The Endless Promise

121. Beneath The Cloak

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Two Friends turned Enemies faced each other in a mighty clash.

Luoyin could feel it...

Fei Yun had poured his aura and will into this strike, the sword simply a metaphor for who bore the strongest will.

So Luoyin responded in kind.

"I think you forgot as well!" He countered, darting to meet Fei Yun's swing. "My sword is crafted from the eldest dragon scales!"

BOOM!

The swords met, crystal against scale, and the clash split the heavens, light drowning the night sky and rending apart the drifting clouds.

For the first time, fear flickered in Fei Yun's eyes.

Cracks crept along his crystal wings, bleeding shards of green radiance, and his sword shattered like a broken glaze.

"Impossible!" His eyes narrowed. "A mortal body should not be able to endure such an impact!"

Enraged, his fingers blurred into a series of seals.

"Heaven-Piercing Verdant Owl!"

The sound of shattering jade filled the air as his cracked feathers tore free, clinking as they merged mid-air into a vast crystal owl. The Owl's shrill cry pierced the night, and with wings like blades, it dove straight for at Luoyin.

Luoyin's entire body trembled from the earlier clash, and he could feel himself losing strength, blood burning through his meridians.

Yet he never faltered as his sword dissolved into light, and his hands formed a final seal.

"Appear! Azure Dragon- Second Form!"

He pushed both palms forward, and water roared, swirling around him and surging upwards into a colossal dragon gleaming with azure scales, its eyes blazing with sea-blue light.

The dragon's roar shattered the night- its waves rising like mountains as it hurled itself at Fei Yun's crystal owl.

The owl screeched and its wings beat with desperate fury, as the wind lashed about like thousands of blades, but the dragon's force was unstoppable, and its wave engulfed both the owl and Fei Yun, slamming them into the ground with earth-shattering force.

The near-endless wave of the dragon's water crashed into them, filling the entire space within the golden bell, and by the time the waters finally dispersed, Fei Yun was on one knee, completely drained of qi.

His breath was ragged, and he vomited blood in large gushes.

The crystal owl had vanished, taking his wings with it, and even his mount, the eagle had disappeared- nearly drowned, and severely wounded by Yinying.

Luoyin hovered above, not much better off physically, but his glared at Fei Yun, barely noticing the golden bell vanish.

Yinying appeared beside him, back to the size of a regular tiger.

~"Xiaobai, are you okay?"~ He asked with some worry, and Luoyin gave an imperceptible nod.

~"Find Yanyan!"~ He replied, and Yinying vanished.

"You mentioned 'forgiveness'..." Luoyin began, still glaring at Fei Yun. "I also don't know if I can ever forgive you. After all it was directly by your hands that I was sealed beneath Caoyang, and I would still be there, if you had your way..."

"You deserved it!" Fei Yun spat. "You will never understand the loss and grief I swallowed these thirty thousand years!" He fisted his hands.

"Oh? You think I didn't know 'grief'?!" Luoyin raged. "Did you forget...? I also lost Weiwei, without the slimmest chance of reincarnation...