Chapter 38 – The Breaking Point

The leader of the rival faction took another careless step forward, the smirk on his face sharpening as shadows danced across the chamber walls. His followers fanned out, forming a loose, calculated circle that tightened by the second. Each had their weapon of choice—engraved staffs, luminescent throwing blades, and buzzing rods of dampening energy—all tools honed for subduing anomalies.

"There's no need to make this messy, Li Tian," the leader drawled, his voice dripping with false civility. "The academy already knows you've been hiding a fragment this powerful. You can't run forever. Give it to us, and we'll make sure no one else has to… suffer for your arrogance."

Li Tian remained perfectly still, his eyes sweeping the room with precise intent. His system worked in overdrive, providing a cascade of potential strategies, all of which came with the glaring downside of unpredictability.

"Funny," he replied evenly, not bothering to reach for the sword tucked beneath his cloak just yet. "I didn't realize betrayal was a sanctioned activity for your faction. Elder Meng might be curious to know how you've been hunting fragments behind the council's back."

The leader laughed, a shallow, sharp sound that echoed faintly. "Oh, Li Tian. Lies won't save you here. My faction considers this more of a… reclamation effort. What Elder Meng doesn't see won't hurt him. And as for you—" His gaze flicked to Yin Yue. "Well, you brought an untrained anomaly user into the game. That's just reckless."

The arrogance in his tone sent a flicker of heat through Yin Yue's veins. Her fingers tightened instinctively around the shard, its pulse growing heavier in her hand. "If you think you're getting this without a fight," she hissed, "you're even dumber than you look."

The leader's grin faltered for the briefest moment, his facade cracking slightly under her fire. He turned his attention fully to her, his eyes narrowing.

"You don't even know what you're holding," he snapped, his smugness dimming into something fiercer. "That shard isn't just a trinket. It's the key to forces you can't begin to understand. Forces that could tear reality apart if you're stupid enough to think you can control it!"

Yin Yue's heart skipped at his words, but she refused to show it.

Li Tian, however, held steady. He took a single step forward, placing himself slightly in front of her without a word. His system offered a dozen readouts, angles of attack and escape routes flowing past his vision, but none accounted for the growing instability of the energy fluctuating in the room.

"You know," he said, his voice steady but cold, "if you think you're capable of handling this power better than anyone else, you're free to prove it. Of course, that means surviving long enough to claim it."

It was all the warning he gave before striking.

With a flick of his wrist, a thin blade shot from his palm, cutting through the air toward the smirking faction leader. It was a feint, intentionally wide, designed to shift their formation, and it worked. The leader dodged, barking orders as his subordinates surged into action. The ring of attackers closed in at once.

Li Tian moved like water, fluid and precise, sidestepping a thrust of a dampening rod aimed at his chest. "Yin Yue!" he called sharply, his voice echoing through the chaos.

She didn't hesitate. The shard's hum deepened, flaring bright as arcs of raw energy spilled from its core. It was as though the light had taken on a life of its own, wrapping around her arm and twisting outward. The closest attacker froze mid-strike as the shard's pulse washed over him, forcing him back as if struck by an invisible wave.

It wasn't power she controlled—it was power she unleashed. And it terrified her.

"Li Tian!" she shouted, panic threading her voice. "I—I can't stop it!"

"Then don't stop!" he shouted back, his voice harsh but deliberate. "Redirect it! You're stronger than it is!"

She tried. She poured every ounce of herself into wresting control from the shard, forcing the energy to lash outward in specific directions. It wasn't perfect—arcs of light hit the chamber walls with enough force to splinter the stone—but it was enough to keep the attackers scrambling.

The leader snarled, his calm veneer shattered as his own blade clanged against an energy arc that sent him reeling. He steadied himself, his eyes burning with frustration and determination.

"This isn't over!" he shouted, retreating behind his faction. "You're just delaying the inevitable!"

Li Tian didn't reply. He was too busy calculating their next move, pushing through attackers with a blend of force and precision. His system displayed a clear exit point just seconds before two more enemies blocked it, attempting to cut them off.

"Yin Yue, follow me!" he barked.

But before they could make their dash, the shard flared violently, its entire surface glowing with heat. The energy it released poured out indiscriminately, overshadowing even Yin Yue's attempts to control it. It didn't feel like it was protecting her anymore—it felt like it was breaking free.

The pulse hit the chamber like a storm. A wave of light and sound erupted from the shard, expanding outward in a roar that drowned out all other noise. Attackers were flung back like rag dolls, slammed into walls and the ground, weapons scattering uselessly. Even Li Tian staggered, his system faltering from the unmeasurable surge of raw energy that swept through the space.

Yin Yue screamed, clutching her chest as the shard threatened to sear straight through flesh and bone.

Li Tian pushed forward, every muscle in his body tight against the overwhelming force. He grabbed her arm, steadying her as they stumbled toward the closest exit.

"Hold on!" he shouted, though his voice barely carried over the chaos.

The very air around them burned with unstable energy. The chamber trembled, fractures snaking up the walls from the force of the shard's power. Stone fragments rained down as they pushed through, one step at a time.

Finally, with the last of his strength, Li Tian dragged them through the exit, the dim light of the academy's outer tunnels barely visible ahead. A final surge of energy exploded behind them, sealing the chamber with a thunderous crash.

The silence that followed was deafening.

They collapsed against the tunnel wall, gasping for air. The shard's light dimmed once more, sinking to the faint, steady pulse that had marked it from the beginning.

Yin Yue gripped it tightly, trembling against the stone. "What… what is this thing?" she whispered, her voice laced with exhaustion and fear.

Li Tian didn't answer immediately. He stared back at the fractured chamber, the faint rumble of unstable ground reverberating beneath them.

"It's not just a fragment," he said finally, keeping his voice low. "It's a beacon. And whatever it's signaling—it just got stronger."

Yin Yue looked at him, her expression a mix of anger and desperation. "Then we stop it," she said. "Whatever it takes… we stop it."

But as the tremors quieted, both of them knew in their hearts this was only the beginning.