"Heh."

Wu Yi slightly raised his brows and let out a soft chuckle. Though still young, he already understood that villains often died because they talked too much. Otherwise, he would never have been able to survive in the high-risk profession of being an undercover agent. If the Ink Jade Disk had not confirmed his estimation of Lin Zheyu's strength and verified that the opponent was only slightly stronger than a Grandmaster, Wu Yi would not even have revealed himself. He would have remained hidden in the shadows and launched a sneak attack instead.

Whoosh.

Wu Yi formed a hand seal with his right hand and waved lightly. A massive net suddenly appeared beneath Lin Zheyu's feet. The net rapidly contracted, binding toward Lin Zheyu with lightning speed before he could react. Indeed, even after confirming that the opponent's strength was far below his own, Wu Yi remained extremely cautious and had already laid a trap before revealing himself. This appearance served not only to satisfy his own mind but also had another purpose. It was meant to stall for time and trigger the trap he had set.

This is bad!

Lin Zheyu's heart jolted, and his expression changed instantly. He had already been extremely cautious, yet he had still fallen into the opponent's trap.

Whoosh.

Lin Zheyu no longer cared about concealment or disguise. True origin surged through his body as the Purple Thunder Demon-Slaying Saber slashed out fiercely. A gray haze of true origin clung to the blade, concealing the sharpness of its edge. Yet the Thunder true intent contained within the true origin unexpectedly activated the blade's characteristics, causing this incomplete dharma artifact to erupt with unprecedented sharpness. Dense arcs of lightning burst from the blade as the blade light cracked like thunder.

The blade struck the net, sparks bursting with a sizzling sound. Then, with a ripping tear, Lin Zheyu split open a huge gash. Several more slashes followed, and the great net was completely cut apart by him.

"How is that possible? This kid... this kid... Is this the energy cultivated by a Shamanic cultivator? No. Shamanic cultivators only temper their physique. Their world-destroying power is contained entirely within their bodies. They do not use spirit power... There must be other secrets on him!"

In an instant, several thoughts flashed through Wu Yi's mind. Not only was he not shocked, but he was delighted instead, and a greedy light shone in his eyes. As a member of the Directorate of Celestial Observation, Wu Yi knew the Hidden Dragon List extremely well. The so-called opportunity secret realm was merely a heritage land of the Shamanic Clan. Only martial artists who had entered the Hidden Dragon List were qualified to enter that heritage land.

Shamanic cultivators did not care about cultivation talent. They valued only physical potential and spiritual will, which bore striking similarities to martial cultivation geniuses. Every year, a group of geniuses from the Hidden Dragon List were selected to enter the heritage land. Yet after so many years, only a handful had successfully inherited anything, and what they obtained were merely incomplete, ordinary techniques.

The Hidden Dragon List served as the Shamanic Clan's selection witch artifact for their heritage land. After being modified by the Directorate of Celestial Observation, its power had become even stronger. Only pure martial artists who had not cultivated any other spirit power or energy could pass the Hidden Dragon List's screening and ascend onto the list.

Therefore, in Wu Yi's view, Lin Zheyu must have used some secret method to unleash power far beyond the Grandmaster realm. Only then could Lin Zheyu split open the net Wu Yi had laid with a single slash.

Wu Yi quickly slapped his storage pouch with his right hand, and three streaks of fluorescent light shot out. With a thought, one streak transformed into a half-human-height shield that floated beside him. The shield emitted a faint energy barrier that enveloped him. The remaining two streaks of light fell into his hands.

Wu Yi was no longer a rookie like those junior brothers and sisters who had only recently entered a sect. He had already gone through more than a dozen life-and-death missions. Through those repeated ordeals, he had developed a cautious nature and the habit of using full strength even when hunting a rabbit like a lion. Those who were careless and lacked self-awareness had long since died during trial missions.

Suddenly, a series of booming sounds came from Wu Yi's body. The corner of his mouth curled slightly as he looked at Lin Zheyu rushing toward him at high speed, a mocking sneer appearing on his face. In his left hand, he held a palm-sized bronze gold drum. The booming sound came from it.

At the instant the sound wave arrived, Lin Zheyu felt a mysterious force pierce through his true origin barrier and enter his mind. His spirit wavered for a moment before instantly recovering.

What is this thing? A spirit attack? That is all it amounts to, eh?

The moment the mysterious energy entered his mind via the sound-wave attack, it was instantly annihilated by the forty-two powerful true intents within his consciousness. The function of true intent was not only to strengthen true strength and grant it special effects. It could also serve as a spirit barrier for martial artists. Those forty-two true intents were forty-two powerful barriers protecting Lin Zheyu's spirit and will. Wu Yi's attack had not even touched his spirit before it was instantly destroyed by those powerful martial true intents.

How is that possible?

Wu Yi's expression changed drastically when he saw that Lin Zheyu was unaffected.

The Bronze Gold Drum was one of his most powerful dharma artifacts and also a rare soul-attacking artifact. Among martial artists of the same realm, almost no one could withstand the Bronze Gold Drum's attack. Yet the person before him, who seemed to be a Shamanic cultivator, had actually blocked it!

There is a great secret on him!

Wu Yi's eyes reddened as the Bronze Gold Drum instantly vanished from his hand.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as the Colorful Star Sword floating beside him shot out with a whoosh. It transformed into a seven colored streak of sword light that blasted toward Lin Zheyu like a stream of radiance. The Black Tortoise Shield, the Bronze Gold Drum, and the Colorful Star Sword were his three strongest dharma artifacts. The Black Tortoise Shield specialized in defense and protected him from sneak attacks during battle. The Bronze Gold Drum specialized in soul attacks. Once the drum sounded, enemies would fall into spirit dizziness as if their souls had been seized.

