Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 575 An Excellent Opponent

The shadowy figure was the same height and build as Li Xia, and even the details were lifelike. Except for the blank face, all other details were complete.

The eyes of the three little ones behind them almost popped out, their gazes shifting back and forth between the 'plain version' and the 'colored version' of Li Xia.

So alike! Absolutely identical!
Although the plain version doesn't have a face, the three little ones automatically filled in a face in their minds—a face that rarely changes when entering battle, as calm as a lake.

"It's nothing, it's just a bluff. Even if you copy the boss, how can you copy his divinity, the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, Liang, and the boss's combat skills?"

It's definitely just for show!

Just like the famous theory circulating in the hall, with the power of the hall, as long as hundreds or thousands of those top-notch experts who emerged from the lower ranks are replicated, it would be enough to defeat tens of thousands of ordinary apostles.

However, this theory was refuted from the top level, supposedly by a representative.

"The reason why an apostle is an apostle is because of uncertainty and the illusory nature of fate. The temple can indeed perfectly replicate people with extremely strong potential."

But what's the use? A soul composed of four hundred trillion trillion high-dimensional electrons will undergo completely different chaotic changes the moment it is copied, and no one can control the chaotic direction inside the soul.

Therefore, all you'll get is an empty shell, a tool without a destiny, and even no potential for development.

As Aowu watched Li Xia grasp the spear and slowly hold it horizontally in front of his chest, Aowu said confidently:

"Absolutely a showpiece!"

Then, Li Xia, the "Shadow," nimbly spun the pitch-black "Night Silence" in his hand, assuming the same "Dripping Water" posture.

Simply by standing with a gun, the aura of a master, profound and imposing, emanates from him.

"My grass!"

The roar had barely escaped its lips when two figures suddenly charged out at each other.

Li Xia's spear moved like a snake, creating several afterimages in mid-air in an instant, then thrusting towards the chest of the shadowy figures along the center line.

Meanwhile, the shadowy figure opposite him, wielding a spear, aimed straight for Li Xia's head with a "phoenix nodding" motion.

Trade injury for injury?

Li Xia twisted his wrist, and the powerful force traveled through the gun barrel to the tip. Ye Ji then trembled with a 'hum' and bounced violently to the side like a pendulum.

Just as the gun was about to strike the shadow's arm, the shadow suddenly released its grip on the gun, its wrist deftly circling around and grazing just below the incoming blade.

"when!"

With a crisp sound, Night Silence struck the tail of Shadow Night Silence hard. While this caused the tail of Shadow Night Silence's spear to swing outward, the spear tip, due to the force, suddenly drew an arc in mid-air and slashed towards Li Xia's neck.

Li Xia seemed not to see it, extending his right arm to his left ear, his slender fingers spread wide, directly grasping the tip of Shadow Night's spear.

Meanwhile, Li Xia's movements were remarkably synchronized with Ye Ji's. As his hand circled around the gun blade, it flipped upwards and gripped the tip of Ye Ji's gun barrel.

The two men and the shadowy figure gripped their guns in perfect unison, even the soft 'snap' sound overlapped.

"Night Silence... didn't resist?"

Aowu's eyes widened even more. Ye Ji was full of spirit; it wouldn't be so easy for an outsider to grasp this gun.

Besides the boss, only Aowu, the accessory that can combine with Yeji, can hold Yeji. Yeji is not very willing to let Heitan and Xiaotian pick up this gun.

But judging from the current situation, Ye Ji did not resist the shadow in the slightest. Although the gun had a spirit, it was different from a person. It did not have conventional vision, but remembered its master based on its origin.

If Ye Ji doesn't resist at this moment, doesn't that mean that, in Ye Ji's eyes, this shadow is of the same origin as the boss?

Just as the three little ones were experiencing a storm of emotions, something even more shocking happened to them.

Suddenly, Li Xia and Shadow, who were gripping each other's spears, took a step forward in perfect unison, instantly turning the two or three-meter distance into close combat.

The raised right feet collided violently, producing an unusually dull sound. However, the swinging right leg did not come down; instead, it swung outward in perfect unison, stomping hard on the opponent's supporting left ankle.

