Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - The Strongest Being on Earth (2)

"This is my humble achievement— Afterimage Attack."

Before the words were even finished, a new "Gustav" had already taken shape. Although this Gustav was solid, upon closer inspection, it had a sense of swaying, like a television with a signal interference, clearly an afterimage split from the original.

(This is what Ye mentioned -- Afterimage Attack? By drastically expanding the attack range through 'attack intention', and infusing killing intent, fighting spirit, etc. into the afterimage, thus --)

--Sao!!!

The afterimage suddenly attacked, and Xiao Wu's eyes narrowed. She immediately crossed her arms in front of her chest to defend herself!

Ding!!!!

The dull thud shook the air, and real pain traveled through the nerves in her arms to Xiao Wu's brain. This wasn't some 'intent to attack,' but a genuine 'physical attack'!

(And... that punch was really heavy!?)

The Afterimage Attack might sound like a trick, but the punch from this afterimage is incredibly powerful! If it were an ordinary Physical Enhancement System, being hit by a punch from the afterimage would definitely result in blood and gore!

Xiao Wu switched from defense to offense, her arms sliding into the afterimage's chest like snakes, unleashing power in a mere fraction of an inch! A violent tremor spread throughout the afterimage's body, blasting a large hole in his chest. His movements paused, he swayed for a moment, and then vanished into thin air.

(As expected... the speed was fast, and the power was astonishing, but it was ultimately just an afterimage, a far cry from the real thing! As long as -- eh!?)

Just as she was about to attack Gustav's real body, only a step away from him, another arm suddenly appeared from Gustav's arm—an afterimage! The afterimage blocked Xiao Wu's palm strike, and at the same time, Xiao Wu felt a killing intent surging behind her. She immediately turned her head, and another afterimage's fist, which had appeared behind her at some point, grazed her cheek!

(Two...)

At this moment, the first afterimage completely separated from Gustav, and with attacks from both sides, Xiao Wu dodged with a side somersault! However, as if her movements had been anticipated, the third afterimage descended from the sky like a ghost, with unbelievable speed!

Boom!!!

The blow struck Xiao Wu squarely on the head, the immense impact piercing through the roof. Xiao Wu plummeted like a meteor, a series of thunderous roars echoing as she crashed through at least thirty floors before finally landing heavily at the bottom! The shockwave from the impact reverberated in all directions, and the already ravaged building collapsed with a deafening roar, as thousands upon thousands of tons of rocks continued to rain down on Xiao Wu!

(Damn! The afterimage's attack power is much stronger than I thought!)

One punch destroyed a 30-story building, and it was just an afterimage! Just how many afterimages can that bastard Gustav create? Ten? A hundred? A thousand? Could it be tens of thousands?

"Stop thinking about it. The fighting spirit remains undiminished, the morale unbroken, and the afterimages never-ending."

"--!!??"

When did he get so close? Gustav suddenly appeared behind her without making a sound! Xiao Wu turned around and kicked, but only hit air. A large, elusive hand—an afterimage's hand—suddenly grabbed her ankle and hurled her violently towards the steel and concrete that was constantly crashing down from above!

Xiao Wu's body smashed through countless boulders, but that was just an annoying distraction to her. The real problem was those damned afterimages!

Five afterimages appeared around her simultaneously, their attacks from five different directions forming an impenetrable net—a perfectly coordinated attack! Xiao Wu leaped past a boulder, using the sudden acceleration to force her way out, but more than a dozen new afterimages appeared in front of her! Xiao Wu's fists rained down like a storm, but the afterimages, with their numerical advantage, were even more powerful! Each punch from each afterimage contained the same immense power that could destroy a building in a single blow, and every collision of their fists produced a deafening explosion, the aftershocks scattering all the surrounding debris!

The old saying "two fists can't beat four hands" flashed through Xiao Wu's mind the instant a kick from an afterimage pierced through her defenses like a ghost, landing heavily on her ribs! Xiao Wu, kicked several meters away, immediately kicked the air to regain her footing, but facing the ever-growing swarm of afterimages, even this tiny opening was fatal!

More than thirty afterimages attacked simultaneously. Xiao Wu used brute force to disperse half of them, but the remaining attacks still landed on her, sending her flying again! But this time, she wasn't even given a chance to kick the air; the next wave of afterimages swarmed in, knocking her away once more! Xiao Wu was like a ball, being kicked around in the air by countless afterimages at several times the speed of sound. Every attack from the afterimages seemed meticulously calculated, targeting blind spots and striking at moments too difficult to defend against, each strike aimed at her most vulnerable points!

Don't give it to me--

A bright purple light flashed across the sky, and a ferocious purple light curtain emanated from Xiao Wu's body, spreading into a huge sphere before being compressed back into her body, condensing into ferocious purple lightning!

"--They're pushing their luck!!!!"

BOOM!!!!!

As soon as the purple lightning exploded, the area above the underwater city was immediately illuminated. The raging purple lightning surged in all directions, and the hundreds of afterimages around it were submerged by the waves of light, disappearing into nothingness in an instant!

Xiao Wu, who was among them, had completely transformed into a demon. Crystalline horns extended from her brow bone to the side of her head, her eyes flashed with purple light, and crackling purple lightning swirled around her like living things. An extremely terrifying and violent aura was released without reservation from every inch of her skin!