His usual tactic was to confuse the enemy with the Bronze Gold Drum first, then use the Colorful Star Sword to sever their head. However, he had not expected the Bronze Gold Drum to lose its effect on Lin Zheyu this time. But what of it? Even without the drum, his Colorful Star Sword was still extremely powerful. Wu Yi simply wanted to end the battle quickly and did not wish to delay here for too long.

Lin Zheyu pushed his Perception Domain to its limit. The moment the Colorful Star Sword appeared, he had already noticed it. Although he had not specifically cultivated his physique, after advancing to the Force Transformation realm and condensing true origin, his physique had received considerable enhancement under the nourishment of true origin.

The Perception Domain was a powerful field born when the spirit and soul reached a certain strength and, in turn, nourished the body. After his physique strengthened, Lin Zheyu's Perception Domain also improved. The instant he detected the seven colored streak of light, his expression turned serious.

A flying sword! That is all it amounts to!

A thought passed through Lin Zheyu's mind as a cold smile appeared on his lips.

The Colorful Star Sword was incredibly fast and had reached nearly four times the speed of sound, far faster than Lin Zheyu's current maximum speed.

Within Lin Zheyu's Perception Domain, the sword seemed to have a slow button pressed on it, and its speed became extremely sluggish. His body tilted slightly to the side and avoided the sword thrust aimed at his arm. With a thunderous boom beneath his feet, the terrifying true origin erupted. His speed surged wildly and in an instant rose beyond three times the speed of sound as he charged toward Wu Yi.

"So fast! What secret technique did this kid use? Or is it a treasure?" Wu Yi was shocked. Under his control, the Colorful Star Sword moved with extreme agility.

The instant Lin Zheyu dodged it, the sword shot after him with a whoosh at an even greater speed. However, Lin Zheyu's perception was extraordinarily powerful. Within his Perception Domain, the sword's movement trajectory had nowhere to hide. His step paused slightly, and the Colorful Star Sword shot past in front of him.

At the moment the sword passed by, Lin Zheyu's speed surged once more. He did not know how powerful the sword truly was and had no desire to test it head-on. He intended to close the distance quickly and kill Wu Yi, the one controlling the sword.

"Die!"

Lin Zheyu avoided the Colorful Star Sword and rushed all the way to Wu Yi's front, killing intent appearing on his face. Vast true origin surged out and attached itself to the Purple Thunder Demon-Slaying Saber as countless terrifying arcs of lightning crackled across its surface.

With a loud clang, the Purple Thunder Demon-Slaying Saber slashed toward Wu Yi's neck, but the suddenly appearing Black Tortoise Shield blocked the strike. The blade collided with the shield, producing a terrifying impact. Lin Zheyu felt as if he had struck indestructible steel alloy. Not only did the shield remain unmoved, but the terrifying recoil also numbed his entire body.

Damn it!

Lin Zheyu cursed inwardly. During the brief moment of delay, the Colorful Star Sword behind him had already caught up. Its terrifying speed made it impossible for him to dodge.

Pfft.

The Colorful Star Sword pierced into the lower part of Lin Zheyu's left shoulder blade, slicing through the true origin barrier, his skin, and his flesh as easily as cutting tofu. If he had not reacted quickly and avoided the vital area, the sword would have pierced straight through his neck.

Lin Zheyu made a swift decision. True origin surged through his body as he forcibly shifted sideways. The Colorful Star Sword tore through his flesh and burst out of his body.

Boom.

Lin Zheyu erupted with full power and rapidly retreated. Dense true origin wrapped around the wound, and the bleeding stopped instantly, though it was no longer suitable for him to unleash overly powerful force. Fortunately, the injury was on his left arm. If his right arm had been severely wounded, his strength would have been reduced by more than half.

The brief clash shocked not only Lin Zheyu. Wu Yi was also drenched in cold sweat. Spirit power circulated rapidly within his body as he quickly retreated, intending to widen the distance between himself and Lin Zheyu. Just moments ago, he had heard cracking sounds coming from the Black Tortoise Shield. In his perception, several faint cracks had actually appeared on the shield.

What a powerful attack! He clearly only has the strength of a Grandmaster realm martial artist, yet he managed to damage my Black Tortoise Shield. That is unbelievable! But that also proves the secret he carries is worth far more than imagined!

The greed in Wu Yi's eyes grew even stronger.

However, he was not completely overwhelmed by greed and did not lose his reason. Immortal cultivators excelled at dharma artifacts and long-range attacks. Close combat was merely the conduct of reckless brutes, something Wu Yi deeply disdained.

But how could Lin Zheyu allow him to succeed? He knew very well that if the distance widened, he would have no means to deal with Wu Yi's flying sword attacks. The flying sword was faster than his own speed. Even trying to escape would be impossible.

Whoosh.

Gray true origin surged violently as Lin Zheyu rushed forward once more, a ferocious expression appearing on his face. He possessed an advantage that other martial artists did not. Even if he suffered severe injuries, as long as he retained a trace of consciousness, he could use Origin Force to completely recover.

"I refuse to believe I cannot break that turtle shell of yours!"

Lin Zheyu rushed to Wu Yi's front once again. The Colorful Star Sword was indeed very fast, but it was still only a weapon. Wu Yi's own speed was merely around twice the speed of sound, approaching three times at most. Even with the sword harassment from the side, it was not easy for Wu Yi to shake off Lin Zheyu's pursuit.