A Useless Person's Rise to Power

Chapter 20: Feigning Weakness to Deceive Enemies, Concealing Skills to Lure the Real Killer

Unable to suppress his killing intent, Zhou Liang took the lead and launched an attack. His blood-red longsword was suddenly drawn, its sharpness tearing through the air, carrying with it the surrounding poisonous mist, and slashed out with the force of thunder, aiming straight for Qin Zhan's waist and abdomen. It was the Zhao family's world-renowned Thunder Blade technique, with domineering and fierce power.

A sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he secretly pondered: "Borrow the momentum of the blade to break through his spiritual energy shield, then crush him with the power of thunder, sealing off all his chances of fighting back and leaving Qin Zhan powerless to turn the tide!"

Seeing this, Qin Zhan pretended to be flustered and hastily raised his hand to block.

A deafening tremor shook the surrounding area, sending shockwaves carrying poisonous mist that churned in all directions. Qin Zhan was struck as if by a heavy hammer, staggering and sliding several steps before barely managing to regain his balance. His chest heaved violently, a metallic taste rising in his throat, and a trickle of blood slowly spilled from the corner of his mouth. His face instantly turned deathly pale, and he looked severely injured and on the verge of collapse.

Despite his seemingly disheveled and wounded appearance, Qin Zhan remained calm and collected, secretly sneering: his deliberate display of weakness and feigned serious injury was perfectly executed, and his plan to lure the enemy was already three-tenths successful.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Liang's eyes surged with wild joy, and he no longer harbored any fear: it turned out that Qin Zhan was just a name without substance! Under the suppression of the poisonous fog, his cultivation had been greatly reduced and his combat power had plummeted. Today, he was certain of victory!

The core disciples of the Zhao family on both sides revealed their killing intent and simultaneously darted out. Their claws, wrapped in a fierce wind and accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, attacked from the left and right, directly targeting Qin Zhan's shoulder meridians, intending to cripple his cultivation and sever his martial arts foundation in one fell swoop.

The two men were filled with arrogance, and they were secretly confident that, being controlled from the front and back and attacked from both sides, no matter how fast he was, he would have no chance to dodge!

Qin Zhan feigned a swaying, unsteady gait, as if the poisonous mist had impaired his movements, barely managing to dodge by the slightest touch. However, the claw wind was too domineering, still sweeping across his shoulder with a piercing tearing sound. His robes shattered instantly, and his flesh was ripped apart by the force of the wind, revealing a hideous, bloody gash, crimson and glaring.

A low, muffled groan escaped Qin Zhan's throat, his face drained of color, and he looked swaying precariously, as if he could no longer hold on to the remaining forces.

Seeing this, Zhou Hu burst into loud laughter, his tone full of contempt:

"He's all show and no substance! Give him a full-scale attack and wear him down!"

In the shadows, a disciple of the Zhao family, harboring ulterior motives, quietly manipulated a magic seal. Unwilling to engage in direct combat, he only wished to secretly seize any opportunity.

In an instant, the mist surged, and countless sharp stone arrows shot out from the poisonous fog, avoiding direct attacks and targeting Qin Zhan's blind spots from behind, striking with ruthless and cunning tactics.

The disciple was secretly delighted: an attack from the fog is hard to defend against, this strike will surely be a success!

Qin Zhan looked flustered, as if caught off guard, and hastily conjured a spiritual energy shield with his other hand.

A hail of stone arrows crashed into the shield, causing a massive shockwave and shattering the spiritual energy shield. The remaining stone arrows, their momentum undiminished, pierced Qin Zhan's back.

Several muffled thuds were heard, and blood suddenly splattered out.

Qin Zhan's body swayed suddenly, and he could no longer stand steadily. He staggered and bent his knees, kneeling heavily on one knee. His breathing was disordered and erratic, and his body was covered in wounds and looked like he was exhausted and at his last gasp.

Upon seeing this, all the Zhao family disciples were filled with wild joy, convinced that the situation was settled: he was barely holding on to his crippled body, his fighting strength was collapsing, and they only needed to launch one more offensive to easily defeat him!

Little did they know that everyone was deceived by appearances. They only saw Qin Zhan covered in wounds and retreating step by step, but no one realized that it was all a deliberate act of forbearance and pretense.

Once these jackals have completely lowered their guard, we will close in and turn the tables!

Zhou Liang spotted Qin Zhan's weak aura and a chilling killing intent flashed in his eyes. With a flick of his finger, three eerie green poison needles shot through the air, their shafts coated with a potent and chilling corrosive poison.

This poison is hidden in the God-Eating Mist, colorless and odorless, extremely sinister. Once it enters the body, it corrodes tendons and veins, and kills instantly upon drawing blood, with no cure whatsoever.

Zhou Liang grinned maliciously inwardly, convinced that this attack was a sure thing:

Such a sudden and unexpected poison needle attack is impossible to dodge, no matter how high your cultivation level is; being hit by the needle means certain death!

