The Thirtieth Stage

Ning Buhui fought no fewer than twenty rounds of the Simulation battle in the twenty-ninth level.

His opponent was Soul Master's mirror image at the level of a level 54 Soul King. Each Soul Master's mirror image was different, with varying Martial Soul, some powerful, some controlling, and some agile. He fought one battle a day, and his combat experience became more and more abundant. Sometimes, if things went smoothly, he could fight two battles a day. With the pills he had used to clear previous levels, his recovery speed was extremely fast, allowing him to fight continuously without any worries.

After nearly half a month of repeated battles, he had mastered the combat rhythm of a level 54 Soul King. He could tell when to retreat and when to advance even with his eyes closed.

That day, he had just started his battle when he faced a Defense System Soul King mirror image with the Vajra Giant Ape as Martial Soul. The Vajra Giant Ape had very strong defensive capabilities, Ning Buhui could not find any weakness in his opponent. The opponent was very sensitive to his Soul Power, which rendered Ning Buhui's Vine Locks the Nine Nether Regions technique ineffective, and the battle remained at a stalemate.

He fought for nearly an hour, using every trick in the book, but his opponent remained completely unmoved. On the contrary, his own Soul Power had been reduced by half.

Because of the level difference, Ning Buhui's idea of waging a war of attrition was also shelved.

In fact, the Soul King of the Vajra Giant Ape has a major weakness: its mental defense is weak. If Ning Buhui had mental attack methods, she wouldn't have encountered this situation.

This reminded Ning Buhui of the unfinished soul Soul Skill he Self-Created Soul Skill before – Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring.

At that time, because his spiritual power was too low to be released out of his body, he temporarily gave up developing this Soul Skill.

He is now level 44, and his mental strength has become much stronger than that of other Soul Master of the same level due to his cultivation of the Nine Orifices Heart Control.

This gave him the idea to take a gamble. After all, there was no better way to resolve the current situation, and dragging it out would only lead to a slow death.

When the enemy charged again, Ning Buhui unfurled his Wind Thunder Wings Warp away. He no longer faced them head-on, but instead flew at high speed around the Simulation arena, dodging their pursuit while using his Martial Soul to concentrate his spiritual power onto the surface of the tower.

He tried to make the tower vibrate at a special frequency, spreading his spiritual energy out of the tower.

The first time, his spiritual energy dissipated as soon as it left the tower. The second time, he managed to retreat half a foot, but the released spiritual energy vanished like a gust of wind. The third and fourth times, each time was slightly better than the last, but the distance and stability were still far from sufficient.

However, this also proves that this approach is indeed feasible, because of his strong mental power. He doesn't need to reach the minimum Soul Power Level Soul King as recorded in the notes in the Spirit Hall's library to achieve the requirement of projecting his mental power.

He repeatedly adjusted the vibration frequency, inevitably neglecting some aspects of the battle.

The Soul King's Mirror Image seemed to sense what he was trying. A strange light flashed in its eyes, and suddenly it changed its footwork, using a movement technique it hadn't used since the start of the battle. Its body accelerated abruptly, and it unexpectedly charged straight at Ning Buhui from the side, bringing a punch containing terrifying Soul Power to smash towards him.

Because of this sudden change, Ning Buhui to react. He subconsciously held the tower horizontally in front of him. The moment the fist wind pressed down, he suddenly poured his spiritual power into the tower, and then the tower began to vibrate at a mysterious frequency.

An invisible spiritual wave erupted from the tower, heading straight for the opponent's face.

The opponent froze. A moment of disorientation flashed in his eyes, his fist stopped in mid-air, and his entire body seemed to be frozen in place. Ning Buhui seized this moment, his Wind Thunder Wings flapping violently, Warp thirty steps away.

At the critical moment, he succeeded, actually unleashing the true Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring.

Even after escaping danger, Ning Buhui's heart was still pounding. He remembered the vibration frequency of the attack he had instinctively launched in a moment of panic.

He began to adjust and improve repeatedly. The opponent recovered from his daze and continued to pursue. Ning Buhui flew and tried again, succeeding on the fifth try. This time the distance was greater and the fluctuations of his mental energy were more solid. On the seventh try, he could make the fluctuations spread steadily to a distance of ten feet. On the tenth try, the opponent could feel the pressure from the mental impact he released.

The Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring has been completed.

The Defense System Soul Master of the Vajra Giant Ape was indeed weak in mental defense before reaching the Soul Saint level. After being repeatedly attacked by the Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring Techniques, his movements began to distort, his face became ferocious, and his Soul Skill began to be executed haltingly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ning Buhui activated his Fourth Soul Skill — Bear Iron Wall —to enhance his First Soul Skill, increasing all his attributes by 100%. Then, Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring, unleashing a violent mental energy wave attack that rapidly spread towards his opponent. Before the opponent could even react to the previous mental energy attack, he was struck by this heavy blow, his mental sea was shattered, and he vanished in a wisp of white smoke.

