Under the influence of intense light and heat, no one could see the scene of that sword strike, but everyone clearly heard the sound of flesh and bone being cleaved, from top to bottom, the dark golden forehead bone, the complex brain, the cervical spine, the spinal column extending infinitely in a straight line, scales splitting, skin breaking, bones snapping, tendons tearing, and the tragic dragon roars were incessant, making people's brains tremble.
The Moniyahe's searchlight lost its target; the scorching fire element in front of it vanished, transforming into two sections of dragon corpse with smooth cuts that heavily crashed onto the river surface, stirring up boundless waves.
A single sword slayed the dragon.
Lu Mingfei slowly descended from mid-air, Arrogance falling towards the river surface; he lay on the sword, gasping for breath as if completely drained.
The dragon's body floated in the distance, thick dragon blood gushing out from the severed body, turning one river area after another into a forbidden zone of life. Dragon blood is highly poisonous; it was taught in the first lesson of the semester that any creature that comes into contact with dragon blood will undergo irreversible dragonification.
Before Arrogance's domain completely retracted into the sword body, they finally landed safely on the river surface. The ribbon diligently, like a diligent little servant, brought the scabbard to Lu Mingfei's hand.
Lu Mingfei chuckled, sitting up from the sword body. As far as he could see, the dragon's incision was flat and smooth; the entire spine was cut in half, even the nerves were severed, completely eliminating any possibility of regeneration.
Dragons are very difficult creatures to kill. Just as a gecko can regrow its tail, dragons can also be reborn from a cocoon. But no matter how hard they are to kill, they won't survive being cut in half like an earthworm.
Moreover, the weapon he used to slay the dragon was Arrogance. This sword would never allow itself to retract its domain before thoroughly slaying the enemy. Legend has it that enemies confronting Arrogance have only two choices: shatter the sword body or die by the sword.
The fire element on the river surface rapidly disappeared, and the world began to self-correct the twisted melody over this river area.
But water vapor still existed. Each time a fire ring condensed, it was no less than the chanting of a black sun. The river water here had long since boiled, and layers of steam obscured the sinking Next Generation Species and Lu Mingfei, who was sitting on the sword body recovering his strength.
From the moment he drew the sword, he realized that Arrogance's Alchemy domain seemed to be loaded with Runes from the King of Sky and Wind lineage. When it enveloped him, it could accelerate himself, and when expanded to an area, it would slow down time, switching between Instant and Time Zero. Now that he had landed, he could ignore physics, floating on the water like a small boat.
Lu Mingfei couldn't help but marvel at how magical Alchemy truly was.
Just then, another boy appeared on the sword body, very considerately using a wet cloth to wipe the bloodstains from Lu Mingfei's Dragon Bone mask, completely unconcerned about how unsettling the contorted mask was.
The moment he sat on the sword body, Arrogance faintly let out a whine, which was then quickly suppressed. The dragon blood that had been swirling around Lu Mingfei was dispersed, like dish soap falling onto water with a layer of oil floating on it; the dragon blood was repelled, completely curling up a meter away from the two brothers and no longer flowing in.
On the calm river surface, Lu Mingze spoke calmly. He reached out and dispersed the mist in front of him, softly murmuring, "The moon is beautiful tonight."
Lu Mingfei really wanted to add, "and the wind is gentle," but remembering how the wind, when he stood on the dragon's head just now, had blown his hair into a large pompadour, he decided against it. "Nonsense, where's the moon?"
With strong winds and heavy rain, the ink-colored clouds hid the moon behind them, leaving no room for imagination, not even a hint of a hidden beauty.
As Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, his body's Dragon Bone State began to slowly disappear, and the progress bar of his second Blood Rage state also receded little by little, finally leaving only the S-class physical quality after his Inspiration had been boosted.
The thick, dark dragon armor lost its luster. The high-toughness structure inside the scales had been completely shattered when he delivered that final sword strike. That Next Generation Species was right; not everyone can control Arrogance. Bloodline is one aspect, and physical quality is another.
"Arrogance is the most difficult weapon to control among the entire Seven Deadly Sins set. His name is just like his essence, so even with a second Blood Rage combined with Inspiration enhancement, you will get injured if you forcefully activate the final form," Lu Mingze said. "To use this set of swords as you wish, you need a tougher body, and a human body can hardly achieve that."
"Compared to that, I'm more curious about what you went to do." From the intuition gained from bickering with Fingel, Lu Mingze's entire speech made Lu Mingfei feel like Lu Mingze was about to recommend a 'selling his life' package to him, so he changed the subject.
"The Dragon King's Bone Vial is such a huge matter, one that affects everything. Why do you think no dragons intervened?" Lu Mingze smiled.
"Uh, the Dragon King's Non-Aggression Treaty?"
"Brother, you think too highly of the internal relations within the dragon race. Wars between kings have always been to the death... One day, we too will pick up our swords and fight them to the death!"
"I know, slaying dragons," Lu Mingfei nodded, then saw Lu Mingze pressing his hand on Arrogance's sword body, stroking it.
"Do you know which weapon is needed to kill the King of Bronze and Fire?" Lu Mingze hinted, the Seven Deadly Sins had been given to Zero by Lu Mingfei, so he couldn't demonstrate it physically now.
"Arrogance?" Lu Mingfei said.
"No," Lu Mingze shook his head, his gaze leaving the Han sword. After its ultimate form ended, it returned to its original 1.6-meter length. Although still majestic and imposing, it was much gentler than its nine-meter form just now.
"It's Wrath. Norton being hailed as a master of Alchemy doesn't mean he's an arrogant person; he's just prone to anger. Towards Alchemy, he has always been exceptionally humble. The saying 'the more you know, the less you know' is very true."
After he finished speaking, Arrogance let out another imperceptible whimper.
Lu Mingfei recalled the appearance of Wrath, an approximately 1.8-meter long horse-saber, fierce and sharp.
"Wrath represents Norton's highest Alchemy technique. If he were to start a war, the first thing he would wield would undoubtedly be Wrath. He cherishes this butcher's blade so much, and so he will ultimately die by this butcher's blade," Lu Mingze said eerily. "Do you remember when I mentioned one of the Seven Great Kingdoms of Alchemy, Causal Separation?"
"The Seven Great Kingdoms of Alchemy?" Lu Mingfei was slightly startled, and an answer suddenly came to him. He tilted his head to look at Lu Mingze. So this kid could not only read his mind but also transmit information into it?
"Elemental Replacement, Spiritual Remolding, Conceptual Armament, Time Reversal, Space Creation, Life Creation, Causal Separation—truly grand concepts."
"Norton alone has not mastered Causal Separation," Lu Mingze said. "As long as Gungnir is not destroyed, Causal Separation cannot be mastered by anyone other than Odin."
Lu Mingfei remembered this. "Oh, oh, I know. Odin is the King of Gods in Norse mythology, and Gungnir is his weapon, the Spear of Destiny."
Lu Mingze smiled. "Let's talk about him when we meet. For now, I need to collect user feedback. How did you feel about this 'Sin and Punishment', Brother?"