Dragon Communion Mark

Lu Mingfei suddenly raised his foot and stomped down hard, his combat boot smashing into the ground with a dull impact.

Boom—

Centered on where he landed, a violent current of air exploded outward in a ring.

Shattered stones and dust were swept up by the hurricane and flung outward, forming a domain two meters across.

This was no simple shockwave, but an exquisite combat technique that transformed essence into the power of a storm through a specific stance—the purest evolution of Storm Law, and the most useful technique Lu Mingfei had found since mastering the storm.

The Spirit Knight's shield-raising motion was interrupted by the hurricane. Its illusory body visibly swayed, and its entire form involuntarily leaned backward, falling into several seconds of stiffness.

Lu Mingfei swiftly spun and drew his sword, bringing down a vicious heavy slash across the Spirit Knight's waist.

Yet unexpectedly, there was neither a wound nor a spray of blood after the strike, and the knight showed no signs of weakening.

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened as he stared at the scene in disbelief, then blurted out a curse.

"No way, bro, did you turn on invincibility..."

Before Lu Mingfei could finish speaking, the knight had already adjusted its stance. It raised an arm and held its longsword horizontally, assuming a strange posture.

Though Lu Mingfei had no idea what kind of move this was, he instinctively sensed danger. Out of caution, he retreated several steps in succession, quickly widening the distance.

An illusory mark formed from the power of Dragon Communion appeared before the knight. It glowed dark red and resembled a twisted rune.

Then—

Whoosh!

Scorching dragonfire surged out of the mark, instantly raising the temperature in the originally cold tomb chamber.

The attack caught him off guard. Lu Mingfei ultimately failed to put enough distance between them, so he could only roll to the side to evade it. His posture was miserable, but at least he had not been roasted into a tin can.

The Spirit Knight's assault did not cease. The illusory Dragon Communion Mark still hung in midair, and after the knight stepped forward and slashed upward, it unleashed dragonfire once more!

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! How can you breathe dragonfire twice?! Even Agheel isn't as good at spitting fire as you are, senior!"

Driven into a corner, Lu Mingfei had nowhere left to dodge. In his desperation, a flash of inspiration struck him.

He gritted his teeth and decided to gamble. With the mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, he gripped his greatsword with both hands and swung it, gathering the storm—

Boom!

The hurricane collided with the dragonfire in midair. The storm's force forcibly split the flames and diverted them to either side, slicing through the heatwave like a blade.

But that did not come without a price.

In gaming terms, nearly half of Lu Mingfei's mana had been drained.

"Take this!"

Lu Mingfei forced his battered body onward and pressed his advantage. Using what little essence he had left, he launched the second follow-up strike of Stormcaller, and the storm-wreathed blade swept across the knight's neck.

Had it been an ordinary monster, its head and body would have been separated by now. But the knight was, after all, a spirit.

Its white body swayed, then it rallied and slashed at Lu Mingfei again.

"No way, bro, you're still not dead after that?"

Lu Mingfei cried out in despair, his voice filled with disbelief.

Lu Mingfei was now in an extremely unfavorable position:

The essence within him had been exhausted, and he himself was covered in wounds from fighting the knight.

Worse still, his Flask had already been completely used up while exploring the area!

Under such circumstances, he had no choice but to change tactics, adopting a relatively conservative style as he fought and retreated.

This made him feel incredibly stifled. The tactical style the old knight had taught him was actually extremely aggressive: use the power of the storm to throw the enemy off balance, then seize the opportunity to strike first.

The old knight himself had never used a shield, and Lu Mingfei had naturally followed in his footsteps. He had never practiced defensive counterattacking techniques.

At that critical moment, Lu Mingfei swung his sword again, only for the knight's shield to firmly block it.

He had almost despaired, believing his fate had run out and that he would have to make his way through that damned tomb passage all over again when—

The Spirit Knight suddenly froze. Its tall white body swayed, then crashed to the ground.

Under Lu Mingfei's astonished gaze, the knight's body gradually turned to ash and scattered on the wind, finally vanishing without a trace. Only a red illusory mark remained where it had stood.

Lu Mingfei could no longer hold himself up. Bracing himself on his greatsword, he dropped to one knee and panted heavily.

Sweat mixed with blood dripped from his chin and splashed across the stone floor like dark red flowers.

"Ha... ha... That was practically on par with fighting Agheel... No, fighting Agheel didn't require running such a long way..."

Only after resting for quite a while did Lu Mingfei barely manage to stand. Dragging his exhausted body, he walked toward the red mark.

When he looked at the item left behind by the dissipated knight, those familiar, strange words surfaced in his mind once again:

"Dragonblood Illusory Mark made in imitation of the Dragon Communion Emblem.

Strengthens Dragon Communion incantations.

Offer, devour hearts, and gain power—

To call the act of Dragon Communion an incantation is far too barbaric. This mark can also enhance incantation power through faith."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, but the motion pulled at the wound on his shoulder, making him bare his teeth in pain.

"So this is the Dragon Communion Mark the old man mentioned?"

He muttered to himself. Then his attention settled on the word "barbaric," and he could not help but grin. "The act of Dragon Communion is too barbaric?

"Bro, that's because you've never been to my world. We've got a whole bunch of warmongers and violent lunatics called Mixed-Bloods, and they always think they're noble..."

He reached out and carefully touched the red mark.

The instant his fingertips made contact, the illusory mark suddenly seemed to come alive. It slowly drifted toward his palm before finally branding itself there, becoming a permanent mark.

A warm current suddenly flowed through every limb and bone. The Dragon Communion Flame within him seemed to have found its home, burning more steadily and fiercely.

This wonderful sensation differed from the permanent enhancements of Runes. It was more like an amplification. He could not help closing his eyes and carefully sensing the growth of his power.

Now that he had achieved the purpose of this trip, Lu Mingfei lifted his greatsword and turned to leave.

But after taking only two steps, he stopped again, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

Lu Mingfei turned around and shouted into the empty tomb chamber.

"Thanks, senior! I'll buy you a drink someday. I wonder if people in the Lands Between drink alcohol? Ah, forget it..."

After hesitating for a moment, he changed his mind and solemnly sheathed his greatsword.

Then Lu Mingfei knelt on one knee, placed his right hand over his chest, and performed a standard Storm Knight's salute, offering his most sincere respect to this comrade who had already faded away.

Then Lu Mingfei stood up, only to hear the roar of a chariot coming from the end of the corridor again.

Lu Mingfei stared wordlessly at that damned dump truck that just would not go away.

"Should I just die and go back?"

He thought bitterly.