Chapter 1010: Shi Tiangang
Chapter 1010: Shi Tiangang
Within the Lunjian arena, the forest was lush and dense.
Shi Tiangang was in pursuit, while Mo Hua was on the run.
Mo Hua fled in a panic, his back hunched and terrified, resembling a frightened deer desperately seeking escape.
Shi Tiangang, on the other hand, wore a cold smile, his demeanor commanding. With his towering stature and the might of a Vajra, he strode like a hunting tiger.
Countless spectators outside the arena watched this scene, captivated by the thrilling chase.
"Despicable Mo Hua, your time has come," they muttered.
"Good and evil will be repaid, and the time has come," someone added.
It was evident to all that if Shi Tiangang caught up to Mo Hua, a simple squeeze of his mighty hand would be enough to end Mo Hua's life.
The spectators eagerly awaited this very moment.
In the depths of the forest, Shi Tiangang steadily closed the distance with Mo Hua. As a seasoned physical cultivator, his movements were undoubtedly faster than Mo Hua's.
However, Shi Tiangang remained vigilant.
He knew that Mo Hua was not as simple as he appeared, and it was impossible for him to just wait for his demise.
Moreover, Mo Hua was the leader in Formation Way.
Even though he relied on spells during the Swordsman Competition Congress, he would undoubtedly have some Formation techniques up his sleeve.
As expected, after a short distance, the ground suddenly rose, and the earth sank, forming a trap that ensnared Shi Tiangang.
Second-grade middle-tier Formation: Flowing Sand Mountain Lock Formation.
Shi Tiangang remained unfazed.
He swung his arm, shattering the chains of stones, and his blood Qi resonated, dispersing the flowing sand. With a leap, he broke free from the Formation trap.
In the Swordsman Competition Congress, there were Formation restrictions, and even Mo Hua couldn't fully utilize his Formation skills.
A second-grade middle-tier Formation couldn't hold Shi Tiangang for long.
But the Formation had bought Mo Hua some time, allowing him to put more distance between them.
Shi Tiangang continued his pursuit, his strides as swift as a meteor. With a few flashes, he closed in on Mo Hua once more.
Mo Hua was startled and pushed his body technique to its limits.
He employed a water-based body technique, his steps graceful and swift, leaving behind a trail of water as he moved.
The origins of this body technique were no secret to Shi Tiangang and the many Dao Fa elders observing from outside the arena.
Flowing Water Step.
It was a rare but not exceptionally advanced water-based evasion technique.
It aligned perfectly with Mo Hua's low-grade Five Elements and his proficiency in various methods.
Moreover, Mo Hua had mastered this body technique.
However, Shi Tiangang's heart filled with disdain as he witnessed Mo Hua's performance.
How could a mere foundational Five Elements body technique compare to the Golden Steps of his Vajra Sect?
Shi Tiangang took giant strides in pursuit, encountering some minor obstacles along the way, such as Formations, roadblocks, and talismans, but none could hinder his advance.
Soon, Mo Hua had exhausted all his tricks.
His spells, talismans, and Formations were spent, and his low-grade spells were of no use.
Mo Hua had no choice but to run for his life, but even his sole remaining body technique couldn't match Shi Tiangang's.
His slender figure exuded desperation.
The spectators outside the arena applauded and cheered, captivated by the thrilling chase.
And soon, the moment they had been waiting for arrived.
Shi Tiangang closed in on Mo Hua, his gaze sharp as a tiger's, and his hand, enveloped in Vajra power, reached out to grab Mo Hua.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation.
But in the next instant, a flash of water shimmered at Mo Hua's fingertips, and Shi Tiangang's palm grasped at thin air.
Shi Tiangang focused his gaze and saw Mo Hua performing a flat fall, dodging his Vajra hand. With a quick roll, Mo Hua disappeared into the nearby bushes, using the dense foliage to conceal his tracks.
Without hesitation, Shi Tiangang unleashed a powerful punch.
The force of his punch tore open the earth, shattering rocks and turning plants into dust.
However, behind the bushes, there was no sign of Mo Hua.
