Ninth Layer is completely different from the first eight floors.
Zhou Qi noticed something strange the moment he stepped in.
There is no trial ground, no puppets, no golden needle hidden weapons, no iron chains, nothing.
It's boundless here, with smooth mirror-like water below your feet, and the same kind of gray-white nothingness above your head.
The world seemed to be folded into a still lake, so silent that even breathing echoed.
He stood on this strange mirror and looked around, seeing nothing around him.
Except for the golden light in the center.
The light was suspended about three feet above the water. It was not big, as big as a fist, but it was dazzlingly bright.
It does not beat like a flame, nor is it as stable as a spiritual stone, but is constantly struggling, twisting, and shaping.
Sometimes it shrinks to the size of a walnut, and sometimes it expands to the size of a human head, as if something is gestating in it.
Zhou Qi holds Startling Rainbow Saber tightly and approaches slowly.
The golden light sensed his approach, and the distortion frequency suddenly accelerated.
Patterns began to appear on its surface, first lines, then outlines, then facial features, limbs, torso...
A human form is taking shape.
Zhou Qi stopped and his pupils shrank.
That figure... is too familiar.
Gray robe, long knife, straight back.
Even the position of the Immortal Ascension Token hanging on the waist is exactly the same.
The golden light lasted for about a few breaths, and finally completely solidified. The light dissipated, and a figure stood in the middle of the water, looking at Zhou Qi from afar.
That's a person who looks exactly like Zhou Qi.
The gray robe, black sword, hair style, and even the cold expression between his eyebrows are exactly the same.
If it weren't for the fact that there were no injuries on the opponent's body, Zhou Qi would have almost thought it was a moving mirror.
At this moment, Zhou Qi's clothes were covered with knife marks and charred black. His left arm was wrapped with a strip of cloth that had just been torn off to stop the bleeding. The blood from the tiger's mouth had not yet dried.
One is the original one covered in scars, and the other is an intact replica.
"..."
Zhou Qi was silent for a moment, already understanding what was going on.
From the first to the eighth floor, he spread all his trump cards.
Strength, speed, reaction, fighting instinct, Spiritual Power's operating habits, the angle of the knife, and even the stress response in the face of crisis...
This tower has recorded everything.
"Hit me with my things," Zhou Qi murmured, looking a little ugly, "Isn't this cheating?"
The duplicate on the other side didn't answer and had no expression.
It just stood there, with its right hand pressed on the handle of the knife, and its left hand was still gradually shaping, with no trace of life in its entire body.
Zhou Qi No more nonsense.
Draw the sword.
Startled Swan The moment he unsheathed his body, his figure had disappeared.
Nine-Heavens Step exerted all his strength, and a white water mark was swept out on the water surface under his feet. The sword was as bright as a sword, and it went straight to the door of replicating face.
This sword is fast and cruel, without any temptation, and it is a killing move from the moment it strikes.
He wants to end the fight before the opponent is fully "activated".
The clone moved.
Its movements were half a beat slower than Zhou Qi expected, and it had not had time to fully adapt to this newly condensed body.
Golden light flashed on its surface, as if it was making final adjustments, and then it raised its knife and blocked it.
"Qiang--!!!"
Sparks flew everywhere, air waves exploded, and a crack several feet long was created in the water below, and water splashed.
Zhou Qi felt a huge force coming from the blade, which made his right arm numb and made him take three steps back.
The replica, on the other hand, remained motionless.
Its feet seemed to be nailed to the water, not even swaying.
Zhou Qi was shocked and secretly thought something was wrong.
This isn't just copying.
The opponent's power has obviously been strengthened. With the same moves and the same Spiritual Power output, the opponent's effect is at least 30% stronger than his.
"Optimized version..." Zhou Qi gritted his teeth.
How to fight this?
Use your moves, your habits, and your fighting instinct, but the strength and speed are stronger than you.
It's like fighting in front of a mirror, but the person in the mirror is taller, stronger, and faster than you.
The clone didn't give him time to think.
It took the initiative.
The same is Nine-Heavens Step, which is also slashing with the sword, but the speed is faster and the angle is more tricky.
