The scumbag boss ran away

"Damn it..." Muzan was chopped into pieces again, and the blue-white flames drained yet more energy from his blood, beginning to make him feel unwell.

And that wasn't the end of it. After landing several slashes, Ye Chen tossed two large barrels at him. Muzan still hadn't fully escaped the Paralysis Trap, and the sight left him puzzled. But he soon learned what those barrels were.

Boom!!

The two Large Barrel Bombs exploded, blasting a crater six or seven meters across into the ground. Muzan reeled from the blast. Normally, bombs couldn't do much damage to him, but these seemed to ignore his body's harder-than-steel toughness. His blood sprayed everywhere, and the wounds that hadn't fully healed from the earlier slashes burst open again. Several tentacles and even an arm were blown clean off.

"You..."

Muzan was beginning to feel afraid. His blood wasn't limitless, after all. There had to be a limit!

What the hell were these flames that kept draining energy from my blood? And what were those bombs? How could they hurt me so badly? He could feel himself gradually weakening, and that was no good sign.

He had been controlling the pace of the battle, only for this bastard to lay a trap here at some unknown point and catch him off guard twice in a row.

Ye Chen naturally knew why. Large Barrel Bombs in Monster Hunter dealt fixed true damage. It didn't matter how much defense you had-if the explosion hit you, you took the damage. Still, he didn't dare slack off. He raised his Long Sword and kept attacking like mad.

Doma, who had risen to his feet in the distance, broke out in a cold sweat as he watched. Holy shit, what am I seeing? Muzan Kibutsuji is getting his ass kicked? You've got to be kidding!

"Blood Demon Art: Rime-Water Lily Bodhisattva."

Doma didn't dare keep playing dead, though. If he did nothing now, having the boss settle accounts with him afterward would be bad news.

As he unleashed his Blood Demon Art, a massive bodhisattva made of ice abruptly emerged from the ground. It stood over ten meters tall, constantly releasing freezing air and poisonous gas. At the same time, the Ice Bodhisattva swept its hand forward, slapping straight toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen couldn't even be bothered to look. The defense of his Fake-Pig Set was invincible here, so he took the Ice Bodhisattva's slap head-on with his head. Then his Long Sword scraped across the ground as he unleashed another Ground Shockwave.

Crack!!

The Water Lily Bodhisattva collapsed as soon as the Ground Shockwave struck it. The shockwave continued without weakening, hitting Doma behind it and drawing a scream from him as another explosion erupted across the battlefield.

Ye Chen's eyes shifted, and he suddenly noticed an enormous, bizarre tentacle above his head. It had a huge mouth that swallowed him in one gulp.

"With this..."

Muzan controlled the tentacle, sending his blood surging wildly into it as he tried to finish Ye Chen off. Suddenly, however, he felt waves of scorching heat inside it. Slash after slash erupted within, draining energy from his blood.

"Ugh..."

Muzan's brow sharply furrowed, and he hurriedly spat Ye Chen out. Even after being expelled, Ye Chen refused to let up, hacking furiously at him with his Long Sword.

Muzan had no idea where more traps might be hidden, so he didn't dare move around recklessly. He could only lash out with his tentacles to fight Ye Chen, but his attacks couldn't hurt him at all. Whenever Ye Chen's blue-white flames struck him, they drained energy from his blood. By now, waves of weakness washed over him, and a sense of helplessness rose in his heart.

For the first time since facing Yoriichi Tsugikuni four hundred years ago, he felt this helpless again. Yet this opponent was different from Yoriichi. Yoriichi had been overwhelmingly powerful, his superb technique and formidable Breathing Style leaving Muzan utterly unable to fight back.

The man before him, however, had an endless array of tricks that were impossible to guard against.

With that thought, he said nothing more. As the loser, he wouldn't leave any threats behind before fleeing. His expression twisted, and his entire body rapidly split apart, instantly becoming over a thousand fragments that scattered in every direction.

"Holy shit, don't run!"

Ye Chen's eyes widened at the sight. Of course, he wanted Muzan to flee, but he couldn't let that show. His hands reacted swiftly as well, attacking the fragments like mad.

Netherworld Breathing, Second Form: Qi Refinement Release: Crescent Moon Slash!

Netherworld Breathing, First Form: Cherry Blossom Spirit Blade Slash!

But no matter how fiercely Ye Chen slashed, he couldn't destroy all thousand-plus fragments. By the time he had cut down seven or eight hundred, the rest had vanished without a trace.

After Muzan fled, Ye Chen looked toward where Kokushibo and Doma had been, only to discover that those two had also disappeared at some point. He immediately stamped his feet several times in fury, swearing under his breath.

"Fuck, a bunch of trash! Run away the moment you can't win!"

As he spoke, Ye Chen secretly exchanged points for a Farseeing Potion. After confirming that no living creatures remained nearby, and with the Fake-Pig Set's ten-minute duration now over, he finally collapsed onto the ground.

"Holy crap, that scared me to death! I almost screwed it all up!"

Sprawled on the ground, Ye Chen gasped for breath. Holy crap, Muzan really is terrifying. I almost couldn't hold it together. If Muzan had stalled a little longer, the Fake-Pig Set's effect would have expired, and Ye Chen would have been the one running. Then Muzan would have learned that his Fake-Pig Set had limitations. Instead of avoiding him afterward, he would have gone out of his way to fight him.

Still, it seemed worth it now. At least Muzan wouldn't dare come after him until he was confident he could break through the Fake-Pig Set's defense. Although Ye Chen's Fake-Pig Set trial card was a one-use item, the scumbag boss didn't know that! Maybe he would avoid him for the rest of his life. Wouldn't that be sweet? As long as Muzan stayed away and didn't bother him for two or three years, Ye Chen would naturally have ways to track him down and beat him up at his leisure by then.

"But the exchange points I burned through today were insane..."

Ye Chen sighed as he looked at his remaining 2,637 exchange points. He had originally had over six thousand. Earlier, he had spent two thousand on a Hunter's Guild armor set, then another thousand on a Rathalos Long Sword. Setting up over a dozen traps had cost another two hundred or so, and he had also thrown several Large Barrel Bombs and Sonic Bombs, along with using things like Demon Drugs and Might Seeds. Fortunately, killing two Lower Ranks had earned him over seven hundred exchange points, so it wasn't a loss.

But when he glanced at the quest that needed only one more member of the Twelve Kizuki to complete, he felt thoroughly frustrated. So close! I was so close to finishing it! Damn you, Kokushibo. Just you wait. Sooner or later, I'll send you to meet your little brother.

"Oh, right, System. Is this Slip-Slip Fruit still usable?" Ye Chen suddenly remembered something and held up the Slip-Slip Fruit as he asked the System.

[Ding. This Devil Fruit has lost its effect. Please discard it yourself, host.]

Yeah, yeah. Great. Very impressive... Ye Chen tossed the fruit onto the ground. The syringe he had injected into Muzan earlier hadn't actually contained poison, because he knew ordinary poisons would be useless.

He had simply extracted some juice from this incomplete Slip-Slip Fruit and injected it into Muzan. He hadn't known whether it would work, but now it seemed that it had. One Piece had explicitly established that a single bite of a Devil Fruit was enough for its effect to take hold, and the remaining flesh could be thrown away. Now that this fruit had lost its effect, it meant the Slip-Slip Fruit had indeed taken effect on Muzan.

"All right, Muzan's beating has been delivered. Next, it's time to head back for the Final Selection."