Chapter 93: You call this shadow concealment?

A sharp intake of breath ran through the crowd.

At the same time, the wealthy merchants were even more stunned, for everyone knew how terrifying Ye Tian was.

He had cut his way alone through the Wu family and emerged unscathed; after the news spread across the whole of Central Capital, he still walked the streets with no ill effect, brazen and unrestrained.

This man not only possessed frightening strength, but also stood under formidable protection.

Let alone ordinary merchants like them; even the legendary martial clans dared not provoke him.

Thus, the originally lively cheers gradually fell silent.

Though everyone was reluctant to leave, they only dared to watch in hushed caution, afraid that some stray word or glance might anger Ye Tian and cost them their heads.

“Darling brother, you seem to have quite a notorious reputation,” Tang Wanyue said flatly.

“Damn it...” Ye Tian’s mouth twitched, but he had no rebuttal. People in Central Capital were afraid of him now; that was an undeniable fact.

While they were still talking, Ito Shin, by contrast, seemed to have lost his soul. He stood there blankly, clutching his own Autumn Rain in silence.

How could this be?!

Hadn’t the Swordsmith Immortal said there was no blade under heaven sharper than Autumn Rain? Why, then, had that man, clearly at a disadvantage, been able to split it cleanly in two?

And looking at it, that curved blade of his hadn’t even been nicked!

Compared with that, Autumn Rain was nothing but scrap iron!

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!” Ito Shin suddenly roared, looking nearly mad.

He had studied the language of Dragon Country for so many years precisely in order to come to Dragon Country and give these short-sighted fools a taste of Eastern Isle’s might.

Yet who would have thought that at this very first exchange, he would suffer a crushing defeat?

No. He could not lose. He was the pride of Eastern Isle.

Ito Shin glared at Ye Tian and shouted, “Do you dare compete with me again?”

Ye Tian frowned. This idiot must have been stimulated into some kind of breakdown:

“By your own rules, haven’t I already won?”

“That doesn’t count!” Ito Shin shrieked. “Next, I will show you the ninjutsu and ninja arts of Eastern Isle. You narrow-minded people of Dragon Country, open your eyes and look carefully!”

“Sasaki!”

“Here!”

At his command, a broad-roped, powerfully built man from Eastern Isle stepped forward. With a sweep of both hands, flames burst forth in a torrent that seemed to fill the sky!

Panic instantly seized the crowd. Frightened people scattered in all directions; women screamed and fell to the ground.

The sudden spectacle left everyone utterly unprepared.

“Hahaha, this is the ninjutsu of our Ito family, Fire Release!”

“So long as we wish it, we can summon flames anytime, anywhere, and use them to slaughter our enemies!” Ito Shin grinned viciously at Ye Tian. “So? Faced with Fire Release, how will you respond?”

As he spoke, he pointed at Ye Tian. In the next instant, the tall ninja instantly turned and the searing tongues of fire roared toward him.

“Watch out!”

Seeing that Ye Tian made no move at all, Gu Qing’er grew frantic. Without another word, she lunged forward, only to be caught at once by a powerful arm and drawn to his waist.

“What are you rushing in here for?”

Ye Tian stood unmoved where he was, his left arm around Gu Qing’er, while his right hand somehow produced a basin of clear water from nowhere and flung it out.

The water splashed straight into the tall ninja’s face. Startled and off balance, the man stumbled and fell, while the flames sprayed wildly up toward the ceiling.

Then Ye Tian stepped forward and pulled apart the sleeves on the man’s arms.

Two copper tubes appeared at once.

“You tuck a flamethrower in your sleeve pocket and call that Fire Release? How laughable.” Ye Tian sneered, and even helped the man shut the nozzle of the flamethrower.

With that, he turned to face the crowd and drew a yellow talisman from his sleeve.

He dipped it lightly in water from a cup, then wrote with swift, dragon-like strokes across its surface. In moments, arcane runes took shape. Ye Tian gave it a slight shake.

The runes ignited at once, and the entire talisman burst into a bright ball of flame.

And Ye Tian, with effortless nonchalance, caught that mass of fire in his hand, letting it leap and dance there as it pleased.

“I recall that when Master Jianzhen crossed east long ago, he brought only the culture of Dragon Country with him, not mystical arts. If you people of Eastern Isle cannot learn them, then all you can do is put on airs and imitate the surface!” he said.

“I won’t blame you for lacking skill, but if you insist on bringing it out to make a fool of yourselves, then don’t say I didn’t give you face.”

At this point, not only the people of Eastern Isle, but even the people of Dragon Country were dumbfounded.

“What did he just say this is?”

“Mystical arts?”

“The Six Ding Divine Fire can burn all things. It is said to have been used by the Supreme Lord Laozi for alchemy. I don’t know whether that’s true.”

A few merchants who understood the occult muttered under their breath.

“Yes, it differs somewhat from the legends, but he’s not wrong. This is indeed a secret art used for alchemy,” Ye Tian nodded in agreement, surprised that someone here actually recognized the technique.

“Damn, that’s insane. I can’t even believe this is the new century!”

A few people cried out in amazement.

Their shock was entirely understandable.

These days, practitioners of such esoteric arts with true inheritance were already few and far between, rare as a one-in-ten-thousand sight. Those who could combine these occult techniques with inner alchemy and cultivate them to an advanced level were even rarer still.

Most people now could go their entire lives without ever seeing such things.

Naturally, they would find it unbelievable, even suspect they were being deceived.

Ye Tian casually extinguished the fireball, then clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Ito Shin. “If you still have anything else you want to compare, bring it out. I’ll beat you into submission sooner and finish my work.”

“Arrogant!”

Though his eyes were full of disbelief, Ito Shin still would not yield in words: “Your so-called mystical arts are merely one method among many. Such a tiny bit of fire is far inferior to our Fire Release!”

“Hah!”

At once, a chorus of jeers rose around him.

The so-called Fire Release of their Eastern Isle ninjas was nothing more than a parlor trick relying on props. Once the trick was seen through, anyone could learn it, and it was even cruder than some of the folk fire-breathing acts in Dragon Country.

“Don’t think only Dragon Country has wondrous arts. We in Eastern Isle have also developed our own advanced concealment techniques!”

Ito Shin paid no mind to the jeering crowd. After speaking with a cold laugh, his figure suddenly flashed.

Then, right before everyone’s eyes, he simply vanished.

“Hahaha! If you truly have skill, then break my Shadow Concealment Technique!” Ito Shin’s voice came from all directions, and for a moment many people were fooled by him.

“So Shadow Concealment is that Eastern Isle technique for hiding in the dark? To disappear before so many people, that’s impressive!”

“Of course. This is our Ito family’s secret art. Once Shadow Concealment is used, one can kill from the shadows...”

Before the last word could even be spoken, Tang Wanyue reached out and, from the darkness beneath the table, plucked a man out by the arm.

Everyone looked over together.

It was Ito Shin, staring blankly in utter confusion.

“You call this Shadow Concealment?”