Volume 4, Chapter 251 – The Great Battle Begins (Part 5)

In the world of cultivation, a doppelgänger’s talent could, at most, reach only eighty percent of the original body’s potential. This meant that no matter how hard a doppelgänger trained, their strength would forever be capped at eighty percent of the main body’s power. This was precisely why Qi Huang had insisted on forging her own path back then. If she had obediently followed the conventional path of cultivating qi, she would have been doomed to remain as nothing more than a supporting character beside her main body, forever unable to truly be of help.

Given this well-known fact, when Ye Xin reported that Qi Huang’s divine sense had reached the Divine Ability Realm, the vast majority of the Severed Immortal Sect remained skeptical, including this Lei Zhen. Thus, when he found himself cornered, he clung to a sliver of hope, ready to gamble everything.

“Common knowledge? What a pity… I’m an exception!”

Qi Huang sighed regretfully as the Cicada Wing Sword materialized in her hand. Her figure vanished in an instant. She didn’t immediately utilize her divine sense, not out of underestimating her opponent, but because martial artists possessed formidable physical resilience, granting them strong resistance to divine sense attacks. Thus, it could only be used as a trump card.

“Fast! Too fast! Could her strength truly surpass the main body’s?”

Lei Zhen’s eyes widened like copper bells, for everything before him completely overturned his understanding. Fortunately, he was a battle-hardened veteran and did not lose his composure.

“I can’t dodge! There’s no way to dodge! In that case…”

Gritting his teeth, Lei Zhen stomped his thick right foot into the ground.

BOOM!

His foot sank deep into the hardened earth as massive fissures spiderwebbed outward. The shattered rocks beneath his feet were sent flying in all directions from the sheer force.

Qi Huang had just closed the distance when the barrage of stone shards shot toward her. Given her delicate physique, she dared not take the hits head-on. Instantly, her divine sense surged forth like a tide, freezing the incoming debris midair before she effortlessly slipped past them. The Cicada Wing Sword in her hand traced a ghostly blue arc as it slashed toward Lei Zhen’s neck.

The moment the stones froze, Lei Zhen sensed danger. With a violent tuck of his neck, he actually managed to retract it below his face.

SWISH!

Qi Huang’s strike missed its mark, but the sword still carved a vicious wound across his face.

Lei Zhen had no time to assess the injury. Swinging his broadsword upward, he unleashed a furious slash toward Qi Huang’s back. A massive blade aura tore through the air with a terrifying shriek, unstoppable as it cleaved into the forest ahead.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

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One towering ancient tree after another toppled like harvested wheat, but Qi Huang was not among them.

“Too slow.”

Her murmur was like a demonic whisper piercing his ears, yet her figure was already a blur, phantoming toward him once more.

“Not good!”

Lei Zhen panicked. Clenching his right fist, he smashed it against the blade of his broadsword.

CLANG—!

A deafening metallic wail erupted as visible soundwaves rippled outward from the weapon.

WOOO—!

Qi Huang, having just closed in, was instantly engulfed by the terrifying sonic assault. Her delicate frame could not withstand it, her eardrums ruptured instantly, and the searing pain shattered her focus, causing her divine sense to scatter. Her body crumpled to the ground.

“Ugh…!”

Clutching her ears, Qi Huang writhed in agony. Warm liquid trickled down her fingers as a relentless ringing drowned out all sound.

“Damn it! I was careless!”

She cursed inwardly, never expecting her opponent to possess such an unorthodox attack method.

“Heh… To think even a simple sonic attack could cripple you. Seems your only strength is your divine sense. Not as impressive as I thought!”

Lei Zhen exhaled in relief before advancing slowly, blade in hand. The same soundwave had only caused him mild discomfort, proof that this “Cheng Hongling’s doppelgänger” was far inferior to him in physical resilience.

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With her eardrums destroyed and the pain preventing her from concentrating, Qi Huang couldn’t hear a word he said.

“You know what? Right now, across the entire Western Radiance Dynasty, whether in the mortal world or the cultivation realm, countless people dream of capturing you to use as a breeding tool. Who’d have thought you’d fall into this Hall Master’s hands today? Truly, the heavens have blessed me.”

