Is Someone Talking About Me?

This was definitely not a sneak attack!!

The Faceless Man has already formally challenged them to a duel, and all the necessary formalities have been completed before the fight begins.

At this moment, the opponent revealed an opening, and the Faceless Man, right under the opponent's nose, launched a straight punch.

In any case, it definitely doesn't qualify as a sneak attack.

However, when he threw his fist, it suddenly split into five or six long whips of water.

Each whip ends in a sharp point like a spearhead, so when lashed out, it clearly has the power to pierce the air and penetrate city walls.

Seeing this, Zhang Yining suddenly reached out and grabbed to the side.

He grabbed the entire door on the right.

This door is made of mahogany, with the lower half being solid and the upper half decorated with many openwork patterns, covered with a layer of white gauze.

Normally, any strong man could easily break this door with a kick, let alone with a long whip of water.

However, in Zhang Yining's hands, this door seemed to have undergone a miraculous transformation, actually blocking those long whips.

The six whips could only pierce the door panel half an inch with their tips before losing their power.

Zhang Yining rotated her hands.

The door spun rapidly, and the six whips were twisted into a single rope.

The faceless man quickly twitched his right arm.

As the saying goes, water has no fixed shape; these long, flowing streams should be able to flow intermittently at will.

However, after being touched by Zhang Yining's skill, these water streams actually became incredibly tough.

With a shake, the faceless man's flow of water didn't stop; instead, the water near his shoulder was twisted into a rope-like shape.

"Snort!!"

The faceless man actually gave up resisting, and his whole body was twisted into a long, flowing rope.

Zhang Yining looked surprised, stopped the door panel, put it to his side, and reached out to catch the hemp rope.

Han Baiyu also looked at the hemp rope and asked in surprise, "Why can't I sense his soul?"

With Zhang Yining's refined skill, he should be able to restrain both water currents and souls.

However, there was only water flowing inside the rope, and no trace of a soul could be sensed.

"Again!"

A boisterous challenge suddenly rang out from the courtyard.

The ground trembled, and all the water droplets on the grass floated into the air, each one crystal clear.

Each drop seemed to be filled with an invisible force, becoming incredibly lethal.

All the water droplets converged and collided, producing an extremely irritating sound.

The colliding water droplets were violently deformed and piled up together.

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of water droplets formed a lifelike human figure.

He was a man in his thirties, wearing a cloud-patterned crown, fish-scale armor, and wrist guards on his arms, with clearly defined knuckles on his hands.

The White Lotus Skill, the "Divine Lord Immovable Transformation Great Art"!

In Buddhism, it is believed that sentient beings are born in four ways: viviparous, oviparous, and so on.

There are also those that are born from moisture and those that are born from transformation.

The so-called "moisture-born" theory is based on the ancient monks' mistaken belief that things like mosquitoes and flies are born directly from moisture, without parents.

As for transformation, these are guardian deities and demons who roam the void. They not only have no father or mother, but they don't even need moisture. As long as their thoughts are sufficient, they are born out of thin air and manifest a physical form.

The extraordinary skill created by Han Shantong, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, has the characteristics of being born from moisture and being born through transformation.

But the former doesn't sound good, so I only used the word "huasheng" and gave it this name.

Compared to the faceless water figure from before, his current form is clearly far more powerful.

Also formed from water droplets, he was able to manipulate a large amount of external energy with every move he made, and it seemed that corresponding internal energy was also being generated within his body.

Buzz!!

Han Shantong raised his right hand, his four fingers bent, the tips touching the base of his fingers, only his index finger standing upright.

The air in front of the index finger suddenly seemed to tremble and crack amidst a buzzing sound.

His entire figure followed the trajectory of the crack, charging towards Zhang Yining.

That finger pointed at Zhang Yining's acupoint between his eyebrows.

Shaolin style, Great Strength Vajra Finger!

Zhang Yining raised his left hand, his five fingers forming a chaotic yet orderly shape, like deer antlers, and inserted them upwards, perfectly supporting Han Shantong's right elbow.

Han Shantong's finger suddenly rose, deviating from its direction.

However, even with Zhang Yining's extremely flexible skills, he was still unable to directly seize the opponent's elbow in this collision.

The two sides separated immediately upon contact.

Han Shantong's left hand, in the same gesture, was already subtly poking towards Zhang Yining's chest.

Zhang Yining still had the water-flowing hemp rope in his hand, and he tightened it with both hands.

The rope was taut, just enough to block the finger.

Han Shantong's left hand, which was originally facing upwards with the tiger's mouth (the area between the thumb and index finger), was now blocked. He then flipped his wrist so that the tiger's mouth (the area between the thumb and index finger) faced downwards, and poked the rope from below with his index finger.

