"Fool!" Ida shouted, watching Xiao Tan fall from the sky. "Running up there to die?"

What he said made sense. A character like Xiao Tan, who couldn't move horizontally in the air, was putting himself in a helpless position by leaping into the sky. And Ida... would never miss this opportunity.

Bang, bang, bang...

In an instant, the continuous gunfire rang out again, aiming precisely at Xiao Tan as he fell.

But Wang Tanzhi was prepared. He once again took out the [Titanium Alloy Jinhua Ham], using the advantage of being suspended in the air to position his body perpendicularly behind the shield. This way... the weaknesses of this irregularly shaped and overweight shield disappeared. It could not only defend against all gunfire attacks, but also accelerate Xiao Tan's downward attack.

"Tch... brought that out again... that weird shield." Ida spat when he saw it. "Always playing these little tricks..." As he spoke, he devised a plan and immediately sneered, "Hmph... but the attack itself is still laughably simple!"

As the words fell, he didn't move his body, but a lightning-fast Shukuchi (instantaneous movement technique) brought him to the side and rear of Xiao Tan's falling point.

"Let this young master tell you... that combat isn't such a simple thing!" Ida judged the moment his opponent was about to fall to the ground and made this high-speed move. At this moment, his raised sword was about to slash at the blind spot that Xiao Tan's shield didn't protect.

However...

"That's right..." In that instant, killing intent flashed in Xiao Tan's eyes. "Combat... isn't such a simple thing."

The next second, the sword slashed down, and the sound of metal clashing rang out.

"What!" Ida was shocked to find that his sword had "passed through" his opponent's body and hit the inside of the shield.

"I've been tricked!" In almost half a second, the astonished Ida realized the problem. "It's a phantom!"

He guessed correctly. What he had struck was the afterimage created by [The Wind Dwells, the Fragrance of Dust Settles, the Flowers are Gone]; the real Wang Tanzhi had released the shield in his hand at the same time as the sword swung and activated his skill.

The falling shield was just a smokescreen; and the seemingly simple and easily predictable attack method was a trap to lure the One-Eyed Dragon.

The killing intent... was in that instant after Ida made his move, the moment he thought he had succeeded. In this brief moment, losing his footing, defenseless, and with his Musou gauge not full, his only means of defense... was the armor on his body.

In the face of [Assassin's Edge], that kind of defense... was not worth mentioning.

"It's over..." Both Jian Jun Twelve Hates and Zhao Yun, who were watching the battle, had already made their judgment.

Even Ida himself felt that his end was near.

But... his fate was not yet sealed.

"Ha!"

A low shout came, cutting through the air.

The demonic sound entered his ears, shaking his very soul.

Along with the shout, came a string of huge prayer beads.

The giant string of red and black beads flew horizontally like a whirlwind, striking Wang Tanzhi, who was about to thrust out his hidden blade, in the waist.

Xiao Tan was extremely alert and did not lose his composure because of the almost-obtained head in front of him. At that critical moment of life and death, he timely discerned the danger, withdrew his momentum, twisted his body, and blocked with his arm... barely managed to withstand the sneak attack of the string of prayer beads.

"Tch..." This time, it was Xiao Tan who spat, because this attack had cost him dearly.

The prayer beads were filled with demonic energy. Although the rotational impact force caused by the beads themselves was not very strong, with the blessing of the demonic energy, it became a terrifying force.

Xiao Tan was using a short weapon after all. When blocking, most of the force would quickly be transmitted to his arm. With that block, his Survival Value dropped by 14%, and half of his body was numb.

"Little brother! Be careful!" Seeing Xiao Tan being sent flying by the force, his body full of openings, Jian Jun immediately stepped forward to offer assistance. Anyway, the other side had interfered first, so it was justifiable for him to go up and help at this time.

Fortunately... Ida was arrogant by nature and wouldn't do such despicable things in battle. He didn't take the opportunity to pursue Xiao Tan, but stood in place and turned to look in the direction the prayer beads had flown from.

A few seconds later, Xiao Tan landed abruptly, and Jian Jun and Zhao Yun arrived one after another, guarding him.

And the string of prayer beads had already flown back and been returned to its owner's hands.

"You bastard... who told you to meddle in other people's business?" Ida looked at the other party and questioned him in an annoyed tone.

Xiao Tan and the other two also looked towards that person.

It was a burly man, as tall as an iron tower. His upper body was only equipped with shoulder armor and gauntlets, revealing sculpted pectoral and abdominal muscles; he wore a string of small (relatively speaking) black prayer beads around his neck, and held a giant string of prayer beads, each bead as big as a human head, in his hand; his lower body wore wide black pants and boots, wrapped in a light yellow cassock skirt.

As for his appearance... he was bald, with four black rhombus runes printed on his forehead, and four red horns, two large and two small, growing from the top of his head; his face was very fierce, his face sallow, looking to be in his fifties or sixties, with white eyebrows and beard, the beard like steel bristles, scattered in front of his throat; his hands were no longer human hands, but a pair of red claws, their surface covered with shell-like skin.

"Ida... don't be unappreciative." That person walked slowly from the wasteland, saying as he walked, "If it weren't for this humble monk's intervention, you would be a dead man at this moment." His voice was like thunder, and his tone revealed a sense of majesty.

"Taira no Kiyomori..." Zhao Yun stared at the newcomer with a solemn expression, muttering the other party's name.

"Looks like a very powerful guy has come..." Xiao Tan added.

"He's a strange monk who's obsessed with Orochi's power... his body has already been demonized." Zhao Yun continued, "However... his strength is indeed very strong, not only is he incredibly strong and his demonic energy powerful, but he's also cunning and skilled in military strategy... even more so than Daji..."

As they were talking, Taira no Kiyomori had already walked up to Ida, "One-Eyed Dragon, the work of guarding is also very important. If you lose your life because of a moment of impulsiveness, it will trouble Lord Orochi."

"Hmph..." Ida was not convinced by anyone except Orochi. Even though Taira no Kiyomori was his superior, he still dared to retort, "Stop talking nonsense! This young master has his own sense of proportion when doing things, I don't need you to teach me."

Taira no Kiyomori glanced at Ida when he heard this, and didn't bother with him anymore.

A moment later, he walked to the bridgehead, turned his face to look at Xiao Tan and the other two, and said, "A swordsman who is focused on asking about the sword, a Azure Dragon soaring in the battlefield, and... a deeply hidden assassin." He paused, and continued in a mysterious tone, "You want to participate in the martial arts tournament, don't you? Then come with this humble monk..."