The seam along Vor’s neck went white. Loose stones rose from the floor and turned in the air. Pei Jing felt the rising note in his teeth. There was less than a second left.
On the broken eastern shelf, Master Qian pressed his face against the rock and spoke the first words of an old prayer. Shi Kang pulled Duan down behind the wall and threw his wolfskin cape over him. The boy could see white light through every gap between the timbers.
Pei Jing drew the nine pillars of his core together. Their weight passed into his bones. The rock at his heels held.
The Astral Bone Blade rose in the Triple-Shockwave Severance. The first cut pressed a thin wedge out of the air. The second followed its wake before it could spread. The third caught both as they reached the white seam. Pei Jing felt all three blows join through the grip. To anyone watching, the blade had moved only once.
The joined wave reached Vor’s neck. Black scales parted. Something deep inside the seam cracked like an anvil splitting. The wave came out the other side and cut a long gap in the clouds.
The scream from Vor’s chest stopped. The light went out through its torso. Its fused head tipped to one side, then tore free. Black fluid sprayed against the canyon wall. The head struck the eastern cliff hard enough to bring down the rock above it. It rolled twice through the scree and came…
