The night shattered.
Dust hung in the air, swirling between fragments of roof and shattered stone. The scent of burnt qi lingered, sharp and bitter.
The lizard tumbled backward, claws digging furrows through the stone tiles before it steadied itself midair. Pale white scales gleamed under the moonlight — no longer hidden, no longer silent.
Lin Canghua lowered his palm, eyes locking onto the creature before him. The faint golden glow of his defensive talisman flickered once, then faded completely, leaving only the steady rhythm of spiritual energy flowing around him.
> "A lightning beast… how did something like that get here?" he murmured. "I didn't even sense it when it was so close. And it… doesn't look ordinary — what kind of beast is it? I've never seen a creature like this before—"
The lizard growled softly, wings trembling as arcs of electricity danced between them.
> "That barrier was stronger than I thought," it thought grimly, golden eyes narrowing. "And he reacted too quickly. His awareness is sharp — I didn't even land a strike. If I want to wound him, I'll need to destroy that barrier first."
Lightning burst outward from the lizard's body, flooding the air with flickering blue-white light. The tiles beneath it cracked and steamed.
Lin Canghua's expression didn't change. His hand lifted slightly, fingers forming a seal — not hurried, but precise.
> "You think speed alone can close the gap between realms?"
The air rippled. Spiritual lines formed around him, golden threads of qi weaving into a circular pattern beneath his feet.
A formation.
Not drawn, but created directly through qi control.
The lizard darted forward again, faster than before — a streak of lightning that tore through the courtyard like a phantom spear.
Boom—!
The two forces met. Lightning exploded against golden light, scattering arcs that carved scars into the stone. The impact rippled through the night, sending waves of heat and dust outward.
For a heartbeat, everything froze — energy locked against energy.
Then the lizard broke through.
A flash — silver eyes widened slightly — and Lin Canghua's left shoulder burned with the faint scent of ozone. The lizard had grazed him, its tail drawing a line of blood.
The beast hovered again, golden eyes gleaming with predatory focus.
> "Got it."
But as the words formed in its mind, a pulse of killing intent surged back toward it — cold and precise.
Lin Canghua raised his hand. The air thickened. Spiritual pressure crashed down like a mountain.
> "Impressive for an early-stage beast," he said quietly. "But you've overstepped."
Symbols flared again around his form — this time larger, sharper. The ground beneath him cracked.
The lizard's body tensed, lightning flaring violently in resistance.
For a brief moment, power met power — lightning and light colliding in a storm that swallowed sound.
When the energy cleared, both figures remained standing.
The lizard's breathing was shallow, wings spread. Lin Canghua's robes were torn along one shoulder, faint scorch marks tracing his sleeve — but his gaze was steady, unreadable.
Then, unexpectedly, a small, almost amused smile touched the cultivator's lips.
> "You're not attacking randomly," he said. "You're calculating my barrier's activation rhythm and trying to figure a way through it."
> It's an intelligent beast, he thought. To think it's already finding a way to bypass my defense from just our short clash… but too bad — no matter how much it tries, it wouldn't be able to pass through the barrier.
His eyes narrowed as he stared.
For a moment, neither moved.
Only the faint hum of residual energy filled the courtyard — gold and blue light fading into the ruins of stone and dust.
The lizard hovered low, its breathing ragged but its eyes sharp, focused. Every flicker of lightning across its body matched the pulse of Lin Canghua's qi — tracking, measuring, waiting.
Lin Canghua exhaled slowly, the faintest trace of steam curling from his lips. His right hand lowered, but his left remained raised — not in defense, but poised, fingers half-curled in a waiting seal.
> "You learn quickly," he said. "That's dangerous."
The lizard's tail flicked once.
Lightning hissed faintly across the air in response.
> "That barrier… it's different from the others," it thought coldly. "It's not only strong, but it only appears when my attack is about to strike. If I want to kill him, I need to get past that barrier."
Its wings flared, arcs of energy snapping outward — then folded sharply as the beast vanished again, dissolving into streaks of light.
Lin Canghua's eyes narrowed, the silver glow within them sharpening.
His spiritual perception spread out like a web — threads of qi extending in all directions, brushing against stone, air, and silence.
For a heartbeat, he felt nothing.
Then —
A tremor.
A spark above and behind him.
> There.
His hand moved before thought — a flick of his fingers, a twist of qi — and a sphere of light exploded behind him.
But the lizard wasn't there.
The blast struck only air.
A whisper of thunder came from his left — too close — and his sleeve tore as a claw grazed his arm. The blow was light, but it carried pure voltage. His body numbed for half a breath.
Lin Canghua turned, palm sweeping across the air. A ripple of energy lashed out like a shockwave, but the lizard had already vanished, darting between the fragments of rubble.
Its attacks came faster now — each strike testing a new angle, a new rhythm.
Each one came closer.
Lin Canghua's eyes gleamed with faint, analytical amusement even as he parried the invisible strikes with bursts of controlled qi.
> "So this is how you hunt," he murmured. "Studying every movement — launching lightning-quick strikes."
> "Hmm," the lizard thought, voice laced with focus. "What's this… the covering is no longer there. It's reached its limit — disappearing, unable to hold. If so, then this is my chance. I'll launch a powerful attack!"
It reappeared above him in a blur, wings snapping open — horns trembling, unstable, pure.
Lin Canghua's expression changed for the first time. His pupils dilated.
> "That's—"
The lizard dove.
The blast hit like a collapsing sky.
Lightning poured downward in a single, concentrated beam, vaporizing the air between them. The impact shattered the stone beneath Lin Canghua, swallowing the courtyard in a sphere of light.
For a long moment, there was only sound — the roar of thunder echoing through the night.
Then silence.
Smoke drifted. Dust settled. The courtyard was nothing but glassed stone and molten air.
The lizard hovered above the devastation, body trembling, breath shallow. Its scales dimmed, faint cracks of energy still crawling across them.
> "That most—" it started.
A voice cut through the smoke, calm and level.
> "Not bad."
The smoke parted.
Lin Canghua stepped forward, the edges of his robes scorched, his right arm faintly bleeding. The air shimmered around him — a thin golden aura still flickering like embers of a dying flame.
> "That was a real attack," he said softly, eyes glinting silver. "I almost forgot what that feels like."
His gaze lifted toward the hovering lizard — and the faint smile returned.
> "You're stronger than your rank suggests. Which means…"
He lifted his palm once more, qi gathering like the breath before a storm.
> "You're not the only one hiding something."