Xander sprinted down the street, the soldiers coming after him. Surprisingly, he moved much faster than them. Yet, they were gaining on him, after somehow summoning the air-skateboard-like device into existence, and chasing him on it. Xander took a quick bend into the nearest street. He hadn't gone far when another armed crew dropped into view ahead, obstructing his path. He took another bend and another crew was coming from the bend for him. Then did he realize they were coming from all directions, different crews being led by larger men with more refined robes and sinister grins.
One of them built a ball of flame in his hand, threw it in the air, and bat it towards Xander with his sword.
Xander jerked his head from the fire, and as he did, the sword in his back disappeared, materializing in his hands, sensing it was needed. Xander settled into a fighting stance as the soldiers charged murderously towards him from all directions. He moved away from the swing of a sword from another of the larger soldiers. As the sword flashed past his head, Xander tweaked his own sword for a calculated counter, but his sword bounced off the soldier's body, repulsed by an invisible shield of heat. It threw him off roughly, but Xander managed to hold onto his balance, moving away from another of the soldier's attacks with a swift and nearly impossible foot-working, courtesy of the body and impossible speed that he now possessed. With the same refined foot-working, he dodged a flame ball from another larger soldier, and a lethal sword strike from another, slipping towards the junior soldiers.
The junior soldiers didn't seem to have any special powers, he moved through them and their charging swords easily, knocking some of them down with just his speed and the brute strength of his new body. He didn't feel the need to use his sword on them, and instead, opted for his fists. He ducked away from a lethal sword strike, and drove his fist to connect with a soldier's jaw. There was a quick snap of bones, and instantly, the soldier was in the air, completely swept off his feet. Xander bobbled through a couple other lethal sword strikes and punches, none doing as much as graze him or even touch his robe. Xander felt very powerful, he felt almost like a god. He could feel a strong force coursing violently through him, filling his body with unimaginable strength and speed. Though he lacked control over the powers, as fire flickered around his fist, he had a firm control of his strength and speed, and used that to his advantage. He swept through the soldiers, knocking them down with the strength of his shoulders, or punching them in the stomach or face. Even a light punch from him seemed lethal enough for the junior soldiers. They doubled over in the air and fell to the floor, yelling and crying loudly in pain and agony, grabbing and hugging their stomachs and heads dearly. In less than two minutes, all the soldiers were down, leaving him with the four larger soldiers, whom he found were called the forgemasters.
Windows were thrown open, and onlookers had begun to crowd the place, desperate to witness the fight.
Xander was fast to spot a kick moving for his head. He whipped his head to the side to avoid it, and the thick, powerful leg brushed the air past him. It landed with a force that shook the entire steel street. Another came at him with a sword, which he avoided, moving swiftly. One of them moved his palm over the length of his sword, and the sword began blazing fire, then he charged at Xander with it. Xander shielded himself with his own sword, and a loud clang tore the air as steel collided against steel, both of them testing each other's might. Xander was stronger, he pushed off the soldier, and attempted to move in with his fist. Like before, his attack bounced off the invisible shield of heat protecting the forgemaster, and threw him away with a raw force that equated the strength of his attack. The flame on the forgemaster's sword morphed into a large fire-tiger that leaped fast at him. Xander cut it down with his sword, but the fire-tiger merged again and exploded in a wave of fire against his face, burning his hands, and grazing the skin of his face. His sword fell from his burning and aching hands, clattering noisily on the floor. The attack completely displaced him of his balance. Xander tried to get a good grip on his balance, when a flame ball came for his head, and another. The forgemasters kept throwing balls of flames at him. He avoided them all, corrupting his balance more. Two of them came at him with their swords, blazing with intense fire. Xander avoided it, only to walk into the fist of another. The punch crashed against his jaw, a load of power behind it. It sent shots of agony to his brain, took him from the floor and high in the air, only to crash against one of the buildings around. Then the flame balls came at him in a massive horde. Rendered defenseless by the previous attack, he couldn't defend against the flame balls. They slammed hard into him in consecutive groups, tossing him into the air continuously. He pummeled to the floor after, every inch of him, creaking with pain, every part of him as heavy as lead, it was impossible to move. Yet, slowly and steadily, he struggled to sit up, dropping back to rest his head and body on the wall nearest him. He was disorientated for a while, his eyes swirling directionlessly in their sockets. He could still feel the enormous power coursing inside him, begging to be utilized, but Xander still couldn't control it. He couldn't get it to materialize out of him. He threw his fist in the direction of the approaching group of boots in a valiant attempt to redeem his defeat, to prove to himself that he was capable of being a cultivator, capable of getting his revenge on Adrian and Clara, but only a cackling blue flame materialized around his fist, flicking off instantly. The four forgemasters grinned with triumph as they bounced closer.
He was too much for one, so two of them grabbed his shoulders, hauling him to his feet. "Who are you, where are you from, why are you dressed in the sacred robe of General Luffin Tank, and who taught you to fight like us in the Celestial Forge sect?"
When Xander's lips remained sealed after the barrage of questions, one of the forgemasters cracked his enormous knuckles and a powerful fist collided against his jaw, sweeping his head to the side. Blood screamed into his brain, his head vibrated like a busy alarm bell, pain ringing in almost every corner of his head.
Then, suddenly, his heart palpitated, and a strange longing feeling overwhelmed him. A force inside him was adamant on pulling his attention to someone important and near, someone in the crowd of the onlookers around. He raised his head to the crowd, while he dangled in the arms of the two forgemasters. The mist in his eyes cleared almost mechanically, his vision sharpening. His eyes jumped around the crowd gathered around, until he finally spotted her. A dangerously beautiful lady dressed in the same form-fitting robe as the others, but there was something about her silver-gray eyes that hinted at the calm, unfulfilled soul of a wanderer. She might be among the crowd, but she didn't look to be one of them. She was lithe and agile, with a toned physique that suggested years of rigorous training. Her long dark hair flowed easily behind her as she moved quietly through the crowd, attracting no attention. Xander heard a quiet voice in his head whisper softly, "Your first bride".
Her robe had changed completely, it was no longer like that of the crowd around, it was another form-fitting robe with muted shades of gray, black and silver.
Though she had moved at the speed of light, Xander discerned every move she made to appear before him and behind the forgemasters. His mind reflexively calculated and analyzed how she had refracted her image to appear in the midst of the crowd, using the sunlight, and changed her clothes to mirror those of the people using the same methods. She had also moved behind the larger men by manipulating the shadows around, transporting herself from shadow to shadow with the speed of light. She had the power to manipulate both shadows and light.
The forgemasters dropped him, and turned to her. "Intruder!" One of them yelled, swinging a ball of fire in his palm at her, just as the others proceeded to attack her. The four forgemasters against just her.