So You Could Beat Him, but Not Them?

Dai Mubai held his pose after unleashing the White Tiger Intense Light Wave, his right hand thrust forward and his left clenched into a fist. His expression was frozen between madness and fury, his eyes bloodshot and the veins on his forehead bulging. Mud from where someone had stepped on him still clung to the corner of his mouth.

Ji Ye stopped in front of him and looked at his face.

"You can't even beat them, and you still want to fight me?"

"Dai Mubai, you really don't know your own limits."

Ji Ye raised his right hand.

His fingers pressed together.

Then he swung his hand down hard.

"Smack!"

The slap landed on Dai Mubai's face, its sound especially crisp in the frozen world.

Dai Mubai's head snapped to one side. A tooth flew out of his mouth, tumbling through the air with a thin trail of blood behind it.

The Second Martial Soul, "Time," deactivated.

Time resumed.

The sound of the slap finally rang out in full in everyone's ears.

Dai Mubai's body flew sideways as if he'd been hit by a galloping carriage. With a crash, he slammed into the inn wall.

Then he slid down and slumped to the floor. His left cheek was badly swollen, and blood ran from the corner of his mouth down his chin, mixing with the phlegm someone had spat on him earlier. He looked utterly wretched.

Everyone was stunned.

Ma Hongjun's nosebleed dripped to the floor with a plip. He didn't even notice.

Oscar's eyes were twice as wide as usual. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't get a word out.

Tang San's outstretched hand hung in midair before he slowly lowered it. His gaze shifted from Dai Mubai to Ji Ye, his pupils contracting slightly.

What was going on?!

He hadn't seen a thing.

He'd only seen Dai Mubai charge at Ji Ye. The next second, Dai Mubai was flying through the air.

The entire process in between had vanished!

Ning Rongrong's mouth formed a perfect O. She blinked several times before she was sure she hadn't imagined it.

Zhu Zhuqing had stopped halfway through turning her head. Then she slowly straightened up and looked at Ji Ye's back, pressing her lips together.

Dai Mubai slumped on the floor, half his face swollen. Blood and phlegm dripped down in sticky drops.

"You!"

Dai Mubai lowered his head, his shoulders trembling. His fists were clenched, his nails digging into his palms, but he never raised his head.

"Useless."

Ji Ye continued walking toward him.

Ma Hongjun was the first to react. He rushed in front of Ji Ye and spread his arms to block him.

The blood from his nose hadn't been wiped away. Mixed with sweat, it smeared across his face, making him look both ridiculous and frantic.

"Wait, wait! Ji Ye! We're all on the same side!"

Oscar reacted too and hurried to Ma Hongjun's side, nodding like a bobblehead.

"Right, right, we're on the same side! Mu Bai was just blinded by anger. He didn't mean it!"

Tang San came over. Rather than stop Ji Ye, he crouched in front of Dai Mubai and reached out to help him.

This time, Dai Mubai didn't shake him off. He gritted his teeth and stood, leaning half his weight on Tang San's shoulder. He mumbled something, but his voice was too low to make out.

Ning Rongrong stood up and came over too, trying to smooth things over.

"Ji Ye, stop. He's learned his lesson."

Ji Ye halted and glanced at everyone.

Without a word, he turned and walked back to his seat.

He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of food, chewed a couple of times, then lifted his teacup for a sip, as if nothing had happened.

Ma Hongjun let out a long breath and nearly collapsed to the floor.

"Good grief, that scared me half to death."

Oscar relaxed too, dropping heavily into a nearby chair and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"I thought they were going to start fighting again."

Tang San helped Dai Mubai into another chair, then rummaged through his bundle and handed him a piece of cloth to wipe his face.

Dai Mubai took it and wiped away the blood and phlegm. He kept his head lowered and didn't say a word.

His left cheek was badly swollen, and the skin at the corner of his mouth was split. Blood dripped from his chin onto his collar.

"Xiao San, I'm fine."

Meanwhile, the people from Canghui Academy were still eating inside.

Watching the whole chain of events unfold, the tall student's look of scorn returned.

He planted one foot on a chair and folded his arms, speaking as if delighted by the spectacle.

"Well, well, fighting among yourselves? Is this what Shrek Academy is like? Beating up your own people—what a joke."

The others behind him joined in, their noisy, grating laughter ringing especially loudly through the quiet inn.

"That kid in white sure can beat up his own people. Why didn't he come out earlier? Hiding in his room like a coward, then getting all fired up once his own side was down."

"Chicken, that's what he is. What else?"

The Canghui Academy girl with the ponytail didn't laugh. She watched Ji Ye with curiosity still in her eyes.

Ji Ye set down his teacup.

He said nothing, but everyone's attention turned toward him.

He stood up and slowly turned to face the Canghui Academy students. A faint smile played at the corner of his mouth, chilling enough to make one's back go cold.

"So you could beat him, but not them?"

The laughter from Canghui Academy stopped dead.

The tall student frowned and twisted his mouth, still full of disdain.

"Kid, don't think that knowing a couple of tricks means you can—"

He hadn't finished speaking when Ji Ye moved.

The Second Soul Ring lit up.

"Second Soul Skill."

"Void: Inch-Distance."

His figure left a streaking afterimage in the air. In an instant, he crossed more than ten zhang and appeared behind the seven Canghui Academy students.

They were too slow to react.

"Thud!"

He kicked the tall student in the small of the back.

The student was sent flying, landing face-first and skidding more than a zhang across the floor. The skin on half his face was scraped away.

He let out a muffled cry as he lay sprawled on the ground.

He struggled to get up, but his back wouldn't support him.

The other six hadn't even recovered when Ji Ye moved again.

He weaved through the crowd, one punch and one kick at a time.

The burly boy swung at him. Ji Ye leaned aside to dodge, then brought his elbow down onto the boy's shoulder blade. The boy cried out and dropped to one knee.

Another boy lunged at him from the side. Ji Ye lifted his leg and kicked him in the chest. The boy flew sideways into the doorframe, then slid down it.

The short-haired girl reached out, preparing to use her Soul Skill, but Ji Ye slipped behind her and lightly flicked the back of her neck. Her vision went black and she crumpled.

The ponytailed girl dropped what she was holding and raised both hands. "I'm not fighting! I'm not fighting!" Ji Ye left her alone.

In less than ten breaths, all seven Canghui Academy students were sprawled across the floor. Some were face-down, some were on their backs, and some were curled up. They all groaned, unable to get back up.

Only the ponytailed girl remained standing, her hands raised above her head, her face pale and her legs trembling.

The inn, inside and out, fell silent.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar stood with their mouths open, at a loss for words.

Tang San's gaze had shifted from conflicted to utterly grave.