Chapter 525: Chapter 525: Contest of Personalities
So dark, where is this place?
Ye Shikai gradually regained his vision, only to find himself surrounded by a bright light so intense that it was difficult for him to open his eyes. He slowly stood up.
“Old friend, you’re finally awake.” Suddenly, a disdainful laugh sounded from behind Ye Shikai, he quickly turned his head, and took a step back in fright.
In front of him stood another Ye Shikai, smiling at him with a mocking curve to his lips.
“Who are you?” Ye Shikai eyed him warily, getting into a fighting stance with his hands up.
“Ha ha, you’ve been unconscious for a while and now you don’t even recognize me.” The “Ye Shikai” across from him suddenly burst into laughter.
“You’re my other personality.” Ye Shikai exclaimed, fury surging within him as he clenched his fists and threw a punch from a bow stance.
“You’re wrong, I am not yours, I am my own person, there’s no subservient relationship between us.” The “Ye Shikai” across from him caught the punch with his palm, then with a cold laugh, leaped into the air and delivered a flying kick straight into Ye Shikai’s chest.
“We are competitors.”
“You just happened to appear twenty-four years earlier than me.” The “Ye Shikai” said disdainfully.
Ye Shikai struggled to get up from the ground, finding it strange that all his inner strength seemed to have been sucked out, feeling an intense sense of powerlessness.
“This is the consciousness space of the body, of course you can’t use inner strength here.” The “Ye Shikai” in front of him said with a light smile, “How about we have a contest?”
“What kind of contest do you want?”
“The way men compete.” The “Ye Shikai” across from him extended his palm, making a throat-slashing gesture.
Almost instantaneously, they both exerted their strength and their punches collided. Both were forced back five steps. This was the consciousness space, in layman’s terms, Ye Shikai’s mind, where neither his original personality nor his second one had any inner strength.
“Fight again.” Ye Shikai roared, stretching his right hand behind him, mustering force for a punch.
The two exchanged blows for dozens of rounds, each with their own victories and defeats. Ye Shikai knew very well that his opponent was himself. If he failed in this struggle of personalities, it would be tantamount to submitting. Shikai had once mentioned that it would only help the strong, and Ye Shikai was determined to prove he was the strong one.
“I didn’t expect you to be so good at fighting.” The “Ye Shikai” across from him said with a cold laugh, gently closing his eyes and then fiercely opening them; his eyes turned a bloodthirsty crimson, with pupils almost drowning in the scarlet red.
“Demon Addiction.” The thought suddenly crossed Ye Shikai’s mind.
“Bang.” Before he could react, a fist was already coming towards him; Ye Shikai instinctively dodged, extending his hands to block the punch.
Such great power, Ye Shikai inwardly sighed, relying on his combat experience to crouch down and attempt a sweeping leg kick.
“Bang.” Suddenly, Ye Shikai felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and the next second, his body was flying through the air, crashing heavily to the ground.
“Demon Addiction is the energy of your body, you weakling. If you can’t even make use of what’s yours, what right do you have to occupy this body.” The other “Ye Shikai” sneered, then slightly upturned the corners of his mouth.
“However, your woman is quite formidable. Fine, I’ll give you this one chance, but one day, I will take over the body forever.”
Ye Shikai coughed up blood, his abdomen throbbing with pain and his body aching all over as if it had fallen apart. As he watched the man in front of him slowly vanish from sight, Ye Shikai finally passed out from the pain.
“You’re awake.” A gentle voice sounded in his ear, and Ye Shikai slowly opened his eyes.
“Was I taken over by that personality again?” Ye Shikai took a deep breath and said indifferently. After several such experiences, he had gradually become accustomed to the feeling of his body being alternately controlled by his alter ego.
“Yes, you’ve been asleep for a long time.” Ji Qian handed him a cup of water and slowly opened the window, letting the sunlight stream into the room.
“Are you injured?” Ye Shikai lowered his head and spoke softly.
“The two of you should have shared memories, right?” Ji Qian did not respond directly.
“I’m… sorry.” Ye Shikai lowered his head guiltily, afraid to meet Ji Qian’s gaze. In truth, he was aware of every action taken by his other personality when it took over his body.
“You are not him; I don’t blame you.” Ji Qian walked over and lay down beside Ye Shikai, and together they quietly stared at the ceiling.
“Where do we go from here?” After a long silence, Ye Shikai finally spoke.
“Let’s go find them first. After you destroyed the tomb, they should have headed towards the west side of the city.” Ji Qian stood up, picked up the gem-encrusted magic wand, and left the window ajar. From outside, sounds of painful groaning could occasionally be heard—they all came from the people of the Underworld. In fact, the slaughter by the soldiers had not stopped since the previous night.
Atlantis, the west side of the city—if those few remaining experts from the Underworld were being hunted by soldiers, then here, a fierce battle was underway.
“Beasts, break through for me.” Hu Li, wielding a soft whip, swung it with great force, knocking down several soldiers in front of her. Compared to Hu Li, who was seen as a “weak woman,” the dozens of beasts by her side were like hulking King Kongs.
“Archers, shoot!” Dozens of three to four-meter-tall beasts, conspicuous wherever they were, could hardly hide. Arrows whistled through the air, striking several beasts and causing injuries.
“Roar roar.” The wounded beasts, driven by anger and shame, moved forward and swiped their heavy paws at the soldier’s formation, tearing a hole in the tightly packed ranks like a rip in an iron barrel. Hu Li leapt onto the back of a beast and the beasts broke through the front lines via the gap.
“Whoosh, whoosh.” Crossbow arrows shot from behind, but Hu Li, riding atop the beast, dodged them with agility.
“Soldiers, heed my command. Hu Li is a major criminal of Atlantis. Advance and apprehend her. If met with resistance, kill on sight.” A mounted commander drew his sword from its sheath and shouted to the soldiers behind him.
“Seal off the streets.”
“Beasts, escape through the buildings.” Hu Li immediately gave the order. The buildings on both sides of the street were originally designed for human habitation, but compared to the massive size of the beasts, they seemed like mere models.
“Boom.” Like a tidal wave, dozens of beasts easily toppled several buildings. The already precarious structures crumbled upon impact with the beasts, kicking up dust several stories high. With such commotion, not just soldiers a few dozen meters away, but even those hundreds of meters distant could see the scene clearly. It was less about evading the soldiers’ pursuit and more a race against them.