Feeling the long-awaited energy starting to recover bit by bit, Xiao Tian clenched his fist, unable to suppress a surge of joy within his heart!

However, his actions showed no signs of recklessness; he continued to advance steadily and solidly, not letting his joy cloud his judgment.

Even so, Xiao Tian understood that his unusual state must have been detected by Hidden Needle, who would definitely try to end the fight quickly from now on, not allowing him to become increasingly courageous as the fight progressed.

The thought had just occurred when Hidden Needle suddenly leaped back after a bout, without launching another attack, standing still quietly with only slightly erratic breathing.

Xiao Tian secretly channeled his True Qi to the extreme, understanding that the opponent had already prepared a killing move, not daring to let his guard down and become careless.

The next moment, Xiao Tian's brow suddenly furrowed as Hidden Needle vanished from where he stood in less than the blink of an eye.

The surrounding experts began to clamor, clearly unable to figure out how Hidden Needle disappeared without a trace under the watchful eyes of so many experts.

"Could Hidden Needle have retreated?"

"Impossible! Anyone could tell he wasn't using his full strength, he didn't even use a single killing move before leaving, who would believe that?!"

"How do you explain Hidden Needle's display then?"

"Maybe... to confuse the Hunter?"

"Do you believe what you're saying?!"

...

No matter how the spectators speculated, Xiao Tian, on the battlefield, was certain that Hidden Needle had not left but was lurking in the shadows, waiting to deliver a fatal blow as soon as he let his guard down!

This maneuver by Hidden Needle made Xiao Tian admire him, admitting that as the top assassin on the Dark List, his concealment skills were unmatched—something even Xiao Tian himself could not achieve.

In this vast snow-covered landscape, with not a single tree in sight for dozens of meters around, evading so many eyes required absolute confidence in one's skills!

Because, should Hidden Needle fail in front of so many people, his reputation would suffer a major blow; no matter how mysterious or feared he was, he would become a laughingstock.

In fact, Xiao Tian was right; Hidden Needle had indeed not left and was, as Xiao Tian thought, lurking in the shadows, seeking the right moment for a successful strike.

Although Hidden Needle had deceived everyone present, he couldn't savor the victory, as Xiao Tian forced him to reveal his trump card, one he had kept hidden and never used publicly.

This time, even if he succeeded in killing Xiao Tian, Hidden Needle's trump card would be fully exposed, and it would surely be guarded against in future encounters.

Despite his confidence that no one could guard against it, Hidden Needle couldn't suppress a feeling of resentment!

Most people knew that Hidden Needle possessed shadow abilities, but didn't understand that the black mist was merely a fraction of what he displayed, representing him.

However, Hidden Needle's innate shadow abilities could do far more than what was shown.

His shadow abilities could, at any time and place, transform into various magical shields, perfectly camouflaging with the refraction of light, not just limited to operations in darkness.

In a sense, Hidden Needle executed this beautifully, using the image cultivated over years as a facade, so those targeted, even if aware of his impending move, would focus on guarding against him at night.

Little did they know that this played right into Hidden Needle's hands, allowing him to be almost always invincible with each move!

Just as Xiao Tian heightened his vigilance, the Five Elements Crystal in his hand faintly showed signs of heat, casting a covert glance.

The crystal's sharply defined surface suddenly turned smooth like a mirror, reflecting the scene behind him.

A moment later, Xiao Tian, seemingly thoughtful, fiddled with the Five Elements Crystal, appearing like someone circling their fingers unconsciously when overly tense.

As the angle faced him, Hidden Needle's lurking form appeared, causing Xiao Tian to shudder with fear—was the opponent really this close?!

Slowly shifting his gaze forward, Xiao Tian was surprised to find nothing there, completely different from what he saw on the Five Elements Crystal's mirror-like surface.

Looking back at the Five Elements Crystal in his hand, when Xiao Tian spotted Hidden Needle again, he couldn't help but marvel at such flawless camouflage—this innate ability was indeed formidable!

Believing the reflection from the Five Elements Crystal, Xiao Tian began to gradually gather strength, then suddenly leaped into the air, striking fiercely at the seemingly empty space in front, causing the onlooking experts to frown, puzzled by what madness the Hunter was up to.

"The Hunter must have been driven insane by Hidden Needle, right?"

"I told you, a person maintaining a high level of tension will start to suspect every little thing, the Hunter looks just like that!"

"But, is it possible that like we guessed before, Hidden Needle actually left?"

With these words, the experts fell into silence, Hidden Needle's prolonged disappearance seemed very suspicious, and it wasn't impossible that he might have retreated from the start.

With this thought, everyone's gaze turned to Xiao Tian, then they were suddenly shocked, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads...

"How, how is this possible?!"

"My God! Could the Hunter have crossed over?!"

"Stop talking nonsense, let's just watch."

Watching Xiao Tian charge forward, only to vanish just like Hidden Needle, the experts could hardly believe their eyes, wondering if they were hallucinating due to not blinking for too long.

However, there can't be this many people experiencing the same hallucination at once! 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Moreover, seeing the stern looks on the faces of the Celestial Punishment Daoist and others from Xiao Tian's camp made everyone face the reality that everything that just happened actually existed.

...

"You... how can you see where I am?!"

Xiao Tian suddenly intruded into Hidden Needle's shadow, causing him to break into a cold sweat and speak up, filled with astonishment and doubt.

"Why wouldn't I be able to?" Xiao Tian said with a smile, "Do you think your shadow is flawless? Hmph, that's just your wishful thinking!"

"Stop bluffing; you just stumbled upon it by accident. Save those words to scare children!" With that, Hidden Needle's figure vanished once more from Xiao Tian's view.

Naturally, without Hidden Needle's shadow to block him, Xiao Tian's figure appeared out of nowhere in front of the crowd, just as he had suddenly disappeared, with no warning signs whatsoever.

Xiao Tian's sudden reappearance undoubtedly caused another sensation, leaving the spectators standing in awe, unable to describe their shock with words.