Chapter 109 The Final Moments

Chapter 109: Chapter 109 The Final Moments

The ancient voice echoed across the Battleground of the Self.

"Only a short time remains before the one-day deadline."

For a moment, the whole battleground seemed to freeze. Then the fighting resumed with even greater intensity.

BOOM!

Weapons collided and spiritual energy erupted. Blood stained the ancient ground as exhausted cultivators struggled against the reflections in front of them. Some had already reached their limits, with their energy nearly gone and their breathing painfully labored. Yet their reflections still stood.

For many, the realization had come too late. They couldn’t win by simply becoming stronger.

They had to overcome themselves.

Mo Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Across from him, his reflection did the same.

The two stood several meters apart, crimson auras flickering around their battered bodies.

"Damn it. You’re really annoying."

His reflection said nothing.

He had tried everything: changing his pace, altering his sequences, even holding back his strongest techniques to lure his opponent into a trap. Nothing worked. Whenever he made a decision, his reflection reached the same conclusion.

After hearing the ancient voice, Mo Chen finally saw the problem. He had spent the whole battle trying to outthink someone who thought exactly like him.

He took a deep breath, then lowered his weapon.

His reflection lowered its weapon too.

For several seconds, neither moved. Then Mo Chen laughed.

"I understand now."

He raised his weapon again, but this time he dropped his carefully planned sequences and advanced without deciding how the exchange would end. His first strike was blocked, so he changed direction. His second was countered, so he skipped the expected follow-up and drove his shoulder into his opponent instead.

Both of them staggered. The reflection reset its stance, but Mo Chen gave it no time. He pressed forward, letting each movement develop on its own instead of following a rhythm. When his first plan failed, he no longer hesitated. He simply dropped it and tried another.

Then he changed his rhythm once more, and this time the reflection reacted a beat too late.

BOOM!

His palm struck its chest. Cracks spread across the reflection’s body before it dissolved into crimson fragments.

Mo Chen stood still for a moment, breathing hard. Then he smiled.

"I finally got you."

A golden light descended on him, healing his wounds and lifting the oppressive atmosphere around him.

"Participant Mo Chen has successfully overcome himself."

He looked up at the sky, then stepped forward as the light carried him away.

Not far away, Feng Yuling was locked in her own battle. Her Ninefold Phoenix Physique glowed with golden-red light, but even that wasn’t enough to overwhelm her reflection.

Both of them were exhausted, their clothes torn and their faces streaked with blood. She had tried speed, power and control, and her reflection had matched all of it.

Then she remembered the purpose of the trial.

Overcome yourself.

She had been so busy proving her abilities were superior that she had forgotten what it meant to grow beyond them.

She suppressed the flames around her body. Her reflection did the same.

Then she moved in close. When an attack failed, she abandoned it. When her opponent anticipated her, she changed direction.

Gradually the rhythm of the fight shifted, and she was no longer trapped by her own habits.

She feinted toward her opponent’s upper body, then dropped low and swept her leg across the ground. The reflection reacted to the feint and her kick struck its supporting leg. As it staggered, she drove her palm into its chest.

BOOM!

The reflection shattered into golden-red fragments.

Feng Yuling landed on one knee, then slowly straightened, a faint smile on her bloodied face.

"So I was the one holding myself back."

"Participant Feng Yuling has successfully overcome herself."

She glanced once at the empty space where her reflection had stood, then let the light take her.

Shi Tianba was having a much rougher time. His fists were swollen, his arms trembled, and his chest was covered in bruises. Across from him, his reflection looked just as battered.

They had spent most of the fight trying to overpower each other, and neither had succeeded.

Shi Tianba charged. His reflection charged too. Their fists collided, and both were forced backward.

"Damn it! How much longer can you keep going?"

The reflection answered with another punch. He blocked, but the force drove him to his knees. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then grinned.

"Fine. If strength alone won’t work, I’ll stop fighting like an idiot."