Shi Tiangang furrowed his brows.
He swept his divine perception and turned to look behind him, only to see Mo Hua, resembling a frightened deer, jumping out from the forest and running frantically toward the distance."
Shi Tiangang immediately gave chase, and as he approached, he threw another punch, his fist shimmering with golden light.
But it seemed Mo Hua had anticipated this, for he dodged the punch with a quick shift of his body, and then he disappeared into the bushes once more.
Shi Tiangang stomped his foot, and Vajra power surged from his feet, creating a crack in the ground that snaked towards the bushes.
The entire bush was then blown away by the force of his strike.
Rocks, dirt, and wood chips rained down, but there was still no sign of Mo Hua.
A faint trail of Qi led Shi Tiangang to turn around, and he saw a suspicious figure running away in the distance.
It was Mo Hua.
Gritting his teeth, Shi Tiangang pursued him once more. Just as he was about to catch up, Mo Hua darted behind a large rock.
Shi Tiangang's fist shattered the boulder into pieces, but there was no trace of Mo Hua behind it.
Not even a hint of his Qi remained.
After a short while, Mo Hua suddenly appeared from nowhere, glanced at Shi Tiangang, and then took off running.
Even with Shi Tiangang's stable mind, Mo Hua's evasive tactics were beginning to irritate and anger him.
His eyes gleamed with the intensity of a Vajra, and with each breath, a tiger's roar echoed from his Dantian. He channeled his Vajra power to its peak and directed it entirely to his feet, focusing on the Three Yang Meridians.
With a powerful stomp, the ground cracked, and golden light flashed as Shi Tiangang launched himself like a cannonball towards Mo Hua.
Mo Hua's steps were light and agile, and he quickly circled behind a large tree.
In the next instant, the tree was reduced to powder by a mighty golden body.
But there was still no sign of Mo Hua behind the tree.
Shi Tiangang turned his head and was shocked to see Mo Hua, who had somehow reappeared behind him, walking away with the Flowing Water Step.
Shi Tiangang finally realized something was amiss, and his heart trembled:
"This guy is elusive and mysterious... What kind of strange body technique is he using?"
Shi Tiangang was confused, but the spectators had a clear view.
From their vantage point outside the arena, almost every observing cultivator could see clearly.
Mo Hua wasn't using any advanced body technique.
His body technique had always been the basic Flowing Water Step.
However, he had combined it with a concealment technique!
Shi Tiangang pursued, and Mo Hua fled. Whenever Mo Hua was cornered, he would quickly slip into the bushes, hide behind boulders, or take cover behind trees.
Using the forest's dense foliage to block Shi Tiangang's view, he would stealthily employ the concealment technique, disappearing from sight. Right under Shi Tiangang's nose, he would leisurely circle around and reappear behind him.
Then, he would deactivate the concealment, revealing himself to continue luring Shi Tiangang away.
It wasn't particularly ingenious.
It was just the basic Flowing Water Step combined with a sneaky concealment technique.
The spectators in the audience could easily see what was happening, but Shi Tiangang, who was in the midst of it all, was like a blind man trying to find his way, frantically searching in all directions, unable to see through Mo Hua's tricks.
The audience was anxious for him.
"It's the Hidden Art!"
"Such a simple trick, how can Shi Tiangang not see through it?"
"He's being toyed with by the Hidden Art, and he's such a big guy, he really is like a big, stupid fool..."
Most cultivators were both frustrated and angry.
They were frustrated by Mo Hua's cunning and angry at Shi Tiangang's incompetence.
However, some of the Daoist elders watching the fight frowned.
Especially those who had learned, practiced, and deeply studied the Hidden Art, their expressions grew solemn after some contemplation.
They knew that this was not as simple as it seemed.
It wasn't that Shi Tiangang couldn't figure it out, but that Mo Hua's use of the Hidden Art was too unconventional.
A normal cultivator, when using the Hidden Art, whether entering or exiting the state of concealment, would require a certain amount of time and a gradual process of fading.
But Mo Hua was different.