Little did they know that Qin Zhan was already on guard. His body suddenly surged with spiritual light, a faint glow enveloping him. The emerald poison needle lost its power and fell to the ground as soon as it approached within three feet, the poisonous medicinal power instantly purified by the spiritual light.

Qin Zhan showed no sign of distress. Instead, his body trembled violently, his brows furrowed, and his face was contorted with extreme pain from the poison invading his body. He swayed precariously, as if he would collapse to the ground at any moment.

Zhou Liang's pupils suddenly contracted, but were instantly replaced by wild joy. A huge weight was lifted from his heart: It's done! He had finally been poisoned by the Heart-Corroding Powder, and the deadly poison had attacked his heart. There was no way he could survive today!

Seeing that Qin Zhan had already been poisoned, Zhou Liang had no more scruples. His heart was filled with shock, anger and ruthlessness. The spiritual power of his blood-red longsword surged wildly, and in an instant, he cleaved out three waves of sword energy like a raging torrent, which crashed down in layers, with a domineering and terrifying power.

He gritted his teeth and roared inwardly: No matter how many tricks you have, today I will crush you with my strength. I don't believe I can't kill you!

Qin Zhan suppressed his emotions, pretending to have exhausted all his strength, gritted his teeth and supported his body to get up, urging his Heavenly Burning Spiritual Qi to brace himself and face the attack head-on.

A deafening roar erupted, the triple wave of blades shattered, and the violent recoil struck Qin Zhan like a hammer blow to his chest. Qin Zhan felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out another mouthful of hot blood. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a towering ancient tree.

A deafening roar echoed through the forest, and ancient trees snapped in half. Qin Zhan crashed heavily to the ground, his old wounds now bearing new scars, his clothes stained crimson, his breath faint and feeble, appearing utterly exhausted and powerless to resist.

Upon seeing this, the remaining five core disciples of the Zhao family immediately reached a tacit understanding and simultaneously formed a hand seal. Chains of spiritual energy emerged from the void, crisscrossing and coiling to form a deadly trap, aiming to completely lock down Qin Zhan's spiritual energy and cut off his escape route.

Everyone was excited, their hearts surging with joy: the formation was complete, the spiritual energy was locked, he could not escape, and could only be slaughtered by us!

Qin Zhan feigned a desperate struggle, barely managing to stand up, but his legs gave way, and he collapsed heavily to the ground again. The cold spiritual energy chains wrapped around his limbs and body, digging deep into his flesh, and crimson blood gushed out along the chains, a horrifying sight.

One of the disciples, with a sinister look on his face, summoned his natal Mist Shadow Blade. The blade was shrouded in a sky full of corrosive poisonous mist, which transformed into fine and sharp blade winds that slashed and cut around Qin Zhan's body, leaving fine wounds that kept appearing. Instead of rushing to kill him with one blow, he wanted to slowly wear down his life force, torturing him to the extreme.

He sneered inwardly: I let you be arrogant before, but today I will make you suffer all kinds of pain and slowly wear you down to death, so that I can vent my hatred!

Qin Zhan was covered in cuts and wounds, his body stained with blood. His breath was becoming increasingly weak, his eyes were half-open and half-closed, and his expression was unfocused. He looked like he was on the verge of death and could barely maintain his consciousness.

Everyone around was certain that Qin Zhan was a caged beast, and his death was imminent.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhou Liang lowered all his guard and no longer held back any of his trump cards. With a thought, he unleashed his most powerful weapon: the Demon Wolf Battle Soul.

A dark, wolf-shaped phantom appeared, its fangs menacing, its ferocious aura sweeping across the land. With a force capable of devouring the heavens and earth, it lunged at Qin Zhan, intending to deliver the final, fatal blow and end his life.

"Prepare to die!"

Just as the demon wolf battle spirit pounced, no one expected that Qin Zhan, who was originally on the verge of death, would suddenly have a sharp glint in his eyes, revealing the calmness and sharpness hidden in them.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was careless and relaxed, he suddenly exerted all his strength, shattering the chains of spiritual energy binding him. His figure shot up like an arrow, leaping into the air and rushing towards the deepest part of the poisonous fog without looking back.

His voice, though weak and hoarse, carried an unyielding, resolute coldness:

"You are not qualified to take my life!"

They fled at breakneck speed, leaving a trail of blood that stained the grass and trees behind them.

Zhou Liang and his group were stunned on the spot, their faces full of astonishment, and then they were instantly engulfed by overwhelming anger and shock.

"He's not seriously injured at all! He's just faking it!"

"Don't even think about escaping! Everyone, chase after him immediately! We can't let him leave alive!"

More than ten disciples instantly gathered their energy and gave chase, following the bloody trail, plunging headlong into the vast poisonous fog, relentlessly pursuing the trail...