The sword light struck from the left, carrying the sharp sword energy, and went straight to Zhou Qi's neck.
Zhou Qi turned sideways, Startling Rainbow Saber crossed in front of him, and took the knife forcefully.
"When--!"
There was another loud noise, and he was knocked back again.
The clone did not stop, the second knife, the third knife, the fourth knife... one knife after another, continuous, each knife accurately blocked his retreat, and each knife forced him to block with all his strength.
Zhou Qi Fight and retreat, the thoughts in your mind are spinning.
He is observing and looking for loopholes.
After a few tricks, he discovered the problem.
The clone is indeed very strong, crushing him in strength and speed, but it has no flexibility.
Every move it uses is a move Zhou Qi used on the first eight levels.
Its fighting style is a complete copy of Zhou Qi, and even the few bad habits that Zhou Qi himself knows about have been copied intact.
Zhou Qi Have a headache.
If I had known earlier, I would have saved a few hands when I came up.
But it's too late to regret.
The sword light struck again, and he gritted his teeth to fight hard, causing him to slide several feet out of the water.
At this moment, a thought flashed through his mind.
The core of this tower is the spiritual stone.
From the first level to the eighth level, every puppet has a spiritual stone in its body as a power source.
When the spirit stones are exhausted, the puppet becomes silent and the level is cleared.
The clone of Ninth Layer should be no exception.
No matter how powerful it is, it is just a puppet driven by spiritual stones.
As long as the energy of the spirit stone is used up, this level will be passed.
Zhou Qi's eyes flashed.
Since you can't win with skills, then use consumption.
He stood still, took a deep breath, held the knife in both hands, and the Spiritual Power in his body was like a flood that burst a dam, rushing into Startling Rainbow Saber's body crazily.
The aura on the blade surged, buzzing and trembling, like a ferocious beast that had been completely awakened.
Wind-Thunder Saber Technique--Shattering Radiance!
The sword was slashed out, and the energy of the sword was like a rainbow, enveloping all the Spiritual Power in the later stage of Golden Core, Fifth Layer, and slashed directly into the clone.
The clone raised his sword to block, still maintaining his unhurried attitude.
"When--!"
But this time, the clone also took half a step back slightly.
Zhou Qi didn't give it a chance to breathe.
The second knife followed closely - Rending Mountains and Rivers!
The third knife--Swift Shadow Slash!
Wind-Thunder Saber Technique's three killing moves were struck out like a barrage of blows, one after another, each blow was done with all his strength, and every blow left no room.
The clone blocked and retreated, but its blocking was still accurate, its pace was still steady, and it didn't reveal any flaws.
Zhou Qi gritted his teeth and continued.
The fourth knife, the fifth knife, the sixth knife...
Spiritual Power was burning crazily in his body, and bursts of burning pain came from his meridians, but he couldn't care less.
He took out an elixir from his arms and stuffed it into his mouth. The elixir was released, and Spiritual Power surged out of his dry Dantian.
He raised the knife and struck it again.
The seventh knife, the eighth knife, the ninth knife...
The clone's movements finally changed, not slower, but more fluid.
This horse is still learning.
Zhou Qi's pupils shrank and his heart sank.
Every time the knife is set, it is optimizing its knife release angle and force exertion method.
It's obviously the same move. It becomes smoother and stronger the more you use it, but Zhou Qi's body becomes more and more tired.
Half an hour passed.
Zhou Qi He didn't know how many cuts he had made, but he only knew that his right arm was numb. The wound at the tiger's mouth was open and scabbed, and the scab was open and open again. Blood was dripping down the handle of the knife.
The taste of the pills in his mouth was so bitter that he couldn't remember how many pills he had swallowed.
The replica, however, remains as calm as before.
There is no attenuation of its breath and no lag in its movements.
Zhou Qi stepped back a few feet, breathing heavily. Startling Rainbow Saber stood on the water, and the tip of the knife sank half an inch into the water, causing ripples in circles.
He stared at the motionless figure opposite, frowning.
Something is wrong.
No matter how powerful a spiritual stone is, its energy should have an upper limit.