Chapter Thirty-Three: Shadows Bathed in Sunlight

"Where am I?" Mu Yang murmured to himself.

But in the deep darkness, no sound emerged; all that could be heard was Mu Yang's own echo. No one responded to him, and with no other options, Mu Yang could only sit cross-legged and begin to meditate.

During his meditation, Mu Yang realized that the spheres of light surrounding him were much larger than those on Douluo Continent. He wasted no time and stuffed each of them into his sea of energy. Yet, when he reached the ninth sphere, he was stuck; his sea of energy was completely filled. Although his soul power regenerated quickly, with his sea of energy at capacity, it could no longer increase through active absorption. This prevented Mu Yang from entering a true meditative state.

In this space without light or sound, Mu Yang had no idea how long he would be trapped. After an hour, his mood grew despondent. Two hours passed, and he began to knock on the walls with his hands. After three hours, he became agitated to the extreme. Four hours, and he pounded the walls with all his strength. After a day, he collapsed from exhaustion, lying on the floor with hollow eyes. Three days later, he lay there, grinning foolishly.

Five days passed, and Mu Yang resembled a corpse. On the seventh day, a voice suddenly pierced the silence.

"To survive in such a space for seven days and still retain a shred of sanity—your will truly astonishes Dao!" The spirit of Tang Dao spoke.

That single sentence restored a thread of reason to Mu Yang. Tang Dao's voice was like music from the heavens, the first sound besides his own that he had heard in seven days. It brought him hope, but even more so, despair. With a touch of lucidity returned, Mu Yang felt the loneliness deepen.

Amidst that, his second soul ring quietly appeared. At first, it was dim, but due to Mu Yang's current state, the soul ring condensed rapidly. Within half an hour, it was fully formed.

"Ren Xin, say something, please," Mu Yang's voice quivered, but no reply came.

Loneliness beyond measure finally extinguished his last bit of sanity, and Mu Yang saw another version of himself standing nearby, smiling at him.

Mu Yang laughed, saying, "You've come. Well, it makes sense—this is the second time I've experienced this."

"Yes, I’ve come. I’m here to take your place, though you’re still as weak and incompetent as before," said Shadow Mu Yang.

"That's right. I never wanted to fight, but they called me cowardly. I just wanted to protect myself, yet I was always the one hurt most. Weakness. Incompetence," Mu Yang mocked himself.

"Seems you see things clearly now. No matter—these next ten years, it’s my turn to take over this body," Shadow Mu Yang said with a smile.

"Wait!" Mu Yang called.

"What is it? Thinking of breaking the deal? Remember, you made this promise yourself," Shadow Mu Yang replied.

"I'm not breaking it. I just want to see how you protect yourself," Mu Yang said.

Shadow Mu Yang paused, then continued, smiling, "Very well. I'll show you how I protect myself."

"To have to give it back right after taking over—it's a bit frustrating," Mu Yang said.

"That’s why you need to learn to protect yourself," said Shadow Mu Yang.

Mu Yang, sprawled on the ground, was half dragged out of his soul by Shadow Mu Yang, who then slipped inside.

Shadow Mu Yang had first appeared during Mu Yang's school days. For reasons unknown, Mu Yang was isolated then: eating alone, playing games alone, without even a chance to speak. In those circumstances, Mu Yang conversed with himself constantly—muttering day after day—until one day, while chatting with himself, Shadow Mu Yang emerged.

It was then that Mu Yang made a pact with Shadow Mu Yang: if he continued to be so negative, Shadow Mu Yang would take over his body for ten years...