One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Nie Lingfeng's voice rang out softly.

He stood outside the limestone circle, Xiao Yun nestled in his arms, shifting her position, seemingly uninterested in the fight and more interested in sleeping. Nie Lingfeng gently patted her back, his tone as calm as if he were soothing a child.

"Chu Lan, focus on the enemy. Since they're resorting to any means necessary, you don't need to hold back either."

Nie Lingfeng's words were tantamount to acknowledging that the other party's use of poison was justified, and also gave Zhang Chulan permission to "not hold back".

Although Wang Ye's intervention was somewhat against the rules—according to the rules of the arena, outsiders are not allowed to interfere with the match—the opponent launched a sneak attack with poison first, and the venom was aimed at Zhang Chulan's mouth. If it had actually hit, it would have been either fatal or crippling. Wang Ye's intervention balanced things out.

"Hehe, Brother Nie is right!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan laughed instead of getting angry.

His smile was a little cold.

He touched his mouth, which had almost been "visited" by the venom—the skin there was still slightly cold, as if something had crawled over it—and his eyes turned dangerous.

"Fine, you like playing dirty tricks, huh? I'll play along with you to your heart's content!"

The words fell.

Zhang Chulan's aura suddenly changed!

The originally restrained golden light suddenly became intense, as if someone had lit a fire inside. Golden light burst out from his body, so bright it made people's eyes sting.

The white electric light on his body no longer moved quietly, but instead leaped wildly like a raging lightning serpent, crackling and popping, as if something was awakening within him.

A powerful, destructive aura of lightning rose from his body!

That thunderous energy was not docile, but rather violent, restless, and full of aggression. It was like a wild beast that had been caged for too long, finally released from its cage.

"Leifa - Thunder VIP - Full Power!"

He let out a low growl.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly exploded!

Debris flew in all directions, crashing to the ground with a crackling sound. The explosion wasn't caused by gunpowder, but by the explosive force of lightning erupting beneath his feet—it was too powerful, too powerful for the ground to withstand.

He transformed into a golden bolt of lightning and charged towards Hattori Senzo!

This time, he was incredibly fast.

This wasn't the previous kind of rapid movement—it was now true "lightning speed." He left a trail of afterimages behind him, not blurry, but clear, as if two Zhang Chulans were moving simultaneously. A golden light streaked across the limestone circle, leaving a scorching, acrid trail.

Since the opponent excels in speed, then—

Overpower him with speed!

Hattori Chizo's eyes narrowed.

A change finally appeared in those usually cold and indifferent eyes—not fear, but surprise. Clearly, they hadn't expected Zhang Chulan's speed to increase so dramatically again.

He flickered and disappeared back into the shadows, attempting to repeat his previous trick.

"The same move won't work on a Saint Seiya! Oh wait—it won't work on me!"

Zhang Chulan let out a strange cry.

The figure rushing forward suddenly turned ninety degrees without warning!

The angle and speed of the turn were so steep that they completely defied the laws of physics. His body drew a right angle in mid-air before slamming down hard onto a seemingly empty shadow to his side!

"Thunder Magic - Palm Thunder - Coverage!"

"boom--!"

A violent burst of lightning erupted!

It wasn't like the previous method of launching a single ball of lightning; instead, it was like a lightning grenade exploding in his palm, radiating electricity and covering an area of ​​several meters in radius!

Electricity danced wildly, turning the area into a sea of ​​lightning. White arcs of electricity leaped, tore, and roared across the ground, in the air, and between every speck of dust.

The shadow—the one that looked no different from the ones around it—distorted violently in the lightning.

"Well!"

A muffled groan came from the lightning.

Hattori Chizo's somewhat disheveled figure was forced out. Smoke rose from his body, and a large patch of the left side of his ninja outfit was charred by lightning, revealing the burned skin underneath. A few strands of his hair were also curled up, emitting a burnt smell.

It was obviously struck by lightning.

A flicker of horror crossed his eyes—the other party had actually predicted his stealth location?!

How did you do that?

Was it luck? Or...?

He subconsciously glanced at Daoist Wang Ye, who was standing outside the circle. Wang Ye was standing there with his arms crossed, looking completely innocent, the faint illusory image of the divination symbols around his feet just fading away.

Hattori Chizo's pupils contracted slightly.

"Gotcha!"

Zhang Chulan is ruthless once he gains power.

His figure moved like a shadow, instantly catching up. His speed was so fast that Hattori Chizo didn't have time to stealth again—he had just retreated from the lightning and hadn't even regained his footing when Zhang Chulan was already in front of him.

His right hand clenched into a fist. Golden light mixed with violent lightning energy gathered, compressed, and condensed on his fist. The light was dazzling, like a small sun held in his palm.

A punch aimed straight at Hattori Senzo's face!

"Take this—Golden Light Thunderstorm Fist!"

The name is a bit cringey, but it's got the spirit.

The fist slammed down with a low, buzzing sound. The wind from the punch hit first, forcing Hattori Chizo's mask to stick tightly to his face, revealing a pale, angular chin.

Hattori Chizo didn't have time to stealth again, so he could only cross his two swords in front of him and try to block.

"clang--!!!"

Fist and knife clashed, producing a deafening roar!

The sound wasn't just the clanging of metal; it was a thunderous echo that reverberated through the hall, making everyone's eardrums ring. Several spectators nearby instinctively covered their ears.

The violent thunder and golden light surged into the twin blades!

