Chapter 225 - 212: Shadow Assassin

"A Shadow Barrier?" Shen Lang let out a laugh.

A Shadow Barrier of this level would be a huge problem for any other Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artist.

But for him, what kind of obstacle could it possibly be?

With his Silver Eyes of Truth, how could a mere Blinding Technique possibly fool him?

Even without the Silver Eyes of Truth, his expertise with Arrays would allow him to easily see through one of this caliber.

Shen Lang’s gaze swept casually ahead, and he spotted a shadow to his right, almost completely merged with the gray mist, rapidly approaching.

The shadow was incredibly faint; it would have been difficult to notice even without the Shadow Barrier.

Inside this Shadow Barrier, an ordinary Martial Artist would be completely unable to see clearly, nor would they sense anything unusual.

Even a typical Divine Thought would struggle to detect it!

However, in Shen Lang’s eyes, this was all just child’s play, completely lacking in technical skill.

’To have cultivated a Shadow-type Technique to this level at his age is quite remarkable...’

In the blink of an eye, that small patch of shadow reached Shen Lang’s feet!

’He’s actually pretty fast.’

A hint of surprise appeared in Shen Lang’s eyes. He pushed off with his feet and shot backward!

"SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!"

The shadow on the ground erupted upward as a dagger, glinting with cold light, slashed toward Shen Lang from below!

If Shen Lang hadn’t retreated so quickly, if he had been even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been sliced in two by that dagger!

"Die!"

Now visible, Ye Juexin’s daggers flew up and down, each strike aimed at one of Shen Lang’s vital points!

On the battle stage, shrouded in gray mist, two streaks of cold light could be seen darting about like swimming dragons, trapping Shen Lang and leaving him no room to escape!

"SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!"

The daggers glinted coldly as they tore through the air, creating sharp whistling sounds as they descended on Shen Lang like a violent storm.

Shen Lang seemed to float, his feet barely touching the ground as he drifted back and forth, left and right. Every time he blocked, his hands struck Ye Juexin’s joints.

But under such a high-speed, close-quarters assault, to any outside observer, it looked like he was in constant peril!

Several times, the daggers grazed past Shen Lang’s body.

A few times, the cold glint of the blades came just a hair’s breadth from slicing his neck!

Determined to kill Shen Lang, Ye Juexin was displaying his full strength for the first time.

Like a snake in the shadows, his speed was simply unbelievable!

In the surrounding stands, many Qi Martial Realm Martial Artists couldn’t even follow his speed with their eyes. All they saw was Ye Juexin seemingly split into several figures, attacking Shen Lang from all directions.

The daggers in his hands were like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, flashing past Shen Lang countless times.

The sight made the spectators’ blood pump and their hearts race.

Even though Shen Lang blocked or dodged every single attack, the onlookers held their breath, not daring to make a sound, afraid that in the next second, Shen Lang would die by those daggers!

"Just who is this Ye Juexin? To be this strong!"

"Ye Juexin’s previous opponents should count themselves lucky. How could they have possibly survived an assault like this!"

"I think that Ghost-faced person is even more terrifying! He’s inside the Shadow Barrier, and he still hasn’t even fought back. If he can block or dodge even these attacks, who could possibly hurt him?"

In the Ye Family’s stands, a sharp glint flashed in Ye Xiao Zheng’s eyes, and a smile touched the corners of his mouth.

’Although Juexin has only just entered the Spirit Martial Realm Fourth Heaven, his Body Technique is ghostly and unpredictable, and his speed is no less than my own. He’s even comprehended a bit of the Shadow Profound Art—formless, shapeless, traceless. In terms of Body Technique alone, even I wouldn’t be completely confident I could escape unscathed if I faced him! Oh, Xu Daolin, you never would have expected this, would you? Age and experience will always win out. I still had an ace like this up my sleeve!’

In the Xu Family’s stands, Xu Daolin’s expression grew darker and darker. Long Fong and the others also looked grim.

Xu Daolin’s eye twitched twice. He said in a low tone, "I really underestimated that old fox, Ye Xiao Zheng. To think the Ye Family had such a formidable figure among this generation of disciples, and we knew nothing about it!"

Yun Qing’s expression was a sight to behold. "This Ye Juexin’s cultivation should be around the Spirit Martial Realm Fifth Heaven. But his bizarre Body Technique, his incredible speed, and the cunning of his attacks... it’s just unbelievable. If I were to face him head-on, I’m afraid... I’m afraid..."

He repeated "I’m afraid" twice, then trailed off, unable to continue.

Long Fong glanced at the flushing Yun Qing and said coldly, "The Shadow Barrier is a problem. If I were to face him, I could only use my Long Spear to create distance and rely on my advantage in strength to defeat him. If he got in close, there would be a sixty percent chance I’d lose. Junior Brother Xu, this could be trouble..."

"Senior Brother Long Fong, you also think Ye Juexin is guaranteed to win? I don’t know why, but while that Mo Ge doesn’t show his true strength, I get a familiar, dangerous feeling from him. Every time I see his eyes, my heart pounds, and I can’t calm down." Xu Daolin’s face was pale, his brows tightly knitted as he stared intently at the two on the stage below.

"Mo Ge? His cultivation is strong, but he seems too arrogant. He’s now caught in the storm of Ye Juexin’s attacks. It’s too late for him to draw his weapon, and Ye Juexin won’t give him the chance."

Long Fong sneered and added, "Ye Juexin’s attacks are getting fiercer and his speed is increasing. He’s clearly pushing this Martial Technique of his to its absolute limit. If he’d gotten the first strike on me, I’m afraid I would have died with regret on the spot."

"That old fox Ye Xiao Zheng really has a few tricks up his sleeve," Xu Daolin said, glancing grimly at Ye Xiao Zheng in the distance.

