Exploiting a Bug

Mu Zhe's residence was on the busiest street in Heaven Dou City. Xue Beng and his group did not take long to arrive.

Outside the courtyard, Xue Beng looked around. Seeing no pedestrians, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. "You go in. If you run into anyone alive, just beat them up. I'll keep watch outside for you."

Xue Beng had seen Mu Zhe's performance today. Before he could even react, Mu Zhe had knocked down an entire group of people. His Soul Power was clearly not low. He had better wait outside first; going in directly might get him beaten up.

What Xue Beng and his group failed to notice was that quite a few people were hidden atop the surrounding buildings. Among them was his most hated elder brother, Xue Qinghe. Everything he had done today was merely making a wedding dress for someone else.

The strongest Soul King nodded and gestured behind him. In an instant, the two Soul Ancestors leaped up and landed directly on the courtyard wall, while the others followed suit.

Inside the courtyard, Mu Zhe was meditating when Ah Yin's somewhat anxious voice suddenly sounded. "Mu Zhe, someone has broken into the courtyard."

Mu Zhe nodded lightly, not surprised by this at all. Based on what he knew of Xue Beng from the original work, even after being beaten by Dai Mubai, Xue Beng had managed to bring in a Titled Douluo. Though it had been indirect, it was enough to show how vindictive he was.

Now that he had brought trouble upon himself, Mu Zhe did not regret it. Leaving aside the fact that he had saved Ye Lingling, getting to know Dugu Yan had been worthwhile as well.

After leaving Dugu Manor today, Mu Zhe had gone to Moonlight Pavilion to listen to music. During that time, Tang Yuehua had unexpectedly shifted her attention to Ah Yin. Naturally, he would not reveal any information and merely kept stringing her along.

Besides that, there was another matter worth mentioning. Whether on the way to Moonlight Pavilion or on his way back, he had sensed someone watching him in secret. One particular gaze had made his heart instinctively sound an alarm. Compared to the pressure Tang Hao gave off, it was only slightly weaker.

Mu Zhe immediately made a guess. The surveillance by ordinary people should have been arranged by Xue Beng, while that powerful gaze might have come from the Heaven Dou Royal Family. But the most likely person was Qian Renxue. Someone only slightly weaker than Tang Hao was also a Titled Douluo.

After all, the Heaven Dou Royal Family had no Titled Douluo, and even Soul Fighting Douluo were rare. They were either guarding Xue Ye's side or stationed at the border. It was impossible for them to send someone to watch him.

Qian Renxue's attention should have been drawn to him because of Xue Beng. Even if Qian Renxue did not know that Xue Beng's stubbornness was an act, she would still have people watching him at all times, and that was precisely how she had noticed Mu Zhe.

Mu Zhe spread out his Spiritual Power, scanning every movement around him. There were eleven people in the courtyard and one weakling outside. That should be Xue Beng.

Suddenly, Mu Zhe's heart jolted. His gaze turned farther away, where a powerful stare was fixed on him, exactly the same as during the day. Qian Renxue had actually come as well.

He forcibly calmed his heartbeat, rose to his feet, and slowly walked toward the courtyard.

"Several guests have arrived uninvited. Is there something urgent you need?"

Mu Zhe glanced at the leader. Through his Spiritual Power, he could sense that this man was a Soul King.

He had great talent in Spiritual Power cultivation. His usual battles relied on controlling shadows, which could train his Spiritual Power. After obtaining the Purple Demon Eyes, he improved even faster. With Tang San's insights, Mu Zhe had reached the second stage, Minute Perception, in just one month.

His Spiritual Power was comparable to that of a low-level Soul Emperor.

"Hmph. Someone saw that you were close to the master of Moonlight Pavilion and found it very unpleasant. They paid for your head."

The Soul King snorted. He knew a little of the inside story and casually made up an excuse for his master.

Then he waved his hand again, directing the people behind him. "Go. Take his head off."

These ten people all did dirty work for Xue Beng and were highly experienced. They understood their leader's meaning: other than his head, they could hit him however they pleased.

"Kill!"

Everyone roared and summoned their Martial Souls.

In an instant, dazzling Spirit Ring light flickered throughout the pitch-black courtyard—white, yellow, and purple.

The leader released his Spirit Rings as well. Well, he had all three colors. As a Soul King, he did not even have a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring, and his first Spirit Ring was only a white ten-year one. But it made sense. Anyone with good talent would never sell their life to a useless prince like Xue Beng. They would have far better options.

Xue Beng had probably recruited him by promising wealth and glory.

"Hmph. With only this much strength, you dare serve as someone's dirty glove?"

Looking at the Soul Ancestors, Soul Elders, and even Soul Grandmasters charging at him, Mu Zhe was slightly speechless. It seemed Xue Beng had truly been bullied too badly by Qian Renxue. The people he could bring out were nothing but trash.

The next moment, Mu Zhe vanished from where he stood. Yet in the blink of an eye, he appeared in the courtyard again, accompanied by nine shadows that each met one of the nine people rushing toward him.

This was a Soul Skill Mu Zhe had released only after entering the void. Every time he condensed a shadow, he had to reveal his Spirit Rings. But his Spirit Rings were far too shocking—all three were purple—and could not be exposed.

At present, Mu Zhe could not use Soul Skills while concealing his Spirit Rings, so he could only exploit a bug.

The leading Soul King was instantly startled and shouted, "Be careful! There's an ambush!"

They had clearly checked the surroundings earlier. Aside from the target, there had been no one else in the courtyard. How could so many people suddenly appear out of nowhere?

But no matter how hard he thought, he could never figure it out. He never suspected this was a Shadow Clone Soul Skill. He had seen Shadow Clones before; no one could possibly summon so many clones, much less make them as agile as real people.

On a building outside the courtyard, Qian Renxue, dressed in men's clothing, watched the scene in surprise. She truly could not make sense of it. He did not even need to summon his Martial Soul to fight? No wonder they had been unable to learn anything about his Martial Soul.

However, as the granddaughter of Spirit Hall's Great Worshiper, she had seen much. She had encountered similar Martial Souls before, such as arms or fists—parts of the body that could be used directly without being summoned.

But releasing Soul Skills without even lighting up Spirit Rings—was that not a little absurd?

Qian Renxue looked at She Long beside her. "She Long, can you tell what is going on?"

She Long paused, then carefully probed again with his Spiritual Power before speaking. "Those black shadows are all Soul Skills, not real people."

In his perception, those black shadows were all condensed from Soul Power. But what he could not understand was why they were so agile. Could Mu Zhe be controlling every one of them? If so, was that control not a little too formidable?

Qian Renxue frowned slightly. Though she wore men's clothing, she still possessed a distinctive charm. If certain perverts from the twenty-first century saw her, they would definitely lick their screens.

"I meant the Spirit Ring issue!" Qian Renxue was very dissatisfied with She Long's answer.

"Ah, cough, cough. Your Highness, if one's mastery of a Soul Skill reaches the point of perfection, it is possible to use a Soul Skill without lighting up one's Spirit Rings."

She Long came back to himself and hurriedly answered Qian Renxue's question.

He had been so absorbed in the thrilling battle that he had actually failed to notice his young mistress's dissatisfaction.

As for the matter of Spirit Rings, She Long had not originally known about it. It was only after he once saw the Great Worshiper use Soul Skills without summoning Spirit Rings that he learned the reason after asking for guidance.