Chapter 921: POWAAAAH


    Two cracks sounded off one after the other. The first was a crack of thunder, louder then all the rest and setting off a ringing in Kat’s ears. The second crack, not even half a second after the first was the sh of swords. Xiang hade in swinging, wreathed in golden fire and shing down at the ice sect patriarch. The patriarch opened his mouth to trash talk Xiang again only to be interrupted by the sound of creaking as a thin crack ran up the length of Xiang’s de.


    “Hahahaha, not only are you burning something precious without hope of matching me, your sword cannot withstand the strain. There is nothing you can do fool. Let your Lord Ozen school you!” scoffed the sect patriarch. *Finally we have an actual name for this guy! Still... can’t let Xiang have all the fun.*


    Kat dashed and summoned her two fans into her hands, trusting her wings to keep her afloat and swung her limbs around, aiming for Ozen’s neck. He didn’t even flinch, simply raising a shield of ice somehow tough enough to capture Kat’s duel blows. What was even more insulting was that the shield was able to capture the second blow perfectly before cracking to pieces and leaving Kat hanging in the air.


    Kat went in for a kick, mostly just so that she felt like she was actually doing something rather than floating in the air like a fool. Ozen decided to make an example of both of them. He yanked Kat from the air using the foot she’d sent towards him and mmed her into Xiang like a baseball bat, all the while keeping Xiang’s swordcked in ce until the moment of impact.


    Xiang flew maybe fifty metres total before mming into a rather thick tree, halting his momentum but seemingly doing no damage as he was already dashing back towards Ozen as soon as his feet had touched the ground again. Kat on the other hand was mmed further into the ground a few times before she was sent flying upwards.


    Xiang came in for another swing, eyes zing, sword alight. Ozen blocked the de with a simple swipe, not even moving from his casual stance. Xiang’s sword shattered, and Ozen grinned with a gaze that said it had been expected. Blocking at the weakest part of Xiang’s de made for such a wonderful disy of shattered metal. Ozen’s lips twitched into a frown for a fraction of a second, Xiang wasn’t surprised. This strange cultivator wasn’t surprised by his destroyed sword?


    Ozen felt a pain in his stomach. Looking down, it was faint, but ws of some great beast sunk into his midsection. They weren’t able to dig all that deeply in. Despite the power behind it all, Xiang had not suddenly matched Ozen at Rank 4. Still, the sight of that first drop of blood caused Ozen a great deal of anger. It was too fast for anyone in the clearing to see. A moment, Kat was flying, Xuena was hiding, Yang was feeling useless, and Xiang red in triumph.


    .....


    Then it all went to hell. Yang was frozen solid. Her whole body encased in ice and buried into the ground. Her eyes still flickered and moved, proving the technique to be one of restraining and not death... but if that was a kinder fate who is to say. Xuena, was ripped from the snow where she was hiding and chained naked to a nearby tree. The chains of ice biting into her soft flesh,cking in blood only due to the spiked chains freezing it inside the wounds causing her more issues.


    Xiang did endure this abrupt attack well. He was pressed deeply into the ground, one arm bent and twisted backwards. The other looked to be dangling by a thread. His legs were frozen together and arge icicle pattern had been seared into his chest and what remained of his clothes were in tatters.


    As a grand finale, Kat was punched down into the spot Ozen had just been, only for him to arrive first, sword at the ready to slip it straight through her back and into her heart. Kat coughed awkwardly. The moment of malice passed and Kat couldn’t help but think. *A second time! Fuck, at least I know it’s not enough to kill me but this shit fucking hurts!*


    At some point though, it seemed Lily had managed to crack the code. She was able to watch through Kat’s eyes. Lily could see Kat staring down at her chest, sword extending through her ribcage and keeping her in ce. A sigil opened up above Kat, a fierce hiss apanying it as a rain of sharp paper exploded around Ozen.


    He didn’t even blink. It simply washed over his skin bouncing off. The paper swarmed him though, constantly badgering the man, trying anything to cut him, to get a reaction. To do any sort of damage and it just... did nothing. *Lily. Lily it’s fine. I’m not dying. Please don’t give him a reason to go looking for you!*


    The paper continued to swarm, doing about as much damage as a group of flies and Ozen was treating it with even less respect. He gave a sharp wave with his hand and the paper froze, all of them shattering into snowkes and joining the natural snowfall a momentter. Apparently, this was actually a good distraction because in that moment Xiang managed to stand again.


    His body was split into two neat halves. His left and right. One side was billowing shadows, his hair a collection of feathers with a singlerge feather acting as a flowing shadowy eyeball. His right side was covered in scales, his eyepletely white and teeth sharpened to a point. Whatever injuries he might have had werepletely healed by the time he stood. In a yell of defiance that sounded like the crowing of a thousand roosters and the roar of a great beast mixed together Xiang dashed.


    Xiang struck at Ozen, who simply moved Kat, still impaled on his sword, into the way. Xiang didn’t let up, raking his scaled arm across Kat anyway... and having it pass through easily, her bodypletely unharmed striking at Ozen on the other side scouring deep gashes. Ozen quickly dumped Kat off to the side and growled, freezing a patch of ice over his wounds.


    “ACCURSED CHOSEN” screeched Ozen, summoning up a proper attack for the first time in this battle. “NOT ONLY DO YOU ATTEMPT TO WASTE YOUR GIFTS, BUT THEY WERE JUST HANDED TO YOU FOR NOTHING! IS THERE NO JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD!”


    Around Xiang countless swords of ice swords appeared, spawning from the endless snowkes in the world. Ozen dragged his raised arm down like he was calling forth some kind of diving judge and the swords charged. The first volley broke against Xiang’s skin, or simply sunk vanishing into this shadow side. The second wave started to chip his scales, though other still vanished. The barrage doubled in speed, three waves, four waves, eight waves, sixteen. Xiang withstood it even as his scales started to crack and give way, his flowing shadowy skin started to be coated in ayer of ice. He stood through it all.


    Kat tried for something as the waves kepting, thirty two, sixty four, waves upon waves of sword strikes and Kat crept forward with her fans. She pushed as much power as she could into her aura and a recently resummoned set of fans. Her steps as fast as she dared make them, but silent all the same. She was nearly gliding over the ground and she was ready. Kat made sure to go for something Ozen wouldn’t see.


    There was no sh, the speed was beyond what Kat thought herself capable, a silent, instantaneous strike. One moment, Ozen had his leg and the next, it was gone. Ozen screamed as he summoned up enough ice to support him, plunging another six hundred waves into Xiang and turning to Kat. His eyes shone with frosty killing intent as he ripped forward, a wed hand striking at Kat and going straight for her heart.


    Kat didn’t loose her grin even as she felt the air around her noticeably dropping in temperature. Her eyes BURNED as she saw the trails of ice spinning around those outstretched fingers. The moment they reached her skin Kat didn’t think of dodging. She smiled back and pumped as much demonic energy into her chest as she could. There was a scream echoing through her mind, but it wasn’t her own. It wasn’t important. Her soul BLAZED. Power was at her fingertips, and the threat was just reaching out, asking to be burned.


    Kat felt the moments her ribs shattered, pieces of bone exploded into her muscles and lungs. A grip beyond steel wrapped itself around her heart. Ozen was ready. He pulled. He didn’t move. He was held in ce.