Chapter 46: Can a Doppelganger Clear the Level?!

The crowd outside grew ever larger.

“Is this Lu Wu, that outrageously strong beast from the Insect Clan?”

“He’s here, he’s here! What’s his current progress?”

By now, the entire challenge progress bar had reached forty-five percent. Lu Wu’s avatar was engaged in battle with a virtual opponent at the ninth level of Qi Condensation.

“This opponent is interesting,” Lu Wu murmured. The adversary before him was a sword cultivator, but a most peculiar one. Lu Wu stared at the figure, trying to decide whether he was truly a sword cultivator in the immortal tradition, a medieval knight, or some kind of ironclad warrior.

The man was encased head to toe in metallic armor, each surface etched with multitudinous rune patterns. Among them, one particular rune caught Lu Wu’s eye, and his mind instantly recognized its essence: “Law of Strength.”

“So that’s what it is…”

With a closer look, Lu Wu realized this rune was akin to the ant-pattern runes he’d seen before—though far more rudimentary. Usually he simply mimicked the ant form without delving deeply into the intricacies of its runes, or the soul totem’s natural patterns. Yet upon seeing a related rune, he grasped it at once.

A possibility dawned on Lu Wu: if he could continuously observe all kinds of runes, perhaps he could deliberately master every law contained within the Path of Beasts. At present, these beast paths existed only in mimetic forms, knowledge sorted and fed back by the Book of Wisdom. He could use them, but did not truly understand them—much like someone born with a beautiful singing voice, yet ignorant of the reason for their own talent. If he could unravel these mysteries, he’d reach an even greater height.

His armored, ninth-level Qi Condensation sword cultivator opponent swung down with a single slash. Lu Wu controlled his manifested mosquito totem to dodge instantly, the coffin nail sweeping out in a sword arc. The mosquito avatar, though only a simulation of soul energy, was able to draw upon its essence; when he invoked the Taixu Sword, the sword’s aura burst forth, slicing through the armored swordsman’s waist and tearing open a gaping wound.

“So it was just for show after all.”

Lu Wu understood now: a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Condensation could not possibly bear the load of a full set of rune-etched armor. Only a few components actually functioned as intended. Most likely, whoever designed this virtual battle arena was a little lazy—simply using a universal template. At higher levels, more rune parts were loaded; at lower levels, it was just standard plate armor with a fancy appearance. It was not true rune armor.

Lu Wu was reminded of the metallic beast ridden by the bard Bingbing he’d seen earlier—now that was the true culmination of armored runes, every component densely inscribed. The manifested mosquito totem, without the boost of a soul weapon, was weaker than Lu Wu’s true form. Yet its combat strength still topped the ninth level of Qi Condensation; after all, it was a trinity of body, spirit, and soul, and its physique exceeded even Lu Wu’s own.

In the midst of maneuvering, the mosquito landed several slashes, and the virtual swordsman absorbed each one, his body bleeding from terrifying wounds.

“Is this all?” Lu Wu wondered aloud. “Then it’s over.”

The mosquito avatar erupted in a burst of power.

Lu Wu had already surpassed into the Flight Realm, but he had not reached its first beast-mimicry form through a single act of blood-sucking. Thus, his state was unique: far stronger than other ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivators, but not quite as strong as someone at the first level of Flight Realm.

When the mosquito totem unleashed its full power, it was much stronger than the virtual armored swordsman. With a single blow, it severed the swordsman at the waist.

The onlookers cheered, “Fifty percent!”

“He actually used a soul-formed avatar to defeat a ninth-level Qi Condensation opponent—amazing, truly worthy of being a beast!”

They did not know Lu Wu had already broken through to the Flight Realm, and assumed his soul avatar was simply innately powerful. Which, in a sense, was true—Lu Wu cultivated the unique “Compendium of Ten Thousand Beasts” distilled by the Book of Knowledge, making his soul avatar far superior to ordinary cultivators’.

Lu Wu thought that this round marked the end, but unexpectedly, a first-level Qi Condensation warrior, leading ten ninth-level Foundation Establishment warriors, launched another assault.

“So there’s more…”

“No wonder!” Lu Wu realized. “There’s a group battle round as well. No wonder Qin Mo told the last challenger that passing eighty percent would guarantee admission to the academy.”

If it were only duels, then any ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator could likely defeat a virtual eighth-level opponent, so that alone shouldn’t qualify one for the academy. But with group battles, at the eighty percent mark, the challenge would be a virtual sixth-level Qi Condensation leader commanding ten fifth-level warriors. To win, one would indeed need to be formidable. And at eighty-three percent, to achieve a sixty percent success rate on that level would be extraordinary.