He got up and advanced again, but this time he didn’t commit to the first opening he saw. He circled, changed his distance, and rushed forward only to stop just short of the collision. The reflection made the same adjustment, but Shi Tianba had already shifted his weight and angle. Their movements crossed, and his fist hit its ribs.

BOOM!

He followed with a second strike, then skipped the expected third and twisted away from the counter. He stopped wasting energy on attacks that did nothing, and waited for the right moment instead of forcing one.

When the reflection threw a heavy punch at his face, he tilted his head aside and the fist passed his cheek. He stepped inside its reach and struck with everything he had left.

BOOM!

The reflection cracked and dissolved into light.

Shi Tianba stood there with trembling fists, then threw his head back and laughed.

"Hahaha! I finally won!"

"Participant Shi Tianba has successfully overcome himself."

Even as the golden light took him, he was still grinning.

Elsewhere, Long Aotian’s sword shattered.

CRACK!

He stared at the broken weapon, while his reflection stood opposite him holding an identical broken sword. He had trusted his precise sword techniques for the whole fight, and now they were gone.

He threw away the fragments, and his reflection did the same. They charged, and the force of their fists sent a shockwave across the ground. Long Aotian’s arms went numb, but this time he didn’t fall back on a fixed sequence. He gave ground on purpose, drew his opponent into a forward rush, and stepped aside at the last moment.

His palm struck its chest, and a second strike shattered it.

"Participant Long Aotian has successfully overcome himself."

Yue Kun’s fight ended shortly afterward. He had discarded his damaged weapon and was fighting bare-handed, arms covered in bruises, breathing uneven. He had finally stopped trying to protect the style that kept failing him.

He stepped into his reflection’s attack instead of retreating, and their forearms collided. He ignored the pain, dropped his center of gravity and swept its leg. As it responded, he shifted his weight and struck with his palm.

BOOM!

The reflection cracked, and his next blow shattered it.

"Participant Yue Kun has successfully overcome himself."

He staggered, nearly dropped to one knee, then steadied himself with a relieved smile before the light took him.

They weren’t the only ones. Ji Xueyan of the Ji Family dropped her familiar sword sequences. Huangfu Lei of the Huangfu Family stopped relying on overwhelming pressure. Beiming Yue of the Beiming Family realized her reflection was anticipating the same decisions she would make, and changed her approach. Xiahou Jian of the Xiahou Family abandoned the rigid rhythm of his swordsmanship.

Each of them was injured and came close to losing, but once they stopped repeating themselves, they found their openings. One after another, their reflections shattered, and golden light carried them away.

For those who had overcome themselves, the third trial was over.

But many were still fighting, and some could barely stand. A few already knew they wouldn’t make it, but kept resisting until their strength ran out.

BOOM!

A young cultivator crashed to the ground. His trembling arms could no longer lift him. His reflection approached.

"No... wait..."

He raised one hand to defend himself. The strike landed, and his body dissolved into light before it touched the ground.

Another participant vanished. Then another. Across the battleground, those who had failed to overcome their reflections were eliminated one after another. Some had been beaten by their own stubbornness, some had run out of energy, and some had simply run out of time.

Then the ancient voice echoed across the entire battleground.

"The one-day deadline has been reached."

Every surviving participant froze.

"All participants who have not successfully overcome themselves are eliminated from the third trial."

A vast golden light spread across the battlefield. The remaining reflections vanished, and the failed participants began to disappear as the elimination mechanism activated. They would be sent outside the trial ground alive, but each would lose one minor cultivation level.

Within moments, the once-crowded battleground was empty. The ancient stone ground lay silent beneath the vast sky.

"The third trial, Battleground of the Self, is complete."

A brief pause followed.

"Participants who successfully overcame themselves have passed. The remaining participants have been eliminated."

The voice fell silent.

Of the hundreds who had entered the Primordial Trial Ground, only those who had endured the first two trials and overcome themselves had earned the right to continue.

Two trials remained.