97: Who got the side effects?

Night Owl was stunned, and for the first time, a trace of genuine bewilderment flickered in her amber eyes. "You don't hate her?"

Ye Chen's lips twitched.

"I do."

"Then wouldn't it be great if I helped you kill her?" Night Owl tilted her head.

"Great my ass!"

Ye Chen's face darkened, and before his voice had even faded, his body suddenly shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring!

He was so fast that he left a faint afterimage in his wake, the air being torn apart with a short, sharp whistle!

Night Owl's expression turned serious, the playfulness in her eyes vanishing, replaced by sharp intensity.

With a flick of her wrist, the fruit knife traced a strange arc in her palm. The blade reflected a cold glint under the light as she met Ye Chen's attack head-on, thrusting forward without flinching!

Clang!

A crisp, ear-piercing sound of clashing metal exploded!

Ye Chen's fist collided violently with Night Owl's dagger!

The two separated as soon as they touched, only to collide again in an instant!

Fist shadows were like mountains, and blade light was like silk!

Inside the small restaurant, the two figures crossed, separated, and crossed again at speeds difficult for the naked eye to capture!

The fierce wind generated by their movements blew outward, making the menus on the nearest tables rustle loudly.

With multiple afterimages, an ordinary person's gaze simply couldn't keep up with their movements. They could only see blurred lights and shadows flickering, accompanied by the continuous, scalp-numbing sounds of impact!

"Oh my god..."

A middle-aged customer slumped in his chair, his mouth hanging wide open.

Another young man rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief. "Is... is this a movie shoot? Where are the cameras? Where are the wires?"

Suddenly!

One of the young men seemed to have discovered something. He abruptly raised his phone, aiming the screen at the side of Ye Chen's face mid-battle, and then let out a cry of surprise: "Holy crap! It's him, it's him! The Martial-Arts Master from the internet who broke a sword with his bare hands!"

That shout was like a drop of cold water into boiling oil!

The remaining customers in the shop were stunned for a moment before becoming excited one after another.

"For real? Let me see!"

"Oh! It really is him! He looks exactly the same as in the video!"

"Quick, film it! This time it's a real person fighting live! It's even more intense than the video!"

...Amidst the exclamations, several phones were quickly raised, their lenses locked onto the two superhuman figures in the center.

Someone even directly opened a livestreaming app.

"Brothers! This is insane!"

"I happened to run into a real Martial-Arts Master duel while eating! Right in front of me!"

"Keep the gifts coming, and I'll get you a close-up shot!"

The livestream title was quickly changed to—'Street Encounter with a Martial Arts Legend! Live Stream of a Fierce Battle Against a Mysterious and Seductive Assassin!'

In the center, the two figures were now so fast they were nothing but afterimages!

Ye Chen's feet traced a profound path using the Tiangang Step, his body moving like a flickering ghost. Every time he shifted, he was exactly where the blade was about to reach but hadn't quite yet.

Meanwhile, the fruit knife in Night Owl's hand seemed to have a life of its own, turning into a silver venomous snake that stabbed, flicked, smeared, and slashed from all sorts of tricky and bizarre angles!

Sshhh—

The blade light flashed past, and a thin slit was cut into Ye Chen's left sleeve.

Immediately after, there was another 'shhh' sound as the fabric of his casual clothes at the right shoulder was sliced open, revealing the firm muscles underneath.

Night Owl's amber eyes locked onto Ye Chen during her high-speed movements. The tip of her blade focused on joints, meridians, and clothing hems—spots that weren't fatal but were annoying enough.

She was testing him, toying with him like an elegant yet dangerous cat that always plays with its prey before finishing it off... However, very soon, the smile at the corners of her mouth slightly froze.

Something was wrong!

This kid's fist force... how was every punch becoming heavier than the last?!

Ye Chen's face was calm as the Layered Wave Strength within his body quietly reached the third layer.

With the first punch, Night Owl could still block easily, even nearly slashing Ye Chen's wrist with a backhand strike.

With the second punch, blade and fist collided, and her wrist felt slightly numb.

The third and fourth punches followed in quick succession, their power stacking layer upon layer, like sea waves rising higher and higher!

The disdain in Night Owl's eyes vanished completely. Her blade style suddenly shifted from nimble and tricky to rapid and ruthless, attempting to break Ye Chen's increasingly violent rhythm.

But Ye Chen's momentum was already established. How could she break it just because she wanted to?

Fifth punch!

Night Owl was forced back half a step, holding her dagger horizontally to take the punch head-on.

Clang—!

In the midst of the loud crash, the web between her thumb and index finger went numb, and the dagger almost flew out of her hand!

Sixth punch!

Night Owl didn't dare take it head-on again. Her body flashed away, and the fist wind grazed past her ear, shearing off a few strands of hair from her temple.

A trace of horror finally flashed in her eyes.

This method of stacking fist force... was simply unheard of!

Seventh punch!

A sharp light exploded in Ye Chen's eyes. His fist whistled like a raging tide crashing against the shore, slamming toward Night Owl's chest!

This punch had no more flourishes; it was pure, extreme power and speed!

