Zero reached out and gently touched Han Feng's brow, and a profound stream of information flowed directly into his consciousness. Han Feng suddenly "saw"—countless energy particles floating in the air, primal power hidden within the folds of space, and even ancient fluctuations contained within starlight...
"This is the vision of someone at the Great Dao Realm." Zero's voice seemed to come from a great distance. "Energy is everywhere, the key lies in..."
"...Resonance." Han Feng answered subconsciously, his fingers twitching unconsciously. A wisp of drifting starlight, as if summoned, gently wrapped around his fingertips.
Zero nodded with satisfaction, then resumed his cheeky expression: "Alright, how about we settle the tuition? You just died 243 times, so let's calculate 100 per instance for emotional distress..."
Han Feng directly triggered the 244th challenge, responding with action.
This time, when the Great Dao Realm clone appeared, a sly glint flashed in Han Feng's eyes. He no longer rushed to attack, but instead relaxed his entire body, allowing his consciousness to merge with the surrounding space.
The moment the clone raised its hand to gather energy, Han Feng's fingers trembled almost imperceptibly—one-tenth of the energy that should have flowed toward the opponent suddenly changed direction and silently merged into his meridians.
"Got you." Han Feng grinned, and for the first time in his 244th challenge, he actually threw a punch.
---This is the dividing line---
Inside the Tower of Babel, time seemed to stretch out infinitely. Han Feng had lost count of how many times he had been knocked down by his own clone; he only knew that each time he rose again, the flow of stellar power within him was smoother than the last.
The 387th challenge.
Han Feng spat out the blood and foam from his mouth, his eyes gleaming like a cascading galaxy. The clone opposite him remained flawless, every movement precise to the point of despair—the absolute peak state that "Han Feng" could theoretically achieve.
"Again," he said in a hoarse voice.
Zero's voice echoed through the space: "Just a reminder, it's almost dawn outside. Today seems to be the day of the Aristocratic Clan Conference."
"Then let's finish this quickly." Han Feng smirked. "This time, I'm sure I can—"
Before he could finish speaking, the clone launched its attack. A beam of starlight, condensed to its utmost, arrived in an instant, so fast that even space itself cracked.
Han Feng no longer dodged hastily as before. He slightly turned his body and drew a semicircle in front of his chest with his right hand. A strange scene unfolded—the beam of destructive energy split automatically like a stream encountering a stone. Most of the energy still rushed forward, but about one-tenth of it strangely changed direction and was guided by some invisible force field in Han Feng's palm, obediently wrapping around his arm.
"Got the trick?" Zero surprisingly didn't mock him.
Han Feng didn't answer, his entire attention focused on energy manipulation. Like a novice fisherman finally feeling the first bite, he carefully maintained that delicate balance—not too forceful, lest the energy flow collapse, nor too loose, allowing the "fish" to escape.
The clone seemed to sense the anomaly and immediately changed tactics, forming hand seals to summon a sky full of starlight. Each point of light contained enough energy to flatten mountains, and it poured down like a torrential rain.
"Star Trail - Reverse".
Han Feng murmured softly, and a complex star map appeared beneath his feet. Unlike before, this time the lines of the star map were not fixed, but rather wriggled and deformed like a living thing, constantly adjusting to the optimal energy path. The falling starlight, upon contact with the star map, was partially absorbed as if iron filings were attracted by a magnet.
Three minutes passed, and Han Feng's forehead was covered in sweat, but the light in his eyes grew even brighter. With each attack from the clone, he "stole" a portion of its energy. Although the percentage was small, it added up, and the scales of victory began to tip subtly.
At the 25-minute mark, Han Feng finally achieved a stalemate with the clone for the first time in a prolonged battle. Their fists collided in mid-air, and the resulting shockwave displaced the simulated stars within the Tower of Babel.
"Not bad." Zero's tone held a hint of appreciation. "To be able to fight to this extent against your perfect self, you've improved much faster than Jue Li..."
Han Feng had no time to pay attention to the system's teasing. His entire mind was immersed in that mysterious state—as if the whole world was made up of flowing energy, and he was learning to become a part of this torrent, rather than a fool going against the current.
Twenty-eight minutes later, the clone suddenly changed tactics. It abandoned all defense and compressed all its remaining energy into its right fist. The entire arm became translucent due to energy overload, and the surging galaxy inside was clearly visible.
"Going all out?" Han Feng grinned and mimicked the same action. The moment their fists collided again, the entire Tower of Babel trembled violently, and the simulated starry sky shattered like a mirror.
Thirty minutes exactly.
Han Feng knelt on one knee, his right sleeve torn to shreds, his skin covered in spiderweb-like cracks—a sign of energy overload. The clone opposite him was equally disheveled, yet remained standing.
"Still...almost..." Han Feng gasped, unwilling to give up. He could feel the thin, yet unbreakable, barrier between himself and perfection.
The clone gave him no chance to breathe, delivering the final blow as expected. Han Feng's vision went black, and he was defeated once again.
Han Feng disappeared into the Tower of Babel once more, gasping for breath like a drowning man. He collapsed to the ground, his clothes soaked with sweat, his fingertips trembling uncontrollably from exhaustion.
Zero's tone this time lacked its usual playfulness, instead carrying a hint of seriousness: "To achieve this level in 387 challenges has already exceeded my expectations."
"Not fast enough..." Han Feng struggled to sit up. "Mu Xiaoxiao and the Youjing Clan won't wait for me to slowly grow stronger."
"Haste makes waste," Zero continued. "You're like a cat that's just learned to fish; stealing even a tenth of the energy flow is a miracle. You must understand, a true Star Soul Lord can..."
"What can we do?" Han Feng keenly grasped the key point.
Zero's gaze drifted off into a daze: "Let's talk about that after you've mastered the ability to control your body's energy at will."
Han Feng leaned against the wall to stand up, and with a thought, exited the cultivation space. He then noticed that it was already dawn outside the window. The suspended stardust slowly settled in the morning light, like the radiance scattered by miniature star mirrors.
He stretched his aching muscles, feeling the newfound understanding flowing through his body—an intuition about the essence of energy, more precious than any technique or skill. Although he couldn't defeat the perfect clone yet, he had at least found a direction to move forward.
"Zero." Han Feng suddenly asked, "How long did it take Jue Li to master this move?"
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