One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

A fierce glint flashed in Zhang Chulan's eyes. Having been overwhelmed twice, his temper flared. He didn't care about ninjutsu or stealth; as long as his blade touched his golden light, he'd know where he was!

Spread your five fingers on your left hand.

A surge of violent white lightning instantly coalesced—not the kind of wispy strands that dissipate from the surface of the body, but a living force that surged from the depths of his palm. The lightning condensed, compressed, and roared in his palm, emitting a low buzzing sound.

It transformed into an electric net, descending upon Hattori Senzo, who had paused slightly!

At the same time, he made a hand seal with his right hand, and a more condensed bolt of lightning, like a javelin, pierced straight into the opponent's chest!

Two moves at once, leaving no room for retreat!

however.

A hint of mockery seemed to flash in Hattori Chizo's cold eyes.

His figure became blurry again.

Like a pebble thrown into a reflection in water—it ripples briefly and then shatters.

Zhang Chulan's electric net and lightning spear passed through his body without any resistance, striking empty air with a "boom." The electric net landed on the ground, exploding into a shower of tiny white arcs of electricity, like countless small snakes slithering across the ground; the lightning spear, on the other hand, embedded itself in the ground behind him, blasting a small crater the size of a fist, sending debris flying.

"Another clone?!"

Zhang Chulan felt a renewed sense of alarm—it wasn't coming from the front, nor from the left or right, but from behind—that feeling of being locked on, that chilling sensation on his scalp.

Without thinking, I immediately lunged to the side!

"laugh--"

A dark, gleaming blade almost grazed his scalp.

Several strands of flying hair were severed. Those strands of hair drifted in the air, and before they could land, they were shredded into even finer fragments by the following blade energy.

Hattori Senzo's true form emerged from the shadows behind him like a ghost—not from underground, not from thin air, but from the very beginning. He had always been there, only hidden by something, and now that the covering was lifted, he appeared.

The two swords were handed out again.

This time, the target is his back!

"Holy crap! Is this never going to end?!"

Zhang Chulan scrambled to avoid the attack. His movements were anything but elegant—a side lunge, a roll, a hand brace, and a spring-like leap—a series of fluid motions, but certainly not an aesthetically pleasing pose. Golden light shimmered around him, negating most of the blade's attack, but the sharp intent still stung his skin.

The ninja's stealth and assassination techniques are too unpredictable.

They appear and disappear unpredictably, making them impossible to guard against.

Moreover, each attack went straight for vital organs—the throat, heart, back of the chest, carotid artery—all places where one strike was enough to eliminate any chance of a follow-up. Insidious, vicious, and leaving no chance of survival.

"Is all you do to hide, you little mouse?"

Hattori Chizo finally spoke.

His voice was hoarse and dry, like a patient who hadn't drunk water in a long time, or a traveler who had walked in the desert for three days and three nights. It carried a kind of indifference like a cat playing with a mouse—an indifference that wasn't feigned, but came from the bottom of his bones, as if he really looked at Zhang Chulan like a person looking at a mouse.

He remained standing in the same spot. His hands hung at his sides, the tip of his blade pointing downwards, the blade still stained with bits of Zhang Chulan's clothing and the faint glow of gold.

It was as if it had never moved.

But those fatal attacks just now were indeed his doing.

"You're the rat! Your whole family are rats!"

Zhang Chulan got up from the ground and dusted himself off. The cut on his left side from the blade's wind was still letting in a cold draft, and his back was also icy cold. He said he wouldn't admit defeat, but inwardly he was suffering.

This guy is incredibly fast.

Moreover, his movements were unpredictable. It wasn't just about being fast in a straight line—Zhang Chulan believed his straight-line speed was no less than his—but rather about his ability to change speed and direction erratically, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes forward, sometimes backward. Combined with the interference of clones and stealth, it was impossible for anyone to grasp his trajectory.

Although his Swift Movement Technique was fast, he was actually a little slow to keep up when it came to dodging and weaving in such a small area, especially when dealing with such ghostly stealth assassinations!