The battle was over. Ning Buhui collapsed to the ground, his Soul Power remaining at 20%, and his mental energy almost exhausted. But he smiled.

Although it was a humiliating experience, it was worthwhile. He perfected another Soul Skill he created, which was a mental attack.

After taking the pills, he didn't rush to fight the next battle. Instead, he sat in the stone chamber to adjust his condition, wanting to get himself into the best possible state.

With the improvement of his Self-Created Soul Skill, his strength has increased again, and it's time to go and test his skills against the thirtieth level.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked towards the stone gate of the thirtieth level.

When the stone gate of the thirtieth level opened, Ning Buhui prepared for the worst.

The stone chamber Simulation an underground palace with an extremely high dome and a wide open floor. Several thick stone pillars stand in the middle, dividing the space in a somewhat complex way. Three of his mirror images stand in the center.

As soon as he entered the thirtieth floor, the three mirror images simultaneously looked up at him, released their Martial Soul, and were ready to fight at any moment. They had identical faces, identical movements, and even the rhythm of their Soul Ring lighting up was exactly the same.

Ning Buhui a deep breath. The coordination of the three mirror images was even more airtight than that of the two. One was the main attacker, one the main controller, and one the support. Just as he dodged the chains of the first mirror image, the Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind from the second mirror image had already spread out beneath his feet. Before the cage could form, he flapped his Wind Thunder Wings Warp out. The Void Rending Slash right in front of his landing point. He forcefully changed direction in mid-air Warp behind a stone pillar, a layer of his vine armor shattering.

He leaned against the stone pillar to catch his breath, but the three mirror images pressed down on him simultaneously, giving him no room to breathe.

Ning Buhui emerged from behind the stone pillar, channeling his Soul Power to replenish his Vine Armor Spring Life. Simultaneously, his pre-prepared Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind instantly expanded to its maximum range, enveloping all three mirror images. The instant the slow effect took effect, before the opponent could use their invincibility, he seized the opportunity, shooting nine chains towards the first mirror image. Number One was entangled by the chains, but Number Two immediately cut in from the side, forcing him to retract the chains and return to defense. Number Three prepared to apply invincibility to Number One from behind, while simultaneously throwing Butterfly Suppresses the Nether Spring and Bear Spirit Curse alternately at him.

Ning Buhui in battle, choosing instead to temporarily avoid direct confrontation. He retreated to a stone house, using the house to obscure his view, and circled around the three mirror images.

Having fought for so long, he was intimately familiar with his own fighting style. The mirror images used all of his moves—the timing of the chain strikes, the coverage of the Thunder Prison Imprisons Wind, the trajectory of the Void Rending Slash, even the rhythm of the Bear Spirit Curse —he knew it all perfectly. Because of this, he knew he absolutely couldn't win in a head-on confrontation. The three mirror images had the same Soul Power as him; three against one, he would inevitably lose a war of attrition.

He needs to take them down one by one.

He moved swiftly between the stone houses, with the three mirror images in hot pursuit. Number One charged ahead, Number Two in the middle, and Number Three at the rear. The formation was well maintained. Ning Buhui observed as he ran. Number Three was the most crucial of the three mirror images, as it was responsible for observing the overall situation and providing remote interference and support.

After such a long battle, he had figured out the differences between the Simulation mirror images and himself. Although each mirror image knew his moves, their focuses were different. Some focused on attack, some on control, and some on support. Apart from their focus being comparable to his own strength, they were all weaker than him in other aspects, about half his strength. This gave him a chance to win. Otherwise, if there were three clones that were exactly the same as him, he wouldn't need to fight and would just admit defeat.

Therefore, compared to clones number one and two, clone number three focuses more on support and is relatively weaker in close-range defense. If clone number three can be dealt with first, the remaining two will be easier to handle.

But he can't charge at Number Three directly. Number One and Number Two react too quickly; once they see through his intentions, the two mirror images will immediately surround him.

He had to figure out a way to fool them.

As he ran, he observed the terrain and eventually chose an adjacent stone chamber. There would be a blind spot for a few seconds when entering another stone chamber, so he decided to use the stone chamber as cover to launch his attack.

