The lizard's thoughts flickered chaotically beneath the haze.
What's happening…? it realized. My body isn't responding properly. Is this—another sealing art?
The hesitation lasted only an instant.
But in a battle like this—an instant was enough.
Lightning surged in its throat, reflexive—but the instability in its senses made the current jitter and sputter, breaking the rhythm of its timing.
Is that it… another sealing art… Just like before, when I couldn't fully control my body. And just like before… it must be stronger when he's close.
Yuanji's divine sense caught the stutter. His fingers tightened.
The glaive descended—
—but the lizard lunged.
Not with speed.
With instinct.
A last, primal refusal to submit.
I need distance, the lizard thought desperately.
Its jaws shot upward, fangs gleaming with erratic lightning. Its claws scraped the ground for purchase, dragging its battered weight toward him with raw determination.
Yuanji didn't retreat.
His eyes widened—not in fear, but in ruthless clarity.
"I had an idea you might try that."
He shifted his wrist by the smallest fraction—
—redirecting the blade by less than the width of a scale.
The glaive kissed the lightning in the beast's jaw—
—and the world erupted in white.
KRRRRRSHHHHH—!!!
Lightning exploded sideways, blasting out the wrong end of the lizard's mouth and carving a smoking trench through the courtyard floor. Sparks rained like molten needles.
The beast choked, its roar collapsing into a static-laced sputter.
Huh…? Its head jerked violently from the internal recoil.
And Yuanji moved.
He stepped into the collapsing storm—blood trailing behind him like a comet, eyes burning like a second sun.
The glaive rose.
"This," he whispered,
"is the true outcome you failed to foresee."
He cut.
The blade descended with a purity of motion that defied the chaos around it—no flourish, no hesitation. Only intent. Only the razor edge of will honed to lethal precision.
The strike cleaved through lightning, through scale, through flesh—
THWUUUUM—!!
—and hurled the beast into the broken wall with a force that pulverized the stone behind it. Cracks webbed outward, swallowing the courtyard in a ring of destruction.
The lizard sagged, golden eyes narrowing.
This the seal… it's not gone. I still feel pressure—why? Am I still in its range… or is there another reason?
Its wings twitched once. Twice.
Once white scales—now cracked, bleeding, scarred—rustled weakly. Its body trembled as it struggled to rise, sparks trailing off its limp membranes like dying fireflies.
Yuanji kept the blade at its throat.
His own knees quivered.
His vision swam.
Blood dripped from his fingers, pattering onto the beast's chest.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was control.
The lingering field formed by the seven qi strands still clung to the air like the echo of a command—his will pressed into the world, refusing to let the battlefield stabilize.
The beast tried to lunge again—
No matter the reason… can't get away now, it thought, panic tightening. I just have to make sure I don't die.
—but its instincts were misaligned.
Its balance—wrong.
Its sense of space—warped.
It fought like a creature trapped inside its own skin.
Yuanji leaned in.
"Your strength wasn't the mistake," he murmured, voice low and final, breath warm against its muzzle.
"It was believing mine ended where yours began."
The lizard sagged, wings twitching weakly, lightning sputtering along its bloody scales. Yuanji stood over it, blood-soaked, trembling but unbroken—glaive hovering inches from its throat. The lingering field of his seven qi strands pulsed in the air, pressing the beast into stillness.
For a heartbeat, it seemed over.
Then a sharp, tearing pain split Yuanji from within. His eyes widened. A ripping pain tore through his chest and throat. His body jerked violently; blood poured from his mouth, streaks running from his nose and the corners of his eyes. He stumbled backward, hand clutching his chest, but forced himself upright.
No… I can suppress it, he thought, teeth gritting through the pain. I can at least hold enough to finish this… I can kill it…
A cold realization struck him like ice.
The poison spread faster than he'd anticipated, flowing through his meridians and merging with his qi. Every attempt to circulate energy now risked accelerating the venom, turning his own power against himself.
If I push it… it will only spread faster, he realized, panic tempered by cold calculation.
The subtle pressure he had exerted over the battlefield faltered.
The lizard felt it—subtle at first, the sudden lightness of the pressure, the falter in Yuanji's field. Its golden eyes widened, lightning coiling anew along its scarred, bloodied scales. Power surged like a living storm, wild and unrestrained.
Yuanji forced himself to stay standing. Blood dripped from his lips. Hands trembling, he gripped the glaive. Breath came in ragged bursts, but his mind remained razor-sharp. The battle had shifted. Raw power would no longer suffice. Every movement, every flicker of energy, had to be precise—every action calculated against the creeping poison coursing through him.