【Thirteen Ghost Shadow Spears, First Form: Ghost Peeking.】
Chen Zui’s figure flickered slightly on the snow. In the next instant, he appeared to the left of the cloaked figure.
This sudden dash was absurdly fast; he left no footprints on the snow, only a shallow groove plowed by the force of his momentum.
The spear tip thrust out from the most cunning angle, aimed straight for the cloaked figure’s ribs.
There was no warning when this strike was unleashed—no preparatory movement, no shout of exertion, and not even the sound of breaking wind.
The spear tip simply extended silently, like a ghostly hand reaching out from the darkness.
The cloaked figure hooked his finger, and the short dagger flew over, parrying the spear tip the moment it was about to pierce his robe.
“Clang!”
This clash of metal was sharper than any that had come before.
The cloaked figure felt a surge of cold energy vibrating back through the silk thread!
That energy was completely different from ordinary internal energy. It was neither hard nor fierce, but like a venomous snake, it slithered along the thread, drilling straight toward the meridians in his fingertips!
His fingers trembled slightly, and the silk thread whipped into a wave-like arc in the air, completely neutralizing that cold energy.
But in the very moment he finished neutralizing the force, Chen Zui’s second strike arrived.
【Thirteen Ghost Shadow Spears, Second Form: Ghost Wall.】
This was not one strike, but three.
Three strikes in a chain, each linked to the next, each faster than the last.
There was no pause between the three strikes; it looked as if Chen Zui was attacking from three directions simultaneously.
The cloaked figure’s fingers danced frantically, the silk threads weaving an airtight net around his body.
The short dagger darted through the net, colliding with the spear tip three times in rapid succession.
After the three collisions, the cloaked figure retreated half a step.
“The Boss moved his feet?!” the short, stout assassin exclaimed in shock.
The tall, thin assassin said nothing.
His gaze was fixed on the long spear in Chen Zui’s hand, which was now radiating a black aura. His Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.
What kind of spear technique was that?
He had followed the cloaked figure for many years and seen him kill countless people, but he had rarely seen anyone capable of forcing him back in a direct confrontation.
Even if it was only half a step.
The cloaked figure steadied himself and looked down at the short dagger in his hand.
A grain-sized nick had appeared on the blade’s edge.
“Excellent spear technique.”
He slowly raised his head. “However, this alone is not enough to defeat me.”
As he spoke, his other hand emerged from beneath the cloak.
That hand was also entwined with silk thread, but the difference was that the end of this thread was tied not to a dagger, but to a circular blade the size of a copper coin.
The blade was as thin as a cicada’s wing, its edge as sharp as a razor, glinting with a faint blue luster in the reflection of the snow.
Dual Threads.
Seeing this, Chen Zui did not show a hint of shock. Instead, the corners of his mouth curled up.
“So you were the one holding back after all.”
The cloaked figure did not respond.
With a simultaneous hook of his two fingers, the dagger and the circular blade shot toward Chen Zui from two directions!
One blade was hard, the other soft; they crossed in the air, forming a deadly cross.
Chen Zui, however, did not retreat. He advanced.
He gave the long spear a sudden shake. The shaft vibrated, emitting a sharp, piercing wail.
That wail did not sound like the wind breaking against the spear; it sounded more like the simultaneous howling of countless ghosts.
It was sharp, ear-piercing, and seemed to drill straight into the eardrums.
Following this spear wail, Chen Zui’s momentum surged violently.
The spear tip transformed into thousands of afterimages amidst the falling snow. Each afterimage was wrapped in dense black energy, blanketing the cloaked figure like an overwhelming shroud.
The scene looked as if a crack had opened in the gates of the underworld, with countless vengeful spirits scrambling to pour out.
The dagger and circular blade plunged into this field of spear shadows, producing a dense, continuous clatter of metal on metal.
The sounds were so frequent they almost merged into a single, unending drone.
The cloaked figure’s fingers danced madly. The two silk threads intertwined, coiled, separated, and lunged in the air as the two weapons darted back and forth to counter the spear shadows.