With a flap of his Wind Thunder Wings, Ning Buhui began flying towards one of the stone chambers. His three mirror images chased after him. Upon entering the first chamber, Ning Buhui quickly scanned the layout, then, without lingering, ran towards another exit. This exit led directly to the door of another chamber. Entering the second chamber, he swiftly entered the room he had already spotted. The window of this room allowed him to see into the hall of the opposite chamber. He waited for clones number one and two to rush out of the first chamber, and then, while clone number three was still in the hall of the first chamber, he instantly activated the Void Warp of his Wind Thunder Wings, which allowed him to Warp to a distance of thirty meters within his field of vision.

He Warp directly behind his third clone, unleashing the Void Rending Slash he had prepared beforehand. An invisible blade of energy swept past, and the third clone didn't even have time to struggle before turning into gray dust and vanishing.

Only then did Mirror Image One and Mirror Image Two react, quickly turning back to attack him. After Ning Buhui landed a successful blow, he retreated towards the entrance of the stone chamber.

Number three is dealt with; now it's time for a direct confrontation, which is better suited to a terrain with a wide field of vision.

Number Three was gone. Ning Buhui could clearly feel that Number One and Number Two's attacks had weakened. Before, they cooperated perfectly, one taking the lead in attack and the other in control, with a clear rhythm and hierarchy. Now, without Number Three's long-range interference and support, Number One and Number Two had lost their powerful support, and their attacks had weakened considerably. Their reaction speed was still very fast, but Ning Buhui's pressure was much less.

As he fought, a possibility suddenly occurred to him: no matter how powerful this secret realm was, it couldn't perfectly replicate his Martial Soul. His Martial Soul itself was mysterious enough; Simulation its dual Martial Soul was already incredibly difficult. If it couldn't perfectly replicate the functions of his Martial Soul, then did the mirror image lack the ability of passive mental defense?

Without Ning Buhui seized the opportunity of close combat with the second mirror image to concentrate his spiritual power into the tower. Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring. An invisible spiritual wave emanated from the tower, precisely striking the second mirror image. The second mirror image froze, a moment of confusion flashing in its dark gray pupils. Just as he had expected, the Simulation clone lacked the passive soul defense ability of the Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda; this close-range spiritual attack was completely absorbed by the second mirror image. Taking advantage of its stiffness, Ning Buhui unleashed nine chains simultaneously, locking its limbs and waist, Void Rending Slash. The second mirror image vanished into dust.

Only number one is left.

Without the control of Number Two and the assistance of Number Three, Mirror Image Number One couldn't hold out for long. When its Soul Power was still at its last ten percent, Ning Buhui finished off Mirror Image Number One with a Void Rending Slash.

As the last image turned to dust and dissipated, the stone gate to the thirty-first floor appeared, along with the reward for clearing the thirty-first floor.

The few bottles of pills that were always kept there were nothing special. What caught Ning Buhui's attention was a booklet next to the pills, on which were written several ancient characters: Soul-Devouring Divine Light.

Ning Buhui flipped through it roughly. It was a general Soul Skill manual. The Soul Skill was called Soul-Devouring Divine Light, which was a dual attack of mind and body that combined one's own Soul Power and mental power. The target hit would experience the tearing of the soul while being washed by the Soul Power attack. It was a Soul Skill that combined control and attack.

Ning Buhui put away the manual, picked up the pills, and entered the third level of the tower. This battle, despite his thorough preparation, was anything but easy. Had it not been for his exceptional adaptability, the outcome might have been very different. However, he ultimately won, finally overcoming the difficult thirtieth level.

Ning Buhui lay on the bed in the bamboo house with his eyes closed, his mind racing. How long had he been in this secret realm? Almost three months from when he entered until now.

Before he entered the secret realm, the seed selection for the Spirit Hall's Soul Master Tournament was scheduled to begin in just over two months. Now, three months have passed, and the selection process is probably long over.

Although he missed this year's Soul Master Tournament, Ning Buhui had no regrets. A 100,000-year-old Soul Bone was too tempting, something that could only be encountered once in a lifetime. There were only a handful of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone on the entire continent that were publicly recorded. Each one was priceless, and each one could bring about a qualitative change in a Soul Master's strength. If he obtained one, even with just the most ordinary attributes, it would be enough to greatly enhance his strength.

The competition is held every five years; if you miss this one, there will be another. But Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone —once you miss it, it's truly gone.

He took a deep breath, suppressing these thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on it. He couldn't leave the secret realm, and the selection was over. Right now, there was only one thing he could do: continue the trials and obtain the Soul Bone.

He thought of Bibi Dong. That woman would probably frown if she knew he hadn't returned on time. Hu Liena would grumble, Yan would yell, Xie Yue would probably say nothing, but remember it. He wondered if they would worry, and if he would suddenly appear in front of them after he left, giving them a fright.

As she pondered, her thoughts gradually drifted away, Ning Buhui slowly drifted off to sleep.