The Twin Phoenix Brothers of Sky Flame Sect arrived atop golden swords, robes flaring with spirit fire. Their arrogance arrived first.
"We heard this sect housed the finest talents," one sneered.
"Instead, we find janitors."
Han Li carried tea toward them. He bowed, offered the tray.
One brother slapped it aside.
"This is not Spirit Dew. It's peasant brew!"
The tray didn't fall. The brother's hand snapped back with a crack, bones fracturing.
The other drew his sword.
Before it left its sheath, Han Li's broom brushed the ground.
The second brother flew ten feet into a pillar.
Gasps echoed from surrounding disciples. None could understand what they'd seen.
Han Li bowed again, as if nothing had happened.
"Forgive me. The floor must've been uneven."
The two Phoenix prodigies crawled away, groaning.
Whispers grew louder.
"Was that… intentional?"
"No ordinary janitor…"
In a distant cloud ship, a masked cultivator watched through a spirit mirror. His voice trembled.
"He's alive…"