Solidification

Alistein coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was certain Blaze was standing at a far enough distance for him to react before the blow. Not only that, he'd expected Blaze's power level, her Incipient Stage empowered with 100% of her Hyper Surge, to be at the second stage at most. He was wrong.

'This burst of speed…Perspicacious Breathing Art?! How is she this fast at the Incipient Stage?' Alistein quickly grabbed onto Blaze's attacking arm and twisted, returning a mean blow of his own.

But unfortunately for him, his fist struck nothing but a melting afterimage of his opponent, who had already gone below and wrapped her legs tight around Alistein's torso. She took hold of the wrist of the arm holding her forearm and reversed control. In a swift more, she spun around him and mounted his back, pulling him into a vicious headlock. Specifically, a rear naked choke.

"It's not just the Perspicacious Breathing Art, amateur. It's one of the foundations of Dragon Slayer Fist that you simply cannot mimic. I told you, don't underestimate a genius martial artist," Blaze hissed into his ears as she tightened her hold around his neck with her forearm, strangling him. "This. Is. Liquefication."

Alistein's eyes shot open with fear. He had placed Blaze in his mind elsewhere, his main goal to execute his father. Only that turned out to be his biggest mistake, therefore landing himself in his current situation. There was no way he would be able to beat Blaze if was not going to take her seriously.

And so, Alistein made up his mind. He seized Blaze's arm that was around his neck, prying it away with brute force. "Hm. That…was a fluke. I simply didn't know you could use the cultivation art you chose right away," he said. "Don't worry. It won't happen again." He tossed her off his back and into the air.

Blaze backflipped and landed back in front of Alistein.

'I executed Berserker's Jab perfectly, yet…it had little to no effect on him. This is the same power that overpowered and nearly killed me. I can't let it happen again. I need more strength.' Blaze circulated the Draconic Energy inside her body and manipulated it to discharge the balance dragon power according to her will, using the Fervent Concentration Emission Art to maneuver around Alistein.

'Impressive! You've performed two cultivation arts almost flawlessly,' Azurion said. 'Fervent Concentration Emission Art is a good way to close the wide gap in overall strength, but don't forget, it will divide your attention from your fight due to having to circulate Draconic Energy and manipulating the discharge process in your dragon circuit. It will drain your mental strength.'

'I appreciate the guidance. I'll finish him as fast as I can.' Blaze circled Alistein with her newly found dragon power, boosted with the elixir and her peak human strength thanks to Hyper Surge, leaving circles of afterimages.

It was at this moment that the Warchiefs have finally arrived to help, having had to take a while to cover the distance Blaze did in a flash. But it seemed they would only get in the way if they tried to butt into the battle ensuing before them.

'I can hardly see Blaze. I thought she was fast when I tried to catch up with her earlier, but this speed far exceeds the one before. What the hell is happening?' Bolt shivered in both astonishment and frustration. The Warchief who thought he'd became the strongest person in Lunargard after Batarak's passing found himself chasing after the shadow of another Estereon. The other Warchiefs shared similar thoughts.

'As expected of Batarak's only daughter. She chose the Profound Amalgamation Art out of her greed.' Alistein pushed his glasses upwards, unsurprised of Blaze's inhuman speed. Of course, it was something he could perceive with his extraordinary senses, but compared to the sudden burst of speed done with the Perspicacious Breathing Art, Blaze's current speed was slow.

"But you're not the only one who can do that." Alistein did the same, circulating the energy in his Dragon Circuit and manipulating the discharge process. If there was something he could depend on of himself, it would be his mental fortitude, perfect for the cultivation art he chose.

Alistein's form vanished from Blaze's sight before rematerializing right in front of her, fist raised.

Boom-!!

Blaze hit the ground from his punch, and the system's screen appeared in her blurry vision, partnered with the system's mechanical voice.

[Health is reduced to 95%]

Alistein's eyes narrowed in confusion from the damage she received from the blow. Was he expecting too much, or was he underestimating Blaze's toughness? Certainly, something was off.

'Solidification?' he wondered. 'It must be that. She used Solidification on top of the Elite Body Tempering Art to minimize the damage at the last second knowing she couldn't evade using Liquefication.' Alistein clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew Liquefication and Solidification were the foundation of the Dragon Slayer Fist that required extreme training to master, exponentially intensifying the capabilities of the practitioner.

The Elite Body Tempering Art was what paved the way to improving the Dragon Channels and Dragon Paths, binding them closer to the bones, which resulted in remarkable toughness. If improved enough, the dragon's nigh-indestructible bones were no longer a dream for the Elite Body Tempering Art user.

Blaze wiped the blood off her nose and stood back on the ground, wearing a fierce look on her face. 'What a sloppy Berserker's Jab. He should be grateful that his dragon power is more advanced than mine. If not, I would destroy that imperfect Dragon Slayer Fist of his.'

'You should not worry about his sloppy techniques while you have yours. Your strikes are not powerful either. You are relying too much on your fighting techniques without using my power. Your technique and my power should merge together, not fight each other,' Azurion badgered. 'Not only that, you are receiving more and more power the more you take damage because of my unique dragon ability, without having the chance to get used to your current power. If you truly want to win, you must make my power your own.'

Blaze let out a light chuckle. 'I'll take note of that.'

It's been so long since she'd ever had someone teach her how to fight in order to become more powerful. Since her father and brother's passing, there was no one she could spar with and no one to tell her of her weaknesses. Even Winter left her, though what they did most of the time was a different kind of sparring.

Still, there were so many times she missed them so much she wanted to cry.