His speed of concealment was too fast, and the gradual process of fading was almost negligible, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Furthermore, he always used trees and stones to conceal his movements during his concealment.
This use of the Hidden Art left absolutely no trace.
It was perfectly normal for Shi Tiangang to not see through it immediately.
If it weren't for the Fangtian Huayin, which clearly showed Mo Hua's every move, even the Daoist elders present might not have been able to figure out Mo Hua's strange trick in such a short time.
"This kid's spellcasting is truly... divine..."
"Indeed, he's clever and has a high level of understanding, a natural talent for the Dao."
"It's a good thing his magic origin is poor and his spiritual power is shallow. Otherwise... if he really learned a few high-level Daoist spells, combined with his extraordinary divine perception and understanding of spellcasting, it would be quite frightening..."
"Indeed..."
The Daoist elders communicated through sound transmission, secretly amazed.
One of the Daoist elders said:
"But Shi Tiangang should have realized something was wrong by now..."
"Even if the Hidden Art is used in a tricky way, it's still just the Hidden Art. This Mo Hua kid, running around while hidden, will eventually leave some clues."
"Not noticing it at first is understandable."
"Playing hide-and-seek for so long and still not figuring it out is really hard to justify..."
Or is it that the physical cultivators of the Jin Gang Sect have strong bodies but simple minds? Of course, this thought could only be kept to themselves, as saying it out loud would offend others.
The physical cultivators of the Jin Gang Sect were all big and burly, with fists as big as sandbags, and they were not to be provoked.
Inside the arena, Shi Tiangang still couldn't figure it out.
There was one thing that most of the Daoist elders watching from the Fangtian Huayin hadn't noticed in a short time.
Mo Hua's concealment technique wasn't just the Hidden Art.
It was the Five Elements Concealment Art.
The Five Elements Concealment Art, blending with the Five Elements and hiding within the world.
This was once the unique skill of the Five Hidden Sect, one of the hundred sects in Qian Xue Prefecture.
But the Five Hidden Sect had long declined, and hundreds of years ago, the entire sect left Qian Xue Prefecture, their whereabouts unknown, and they might have even gone extinct.
The only remaining disciple, the Second Elder, was caught by Mo Hua for his misdeeds.
Mo Hua broke his teeth and obtained this concealment technique.
Mo Hua was naturally gifted, and his Five Elements Concealment Art was several times more exquisite than that of the Five Hidden Sect's own disciples.
With his powerful divine perception, small Five Elements magic origin, mastery of Five Elements formation techniques, and the ability to conceal his presence using the Five Elements, along with his extensive experience in taking risks and escaping from dangerous situations, Mo Hua had perfected his concealment technique.
It was impossible for Shi Tiangang to discover him.
Even if a Jin Dan initial stage cultivator were to replace Shi Tiangang, they might not be able to see through Mo Hua's concealment technique.
If Mo Hua really wanted to escape, he could simply hide, and Shi Tiangang wouldn't be able to find him.
The reason he occasionally showed himself was to distract Shi Tiangang and make him chase after him.
This way, he could mock them and then kill the other disciples of the Jin Gang Sect.
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The two of them continued their game of cat and mouse in the forest.
After several more rounds, Shi Tiangang still hadn't seen through Mo Hua's concealment, and he didn't even realize that Mo Hua was using the Hidden Art.
But he did sense that something was wrong.
Mo Hua's movements were extremely strange, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, sometimes in front, sometimes behind, sometimes to the left, and sometimes to the right.
And whenever his aura disappeared, it didn't seem like a movement technique, but rather a "trick."
He felt like he was being "tricked."
Shi Tiangang was extremely annoyed.
He stopped chasing Mo Hua and instead fortified his position, turning the golden light around him into armor, and his blood Qi resonated like golden threads, destroying all the rocks, trees, and woods along the way, trying to force Mo Hua out.
However, this move backfired.
As the forest collapsed, the Five Elements of earth and wood mixed together, providing even more cover for Mo Hua's Five Elements Concealment Art.
Mo Hua hid nearby, silently watching Shi Tiangang wreak havoc in the forest.