Lei Zhen’s eyes burned with greed, as if he wanted to devour her whole.

“You’re celebrating too soon.”

Though she couldn’t hear him, Qi Huang could guess his gloating from his expression. She met his gaze fearlessly.

“Bluffing. What other tricks do you have? Show me everything, so this victory isn’t too boring. Otherwise, you won’t even qualify as a breeding tool.”

Lei Zhen smirked disdainfully.

Qi Huang wasted no words. Suppressing the pain, she mustered a sliver of divine sense and, through the Soul Tether, seized the dazed Heavenly Surge Soul in her Sea of Consciousness, forcibly relocating it to a distant corner.

The next moment, Qi Huang vanished.

Her divine sense cascaded down upon Lei Zhen like a collapsing sky.

Shock flashed across his face, but he reacted instantly, attempting to turtle up again. However, the overwhelming divine sense slowed him just enough, and that half-second delay sealed his fate.

Qi Huang’s sword became a blue afterimage, gliding across his throat. She sheathed her blade without even glancing back.

“H-How…? You… why…?”

Clutching his neck, Lei Zhen stiffly turned around.

“I told you, I’m an exception.”

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Qi Huang smirked coldly. Though blood still stained her ears, she appeared completely unfazed.

Lei Zhen’s face was blank, but his widening eyes suddenly caught sight of another “Qi Huang” lying motionless in the corner, an identical plum blossom doppelgänger mark on her forehead.

“Th-This…!”

His expression froze in place as his head toppled from his shoulders.

“Got questions, kid? Too bad, I’m not in the mood to explain.”

Qi Huang taunted before walking over to the Heavenly Surge Soul.

By now, blood had begun trickling from the doppelgänger’s ears. Without a brain, it couldn’t feel pain or move.

“Sorry. Had to transfer the injury to you. Not like you can feel it anyway.”

She offered a half-hearted apology. Indeed, by summoning the doppelgänger, she had temporarily shifted her wounds onto it, another perk of the main body-doppelgänger connection.

The Heavenly Surge Soul was fuming internally. Though it couldn’t feel pain, being used as a scapegoat was infuriating. Unfortunately, it couldn’t even curse her out.

With her opponent dealt with, Qi Huang immediately extended her divine sense toward the mountaintop, where the main body’s situation imprinted itself in her “vision”.

Cheng Hongling was locked in a desperate struggle against Xiao Sha. The Heavenly Thunder Sword had already drained over half of her qi, and the Qi-Leaking Powder’s corrosion had pushed her to the brink of exhaustion. Her movements grew sluggish, first shifting from offense to defense, then from defense to retreat.

“Come here obediently! Accompany this Hall Master back to bear children! If you keep running, I’ll slaughter every last member of your Honghua Sect!”

Having lost patience, Xiao Sha abandoned pursuit and strode straight toward the Honghua Sect’s gates.

Panting heavily, Cheng Hongling’s face twisted in anguish. She knew surrendering wouldn’t change anything, but she couldn’t just watch her sectmates be massacred.

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“What do we do? That demon is about to break in! Fairy Hongling can’t stop him!”

“Impossible! She must be preparing a secret technique! All immortal arts have a wind-up.”

“Right! Fairy Hongling is invincible! She said he wouldn’t enter, then he won’t!”

The onlookers buzzed with speculation, none willing to believe their undefeated goddess could lose.

“I’m sorry to disappoint… but I’m not invincible.”

Biting her lip, Cheng Hongling drowned in self-reproach.

“Summon me. I’ll handle him.”

At that moment, Qi Huang’s voice echoed in her mind.

“You can do it?”

Cheng Hongling was doubtful.

“One strike is all I need to kill him.”

Qi Huang’s confidence was absolute.

Knowing her doppelgänger was boastful but never made empty claims, Cheng Hongling acted without hesitation, activating the Soul Tether to summon Qi Huang.

“No sect badge, yet you dare barge in? The gates of Honghua Sect will be your gates to hell!”

The moment she appeared, Qi Huang’s icy voice cut through the air, aimed straight at Xiao Sha.