Instead of using the rope to block downwards, Zhang Yining shook his hands.

The middle section of the rope swung forward rapidly, striking Han Shantong's face.

Both sides used exquisite and concise martial arts techniques, but their power was as great as a thunderbolt, silently concentrated within a short distance.

The water surged and stretched the rope, the arc in the middle of the rope even compressing the air in front of it, creating white shockwaves.

It looked like a crescent-shaped, moon-white blade, slicing towards Han Shantong's head.

Han Shantong's figure suddenly floated backward.

Over short distances, his speed was surprisingly comparable to that of the hemp rope.

Moreover, the rope was of limited length, yet he was able to retreat twice in a row.

As he stepped back for the second time, his toes were still touching the ground, while his right hand swiftly hooked the rope.

The highly compressed vital energy, like an ice-white Buddhist bead, was hidden between his thumb and middle finger.

The authentic White Lotus, the Mani Pearl Divine Finger!

The moment Han Shantong gripped the rope, the Buddhist bead was already pressed against the "string".

The hemp rope stretched to its limit was infused with Zhang Yining's skill.

Han Shantong's sudden change seemed to be based on Zhang Yining's skill as the string, while his own skill was the arrow.

At this moment, Zhang Yining should probably withdraw his powers.

Let's see whether it's the speed at which the internal energy is withdrawn or the speed at which Han Shantong releases the arrow.

But Zhang Yining didn't. Instead, he intensified his efforts and lowered his head in an instant.

Clang!!!

The icy white Buddhist beads grazed Zhang Yining's head, breaking several strands of his hair.

But it turns out that the water and hemp rope had somehow formed a perfectly round circle.

This circle was half in front of Zhang Yining, and half behind her.

The prayer beads shot out and struck half of the circle behind him.

This half of the rope loop was no match for the power of the prayer beads and was immediately stretched backward sharply.

Even the water on the surface of the hemp rope couldn't withstand the weight and broke apart.

But it revealed the snow-white silk threads inside the water.

The prayer beads kept striking the silk threads, never ceasing.

Finally, in an instant, the prayer beads were stretched to their limit by the silkworm silk and bounced back.

Han Shantong was caught off guard and struck his right palm by the returning Buddhist beads.

Thump!!

His right palm was punched through, leaving a perfectly round hole, and his right chest was also pierced.

The prayer beads pierced through the armor plates on his back, causing them to shatter along with the armor plates.

Han Shantong staggered back a step, looked down at the hole in his right chest, and fell silent.

His internal strength was a unique skill he created himself, while his techniques focused on finger techniques, combining all the finger skills of the White Lotus Sect and Shaolin into one.

Finger techniques, in fact, are among the most demanding disciplines in martial arts, emphasizing dexterity and adaptability.

Those two changes were extremely simple, yet incredibly precise, compressing the speed of response to the limit.

In this duel, Han Shantong was actually slightly inferior.

"Your Mightiness----"

Han Shantong asked in a deep voice, "Whose signature move was that just now?"

Despite the thrilling duel he had just experienced, Zhang Yining remained calm and chuckled, "It's nothing special. As the saying goes, it's the way of nature, something that comes naturally and effortlessly."

Han Shantong's lips trembled, and he felt a tightness in his chest and a wave of nausea.

If it's a unique skill from a prestigious family, refined and perfected over generations, then that's fine.

But Zhang Yining clearly meant that he had just created a move on the spot.

"This gentleman, you haven't actually lost."

Zhang Yining noticed something amiss and quickly said, "I am someone who has mastered internal energy cultivation and studied its variations, so my moves are rather casual. This is simply a difference in our styles; there is no difference in skill level between us."

"Besides, you were only controlling a puppet remotely. If you were actually here, you might have had time to react."

Han Baiyu watched from behind with a smile.

The bastard on the other side showed up uninvited, without even a formal invitation, and started a fight right away. Han Baiyu was actually a little angry.

But she knew that her protectors were sometimes better at infuriating people than she was.

After all, sincerity is more likely to break down defenses.

Sure enough, after hearing what Han Shantong had just said, even the water droplet-shaped form couldn't help but sway.

"With a single, casual move, you were able to defeat me; you are truly a genius."

Han Shantong reluctantly cupped his hands in greeting, "But if I may be frank, in that battle just now, your skill seemed to be only on par with mine. Even if you could fight the Shaolin Abbot with your quick wit, you might still be able to put up a fight."

"To say that you could single-handedly defeat two top masters from Shaolin and the Beggars' Sect is probably just a rumor in the martial arts world, and it's somewhat exaggerated."

