Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies Chapter 1578: The Lurker

Zhang Yi smiled as he looked at Ruan Ping, and everyone else's gaze also fell upon him.

Nobody had any particular reaction, assuming this was just a simple loyalty test.

Ruan Ping opened his mouth in slight surprise, and after meeting Zhang Yi's meaningful gaze, he let out a helpless smile.

Then.

In the very next instant, before anyone could even react, a blinding light erupted between Ruan Ping and Zhang Yi, as a surging, terrifying power detonated in an instant!

The sheer might of that force felt as if it could annihilate heaven and earth!

The few people closest to Ruan Ping stiffened all over, and they had no doubt that if even a fraction of that power spilled onto them, they would be reduced to ashes in an instant!

And at this moment, that power was clearly heading straight for Zhang Yi!

Everyone was stunned, including the Celestial Hound Squad members led by instructor Baili Changqing. They had no reaction whatsoever, completely unaware of what was happening on the scene.

Only Zhang Yi could clearly see it all.

Just as he had called Ruan Ping over to undergo Yang Xinxin's Arrow of Lust judgment, Ruan Ping swiftly crouched low, a terrifying supernatural power erupting all around him, and then he lunged straight at Zhang Yi!

"Whoosh!"

A dazzling golden light tore across the sky.

Zhang Yi and Yang Xinxin stood calmly in place, with three thousand layers of Dimensional Gates stacked protectively around the two of them, centered on him.

That surging torrent of energy vanished into the Dimensional Gates like a stone sinking into the sea.

Zhang Yi's gaze shifted into the distance, where Ruan Ping had stopped several kilometers away, staring at him intently with a mocking glint in his eyes.

Zhang Yi rubbed his fingers together, his expression turning serious.

"A Black Chariot-tier Transcendent!"

That single strike alone had exposed his true strength. He had to be at least a Black Chariot-tier existence with an ability index of 20,000 or higher!

Although Zhang Yi had sensed something was off about the man, he never imagined that a master of this caliber had been lurking right here in Tianshui City!

"Even across the entire Huaxu Nation, Black Chariot-tier Transcendents are few and far between. Just where the hell did you crawl out from?"

And as a Black Chariot-tier Transcendent, he should be the most honored, top-tier combat power wherever he went.

So why would he hide here in Tianshui City disguised as an ordinary Transcendent for nearly an entire year?

Zhang Yi couldn't wrap his head around it, but he knew one thing clearly right now: this man was no friend!

Since he wouldn't reveal his purpose, then Zhang Yi would just take him down and interrogate him slowly!

"Mu Yan!"

Zhang Yi barked out.

The shadow behind him immediately rose up like a sheet of fabric, enveloping Yang Xinxin and the others and pulling them inside.

As for Zhang Yi himself, he shifted into combat stance without a moment's delay.

His combat suit deployed, and with a single step, he appeared directly in front of Ruan Ping.

Meanwhile, Baili Changqing and the others inside the Shadow Space were utterly dumbfounded.

They never imagined that Ruan Ping, who had lived alongside them day in and day out for so long, who looked so completely unremarkable, possessed such terrifying power!

Zhang Yi and Ruan Ping maintained a distance of several hundred meters between them. Manifold Phenomena unfolded with Zhang Yi at its center, and Tracking of All Things locked firmly onto Ruan Ping. The moment he made any move, Zhang Yi would catch it in advance.

"Who are you?"

Zhang Yi didn't rush to attack. Instead, he threw out the question while carefully observing Ruan Ping.

A gaunt frame, 1.85 meters tall, with messy, overgrown hair. A guy like this would be instantly forgotten if you tossed him onto any street.

Ruan Ping heard Zhang Yi's words, and a strange curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

He suddenly clapped his hands and said to Zhang Yi in an approving tone, "Not bad. You're pretty good!"

Zhang Yi furrowed his brow slightly. "Oh? In what regard?"

Ruan Ping replied, "The fact that you managed to detect my presence proves you're pretty good."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Way better than those other fools!"

Zhang Yi's brow furrowed even deeper.

Those other fools. Who exactly was he referring to? That single sentence carried an enormous amount of information.

Zhang Yi asked, "Did you come from the Shengjing district? Are they still not willing to give up on me, and sent someone to teach me a lesson?"

The smile on Ruan Ping's face grew even wider.

He spread his hands and shook his head. "No, no, no. You've got it wrong. I come from a place you couldn't even imagine. But then again, none of that matters anymore!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Since I've already blown my cover, there's no point in letting you live."

His attitude was casual and dismissive, as if Zhang Yi wasn't even worth his attention.

Zhang Yi let out a cold laugh. "You want to kill me?"

"What else?"

Ruan Ping tilted his head and looked at Zhang Yi. "A small fry like you? If I'd wanted to kill you, you'd have been dead a year ago!"

A chill suddenly ran down Zhang Yi's spine.

He hadn't even realized that a monster of such terrifying strength had been right beside him all along.

If that man had harbored even a sliver of killing intent toward him this past year, he might have died in his sleep.

But then again, if this man had been staying in Tianshui City all year, then he couldn't possibly know Zhang Yi's current strength.

Zhang Yi took a deep breath. The silver-gray ring on his right wrist slowly split open, flowing down like liquid mercury, and in his palm it formed a sharp long blade: the Sword in the Tree!

"Looks like you have no intention of revealing where you came from. Fine then. I'll go find the answers myself!"

The mockery on Ruan Ping's face grew even more pronounced.

He straightened his right arm, and a golden light materialized in his right hand, eventually taking the form of a war spear over two meters long!

Within Zhang Yi's left eye, light flickered as he predicted the trajectory of his opponent's incoming attack.

Ruan Ping raised the war spear and hurled it directly at Zhang Yi, with the casual ease of someone tossing a pebble.

But the moment the spear left his hand, it kicked up a terrifying storm. Above Tianshui City, thunder roared across the sky, and the spear instantly crossed the hundreds of meters between them. Everything along its path was utterly destroyed, the ground split open deeply. No, to be precise, all the earth and rock was completely erased from existence!

Zhang Yi raised his left hand and calmly used a Dimensional Gate to block the attack.

The terrifying golden war spear plunged into the Dimensional Gate in an instant, and under Ruan Ping's confident gaze, it rapidly vanished without a trace.

Not even a single ripple was left behind.

The smile on Ruan Ping's face slowly faded, and that confidence transformed into confusion and shock.

"How is this possible? With your strength, there's no way you should have been able to block my golden war spear!"

Zhang Yi pressed two fingers together and aimed them at Ruan Ping.

"Next. This move of mine. Can you block it?"