Xiao Lian barely had time to process the shift in Qin Ziyan's aura before he attacked again.
The air between them cracked as he moved, his speed unnaturally fast, his strikes filled with something different, something more dangerous than before.
She barely dodged the first blow, the force of it shattering the ground where she had just stood.
His eyes were no longer the sharp, cunning gaze she knew.
They were hollow.
Empty.
And that was far more terrifying than anything else.
"Qin Ziyan," she called out, hoping her voice could reach him.
He didn't respond.
Another attack. A shadowy blade formed in his hand, its energy cold and suffocating.
That's not his power.
The realization struck her like a blow. This wasn't just him giving in to ambition or desperation.
Something else had taken over.
She had seen him fight countless times before. He played with his opponents, used tricks, illusions, feints. He never relied on brute force.
But this… this was different.
He was fighting like a man possessed.
And maybe, that was exactly what had happened.
Her body moved on instinct, blocking, dodging,vsurviving.
But she wasn't just trying to stay alive.
She was watching.
Calculating.
The hesitation he had shown before, when he had first seen her and Ji Ren together, it was still there.
Buried deep.
A flicker of doubt in the way his attacks never fully landed.
A split-second pause before each strike, as if something inside him was still resisting.
She saw it in his eyes.
Qin Ziyan hadn't fully given in yet.
And that meant there was still time.
But time was running out.
The dark energy coiling around him was growing stronger, his movements more controlled, more ruthless.
She knew what was happening.
The longer he fought, the more he would become whatever had latched onto him.
If she didn't do something soon, she might lose him forever.
So she made a choice.
She lowered her blade.
Qin Ziyan's next attack stopped just short of her throat.
His breathing was ragged, his expression unreadable.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then she spoke.
"You're still in there."
A flicker of something recognition? Pain?passed through his eyes.
"You don't want this," she said. "You don't want to be controlled."
His grip on his weapon trembled.
And then...His master's voice echoed through the battlefield.
"You hesitate again? Foolish boy."
A wave of darkness surged around Qin Ziyan, and suddenly, he was screaming.
Xiao Lian's stomach twisted.
She could see it now, the battle inside him.
His body convulsed, his hands clutching his head as the darkness tried to consume him whole.
She took a step forward. "Qin Ziyan—"
His head snapped up.
And for the first time, She saw fear in his eyes.
"Run." His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.
Then his aura exploded.
A shockwave of dark energy sent her flying back, crashing into the ruined battlefield.
When she looked up, her blood ran cold.
He was no longer the Qin Ziyan she knew.
His features were sharper, his posture unnatural, his body no longer his own.
The master had won.
And she had failed.
Xiao Lian staggered to her feet, every muscle screaming in protest.
But there was no time for pain.
Qin Ziyan or what was left of him was already moving.
Faster than before.
Too fast.
She had no choice.
She turned and ran.
Her mind screamed at her to stay, to fight, to pull him back—But she knew.
This wasn't a battle she could win.
Not yet.
Her feet carried her forward, away from the battlefield, away from the darkness closing in behind her.
But even as she escaped, even as she forced herself to keep running. Her heart ached with something new.
Something she didn't know how to name.
She had always understood logic. Strategy. The sharp, cold edges of intelligence.
But this?
This was something else entirely.
And for the first time in her life, She didn't know what to do with it.