The air trembled.
Qi surged around Lin Canghua's body, spiraling upward in golden streams that burned against the dark sky. Each thread carried weight — not raw force, but control honed through decades of cultivation. The shattered courtyard seemed to bow beneath the growing pressure.
The lizard's wings twitched, every instinct screaming to flee — but its golden eyes hardened instead.
> "It's gathering its energy," it thought. "Is it going to use a technique? What kind of technique? What does it do? Is it an offensive or defensive technique? Doesn't matter now — this is my chance. I just have to attack as it's trying to activate it."
Lightning flared along its back, arcs sparking through the drifting smoke.
Lin Canghua's muttered voice came calm, distant.
> "Spirit Art — Golden Meridian Seal."
The formation beneath him reignited — the same one from before, but now alive, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. Golden sigils unfolded from the ground like blooming lotus petals, linking into complex geometry that spread across the ruined courtyard.
> "This…" the lizard realized. "Is it a sealing art? Though it's different from the one of that other mid-stage, it gives me the same feeling. If it's a sealing art, then I can't let it finish!"
It dove instantly, a flash of white lightning slicing through the collapsing air — but too late. The formation completed with a single resonant hum.
The world shifted.
The air turned heavy, viscous, like molten glass.
Lightning slowed. Even thought felt delayed.
> "Huh, what's this?" the lizard snarled silently, wings straining, hovering, bent over its head to stare down at its body. "It's like I can't move the energy in my core — like something is pushing it back when it moves, it— though!"
{System}
Spirit Art – Golden Meridian Seal
Classification: High-tier earth-grade sealing art
Description: This formation manipulates spiritual meridians within a designated radius, converting ambient qi into binding pressure that disrupts the flow of energy of any nearby target. The greater the resistance, the heavier the suppression.
Effect: Internal energy circulation reduced by 82%. Energy resonance suppressed. If you resist suppression while still being in range, your energy flow will decrease to 15% efficiency.
Movement and energy-based techniques are temporarily inhibited within the seal's effective range. Duration is dependent on the caster's vitality and focus stability.
Lin Canghua lifted his hand. His qi, once subtle, now roared like a current beneath the surface of calm water.
> "You're quick," he said, his voice echoing strangely through the sealed space. "But lightning burns bright and dies fast. Let's see if your spirit endures."
He vanished.
One step — that was all. His figure blurred, and suddenly he was behind the lizard.
The beast barely twisted aside before a palm wrapped in golden qi slammed into its flank.
Crack!
Lightning erupted, scattering wildly. The lizard reacted instantly, covering itself with its wings, blocking the strike — but the impact threw it through the air. It crashed through the remnants of a wall, rubble scattering in all directions.
The lizard let out a low growl, standing up from the rubble. White scales were filled with scratches, wings trembling, claws dug into the stone, its gold eyes blazing with defiance.
> "So the seal… only works near it," it thought, every word forming through grit and will. "The suppression weakens with distance. I can break it."
One of its front paws moved.
Lin Canghua stepped forward, calm as ever.
> "Still alive. And barely even a scratch — that's impressive."
The lizard stared, its paw raised, then came down sharply, slamming into the ground. The earth trembled slightly as suddenly massive, earth-piercing spikes shot up from the ground, piercing straight for Canghua.
His eyes narrowed, but he didn't even move an inch as they pierced straight for him.
Then—
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The earth spikes struck but were blocked by the barrier covering him. They cracked, shattering into pieces. Fragments of rock fell to the ground.
Lin Canghua's voice came calm, muttered.
> "Hmm… a dual-element beast that can hide its presence, with strong defense, and possesses strength comparable to the early mid-stage while being at the late early stage."
He stared, muttering,
> "I'm starting to really get interested in you."
The lizard lowered itself, wings trembling as it swung forward sharply. It flew back into the air. Then, deep within its chest, a different light began to pulse — not blue, not white, but violet, faint and eerie.
Lin Canghua's eyes narrowed.
> "That energy… it's unstable. What are you—"
The lizard opened its jaws, hurling backward, electricity gathering like a collapsing star.
The violet core within its body flared — once, then twice — as if a heart awakening.
Away from Canghua, its energy was no longer being suppressed.
The lizard's wings spread, stopped midair, its maw glowing blue with sparks of lightning.
> "Now?" it thought.
Jaws opened wide as it let out a loud roar, releasing a sonic wave accompanied by a blast of lightning.
The courtyard howled with energy.
Violet lightning swallowed the night.
The seal cracked. Golden lines shattered like glass beneath the storm.
Lin Canghua's eyes widened slightly — the first flicker of surprise breaking his calm.
> "This energy—!"
He raised both hands, qi flowing furiously to reinforce the formation. But the violet surge tore through the restraints like paper — wild and defiant. The ground fractured, light devouring the courtyard.
When it cleared, silence fell.
The formation was gone — erased. Lin Canghua stood amidst the ruins, robes torn, one sleeve reduced to ash. His breathing was steady but slightly heavy, and his left arm trembled faintly — scorched black where the lightning had struck.
He looked up.
The lizard hovered above, chest heaving, one wing half-burnt, scales scratched — but its eyes still glowed with that faint, fierce gold.
Both stood — wounded, wary, unyielding.
Lin Canghua's lips curved slightly.
> "You've forced me to this point, beast," he said softly. "You should be proud."
The lizard hovering above tilted its head, staring with glowing gold eyes, smoke drifting out of its maw.
> "Hmm, it didn't even get wounded after that."
For the first time, Lin Canghua's calm voice carried a thread of genuine intent — sharp, dangerous, final.
> "Then survive this."
He stepped forward, and the air behind him rippled — as though the air itself bowed in acknowledgment.