In fact, this method is just a psychological trick!

Xiao Tian completely abandoned his Perception Power, relying purely on instinct and unconscious counterattacks, hiding his aura was basically like covering one's ears while stealing a bell!

Just as Hidden Needle had gathered strength and was about to deliver a fatal blow, a dragon's roar suddenly echoed, causing the surrounding black mist to destabilize instantly, as if showered by a hurricane, showing signs of dissipating.

However, Hidden Needle understood that even the fiercest gale couldn't affect his inherent Shadow Ability, so the real culprit behind all this was obvious.

The familiar dragon's roar made the spectators outside erupt with excitement; no matter how they used their Perception before, they couldn't spy on what was happening in the black mist.

Now with this sound, the crowd began to speculate about what was happening inside, who exactly had the upper hand.

Xiao Tian's previous Golden Flying Dragon had left a deep impression on everyone, but whether Hidden Needle had any hidden cards was unknown, and no one could guarantee who had the better odds.

Due to the previous events, there was a significant rise in those hoping for Xiao Tian's defeat, if not for the fear of the one-in-a-million chance of something happening, someone might have cheered for Hidden Needle on the spot!

"We must eliminate that demon, Hunter, to rid the world of this scourge!" one expert murmured, clasping his hands tight against his forehead.

"Now I feel like Hidden Needle is the real demon, after all, when thinking about Hunter, it doesn't seem problematic, it's just his methods are disagreeable!"

In the crowd, a rare woman voiced her insignificant support, looking at the unconscious Lin Bingxuan and Melinda.

After speaking, everyone turned their eyes on her, causing the woman to step back several steps nervously, yet she couldn't help but feel unjust for Xiao Tian.

Currently, it seems like opposing him has become a political correctness, while his supporters are all marginalized, making her feel a surge of anger, yet unable to change anything.

"You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Hunter, would you?"

Beside her, a bearded man spoke coldly with a dark face.

Seeing those unfriendly gazes, the woman quickly flashed away to a corner, keeping her mouth shut tight, daring not to speak another word in support of Xiao Tian.

At this moment, voices from all directions filled her ears.

"I also agree with your view, but considering the current situation, it's best to say less about Hunter, whether good or bad!"

"This matter is just a difference in stance, we're all in this together now, unless you voluntarily risk siding with Hunter, it's best to speak less!"

"You brazen woman, you dare support Hunter openly; when that Hunter is killed... hmph hmph!"

Because of a single remark, the woman felt panic inside, her fair face turning red and pale by turns, showing how furious and unable to bear it she was.

Of course, among the transmitted voices, the majority were supportive or advisory, with only a few being abusive or even issuing death threats.

Yet she wanted to ignore and curse back, but rationality told her doing so would only put her in more danger, so she temporarily suppressed her emotions, blocking out all the voices around her.

...

The dense black mist that had shrouded the scene for a long time suddenly began to dissipate without warning, revealing the scene inside.

Hidden Needle's figure halted about ten meters in front of Xiao Tian, his short blade still poised to stab, the expression on his face masked, showing nothing useful.

Among the crowd, many sharp-eyed people immediately spotted Hidden Needle's anomaly, his two missing fingers quietly lying on the ground, causing gasps among them.

After a brief shock, everyone turned their gaze to Xiao Tian, seeing him standing still like a statue with a red cloth covering his eyes, a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

As for the familiar Flying Dragon, it wasn't circling around his arm as usual.

In fact, even if Xiao Tian were to regain his peak strength, forming a Golden Flying Dragon with True Qi wasn't simple, unless he recklessly exhausted his True Qi, otherwise the time needed wasn't brief.

What happened just now was Xiao Tian unleashing an incomplete version, with less than twenty percent of the original's effect, unable to last in combat, yet it still managed to break through the surrounding mist.

Of course, with his eyes covered and Perception blocked, Xiao Tian was unaware of what had happened around him, he had intended only to intimidate Hidden Needle with this, unexpectedly it exceeded expectations, proving quite effective!

"This is also a form of energy restraint, Mistress had suffered from this before!" Upon connecting with Xiao Tian for the first time, Duoduo informed him of past and present events.

He removed the blindfold, and once again activated his Perception Power.

Looking at the almost noontime sun around him, Xiao Tian found it somewhat hard to adapt, as for Duoduo's energy restraint theory, it was temporarily set aside.

Because, even the incomplete Flying Dragon in the Sky consumed a significant amount of True Qi, Hidden Needle could use his built-in Shadow Ability at will, whereas Xiao Tian couldn't use True Qi indefinitely.

The exposed Hidden Needle shivered briefly, then sped towards Xiao Tian, his short blade slashing towards Xiao Tian's neck with clean, swift motions, without any hesitation.

Xiao Tian tilted his head, blocking Hidden Needle's attack with an elbow, then unleashed a kick without hesitation in retaliation, both parties instantly entangled in combat.

Their exquisite moves, crafty angles, and ability to adapt to incoming attacks left the spectators thrillingly captivated, eyes glued to the dazzling exchange between the two.

However, as time went on, Hidden Needle's expression behind the mask grew increasingly grim; he noticed Xiao Tian was only getting stronger as the fight went on, already a tier stronger within minutes!

Even though Xiao Tian's current strength didn't appear to be something Hidden Needle feared, he couldn't ascertain the limit of Xiao Tian's improvement, if there was no limit, the situation could quickly be reversed.

Despite this possibility being small, almost negligible, it still made his heart pound anxiously, daring not to adhere to a strategy of slowly depleting the opponent's strength through delay.

According to Xiao Tian's calculations, if given a little more time, he could regain sixty percent of his peak strength, which was indeed an encouraging progress! 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Having observed carefully, Xiao Tian found that the aura of the Five Elements Crystal was assisting in restoring his power.

Most of the time was spent breaking barriers, as long as there's a breakthrough in honing his strength, he could swiftly return to peak combat effectiveness!