Meanwhile, Chen Zui’s spear grew even faster.
Once the Thirteen Ghost Shadow Spears were unleashed, they were like a river bursting its banks—unstoppable.
Every thrust carried a cold, piercing wind, and the black energy on the spear tip grew thicker, nearly swallowing his entire figure.
Wherever the two passed, the accumulated snow was swept up by the gales of their energy, and the frozen earth was sliced open by the silk threads. Everything within a radius of dozens of zhang was left in ruins!
The short assassin and the tall assassin were long since dazed.
They had followed the cloaked figure for years and witnessed him strike countless times.
They had never seen anyone last more than twenty moves against the Dual Threads of the Hanging Silk Soul Pursuit.
Yet the young spearman before them was not only avoiding suppression, he was trading blows evenly with the cloaked figure, even seemingly holding a slight offensive advantage.
“What kind of monster is this kid...” the short assassin murmured to himself.
Just then.
The spear tip and the two blades collided violently once more.
Chen Zui used the force of the impact to leap back, landing three zhang away.
He held his spear with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, as black energy swirled endlessly around the shaft.
The cloaked figure also retracted his two blades. The two weapons hovered by his side, their edges trembling slightly like two venomous bees ready to strike.
The two faced each other across the distance, neither making another move.
Suddenly, the cloaked figure retracted both weapons into his sleeves, his movements slightly faster than before.
“I am done fighting.”
Chen Zui frowned. He had already vaguely sensed something, but he remained relentless in his speech.
“You say you're done and that’s it?”
“In today’s battle, neither you nor I have exerted our full strength. When we meet again another day, I will show you the true form of the Hanging Silk Soul Pursuit.”
With that.
The man made a gesture and vanished into the vast curtain of snow with his two subordinates.
They came like ghosts and left like the tide.
Silence returned to the snowy plain.
Only the chaotic traces of battle remained.
The crisscrossing gashes from the silk threads, the dense spear marks, and the collapsed snow all spoke of the heart-pounding battle that had just occurred.
Chen Zui stood in place, looking in the direction where the three figures had disappeared, and let out a long breath.
“They certainly ran fast.”
“Are you all right?” Ye Zhibai and Xiao Chengyan hurried to his side.
Ye Zhibai’s gaze swept over Chen Zui.
The fabric at his shoulders had been sliced in several places, and a section of his sleeve had been cut off.
But other than that, there was not a single actual wound on his body.
In that rapid-fire exchange of offense and defense just now, he had actually emerged unscathed.
“What could possibly be wrong with me?”
Chen Zui pulled a wine flask from his waist, tilted his head back for a gulp, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
“It’s just a shame about these clothes. They’ve been with me for over half a year, and today they’re officially ruined.”
“The spear technique you used just now was completely different from before.”
Ye Zhibai stared into his eyes.
“What was that black energy? And your aura—the moment you struck, your entire presence changed.”
“What? Do you think I’m practicing some kind of wicked spear technique?
Don’t worry. This set of techniques is dark but not evil, eerie but not malicious.
It’s perfectly suited for dealing with assassins like them.”
Chen Zui hung the wine flask back at his waist and spoke nonchalantly.
Ye Zhibai hesitated, but ultimately did not press further.
That wasn't actually what she meant. After spending these few days with him, she already understood Chen Zui’s character.
This man was definitely not someone who would practice evil arts.
She was simply curious.
The spear technique Chen Zui had used to kill the Life-Severing Monk was already profound and mysterious, yet the one he just used followed an entirely different path.
She truly couldn’t understand how Chen Zui, at such a young age, could master two such profound spear techniques simultaneously.
In contrast, although she was hailed as a once-in-a-century prodigy of her sect, she hadn't even fully mastered a single Frost-Sigh Sword Technique.
It was almost laughable.
Truly, the world was vast; there were always mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people.
She finally understood the chasm that existed between herself and the man before her.
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