Blue marveled as Jessica molded a wall that stretched to the left and right. Solid ice, it was tall and he instantly began to climb it, keeping in pace with Fa Za and Grace.

That nagging feeling, the twinge in his lower back, throbbed as he made handholds. The ice was not only cold, it was deadly. Without his own cold qi, his hands would have fallen apart on contact.

CRUNCH.

A crushing wave of qi alone pushed him nearly to falling. In a second he had regained his composure and was at the top. Grace stood on the wide wall, looking downwards

Beasts clambered against it fighting ineffectively against it. They looked smaller from up here, but Blue didn't drop his guard.

CRUNCH.

Blue rubbed his eyes.

One of the sixth or seventh realm beasts was making its way up the wall.

The beast was refined rocks in a more human looking form.

But to Blue, it looked like lunch.

"That one is mine!" He yelled, rushing on, over the wall.

"Is he always like this?" Fa Za yelled, flying behind Blue.

"You should know this by now, elder. Blue always goes for the big payoffs."

The beast attempted to swat Blue out of the sky, but instead Blue latched onto the beast's arm.

For a few seconds it shook, trying to dislodge the powerful disciple.

And then Fa Za arrived.

"One more stabby?"

"Yes-"

CRUNCH.

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"-ONE MORE."

The spear gave a mirthful laugh as it connected to the spiritual beast.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Blue said, still hanging on for dear life as he was pounded into the ice wall again and again.

"Who told you that a bit of stabby stabby would ever be fair?"

Blue looked back flabbergasted as he was punched into the wall again and again. His ribs broke, popped back into place. He healed as fast as it broke, just in time for another round of pain.

He held on just long enough to find a meridian and then he pushed his broken arm through the rock.

His hunger permeated the attack.

The cold didn't just take, it stayed.

And so would he.

Blue smiled.

A crack of white lightning struck the beast as Blue ascended to the next realm.

Fa Za fought it from the other side, beating it back off the wall.

"We will buy them more time from the top!"

Fa Za grabbed his forearm, and the two men looked over to Grace. She was running up the ice wall to the top, one beast on her heels.

"Jump, then," Fa Za said, flinging him to the top of the wall.

Blue accelerated like a thrown exploding sandal as he made it to the top. Thankfully he didn't explode when he arrived.

Grace jumped up as two of the strongest beasts crawled over the top. She kicked one down, using the force to propel her to the other.

The pressure nearly made her double over in pain as she connected with the rock beast.

Ahead of her, the mile tall divine beast was coming into horrific focus.

"I…we can't…that's…" she trailed off before she was knocked cold by the rock beast.

Fa Za grabbed the limp form of Grace as Sa Kon giggled.

"Another friend? How wonderful!"

In his other arm, Blue was having a nightmare. He stood on his flying demon spear, looking beyond the wall.

He had bought them enough time.

"One last gift," he said, charging his hand with a a large amount of qi.

He stopped over a large gathering of rock beasts before he would fly them both to safety.

Exploding Sandal.

The fully formed sandal was a masterwork of clean design. It glowed like an obsidian mirror as it fell dozens of meters into a pit of rock monsters.

All of his demands, his incessant need to be the best, the brightest, everything poured into the attack. He dropped his fears of alienating Jess, his desire to be her partner, even his need to have his own new Sect branch to himself.

What was a Sect Branch to yourself, if you didn’t have friends? What was life without friends?

It would be a sad one, and he left that drip out as he squeezed all of his qi into his attack.

It dropped as he flew off, gripping his allies close. He didn't need to be a Sect Leader anymore, not when all that mattered was with him now.

The explosive nature of the sandal created a carter hundreds of meters wide and deep, producing a cloud that tufted snowflakes for miles around.

But Fa Za did not look.

That part of his life was behind him now. He smiled, a new man flying off on a devil spear, not looking at the destruction he had caused in his wake.

It's what you do, after all