I saw something flicker through my arms and the shower of shattered wood. It lasted less than a second but it made me duck.

  Right on time too, as not a moment later the tip of a spear sliced through the air where my head had been. Unfortunately for the other cultivator, he was not so quick to react.

  The spearhead struck him in the side of the chest and pierced his skin. I heard a crack and saw him blown backwards in an explosion of flame.

  Faint strands of flickering orange faded as the spear vibrated in place. Fire qi? I felt bad for the guy, but as long as he survived I could always heal him up.

  More importantly I needed to make sure the new arrival knew I wasn’t their enemy. I’d also managed to confirm that this was a battle between cultivators and not between cultivators and beasts.

  Beasts didn’t use spears.

  The dust cleared and the attacker was revealed. It was a tall man with a willowy figure. He looked like he hadn’t eaten anything for months. Which actually could be the case, given that Qi Gathering cultivators didn’t really need mortal sustenance.

  His long black hair was tied into a ponytail and his eyes were a bright orange, the same colour as the flames of his spear. Rather unique, but this was a new world after all. Who was to say the genetics of humans in the Celestial Jade Empire were the same as on Earth.

  There was also all kinds of cultivator bullshit to factor in, such as physiques, arts, and bloodlines. I myself had already experienced the kind of changes a physique could bring to the human body after refining my lungs.

  So I didn’t linger on the fact that his eyes were bright orange for long… Well, at least not that long. He stared at the cultivator he’d struck, a hint of annoyance appearing on his face.

  That was when I realised the newcomer was also wearing the bright red robes of the Cloudy Falls Sect. What was going on?

  It wasn’t unusual for disciples of the same sect to compete. I’d not only seen such an example myself but also had plenty of memories from the previous Zhao Dan where his own sect mates would mercilessly beat him using the excuse of sharing pointers or other nonsense.

  However, that previous spear strike had felt deadly. As though the one attacking had the intent to kill his opponent. That was… also not entirely uncommon.

  This was a brutal world where only a handful of individuals would reach the peak of cultivation, a step before challenging the heavens to reach true immortality. It was just unfortunate that I happened to land in the middle of this particular fight to the death.

  I doubted the aggressor would want to leave any witnesses alive, which meant I might be forced to kill in order to defend myself. That was if I was even strong enough to defeat this guy.

  Which I doubted. He was definitely in the Qi Gathering Realm and perhaps even three or four-star based on the feel of his qi and the strength of his previous strike.

  Also, the fact his spear strike was infused with fire qi was a dead giveaway that he was not an early Qi Gathering cultivator. Zhao Dan’s notes had informed me that wielding qi and imbuing it with an element like flame or lightning required an understanding of one’s own qi and the element you wanted to use.

  In order to obtain that understanding you would need to be in the Qi Gathering Realm for a while, hence my deduction that this man was in middle Qi Gathering. My final deduction was… I was fucked.

  “Fellow cultivator,” I said, raising my hands and taking a step backwards. “As you can see, I am in dire need of a bath. There is no bad blood between us, so perhaps you could allow me to leave?”

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  The cultivator flicked the blood from his spear and drew it back to his body, planting the shaft in the soil. He stared at me with his orange eyes, his gaze burning into me.

  He looked… familiar. Something about his features resonated with my memories but I couldn’t quite place him.

  “Truly, the heavens were not smiling on you when you left your home this morning, wandering cultivator,” he replied with a smirk. “If you hadn’t happened upon this battle you might’ve been able to live to see tomorrow, but unfortunately I cannot allow any witnesses to escape. If you wish to blame someone, then blame your mother for giving birth to you on an inauspicious day.”

  Was this guy serious… I thought I was slowly acclimating to the culture of the Celestial Jade Empire but that insult made me rethink my entire existence. What was I supposed to feel?

  Insulted? On my behalf, or my mother’s? Since it had come to this, there was no chance of escape. Despite the odds being stacked against me I would simply have to fight and give it my all.

  There was a sliver of a chance at victory. I had my cancer touch, which might even allow me to cross realms and defeat this man.

  I also couldn’t forget the fact that I wasn’t alone. The injured disciple would hopefully join forces with me against the spear wielder, given that we now shared an enemy.

  However, I wouldn’t place my life in his hands. Based on his cultivation and the fact his ally had already been defeated by the fire spear cultivator, they might not be much help.

  “Well, me and the heavens already have a pre-existing deal going on. I’d be rather annoyed if they suddenly decided to fuck with me,” I replied with a smirk.

  “What are you talking about?” the man said, cocking his head to one side with confusion evident on his face.

  I thought I’d bought some time with my remark. Unfortunately, this guy wasn’t the patient type. He shrugged his shoulders and stepped forward, vanishing from view.

  He reappeared before I had time to breathe, my only warning the faint flickering of qi to my right. The next thing I knew a flaming spear cut through the air as I jumped backwards.

  The heat singed a few of my eyebrow hairs off as I dodged. “Impressive reactions,” the man said with a nod. “But it won’t be enough.”

  A bead of sweat rolled down my forehead as I watched his hands and feet. They would move before he did, telling me how to act. However, I wasn’t sure if the same tells would apply to cultivators as mortal martial artists.

  Regardless I had to try. There! His left foot shifted slightly and I spun to the left, narrowly avoiding it as he swung the spear in a wide arc intended to slice open my belly.

  I saw his eyes widening a little when I dodged but it didn’t slow him in the slightest. There was even less of a delay between the second and third strikes. The time for talking was over.

  I used every ounce of focus I had to try and estimate where his strikes were coming from. It worked… at first.

  With every failed attack the man’s thrusts and slashes grew faster, the flames burning on the tip of his spear intensifying. The grass around us started to wither and then simply burned away as the heat grew.

  I wanted to observe the fiery orange qi in action, hoping to gain some insights to use for my own breakthrough. However, he gave me no opportunity.

  I was drenched in sweat by now, using all of my strength and focus simply to stay alive. Throughout this entire exchange I’d barely managed to counter his blows. Yet I wasn’t too worried.

  There was a vast gulf that existed between us. The separation of major realms. He was a three or perhaps even four-star Qi Gathering cultivator, while I was just a humble… ten-star Body Tempering practitioner.

  Admittedly a unique existence, but still far from a match for the inner disciple. However, I had a secret technique that could change the course of the battle in my favour. And all I needed to use it was a single touch.

  Even so, the man wasn’t going to let me get that touch. His efforts finally paid off. My muscles burned and as I kicked off the ground to dodge, my foot caught a rock at an awkward angle.

  I stumbled to the side and instantly felt a searing pain as the burning spear pierced through my thigh. That strike was like the first domino falling, setting off a chain reaction.

  Even the heavens couldn’t save me from what came next.

  He ripped the spear tip out of my thigh, barely any emotion on his face as he then kicked me in the side of the knee. I grunted in pain as he shattered it, knocking me to the ground.

  “For a Body Tempering whelp, you fought well. I pray the six paths are kind and grant you better talent and fate in the next life,” he said, closing his eyes as he stabbed his spear into my forehead.

  I sighed, knowing there was nothing I could do to save myself. It was a shame to die like this. I had hoped to at least claim a little revenge for Xiao Cui and myself, but it seemed like that little girl would be left all alone in the world.

  Damn it.

  I felt my hair catch fire as the spear descended and all I could do was accept my fate.