When Shi Tiangang was done, Mo Hua would show himself briefly, say a few words, and then provoke him again.
Shi Tiangang's body was filled with surging power, and his punches and kicks were covered in a layer of dark golden blood Qi, imbued with killing intent, making them unstoppable.
Just a touch from Shi Tiangang would be enough to "kill" Mo Hua.
But to his frustration, he couldn't even hit Mo Hua.
He didn't even know where Mo Hua was.
The powerful master of the Jin Gang Sect was feeling helpless, like a person with a big gun trying to swat a mosquito.
Despite his strength, he couldn't do anything to Mo Hua.
This situation continued for some time.
Shi Tiangang, filled with anger, suddenly realized something was wrong.
He had wasted too much time on Mo Hua, and his fellow disciples on Ling Hu Xiao's side were surely under immense pressure, and the situation must be dire.
With this thought, Shi Tiangang couldn't care less about his hatred for Mo Hua and turned to leave.
Mo Hua tried to stop him, throwing a few spells, but their effect was weak, and he didn't bother to use them again.
Shi Tiangang left the forest and arrived at the battleground, where the situation was as he had expected. One of the Jin Gang Sect's disciples had already fallen.
Now, Ling Hu Xiao and his three companions were suppressing three of the Jin Gang Sect's disciples.
The situation was at stake.
Shi Tiangang roared, and he too rushed forward, engaging in battle with the group.
As they clashed, he immediately noticed something unusual.
Among the few from Tai Xu Gate, aside from Ling Hu Xiao, the spiritual equipment they wielded, without exception, were all Metal Counter and Armor Break types.
The equipment shimmered with a profound radiance, a special formation imbued with spiritual light.
Shi Tiangang instantly recognized the source of these formations.
Mo Hua.
The leader of Tai Xu Gate's formation path.
In a battle of swords and spells, it was all about outmaneuvering each other.
While he was plotting against Mo Hua, Mo Hua was also scheming against him.
These Metal Counter and Armor Break equipment were specifically prepared by Mo Hua.
The key was to see who would kill first, Mo Hua from Tai Xu Gate or Ling Hu Xiao's fellow disciple.
It seemed that he had fallen into Mo Hua's trap.
Shi Tiangang gritted his teeth.
This junior brother of Tai Xu Gate, Mo Hua, was far more cunning and elusive than he had imagined.
Moreover, he had many hidden cards up his sleeve.
Just then, Mo Hua also rushed over, and the situation was as he had expected—one less member from Jin Gang Sect, making it a five-on-four battle in Tai Xu Gate's favor.
With this advantage, Mo Hua began using Five Elements spells to support his allies.
The disciples of Jin Gang Sect were all physical cultivators who had cultivated the Invincible Diamond Sutra, so Mo Hua's spells had little effect on them individually.
But this was a team battle.
His spells could create opportunities, amplify weaknesses, harass the enemy, and provide space for Ling Hu Xiao and the others to unleash their full power.
A little space was all they needed.
Soon, the disciples of Jin Gang Sect were dispatched one by one by Ling Hu Xiao's sword Qi.
In the end, only Shi Tiangang remained.
On Tai Xu Gate's side, Cheng Mo and Situ Jian, who had previously restrained the Jin Gang Sect disciples, had exhausted too much energy and were defeated by Shi Tiangang, who seized the opportunity to shatter their Daoist jade and retreat.
Now, only Mo Hua, Ling Hu Xiao, Ou Yang Xuan, and Jin Gang Sect's first disciple, Shi Tiangang, remained.
Three against one.
Mo Hua thought he had it in the bag.
But he never expected that the real challenge was yet to come.
This "Shi Tiangang" was the most difficult opponent.
Mo Hua truly witnessed the power of the Invincible Diamond Sutra, the impenetrability of his body to blades and bullets, and his invulnerability to water and fire.
Shi Tiangang had pushed his Diamond Body to the extreme, and in a head-on confrontation, he alone suppressed Ling Hu Xiao, Ou Yang Xuan, and Mo Hua, fighting against three people.
