Hey guys, thanks for bearing with me in the slow releases. Can't say I've entirely been busy, nor can i say I've had all the time in the world to write. Feeling kinda isolated being in Montreal away from NYC, but hope to gain some inspiration for future stories from the experience!

Shiiiiiiiiiiii---

Lineir looked over his shoulder upon hearing a crackling noise and realized that particles of Qi were beginning to collect in the dragon's mouth!

"Breath attack? I wonder if the Midnight Armor can protect me from that?" His expression hastily changed and he immediately plummeted straight down trying to evade. Due to the gravity of the situation he simultaneously pumped as much Qi as he could into the Flame Qi Wings. The reason for this was twofold. One, it would give an extra burst of speed going down. Two, should he actually be hit, the opposing Flame Qi would be the best defense against an iced base attack! The two elements were almost entirely opposed to each other so they would have the most direct reaction, hence almost all of the Qi which Lineir would use would cancel out some of the dragon's breath. It was the most efficient route although he was not as naturally talented with the Fire Qi as he was with the elements of Lightning and Darkness.

KRAAAAAAAAANG!!

From the huge dragon's mouth, a pillar of ice formed which immediately froze everything between Lineir and the dragon. The speed of the attack was immense and he felt an intense chill encroach on his very soul. Flicking his fingers he exercised a relatively new technique-

"Condense!" He cried out and clenched his fist!

SWOOOOOSH

The disparate snowflakes swirled together right in the path of the ice beam!

Weng!

A strange attraction appeared and the snowflakes swirled together into a mass. This mass sucked into all the Ice Qi in the area and as the beam reached it suddenly it was disrupted and the direction turned just slightly!

Kra Kra Kra Kra!!

Lineir watched as the dragon's breath shot away a few meters to the side. By using the Laws of Attraction to form a special version of the Hematoma technique which Yu specialized in, he had ever slightly altered the trajectory of the ice breath attack! Though it was only a few degrees, the distance between them meant that the ice pillar missed by quite a distance!

"Graaar?"

The dragon cocked its head, as somehow, the annoying cultivator in front of it was not instantly frozen solid by its attack. It immediately grew even more enraged at the amount of energy expenditure it was consuming. Lineir seeing all this with his Divine Sense as well as his real eyes whenever he looked back groaned.

"It's even more angry now. Damnit I know those Baraz Clan bastards saw me. So much for being a party." He sighed in his heart as the dragon grew ever closer. He wasn't sure how much punishment the Midnight Armor could help him withstand at his level, but the sheer size of the dragon had him worried. Did he dare test the limits with such potentially...permanent consequences?

"Oh screw it...damnit you grouchy old lizard, you've earned this!" Lineir's voice grew cold as he suddenly stopped flying away. Instead he turned and faced the beast!

HONG!!!

The beast roared right in his face, and then charged forward with its gaping mouth wide open! It was absolutely sure that Lineir would die if he was swallowed!

Shuuu

The Midnight Armor condensed from black haze into its familiar phantomlike-shapeshifting armor form around Lineir's body. Instantly he felt his Qi expenditure increase, but his strength skyrocket! Concentrating all his rotating Qi into a huge vortex, he briefly, reluctantly, touched upon Madness and unleashed a strike!

ASURA STRIKE!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

At first the dragon was confused when it saw its prey turn back to face it it. Had its prey simply given up? It was complete idiocy to try to take on a dragon head on so the dragon didn't even consider that its head was also one of its most critical areas! In the moment before its gaping maw, covered in protective and offensive natural ice Qi, met Lineir's claw, it felt a twinge of regret as intense life threatening danger blossomed so close to it eyes!

"ARRRRRRRUUUU-" It's roar was cut off as its airflow was disrupted in the impact!

CRUUUUUNCH

Turning around Lineir gazed upon the two parts of flesh falling from the sky. One, much larger was the remains of the dragon's body. The other was the head, ripped clean off by a terribly long claw attack.

"Hehehe...with this armor...my Asura Strike can kill dragons with a single hit!" Lineir felt a great joy, some inner part of him felt vindicated at having slayed a dragon. Yu came to rain fire on his parade before he could enjoy for long,

"Lineir...that's only an Ice Wraithdrake, not a true dragon. As a bastard of the bloodline it has some resemblance but really none of the true power of a real dragon. And also...doesn't that move use up a lot of power? Combined with that armor of yours do you think you should be flying? Yu cautioned in his head.

"Yea...I did use a lot of Qi...OH!" Lineir, lightheaded realized that while he could handle one Asura Strike with his cultivation breakthroughs, maybe even more than one, with the Midnight Armor's propensity to suck up all his Qi, he was almost completely out! His Phoenix Flame Qi wings flickered and he dropped out of the sky slamming into the ice like a meteor!

Whooosh! Crack!

"Ouch! I hate being almost out of Qi....--shh" He yelped only to grow very quiet as a shadow passed by overhead. To a passerby, it might almost appear like a mole trying to burry itself in the soil. However, Lineir was very much a person, and no matter how strong he might be he stood out quite obviously against the ground after creating a crater...

HOOOONG!!!

HOOOOOOONG

The passing auras of two angry Drakewraiths circled overhead and Lineir felt them grow steadily closer.

"Oh sh** I used up everything trying out my last attack, I didn't think the other two would come!"