"Oh? You've finally turned into a demon? You're only now showing your true strength? Where does your confidence come from?"

"Shut up! Li Bai 24th Style - Heaven's Collapse!!!!"

Purple lightning erupted behind Xiao Wu, and the immense propulsive force seemed to compress the space around her like a spring! A flash of light, and her whip-like leg slashed down, unleashing a bolt of solid, deep purple lightning! Simultaneously, propelled by the lightning behind her, Xiao Wu, like a meteor, hurtled towards Gustav below!

Dozens of afterimages immediately appeared in front of her, but they were utterly powerless against the devastating force of the thunder!

"This level--"

As lightning flashed, dozens of afterimages vanished into nothingness, but immediately hundreds more swarmed forward!

"So annoying!!!"

The solid lightning was blocked by the afterimages, and even its falling speed was slowed down considerably. In pursuit of destructive power, Xiao Wu almost completely abandoned the agility of her movements, using pure strength to tear each afterimage to pieces in her claws!

However, thousands,

Tens of thousands, tens of thousands

One hundred thousand -- that's too much!

Xiao Wu's vision blurred; afterimages filled the air! No matter how many she destroyed, it was useless, because Gustav was completely unaffected! While a single afterimage was nothing to the fully demonized Xiao Wu, once they accumulated to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands—

"Urushihara, do you remember this move?"

Gustav's voice seemed to come from a very distant place.

"What trick--"

"Take a look and see the difference between the genuine product and the fake."

What's genuine? What's counterfeit? What is he referring to?

There was no time to think, of course; another wave of afterimages rushed towards them! Xiao Wu clicked her tongue impatiently and slapped at the head of one of the afterimages with her claws—

The instant she made contact with the afterimage, the afterimage split into even more afterimages! The continuous attacks of the dozens of newly appeared afterimages forced Xiao Wu's claws back, followed by an incredibly swift pursuit! Each afterimage's powerful strike was equivalent to an airborne missile, and although they were "afterimages separated from the original afterimage," their attack power showed no sign of diminishing!

What the hell?!

The afterimage split into numerous afterimages, and the numerous afterimages split into even more afterimages. As far as Xiao Wu's eyes could see, up, down, left, and right, there was an overwhelming amount of Gustav's figure! It was no longer possible to estimate the number with the naked eye. It was like a lone boat being thrown into a turbulent sea. Every millisecond, hundreds or thousands of punches were blasted at Xiao Wu. No matter which direction, there was a completely uninterrupted barrage of firepower!

Xiao Wu's body was crackling with purple lightning. Each burst would shatter hundreds of afterimages, but in the next instant, thousands of strikes would hit her! Simple defense was meaningless. It was like a person soaking in water. No matter how much they tried to protect their body with their hands and feet, they would still be soaked!

In the earth-shattering onslaught, the balance was finally broken. There was only one evil spirit, but she had to face a massive army that could not be simply measured by numbers and whose coordinated attacks were flawless!

Xiao Wu was sent flying, her whole body feeling like it had been run over. Before she could lose speed, she was hit again by an overly ferocious blow and sent flying in another direction. Just as she was trying to regain her balance, she was kicked away again... This cycle repeated itself, like a basketball being thrown around in a sea of afterimages. The speed was extremely fast, leaving only streaks of purple light in the air!

Overwhelmed by the sudden and unexpected events, dizzy and in excruciating pain, amidst a relentless storm— Xiao Wu felt like a diver caught in a whirlpool of ocean currents, helplessly tossed and pulled by the water!

Authentic... Counterfeit...

This is--

(Although the scale is vastly different, could this be...!?)

The Illusory Heavenly Prison?

The 180th move of the Night Nether Style, the Illusory Heavenly Prison, was first used by Xiao Wu in actual combat during her battle against Stone Strike. Stone Strike, whom she had sent flying through the air back then... wasn't he just like herself now?

Could it be that Gustav is using afterimages to unleash the Illusory Heavenly Prison?

This is the 'genuine' product? I've only been clumsily imitating before?

The difference is just too great!

"Goo ..."

The purple lightning bolts converged entirely into her body, her immense power compressed to its limit. Abandoning defense, she transformed all the Demonic Power into attack power and speed!

Charge!

If she was like a diver being tormented by a whirlpool, then leaping out of the water would give her a moment's respite! The sudden increase in speed gave her a split-second lead over the afterimages, finally granting her temporary control! Purple lightning continued to radiate, forming a torrent of light flowing from top to bottom—this was the path that Xiao Wu had carved out in a desperate gamble!

But that's not enough! There are just too many afterimages, and another wave of ferocious attacks is coming. Although my speed and strength have increased explosively, the corresponding decrease in defense and self-healing will make it difficult for me to survive the next round of attacks!

At times like this--

"--The only solution is to rely on external resources!!!"

The power of the Rakshasa True Word!

Answer my call!!!

Like a bomb exploding inside Xiao Wu's body, crimson Killing Intent burst forth from her entire being! She was already trying to control the Demonic Power, and now she also had to wield the power of the Rakshasa True Word. In that instant, Xiao Wu felt as if her soul was being torn in two! But she immediately steadied her mind with absolute willpower and forcibly merged the two powers into one!

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Dance Master, fight! The lead role and action scenes are all yours to handle!