Night Owl's expression changed drastically. She gritted her teeth and held her dagger vertically with the edge facing outward, trying to use offense as defense to force Ye Chen to retract his fist.

However—

Ye Chen didn't dodge or flinch, and his punch didn't change course at all!

Bang!!!

Fist and the side of the dagger collided violently!

The high-carbon steel dagger was actually bent into a bizarre curve by the force of the punch!

Night Owl felt an irresistible, massive force transmit through the dagger. Her chest felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and her entire body flew backward uncontrollably.

Crash—!

She knocked over two tables and chairs, rolling twice on the ground before barely managing to steady herself on one knee.

The next second.

A sweetness hit her throat, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

She looked up, her amber eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"No wonder... you could slaughter the Thirteen Death Zodiacs in a single minute..."

"You truly... have some skill."

Ye Chen shook out his wrist and walked toward her step by step, his gaze terrifyingly calm.

"The best parts..."

"...are still to come."

Before he finished speaking, his body lunged forward again!

This time, his speed was even faster than before!

His fist was even more ferocious!

Night Owl's pupils constricted, and alarm bells rang wildly in her mind!

I can't win!

I'll die!

Run!

Almost at the same moment Ye Chen moved, she kicked off the ground with all her might without hesitation!

Bang!

The floor tiles where she had been kneeling exploded into fine cracks.

And her figure, like a wisp of black smoke, shot backward toward the restaurant entrance, moving so fast it left a string of afterimages in the eyes of the ordinary people!

"Trying to leave?!"

Ye Chen snorted coldly. Stamping his foot, he utilized the Tiangang Step to its full potential and gave chase!

However, Night Owl's escape techniques had clearly been through thousands of refinements. Her body twisted strangely in mid-air, and she actually used the doorframe as a springboard to suddenly change direction. Like a night bird diving into a forest, she vanished into the crowd on the street outside in the blink of an eye, disappearing around a corner after a few leaps.

Ye Chen chased to the door, looking at the busy street where she had long since vanished, his brow furrowing slightly.

Damn it!

She sure runs fast... Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and stood still to feel the condition inside his body.

The power of the inheritance was flowing normally. A warm current trickled through his meridians, and there was none of the previous feverish churning or signs of the side effects that felt like they would burst through his body.

Strange... Hu Jing is dead, so logically the Yin-Yang imbalance should have appeared again.

But why don't I feel anything abnormal at all?

Could it be that the side effect has a delayed onset?

He muttered in a low voice, "It couldn't have... transferred to Yi Yue, could it?"

At that thought, his heart tightened, and he quickly turned around to walk back into the shop.

Yi Yue was tidying up the knocked-over tables and chairs with lingering fear. Seeing him return, she hurriedly went to meet him, her beautiful eyes full of worry: "Ye Chen, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Ye Chen shook his head, his gaze carefully scanning her face, and he reached out to gently touch her forehead.

"I'm fine."

"Yi Yue, do you... feel unwell anywhere? Like, is your body feeling hot or anything?"

Yi Yue was stunned by his question. She blinked her gentle eyes and instinctively touched her own cheek. "Hot? No... the air conditioner is on in the shop, it's quite cool. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

Seeing that Yi Yue's expression was normal and her body temperature was also fine, Ye Chen was even more surprised.

The side effect didn't flare up, and it didn't transfer to Yi Yue either?

Then... where did it go?

Unable to figure it out, he temporarily set aside his doubts and smiled at Yi Yue. "It's nothing, just asking. I didn't scare you just now, did I?"

"I'm okay..."

Yi Yue shook her head gently. Her gaze turned to the several customers at the door who were still holding up their phones, looking excited and eager to try something. She was a bit between laughter and tears. "It's just them..."

Before she could finish her sentence.

Those few people could no longer hold back. They swarmed forward, their phone lenses almost pressing against Ye Chen's face.

"Expert! Master! You're the Martial-Arts Master from the internet who broke a sword with his bare hands, right?!"

"My god! That fight just now was so cool! More exciting than a movie! Master, do you take disciples? Tuition is not a problem!"

"Handsome, look at the camera! Smile! I'm livestreaming! The brothers are showering me with gifts!"

"Master, was that foreign girl your enemy just now? What sect are you from? Is there some martial arts grudge?"

...They all talked at once, creating a noisy racket.

Ye Chen's head throbbed from the noise. Looking at those faces flushed with excitement and the constantly flashing phone lights, he felt his head grow two sizes larger.

If he got caught up by them, he wouldn't be able to do anything else today.

"Excuse me, please let me through."

He put on a stern face and tried to squeeze through the crowd, but those people had finally caught the real deal and weren't willing to let him go easily. They crowded closer, throwing out one question after another.

Ye Chen frowned, not wanting to waste any more breath explaining.

He shifted his feet slightly using the Tiangang Step. His figure moved like a swimming fish, 'sliding' out through the gaps in the crowd at subtle angles that ordinary people couldn't comprehend, reaching the door in just a few steps.

"Hey?! Master, don't go!"

"Wait for us!"

The people were stunned and hurriedly chased after him with their phones raised.