The lizard disappeared in a flash of lightning, reappearing instantly in front of Lianhai—before the severed arm had even hit the ground.
Its jaws snapped open, fangs crackling with lightning as it bit down.
CLANG!
The sound echoed like a bell struck by a divine hammer.
Its jaws were blocked—by a fan.
Lianhai remained frozen, body paralyzed.
Lucky… Only my body is immobile. I can still use my divine sense. Otherwise… I might've actually died.
The moment the lizard lunged, Lianhai's divine sense surged outward, snatching control of the tool within his pouch.
The fan responded, unfolding mid-air just in time to intercept the strike.
The lizard growled, jaws clamping harder. Lightning crawled across its scales. The fan shuddered under the pressure, metal ringing as crackling arcs danced across its surface. Sparks leapt from fang to rib.
Lianhai felt the strain through his divine sense—like his own bones were being ground to dust.
If this continues, it won't hold for—
His thought was cut short.
The lizard's tail whipped forward, a sharp strike aimed straight for his eyes.
He tried to redirect the fan—but the jaws held it firm.
Damn it!
He forced everything into his will.
Just a twitch. Move—MOVE!
His shoulder trembled.
A flicker. A tremor of life.
Then—SNAP!
His right arm shot up, intercepting the lashing tail with his bare hand.
THUD—SHUNK!
The tail pierced clean through his palm, driving his arm backward—but it held.
The deadly strike stopped inches from his face.
Blood sprayed.
Lianhai gritted his teeth, lips pulled tight, pain slicing through him like ice.
The lizard's tail thrashed, trying to yank itself free. It trembled in his pierced hand, still buried in the flesh.
But Lianhai didn't let go.
He gripped tighter, forcing his wounded arm to lock. The golden scales dug deeper, tearing through tendon and bone—but he didn't care.
Qi flared along his wrist.
He moved.
Fingers locked tighter. Stance solid beneath him.
The lizard's golden eyes widened—just slightly.
"You bit off more than you can chew," Lianhai said coldly, voice low and sharp.
Lightning surged along the lizard's body in warning—
—but Lianhai was already moving.
With a sharp pull, he dragged the beast's tail forward, yanking it off balance—
—and slammed his knee into the side of its skull.
BOOM!
A burst of force exploded from the impact, sending the beast skidding sideways.
The fan, now free from its prison, snapped back to Lianhai's side with a flick of his divine sense.
Qi surged. His meridians opened. Power flowed once more.
The lizard's body hurled backward. Wings spread. Claws struck the courtyard floor, gouging deep cracks into the stone as it came to a halt.
Golden scales sparked violently. Lightning burst out, running across its body and gathering at its tail.
Blood dripped steadily from Lianhai's hand, the wound raw and deep.
With focused breath, he surged Qi into the fan. It spun to life in his grasp, shimmering with a soft golden light—not as a weapon, but a shield.
The lizard snarled.
Its tail snapped again—this time launching golden lightning-charged scales like blades of light.
Move!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Each scale struck the spinning fan and was deflected—sparks flaring, the air ringing with steel and storm.
Lianhai didn't retreat.
He stood firm—wounded, bloodied—but unshaken.
His breath slowed. The fan hovered, still spinning. Sparks faded in the wake of blocked lightning.
His injured hand trembled slightly, blood dripping down his fingers. The pain was there, but distant—dulled beneath the thrum of Qi and battle focus.
His gaze narrowed, locked on the beast.
Across the courtyard, the lizard crouched low. Wings partially spread. Scales twitching with electricity.
But… it wasn't charging.
Its posture had shifted.
Why did it stop attacking?
Lianhai extended his divine sense, searching for movement.
It's not retreating… it's channeling Qi… into the ground. Its paw—
Then he saw it.
Shit.
SMASH!
The lizard slammed its forepaw into the stone.
CRRAACK—!!
A pulse tore through the earth.
Lianhai's eyes widened.
Too late.
The ground beneath his feet shuddered—then split.
With a violent crack, a jagged earth spike erupted upward, glowing faintly with Qi.
It shot for his abdomen—
Fast.
Sudden.
Like a serpent striking from below aiming to impale him from below.
His injured hand trembled, blood dripping from his pierced palm.
But his eyes remained calm.
His fan spun once, hovering at his side.
"You think I didn't prepare for this?"
He inhaled deeply—
Then whispered:
"Veiled Petal Motion."
Qi surged into the fan. In an instant, it flared with golden light, then exploded into a swirl of glowing petals, each razor-thin and humming with spiritual energy.
They spun around him in a spiral formation—
A protective storm of blades disguised as beauty.
The earth spike shot upward—
CRACK—CRASH!!
It collided with the spinning petals—
BOOM!
Stone shattered mid-air, torn to pieces by the petals' elegant yet vicious orbit. The spike never reached him. Fragments of glowing rock scattered harmlessly to the sides.
The petals spun faster, responding to his divine sense, forming a layered barrier—light, sharp, and fluid like flowing silk but impenetrable as steel.
The courtyard dimmed slightly beneath the technique's radiance.
Lizarius's eyes narrowed.
Lianhai stood firm at the center of the petal storm, blood still trailing from his hand, face pale but eyes sharp as blades.
"Come," he muttered, raising the fan again. "Let's see how many more tricks you have."