High above the crater, the three elders hovered in stunned silence, eyes wide with disbelief.
Below, the Dust still hung thick in the air from Li Hao's fall dust slowly cleared, revealing a gruesome sight.
Li Hao's lifeless body lay still, his head torn clean off. Beside him stood Lizarius—the lizard— Blood dripped from his fanged maw as he slowly licked it clean.
Then, the he lifted his gaze, golden eyes glowing faintly as he stared directly at the elders above.
"It… it killed Li Hao," Wu Jian muttered, his voice barely audible.
Li Zhao Ling clenched her teeth, speaking through a voice transmission.
"That might've been our only chance.
But it somehow disrupted the formation before it could activate... and its energy—it's just at the Third Layer, yet its spiritual pressure is easily double mine."
Her voice dropped, heavy with dread.
"If we keep going like this, we won't make it. I'm already down to a third of my energy."
Li Feng Wei's grip tightened on his blade. A surge of intense spiritual energy erupted from him, bursting into roaring flames.
"Enough," he growled, voice trembling with fury. "I won't stand here and watch us die one by one."
Wu Jian's eyes widened. He's burning through his cultivation...
Li Feng Wei's eyes blazed with unwavering determination, his aura flaring uncontrollably.
"Even if it costs me everything... I'll end this."
His eyes narrowed.
"I will make sure it dies."
In an instant, he vanished—reappearing in an instant before Lizarius, blade mid-swing.
But Lizarius reacted immediately, wings snapping open as a gust of wind launched him into the air —narrowly dodging the blazing slash that tore through the crater cleaving through several buildings in its path.
"It's faster than before..." Lizarius thought, narrowing his golden eyes.
Without hesitation, he followed, swinging diagonally upward.
Lizarius blocked with his wing, but the sheer force sent the lizard hurtling backward through the air.
Feng Wei gave chase, closing the distance as the lizard opened his wings his wings, unleashing a flurry of razor-sharp wind blades.
Raising his blade, Feng Wei blocked , but the pressure was immense knocking him back. The wind howled, tearing through the sky and slicing across his body, blood trailing from multiple wounds.
Yet he remained in the air, his blade steady, his focus unshaken. but never took his eyes off the target.
Across from him, Lizarius its scales crackling with lightning, eyes gleaming with feral intent.
Their eyes locked again
In perfect unison, they launched forward.
Flame and lightning collided.
Feng Wei's blazing blade carved through the air, but Lizarius twisted, dodging like a bolt of lightning. Its tail whipped around, launching a volley of golden, lightning-charged scales.
Feng Wei slashed rapidly, deflecting the deadly barrage, and then drove forward again.
Blade swinging hard.
His blade struck Lizarius blocked with both wings, triggering a massive shockwave that rippled through the sky.
But then—
light surged from Lizarius's scales and flowed directly into the blade.
The energy surged through Feng Wei's blade and into his body. He screamed in pain, muscles seizing, lightning coursing through every vein.
Lizarius seized the moment.
His tail whipped forward, aiming straight for Li Feng Wei's head.
With a guttural roar, His body trembled under the lightning tearing through him, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to move.
He tilted his head just in time.
The tail scraped across his cheek, narrowly missing a fatal blow.
Roaring, Li Feng Wei's blade exploded into flames once more.
He swung with full force,
BOOM!
Smashing Lizarius backward through the sky, fire and lightning trailing in their wake.