Just about an hour before the grand explosion was set off –
Inside the great hall that was being used as a main shelter, behind the currently unused second defensive line, there were many elderly and children taking cover from the 'storm' outside, the older villages had faces filled to the brim with worry and grim expressions, they were mostly silent as they held the young close while listening to the echoes of fighting that made their way inside.
Many of the children could tell that something bad was happening, so they either silently looked around wondering what was happening, or stuck to their relatives, only the bravely ignorant few were playing around inside.
However, above them in the rafters of the hall there was a presence that none of them noticed at all.
A girl in white and grey daoist robes with the long hazel hair hanging behind her sat on a beam with her legs crossed in meditation, her eyes closed as she steadily breathed as if she was asleep.
'Why couldn't Bai Shun be left to guard instead of me?' She complained to herself.
It was Yun Hua, one of the three Titanic Steel Sect members that had arrived at the village.
She was currently keeping an eye on the bulk of the villagers unbeknownst to them, ready to protect them from harm if needed, but she felt like it wasn't needed.
'So, what if most of them die? It's not like they're facing other cultivators, we should leave them to their own fates like we usually do…'
Some fragmented memories flickered back and forth in the back of her mind.
'We didn't get help back then…'
She quickly cleared her mind of those thoughts; they could become a detriment to her in the future.
'Is it because of that kid?' Shu He's face rose in her mind, and she felt a slight hint of jealousy emerge.
She had acted welcome to him because Chao Shi had recommended him, but she couldn't help but feel a little envious of the treatment he was receiving.
Unlike Shu He, she was never given a recommendation for the sect, she never had anyone to guide her in the beginning either.
She was a child who was orphaned after her village was ravaged by a beast, everyone but her and a few other children that had survived by hiding had died, by chance a cultivator that came along to slay the beast days later found the starving children and decided to bring them to his sect.
Unfortunately, said sect was a small and struggling sect, they could barely get by with the resources they had, and their strength wasn't great either, the time she spent there was spent cooking, cleaning and other acts for barely a few scraps of food and water, basically slave labour under the guise of an 'apprenticeship'.
Eventually, it was discovered by one of the members that she had talent for cultivation and was raised up on a pedestal of hope.
The problem was, the sect had already become rotten from the core at that point, they had multiple counts of collusion and assistance with many known black sects and had taken on some of their more atrocious techniques, Yun Hua was lucky to be spared at the time, had her talent not been discovered she would have been led to the same fate as some of the other children.
A fate worse than death.
Sooner or later, their activities were discovered by the other sects, and they became hunted, or rather they were destroyed without a chance to run, multiple sects sent members to capture, investigate and kill anyone that participated in the 'evil' acts.
It was here that Yun Hua was spared, and with her cultivation she was taken to the Titanic Steel Sect, yet her demeanour and past prevented her from getting close to others leaving her isolated.
That was until the day she met Chao Shi, she had duelled him out of desire to fight someone strong and lost pitifully, but to her it wasn't a loss, rather as she witnessed the beauty of his sword and his infectious calm atmosphere, she realised that was what she wanted.
From that day, she threw away her saber and took up the sword, she did everything to get close to Chao Shi, who was a core disciple and learn from him.
Many people mocked her for her obsessiveness about copying him, but she didn't care, she was happy.
In the end, she mellowed out greatly and left her past behind, she became an inner disciple and was fairly skilled with the sword among other sect members, even if Chao Shi himself kept telling her she was wasting her talents.
This is why she is sometimes known to be airheaded; she spends a lot of time thinking to keep her impulsiveness in check that she spaces out.
"Haah…" She sighed a nearly inaudible sigh, the noise drowned out by the cries from outside.
Her eyes opened as they gazed at the people below, specifically the small children clinging in fear or confusion.
'I shouldn't wish that on them'
She thought about Shu He again and smiled.
'If he joins the sect he'll be my junior, I'll have pleeenty~ of time to play with him then'.