His cultivation was close to the peak of the Foundation Establishment, and his blood Qi was exceptionally abundant, and his innate roots were extraordinary.
He had cultivated the Invincible Diamond Sutra to the third level, 'Golden Skin and Iron Bones', during the Foundation Establishment realm.
This was an unparalleled achievement among the disciples of Jin Gang Sect in nearly a hundred years.
Sword Qi could not penetrate his iron bones, and spells could not affect him due to his golden skin.
Shi Tiangang's steps were heavy and solid, and his fists were like diamond. Each move was filled with surging blood Qi and hidden diamond power. Ou Yang Xuan was forced to retreat step by step.
Ling Hu Xiao could only rely on his sword Qi to fight head-on.
Mo Hua could only cast spells from a distance.
Despite the three-on-one advantage, they were suppressed by Shi Tiangang, who fought as if he were three people.
This battle was intense and chaotic, filled with desperation.
It was the longest swordsman competition Mo Hua had ever experienced.
He was even forced to consider disrupting his plans and using other hidden cards.
In the end, Ling Hu Xiao managed to 'explode' under the intense pressure, and after their combined efforts, they finally defeated Shi Tiangang in a head-on clash.
Shi Tiangang was a genius.
Ling Hu Xiao was also a genius.
Mo Hua's constant battles had honed his skills, and this swordsman genius was gradually becoming stronger and sharper.
Shi Tiangang had put immense pressure on him during the competition.
Ling Hu Xiao also unleashed tremendous combat power.
Of course, Ling Hu Xiao alone would not have been enough.
Ou Yang Xuan, seemingly quiet, withstood tremendous pressure using the Tai Ah sword technique, providing invaluable support.
And there was Mo Hua.
He used various spells like the Fire Luminance Technique, Golden Flash Art, Earth Collapse Art, and Golden Resonance Technique, which, while not causing direct harm, could dazzle, deafen, blind, and trap his opponents. These irritating spells restrained Shi Tiangang, causing him to lose his temper and reveal many weaknesses.
Shi Tiangang's pre-battle analysis was correct.
If he didn't kill Mo Hua, he would indeed be schemed to death.
Even if he wasn't schemed to death, he would be disgusted to death.
After an unknown number of rounds, Mo Hua exhausted his spiritual energy, and Ou Yang Xuan gave his all. They finally managed to wear down Shi Tiangang's Invincible Diamond Body and break through his defense.
Only then did Ling Hu Xiao have the chance to take a breath and, with a desperate effort, unleash the powerful Chongxu Unbinding Sword Manual, slaying Shi Tiangang.
Tai Xu Gate emerged victorious.
After the battle, Mo Hua heaved a long sigh of relief, feeling exhausted and even a bit disoriented.
He never imagined that the 'first disciple' of Jin Gang Sect could be so powerful.
With top-notch talent and an integrated offensive and defensive physical cultivation, he was indeed formidable.
Shi Tiangang had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and he was already this formidable. If he advanced to the Golden Core or even the Nascent Soul stage and further refined his Invincible Diamond Sutra, how powerful would his physical body become? Mo Hua didn't dare to imagine.
Even if he stood still, it might be difficult for others to defeat him.
"This Shi Tiangang... will definitely be an extraordinary figure in the future..."
Mo Hua nodded, deeply acknowledging Shi Tiangang's strength.
But the battle had dragged on for too long. While he had fought hard inside the arena, the spectators outside felt only exhaustion.
They also recognized Shi Tiangang's strength.
In the final moments, he held his ground against three opponents, even showing signs of defeating them all. Despite his eventual defeat, he left everyone in awe.
However, it was a pity that he had been played around with by Mo Hua's Concealment Art in the small grove earlier.
How could someone be so foolish?
Unable to see through the Concealment Art? The physical cultivators of Jin Gang Sect were indeed strong in body but weak in mind...
Everyone's impression of Shi Tiangang solidified.
In their subconscious, their perception of him shifted from a calm and powerful first disciple of Jin Gang Sect to a...
Brilliant, golden-clad fool.
(End of Chapter)
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