Moreover, if the opponent misses their first strike, they immediately flee far away without lingering, giving him no chance to engage in a direct confrontation.

The same tactic used against Andrei was probably this kind of fighting style—stabbing him here and making a cut there, avoiding direct confrontation, just constantly harassing, wearing him down, and bleeding him to death, until that big bear-like man was worn down to death.

"We can't follow his lead..."

Zhang Chulan's eyes lit up, and he had an idea.

He was no longer in a hurry to attack.

Instead, he took a deep breath—a very deep breath, as if he wanted to inhale all the air in the hall into his lungs.

The flickering golden light emanating from his body suddenly stabilized. It stopped flashing and fluctuating, becoming solid and heavy, as if he were wearing a layer of pale golden armor. The armor was not ethereal; its outline was visible—his shoulders, chest, and abdomen all had a distinct thickness.

At the same time, the white electric light stopped emitting.

The lightning snakes that had been leaping across his body retreated one by one into his body, not disappearing, but rather receding inward, like snakes burrowing beneath his skin, moving between his muscles and bones. But if you looked closely, you could see a faint white light flowing beneath his skin, as if something was surging within his veins.

"Golden Light Mantra - Impregnable!"

He gave a low shout.

They adopted a defensive stance immediately.

You think you're fast? You think you can sneak up on me? I'm not going to dodge anymore, I'll just stand here and let you hit me! If you're so capable, break my Golden Light Spell!

Seeing Zhang Chulan's "shrinking into a turtle shell" posture, Hattori Chizou's eyes flashed with a cold light.

The figure disappeared again.

next second.

Four figures of Hattori Chizou appeared simultaneously from Zhang Chulan's left, right, behind, and even above his head!

Every figure was incredibly lifelike—the folds of their clothes, the curve of their blades, the patterns on their masks—all were identical. Each one was moving, each one was wielding a blade, each one exuded murderous intent.

They stabbed at Zhang Chulan's vital points from different angles!

It was the same clone technique they had used before—but this time, the four clones moved more coordinatedly and worked together more seamlessly, like four independent people performing a carefully rehearsed combined attack.

"Using this trick again?"

Zhang Chulan sneered inwardly.

I might as well close my eyes.

Even with his eyes open, he couldn't see clearly, so he decided not to look. He took a deep breath and heightened his senses to the extreme—listening to the wind, listening to sounds, the subtle whistling of blades cutting through the air, and the ripples in the air caused by his clothes fluttering. At the same time, he focused all his energy on maintaining the Golden Light Mantra, distributing his Qi evenly throughout every corner of his body.

He was determined: No matter how many clones you have, as long as you can't break through my defenses, you're just a free kill! I'll wait for you to reveal your weakness!

"Clang clang clang clang!"

A dense barrage of slashes rang out!

Four short swords belonging to Hattori Senzo struck Zhang Chulan's golden protective shield from all directions. There were vertical slashes, horizontal slashes, diagonal thrusts, and straight stabs—each strike landed in a different location, and each strike had a different force and angle.

Countless ripples and sparks erupted from the golden light. These sparks weren't real sparks, but rather the collision of vital energy generated by the intense friction between the blade and the golden light, exploding like tiny golden fireworks around Zhang Chulan.

Zhang Chulan swayed slightly, as if someone was shoving him. But the golden protective shield remained as solid as a rock, showing no sign of breaking. The blades that struck it were like striking thick rubber—the blades would sink in a little, then bounce back, repeatedly, all in vain.

"Heh heh, is that all the strength you've got? Trying to tickle me?"

Zhang Chulan opened his eyes a crack and mocked smugly.

His Golden Light Mantra is a unique skill of the Celestial Master's Mansion, best known for its defensive capabilities. In addition, he has been "specially trained" by Feng Baobao during this period—which is really just being beaten. Feng Baobao beats him in various ways every day until his Golden Light Mantra reacts automatically—so the strength and recovery speed of his Golden Light Mantra have greatly improved.

