"Zhang Ergou, is this your reliance?"
Liu Feiyang faced Zhang Ergou's thrusting spear and did not dodge. Instead, he swung his broadsword directly at the iron spear.
Fierce blade energy swept through the air, engulfing Zhang Ergou. The iron spear in Zhang Ergou's hand hummed, as if unable to withstand the onslaught of the violent blade energy.
"Die, Zhang Ergou!"
Thoroughly annoyed by Zhang Ergou's incessant chatter, Liu Feiyang was enraged. He swung his saber again and again, furiously hacking at Zhang Ergou.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou's expression became more serious, no longer displaying his previous composure. He had underestimated Liu Feiyang's strength.
Although Liu Feiyang's cultivation appeared to be at the early Golden Core stage, there was a distinct difference compared to the others before him.
From his tight, unyielding assault, Zhang Ergou could discern that despite being attacked for so long, he had not found any openings in Liu Feiyang's offense.
Zhang Ergou unconsciously began to grow impatient. The rampant spiritual energy and blade energy mixed in the air disturbed his composure.
"Brat, you were so talkative earlier, why are you silent now?"
Liu Feiyang sneered. In the initial phase, he had indeed been irritated by Zhang Ergou's continuous nagging, but after gaining the upper hand, his mood had improved significantly.
Hearing Liu Feiyang's taunt, Zhang Ergou paid no heed.
He had no time for banter with Liu Feiyang. Although Liu Feiyang only wielded a broadsword and his moves were simple slashes and chops, he was far more difficult to deal with than the dozen or so people before him.
"The Great Dao is simple," he thought. This must be what it refers to. Every move Liu Feiyang made was a swing of his broadsword, either chopping or slashing, but the accompanying ferocious spiritual energy and blade energy kept Zhang Ergou struggling to cope.
Clang!
Finally, the iron spear in Zhang Ergou's hand was struck by a blade energy and fell to the ground.
Zhang Ergou himself was also pushed back several steps by the recoil before he could steady himself.
His robes were cut into shreds by the blade energy.
"Haha, Zhang Ergou, now that you have no weapon, how will you fight me!"
Liu Feiyang roared with laughter. Seeing that Zhang Ergou's iron spear had been knocked away, his smugness grew.
"Heh heh, is that so?" A mysterious smile flashed across Zhang Ergou's face. Before Liu Feiyang could react, Zhang Ergou's figure vanished.
Liu Feiyang rubbed his eyes, disbelieving what he saw.
While shocked, he also became vigilant. Zhang Ergou had disappeared and would surely attempt to ambush him.
Although he wielded a broadsword, Liu Feiyang's stealth skills were formidable. What surprised him was that Zhang Ergou possessed similar, or even superior, stealth abilities.
What terrified him even more was that he had not detected Zhang Ergou's trace since his disappearance. It was terrifying.
If Zhang Ergou were to sneak up on him now, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Zhang Ergou's earlier banter with Liu Feiyang had been a ploy. The moment his soul left his body, he had noticed the hidden Liu Feiyang.
This skill did not consume spiritual energy, so Zhang Ergou felt no fluctuations. Wasn't this a perfect opportunity to practice? Zhang Ergou had been lamenting the lack of a skill that could evade enemy detection.
Liu Feiyang had conveniently presented himself. His verbal sparring with Liu Feiyang had not been aimless; it was to buy time.
Through the monstrous replication ability of his Six Paths Reincarnation Eyes, Liu Feiyang's technique, named Turtle Concealment Art, had naturally been copied.
Then, under the slow-motion playback of the Great Wheel of Time, Zhang Ergou, while evading Liu Feiyang's attacks, had deciphered the Turtle Concealment Art.
The moment the Ghost Spear Tianwen was knocked away, the Turtle Concealment Art was completely refined by the Great Wheel of Time, and Zhang Ergou had naturally mastered its methods and techniques.
Trying it out according to the methods evolved by the Great Wheel of Time, Zhang Ergou vanished from his original spot into thin air, imperceptible to Liu Feiyang.
"How did Zhang Ergou disappear?"
Not only Liu Feiyang, who was fighting him, but also the disciples watching from below noticed the anomaly.
As the ferocious blade energy dissipated, the crowd did not see Zhang Ergou's figure.
"Could he have been turned to ashes by Senior Brother Liu Feiyang's strike?"
Someone voiced a thought they themselves didn't believe.
"What are you talking about? If Liu Feiyang had such ability, why would he still be fighting Zhang Ergou for so long?"
Zhang Ergou's sudden disappearance had caught not only Liu Feiyang off guard but also greatly astonished the observing disciples.
The experts on the inner disciple rankings, hidden in the shadows, also failed to detect Zhang Ergou's whereabouts, each filled with surprise.
"We've never heard of Zhang Ergou cultivating any stealth techniques!"
Experts, being more discerning than ordinary inner disciples, saw the issue more clearly.
"Yes, but doesn't Liu Feiyang have a very powerful stealth technique? Wasn't that how he ascended earlier?"
A disciple seemed to have guessed something!
"Are you saying Zhang Ergou stole it? How is that possible?"
The hidden experts on the inner disciple rankings instantly dismissed this possibility.
If Zhang Ergou possessed such monstrous abilities, he would have used them earlier, not waited this long.
Moreover, even if one could steal others' techniques, they would still need to cultivate to master their essence.
If they could use them immediately, why bother cultivating? They would just steal others' cultivation methods.
Unbeknownst to them, Zhang Ergou had already learned the ultimate moves of the experts on the inner disciple rankings who had fought him previously.
However, those techniques required spiritual energy, which Zhang Ergou naturally could not use. Chi Yu had warned him not to use spiritual energy until the appointed time.
Liu Feiyang's Turtle Concealment Art, however, was different. It consumed no spiritual energy and maximized the concealment of one's aura and body.
Zhang Ergou naturally chose to learn it immediately and used it as soon as he did.
Coincidentally, it was at the moment Liu Feiyang unleashed a ferocious blade energy. Under the cover of the blade energy, Zhang Ergou vanished.
"Zhang Ergou, come out, stop playing tricks. I've found you!"
Slicing another blow towards his side, Liu Feiyang roared.
He was panicking. The unknown was the most terrifying. Zhang Ergou's sudden disappearance had thrown him into a state of anxiety.
His broadsword swung wildly, devoid of any pattern, revealing numerous openings. As an expert in stealth, Liu Feiyang could not locate Zhang Ergou's trace.
This indicated that Zhang Ergou's stealth abilities had already surpassed his own. No wonder Zhang Ergou had detected him before he had even fully raised his saber earlier.
Thinking this, a cold sweat trickled down Liu Feiyang's forehead. He felt he had grasped the truth and a nameless dread washed over him.
If his suspicions were correct, had Zhang Ergou been toying with him all along?
The thought of this possibility caused more sweat to stream down Liu Feiyang's face.
"Senior Brother Liu, are you looking for me?"
A faint voice sounded by Liu Feiyang's ear...