Chapter 482: Wrath
While Xie Xie was home during break, he found that his cultivation speed had slowed. This made him want to work harder, to improve his cultivation. The thought of Tang Wulin and Yuanen Yehui, both of whom had stayed behind on campus, motivated him. He decided to return early to cultivate with the two, and thought it would be fun to keep it a surprise. He never expected his work ethic to serve trouble to him on a platter!
Blood trickled from Xie Xie's nose as he fled. He wiped it away, struggling to process what just happened.
He had walked in on Yuanen Yehui in the nude! Although he had only stayed for a fraction of a second, barely long enough to catch the smallest glimpse of her, his own body had betrayed him. Blood had rushed to his head, leaked from his nose, and ruined any chance of a stealthy retreat.
Xie Xie could complain as much as he wanted, could shout his grievances deep inside his heart, but he understood what sort of character Yuanen Yehui was. It had taken so much pain and effort just to build and maintain a normal relationship with her, but now he had accidently peeped on her again!
This time, however, Xie Xie refused to take the blame! She had been washing herself in public! Since she didn't go back to her room to wash up, he could only assume she did so on purpose. He wondered whether talking could settle things peacefully, but that line of thought was quickly derailed by a blast of air that rushed past his head, narrowly missing him. The blast of air exploded a short distance from Xie Xie, unleashing a mighty gust of force, the full brunt of which he only managed to avoid by using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step. Having used the secret art so much this past semester, he had grown exceptionally skilled in executing it. His footwork resembled the ethereal movements of a wraith. Yuanen Yehui couldn't hope to catch him.
"Stop and pay for your crimes!" the girl snarled.
"I refuse!" Xie Xie shrieked as he moved even faster. I'm too young to die!"
In truth, Xie Xie could just flee the working students dormitory grounds right now and call for help. Any teacher still on campus, but that would bring disciplinary action upon both of them, Xie Xie for peeping and Yuanen Yehui for assault. Furthermore, news of her being seen naked would spread and bring shame to her. He refrained from making the easy choice, not for his sake but hers! This meant that all he could do was try his best to evade her attacks while staying within the ground of the working student dormitory. So he gritted his teeth and pushed onward.
"You think you can run?" Yuanen Yehui hissed. She drummed her chest with both arms, her fourth soul ring lighting up as she activated Devil Titan!
Yuanen Yehui punched out with both her fists, shooting two blasts of air at Xie Xie. The air streaked toward Xie Xie, swift as lightning, and collided with each other a few meters away from him. They erupted in an explosive tempest, throwing Xie Xie off his feet and into the air.
She's so strong! Xie Xie's eyes went wide as he struggled to stabilize himself in the air. It had been quite a few days since he last sparred with her, but she had already grown so much!
Yuanen Yehui crouched to the ground, then leaped into the air, hurtling toward Xie Xie like a cannonball. She was upon him in a flash, bearing down upon him. Xie Xie was just an ant before her tyrannical might.
However, Xie Xie's heart had calmed down during the chase. Outclassed as he was, he still managed to react to the sudden attack. His third soul ring lit up and he summoned a Light Dragon Clone. In a shimmer of light, Xie Xie split into two to create two identical Xie Xies. The two pushed off against each other, narrowly avoiding Yuanen Yehui's attack.
"Huh?" Yuanen Yehui thought her attack was going to hit, but Xie Xie had managed to dodge it. Ignoring the hiccup in her attack plan, she threw a fist out at each of the Xie Xies. Booms rang out, and two blasts of air were immediately chasing after the clones.
The two clones landed on the roof of the nearby dormitory, then raced away with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step and descended back to ground level.
Xie Xie had spent countless hours practicing his control over his clones, and now his efforts were bearing fruit.
Although Yuanen Yehui's Air Cannon attacks were powerful, they didn't have a large area of effect, and she couldn't go on a rampage while on the grounds of the working students dormitory either. Minutes passed, and she still couldn't catch either of the Xie Xies.
"Stop and fight me if you have the balls!" she shouted.
"I'd be stupid not to run!" he shouted back. After all of this running away, he had grown just as fed up with her as she was with him. He couldn't believe how unreasonable she was being. If any of her air blasts had hit him, his skin would have been torn off. He could only imagine what she would do to him if she caught him.
"Fine! Keep running!" Yuanen Yehui suddenly shrunk back to normal size, but her muscular bulk was replaced by a pair of pitch-black wings that blossomed from her back. She had exchanged the domineering four-ringed power of her Titan Giant Ape for the speed of her three-ringed Fallen Angel martial soul.
Yuanen Yehui suddenly accelerated, a devilish sword manifesting in her hands. She flew a few circles in the air, sowing seeds of darkness all over the dormitory grounds. Darkness encroached upon the region, enveloping everything with a gloomy stillness. It was the descent of Curtain of Darkness!
Ever since she lost to Tang Wulin's team, Yuanen Yehui had thrown herself into her cultivation. Both her martial souls were the best of the best, so she needed to do was get better at using them and her strength would skyrocket.
Curtain of Darkness took advantage of the angelic characteristics of Yuanen Yehui's martial soul to unleash all of its might. A third of her soul power had been spent in an instant, converted into this shroud of dark fog. It was thick and corrosive, a large-scale crowd control attack.
Yuanen Yehui excelled in both long range and close range combat. Her only weakness was her lack of speed, and she had trouble facing agility-type soul masters like Xie Xie. In order to compensate for this weakness, she used Curtain of Darkness as a brief attack to restrain her opponent. Although it consumed quite a bit of soul power, she just needed it to last long enough for her to close in on her enemy. Then she could switch back to her Titan Giant Ape to beat down her foe. This was a tactic she hadn't used before, and unfortunately for Xie Xie, he was to be the first test subject for this combination attack.
Both Xie Xies felt their bodies slow down as if they were trying to run through a quagmire. The encroaching darkness dulled the light that shone from their bodies and drastically decreased their speed. In this murky fog, their steps faltered, and they were no longer able to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step to its fullest potential.
Then they saw Yuanen Yehui flying toward them. Her body swelled with power as she descended, and in a flash she was back in her Titan Giant Ape form, smashing her fists down at them.
Yuanen Yehui understood how Xie Xie's clones worked. As long as a single clone remained, the main body wouldn't be damaged. There was no reason for her to hold back yet, and she attacked before the shroud of darkness could fade away.
Right before her fists connected, Xie Xie sensed the power behind them drop. She didn't use Air Cannon either. Is she going easy on me?
With no way to evade, Xie Xie gave in. He stopped trying to run, closed his eyes tight, and braced his arms in front of him to receive the blow. A bitter smile spread across his face.
A boom thundered through the dormitory courtyard. Xie Xie stumbled back a few steps, but he was astonished to discover that he felt no pain. He slowly opened his eyes to see a gallant golden figure standing in front of him.
It was Tang Wulin.
"Boss!" Xie Xie yelled.
Tang Wulin sighed. "How did you provoke her this time?"