Everything seemed like a victory.

The possessed Li Family’s eldest son flew away, no longer continuing the fight. The bronze fragments scattered on the ground looked like spoils of war. Everything seemed victorious, but at this moment, Du Chengfeng felt no joy from victory in his heart.

He lost.

Du Chengfeng was well aware that this time, in this confrontation, he lost.

Luring the enemy deep, deceiving the opponent, using underhanded tricks, and all when the opponent was not in a good state. Only then did he barely achieve the current result. If the opponent had gone all out and didn’t intend to leave, he might not have even survived today—he foolishly thought previously that he might have already been invincible, but so-called invincibility was just like this? 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Perhaps there’s never been any invincibility, and stronger opponents will always emerge.

Perhaps this is actually a good thing, at least for him, although the pressure of death descended upon him once again, it instead gave him a direction to move forward—that is, no matter what, he must kill that Bronze Halberd to live safely. Only by killing that creature that called itself "Yin Man" could he survive safely.

"Having someone who can kill me is actually a good thing, why does this thought seem a bit odd?"

Du Chengfeng scratched his head but quickly cast this thought aside. After all, in the current situation, he couldn’t afford to let his mind wander anymore.

Preparation is everything, everything for battle preparation.

First, after confirming that the possessed Li Family’s eldest son had completely flown away, Du Chengfeng immediately checked the furrows blasted into the ground. As they say, know yourself and know your enemy to win a hundred battles. Since there was a chance to understand his opponent, how could he let it slip away?

And upon looking, he truly discovered something.

"...Not Evil Qi."

Walking along those furrows, each over a hundred meters long, Du Chengfeng frowned slightly.

He himself was proficient in using Evil Qi, which made him more aware that this was not something Evil Qi could do—while the output of external Evil Qi can also be stable and precise, that is only within a small range. Once the attack range is this large, it’s hard for Evil Qi to maintain precision. Like when he chopped the mountain with a slash, the effect was like a heavy hammer smashing down, showing a lack of precision.

However, that Bronze Halberd, using an unfamiliar body, easily carved large swathes of hundred-meter-long gashes on the ground as if with a knife or axe.

"Extremely skilled in combat techniques, especially when at a distance."

Du Chengfeng quietly noted the intelligence he gathered to himself.

"But close combat is somewhat mediocre, similar to me."

This assessment might be a bit harsh, considering his current close combat skills were already top-tier, further improvement seemed unlikely—frankly, everyone with two arms and legs can only have so many techniques. When physical strengths are enhanced by Evil Qi, even physical differences are evened out.

Under these conditions, engaging in close combat would indeed be similar; finding a breakthrough from this angle is impossible, better to fight from a distance.

However, if it’s a distant fight, he can be certain that it’s hard for him to win.

His stage was still at projecting force, but that Bronze Halberd was already able to concentrate energy. If rashly engaging in a ranged duel, the force he unleashed might very well be sliced in half by the Bronze Halberd, body included.

"Difficult indeed..."

Du Chengfeng scratched his head again.

Enhancing precision isn’t accomplished overnight, it requires continuous honing over time—like when he used to play with stones, essentially a way to refine precision. But clearly, he’s still a bit far from truly honing his skills.

Thus, since he can’t solve it with sheer strength, Du Chengfeng aims to supplement from the sides.

After all, intelligence is also part of the battle.

"So why don’t you run?"

Seeing the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix already landed on the ground, Du Chengfeng simply carried his saber and walked over.

"Didn’t you fly quite fast earlier? Why not fly now?"

"..."

Facing the saber-wielding Du Chengfeng, the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix couldn’t help but retract its neck.

But it still didn’t dare to fly.

Flying was impossible, flying to other places now would be seeking death—or rather, worse than death. It still remembered, upon their first encounter, how that Bronze Halberd treated it as mere food.

Now, the Bronze Halberd was clearly somewhat injured.

Injured individuals often consume large amounts to compensate for the wounds’ repair. So, what about the injured Bronze Halberd?

It didn’t want to be eaten like food, no matter what.

"So, let’s fight."

The gray-black Fire Phoenix spread its wings, its entire body igniting with dim flames.

"Let’s fight, since you always wanted to battle me, I’ll reluctantly fulfill you..."

Poof—

Before it finished speaking, the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix was pinned to the ground by a phantom Longsword.

Nailed the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix with one sword, Du Chengfeng then reached into its belly, retrieving another piece of bronze fragment—indeed, he clearly remembered, he had struck down two bronze fragments, his hard-earned spoils of war, not to be missed.

Then, standing atop the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix, he continued questioning.

"How much do you know about that thing that came out from inside?"

"I...I know nothing."

That wasn’t a lie, nor just an expression—it truly knew nothing—had it known even a little, it wouldn’t have stupidly put itself in danger, even getting five legs bitten off.

This didn’t even align with its memories, it distinctly recalled that items stored in such a place were weapons the Chu people couldn’t use, essentially weapons "not destructive enough" in the Chu people’s view, yet now... how could this not be destructive enough?

Something must have gone wrong, some unknown change occurred.

Therefore, even asking it was in vain.

"Don’t know, huh..."

Du Chengfeng frowned, realizing that the Gray-Black Fire Phoenix wasn’t lying.

"Do you know anything about the Yin Man?"

"...Yin Man?"

The Gray-Black Fire Phoenix paused.

It might not know about the Bronze Halberd.

But about the Yin Man, it indeed had heard of them.