The Broken Paths

The wind cut through the valley with a brutal sharpness, carrying flecks of snow across the barren landscape of Russia. In the dimly lit outpost, Zafira stood with arms crossed, watching her men prepare the next shipment.

"Secure the iron first" she ordered. "And... whatever the hell else Emery asked for. The weird coils and... copper plates? Whatever. Just get it all."

Her third-in-command, Jun, stifled a chuckle. "You don't even know what you're gathering, do you?"

Zafira scowled. "If it makes lightning or whatever, I don't need to know. I will support Emery to build it."

Despite her irritation, her thoughts drifted. Jinhai knows my real name. But he'll never find me. I know exactly where he is—because he's the Emperor.

Her plan to ignite the war was coming together, but then—

Emery's words echoed in her head.

"Layla's vision wasn't to wage war. It was to change the world."

She clenched her jaw.

Was I really doing this for revenge? Was I abusing Emery's technology as a weapon, rather than the progress he intended?

Torn between instinct and doubt, she stormed into Emery's workshop, interrupting his lesson with Haoran's children.

"The materials will be here by January" she announced.

"Now fight me."

Emery sighed. "No."

"Why?"

"Because I might kill you." Emery said flatly, crossing his arms.

"Zafira, let me explain this in simple terms. You're built like a fortress, sure, but Qi is still a biological force. My weapons bypass that completely. You reinforce your body with energy—I use something that tears through it like paper. If I hit the wrong spot, I don't care how strong you are, your organs will still rupture, and you will die. Not because I want you to, but because physics does not care about cultivation."

Zafira rolled her shoulders, unimpressed. "So what? You think I can't dodge?"

Emery sighed, making a facepalm "I know you can dodge. But what happens when I create weapons you can't? When I build something that fires faster than human reflexes? Qi is not magic. It's an extension of biological function. And biology loses to science. Always."

Zafira narrowed her eyes. "You're scared of the power you're creating."

"No, I'm scared of what happens when people like you try to use it for things it was never meant for" Emery snapped back.

"Layla's vision was for change, not war. This? This is escalation. And if you push too hard, too fast, we'll all regret it."

Zafira exhaled, folding her arms. "Then trust me. If you believe in your science, then believe in me, too."

Zafira smirked. "Trust me to survive."

Emery didn't answer immediately. Instead, his mind spun, running calculations, modelling outcomes, predicting failure points.

How do I fight her without killing her?

Gunfire wasn't like Qi. There was no half-measure, no pulling back at the last second. The second a bullet left the chamber, it followed the laws of physics, not the will of a fighter. The difference between a warning shot and a fatal wound was a matter of degrees and milliseconds. And Zafira—she wouldn't hesitate. She trusted herself to survive. But do I?

She moves at an estimated speed of 30 meters per second in combat. At least, that's what I deduced. If I fire at her torso, she'll instinctively sidestep at a 30-degree angle, meaning the bullet will miss—but what if she reacts too slow? What if the shockwave from a near-miss disrupts her footing?

His fingers twitched.

If I aim for the limbs, I could disable without lethal damage. But if she deflects the shot using Qi reinforcement at the wrong angle, the kinetic force alone could break something internally.

His mind flicked through alternatives.

Blunt force? Rubber rounds? No, impact trauma is still too unpredictable. Sedation? No, too slow.

No. Too many variables. Too many risks.

Emery clenched his jaw. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Before Zafira could respond, Jun and Seraphine appeared at the doorway, both with knowing smirks.

"If you two are going to try and kill each other," Jun said, crossing her arms, "at least do it somewhere entertaining."

Seraphine nodded. "The arena is prepared. Everyone's gathering already. You wouldn't want to deprive them of a show, would you?"

Zafira scoffed. "Tch. Of course not. Let's go."

Emery sighed, rubbing his forehead. ''I don't recall agreeing to a public execution."

"Relax, professor" Jun said.

"You might actually win."

Meanwhile, Callum, who had been in the middle of instructing Haoran and Renshu on dojo management, was also summoned.

"What's going on?" he asked as he was dragged along.

"Oh, nothing much" Seraphine said, grinning.

"Just a battle between science and martial arts."

Haoran's children were brought along as well, their eyes wide with excitement as they followed. Soon, the entire settlement gathered in the arena, anticipation crackling in the air.

Zafira rolled her shoulders, stepping into position.

Emery's gaze swept over her, analyzing every detail. She was dressed for battle, clad in reinforced black combat attire that clung to her frame yet allowed free movement. The light armor was supposedly Qi-treated, meant to absorb shock and reduce damage—but it wouldn't stop his bullet. Her twin swords, sleek and deadly, rested at her sides. He had seen her use them before—precision and efficiency, every movement calculated for the kill. The blades gleamed under the arena lights, curved just enough to allow both slashes and precise thrusts.

Those swords have cut through Qi-enhanced bullshit steel before. They will not be easy to counter.

