Zero continued, "Fortunately, this cultivation space has the benefit of repairing your soul, preventing you from developing a split personality. Next time, remember that although three clones are your current limit, the time should not be too long."
Han Feng nodded, then sat down cross-legged and began to recover.
After a while, Han Feng opened his eyes and got up. Zero asked from the side, "Are you going to enter the Tower of Babel again?"
"Not bad, I've reached the mid-stage of the Innate Realm. I need to see how far I've come, since I might have to face the Shangguan family next," Han Feng said calmly.
"Okay, then go ahead." Zero didn't say anything more.
Han Feng stood outside the small house near the Tower of Babel, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
The space inside the Tower of Babel remained as ethereal and boundless as ever, with an endless starry sky beneath his feet and countless glowing runes floating above his head. As soon as Han Feng steadied himself, the space in front of him distorted like ripples on water, and a figure bearing an exact likeness to him slowly materialized.
"You've arrived." The mirror image of Han Feng cracked his knuckles, his eyes gleaming with the same starlight as his original self. "How long can you hold out this time?"
Han Feng didn't answer, but immediately assumed a starting stance. The power of the stars within his body circulated rapidly along the "star track" route, constructing a perfect cyclical network in his meridians.
The mirror image chuckled and struck the same pose, demonstrating the Tower of Babel's perfect replication ability, leaving no detail overlooked, even with the latest techniques it had mastered.
\"Bang!\"
The two lunged forward simultaneously, their fists colliding and unleashing a dazzling burst of starlight. The shockwave caused the surrounding runes to shake violently; Han Feng felt his arm go numb and staggered back three steps before regaining his footing. The mirror image also retreated, but only two and a half steps.
As expected... even after advancing to the mid-stage, he still couldn't gain an advantage against someone who had perfectly mastered the early-stage eighth-level techniques.
Han Feng's expression turned serious. The cruelty of the Tower of Babel lies in this: it doesn't create simple copies, but rather "perfect versions" that push the potential of each of your realms to its limit.
The mirror image didn't give Han Feng much time to think. It flashed to his left and appeared, its right hand forming a knife aimed straight for his throat. Han Feng ducked to avoid it and followed up with a sweeping kick, but the mirror image nimbly leaped away to dodge it.
"Too slow." The mirror image flipped in the air, its toes flashing like shooting stars towards Han Feng's temple. "Is this how you use star trails?"
Han Feng hastily raised his arm to block, but was kicked and slid several meters away. A piercing pain shot through his right arm; it was definitely a fracture. But he couldn't care less about that, because the mirror image was already attacking again, this time with both fists wreathed in blinding starlight.
"Meteor Fist!"
Han Feng's pupils contracted sharply. This was precisely the move he had created by combining "Meteor Fall," and he hadn't expected the mirror image to be used even more skillfully than the real thing. Two balls of stellar power, compressed to their extreme, roared in, blocking all angles of evasion.
At the critical moment, Han Feng had a sudden inspiration and abruptly changed the trajectory of the star's orbit. The energy that had been evenly distributed throughout his body instantly concentrated in his legs, creating a deep crater in the ground, and he shot into the sky like a cannonball.
\"boom!\"
The meteor punch slammed into the ground, creating a crater three meters in diameter. Han Feng adjusted his posture in mid-air, just in time to see the surprised expression on Mirror Image's face as it looked up.
He channeled all the power of the stars into his right fist, mimicking the movement of the mirror image, but adding an extra rotational force. Starlight formed a miniature vortex at the tip of his fist, crashing down with a piercing whistling sound.
"Bang—Crack!"
Mirror Image barely managed to raise its arms to block, but was slammed to its knees by the punch, its arms bent unnaturally. Han Feng staggered as he landed, but his eyes gleamed with excitement; the brilliant change of move he had just made seemed to have touched upon some deeper technique.
"Interesting." The mirror image slowly stood up, its broken arm repairing itself at a visible speed. "But it's far from enough."
The moment the repair was completed, the mirror image suddenly vanished. Han Feng felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and instinctively lunged forward, but he was still a step too slow. A hand chop struck him hard on the back of the neck.
Everything went black before his eyes, and Han Feng fell to the ground like a broken sack, a metallic taste rising in his throat. He forced himself to turn over, just in time to see the mirror image raising its foot to step towards his chest.
\"Bang!\"
Han Feng barely managed to roll away, leaving a spiderweb-like crack in the spot where he had been standing. He took the opportunity to create distance, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his mind racing.
Slightly inferior in speed, strength, and skill... how can you win?
The mirror image gave Han Feng no chance to breathe, closing in again. This time, its attacks were like a storm, each strike precisely hitting Han Feng's weak points. In less than ten moves, Han Feng had already taken three punches and two kicks, breaking at least two of his ribs.
"Is that all you've got?" Mirror Image delivered a knee strike to Han Feng's abdomen.
Han Feng staggered backward until his back slammed into the invisible tower wall. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his vision began to blur. The mirror image walked over unhurriedly, a starlight longsword materializing in its hand.
Just as the sword tip was about to pierce his throat, a certain constraint within Han Feng's body suddenly shattered. The trajectories of the stars, which were usually obscure and difficult to understand, were now as clear as the lines on his palm. The star trails were no longer paths that needed to be deliberately maintained, but had become a natural instinct, as natural as breathing.
Time seemed to slow down.
Han Feng watched the sword tip slowly thrusting towards him, and his body reacted automatically. He turned his head to avoid the fatal blow, and at the same time, he brought his right index and middle fingers together, condensing the power of the stars into a tiny, cold glint at his fingertips.
"Starlight Finger."
\"puff!\"
A beam of light pierced through the mirror image's brow and emerged from the back of its head. The action froze, and the starlight sword clattered to the ground.
It gave a sinister smile, its body beginning to dissipate into specks of light. "Not bad, it seems you've gained some new insights."
Before he could finish speaking, the image vanished completely. Han Feng collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. That sudden flash of insight had directly elevated his understanding of the power of stars to a whole new level.
Zero then appeared: "Not bad. After entering the Innate Realm, you can defeat a Perfect State opponent who is two levels below you. You have made great progress compared to before."
While quickly adjusting himself, Han Feng said with a wry smile, "When I was in the Acquired Realm, I could still fight to a draw with someone one level lower, but after reaching the Innate Realm, no matter what angle I looked at, the image of the Tower of Babel seemed to be stronger."
Zero said, "The purity and control of energy are different at each level. Having this feeling just means you are not strong enough."
A fierce fighting spirit flashed in Han Feng's eyes: "Alright, let's do it again!"
Meanwhile, in the south of China.
"Is your information accurate?" Shangguan Ce asked.
“It’s absolutely true, that kid will be coming to my family tomorrow,” Nangong Wentian said. “However, it seems that Miss Mu is still unable to come.”
Shangguan Ce turned his head and said, "It's alright. He hasn't grown up yet. He's only at the mid-stage of the Innate Realm. As long as I can fulfill Miss Mu's promise, I can successfully enter the Great Dao Realm. At that time, I won't be afraid of him."
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