Chapter 492 - 484: You, Who Are You Calling Trash?

Chapter 492: Chapter 484: You, Who Are You Calling Trash?

"Boss!"

Seeing Shan Tianyu knocked back by Chu Aoqing, the dozen or so people he had left to the side all stood up at once, their eyes filled with anger.

"All of you, shut up! If anyone dares to come over, I, Shan Tianyu, will be the first one to deal with them!" Shan Tianyu roared at his men. He steadied himself, a hateful smile playing on his lips as he looked at Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing. "Good! Very good! Let’s just see how many times you, Chu Aoqing, can shield this trash from me!"

"Secret Technique! Shadow Dance..."

Like a summons from the depths of the Netherworld, Shan Tianyu’s words were as ethereal and mysterious as a descending Brahma Sound. In that same instant, his figure split into four, each one incredibly lifelike and solid!

But that wasn’t the crucial part. What was, was that each of the four figures wore a different expression. One was disdainful, another arrogant, a third indifferent, a fourth bloodthirsty... It was as if each of them had its own consciousness!

The moment this Secret Technique was revealed, every student in the dining hall instinctively retreated. They knew that at its peak, Shan Tianyu’s Netherworld Chaos Dance could create far more clones than this. However, the fewer the clones, the harder it was to identify his true body—or rather, it meant that every single one of them *was* his true body!

"..."

Staring at the four solid Shan Tianyus before her, Chu Aoqing’s expression became unprecedentedly grave. She sighed, her combat-ready posture suddenly relaxing. "Shan Tianyu," she said helplessly, "the moment you used your Shadow Chaos Dance, you should have known that it would force me to use my full strength. Under my Qianye Tai’e, you will never get close to me. Why humiliate yourself?"

"Is that so? A pity that you don’t have your Tai’e with you today!" Shan Tianyu chuckled darkly, and his four figures lunged toward Mu Chen like a raging squall.

Seeing this, Chu Aoqing hurriedly swiped a finger through the air, about to open a Spatial Rift to retrieve her Heavy Sword Tai’e, but one of Shan Tianyu’s clones instantly interrupted her.

"Hilarious. If I let you open a Spatial Rift just like that, my Shadow Chaos Dance wouldn’t deserve to be called a Secret Technique!"

With a cold shout, Shan Tianyu’s other three figures instantly circled behind Chu Aoqing, punching straight for Mu Chen from three different directions, completely sealing off his escape routes. Of course, given the massive gap in their strength, he wouldn’t have been able to escape this attack even if his path wasn’t blocked.

"Qianye, scatter!"

Suddenly, Chu Aoqing swiftly drew the White Jade Lady’s Sword from her back. With a flash of golden light, the entire blade of the Qianye Sword was revealed before Mu Chen’s eyes.

He had never seen such a magical blade. The Sword Blade of this Lady’s Sword was composed entirely of large and small golden leaves, all constantly spinning and dancing around a beam of White Jade Color light. It was a spectacular sight!

But before he could admire it any longer, Chu Aoqing flicked her wrist and let out a low cry. The Qianye Sword traced a profound arc before she swung it out forcefully. In an instant, tens of thousands of golden leaves flew out in a crisscrossing flurry, forming a terrifying Golden Leaf Tornado that completely enveloped Mu Chen.

Feeling the sharp whistling and cutting sounds by his ears, Mu Chen felt his blood run cold. There was no doubt that being hit by even one of these leaves would have terrifying consequences!

"Using a Wind Attribute attack in front of me? Chu Aoqing, you underestimate me! Wind Reversal!"

Shan Tianyu’s expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly sneered. With a thought, the three figures attacking Mu Chen came to a sudden halt. Then, they began to circle the Golden Leaf Tornado surrounding Mu Chen, rapidly spinning in the opposite direction at a terrifying speed. They were moving so fast that they completely surpassed the speed of the Golden Leaf Tornado.

An even larger cyan hurricane formed around the golden leaves. Within a few breaths, the Golden Leaf Tornado dissipated right before Mu Chen’s eyes. Not only that, but now unprotected, Mu Chen found himself surrounded by another, even larger hurricane. The danger had only intensified!

"Dance of Scattered Flowers!"

Suddenly, the same nimble voice came from Chu Aoqing’s lips. Her figure instantly blurred into a long afterimage, launching an incomparably fierce attack toward three different points of the hurricane simultaneously.

That’s right! She attacked three directions at once! This wasn’t a Clone! This was speed taken to its absolute limit!

BANG!

The hurricane immediately dispersed, and Shan Tianyu’s three figures were sent flying in three different directions, landing steadily on the ground.

VSSSH!

Giving Shan Tianyu no chance to react, Chu Aoqing sliced open the space beside her in the blink of an eye. She reached her arm in, and when she pulled it back out, she was holding an Ancient Heavy Sword covered in countless Runes, drawn from the Spatial Rift!

As the Ancient Heavy Sword gradually emerged from the space, a deep hum from the blade cut through the air. Despite its extremely ugly appearance, the Tai’e erupted with a blinding radiance. Countless Runes flickered with a deep golden light. Within moments, a double-edged Heavy Sword completely wreathed in blue phantom flames appeared before Mu Chen. Its aura was the complete opposite of Qianye’s. If Qianye’s aura was noble and aloof, then the Tai’e Heavy Sword’s was one of absolute dominance and desolate killing intent!