Her stance was aggressive but composed, weight evenly distributed, her fingers lightly gripping the hilts. She looked every bit the warrior she was—powerful, unshakable. But Emery knew better. He knew the conflicted thoughts running beneath that hardened exterior.

Zafira, in turn, studied him.

Emery stood with an unsettling calm, his usual coat replaced by something more fitted—lighter, tailored for movement. The holster on his thigh carried a sleek revolver, the same one she had seen him modify tirelessly in his workshop.

That gun isn't like the ones before. He's changed it.

His hands rested lightly at his sides, but there was no mistaking the precision in his fingers—ready to move in a fraction of a second. His eyes were sharp, calculating, scanning her for any weaknesses she could have.

She exhaled. "Ready or not, Emery, this is happening."

Emery exhaled, adjusting his weapon. "This is a mistake."

His fingers twitched against the grip of his revolver, but his mind wasn't in the arena anymore. Instead, it was adrift in memories—years of knowing Zafira, years of sailing through storms, fighting off raiders, and watching her make the worst business decisions possible with full confidence.

He could still hear her voice from months ago, standing at the edge of a dock, arms crossed, proudly declaring:

"I bought an entire warehouse of stolen tea leaves for half price!"

"Zafira, that means you just got conned."

"No, it means I have a lifetime supply of tea."

He could still remember the look on her face when she realized they had to throw half of it away because it had been soaked in seawater.

Then there were the quiet moments. The rare dinners where she actually sat down to eat instead of barking orders. The times she leaned back in her chair, exhaustion in her eyes, but still smirked at his complaints like she had all the answers in the world.

And now, here she was, standing across from him, asking him to shoot her.

He swallowed hard. "This is a mistake" he repeated, softer this time.

His hand hovered over his gun, not because he wasn't ready to draw—but because for the first time, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Then Zafira moved.

She dashed forward, covering the distance in an instant—thirty meters per second, at least. To Emery's eyes, it was nearly imperceptible, a blur of motion that made his heart lurch. His body tensed, instincts screaming at him to react.

But amidst the rush of movement, her voice reached him—steady, calm, and strangely sincere.

"Fight me with your weapon, Emery. Not your fear."

The words struck deeper than he expected. His mind snapped into calculation mode.

If I move now—thirty-degree pivot to the left, let her momentum carry her past me—I can counter without direct engagement. But if she anticipates it? A feint to mislead? No, too risky. Timing is critical.

His hazel eyes tracked every minute shift in her form, analyzing the way her weight adjusted, the micro-twitch of her muscles as she prepared to strike. She wasn't holding back.

Emery inhaled sharply, his decision made in milliseconds.

Step back. Twist left. Redirect the angle.

His body responded before his mind fully caught up, his foot barely grazing the ground as he executed the most optimal dodge—one that kept him just out of her blade's range, but close enough to retaliate.

Emery didn't hesitate. His gun was already raised, his finger squeezing the trigger before his conscious mind could second-guess the action.

The gunshot rang out, deafening in the arena.

And then—a flash of steel.

Zafira's twin swords moved so fast they blurred. A metallic clang echoed as something split in midair.

The bullet—the one he had calculated at a speed no human should be able to track—was cleaved cleanly in half.

Time seemed to slow for Emery. He watched, stunned, as the two halves of the bullet spiralled off-course, embedding themselves harmlessly into the dirt.

That's… impossible.

His grip on the gun tightened.

Even with Qi, even with enhanced reflexes—cutting a bullet? That wasn't just skill. That was something beyond reason.

Zafira rolled her shoulders, spinning one of her swords before levelling it at him again. She smirked.

Emery exhaled sharply, heart hammering. "That shouldn't have been possible."

The moment the bullet split in half, the arena erupted.

A deafening roar of cheers and shouts filled the air as the gathered warriors, merchants, and disciples exploded with excitement.

"Commander Ezra!"

"She cut the bullet in half—IN HALF!"

Callum stood frozen, his mouth slightly open. "That... that shouldn't be possible."

Lianfei, Chen, and Feng—Emery's students who had been rigorously studying science and physics—were equally stunned. Everything they had learned told them this was beyond human capability.

"Even Qi shouldn't allow for something like that..." Lianfei muttered.

"It defies every principle of reaction time."

Seraphine, Zafira's best informant, narrowed her eyes. "I knew she was fast. But that... even I didn't expect that."

Jun, the assassin and Zafira's third-in-command, crossed her arms, her brows furrowing. "I've fought alongside her for years, but even I wouldn't be able to do that. Cutting an arrow? Maybe. But a bullet? That's not normal."

Meanwhile, Haoran and Renshu exchanged uneasy glances. Haoran clenched his fists. "This is why she's dangerous. This is why she must be feared."

Renshu nodded slowly. "No warrior should be able to do what she just did. Ezra isn't just strong—she's something else entirely."