The flowing moves were nearly perfect, leaving Dongdong with no way to counter, forcing her to block with her claw blade.
"Clang!" The metallic sound echoed as the claw blade was effortlessly severed by the Tang Blade. The edge grazed Dongdongâs forearm, leaving a deep gash to the bone.
Lucifer capitalized, repeatedly slashing with the Tang Blade, relentlessly widening his gains until he skillfully pinpointed a fatal flaw, bringing the blade swiftly to her neck.
Dongdong was forced to grab the Tang Blade with both hands to block the deadly strike.
Lucifer didnât change his move, maintaining pressure with the blade.
"Crack, crack, crack..." Dongdongâs hands were continuously being sliced by the Tang Blade, her subdermal prosthetic armor already penetrated, the blade cutting into the cybernetic bones. Within seconds, it would sever her hands along with her neck.
Luciferâs eyes were filled with a gruesome light as he laughed arrogantly, "Even your master could only fight me to a draw... Ugh, ah!!!!!"
His speech was abruptly cut off by a scream.
Using her short stature to her advantage, Dongdong executed a dirty trick, stomping hard on Luciferâs toes.
Still reeling from the intense pain, Lucifer couldnât react before Dongdong launched herself again, aiming a powerful kick between his legs.
Lucifer had developed a mental inertia during the fight with Dongdong â as Shangguan Liâs disciple, her every move should have been as honorable as her masterâs.
But he forgot Dongdong came up from the streets, never a person of integrity.
This low-blow, combined with overclocked speed, left Lucifer utterly defenseless.
"Thud!!!" His âlittle Luciferâ suffered a brutal hit, veins popping across his forehead as escalating blood pressure tinted his face crimson like liver. Clutching his legs, he collapsed screaming.
This kick from Dongdong, imbued with immense force, had literally "exploded" Lucifer, his pants soaked in blood, body convulsing like a curled shrimp.
As Dongdong caught her breath, she coldly said, "If youâre gonna fight, just fight. So much talk."
She rushed forward, putting all her might into a kick aimed at Luciferâs head, intending to obliterate it.
At the critical moment, madness flashed in Luciferâs eyes.
An unexpected shift occurred.
Dongdong suddenly felt her vision turn blindingly white, unable to see anything, a wave of unprecedented heat and pressure crashing into her, sending her flying into the wall, spitting out blood.
With trembling hands guarding her face, she struggled to open her eyes, witnessing an astonishing scene between her fingers.
A radiant blaze coursed over Luciferâs body, his form undergoing some transformation.
From the wounds, dense black scales emerged on his skin, gradually covering his entire body, his pupils twisting into eerie vertical slits reflecting a ghostly glow.
Simultaneously, growth and deformation at his shoulder blades birthed large wings of black scales and membranes, erupting forth in a blood-splattering burst.
The black wings flapped, lifting Lucifer into the air, gazing down at Dongdong.
His face, also covered in black scales, was twisted into a beastly visage, his voice now distorted and hoarse: "This move, âDragon Transformation,â is not one my Blood Code rank should use."
"Forcing its use will irreversibly damage my genetic chain, shortening my lifespan."
"But you forced me to! Today, you will die!!!"
Luciferâs throat unleashed a series of hoarse, frenzied roars, faintly echoing the sound of a dragonâs howl.
Dragon Transformation, one of the ultimate abilities of the Dragon Flame Blood Code.
Carriers of the Dragon Flame Blood Code have dragon genes embedded within, granting them heat resistance and flame breath capabilities.
These alien genes remain dormant, only partially activating when abilities are used.
The stronger the ability, the higher the activation level.
Dragon Transformation entails full activation of these dragon genes, unleashing their complete power without reservation.
Being foreign, any form of activation impacts the native genes.
Only those with a sufficiently high Blood Code rank can withstand this backlash.
This ultimate ability, Dragon Transformation, typically requires at least a âBlazing Blood Low Tierâ to use without damage, even âOverlimitâ carriers are cautious.
Lucifer is merely at âCritical High Tierâ; forcibly using Dragon Transformation will, as he stated, inflict irreversible damage, burning his lifespan.
If there had been any cautious optimism before, now he is resolved to kill Dongdong at any cost.
"Roar!!!" With an ear-splitting dragonâs cry, Lucifer vanished in a flash of his wings, reappearing in front of Dongdong.
Impacted, Dongdong spat a stream of blood, tumbling away for over ten meters.
Half-kneeling, she held her hand over her mouth, coughing and gasping, blood continuously seeping from between her fingers.
Her internal prosthetic system issued warnings, reporting fractured ribs and bone fragments impaling her lungs.
Despite the vicious loss of stamina, Dongdong had to gulp for air, yet each breath wracked her with pain that even the pain suppression chip couldnât handle.
"Die!!!" Fully deranged, Luciferâs black-scaled face contorted, muscles rapidly swelling, unleashing his Blood Code Power to the extreme.
The power of Dragon Transformation dwarfed physical overclocking; even Dongdongâs highest level of overdrive was insignificant before it.
Lucifer wielded the Tang Blade, liberally brandishing beams of blade light. Dongdong couldnât evade, new wounds constantly tearing open, drenching her clothes in blood.
Situations worsened, the power disparity continually injuring Dongdong, severely impacting her prosthetic performance, causing the gap between them to widen into a one-sided crushing.
"Shingââ" The Tang Blade slashed across Dongdongâs torso, tearing away flesh, her internal prosthetic system interface awash in red alerts, issuing dense warnings.
"Ding!" Ultimately, the Tang Blade pierced through Dongdongâs defensive gap, embedding into her abdomen, pinning her to the wall.
Dongdongâs eyes grew distant, blood gurgling from her lips, she tried to grasp the Tang Blade to pull it out, but her vision had already faded to black.
In the end, her hands slid down the blade, pinned to the wall lifelessly.
...
Mo Xue Mansionâs Martial Arts Dojo.
The warriorsâ evening practice had nearly concluded; they wiped sweat with towels, some stretching, others on their phones.
Shangguan Xue stood alone in a corner, silently striking a wooden dummy, crisp collisions echoing.
Yet the slightly erratic rhythm suggested some preoccupation, her focus not on training.
A warrior scrolling through videos paused: "Whoa, Hellhoundâs headquarters got smashed."
The warriors gathered around at the news.
"Really? Lucifer has company backing, whoâs daring enough to attack his turf?"
"Whoever it is, challenging Hellhoundâs curtain call in this lifetime."
"Yuan Fang, whatâs your take?"
"Their downfall means nothing to me, Iâll grab a chair and watch."
The warrior with the phone turned on loudspeaker, a reporterâs urgent tone filling the room: "Viewers, weâre broadcasting from the perimeter of Hellhound Mansion. Itâs a scene of chaos! Bodies and critically injured are being carried out incessantly!"
"According to survivors, a mysterious figure under five feet tall launched a premeditated attack on the mansion, causing over fifty casualties! We... There! Camera, get that! Quick, quick, quick!"
The reporter suddenly spotted something, directing the camera, which soon zoomed in.
Through the shattered floor-to-ceiling windows, two figures engaged in a fierce battle in the mansion lobby, the fight utterly brutal.
Detached from it all, everyone enjoyed watching.
Until someone noticed something amiss: "Wait, isnât that the little martial sister?"
Among the combatants was a small girl; her familiar pink hair, though much shorter, was gradually recognized by the group: "No way, itâs Dongdong?!"
A warrior hurriedly turned back: "Master! Little martial sister, she..."
Suddenly realizing, Shangguan Li, previously striking the wooden dummy in the corner, had vanished. The dojoâs door stood open, wind and snow flooding in.