[The host should not panic. If the host wants to use the mask, he first has to imagine who he wants to imitate, and the mask will automatically imitate that person's aura, facial structure, body structure, etc., to ensure that the host's identity will not be revealed.]
After hearing the system's usual cold and monotonous voice, he was finally able to force himself to calm down as his thoughts ran in a single direction.
I should have fucking known these scum items would have some sort of damn trick.
Finally, he started to think about whom he should imitate, immediately removing people he considered allies from the picture. He then went through his current enemies and thought about who would be the most troubled if he copied their face.
It can't be someone too weak; otherwise, he might just stay in the sect for the rest of his life and never come out.
It can't be someone too strong or someone with too high of a status, either. He might just use his friends to gang up on the thing and they might be able to take it down if they try hard enough. After all, humans aren't like spiritual beasts—they can scheme.
After thinking through a few candidates, he finally decided on someone.
As his face changed, he became shorter, his build bigger and more stocky like a bodybuilder. His pale complexion turned rough and rugged, while his hair became shorter, like an army cut, before his eyes turned from their usual gold to an average black.
He then changed his clothing to that of a standard Azure Dragon robe, with some additional designs to indicate a higher status.
Finally, he took out his mirror for the second time and stared at his face. He no longer had his exceptionally handsome face; he now looked like his rugged older brother, Huang Long.
"Hehehe... this is fucking perfect, no? Not too strong, but not too weak either... if my trash of a father finds out what his prized son 'Huang Long' did, I wonder what he would do?"
[YOU HAVE SCHEMED AGAINST THE LIFE OF YOUR OLDER BROTHER: +500 SCUM POINTS]
"Ah, fuck, I forgot I turned that shit back on."
After going through all of these measures, he finally started to think of a few strategies for the fight before his face scowled.
Shit... I'm okay with scheming against someone before we fight—that's part of preparation—but tactics and strategies in combat isn't my style. Let's just do it the old-fashioned way and beat him up.
After deciding on it, he started to walk towards his target but suddenly stopped just a few meters away from the point where he would be instantly located by the snake if he moved past it.
"Hey system, can this mask also disguise my techniques?"
[YES, IT CAN, HOST.]
"Perfect."
Huang Shi grinned as he instantly took that last step. At the exact moment his foot made contact with the ground, everything suddenly rumbled as the Greenwood Sky Snake snapped its eyes open, which shone with a sickly emerald light.
HISS!
The moment it turned its head and saw Huang Shi approaching, it instantly seemed to scoff. Its expression turned from alarm to one of disdain as it flicked its tongue at him and waved its tail as if trying to shoo him off. Huang Shi grit his teeth, enraged by this gesture.
Bitch, so you think my elder brother is weaker than me, eh? Guess this thing can also imitate a person's cultivation base, and because this damn snake is also injured from our previous fight, it's trying not to take any chances.
"Unfortunately for you, you've royally pissed me off, so it's time for you to fucking die!"
WHOOSH!
All of a sudden, a golden circular halo materialized behind him as his Primordial Sunfyre Halo was instantly activated. A sea of golden flames erupted around his body, incinerating the vegetation that had only just begun to recover from their previous encounter.
The air turned into a furnace, shimmering with heat, and before long, jagged crimson sparks hissed across his skin, strengthening his muscles and turning his eyes into twin pools of crimson light.
The instant Huang Shi entered into battle mode, the Greenwood Sky Snake snapped its head upright. It shifted from nonchalant disdain to extreme caution in a heartbeat, its emerald scales rattling like dry leaves in a storm.
HISS!!
The giant, 30-meter serpent erupted with a wave of emerald-green spiritual energy. A visible miasma of toxic Qi surged outward; every tree, blade of grass, and flower that hadn't already been scorched by Huang Shi's flames instantly began to wither, blacken, and dissolve into sludge under the weight of the venom.
Huang Shi let out a low, predatory chuckle—a sound that felt entirely misplaced coming from Huang Long's rugged, stolen face.
He vanished from his spot, leaving nothing behind but a scorched, smoking footprint in the dirt. Driven by the power of his Primordial Sunfyre Halo, his cultivation base surged, temporarily elevating him from the fourth level of the Nascent Profound Realm to the fifth.
BOOM!
He reappeared in a violent blur of gold and crimson.
His fist, encased in a chaotic, swirling mess of golden flames and crackling crimson lightning, slammed directly into the side of the Greenwood Sky Snake's massive tail.
The sheer force of the impact sent a devastating shockwave rippling through the forest floor, uprooting ancient trees and causing the very earth to cave in beneath them.
The snake let out a shrill, piercing cry of agony as the lightning cauterized its emerald scales and the golden fire bit deep into its cold-blooded flesh. However, despite its senses being dulled by the white incense, the beast remained a 9th-level Nascent Profound powerhouse.
Grimacing through the pain, the serpent used the overwhelming momentum of Huang Shi's own punch to coil its massive body with terrifying, whip-like speed. Its tail, thick as a stone pillar and covered in jagged scales, swung back around like a giant flail—aiming with lethal precision at the punch that was still aiming to continue its assault on his body.
Gold and crimson clashed against a wall of emerald scales, the air screaming as the two forces collided.