Playing the Part to the End
Mu Ye paused for half a second.
The next second, he shoved Zhen Hua aside, stepped to the window, and looked down.
Yun Jingheng has landed.
The landing point was chosen with great precision; it was on the roof of a small shed to the side of the association's main entrance.
Two holes were trampled into the roof, but the person used the momentum to climb over into South Street.
The early risers on the street were startled and scattered.
Yun Jingheng burst out of the crowd and ran wildly northward.
The two members of the Holy Spirit Cult hiding behind the tea stall on South Street moved almost immediately.
They didn't dare to chase directly, but instead kept their distance.
The plainclothes officer remained inside the building, watching Mu Ye and Zhen Hua's reactions.
Without hesitation, Mu Ye braced himself against the windowsill with one hand and jumped from the seventh floor.
Its true form bloomed in the air, its dark golden light illuminating half the street.
When he landed, he stomped two deep pits in the ground, sending bricks flying and overturning several stalls with the blast wave.
Without even looking, he rushed towards Yun Jingheng.
"Yun Jingheng--!"
The roar startled all the dogs on the street, making them bark.
Yun Jingheng heard it.
He didn't look back, and his pace quickened.
After running thirty steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
He raised his right hand, Moonlight Sword was already forming in his palm.
The sword is silver-white, thin and long, with a very faint frost-like sheen on its surface.
With a flick of his wrist, the first sword flower spun out.
Fourth Spirit Ability: Moonlight Sword Dance.
Crescent-shaped sword energy shot out from the sword flowers, which spun faster and faster, and the sword energy became denser and denser.
The silvery crescent moon swept across the Mu Ye like a relentless wind.
Mu Ye doesn't hide.
His right fist lit up, and dark golden Soul Power enveloped his entire arm like a shell.
One punch, then another.
The sword energy struck his fist, producing a dense metallic clang.
With each sword aura he shattered, his fist slowed down a fraction, but he continued to move forward.
Yun Jingheng retreated while wielding his sword, always maintaining a distance of seven or eight zhang from Mu Ye.
The stalls on both sides of the street were overturned by the sword energy, and several roadside trees had half of their branches and leaves cut off, with wood chips and broken leaves filling the sky.
When Mu Ye charged through that silvery-white sword curtain, a layer of frost had already formed on his fists.
He looked down and saw that his fist was ice-white and chilled to the bone.
He shook his hand, using his Soul Power to force Shuang back. When he looked up again, there were two more figures beside Yun Jingheng.
A man in white stood to his left, his face the same as Yun Jingheng's, his expression calm.
A figure dressed in black stood to his right, surrounded by a grayish-purple Moonlight, with extremely cold eyes, holding a blood-red Moonlight Sword in his hand, the blade edged with silver.
"Senior Mu Ye, stop chasing." Yun Jingheng stood between the two, his sword tip pointing to the ground, his breathing steady.
He paused, then added, "If you keep pursuing me, I'll have to get serious."
Mu Ye didn't speak.
He stared at the three identical Yun Jingheng, his chest heaving violently.
He's been fighting his whole life; he's seen it all.
This was the first time he had ever faced three Yun Jingheng who could use their full set of Soul Skill at the same time.
But on the day Shrek was destroyed, wasn't he only able to create one clone? How come now...?
It felt like running into a pre-laid net.
No matter who he throws a punch at, the other two will immediately cut in from the most difficult angle.
The Good Corpse moved first.
He formed a hand seal, and two silver-white Moonlight Chains shot out from his palms, coiling towards Mu Ye's ankles.
Mu Ye stepped aside to the left, and the Evil Corpse was already close behind, its sword aimed straight for his ribs.
Mu Ye turned to the side, smashed the Evil Corpse's sword away with his fist, and then kicked the Good Corpse's chains to break.
His movements were incredibly fast, delivering a punch and two kicks in one fluid motion.
But Yun Jingheng's sword had already arrived.
The Moonlight Sword slashed down diagonally from above, carrying the frosty white moonlight.
Mu Ye only had time to lower his right shoulder to take the blow.
The sword energy exploded on his shoulder, his body sank, and the bricks beneath his feet cracked.
He reacted extremely quickly, throwing a backhand punch at Yun Jingheng's sword.
Using the momentum, Yun Jingheng retreated, his entire body seemingly pushed away by the wind, and he floated back to his original spot.
The Good Corpse and Evil Corpse did not linger in the fight, retreating to his side from either side.
The three Yun Jingheng stood still again, none of them moving.
Mu Ye stood there, his shoulder burning with pain.
He looked at Yun Jingheng, then at the two clones standing to his left and right, and slowly, slowly exhaled.
People were already peeking out from the alleyway in the distance, and several early-rising stall owners hid behind their counters, not daring to make a sound.
The Holy Spirit Cult members were also there, clinging to the wall and slowly inching forward, as if waiting to see if the two would fight to the death.
Mu Ye suddenly smiled.
The laughter was short and deep, as if something was rolling out of the throat.
He flicked his wrists, and dark golden Soul Power once again covered his arms, causing the wound on his shoulder to tighten at a visible speed.
He twisted his neck, and his knuckles cracked.
"Okay."
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone around could hear him. "If I don't break both your legs today, I'll write my name 'Shepherd' backwards!"
Before he finished speaking, his entire demeanor had changed.
