The brilliant white sword qi spread across the heavens.
Layer after layer—
it swept through the surrounding sky.
Mountains.
Clouds.
Forests.
Nothing escaped its reach.
For several breaths—
nothing happened.
Then—
Zuo Qia's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"...There."
For only an instant—
something disturbed her sword intent.
Not spiritual qi.
Not demonic aura.
Merely...
The slightest inconsistency.
Like a ripple upon a perfectly still lake.
It vanished almost immediately.
But it had been enough.
Her gaze instantly locked onto that point in the empty sky.
*Found you.*
Without the slightest hesitation—
her fingers completed the sword seal.
The white flying sword let out a clear, resonant cry.
**Shing—!**
Sword intent erupted.
"...Sky Sword Art."
"...Fourth Form."
"...Drifting Clouds."
The sword vanished.
Not because it had become invisible—
but because it had become too fast.
The surrounding clouds surged violently.
They no longer drifted naturally.
Instead—
they converged.
Countless streams of white mist intertwined through the heavens like living rivers.
Within every current—
lurked unimaginably sharp strands of sword qi.
Nothing struck directly.
Yet everywhere the clouds flowed—
the sword followed.
The mountain range fell silent.
The drifting clouds spread across hundreds of meters in an instant.
Searching.
Cutting.
Leaving no avenue of escape.
Zuo Qia never looked away from that single point.
"...Appear."
The flowing clouds suddenly converged.
Every current of sword qi gathered toward a single location.
From above.
Below.
Front.
Behind.
The converging currents transformed into countless white sword arcs.
They descended simultaneously.
The empty sky itself seemed destined to be reduced to pieces.
At that very moment—
the invisible Lizarius calmly watched the incoming attack.
His golden eyes reflected the countless approaching blades.
*Expected.*
*Rather than relying solely upon perception...*
*She chose to erase the entire area.*
*An efficient method.*
His gaze remained steady.
*The attack itself is ordinary.*
*Its purpose is not.*
*It forces a concealed opponent to move.*
*The instant movement occurs...*
*The concealment is broken.*
The countless sword arcs closed in.
The surrounding space seemed completely sealed.
There was nowhere to retreat.
Nowhere to evade.
Zuo Qia's expression remained indifferent.
*Let's see...*
*How you answer.*
The drifting clouds swallowed the region where the disturbance had appeared.
Brilliant white sword qi exploded across the heavens.
The surrounding mountains trembled.
Ancient trees far below were silently severed by stray strands of sword intent.
Clouds scattered in every direction.
For several breaths—
only blinding white remained.
Then—
the radiance slowly faded.
Zuo Qia's spiritual sense swept across the battlefield once more.
Searching.
Waiting.
---
Dark storm clouds rolled across the heavens.
Lightning crawled endlessly through their depths.
The once-clear sky had become an ocean of black.
At its center—
the enormous white-scaled lizard finally revealed himself.
Pristine scales reflected each flash of lightning.
Golden eyes remained utterly calm.
Across from him—
Zuo Qia hovered silently.
Her white robes fluttered in the wind.
Yet her gaze had become incomparably sharp.
*Late... Mid Golden Core.*
She silently judged his cultivation.
*Extraordinary concealment.*
*Control over storm clouds.*
*And a body unlike any spirit beast recorded by the sect.*
For the first time—
she couldn't identify the creature before her.
Neither its appearance.
Nor its aura.
Nor its abilities.
Matched anything she had ever studied.
After several breaths—
she finally spoke.
"...It seems..."
"...You can no longer hide."
Her voice remained calm.
"...I'll admit."
"...Your concealment technique is extraordinary."
"...Far beyond anything I've encountered."
A brief pause.
"...But concealment alone cannot decide a battle."
Her eyes never left him.
"...An assassin succeeds only by killing..."
"...Or crippling..."
"...Before being discovered."
"...Once forced into open combat..."
"...Hiding loses its value."
Lightning illuminated the heavens.
"...You've already realized it."
"...My previous strike was never intended to kill you."
"...The moment you defended yourself..."
"...A fragment of my sword intent attached itself to the spiritual power you released."
She slowly raised two fingers.
"...Even if you conceal yourself again..."
"...Even if you flee beyond these mountains..."
"...My sword intent will continue to guide me."
"...Escape is no longer possible."
Before her final word faded—
she vanished.
**Whoosh!**
Only a streak of white remained.
The surrounding sword intent erupted simultaneously.
---
Lizarius remained perfectly still.
His golden eyes followed her movement.
*Correct.*
*Once spiritual power leaves my body...*
*Perfect concealment begins to deteriorate.*
*The farther that energy travels...*
*The greater the disturbance.*
His thoughts remained calm.
*During battle...*
*Remaining hidden was never my objective.*
He observed the strand of sword intent attached to his aura.
Clearly.
Precisely.
*She is correct.*
*It exists.*
*But...*
*I never intended to escape.*
His thoughts ceased.
Instinct screamed.
Without hesitation—
he turned his head.
Only inches away—
an enormous blade of condensed white sword qi had already descended.
Its speed surpassed sound itself.
There had been no warning.
Only impact.
Zuo Qia's calm voice echoed through the heavens.
"...Sky Sword Art."
"...Seventh Form."
"...Falling Sky."
The colossal blade cleaved downward.
As though the heavens themselves had been split apart.
Lizarius merely glanced toward it.
Then—
his tail moved.
A single motion.
So slight—
it was almost imperceptible.
Silence.
Then—
the space between them...
Collapsed.
---
No explosion followed.
No deafening impact.
Instead—
a tiny black point appeared.
No larger than a grain of sand.
Yet—
its existence violated every law of the world.
Space curved toward it.
The descending sword bent unnaturally.
The surrounding storm clouds twisted inward.
Lightning warped into impossible arcs.
Even the distant sunlight distorted around that single point.
Every strand of spiritual qi.
Every fragment of sword intent.
Every drifting cloud.
Everything—
began converging.
Zuo Qia's pupils contracted violently.
*...What is that...?*
The descending sword no longer obeyed her.
Its blade trembled.
Its trajectory warped.
The perfectly condensed sword intent stretched and distorted—
like threads being drawn into an endless abyss.
The black point remained motionless.
Silent.
Unchanging.
Yet nothing resisted its pull.
Within the collapsing distortion—
Lizarius' golden eyes remained emotionless.
*Devouring Void Art.*
A technique perfected during countless years of cultivation within the dream realm.
It was neither an offensive technique—
nor a defensive one.
It did not slash.
It did not block.
It simply...
Erased.
The attraction intensified.
**Crack—**
Thin fractures spread through space itself.
Like shattered glass.
The enormous sword of condensed qi trembled violently.
Its radiant brilliance rapidly dimmed.
The sword intent that held it together unraveled.
Not from damage.
Not from collision.
But because its very existence was being stripped away.
Layer by layer.
Thread by thread.
Until—
nothing remained.
The colossal sword disappeared.
Without an explosion.
Without fragments.
Without even a trace of spiritual qi.
It had simply...
Ceased to exist.
For the first time since the battle began—
Zuo Qia's composure faltered.
Shock filled her eyes.
"...Impossible..."