In the hall, Li Chen stood draped in a cloak, his Hunting Knife pressed against Qian Wanli's neck;
Below the dais, Li Chen held his five fingers slightly spread, controlling three Puppets at once as they fought the enemy.
The situation was bewildering, shrouded in mystery. Seeing that Qian Wanli had already been subdued, everyone hesitated to strike lest they harm him. None dared act rashly, and they could only retreat for the moment and cease fighting.
Only a middle-aged female cultivator who looked like a Retainer seemed to realize something. She cried out, "This... this is Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting!"
Someone asked, "Third Madam, what did you say? Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting?"
An inscrutable light flickered in the woman's eyes, carrying a hint of excitement and perhaps a touch of yearning. "An ordinary Skin-Painting Art could never achieve such a flawless disguise. Only Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting could! He must be an inheritor of Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting, and a highly accomplished master at that."
"Hm?" At those words, everyone turned to look at Li Chen in unison.
Over the past three years, Li Chen had never shown that he knew this Secret Art. In the Octagonal Fort, only Master Artisan Bu and Artisan Zhao had chosen one of the ten great Creation-Promotion Secret Arts as their foundation, and there was no corresponding expert in Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting.
Li Chen had no need to exchange knowledge with such an expert or learn from one, so he had never revealed it.
Even Artisan Zhao had never asked much about these matters. He had assumed that Li Chen knew only the Swarm of Bees Technique, along with some poison arts for battle and slaughter, defensive Secret Arts, and the like.
Sure enough, this hidden card had produced an unexpected effect just as he was about to leave. No one had