Dragon Communion Mark

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

Boom—

Centered on where he landed, a violent blast of air erupted outward in a ring.

Shattered stones and dust were swept up by the hurricane and flung outward, forming a two-meter-wide domain.

It was not a simple shockwave, but an exquisite combat technique that transformed his essence into the power of storms through a specific stance—the purest evolution of Storm Law, and the technique Lu Mingfei had found most useful since mastering Storm.

The Spirit Knight's shield-raising motion was interrupted by the hurricane. Its illusory form visibly swayed, and its entire body involuntarily tilted backward, leaving it rigid for several seconds.

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

Yet, to his surprise, there was neither a wound nor spraying blood after the blow, and the knight showed no sign of weakening.

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief, blurting out a curse.

"Are you kidding me, man? Did you lock your health bar...?"

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

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

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

Then—

Whoosh!

Scorching Dragonfire burst from the mark, instantly raising the temperature of the formerly frigid tomb chamber.

The attack caught him off guard. Lu Mingfei ultimately failed to get entirely out of range, and with no other choice, he rolled to the side to evade it. His posture was embarrassing, but at least he was not roasted into a metal can.

The Spirit Knight's assault did not stop. The illusory Dragon Communion Mark remained in midair. After the knight slashed upward with an Arrow Step, it spewed Dragonfire again!

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! How can you use Dragonfire twice? Even Agheel can't spit fire as well as you, senior!"

Backed into a corner with nowhere to evade, Lu Mingfei suddenly had an idea in his desperation.

He gritted his teeth and decided to gamble. Treating a dead horse like a living one, he gripped his greatsword with both hands and swung it, gathering the storm—

Boom!

The hurricane and Dragonfire collided in midair. The power of the storm forcibly split the flames and diverted them to either side, cleaving through the heatwave like a sword.

But it did not come without a price.

In gaming terms, Lu Mingfei's mana bar was nearly more than half depleted.

"Take this!"

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

If it had been an ordinary monster, its head would already have been separated from its body. But the knight was, after all, a spirit.

Its white body swayed, then it regained its footing and slashed at Lu Mingfei again.

"Come on, man, that still didn't kill you?"

Lu Mingfei shouted in despair, his voice carrying a trace of disbelief.

At that moment, Lu Mingfei was in an extremely disadvantageous position:

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

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

Under these circumstances, he had no choice but to change tactics and adopt a more conservative style, fighting while retreating.

This approach made him feel incredibly stifled. The tactical style taught by the old knight had actually been extremely aggressive: use the power of storms to disrupt the enemy's footing, then seize the chance to attack first.

The old knight himself had never used a shield, and Lu Mingfei had naturally inherited that tradition. He had never practiced defensive counterattack techniques.

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

He nearly despaired, thinking his fate had run out and that he would have to run through that damned tomb passage all over again—

Then the Spirit Knight suddenly froze. Its tall white body swayed before crashing to the ground.

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

Lu Mingfei could no longer hold himself up. Leaning on his greatsword, he dropped to one knee and gasped for air.

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..."

After resting for quite a while, Lu Mingfei barely managed to stand. Dragging his exhausted body, he walked toward the red mark.

When he looked at the item left behind after the knight had dispersed, those familiar, strange words surfaced in his mind once more:

"A Dragonblood Illusory Mark made in reference to the Dragon Communion Emblem.

It can strengthen Dragon Communion incantations.

Offer, devour hearts, gain power—

Calling the act of performing Dragon Communion an incantation is rather too barbaric. This mark can also increase incantation power through Faith."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, and the motion tugged 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 fell upon the word "barbaric," and he could not help grinning. "Performing Dragon Communion is too barbaric?

"Man, you've never been to my world. We've got a whole bunch of warmongers and violent freaks called Mixed-Bloods, and they've always thought of themselves as noble..."

He stretched out a hand and cautiously touched the red mark.

The moment his fingertip made contact, the illusory mark suddenly seemed to come alive. It slowly floated toward his palm before branding itself onto it, becoming a permanent mark.

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

This strange sensation differed from the permanent strengthening provided by Runes. It felt more like a boost. He could not help closing his eyes and carefully savoring the growth of his power.

Having achieved the goal of this trip, Lu Mingfei raised 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 called out to the empty tomb chamber.

"Thanks, senior! I'll treat you to a drink someday. Though I have no idea whether people in the Lands Between drink alcohol... Forget it."

After hesitating for a moment, he changed his mind and solemnly returned his greatsword to its sheath.

Then Lu Mingfei dropped to one knee, placed his right hand over his chest, and performed a standard Storm Knight salute, offering his most sincere respect to this comrade who had already dispersed.

Then Lu Mingfei stood up, only for the roar of a chariot to come from the end of the passage once again.

Lu Mingfei stared wordlessly at that lingering dump truck.

"Should I just die and go back?"

He thought bitterly.