It's not so easy to break.

however.

The moment he opened his mouth to mock—

A sudden change has occurred!

Of the four "Hattori Chizo"s who were attacking him, one of them—the one above his head who was slashing down—quickly flicked his left hand while swinging his sword.

The movements were very small.

So small that it's almost invisible.

It's like flicking your middle finger and thumb together, then snapping them apart. Like flicking away a speck of dust, like flicking away a drop of dew.

A tiny, almost invisible glint of dark light, like a venomous snake's tongue, shot towards Zhang Chulan's face!

Its speed and angle far surpassed the previous sword slashes!

and--

The dark light was not a physical weapon. It was a small drop of concentrated black liquid with a pungent, fishy smell. The liquid streaked through the air, leaving a faint, almost imperceptible black trail, like a thinned thread.

poison!

And it's highly poisonous!

The target was Zhang Chulan's mouth, which was slightly open because he was speaking and where the golden light protection was relatively weak!

"Holy crap! They're playing dirty!"

Zhang Chulan was terrified.

It was too late to shut up!

The drop of venom was too fast and too close—from the moment he looked up and saw the dark light, to the moment he realized it was venom, and to the moment he wanted to shut up, only a fraction of a second had passed.

The venom had already flown to within a foot of him.

It was about to be shot into his mouth!

At the critical moment—

Master Wang Ye, who had been on high alert, suddenly had a glint in his eyes.

The Qimen Dunjia formation beneath his feet rotated silently—not in a grand, dramatic way, but like the gears inside a clock, delicate, precise, and imperceptible. The illusory image of the character "Kun" appeared beneath his feet for a fleeting moment.

He slurred:

"The character 'Kun' (坤) - Earth River Chariot!"

Without warning, a small section of the ground beneath Zhang Chulan's feet bulged up.

It's not big. Only about the size of a fist.

But the position was perfect—it was right in front of his mouth!

"Pfft!"

The drop of black venom struck the raised clod of earth with a soft sound, like red-hot iron falling into water. A wisp of smoke rose, and a pungent, acrid smell filled the air.

The hard soil and rock were corroded into a small hole!

The edges of the small hole were charred black, and bubbles were still rising from it, as if something was continuing to react inside. The toxicity was astonishing.

"Baka!"

The one who released the venom, "Hattori Chizo," cursed angrily. His voice lacked its previous coldness, instead carrying genuine anger and... a hint of annoyance?

His figure blurred for a moment, then vanished along with his three clones. It was as if a television signal had been cut off; the four figures disappeared simultaneously, cleanly and swiftly.

Hattori Senzo's true form appeared ten meters away.

He stood there, giving Wang Ye a sinister look. His gaze was cold, like a snake staring at someone who had disturbed its hunt.

Clearly, the one who used the poison just now was his true form. He intended to use the clone as a feint to distract Zhang Chulan, while his true form seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack with poison, striking successfully when Zhang Chulan opened his mouth to speak.

As a result, Wang Ye saw through his plan and blocked it.

"Hey! That's a foul! He used poison!"

Zhang Chulan, having narrowly escaped death, was so angry his face turned pale. He pointed at Hattori Senzo and started cursing, his voice so loud it echoed throughout the hall.

"What happened to the agreed-upon arena match? And you resort to such underhanded tactics? Is this all the ninjas from Japan are capable of?"

"The way of the ninja is to seek only the result, not the process."

Hattori Senzo said coldly.

His voice was completely flat, as if stating a fact that didn't need discussion. His eyes showed no shame or unease, as calm as a stagnant pool.

"Moreover, the agreement only states that life and death are irrelevant, but does not prohibit drugs."

"you!"

Zhang Chulan was speechless.

The agreement didn't seem to say that poison was forbidden... At the time, everyone assumed it would be a fight involving hand-to-hand combat, supernatural abilities, and ninjutsu. Who knew someone would actually spit poison into another person's mouth?

"It's alright."