Ten paces past the iron gate, the passage ended at the edge of a shelf. Pei Jing looked out over a cave so wide that he couldn’t see the far wall. High above, the roof vanished into a blue-black haze. This far under the sea, the cave had a sky of its own.
A black island hung at the center. It had no pillar beneath it and no chain above it. The force of the earth veins held it in the air. Around it, thousands of blades turned in three broad rings.
The outer ring carried heavy broadswords, notched cleavers, and old two-handed swords. Some turned end over end. The middle ring was faster. Thin swords and bronze daggers passed one another like fish in a school. The inner ring moved so fast that he could only see a band of silver and blue.
Pei Jing took a step out onto the shelf. His shoulders dropped. The forty-pound Cloud-Splitter suddenly weighed about a hundred and sixty pounds. His own weight felt closer to eight hundred and forty than two hundred and ten.
He spread his feet and let his legs take the load. His knees wanted to fold. A dry click came from one of his joints as his bones settled. His chest had to work harder with every breath. He drew air in through his teeth and let it out slowly until he could stand straight again.
