Shang’s body was tense as he waited for the signal. He was close enough to the children that he could hear the sickening crunch of flesh and bone that accompanied their screams. Shang’s whole body was shaking from anger, fear, and most of all, frustration. He had to wait. There was nothing he could do, not yet.

His muscles were starting to quake from the tension. It felt an eternity had passed before he heard the anticipated explosion on the far side of the cavern. Amidst the commotion, Shang moved closer, not cycling in order to keep his spirit hidden.

The scent of fear and rotting flesh permeated his nose. Shang breathed through his mouth to keep from gagging. He could see Koyo’s distraction had worked from the pounding of feet and screams of pursuit that followed. She would draw the worst of them away. According to her, the Tora disciples would fight over themselves to get a chance at killing her if they knew who she was. So, she made it clear to everyone who she was.

Shang walked through the steps of the plan. He was responsible for getting the children out. After the children reach safety, Koyo would lure the group back to the cavern and they would try to trap the Shadow Tiger Sect and extend the lode gate using the extra lode stone before blowing it up, leaving their enemies in Penumbra and us safe and sound. Shang almost groaned out loud thinking about it. The plan was paper thin at best, but they had no better option.

Shang was close enough now that he could see his targets. There were two entrances to the cavern and this one was the one closest to the cage and the gate. The cultivator that was standing at guard had his body turned away towards the melee. Bright plumes of fire exploded from the far side, painting the cavern walls in red light. After a particularly large explosion, Shang rushed across the opening to the cage. He slid his body into the crevice between the prison and the cave wall, out of sight of the guard. The beast-children saw him, and they cowered slightly at his sudden appearance. He made a gesture of silence. Most of the children relaxed when they realized he was likely there to help them; or at least, not to hurt them more than they were already being hurt.

Shang pulled out an artifact from his expanse bag. In the tight squeeze, he barely had enough room to pull it from his storage place. The artifact was hurriedly and shoddily made. He had to cannibalize the water-bearing artifact for the requisite parts, while incorporating a few of the scorpion gems.

This was not a nuanced contraption. It had only one job, to destroy, and hopefully, to destroy quietly. The device was the size of a large bowl and when expanded, would latch onto the bars of the cell. The bars were only reinforced steel. None of the children were old enough to cultivate, so further spiritual wards were not necessary. Thankfully, that made his job much easier. Shang set the device against the bars and motioned the children back.

The goal of the artifact was to heat the metal past its integrity point and allow the bars to be pliable for someone as weak as him. The metal directly touching the artifact heated to a pale red. Good, no explosion. That was Shang’s primary worry. It would not only hurt the children if he sent shrapnel flying but also alert the enemy disciples.

He was not confident in his ability to fight someone one or two Realms higher than him one-on-one. When the metal was appropriately heated, he wrapped his hands in his shredded robes and pulled at the bars. The metal was still hot enough under his coverings to burn his palms, but he ignored the pain. With a heave, the straight bars finally bowed slightly under the pressure. Shang strained to pull with as little qi as possible. Any more cycling and his spiritual signature could alert the guards to his presence. His body was still strengthened and reinforced by cultivation, but he felt immeasurably weak at that moment. The bars gave little by little until something in the structure of the cage gave and the bars bent further without too much resistance.

When the distance between the bars was finally large enough, he reached for the nearest child. Most of those in the cage had antlers on their heads, but one had fluffy ears and another horns. They looked to be between three and nine in human years, though their actual ages were likely lower. Beast-children developed far quicker than human children and took about half the time to reach adulthood. If Shang had to guess, most of these beast-children were only a few years old, and it was apparent from the smell of fear and soiled clothes that they were terrified.

A larger girl with floppy ears was orchestrating the escape, designating who should move through the opening first and blocking the diminishing group of children from the view of the few disciples left to guard them. The sacrifices to the gate had stopped with the sudden attack and all heads were turned toward the fighting. Shang prayed to the Heavens that his friends would make it out of this alive. They were there for his sake because he had insisted on it. If they died….

It would be all your fault. Oops, did I say that out loud?

Rue was right. He would be at fault.

As the children shuffled to relative safety, Shang tried not to think about how many the large cage held originally. Now, that number had dwindled to five. If the guards looked over, it would be apparent that they were missing. The children were still huddled behind their prison, unable to make the trek to the cavern exit for fear of discovery.

