I lock eyes with Master Liu, and I watch the confidence drain from his face like water through a broken dam. The cocky martial artist who was ready to break my ribs thirty seconds ago now looks like he's staring into the depths of hell.
"Kneel."
The word comes out soft, almost conversational. But it carries the weight of mountains behind it.
Both men's legs buckle instantly. The invisible force holding their fists dissolves, but now a much heavier pressure crushes down on their shoulders. Master Liu hits the concrete first, his knees cracking against the sidewalk with a sound like breaking pottery. Master Chen follows a heartbeat later, his face twisted in pain and confusion.
"What did you do to them?" Catherine's voice climbs toward hysteria. "Get up! I said get up!"
Neither man moves. They can't. The pressure bearing down on them is beyond anything their third-rate cultivation can resist. Sweat pours down their faces as they struggle just to breathe.