His original plan was simple. With his Spirit Martial Realm Third Heaven cultivation, he could have practically swept through all of Celestial Phoenix City.

Among the younger generation of the various family influences in Celestial Phoenix City, no one should have been his match.

Of course, that didn’t include Shen Lang, who had fallen off a cliff.

And even if there were any surprises, he still had his senior brothers to step in.

Yun Qing was at the Spirit Martial Realm Sixth Heaven, far stronger than even himself after taking an Evil Pill.

And Long Fong was at the Spirit Martial Realm Seventh Heaven. When he wielded his Long Spear, he was like a dragon entering the sea. Even against Ye Xiao Zheng, he had a certain degree of confidence he could win!

If that was the case for Ye Xiao Zheng, could there really be someone from the Ye Family’s younger generation even more powerful than him?

But now, the impossible was happening!

The Ye Family had suddenly produced two freaks: one Ye Juexin and one Ye Jueqing!

And on top of that, an even more bizarre and unpredictable Mo Ge had appeared out of nowhere!

Against these three, even Long Fong wasn’t certain of victory.

If even Long Fong lost, for Xu Daolin to go up on stage would be to bring humiliation upon himself—or even to seek his own death!

Xu Daolin pondered for a moment, then snorted coldly and said, "Master was indeed farsighted. For now, we can only use the method Master spoke of."

Long Fong was startled. "You mean..."

"Unleash the Wolf King!" Xu Daolin said, his expression savage.

Long Fong and Yun Qing both gasped in shock!

"The Wolf King has been a bit strange lately. It seems to have become extremely bloodthirsty and doesn’t really listen to us. Won’t that cause trouble?" Long Fong said with some hesitation.

"If Ye Juexin loses this fight against Mo Ge, Ye Jueqing will definitely go up next... At that point, our only remaining enemy will be Mo Ge! But if Mo Ge loses, we’ll have to face both Ye Juexin and Ye Jueqing. Against any of them, we don’t have a guaranteed victory. We can only rely on the Wolf King!"

A sharp light flashed in Xu Daolin’s eyes as he said, "This is all to pave the way for the Xu Family to become a Profound Iron Level Influence. Although the Wolf King is demanding, we can still satisfy it! Besides, with Master’s command, it won’t resist too much."

As he spoke, he touched the Wolf-shaped Pendant hanging from his neck, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face.

"It’s the only way, heh heh heh..." Long Fong and Yun Qing sneered at the same time.

Just as Xu Daolin and the others were discussing their strategy, the situation on the stage below changed.

Shen Lang, who had been dodging the entire time, finally began his counterattack.

"You’ve had your turn attacking. Shouldn’t it be my turn now?"

Amid the crowd’s gasps, Shen Lang’s right hand flickered. He simply reached into the web of daggers woven by Ye Juexin, then penetrated it at an unbelievable speed and slammed a palm into Ye Juexin’s chest!

"Hmph!"

Ye Juexin grunted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he staggered back, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He simply couldn’t imagine how his opponent had just broken through his web of daggers!

With such a dense network of attacks, even if an ordinary person had an opportunity to break through, they would never dare to casually thrust their arm into it!

That would mean risking having their arm shredded by the daggers...

As Ye Juexin retreated, Shen Lang snorted and pursued him relentlessly!

BANG!

Shen Lang stomped his right foot on the ground. As stone fragments flew, his figure closed in on Ye Juexin like a phantom, his right hand grabbing for him, leaving a trail of afterimages!

"You’re courting death!"

Ye Juexin roared as his daggers flew, crisscrossing in an attempt to sever Shen Lang’s arm!

A few women in the crowd screamed, and many people turned their heads away, unable to watch.

In their minds, an arm was about to fly through the air, followed by a spray of blood!

However, none of that happened!

In just an instant, an incredulous cry came from Ye Juexin on the stage!

The crowd focused their eyes on the stage and were instantly dumbfounded!

Shen Lang’s arm wasn’t severed. In fact, he had firmly grabbed both of Ye Juexin’s wrists!

Their four arms were twisted together in a cross!

"Your movements... are too slow!"

Shen Lang said coldly. With a sudden exertion from both hands—CRACK! CRACK!—Ye Juexin cried out in pain, his grip loosened, and both daggers fell!

"Go to hell!"

Ye Juexin endured the sharp pain in his wrists, flicked his head, and whipped his long hair toward Shen Lang’s face.

Within his hair, a cold light flashed—he had sharp blades hidden in his hair!

"SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!"

Just as the hair whipped toward Shen Lang’s face...

Ye Juexin’s arms, which were held fast by Shen Lang, suddenly extended as if they had no bones!

Like snakes, they spiraled up and coiled tightly around Shen Lang’s hands!

Then, Ye Juexin raised his right knee. The handle of one of the falling daggers bounced off his leg, and the blade shot toward Shen Lang’s abdomen at an incredible speed!

This move didn’t seem improvised; it was as if it had been anticipated, even planned, from the very beginning... leaving no time to even think about how to defend or dodge!

This chain of unbelievable actions left everyone stunned.

Everything was so hard to believe...

When experts clash, especially in close combat, the slightest mistake can lead to a disastrous outcome!

This Ye Juexin could kill with any part of his body—he even had blades hidden in his hair, and his arms could extend several times their length as if they were boneless!

Shen Lang had appeared to have the upper hand, but now his own hands were bound, leaving him no time or opportunity to dodge!

"It’s over..."

In the stands, Chu Xiuxiu’s face was ashen, and cold sweat dripped down her forehead.

At such a close distance, no matter how fast Shen Lang was, there was no way he could dodge both of those attacks!

A powerful assassin was fully capable of killing an expert with a much higher cultivation level.

And Ye Juexin was, without a doubt, just such an assassin...