Chapter 1624: Eternity
After 10 years, the mirror-image Wu Yu still seemed the same - just as Wu Yu had been when he entered.
His moves were also exactly the same as Wu Yu back then.
But Wu Yu himself was different now. He had spent seven years analyzing their moves and Mystiques. In that time, he had found many weaknesses and flaws in his own fighting.
Therefore, he honed his Mystiques and heavenly rules. Genius was in the details.
If heavenly rule power could be likened to a weapon, say an axe, it was so clear that how the axe was wielded could determine its power. The difference in chopping and hewing techniques could bring forth different power from the same axe.
Wu Yu’s heavenly rule power was the same.
From the first incandescent heavenly rule, the fourth doppelganger heavenly rule, fifth golden eyes heavenly rule, sixth chronowarp heavenly rule - all of these were wielded in different ways.
Wu Yu had not been using them badly, but neither had he brought them to their full potential.
Given Wu Yu’s current mastery of his heavenly rules, he only needed 100,000 dopplegangers in order to bring forth the power of his 1 million doppelgangers from before. That was how great his improvement was!
Even after Wu Yu could casually defeat his reflection, he did not immediately do so, but instead chose to drag it out so that he could better examine his moves for weaknesses.
After he had exhausted every last flaw, Wu Yu finally reached the point where he could not improve any further.
It was a thorough revision of his moves from the very fundamental up. Each of his Mystiques was polished to more than twice their previous efficacy.
Where previously he could only defeat one 9-heavens demon king, he could now take on two or three simultaneously and still find ways to kill them!
By fighting his own reflection, Wu Yu was able to overcome his own self, for the better in the long term. Thanks to this revisit of the fundamentals, his future improvements would also be greater.
It was time to end things.
"Void Reversal!"
Wu Yu lifted a hand, and his Somersault Cloud’s Mystique flew forth. The void world and Qian Kun world flipped. However, this flip was even more secure now!
Mirror-image Wu Yu was still struggling against his previous attack. Before he was able to react, Wu Yu had already shut him in his void world.
It was twice as hard to defeat the void world now. His reflection tried to escape, but was now delayed, long enough for Submerged Cloud Seal to hit him.
The void energy thundered forth, and mirror-image Wu Yu took a deep hit. It was the first time he had been hurt this badly in 10 years.
Although this was not a fatal wound, but his reflection seemed to realize that Wu Yu had changed.
However, he was just beginning to respond when Wu Yu’s next attack hit him.
"Golden eyes heavenly rule!"
Wu Yu again used one of his strongest heavenly rules. Golden eyes heavenly rule shot out from both his eyes. This was the finest golden eyes heavenly rule, refined to exquisite precision.
The reflection was unable to block this attack, and finally burned in the power of his golden eyes. In a flash, mirror-image Wu Yu was incinerated into ash.
This time, his reflection had no time to flee back to the mirror or use Somersault Cloud before Wu Yu caught him.
Most importantly, Wu Yu’s understanding of his own Mystiques and heavenly rules had not been revealed at all throughout the 10 years. Only at the last moment had Wu Yu showed his hand.
Wu Yu could not have let that slip. Otherwise, his opponent might well mirror his improvements.
And if Wu Yu was forced to find improvement beyond that, it would be infinitely more difficult!
But Wu Yu had made good of his chance, and used his refined moveset to defeat his opponent.
"That’s great!" Within Floating Dreams Pagoda, Ye Xixi leaped with joy.
Although it had not been a long time, but these 10 years had been mental torture for Wu Yu, and she had seen it all firsthand.
A different person might not have been able to pull it off.
Especially in the first three years, Wu Yu had almost been on the verge of a mental breakdown, and his body had also been screaming from exhaustion. To be able to pull through the next seven years had been nothing short of a miracle.
"Perhaps that’s the difference between Old Wu and I. In order to improve himself, he will put his life on the line." Full Moon of Nanshan marveled. Privately, he was quite hardworking, because he knew that ability was everything.
But hard work was not the same as putting his life on the line. And for such a long time at that... he could not have done it.
The mirror room was a test, a test to see if you could overcome yourself in battle.
No matter who came to challenge, they would definitely have to fight for a long time. Without sufficient endurance, one would not succeed.
After Wu Yu had beaten his reflection, the dark mirrors finally disappeared, as if they had never been there. Again, the bronze doors appeared behind him.
Wu Yu could finally leave this place after 10 years.
As he walked out of the room, he took a final look back. He saw that the door was already firmly shut, but the word "Overcome" was now written on it.
"So it was a test, and this was only the left door."
Wu Yu lifted his head, and walked on.
He came back to the tunnel. It was a crossroads. He had chosen left, which was the Place of Overcoming. He had fought his reflection there, and finally overcome himself through sheer will.
As for the right door, what lay behind it was still unknown.
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However, the Place of Overcoming had filled Wu Yu with confidence. If everything here was but a test, then he believed that he could beat anything, especially if these trials were all going to build him up stronger.
"Since it’s a useful trial, I can’t pass it up. Let’s see what the right door holds!" Wu Yu eagerly strode towards the second door.
Just like before, he inserted the bronze pendants, and they swung open.
He wanted to peer in to see what was inside, but it was pitch-black.
An unknown danger, but his journey of cultivation had always been about seeking fortune amidst the danger. Besides, Wu Yu was buoyed with confidence from his success in the Place of Overcoming.
In any case, Wu Yu was pretty sure that the rooms here were not meant to kill people outright. They each had a purpose.
This was all tied to the secret of the Eternal Emperor Tomb. Wu Yu would never know unless he saw this through to the end.
"In that case, let me see what’s in this room!" Wu Yu walked in with confidence.
Originally, Wu Yu had walked in ready to fight anything.
As he stepped in, suddenly he felt the world turn, and he lost consciousness......
When Wu Yu came to his senses, it seemed like a long time had passed. He found himself in a sealed space, and he started to shake off his grogginess and confusion. He had been slipping in and out of a dream-like state for a while.
"Where is this?"
Wu Yu tried to open his eyes, but he could not.
He was in a very cramped space, so cramped that it was difficult to even move. He felt like his body was tiny, and his life force weak. This made him scared.
He had no way to even see within himself. All of his Mystiques, his heavenly rules, his kingly immortal spirit - he could not feel any of it.
He could hear people speaking vaguely outside, but their words were muffled and indiscernible.
"What’s happened?"
Wu Yu felt a pang of fear. He had visualized many situations before entering, and this was beyond them.
The battle he had prepared for had not come. Instead, he had become weak.
His newfound powers had bolstered his confidence. His Mystiques, heavenly rule powers - all of them had grown much stronger in the last room.
And now, he could feel none of them. This depressed Wu Yu greatly.
He could not even sense the Floating Dreams Pagoda, which made him feel even worse.
Wu Yu could not even maintain his consciousness all the time, drifting in and out. His body remained cramped, and he slept fitfully.
What was going on?
Finally, Wu Yu felt himself finally leaving the space. And then he heard an unfamiliar voice weep with delight: "He’s out! He’s out!"