"When Tai’e is drawn, the storm begins!"

Involuntarily, every student in the dining hall shouted this eternal slogan of Holy Tomb Mountain in unison! Chu Aoqing’s renown was owed entirely to this Tai’e Heavy Sword!

"..."

Feeling the domineering aura emanating from Tai’e, he knew. ’When Tai’e is drawn, the storm begins’ wasn’t just a slogan; it was a statement of fact. Without Tai’e, he, Shan Tianyu, could definitely gain an edge over Chu Aoqing. But as long as she held Tai’e, the ’storm’ itself would have to retreat before her! And he, Shan Tianyu, was the wind!

"Still want to fight?"

The formerly indifferent Chu Aoqing had suddenly changed. If the Chu Aoqing from moments ago was a silent, understated expert, then the Chu Aoqing now was a solitary Monarch, reigning supreme over all!

"With the Tai’e Heavy Sword drawn, I admit I can’t beat you. But Qing’Er, you must understand, if I were to use my full strength, you wouldn’t be able to defeat me quickly either. As long as I wish it, this piece of trash will always be a piece of trash! Even here in the Inner Holy Tomb Mountain."

Shooting a cold glance at Mu Chen, Shan Tianyu turned to leave, as if he couldn’t stand to stay a moment longer. The unspoken threat in his words was clear.

"Oh, right." Suddenly, Shan Tianyu turned back around and said mockingly to Mu Chen, "I heard from my sister that you have two other beautiful companions, and one of them is even prettier than she is. From the looks of it, you’ve always been a spineless coward hiding behind women. As the saying goes, behind every weak man is a bunch of strong women. A guy like you will be a coward, a weakling, and trash for your entire life. Trash, this is far from over."

With that, Shan Tianyu turned his head away and didn’t spare Mu Chen another glance, as if looking at disgusting garbage.

Chu Aoqing was furious at Shan Tianyu’s words, but she couldn’t refute them. His mouth was his own, and she couldn’t stop him from speaking unless she was confident she could cut out his tongue with a single stroke. ’So be it. He’s the source of this trouble, but Mu Chen is the one who has to bear the consequences.’ In her heart, she was filled with guilt, and could only resolve to transform that guilt into more dedicated protection for him in the future.

But to her utter astonishment, an abrupt voice cut through the quiet dining hall.

"Who... did you call trash...?"

Utterly stunned, Chu Aoqing stared at Mu Chen in disbelief. It wasn’t just her; Shan Ziyan, the dozen people beside her, and the thousands gathered in the dining hall—everyone’s gaze shifted to Mu Chen, their eyes filled with bewilderment.

"I’ll ask you one more time. Who did you call trash...?" Though his words carried a hint of laughter, he took a step forward, a deceptively kind smile spreading across his lips.

Finally, upon hearing this, a completely bewildered Shan Tianyu turned his head, looking at Mu Chen as if he were seeing an imbecile for the first time. Pointing to himself, Shan Tianyu asked in an unnaturally strained, trembling voice, "Are you talking to me?"

Hearing that tone, Chu Aoqing thought, ’This is bad.’ She was about to flash in front of Mu Chen to block him, but she suddenly felt a warm, large hand press down on her shoulder again.

"A woman should stand obediently in the back. I, Mu Chen, have never been a coward who relies on women. And I absolutely will not allow anyone to call me trash!"

Chu Aoqing froze once more, so stunned she even forgot about the hand Mu Chen had placed on her shoulder. She couldn’t understand it! She truly couldn’t! This matter had temporarily come to an end. Even though Shan Tianyu would likely retaliate in the future, as long as she used the power of the Black Rose, she was absolutely confident she could ensure Mu Chen’s safety. But... but why? Why was he doing something so irrational?!

"Heh heh... Interesting! Truly interesting! Ant, am I to understand that you are provoking me?" Shan Tianyu’s arms hung loosely at his sides, an unconcealable killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"Did you see that! Did you hear that!" As if his personality had suddenly twisted, Shan Tianyu spread his arms wide, his expression savage as he turned and roared to the crowd, "An ant is actually yelling at me! Tell me! What should I do?!"

It was a blatant spectacle, and he had riled up the entire dining hall. The Inner Mountain had rules. Although the weak were protected by the Holy Punishment Field, the weak were also expected to act their part! If a weaker person provoked a stronger one, Holy Tomb Mountain would not interfere in the resulting battle! Mu Chen’s actions had undoubtedly triggered this very rule!

"Crush him! Crush him! Crush him!"

...

Countless shouts rose to the heavens as everyone’s emotions were stirred into a frenzy! The Martial Artists who could make it to Holy Tomb Mountain were no fools. The weak had always known to live with their tails between their legs. They had never seen anyone like Mu Chen before!

Chu Aoqing grabbed Mu Chen’s arm, her expression vacant as she asked, "Mu Chen! Do you have any idea what the consequences of your actions will be?"