208: Mysticism

"Huh?!" Valley Fei Yu was startled, finding the "Long Yuan" she caught was merely an afterimage. She hurriedly looked around, and suddenly felt a chill in her heart. Turning around, she saw Long Yuan standing behind her with that same faint smile... "You?! Very well, it seems I underestimated you..." Valley Fei Yu snapped to attention, immediately focusing all her energy. Her hands waved repeatedly as one spider web after another flew toward Long Yuan as if they cost nothing, attempting to restrict his unpredictable footwork.

As the name suggested, Long Yuan's "Shadow Step" allowed him to move by stepping on shadows. These shadows included his own, his opponent's, and even those of surrounding objects. Anywhere there was a shadow could become his foothold. It was incredibly swift and left no trace, allowing him to dodge and move within inches with extreme precision. This Divine Rank Martial Skill was actually something very few could Cultivate because it required a Dark Attribute Talent, which was extremely rare even in the Cultivation World. However, Long Yuan possessed an All-Attribute Divine Rank Talent, which naturally included the Dark Attribute. Combined with his exceptional Comprehension Ability, cultivating this technique posed no difficulty for him. With just a slight sway of his figure, he caused Valley Fei Yu's dense spider webs to miss one after another. These webs were synthesized from blood energy, Xuan Power, and some of the Flying Jade Spider's Origin, so they took a significant toll on Valley Fei Yu. Moreover, her previous battle with Lai Min had already consumed a lot of spider silk, causing her expression to turn grim.

She had previously looked down on Long Yuan, so she hadn't considered transforming to fight. In her view, wouldn't it be a joke to transform just to deal with a newcomer like him?

How could she compete with Zhou Yuan afterward?

But now it seemed she had no choice. Long Yuan had achieved such results without even attacking. If she let him continue to wear her down, she definitely wouldn't be able to fight Zhou Yuan in the final battle. A quick resolution was the optimal solution right now.

*Rip—*

Valley Fei Yu acted on her thought and immediately began her transformation. A Human-faced Jade Spider appeared on the stage once more, eliciting gasps from the audience. Many hadn't expected Valley Fei Yu would need to transform to deal with Long Yuan. What was going on?

Tian Jing's face grew somber. With her eyesight, she could naturally see that Long Yuan's movement technique was extraordinary, far beyond her own... In fact, not just her—Xu Guanghu, Geng Yun, Bai Pu, Bai Shan, He Hao, Qi Da, Xu Ruoying, and members of various families sitting in the VIP section were also staring dumbfounded. They realized Long Yuan's footwork was truly unpredictable; even with their vision, they couldn't tell where he was going. After numerous afterimages of Long Yuan appeared on the stage, they couldn't even distinguish which one was his true body!

Of course, with Xu Guanghu's Martial General-level Divine Soul power, he could still lock onto the true body based on sensitivity to blood energy if they were face-to-face, but whether he could actually do it remained to be seen... Xu Guanghu took a sharp breath. To think that even with his cultivation, he couldn't see through Long Yuan's footwork—just how high was the grade of this technique?

In his memory, Da Ming didn't seem to have such a brilliant movement technique... Valley Fei Yu was said to have the Flying Jade Spider Bloodline, but she couldn't truly fly. She only appeared to be flying by relying on the power of her spider silk. Now, while spewing silk frantically, she used its force to fly into the air. Darting back and forth, she kept throwing webs at Long Yuan while weaving a massive web in the sky, intending to completely restrain him!

Logically, by doing this, she held the aerial advantage, which should be a crushing blow against ordinary Acquired Xuan Practitioners. However, Long Yuan wasn't going to indulge her. Watching Valley Fei Yu busy herself in the air, he chuckled inwardly. Gathering Xuan Huang Power in his palm, he struck toward the sky!

Valley Fei Yu's figure froze. She was suddenly shocked to find she couldn't move!

For some reason, the Bloodline Power within her body hit an obstacle. She couldn't spit out her silk, and her body instantly went into a free fall, crashing heavily onto the ground with a loud "thud!"

Spider silk flew everywhere!

To the audience, it looked like Valley Fei Yu had been knocked down by a single palm strike from Long Yuan... "Whoa!!!"

"No way! What did I just see?!"

"Valley Fei Yu was hit?!"

"How is this possible? She's a Martial Master!"

"Long Yuan is amazing! He actually did it..."

"Long Yuan!" "Long Yuan!!" "Long Yuan!!!" The members of the Fengyang No. 1 High School team were instantly thrilled, shouting with excitement... "Xuan Power Ejection?!"

"A Martial Ancestor?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Several principals stood up in shock, shouting one after another... To see Xuan Power Ejection in a match of the Acquired Realm was extremely rare!

Acquired Xuan Practitioners found it difficult to manifest Profound Qi externally. To strike an opponent, they needed close-quarters combat or weapons. Only a very few geniuses could achieve Xuan Power Ejection for long-range strikes. This was why everyone was so shocked to see Long Yuan knock down Valley Fei Yu from a distance.

They never imagined Long Yuan might actually be an Innate-level Martial Ancestor contestant; that was the only way to explain how he knocked down Valley Fei Yu... Zhou Yuan, watching from below, was no longer calm. The faint smile that had been on his face had long since vanished, replaced by a dark, contemplative look... As the silk dust cleared, the figure of the Flying Jade Spider was finally revealed. Blood and pain were visible on the human face, and her appearance was incredibly pathetic. Even though she was a Martial Master, the fall had left her dazed and struggling. It felt like several of her spider legs were injured. She tried to force herself up to fight again, but after struggling for a moment, she still lacked the strength. Gritting her teeth, she activated her Secret Technique. Her blood energy surged, and her spider body suddenly grew a size larger, like a giant millstone. Her injured legs were instantly healed. Baring her fangs and brandishing her claws, jade light flickered. Her mouthparts grew to over a foot long, shimmering with a terrifying crystalline light!

"Heavens!"

"Is that a Secret Technique?"

"A temporary boost in cultivation and power?!"

Wan Heshan and the others cried out almost simultaneously.

Some Secret Techniques could greatly squeeze the body's potential, raising an individual's combat power to their current limit or even slightly beyond it, allowing them to turn the tide and defeat a powerful enemy. This provided a way to save one's life and achieve unexpected results—this was the value of such Secret Techniques.

Such Secret Techniques were extremely rare and were considered part of the foundation of various factions. Generally, only elite or Core Disciples had the opportunity to Cultivate them...