Now that they were well away from the site of her duel—her failure—against He Yu, Sha Xiang bit into a medicinal pill. She sagged in relief as the restorative qi coursed through her meridians. For the first time since her fight with He Yu had begun, the insistent voice that had clawed at the edges of her awareness quieted. Apparently, it was sated for the time being.

“That was foolish,” Xiao Jun said, not bothering to turn and look as he addressed her.

“Don’t start,” Sha Xiang snapped. “You said it was going to be simple.”

At that, Xiao Jun did spare her a look. He stopped in his tracks and whirled on her, his qi briefly flaring before he reined it in once more. The two stood and stared at each other for a moment, surrounded by the pines and mists of the path leading back to the sect proper.

“Did you hear what I said? I told you not to use that art yet. You aren’t ready.”

“What did you expect me to do? If you hadn’t been fucking around the whole time we would have dealt with that stuck-up bitch before the others arrived.”

“How many times have I told you? There are rules, and if we call too much attention to ourselves the elders will crush us under their heel. Besides, you’re one to talk. You couldn’t even handle a baby Foundation. You have a full stage on him, and you used the Four Demon Fists. You’re a disgrace, and you’ve no room to lecture me on anything.” Xiao Jun’s voice rose with each word, and he finished with a shout.

“Xiang, let’s just get you back,” Cui Bao said, reaching out to touch her elbow.

She shoved him away, not taking her eyes off Xiao Jun. The voice had returned, and it had grown beyond a whisper this time. “You’re so scared of the elders, you’ve had us sneaking around for months. You could have handled Tan Xiaoling any time, but you had to make a game of it. Then Zhang Lifen showed up and you pissed yourself. If I hadn’t spent half the morning fighting that freak—without any help from you, by the way—I would have had plenty left to crush He Yu with. This. Is. Your. Fault.”

As she gave in to her temper, the voice urged her on. Xiao Jun was weak. He’d have them skulk in the shadows and live out their immortal lifespans scraping for whatever scraps the sect would throw them. Begging for whatever meager pills and elixirs that Kong Huizhong saw fit to spare for them.

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If she were in charge, they could move on He Yu and his little posse right now. She could unleash the darkness wrapped around her dantian, and then she’d show the other disciples on the mountain what real power looked like.

Xiao Jun’s eyes narrowed. “You think you can take me?”

That got her to be quiet for a moment. She knew full well what he meant, and so did everyone else present. The darkness in her spirit howled. She had to use every ounce of her willpower to stop herself from giving in and attacking him right there.

Apparently, her silence was the wrong answer. Xiao Jun’s qi rushed out, a writhing mass of shadow that reminded her of the silent darkness of a moonless night. Before she had time to react, he’d crossed the space between them and had her jaw in an iron grip. He lifted her off the ground, and the reminder of Ren Huang doing something similar stoked the rage in her. The darkness in her spirit roared.

Then, Xiao Jun fully released his spirit. Shadow crashed over her. The trail, the mountains, the mist—it all faded. There was only her, and Xiao Jun. The formerly defiant and bloodthirsty presence that had been her closest companion since meeting Xiao Jun those months ago retreated in the presence of superior strength. It cowered before him, leaving her to face him without any of its strength. She hated it in that moment, for abandoning her when she needed it most.

“Emissary Kong decides when and how we move,” Xiao Jun said softly. “Everything we have, he’s given us. And he can just as easily take it back. I work on his orders. We work on his orders. But if you think you can do better, I’ll be waiting. When you can leave me bloody and broken, you can have my place. Until then, you do what I say.”

Xiao Jun tossed her to the ground and pulled back his spirit. Cui Bao and Qiao Xia looked on in silence.

“We have six months until the tournament for the inner sect. I expect the three of you to make it in. If you don’t, you’re on your own. I have no use for weaklings or cowards, and neither does Kong Huizhong. If you think he’ll be kinder than me, you’re sorely mistaken.

“Until the tournament, you cultivate. Once we’re in the inner sect, we’ll have far more freedom to maneuver than we do now. That, and greater access to both sect resources and the gifts of the Court. If you want vengeance for today, that’s how you get it. I don’t need to remind you what will happen if you fail.”

He turned his back on the three of them and stalked off back to the sect proper.

Sha Xiang glared at his back as he retreated. Of course she’d make it to the inner sect. Once she did, she would surpass Xiao Jun. She would surpass Tan Xiaoling, too. She would surpass all of them. Then she would crush them. The darkness in her spirit preened with glee at the thought. It would be so easy, it told her. With its help, she would show them all.