Shang motioned for the large girl to exit the cage. She shook her head, indicating she wanted the smaller children to go first. Brave girl. Shang shook his head and gestured that she should help lead the children already out of the cage to safety. Shang did not know how long the distraction would last and he wanted to be prepared for an interruption to their plans. Finally, she agreed. The larger beast-girl was barely able to squeeze between the bars. She and the other children waited for the perfect distraction to make their sprint for the opening.

Shang hoped the lack of spiritual aura in the beast-children and the qi imbalance in the cavern would make them hard to detect. Cultivators were attuned to sense for other cultivators or beasts with cultivation systems. They were the only ones that could pose a danger or challenge to them, after all.

The distraction came when a large roar erupted in the cavern. The sound shook the firmament sending large stones crashing into the ground. The roar was coming from the gate. From Penumbra. The beast-girl took the opportunity to herd the children to the exit. They made it to the of the tunnels and Shang prayed they wouldn’t be eaten by another monster before his comrades could find them.

“It’s angry. We have to continue with the sacrifices.”

Shang’s blood ran cold at the voice. He could see the back of a Shadow Tiger disciple turn towards the cage.

“What the, where are they?"

Shang leaped from his hiding spot, blocking his advancement toward the cage.

“Run!” He screamed at the two remaining children. They scrambled from their prison and bolted to the tunnel. Shang positioned himself so that he was shielding their flight to the exit. There were just two disciples left in the cavern. The rest had run to fight his friends instead. Two. That was better odds than he expected. He only hoped his friends could hold up under their overwhelmingly poor odds.

“What the—, seriously? Hey JuYu, check this out. This boy doesn’t even have a core.” The closer disciple sniggered. “And he wants to play the hero. How…cute.”

The other disciple, JuYu, moved to leap at a running beast-child, but Shang’s body reacted to his sudden motion. His body slammed into the cultivator, and he felt his shoulder groan with the impact. He hit JuYu with enough force that the more muscled cultivator stumbled. He looked at Shang with mouth agape. Shang shrugged his shoulder tentatively. Not broken or dislocated, though he was sure there was a tear somewhere.

“Ha, disciple JuYu, you need to stop slacking with your training. If you can’t even push past a Foundation stage cultivator, I think you really will send your father to an early grave.”

“Oh, shut it, hurry up and get the children. If Anden reports this, we’re as good as dead in the sect,” JuYu growled. The cavern suddenly darkened as a thick layer of shadow enveloped JuYu’s hands and forearms.

As the other disciple moved towards the fleeing children, Shang sent a focused expulsion at the man. In the past few months, with little to do but practice the few things available to him at the Foundation stage, he’d realized there were many ways to expel qi from the meridians. Any deviation to the flow and shaping of the qi as it left the body would influence the strength and precision of the expulsion. Most cultivators failed to focus on this skill since further advancement would be a far better use of their time. Shang imagined that the cultivators in his village might be some of the most skilled at the three foundational moves in the whole continent. After all, they have nothing else better to practice. Much like Shang.

The expulsion aimed at the disciple was focused and condensed. It hit with surprising accuracy and the disciple stumbled, caught off guard. A red welt blossomed on his jaw. From the damage, Shang guessed he was not yet past the First Realm. In the Second Realm, the Mortal Realm, his skin would be harder than steel.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“What wh—”

Shang did not give him a chance to speak. He threw a wider deflection this time, aiming for the weak point in both knees. The force sent the Shadow Tiger disciple to his knees. Shang was taking full advantage of the element of surprise. If they expected him to be completely helpless, he would prove them wrong. At least a little.

His attention on the other disciple, Shang was barely fast enough to raise an arm against a blow to his temples from JuYu. The edge of JuYu’s fist still clipped his ear hard enough to leave his head ringing. Shang leaped back to get out of striking range and the tendrils of shadow on JuYu’s hands followed. He knew he had to avoid those shadows if he wanted any chance of survival. From Koyo’s warnings, those shadows could enter his body and block his meridians, preventing him from cycling. He did not know what path the disciple was on, but he did not want to find out through personal experimentation.

He had effectively gained the attention and anger of both disciples. They were now facing away from the exit. He breathed in relief as the last beast-child escaped from the cavern. He threw out a deflection as a gust of wind exploded from the other disciple. He was knocked off his feet, but he rolled with the hit and landed more or less unharmed. The attacking disciple’s face was beet red from embarrassment at having been knocked down.