His body grew another half foot taller, his shoulder and back muscles bulged like iron plates, and the dark golden lines under his skin were no longer just on the surface, but moved around like living things.
Mu Ye a single step, the ground collapsed three inches, and Makino shot out.
This punch was no longer a test; he had increased the power of his true form to 80%.
The golden Soul Power on his fist condensed into an extremely bright beam of light, which shook several wooden doors along the street off their frames.
Yun Jingheng did not answer.
He stepped aside to the left, but the Good Corpse stepped forward first, spreading its arms and unleashing the Moonlight Chains once more.
Six chains coiled around Mu Ye from six directions, twice as fast as before.
Without stopping his charge, Mu Ye grabbed the two chains with his left hand and pulled hard.
The Good Corpse was pulled half a foot off the ground, but he did not let go. Instead, he used the force to flip over in the air and twist the remaining four chains together.
The Evil Corpse thrust in from the right, its blood-red longsword piercing straight into Mu Ye's neck.
Mu Ye met the attack with his left fist, the sword and fist clashing, creating a ring of gray-purple air waves.
The Evil Corpse was shaken back, its heels carving two long furrows in the ground.
But at that moment, Yun Jingheng's true form appeared from behind Mu Ye.
The Moonlight Sword slashed horizontally, its blade gleaming with a vibrant frost-like color.
Mu Ye didn't turn around; he simply lowered his right shoulder and withstood the sword energy.
The floor tiles beneath his feet were all shattered, and half of his sleeve was cut off, revealing his muscular arm.
Blood seeped from his shoulder, but he didn't even flinch.
While he was taking the hit, the Good Corpse landed again and moved to face him.
The Evil Corpse regained its footing and cut back from the left, with the three Yun Jingheng surrounding it once again.
But Mu Ye's actions did not slow down.
He suddenly turned to the side and swept a whip kick at the Good Corpse.
The Good Corpse leaned back, and a gust of wind brushed past the tip of his nose, momentarily scattering the moonlight-gathered contours of his face.
Taking advantage of the situation, Mu Ye turned around and grabbed the blade of the Evil Corpse with his right hand.
He neither dodged nor avoided it; the dark golden Soul Power in his palm forcefully gripped the blood-red Moonlight Sword.
The blade rubbed together in his palm, producing an extremely piercing sound.
The Evil Corpse tried to pull the sword out, but couldn't.
The chains of the Good Corpse wrapped around Mu Ye's left leg again.
Mu Ye a low shout, Mu Ye unleashed his Soul Power, shattering all the chains.
But in the next instant, Yun Jingheng's sword was already three inches from his throat.
The sword did not strike.
Mu Ye didn't move either.
He stared at the sword tip that was so close to him, then looked down at Yun Jingheng.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Yun Jingheng's forehead, but his breathing was not as heavy as before.
The two were separated by only half an arm's length.
"Senior."
Yun Jingheng said in a low voice, so low that only Mu Ye could hear, "That's enough. If we keep fighting, those guys will have to call for reinforcements."
"You little rascal, you really don't hold back at all when it comes to fighting."
Mu Ye lowered his voice, his eyes still fixed on him, as if putting on a show for people in the distance, "If I hadn't held back just now, you'd be lying on the ground by now."
"I understand. Thanks."
Yun Jingheng slashed his sword to the side and said quickly, "I'm heading north. Don't follow me. Xing Lan is still at the association."
Mu Ye's gaze shifted.
He gave a cold "humph," his voice rising as if in anger. "You little brat, don't you dare run away! Fight me another three hundred rounds!"
After saying that, he threw a punch at Yun Jingheng's face.
Yun Jingheng dodged to the side, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and swept backward.
The Good Corpse and the Evil Corpse retreated simultaneously, transforming into two beams of moonlight that were absorbed into his body.
He landed on a low roof tile and glanced at Mu Ye.
That glance was incredibly fast, but Mu Ye saw it.
Then he turned and sped away into the depths of North Street without looking back.
Mu Ye stood still, his chest heaving, like a wild beast enraged after being toyed with.
He took a few steps forward, then stopped.
Then he raised his fist and slammed it into the stone pillar next to him.
The stone pillar snapped in half with a loud crash, scattering rubble all over the ground.
He stood there, not giving chase.
Several Holy Spirit Cult informants in the shadows exchanged hand signals, and one of them quietly followed them to the north.
Some people retreated, heading deeper into the alley.
They only saw an enraged Body Douluo, and three young men who appeared and disappeared like Gui Mei.
What they didn't hear were the coded messages conveyed through whispers and the sharpness of swords beneath what they perceived as "internal strife."
Mu Ye slowly straightened up, shook the dust off his arms, and muttered something under his breath.
Then he turned around and walked back towards the association's main tower. When he reached the door, Zhen Hua was already waiting to greet him.
The two exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Zhen Hua glanced at the still-bleeding wound on his shoulder, frowned, and asked in a very low voice, "He went north?"
"Hmm," Mu Ye said, lowering his voice, "He told me not to follow, and also..."
"Is that girl still there?"
Zhen Hua nodded and didn't ask any more questions. The two of them went back into the building one after the other.
The police sentries outside grew closer, and it was already broad daylight. Yun Jingheng's figure disappeared into the layers of streets and alleys to the north.