The lizard's tail swayed once—slow, deliberate—lightning coiling around it like serpents.
Then it snapped forward.
KRRRSH–!!
The tail-tip elongated into a spear of condensed lightning, a sharpened golden point aimed straight for Yuanji's skull.
It crossed the distance in a blink—halting barely an inch from his eye—
Yuanji's mind screamed.
MOVE… MOVE—!!
His body didn't respond.
But his consciousness did.
With a desperate surge of divine sense, he willed the glaive—
And the hovering weapon lunged.
CLAAAAANG—!!
The blade slammed into the lightning spear an instant before it skewered his head, the impact blasting the lizard backward in a burst of sparks and thunder.
The creature careened through the air, twisting wildly—then righted itself mid-flight without losing speed.
Lightning crawled violently across its spine.
Its tail snapped again.
This time, the scales shed themselves.
WHIP–!!
Dozens of golden scales ignited with lightning—knife-sharp and glowing like molten metal.
Then—
SHHRRRAA—KAK-KAK-KAK-KAK-KAK!!
They fired in a storm, each scale a thunder-charged projectile streaking straight toward the still-paralyzed Luo Yuanji.
Yuanji inhaled sharply.
His glaive spun faster.
Then faster.
Then violently enough to form a whirling steel barrier before him.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks burst each time a scale struck the rotating blade.
But not all were stopped.
A few found gaps—
THK—!
PCHHK—!
KRSH—!!
Golden daggers punched into Yuanji's shoulder, ribs, and side—burying deep and leaving dark streaks of blood soaking through his robes.
His jaw tightened with silent pain.
Still frozen.
Still helpless.
The lizard gave him no reprieve.
Its wings spread wide—electric arcs racing along each membrane like dancing serpents. Then—
FOOOOM—!!
It snapped its wings downward.
A barrage of crescent-shaped wind-blades screamed across the courtyard, carving deep gashes into the stone as they slashed toward Yuanji.
He willed his weapon—
The glaive ripped through the air to intercept them.
SHING—!!
CRACK!!
FWAP—!!
Wind-blades shattered against the cultivator's weapon in violent bursts of displaced air.
But even broken wind could cut.
Stray edges grazed past his defense, slicing into robes—into skin—
Thin, burning lines of blood opened across his arms and chest.
The lizard hit the ground—
BOOOOM—!!
Claws tore into shattered stone.
Lightning surged through its body, scale by scale, until the beast glowed like a creature forged entirely from thunder.
And before Yuanji could even force a breath—
The lizard lunged.
It vanished.
Not blurred.
Gone.
It reappeared behind him—
Jaws wide open, a blur of white scales, lightning, and killing intent. Lightning curled between its teeth.
Its fangs clamped down toward his skull with a savagery sharp enough to carve through fate itself.
Yuanji felt the world collapse into a single moment.
The courtyard.
The lizard.
Its lightning-lit fangs.
All of it slowed—every detail stretched into a suffocating eternity as death rushed toward him.
His thoughts detonated in a frantic rush.
My weapon—!
Can it reach—!?
Can my divine sense move it in time!?"
NO—it's too fast—!
He couldn't block in time.
He couldn't evade—the paralysis still held him.
His limbs refused him. His body refused him. Nothing moved.
I'm going to die.
This is how I die—
A tremor shook his chest.
The fangs descended—
Closer.
Closer.
Inches from his skull.
A cold clarity stabbed through Yuanji's heart:
No. No—NO. I cannot die here.
If I fall, the clan falls next.
If I die… everything ends.
His mind roared.
MOVE.
Move, MOVE—!
I cannot die yet. Not here. NOT NOW.
A violent surge exploded through his body—
—and suddenly the lock broke.
His fingers twitched.
His lungs expanded with a sharp breath.
His eyes widened in shock.
My body… I can move—?!
He didn't question the miracle.
He seized it.
Yuanji twisted with everything he had—
—but the lizard was already upon him.
Its jaws snapped shut.
He dodged the fatal bite to his head—
—but not completely.
CRUNCH—!!
The lizard's fangs sank deep into his shoulder.
Hot blood burst out in a violent spray.
Pain erupted—white and blinding—scorching through his entire arm as bone cracked beneath the beast's bite.
Yuanji hissed through clenched teeth, staggering under the impact.
But he was alive.
He was alive.
Lightning surged from the lizard's jaws into his flesh, burning through nerves, shaking his arm as its claws dug into him for leverage.
The beast bit harder.
Its weight forced him downward.
Claws ripped into flesh.
Lightning crawled through his veins.
His vision blurred.
But Yuanji did not collapse.
Did not scream.
Did not yield.
His teeth bared in a snarl of raw, furious survival.
Because now—
Now that his body had returned to him—
He could fight back.
And the lizard felt it.
A chill rippled through its jaw—
because Yuanji's qi began to surge.
Slowly at first.
Then violently.
In the next breath—
He raised his free hand.
The air cracked.
His fingers closed around the spinning glaive—calling it to him like a magnet—
And he swung it down.
Straight for the lizard's skull.