Hattori Chizo felt a violent jolt in his arms, as if he had been hit head-on by a truck. His hands were split open, and blood flowed down the hilt of his sword. The short sword in his hand, forged from high-quality steel—a ninja sword passed down through generations of the Iga school, forged from special steel, incredibly sharp and extremely resilient—groaned under the strain, trembling and buzzing.

Fine cracks appeared on the blade.

It radiates outward from the point of force, spreading outward like a spider web.

He grunted, thrown backward by the violent force. His feet dug two deep furrows in the ground, sending pebbles and dust swirling to either side. He stumbled back seven or eight steps before finally regaining his balance, his heel landing on a protruding rock, causing him to stagger.

"It's not over yet!"

Zhang Chulan followed closely behind.

They didn't give the other side a chance to breathe at all.

His fists, like pile drivers, were covered in golden light and thunderous energy, each punch faster than the last, slamming towards Hattori Senzo!

"Ora Ora Ora Ora!!!!"

He even gave himself a voiceover. Although this move had nothing to do with a certain Platinum Star, the momentum had to be there. Each punch was accompanied by a "whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—" sound of wind breaking, and the fist shadows were so dense that Hattori Chizo could only see a golden light screen.

Hattori Senzo was beaten so badly that he could only parry and had no chance to fight back.

His prized speed was severely hampered by Zhang Chulan's all-out lightning movement technique and overwhelming barrage of lightning magic. It wasn't that his speed had slowed down; it was that Zhang Chulan was too fast—so fast that before he could even activate his stealth ability, his fist was already upon him.

His stealth and clones were greatly diminished by the opponent's almost beast-like combat instincts—and by Master Wang Ye's subtle and pervasive assistance with Qimen Dunjia.

A head-on confrontation...

He was no match for Zhang Chulan, who had unleashed the Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Magic at full power, and was like a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The knife was deflected.

He was knocked back by the force of the two blows.

Three cuts, and the tiger's mouth split open.

Four cuts later, another crack appeared on the knife in his left hand.

"Clang! Clang! Snap!"

at last.

After taking more than a dozen punches in a row, Hattori Chizo's short sword finally gave way.

The crack started in the middle of the blade and quickly spread to both ends, as if something was growing and expanding inside. Then—it broke in the middle.

"Snap—!"

A crisp breaking sound.

The broken blade spun out and landed on the ground with a clang. It bounced twice before settling into the gravel and dust, the edge still reflecting the pale light of the emergency light.

Hattori Chizo's face turned pale.

It's not fear.

The recoil from his arm was too strong, causing his internal organs to churn. The violent lightning energy traveled through the broken sword into his body, as if someone had poured a pot of boiling water into his blood vessels.

Using the recoil from the broken sword, he suddenly retreated rapidly. His toes touched the ground, his body leaned back, and he flew backward like an arrow.

At the same time, he raised his left hand.

Several shuriken mixed with poisoned needles shot towards Zhang Chulan's head!

The shuriken spun as it flew in, making a buzzing sound, its trajectory unpredictable; the poison needles were as thin as cow hair, almost invisible to the naked eye, only a faint blue reflection on their tips revealing their existence.

They tried to stop Zhang Chulan's pursuit.

"A trivial skill!"

Zhang Chulan neither dodged nor evaded. A brilliant golden light emanated from his body, and the shuriken and poison needles that struck the light were deflected with a series of clanging sounds. The shuriken flew in all directions; some embedded themselves in the walls, some in the ceiling, and some bounced a few times on the ground before coming to a stop. The poison needles fared even worse, instantly pulverized by the golden light, dispersing into dust like a speck of dirt in the air.

Lightning flashed again beneath his feet.

"Sizzle—"

A blinding spark exploded on the ground.

Instantly closing the distance.

He punched Hattori Chizo in the chest!

This punch contained most of his thunderous energy and golden light, determined to end the battle!

Before the fist arrived, the wind from it came first. The wind carried the crackling sound of thunder and the heat of golden light, causing Hattori Chizo's clothes to cave in at the chest.

A flicker of despair crossed Hattori Chizo's eyes.

But he was, after all, a seasoned ninja.

In dire circumstances, he unleashed astonishing potential.

He suddenly threw the last remaining half of the broken knife in his hand at Zhang Chulan's face!

The broken half of the knife spun past, its blade gleaming coldly, like a small throwing axe. At the same time, his body twisted at an incredible angle—his spine compressed and twisted like a spring, his whole body bending into a bow shape.

He narrowly avoided a fatal blow to the chest.

But his left shoulder was still grazed by the force of the punch.

"Snap!"

The sickening sound of bones cracking.

It was so clear that even spectators standing at a distance could hear it perfectly.

Hattori Chizo's left shoulder was noticeably sunken—not a fracture, but a comminuted fracture. His collarbone was broken, his scapula was cracked, and the shape of his entire shoulder was changed, resembling a crushed cookie.

He groaned.

It wasn't a scream, it was a muffled groan.

It came out from deep in his throat, short, suppressed, and streaked with blood.

Using the momentum, he rolled backward—his left hand was completely useless, so he used his elbows and knees to support his body, rolling twice on the ground. At the same time, his right hand swept across his waist, and a thin, almost imperceptible black light shot towards Zhang Chulan's lower abdomen!

This dark light was even more concealed than the previous venom. It was darker in color, faster, and made no sound as it cut through the air—because it was so fine that the air didn't even have time to make a sound.

It was a tiny, fine needle, laced with deadly poison!

"Again?!"