The precise evaluation criteria would depend on the system’s rules, but that was no concern of Lu Wu’s.

A first-level Qi Condensation leader, with ten ninth-level Foundation Establishment warriors, stood no chance against the mosquito avatar. Unleashing the Supreme Void Sword, he swept all eleven aside in a single stroke.

The second round of the group challenge: a second-level Qi Condensation leader with ten first-level warriors. The result was the same.

The onlookers were dumbfounded.

“No way… a single sword for an instant kill? What swordsmanship!”

Qin Mo explained, “That’s the Taixu Sword Technique. The Supreme Void Sword can condense sword aura that extends from the blade. At its peak in the Qi Condensation Realm, the sword aura can reach a length of nine zhang—perfect for group battles.”

As long as none of the enemies’ defenses could withstand a single strike, anyone within nine zhang would be felled in one sweep.

The third round: a third-level leader with ten second-level warriors.

The fourth: a fourth-level leader with ten third-levels.

Each round grew exponentially more difficult.

Yet Lu Wu’s sword cut through all obstacles—every round ended with a single stroke.

Until the sixth round: a sixth-level leader with ten fifth-level virtual sword cultivators appeared. This time, the Supreme Void Sword’s aura was actually parried by the sixth-level leader. It took Lu Wu’s avatar a second strike to finish them off.

“He finally used a second move! I thought he would one-shot his way through the entire challenge!”

“That’s already terrifying. When I challenge the sixth stage—the eighty percent mark—I can never get past it. But he cleared it in two moves. That means I’d be done for in just one!”

“Incredible! I wonder how many rounds it’ll take to force him to use his real body.”

“No way his avatar will clear it all, right? Then he wouldn’t just be a beast—he’d be a divine beast!”

Seventh round.

Eighth round.

Until the ninth.

A ninth-level Qi Condensation leader, armored in runes and flanked by ten eighth-level sword cultivators, entered the field. This ninth-level leader’s rune armor made him much stronger than an ordinary opponent. With so many aides, any regular ninth-level cultivator would be hopelessly outmatched at this stage. In fact, unless one had a truly extraordinary trump card, there was no way to pass.

Yet Lu Wu still did not reveal his true body, continuing to fight with his avatar.

The mosquito totem swung its sword in a sweeping arc. The armored leader moved up to parry.

Clang!

After so many battles, Lu Wu’s soul avatar was flagging, and this time, the blade failed to pierce the ordinary—but rune-free—armor.

“Interesting,” Lu Wu mused. “Coffin Nail.”

A sword-shaped coffin nail shot forth, merging with the mosquito avatar. After so long in Lu Wu’s hands, this artifact had already begun to transform into his personal sword. Sword cultivators of the Supreme Void Palace, after all, would eventually refine their blade blanks into unique treasures as they mastered the Supreme Void Sword Technique.

Lu Wu had already reached the Flight Realm; in this respect, he was leagues ahead of his peers. Once the sword-shaped soul artifact merged with the avatar, a murderous aura and crimson energy billowed forth, far more intense than when Lu Wu wielded it in the flesh. Unfamiliar with channeling such power through a soul avatar, he failed to restrain the killing intent.

The crowd sensed the surge of bloodlust.

“He’s using a magical treasure now?”

“Still hasn’t forced him to use his real body!”

“Is he actually going to clear the whole challenge with just his soul avatar?”

“Haha, I’ve already notified Senior Brother Bai Lin. The academy finally has someone who can stand against him.”

“His swordsmanship is even more outrageous than in the videos!”

With the soul artifact’s power, the avatar’s swordsmanship soared. With one stroke, the ninth-level armored swordsman was gutted, his chest all but torn open. A second strike finished him. A third swept through all ten eighth-level warriors, felling them where they stood.

“Completion: Ninety-five percent. Challenge cleared.”

Lu Wu was puzzled. “Ninety-five percent? Where’s the final round?”

The virtual arena had already shut down. The crystal hatch of the pod opened, and Lu Wu floated out. “Mentor Qin Mo, what about the final round?”

Qin Mo smiled, “There’s no need for it. The last round is only meant to let you experience the true might of a Flight Realm opponent clad in half a set of rune armor. We haven’t had a student win the final round in years, so it’s been deactivated.”

“If you wish to challenge it, there’s an extra fee.”

Lu Wu scoffed, “Pay extra? Hardly worth it. Rather than experiencing the prowess of a Flight Realm cultivator, I’d be better off gathering more materials to refine soul artifacts for myself.”