His gaze fell on Han Baiyu. "She must be the Sun Heaven. And what wondrous methods did she use to help her from the sidelines?"

Han Baiyu smiled but remained silent.

Han Shantong felt a little relieved and became more composed.

"In that case, I'm afraid even you, sir, cannot subdue the righteous armies of the world. However, as allies, we—"

Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

"I think I heard someone talking about me?"

Han Shantong was shocked. He soared into the air and stood ten zhang in the sky, turning around to look.

There was no one else in the courtyard.

Instead, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder from behind.

Why are you standing so high? Come down.

Chu Tianshu suddenly descended, pressing Han Shantong back to the ground.

Han Shantong's feet touched the ground, and his heart sank. He felt that no matter how much power he exerted, the unfamiliar hand on his shoulder would always release a force that neutralized it.

Could it be...?

Han Shantong's eyes twitched, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Could it be that you, senior, are the real person?"

"My name is Chu Tianshu. If you're asking about eliminating the Busha and Yang Muren, then it was indeed me who did it."

Chu Tianshu loosened his grip on his shoulder.

Han Shantong turned to look at him.

This person didn't look much older than the boy in white.

With black hair adorned with bamboo hairpins, sword-like eyebrows, and smiling eyes, she wore a sky-blue fitted outfit underneath a white robe with ink-wash plum blossom patterns, and a long sword hung at her waist.

Han Shantong hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"You mean to ask why your true body and soul aren't here at all? From the perspective of your soul, this courtyard should be completely covered, so why didn't you find me?"

"Your martial arts are quite unique; both your physical body and soul are far from here."

"But your soul went underground and, through some means, transferred and projected the power of your true body here, forming an avatar, is that right?"

Han Shantong was startled again, but his expression calmed down, and he nodded.

He originally regarded this person as a rival, but now he has come to terms with the facts and regards the other party as a senior.

Once your mindset changes, you're less easily shocked or upset.

The "Divine Lord Immovable Transformation Great Art" is indeed such a miraculous skill.

Back then, he suffered from dissociative identity disorder, and his soul was always wandering outside. He wanted to create a way to have his soul attach to someone else's body so that he could also exert his powers.

Initially, he thought that since men and women have different blood and energy, and yin and yang attract each other, he could train some female disciples to practice cultivation techniques similar to or opposite to his own, allowing his soul to temporarily reside in them.

However, firstly, this kind of training is too time-consuming, and secondly, there are too many masters in the world today, and there are countless martial arts techniques that can directly damage the soul.

If one's soul is attached to another person, and that person dies in battle, the soul will most likely have no chance to escape; it's too dangerous.

Later, Han Shantong discovered that the heavens and earth, wind and thunder, are ever-changing, and there are many things that frighten the soul.

However, deep within the earth, the changes in true magnetic field appear unusually gentle and orderly.

Therefore, he cast his soul into the earth.

There is a saying that one can see far by climbing high places; the higher one flies, the farther one can see.

Actually, the same principle applies in reverse: the deeper you dive, the farther you can see.

As long as one can figure out the details of the changes in the true magnetic field, and harmonize with, follow, and guide it, without going against it, then one can take advantage of the situation underground to observe the situation in the far distance.

Later, Han Shantong created the unique "Transformation True Qi," an internal force with a very special form of existence that can be projected to extremely far distances using the earth's true magnetism.

After mastering this extraordinary skill, whenever he wanted to plot something big, his true form would always be dozens of miles away from the target.

Then, the soul is sent hundreds of feet underground to the hiding place, where it receives internal energy from the true body, which is then transformed and projected to the target location, taking shape with the help of water.

In this way, even if Han Shantong's avatar is killed, his soul and true body will still be dozens of miles away from the murderer.

"I can tell you why you can't detect me: because your avatar lacks the other senses of the true body, possessing only the single perspective of soul detection."

"My body and soul are highly integrated. Once my body ceases all movement, my soul also hides deep within, harmonizing with this nature. Of course, your soul cannot perceive me."

Chu Tianshu chuckled and suddenly patted Han Shantong on the shoulder.

"Has your true form already begun to escape?"

"Don't run away. If I remember the aura of your incarnation, no matter how far you escape, I will find you."

Han Shantong calmly replied, "Senior, please forgive me. I am simply accustomed to taking walks. Since you have given the order, I will move closer."

"Haha, no need to be so careful, aren't we all on the same side in our anti-Yuan movement?"

Chu Tianshu's eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Brother, take my advice. You're someone special, but you shouldn't be thinking about how to use your divine skills in combat!"

"Let's chat a bit more. If we click, I'll give you some more tricks to make your disguise even harder to detect. In return, you can do me a small favor—"