Madam Fengyuan and Bai, the two cast-aside women, were in the outer zone. Their Core Formation cultivation, their borrowed robes, their borrowed weapons, were there. They fought the smaller beasts, the weaker creatures, the peripheral threats.
Bai, her sword, swung. The qi, the Core Formation energy, cut. A beast, a small, furred creature, fell. Her dark eyes, wet, focused, were on the battle. The fear, the determination, the desperate courage of a young woman who was fighting because she had been told to, was there.
Fengyuan, her sword, was precise. Her movements, the trained, calculated, efficient movements of a woman who had some combat training, were there. Her sharp eyes, scanning the battlefield, the beasts, the other cultivators, were assessing.
"Keep moving!" she yelled at Bai. Her voice was sharp. The command, the directive, was there. "Don't let them surround you!"
