or stumbles. Somehow, she knows where everything is. Su An leaps and jumps through the rocky terrain until she finds a small crevice. It doesn’t look big enough for a person to fit through, yet Su An has no trouble doing so.

The cave on the other side is dark, cold, and does not look safe in the slightest.

This is where she needs to be.

Somehow, Su An knows that to be true. She is safe here. The soldiers won’t find her here. Even though she should be leaving a trail of blood, they will not find this place.

This is where she must be.

“At last....”

Su An blinks, startled, suddenly feeling as if a haze has been lifted from her mind.

“What is…? Where am I?” She looks around but sees little. The cave is dark, and she is tired. She can barely keep her eyes open.

“At ease, child. I will not harm you.” The voice is soothing, and Su An instantly feels like trusting it. “It is I who have led you here. For so long, I have waited for someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

Something is happening to her, Su An realizes. Her body is being healed. Her wounds and exhaustion seem to vanish. Pain is replaced by a soothing warmth. Even her Qi is being replenished.

At that moment, Su An’s body feels so rejuvenated, she can almost fool herself into thinking it is changing.

“A compatible vessel. The state of your meridians is perfectly suitable.”

Su An blinks. Her meridians. Well, of course they are good. Boss made sure of that. Boss? Who is that? Liu Jin. Who else? He helped her with her cultivation countless times. How curious. To think a child so young would know how to improve someone’s meridians to this extent. Truly, this is a fortunate meeting.

Wait...

Who is in her thoughts?

Su An. Blinks.

And screams.

The warmth intensifies into searing pain, thousands of blades tearing into her body, into her mind. Su An can only hold her head as her entire being is assaulted.

Get out! Get out! Get out!

She has to get out... She has to... Wait...

Why is she here again?

Where is here? What is… what is her name?

NO!

Terror like none other seizes her. Her name! Her name! What is it? She needs to remember her name!

Su An!

That’s right! Her name is Su An! Her name is Su An! Her name is…

Her name is…

…

Su Daji.

Her name is Su Daji.

~~~