“You are dead,” the disciple hissed. Shang cycled as much qi as he could to his lower meridians and flew towards and past the two disciples. The shadows reached for him as he passed, but he managed to pass unscathed, if barely. He was running to the exit.

“Don’t let him get away,” the red boy bellowed.

Shang though had no intention of escaping. He jumped as he approached the tunnel entrance and focused qi to the meridians in his feet, which were naturally larger and more stable than his upper meridians. He pushed so much qi in them so fast that he twinged at the strain to his channels. He threw out a wide expulsion at the tunnel mouth followed by a direct impact with his foot. The ceiling above the exit collapsed under the impact. Shang felt an exorbitant amount of relief followed by fear. Now the exit is blocked, and the children could not be pursued. At least not down this path.

Shang looked back at his opponents and shifted to a defensive stance. He could tell by their wary expressions that he’d lost the element of surprise. JuYu gestured at his friend to spread out. They were both going to attack. Shang tried to breach the gap between him and the wind affinity user. He trusted his body to be strong enough for hand-to-hand combat. The nascent qi in his body was also more effective at fortifying his body rather than external attacks.

However, the shadow user did not let him approach his comrade. The ground in front of him was covered with a thick pool of shadow. Shang did not slow his approach. Instead, he transitioned seamlessly into an aerial spin. It was a move he’d practiced many times in performances with his father. The stakes now were just a bit higher.

Shang landed a reinforced kick and drew a long double-edged knife, swiping at the disciple’s head in the same motion. It was a regular weapon and would prove useless on a body realm cultivator, but the wind affinity cultivator was still in the Nascent Realm. The weapon slid off his skin like he was covered in oil, but Shang could see a faint line of pink marring his cheek where the blade’s edge bit in deepest. He used his other leg to kick the cultivator away from the puddle of shadow. When he pushed with his other leg, Shang realized he was stuck. His foot would not budge from this opponent’s chest. He looked down to see the JuYu’s shadow snaking up the other disciple’s body and encase his entire foot.

Shang panicked. He pushed as much qi into the foot as he could, trying to dislodge it from the shadow’s grasp, but it would not budge.

“Now, Bao!” JuYu instructed.

Bao’s face contorted into a sadistic grin. He grasped Shang’s ankle and squeezed. The ankle was devoid of qi and snapped under the intense pressure. Shang screamed and brought his blade to cut at Bao’s arm. He did not have enough range to drive the swing with any real force and it ineffectually slapped against Bao’s arm.

“Caught you, little rat.” Bao’s grasp grew tighter and Shang’s vision was growing blurry with pain. He could faintly see a distortion of air in Bao’s other hand. A blue wind blade was forming on his palm and Shang furiously cycled qi through his body. He could throw out a wide deflection, but since he couldn’t predict where the blade would hit, it would likely be too broad to stop the blow.

It's now or never. Do you sense it? Feel the flow of qi. The blowing wind.

Shang could barely hear Rue’s words above the pounding of his heart. Breathe. He needed to breathe. Even if his mind did not, his body remembered the cycling techniques. They were beaten into him with weeks of training, sometimes in more tenuous conditions than this—even if they weren’t real. He could feel his qi flow better, but he was still stuck fast by the shadow. Bao’s grip was like iron. He could not get away. He closed his eyes. To his opponent, it must look like Shang was accepting his end.

Shang breathed and he could feel his breath touch and move the sensitive hairs on his arms. The air here was stale, but the wind blade technique was drawing up a gust stronger than any he’d encountered since entering the caves. Since wind was composed of primarily Yang, it was taking Bao a few precious seconds to build up enough aura for the attack. Shang felt the wind grow stronger. He could feel his hair blowing from his queue. The feeling of hair rhythmically slapping skin brought him into a deeper trance. They moved along with the wind. They were a part of the wind. He was a part of the wind.

Shang could feel the wind blade inch towards his prone neck as the draft grew stronger and stronger. The wind blew at him, through him, into him. His whole body was consumed by it. He could not be harmed by it because he was the wind. Suddenly, the air stopped moving.

Shang opened his eyes. Bao’s eyes were bulging with confusion. He waved around his hands like they were not his own. With an exhale, Shang exploded back as a gust of wind blew through Bao, slicing through him and JuYu’s shadow. Shang softly landed a dozen feet away. His back pressed against the cold steel cage.

