"Brother, be careful. This monster may be disgusting, but its strength is truly beyond question—though it may not be as strong as a true Dragon Emperor," Lu Mingze warned in Lu Mingfei's mind.
Lu Mingfei nodded with a grave expression, making no unnecessary movements. The moment he clasped his hands and drew his fingers together, two swords emerged from the Void and were gripped tightly in his hands.
One was Futsu-no-Mitama, heavy as a mountain, dark lightning flowing along its blade; the other was Ame-no-Habakiri, light as a feather, its edge almost transparent, as though it had been honed from moonlight.
Pingyangzi flapped his wings and charged in. The two pairs of Crow-like wings suddenly folded, and his whole body became a pitch-black meteor trailing a long afterimage as he swung his sword down. The ancient bronze sword let out a piercing shriek through the air, as if something were crying.
Lu Mingfei did not retreat. He raised the heavy sword Futsu-no-Mitama and met the attack head-on.
The clear ring of clashing blades exploded like two bells being struck at once, reverberating through the embrace of the iceberg. In a single instant, they exchanged dozens of blows. Sparks scattered, sword shadows intertwined, and the two of them launched a frenzied assault above that dark-red shallow lake, moving so fast that even their afterimages could not fade in time.
The dragon body below Pingyangzi's waist, comparable to Sansun's, granted him terrifying strength. Every slash was like a mountain pressing down. Yet Lu Mingfei realized that he could withstand it.
After trading away the last quarter of his life, he was actually not at a disadvantage in raw strength even while in human form.
The two briefly separated, staring warily at one another across the churning bloody water.
"Lu Mingfei." Pingyangzi's voice