Severance

Chen Chuan was keeping most of his focus on Chen Bitong when an intense light suddenly flared before his eyes. In that instant, his spiritual perception blurred, briefly cutting off his awareness of the outside world. Having undergone a similar experience before, he immediately realized he had been swept into a fissure. Yet he saw no reason to halt his offensive. Even as the glare mingled with the smoke and dust from the collapsed building, he could faintly make out the silhouette across from him. Shifting his footing, he surged through the swirling haze and flickering radiance, throwing a punch straight at the figure. A faintly glowing hand reached out from the dust, intercepting the fist's path. But just before they collided, the incoming fist suddenly transformed into an open palm, slipping evasively past the hand and pressing inward, intending to force the arm back. His opponent reacted just as swiftly, raising an arm to parry outward with the elbow. The two clashed, instantly sending jin spilling in every direction. Now fighting at close quarters, they rapidly exchanged several blows. Their frantic movements and dispersing jin constantly stirred the violent air currents and billowing dust, filling the air with a relentless barrage of howling booms. Right then, Chen Chuan noticed his Second Self suddenly flicker and thin. An enigmatic spiritual force seemed to be transmitting itself across an immense distance. In one direction, the light shone slightly brighter than elsewhere. Then came a tremendous tremor, and a massive, sunken cavern of radiance abruptly tore open there. More than that, Chen Chuan felt a shift in Chen Bitong's spirit the moment the cavity appeared. A strange connection seemed to link him to that opening, each drawing toward the other as though preparing to fuse ever tighter. His opponent's strength was surging as well. After trading another strike, Chen Chuan looked up and locked eyes with Chen Bitong, his gaze instantly hardening. Across the exposed half of the man's face lay a chilling blend of apathy and madness, while the eye behind the half-mask remained eerily composed. Jin erupted without warning from his opponent. Rather than meeting it head-on, Chen Chuan cautiously backed away a few paces. Another gust swept through, and the swirling dust and brilliant light blurred both their silhouettes. Chen Bitong's voice drifted through the haze: "It has come for me, Captain Chen. If I do anything extreme, you must stop me. If I lose control of myself, beat me to death." His voice had sounded normal at first, but toward the end, it lost all inflection and emotion, as though spoken purely on the momentum of lingering consciousness. Chen Chuan waved a hand to brush aside the dust before him and looked across again. It felt as though he were looking at a completely different person. Though Chen Bitong's physical appearance had not changed, his spiritual demeanor had undergone a fundamental shift. Coupled with those parting words, he realized that Chen Bitong's body was likely being possessed or corrupted by that "It." Yet the takeover was not yet complete; he had to stop it right now. Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Chuan sprang forward, reaching out with an empty clawing motion directed at Chen Bitong's abdomen. Inside his body, Chen Bitong felt a tearing pain, as though something were churning within him, causing his movement to hitch. Yet his String-Void jin instantly retreated to guard his internal organs and fortify his tendons and bones. With a twist of jin, the intruder was blocked out, unable to tear into him any further. Even so, suppressing it had cost him a fraction of a second. Seizing that opening, Chen Chuan closed the distance, darting a hand forward to lock onto Chen Bitong's wrist, sending seizing jin penetrating into him. Chen Bitong let out a low roar, unleashing his internal String-Void jin to hold off the intrusion. His other hand snapped upward, covered in a faint glow, and drove a punch toward Chen Chuan. This time, however, Chen Chuan did not dodge. Raising an arm to block, he met the glowing palm with a dull thud—and did not yield half a step! Chen Bitong faltered slightly, his gaze dropping only to find a pair of deep, tranquil eyes looking back at him. Withstanding that strike, Chen Chuan felt his Second Self fade until it was nearly invisible, its overall capacity reduced by almost two-fifths. It could withstand two more blows at most—yet that was more than enough! Reversing his hands with two sharp slaps, Chen Chuan clamped down on both of Chen Bitong's arms. His seizing jin surged inward, jolting Chen Bitong's entire frame and throwing the defensive jin inside into disarray. Inside Chen Bitong's body, the civet cat urban legend let out a fierce yowl and began thrashing with renewed frenzy. Chen Chuan yanked hard, dragging him away from the vicinity of the radiant cavity. Stepping back a few paces, he flowed smoothly into a shoulder throw, slamming Chen Bitong savagely into the ground. A deep roar that rattled the ground erupted from Chen Bitong's chest, as though he were no longer a human being, but some other entity entirely. That same faint glow now leaked across his entire body. Unfazed, Chen Chuan hammered a fist down onto his head with an explosive bang, violently driving jin into him. Formidable as that power was, it was not invincible. Channeling power from that other world required concentrating sufficient spiritual consciousness. If one's mind could not focus, doing so was impossible—unless the opponent was already a true martial artist. Chen Bitong's head shook violently under the blow. Yet his body seemed to be undergoing a transformation; his head sustained no visible injury beneath the impact of Chen Chuan's Sanshou jin, though the faint glow across his form flickered out for a fraction of a second. An instant later, the light flared again on his palm as he reached to grab Chen Chuan's arm. Chen Chuan unceremoniously struck him with another hammer-like punch, forcing another stutter in his movement. Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. In a split second, his hands shot out to grip both of Chen Bitong's arms. Twisting his hands, he unleashed his seizing jin without holding back. With a sickening crunch of twisting bone, he snapped both of Chen Bitong's arms, and the glow hovering over the palms instantly dispersed. Shifting his weight, Chen Chuan moved squarely over Chen Bitong's chest, pinning him beneath his knees. His fists rained down mercilessly. A faint glint flickered in Chen Bitong's eyes, only to be shattered by the impact, the light instantly vanishing. Chen Chuan hammered blow after blow into him, driving down any attempt of the head to lift off the ground. Thunderous concussions reverberated endlessly within the fissure. After an untold number of strikes, just as he raised his fist once more, a faint, raspy voice came from below. "Stop." Chen Chuan could feel Chen Bitong's breathing returning to normal, and the erratic spiritual fluctuations had smoothed out. Most importantly... He glanced to the side. The brightly glowing cavity had vanished without a trace. He slowly lowered his hand, stood, and stepped back. To his surprise, the civet cat urban legend had also returned from Chen Bitong's body. It seemed to have consumed something and was now slumbering peacefully, prompting a quiet stir in his mind. Lying on the ground, Chen Bitong drew a few labored breaths and asked, "Aren't you worried I'll keep fighting you once I recover, Captain Chen?" Chen Chuan stood looking down at him. "If I could take you down once, Teacher Chen, I can take you down a second time." A trace of admiration flickered in Chen Bitong's eyes, mingled with melancholy. After a short while, his broken arms gradually knitted back together, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Just then, Chen Chuan caught the sound of distant footsteps and clanking armor. Their current location was presumably the middle stretch of the fissure. Since warriors of the former imperial house had passed through not long ago, the other end had to lead to the Confluence, meaning those approaching now were undoubtedly from the former imperial house. Sure enough, hazy figures soon emerged from the dust and glare behind him, identifiable by their weapons and gear. These men were the warriors and soldiers who had been stationed here earlier. After several failed attempts to charge through the fissure to the other side, they had stopped rushing recklessly and were waiting for reinforcements from the rear. This fissure had been confirmed from the beginning to lead straight into Center City and was the most stable of all known fissures; they would never abandon it easily. With an inexplicable commotion breaking out in the middle section of the fissure, they were bound to investigate. Chen Chuan turned to face the direction of the approaching forces. After a brief wait, rows of armored soldiers and a handful of warriors stepped out from the glow and smoke. Their eyes instantly landed on Chen Chuan standing in their path. But before they could react, a ferocious spiritual shockwave struck them. The soldiers felt as if struck by a massive hammer, losing consciousness on the spot. Bodies hit the ground in rapid succession, and the newcomers were strewn across the floor in moments. Chen Chuan glanced back at Chen Bitong. Seeing that he was still recuperating, he looked ahead and walked toward the far end. After several dozen paces, he felt himself pass through a paper-thin barrier. A light mist gathered before him. Taking a few more steps, he gazed outward through the haze. Only then did he realize that this end of the fissure opened onto the crest of a high ridge, with a mountain path winding down below. And as his gaze stretched farther, his expression hardened: at the foot of the mountain lay an endless sea of military camps. Although the dense vegetation of the Confluence and the blanket of mist obscured exact numbers, the sprawling encampment stretched beyond the horizon, making it clear their numbers were immense. Was this... the grand army of the former imperial house? Just then, a patrol seemed to notice the activity above, pointing toward the ridge while several figures sprinted up the slope. After a moment's thought, Chen Chuan turned and walked back into the fissure. Chen Bitong had propped himself up into a half-seated posture, leaning against a spear planted firmly in the ground. Chen Chuan walked over, noticed Chen Bitong's peaked cap lying on the ground, bent down to pick it up, brushed off the dust, and handed it to him. Taking the peaked cap, Chen Bitong placed it back on his head under Chen Chuan's gaze and straightened the brim. Meeting Chen Chuan's eyes, he asked, "Did you see it, Captain Chen?" Chen Chuan nodded. "Teacher Chen, what is it you're really trying to do? Can you explain it now?"