Chapter 51: The Shadow

The pistol fell to the ground with a crisp 'crack.' The two people in the alley remained motionless, locked in a standoff.

But after only three seconds, the man in sunglasses broke the deadlock first. Over a dozen wind blades shot out from behind him, sweeping forward at a speed of at least a hundred meters per second. At the same time, he was wrapped in a whirlwind, and a thin rapier slid out from his left sleeve, silently stabbing at Li Mochen's vital points like a snake's tongue.

The latter's figure, like a phantom or smoke, flickered and shifted at high speed within the narrow alley less than four meters wide.

The two were equally matched in speed, but Li Mochen's movements were clearly more agile. He moved up, down, left, and right almost without needing leverage, completely defying the laws of physics, his actions often unexpected.

What made the sunglasses-wearing man's face as cold as ice was that the boy seemed to have precognition. Often, as soon as he made a move, his target had already dodged in advance.

Three seconds into their exchange, the wind blades, which had already been fired nearly forty times, finally paused briefly.

At that moment, the dragon vein that had been lurking inside Li Mochen's hood suddenly spat out a ball of crimson flame, causing the sunglasses-wearing man to instinctively swing his sword to block and cover his face.

But in the next instant, a snow-white sword light, too fast for ordinary eyes to catch, shot through. Without giving the sunglasses-wearing man any chance to dodge, it struck his neck.

The sealing magic pattern on this training sword took effect, preventing it from piercing his throat. Yet the sunglasses-wearing man clearly heard a series of muffled cracks from his cervical vertebrae, and then his entire body was flung backward by the immense force, crashing heavily to the ground at the alley entrance twenty-five meters away.

His eyes still held disbelief. Even with a broken neck, he forced himself to prop up his body, staring at Li Mochen with a venomous and unwilling gaze for a long time, until three seconds later his head drooped and he breathed his last.

At this moment, Li Mochen was not in good shape either. His chest heaved unevenly, his breathing heavy like a broken bellows. What troubled him even more was the sharp pain radiating from his right arm.

The hidden injury from that overloaded sword strike on the stage a week ago had not yet fully healed, and now he had repeated the same mistake.

But Li Mochen had no choice. After all, his opponent was a Level 8 Mage Shadow, only two steps away from the rank of Outlaw. Even as the unparalleled Immortal King of the Primordial Sky Realm, with such a physical cultivation, he could not hope to handle this fight with ease. Without entering the state of Heavenly Mind Illumination, he had to pay a corresponding price.

However, before Li Mochen could even steady his breath, his expression changed slightly as he looked toward the alley entrance. Where there should have been no one, two men in suits now stood.

—Were those the two lawyers from before?

The thought flashed through Li Mochen's mind, and without hesitation, he pulled the alloy war hammer 3541 from his sword bag and pointed it at the alley entrance.

The two men immediately turned pale and raised their hands high.

"Hey, buddy, don't be so tense, OK? We have nothing to do with the guy on the ground. We're just passing through. We can testify for you—it was self-defense, right?"

Li Mochen's face was cold, his eyes like ice: "Get in here. Ten steps!"

These two were too far out, beyond the coverage of the illusion runes at the alley entrance.

The two opposite clearly hesitated until Li Mochen impatiently clicked off the safety. Only then, trembling with fear and anxiety, did they walk ten steps inward, taking the smallest strides possible.

Li Mochen didn't mind: "Can you give me an explanation? Why did you come back?"

"My apartment is here, behind you."

The one who answered Li Mochen was a younger man. He pointed a finger behind Li Mochen: "We came back to get something. I left some documents in the room I rented. Buddy, you don't really need to do this. Judging from the scene, this is clearly legal self-defense. You just need to give a statement to the police. If you don't have a suitable lawyer, we can help."

Li Mochen thought to himself, no wonder his runes hadn't worked. Since these people were heading home, the psychological suggestion effect of his runes was naturally useless.

He ignored the young man's nonsense and continued to ask, "I guess you have a car, right?"

The two fell silent again. After about three seconds, the middle-aged man, under the increasingly cold gaze of Li Mochen, had no choice but to speak: "Yes, it's parked at the entrance of the grocery store next door."

"Very good! Could you drive it to the entrance of the alley? Not you—give your keys to the person beside you."

The corners of Li Mochen's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a hint of a smile: "Better be quick. I don't have patience."

…

"How's it going?"

On a seven-story concrete building nine hundred meters away, Jeremy Burt of the Tianyan Detective Agency reached the rooftop in just a few leaps: "Since you called me back, the alarm should be lifted?"

"Pretty much. Our artifact can no longer sense that guy's life signs."

The speaker was a young woman in camouflage and a military vest: "Andre is still at the scene. He seems to be having a friendly exchange with two passersby."

"So he's dead?"

Jeremy felt his scalp tingle: "Cool! I went back and forth in less than a minute and twenty seconds, and that was an eighth-level magic-energy shadow-walker."

"I had the same expression just now."

The woman in military uniform also had a complicated look: "In fact, from the moment that poor bastard chased into the alley, it took a total of twenty-seven seconds to finish the fight. I feel that this Andre is already beyond reason in terms of strength."

"So, is there video? I think we can sell it for a good price."

Jamie's eyes lit up: "That guy Dwight Payton will definitely be generous. Even if my good friend isn't willing, we can count on the future successful Mr. André Wiltonstein."

"Then you'll be disappointed this time, boss. The angle is bad here, too many buildings in between; we can't see what's happening over there. That little guy's alertness is stronger than we imagined."

"Why do you say that?"

Jamie looked toward the source of the voice with slight curiosity. It was a burly middle-aged man, pointing at the thermal imager: "Take a look at this image and you'll understand."

Jamie immediately focused his attention, then his expression changed slightly: "Our classmate André—he's not dead, is he?"

"Our artifact shows his life signs are still there."

The woman in military uniform replied with a bitter smile: "I think he must have used an ice spell to freeze the surrounding walls. You know, the thermal imager, though useful, has its limitations."

"Shit! What a clever little bastard."

Jamie cursed, then his mind stirred, and he raised his binoculars again.

At the alley entrance nine hundred meters away, a luxury car of the Delam brand was driving out.

"I guess he's planning to destroy the evidence. That's what a truly smart person would do."

The burly man praised: "Although it was self-defense, once he enters the police station, there are too many uncertainties. Mr. Burt, he's indeed very clever."