Chapter 146 — From Alley's End to Alley's Head

"Grandmaster, my foot!

" Yue Qinghong stood with her feet planted on Wolf Slave's shoulders and laughed coldly. Wolf Slave strode at Shen Mu, gripping a demonic saber in either hand, whirling them high and low; and Yue Qinghong's body quivered, and from the sword case at her back several dozen swords flew out in perfect unison. She laughed coldly: "On a narrow road, the brave one wins. On this narrow road, Wolf Slave and I together are invincible! Junior Brother Shen, your flaw is already showing—be honest and roll back to the Wasteland!

" The two of them, one above and one below—Wolf Slave's twin demonic sabers danced like a black wind rushing at the face, while behind Yue Qinghong thirty-one swords pointed their tips outward: one in front, two behind it, four behind those, then eight, then sixteen, forming a great Drilling Sword Form! The swords spun and thrust at Shen Mu. "Senior Sister Yue's sword art is not badly refined! " Shen Mu praised her with a sigh, then laughed: "But I have already mastered Refining Qi into Threads.

You are no match for me!

" "Refining Qi into Threads?

" Yue Qinghong was shaken with fury.

"Are you trying to humiliate me?

" Shen Mu pointed one finger, and from its tip strands of primal qi burst forth—hundreds of them, each in the shape of a sharp sword linked head to tail, likewise in the Drilling Sword Form, but far thicker, a pillar of swords as thick as a water vat, a sword tip before and growing ever thicker behind, driving straight at Wolf Slave.

Wolf Slave's twin demonic sabers were like black light and black lightning, weaving and crossing; they collided with Shen Mu's Drilling Sword Form, and at once firelight hissed and crackled, bursting in all directions through the alley. Though Wolf Slave's strength was boundless, he was shaken until both arms went numb and could no longer command the two demonic sabers—his center gate thrown wide open. Yue Qinghong's heart gave a start; her Drilling Sword Form stabbed at Shen Mu's shoulder, striking where he was bound to save himself, to lift the peril from Wolf Slave. Shen Mu laughed softly.

With the tip of his finger he gave a light flick, transforming it into the Upward-Flick Sword Form. The Drilling Sword Form that had just stabbed at Wolf Slave abruptly changed—countless sword lights passed straight from the Drilling Sword Form into the Winding Sword Form, and yet the move he performed was still the Upward-Flick Sword Form. The two sword moves were fused by him perfectly, without the slightest obstruction.

His countless threads of primal qi wound into Yue Qinghong's Drilling Sword Form; ding-ding-ding, a ceaseless chain of explosions rang out, and the Drilling Sword Form wrought of flying swords was broken at once.

In an instant the thirty-one sharp swords were pierced through by countless blades of primal qi, riddled like a broken sieve, covered in little holes. Yue Qinghong shouted. Wolf Slave beneath her feet flung away his sabers and kicked out at Shen Mu; Shen Mu met it with a kick of his own.

With a great boom, Wolf Slave's towering frame went flying backward, and Yue Qinghong, on his back, seized the moment to leap up and point at Shen Mu's shoulder, her finger a sword.

Qi burst from her fingertip and became a sword aura; just as it was about to pierce Shen Mu's shoulder, a demonic note suddenly sounded: "Maya-sa! " Yue Qinghong's mind was violently shaken, then lost its hold. Music rose, scattering her sword aura, and she began to giggle, singing and dancing before Shen Mu. Yue Qinghong's cultivation was deep, after all; she came to her senses at once, steadied her mind, and retreated.

Then she felt a warmth at her back, and thought: Not good. Boom. Shen Mu was back to back with her; suddenly he threw his weight backward, slamming her into the wall beside them. Behind that wall was Monk Yunque's dwelling.

The wall collapsed all at once, and Monk Yunque, Buddha-light blazing from his whole body, sent Yue Qinghong flying out of the wall, laughing aloud: "Senior Sister Yue, leave this one to me! " Yue Qinghong, flying through the air, said angrily: "Monk, you are no good—go up there and you are only begging for a beating!

" "I am no good? " Monk Yunque was enraged.

His moves were fierce and domineering, like a dragon-elephant charging; he attacked Shen Mu, rubble flying beneath his feet, whole green bricks shattered to powder by his savage strength. "Senior Sister, do not say the monk is no good—the monk is good!

" A dull, dreadful thud came from between the four palms where Shen Mu and Yunque collided.

Monk Yunque laughed aloud: "Shen, you did not expect this, did you?

I have already refined Imperial Teacher Jingping's sword art into my palm force—my Great Strength Five-Terrace Seal. . .

" Before he could finish the sentence, he suddenly felt a force like mountains toppling and seas overturning crushing down on him, wildly violent, shattering his primal qi and his Great Five-Terrace Seal like withered branches.

Monk Yunque grunted, staggered back, and unleashed the Dragon-Elephant Demon-Subduing Seal.

With a thunderous boom, Monk Yunque's garments flew and fluttered, shaken into a sky full of white butterflies. He stood there stark naked, no scrap of clothing to cover him, only a pair of white shorts left, and those tattered and torn.

Monk Yunque saw Shen Mu strike at him with another fist—a fist that actually broke the air and burst out with a world-shaking thunder, the fist trailing lightning like a thunderbolt; as it came, a round ball of white mist burst from around it and spread out on every side.

"Damn. . .

" That was the only thought left in his mind. He took Shen Mu's fist head-on, and sure enough, his white shorts split into four and scattered as he had expected, transforming into flying white butterflies—his body was utterly clean.

Monk Yunque was blasted flying backward by that unmatched force. The monk's cultivation was mighty, after all; in midair he spun at once so that he faced the wall.

Smack— He stuck face-first into the wall, his backside sticking out behind.

"Good thing I did not hit the wall back-first. . . " Monk Yunque thought with relief, and happily passed out.

Shen Mu shook out his robes, knocking off the dust.

Then a timid voice came from behind him, quavering: "Brother Shen. .

. " Shen Mu turned.

Wei Yong came trembling from the end of the alley, his two legs still shaking, a sword case on his back.

"Brother Wei, what is it?

" Shen Mu asked, puzzled.

Wei Yong opened the sword case, and with a sob in his voice, quavering: "You go against heaven's way, and I shall act on heaven's behalf, and exchange a few moves with you, and teach you the height of heaven and the depth of earth. .

. That was too cruel.

I did not dare say it.

. . " Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Brother Wei, you want to spar with me? Sparring between senior and junior brothers is common enough—and besides, ours is a friendship that has passed through life and death. How about this: we stop at the first touch.

" Only then did Wei Yong set his heart at ease. Flying swords left their sheaths one by one; he steadied himself and said: "Brother Shen, only do not beat me like that monk.

" His sword began to wind and coil; he used the Winding Sword Art passed down by Imperial Teacher Jingping. Since Imperial Teacher Jingping's lectures on the sword, many cultivators had been practicing the three basic sword forms he taught, and clearly Wei Yong had gained some understanding of them too. The cultivators of the Imperial College were no fools; more or less, each could grasp some subtlety.