It was then that her expression changed, her eyes sharpened as her head darted to one side of the room, near the side entrance.
Her gaze pierced the shadows, scouring for movement, however there was none, just the wind grinding on the wooden planks.
Yet her gaze didn't shift, like it was locked on to something.
And that 'something' was now moving, steadily it made its way inside, close and closer to the pack of people huddled together.
It was the like shadow was shifting and crawling along the ground.
It crept closer…
And closer…
It was barely a few meters away from an old lady before-
*BANG*
A large sound echoed throughout the hall, startling all of the members.
"""Aaaaaaaaaaaah?!""" There were multiple screams as people retreated away from a dust cloud that had spouted near the centre of the room.
They stared at the direction it appeared in, waiting to see what caused it, as the dust cleared a woman was standing still with her hand resting on the blade on her back.
The floorboards had a large hole pierced clearly through it, clearly where the dust had come from, she was stood still with her gaze fixed in a certain direction.
There, stood a figure in a black robe and mask, holding a simple unadorned incense censer.
"Bitch, where did you come from?!" He spat and growled as he spoke to Yun Hua, whose gaze emitted killing intent.
"What? Too blind to see me? Pathetic, hiding in the shadows like a rat" She stared at her opponent, immediately identifying him as part of the black sect her allies had gone to subdue.
"Why'd you come here? Not enough confidence in your little pack of mongrels, the king decided to come?" She spoke with a purely condescending tone; she thought little to nothing of people like this.
'Chao Shi was right in the end, he's never wrong' However inside her head, she praised her seniors foresight.
"Shut it, just die" The man decided no more words were needed, he placed the censer to one side and charged directly at Yun Hua.
'Just as I like it' She tried to hide her smile as she prepared to engage the charging man.
She watched his body as he approached, right when he was two meters away a curved dagger was pulled out of his cloak into his right hand, he stabbed directly towards her abdomen.
She twisted her body, avoiding the blow, yet the strange shape of the dagger posed another threat, as it was retrieved its shape made it so it would cut into her side! Yet she'd already realised this.
*Clang*
Her long sword's sheathe shifted in to position and blocked it.
The man didn't give up, he dodged to face her side, instead going for a strike on her upper body, yet that was easily blocked as well.
"Shit…" He cursed under his breath before retreating into the shadows and seemingly disappearing once more.
Yun Hua didn't move, instead shifted her sheath back and taking a standing position once more.
'Again…' She watched as the shadows shifted once more; however, her attention was also caught by the censer that was brought in.
'Is that poison? Maybe a paralysis and sleeping effect? It shouldn't have too much of an affect on me if it's below mortal grade'.
Beside her, the shadows shifted, and suddenly out of nowhere a metallic flash left the darkness, closing in on her seemingly unnoticed, however-
Yun Hua's body twisted as her leg shot out, moving past the metallic blade and impacting heavily.
*BANG*
A shape went flying, smashing into the wooden wall of the hall.
"Agh!" The man in black cried out, likely suffering a lot of damage, his abdomen had a footprint cleanly duplicated on it.
"Enough, it's over" Yun Hua walked up to the man, stopping a few meters away, watching him try to get up and move.
Her hand reached for the sword's hilt.
She breathed out as she drew it and suddenly, it left its sheathe faster than the eye could see.
Multiple flashes of silver echoed, laying themselves in an intricate pattern, seemingly overlapping.
They hit the man's body, causing multitudes of cuts and gashes to lay themselves in his flesh, making him gag in pain as his blood splattered through the air.
<< Two Paradigms Lotus >> The technique named echoed in her mind as she performed it.
It was over, she had avoided a fatal blow, but she had cleanly cut the tendons in his arms and legs so he couldn't move.
"So, will you talk?" She asked him casually.
All that the man did was struggle to laugh due to the blood in his lungs.
"I see"
She raised the sword in her hands and…
Its blade flashed for the last time.