Lizarius hurled backward by the force of Lianhai's earlier strike, twisted midair, its tail thrashing, golden scales flickering with residual lightning as it swung again, launching another volley.
Then—FWOOM!
Its wings snapped open with a sharp crack, catching the air just before it hit the far building.
The sudden drag tore cracks into the stone courtyard beneath. Wind howled around it as it hovered low, crouched, claws gouging the stone tiles.
Lightning coiled along its scales. Lizarius, golden eyes glowing and fixed on Lianhai, thought: The poison has already begun to take effect; its attacks are weaker. Now I have to kill it quickly in one strike.
Lianhai stood across the courtyard, blood dripping from his pierced palm, his fan spinning low beside him like a silent guardian.
His chest heaved.
Sweat ran down his brow.
The pain was a constant drumbeat in his arm, and his fingers were starting to numb.
He clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing. He saw it—the lightning on the lizard's body intensifying, crackling louder, wilder.
Is it preparing a final strike? Does it think the poison has already weakened me enough for it to end this?
He grit his teeth, shifting his stance subtly, his injured hand clenching tighter around the fan's edge.
Good, he thought. I'll let it think that.
His eyes focused like sharpened blades. The fan at his side pulsed once, golden petals flickering dimly, waiting. The air thickened. Stone fragments rose just an inch off the ground as spiritual pressure surged. The lizard's wings flared wide again, lightning streaming from its scales.
Then—BOOM!
It vanished.
A bolt of blue lightning lanced across the courtyard, screaming toward Lianhai with blinding speed.
Lianhai didn't flinch.
As Lizarius instantly appeared beside him, his fan moved.
"Petal Burial—Third Bloom."
The golden petals surged upward—then collapsed inward, not outward. A vacuum of force formed around him, blocking the rushing lightning strike directly.
Lizarius burst through the petals, jaws wide open, fangs wreathed in lightning.
A flood of Qi surged through Lianhai's body, power flooding his hand meridians with reckless abandon, tearing through the lingering poison like a flood.
His eyes burned with energy.
The fan exploded forward—not like a shield, but a blade.
"Severing Pulse!"
The petals spiraled in a tight line, forming a razor-sharp edge of spiritual energy that met the lunging lizard mid-air—
CLANG! BOOOOM!!!
The impact tore through the courtyard, shaking the very bones of the estate.
A flash of gold and blue split the sky.
Lightning collided with pure force, and the shockwave exploded outward. Shattered stone.
Screaming wind. Blinding light.
Silence.
Then—a crash.
The lizard's form slammed into the far wall of the courtyard with a deep, heavy CRACK, stone splintering under the force.
Lianhai stood at the center of the courtyard, the fan hanging low in his hand. His breath was ragged. Blood dripped steadily from his side. But his eyes remained sharp. He didn't move. He watched. Waited.
Then, from the wreckage, a piece of rock moved out, bouncing along the courtyard before coming to a stop. Lianhai stared, his eyes narrowing, as the lizard climbed out of the wreckage.
Its gold eyes glowed. Its white scales were scratched. One of its wings flared, clearing the dust. Tiny lightning strikes ran along its body, sparking again with growing intensity.
Lianhai stared, his eyes sharp. His bloodied hand, purple from the poison, gripped the fan tighter.
It's still alive and without any injury! How is that possible? This is bad. I tore all the meridians in my hand to launch that attack, and the poison is still spreading. Now I can barely move. I won't be able to resist its attack. My only outcome is death. But I can't just die like this. I still have something I haven't used.
With a deep breath, Lianhai's eyes gleamed with renewed focus. Drawing upon the depths of his cultivation, he began to circulate his Qi rapidly, the air around him humming with energy. The runes glowing along his arm flared brighter, tracing symbols only known to the Shen Family's elders.
Suddenly, a halo of white light blossomed around him—a technique passed down through generations: the White Halo Seal Art.
The ground beneath Lianhai cracked, and white glowing symbols appeared around him.
Lightning-shaped fissures radiated outward as Lizarius swung its wings and vanished in a flash of electric light.
Lianhai stood firm, his Qi surging like a storm.
The air around him thickened, charged with volatile tension.
With a sweeping gesture, he unleashed his technique.
The spiraling symbols floating around him erupted at his command, coiling outward with a swing of his palm.
They surged toward the charging lizard, arcs of crackling energy weaving a binding net.
The beast's eyes narrowed, wings slicing through the air as it struggled against the constricting storm of Qi.
It growled, lightning dancing across its scales, but the glowing seals tightened, disrupting its aura and pinning it in place.
At the same moment, the fan floating beside Lianhai's moved spun rapidly, forming a shimmering barrier of Qi that absorbed the lizard's retaliatory lightning strikes.
Sparks scattered against the shield, but Lianhai didn't flinch—his gaze locked on the beast, unwavering.