What surprised the three children even more was that Li Xia and Shadow twisted their left feet simultaneously, exerting force with one leg, and bursting out with powerful strength from their bodies, leaping up in that force. Their right legs also swung with their bodies, flipping over at the same time within a very small area.

Their legs collided violently like whips.

"Oh!"

A shockwave visible to the naked eye spread instantly. Li Xia's physical body was far beyond what ordinary steel could compare to, and the one on the other side was no less formidable.

But this heavy blow finally changed the situation.

Upon impact, the shadow's legs swung high into the air.

Li Xia's eyes suddenly lit up; he had realized the difference between the shadow in front of him and himself.

Even though their fighting style, fighting strategy, and even moves are exactly the same as mine, their attributes are much worse than mine!

From that collision just now, Li Xia realized that the difference in strength between the two sides was not just one or two points, but about ten points!

Dexterity can be compensated for by anticipation, but strength cannot!

Realizing this, Li Xia stomped heavily on the ground and immediately switched his fighting style. He lowered his waist and shifted his shoulder, charging fiercely into the enemy.

Faced with the collision carrying terrifying power, the shadow suddenly changed as well. Its body seemed to sway but was not swaying, yet it exerted force with extraordinary speed.

Tai Chi?

The two sides clashed countless times in a very short period of time, even giving Li Xia a kind of illusion.

They were all taught by the same master, so I can't break their moves.

The three of them were completely dumbfounded. They never expected that the 'shadow' Li Xia in front of them would be so fierce, almost equivalent to 70-80% of the boss.

No wonder this Pale Spirit - Gluttony looks like utter trash, yet it was rated as the highest S-rank difficulty by the Hall of Fame. Turns out it's a monster with a complex mechanic.
The little knight didn't have so many complicated thoughts. It stared blankly as Li Xia and its own shadow fought fiercely. The battle between two top-level techniques, especially since they originated from the same source, was exceptionally exciting, even more so than a martial arts film.

Leaving aside the exchange of blows, the key is that both sides are extremely fast, sometimes so fast that they can even leave afterimages. All you can see is the two sides exchanging punches and kicks, with weapons swirling around their bodies in a dazzling display.

Li Xia was overjoyed at the prospect of finding an opponent who could match him in both technique and mindset. It was as if he were practicing against a mirror, scrutinizing his own shortcomings and areas for improvement.

So he simply abandoned the idea of ​​using attributes to overpower the shadow and end the battle instantly. He focused intently on observing, reflecting, and thinking.

But his 'sparring' with the shadow seemed to open a whole new door for the little knight. He looked down at the bone nail in his hand, and then at his short legs and arms.

Before this, it relied on bone nails in its battles, but never thought that its limbs could also possess such formidable strength.

Finally, it simply put the bone nail back on its back, and its hands and feet moved slightly unconsciously, but it was imitating and learning.

Li Xia and Shadow were so engrossed in their fight that they completely ignored the Pale Spirit - Gluttony, who was nearly killed by a single shot.

The insect, its entire body encased in white bone armor, took a breath and, thanks to the Pale Spirit's high regenerative abilities, finally recovered.

Its small eyes peered through the gaps in its mask at Li Xia, who was locked in a fierce battle. A hint of malice flickered in its eyes as it quietly extended its hand, gathering the power of light in preparation for a sneak attack.

The moment the light shone on the limbs, Li Xia and Aowu noticed it.

"You fucking dare to launch a sneak attack?"

The furious Aowu roared and charged toward the Pale Spirit with his second and third brothers.

Even faster than them was the little knight. His tiny body instantly transformed into a phantom, rushing directly in front of the Pale Spirit. Contrary to his usual behavior, he didn't pull out the bone nail. Instead, to the astonishment of the three little ones, he drew his bow and shot a heavy punch at the pale spirit.

This punch already bears a resemblance to Li Xia's!
"Holy crap, is this the Lesser Formless Skill?!"

Aowu stared in disbelief as the Pale Spirit was struck heavily in the abdomen by this punch. Even though the little knight was small, this strike, which mobilized the strength of his entire body, was absolutely powerful.

Its attributes were already quite high, and with the correct posture, even through the thick bone armor, the Pale Spirit Gluttony still arched its body sharply, and the power it had gathered dissipated.