Bao was lying face down, the darkness around him replaced by a pool of his own blood. Shang looked on, dazed. There was so much blood. Did a man have so much blood? Shang did not have time to contemplate much before the ground shook again, this time even more intensely than before. He had to dodge to avoid being impaled by falling limestone. The sound of the rubble hitting the metal cage was deafening. He turned to the cage and could see a small trembling figure in the far corner of the cell. He cursed loudly to himself and pushed the prison around so he could access the opening. It was much easier moving the thing now that he was cycling.

“Take my hand, little one,” he said. He extended his hand as far into the cage as he could, but the opening was too small. The small boy did not respond, only cringing further away. Shang was already straining his channels and meridians. He was continuously cycling qi from the environment, but it was not fast enough. His meridians were sore and close to cracking. With one last burst of energy, he reinforced his arms and ripped off the cage bars. He rushed to grab the child. He was so small, smaller than a human toddler. The child’s posture made him hard to carry, so he loosened his outer robes and rested the babe inside, hoping the beast-child would not fall out.

Shang looked at the shadow wielder, but JuYu’s attention was only on the portal. A flood of blood-red hounds the size of small horses entered the cavern. Shang jumped onto the cage to gain high ground. Soon the ground was a mass of red flesh and fur. The dogs were savage but seemed to lack any intelligence. They snapped at Shang from below but were unable to climb onto the cage. They were flooding out of the cavern through the only exit left to them. Shang could hear faint screams and the sound of increased fighting as the hounds reached the rest of the cultivators. A young woman covered in gore and blood screamed from the cavern entrance, eyes wide with fear.

“JuYu, Bao, Close the gate!” Her voice was desperate and her gaze wild with fear. The dogs were so plentiful that they were piling on top of each other and scaling the walls of the cage. Shang sent a few weak deflections toward the riling mass of bodies, but he was spent. His whole body ached, even his bones.

“I-I can’t. I can’t get close to the gate, and Bao’s dead.” JuYu was perched on a high ledge. He coated the ledge with his shadow and the dogs had a hard time finding purchase on the slippery substance.

The girl threw JuYu a hard glare and made her way toward the gate. A long whip made of shadow blew through the dogs with incredible efficiency. It did not matter. The hoard was pushing through the gate at an impossible pace. Shang could see the girl beginning to tire. She did not retreat to find purchase. She pushed on, a shadow whip in hand. Dogs attacked her from all sides. Her skin was tough enough to withstand their bites, but they piled on top of her. Their combined weight was immense, and Shang could see she was buckling under the weight of beasts. Her whip hand never stopped moving even as she was driven to her knees.

Shang looked to JuYu for help, but the disciple was cowering on his ledge. He was not looking at the woman at all. Shang looked from the cavern exit to the woman and finally at the gate.

The flaming paw of a much larger hound broke through the gate. Shang gasped at the monstrous pressure coming from the beast. The air steamed as it came into contact with its mangy fur. Beads of sweat dripped from his face as the temperature rose. Red eyes glowed faintly through the rising steam. The monster was huge, its frame filling the full height of the cavern.

The lesser beasts cowered before the monster, making space as it slinked through the portal. They did not scurry away fast enough. It opened its great maw and a torrent of flame scorched through the mass of lesser beasts. Shang was momentarily blinded by the flames. He heaved at the stench of fried flesh and ozone.

If Shang didn’t close the gate, his friends would surely die too. Nothing was going to plan, and it was all his fault. He had brought this upon them. His mind whirled as his feet took a unwitting step forward.

Boy, don’t do it!

Shang ignored the warning. He had been resting his whole weight on one leg, favoring his broken ankle. Now, he pushed the last remnant of qi into both lower meridians and leapt for the gate with both feet, ignoring the pain. Instead of using the external qi artifact to activate the lode stone from far away, he dove at the rising mass of dogs pouring from the gate holding a glowing lode stone in a death grip. The stone was scalding to the touch, and he had to fight his body to hold on.

The world exploded inward as the stone activated, ripping the fabric of reality. He could feel the space around him pull him away. He could hear Rue screaming at him, but he was too tired to make out the words. His arms closed protectively around the small creature as he tumbled, head over head, into the abyss.