Zuo Tian naturally wouldn't let Zhang Ergou get close so easily.
Although he verbally dismissed Zhang Ergou, he still knew something about him.
He had heard that Zhang Ergou possessed an extremely terrifying close-combat skill, and if he got close, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Furthermore, Zuo Tian had quietly watched from afar yesterday as Zhang Ergou injured Li Xu with a single punch.
He had naturally observed that there was no staged performance between the two, and that Zhang Ergou's seemingly ordinary punch had possessed such immense power.
Zuo Tian certainly did not want Zhang Ergou to get close to him; it was an extremely dangerous prospect.
Zuo Tian had no desire to repeat Li Xu's fate. This Zhang Ergou was too strange and absolutely could not be judged by common sense.
As he retreated rapidly, Zuo Tian continuously swung his long whip, and waves of black smoke began to emanate from the whip's trail.
Clearly, this black smoke was no simple matter. Underestimating it would undoubtedly come at a heavy price.
Zhang Ergou was naturally extremely familiar with this black smoke. He also frequently used this type of technique, though unlike Zuo Tian, he couldn't emit it from his own weapon.
However, he had employed tactics involving black smoke countless times when tricking others. Thus, upon seeing the black smoke emanating from the whip strikes, Zhang Ergou became extremely cautious.
"Better safe than sorry," he thought. He could not afford to be careless at a time like this.
Zhang Ergou moved with incredible speed, but he did not approach the area shrouded in black smoke. Instead, he circled around from another direction.
"Hmph, brat, you think this is all I've got?"
Zuo Tian snorted coldly. Zhang Ergou instinctively felt something was wrong but couldn't immediately pinpoint the anomaly.
Ignoring it, Zhang Ergou continued his peculiar footwork, rapidly closing in on Zuo Tian.
"Hmph, brat, I was waiting for you!"
Zuo Tian sneered. Just as Zhang Ergou bypassed the black smoke and was about to get close, the situation took a sudden turn.
He fiercely lashed out with his long whip towards Zhang Ergou. The whip was crafted from special materials and was covered in barbs.
If Zhang Ergou chose to ignore it, he would inevitably be struck by the whip.
Zuo Tian's tactics were not limited to this single move. With his free left hand, he formed a hand seal, and a sharp wind blade struck towards Zhang Ergou from his right.
With the whip on his left and a wind blade from the right, Zhang Ergou could only evade by stepping into the area enveloped by the black smoke.
The sneer on Zuo Tian's face grew more pronounced. His cultivation technique leaned towards the dark element, giving him a somewhat sinister and terrifying appearance.
His fair complexion appeared even paler as he watched Zhang Ergou step by step into the trap he had set. Zuo Tian felt an overwhelming sense of triumph.
He could even envision Zhang Ergou's defeat at his hands.
"Is this all you've got? Differences in cultivation cannot be overcome by brute force."
Faced with this predicament, Zhang Ergou not only remained unfazed but continued to approach Zuo Tian with his peculiar footwork.
"Brat, you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin!" Seeing Zhang Ergou continue to charge forward recklessly, Zuo Tian's sneer intensified.
He increased the force of his whip strikes and formed hand seals with his left hand, sending wave after wave of wind blades towards Zhang Ergou.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed. Just as Zuo Tian had expected, his long whip struck Zhang Ergou's body.
However, to his surprise, Zhang Ergou seemed completely unharmed, appearing perfectly fine with no apparent reaction.
Only the barbs on the whip had torn through Zhang Ergou's robes, sending shreds of fabric fluttering down.
"How is this possible?" Zuo Tian's eyes widened in disbelief.
He knew the power of his whip strike. Even a cultivator in the early Golden Core stage would not dare to withstand it directly, yet Zhang Ergou had taken the hit and shown no reaction.
Almost simultaneously as the whip struck Zhang Ergou, the wind blades attacked from the right, shredding Zhang Ergou's robes into pieces.
To Zuo Tian's astonishment, Zhang Ergou remained unscathed, as if he had suffered no damage at all.
Zuo Tian was dumbfounded. How was he supposed to proceed?
His meticulously laid trap and attack had failed to injure Zhang Ergou in the slightest. Was this brat's body made of iron and steel?
The Red Jade armor that Zhang Ergou wore was not only capable of increasing load but also possessed terrifying defensive capabilities.
According to Red Jade, the armor was made from special materials and had been forged by the master artificer Eighty-One through ninety-nine trials. It could withstand a direct blow from a cultivator in the late Golden Core stage and still remain intact.
Therefore, Zhang Ergou dared to approach Zuo Tian without reservation, simply because he had this trump card.
Zuo Tian was, of course, unaware of this. Seeing two consecutive attacks land on Zhang Ergou without any effect, Zuo Tian was stunned!
In that moment of stunned silence, Zhang Ergou moved. This time, his speed was astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ergou delivered a powerful punch to the spiritual energy shield on Zuo Tian's chest.
As expected, by the time Zuo Tian reacted, it was too late. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string.
Pfft...
He spat out a mouthful of blood. Only then did Zuo Tian feel the true power of Zhang Ergou's punch. It was too late to regret it now.
Watching Zuo Tian fly backward, Zhang Ergou did not stop. Pushing his speed to the absolute limit, Zhang Ergou actually caught up to the retreating Zuo Tian.
Before Zuo Tian could land, Zhang Ergou, closely following him, delivered a fierce kick to Zuo Tian's abdomen.
Zuo Tian's backward momentum increased even further...
Pfft...
Zuo Tian continuously coughed up blood. Seeing Zhang Ergou approaching again, he panicked...
But how could Zhang Ergou let go of such a golden opportunity? He landed a heavy punch on Zuo Tian's chest.
Pfft...
Bang!
Dust billowed as Zuo Tian finally hit the ground, creating a deep crater in the hard arena floor.
"Unbelievable, simply unbelievable! Zuo Tian clearly has no power to fight back, yet why is Zhang Ergou still beating him?"
"You wouldn't know this, but Zuo Tian and Zhang Ergou had a falling out before Zhang Ergou even entered the inner sect!"
Below the arena, the surrounding crowd watched as Zhang Ergou relentlessly landed punches and kicks on Zuo Tian, murmuring amongst themselves.
In their memory, Zhang Ergou had not displayed such brutality when fighting Li Xu yesterday.
"What do you mean, did Zuo Tian provoke Zhang Ergou?"
A disciple who didn't know the details asked.
"You might not know this, but after Zhang Ergou won the outer sect competition, Zuo Tian, Zhuge Wen, and Jiang Tian issued a threat."
The disciple who knew the details paused, his words, laced with incitement, piqued the curiosity of a large number of disciples.
"What threat?"
"They declared that they would cripple Zhang Ergou during the Beast Forest trial."
"It is also rumored that during the Beast Forest trial, they abandoned their pursuit of other disciples and dozens of inner sect disciples specifically cornered Zhang Ergou alone."
"No wonder..."
Looking at Zuo Tian's tragic state, these onlookers seemed to have little sympathy left for him.