Gluttony, its eyes filled with anger and malice, immediately turned to the little knight. It gripped its bone hammer, shrieked, and pounced on the little knight, and the two insects began to fight fiercely.

What surprised Aowu the most was that the little knight, like Li Xia, did not rush to end the battle, but instead used the Pale Spirit - Gluttony as a practice target.

He was honing the attack methods he had just learned.

"Damn! As expected, the chosen ones of the world are all monsters."

Awoo muttered something under his breath and decided to stop, merely watching the battle warily, ready to support the side in danger at any moment.

As expected of Li Xia's counterpart, Shadow immediately changed his approach even with just a slight shift in attention. He stomped heavily on the ground with one foot, and with a flick of his arm, he created a loud bang in mid-air, striking straight at Li Xia's face.

Faced with this fierce punch, Li Xia calmly countered with his own punch.

The goal is to take advantage of the opponent's shadow attribute being inferior to your own!
"Oh!"

The moment the two fists collided, a crisp cracking sound rang out in the air. It was the sound of air exploding from the astonishing speed and power of the punches.

As expected, a faint cracking sound came from the fist opposite. Even though it was very slight, it could not escape Li Xia's notice, who was extremely focused during the battle and had brought his five senses to their peak!
The cracking sound is the sound of the opponent's fist bones breaking, if the opponent also has 'bones'.

Just as he was about to give chase, Li Xia's expression suddenly changed, and he took a step back.

Looking down at his slightly red and swollen fist, he then looked at Li Xia, the 'shadow' who was also opening and closing his palm repeatedly. Clearly, the other party was using this action to relieve the discomfort in his palm.

This sudden turn of events clearly puzzled the three little ones watching the battle. Seeing that it wasn't a time of intense fighting, Awoo couldn't help but ask:
"Boss?"

"There is damage mapping on the other side."

Li Xia's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a summer thunderclap, causing Aowu and the three little ones to change color in horror.

Damage mapping is a very rare ability.

The general idea is that the damage from the enemy's attacks will appear in the same area, giving you a feeling of being connected to the enemy.

However, this ability is extremely rare, and the damage reflected is already considered good if it reaches 40% or 50%, so even among the numerous apostles, many have never even heard of it.

But there is something else that the apostles are absolutely familiar with: incarnation!
Damage is inflicted on the main body, but the damage is reflected in the avatar; this is also a form of damage reflection.

Moreover, it is an exceptionally powerful 100% mapping, but due to the difference in the transformation coefficient, there is a difference in the damage absorption limit.

Li Xia let out a deep breath. Damage mapping. It was actually damage mapping.

At this moment, a storm seemed to rage within his mind, and in an instant, the concepts of avatar, pale spirit, shadow, and damage mapping connected in his mind.

Another ability that the Pale Spirit has not detected? The ultimate ability is clearly the skill of projecting one's own shadow.

And it's not hard to understand why this ultimate skill can only be activated in a chain after using Radiant Bloom.

Because the stronger the light, the darker the shadow!

One must use this magical ability from 'heavenly light' to 'reflect' one's own shadow, and then use a special ability to make the shadow materialize, which is very easy to understand.

Furthermore, the reason why the 'Dawn' that can form an 'avatar' can only emerge from within the Pale Spirit is probably because it contains a core that condenses the light of heaven!
The so-called incarnation is doing exactly the same thing as the pale spirit at this moment.

It means using the 'dawn' to project one's own shadow, and connecting them closely. The shadow and the original body are of the same origin, so this connection is risk-free and can even transfer any damage received to the shadow.

As for now, it's the lack of established connections that has led to these negative repercussions.

The damage you inflict on your shadow will also appear on you, but the shadow cannot transfer the damage; it can only reflect it.

And
Li Xia sensed the damage he had received, which was probably 70-80% of his original damage. This meant that if he dealt 100 points of damage to the opponent, he would also suffer 70-80 points of damage himself.

That's absolutely terrifying!
This is the truth about incarnation.

Li Xia looked down at his palm again; all the injuries had completely healed.

They recklessly turned and charged again, only to suffer mere damage reflection.

That's what makes it interesting!

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)