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Chapter 718 Shi Hao's First Battle Against the Strange Creature!

Hearing Luo Feng's words, Lin Dong wanted to say something, but just then, a loud noise suddenly came from Shi Hao's side.

Lin Dong turned his head to look.

But then the two men's broken swords clashed together again, producing a series of deafening roars.

After a brief exchange, Shi Hao and the strange creature each retreated several feet, leaving deep cracks in the bluestone steps beneath their feet.

The battle between the two intensified, as if the surrounding void itself was trembling!

"What an incredibly powerful physique..."

Shi Hao looked down at his right hand.

His hand was now split open, and blood was dripping down the hilt of the sword. Even the bones in his arm were making a creaking sound from the impact.

This was the thirteenth time he had clashed head-on with that strange creature.

Every collision between the two made him feel his internal organs churning.

It is no exaggeration to say that, apart from Zhu Chen, this strange creature is the strongest opponent he has ever encountered.

His body, which had just been tempered by three thousand fires, was far stronger than before, and he could even send a powerful expert in the Divine Fire Realm flying with a single punch.

However, they gained no advantage in close combat with this strange creature.

Each of his opponent's attacks carried a force comparable to his own.

If this had happened before, a casual strike from the opponent would probably have shattered his body.

of course.

That strange creature didn't fare much better under Shi Hao's attack.

His body was already covered in wounds, and black blood was dripping down his clothes.

His left arm had just been broken by Shi Hao's punch and was now hanging at an unnatural angle. There was also a deep sword wound on his chest that revealed the bone, and it was emitting eerie black energy.

Strangely, even with such severe injuries, his expression remained unchanged, his eyes were empty, as if the wounds were not on his body at all.

"What kind of monster is this?"

Lin Dong watched anxiously from behind, trying several times to rush forward, but Luo Feng held him back firmly.

"That's interesting..."

Shi Hao shook the blood off his hands, and the fighting spirit in his eyes began to burn even more fiercely.

"Did you notice?"

At this moment, the voice of the Void Heavenly Vine suddenly rang in his ears, tinged with solemnity: "This creature's strength, speed, and physical resilience are completely equivalent to yours. If you are strong, then it is strong..."

Shi Hao paused for a moment and asked, "I've discovered it, but why? Is he my inner demon?"

The Void Heavenly Vine shook its head and said, "No, it is a manifestation of the rules, a being reflected based on your strength..."

Upon hearing this, Shi Hao was startled.

The Void Heavenly Vine ignored him and continued explaining to itself, "The terrifying thing about the Metamorphosis isn't how strong it is in itself, but that it can transform into your appearance and possess the exact same strength as you. It has all the magical techniques you know, and all the trump cards you have. You can't defeat it using conventional methods because you're facing yourself. The only difference between you is that it doesn't get tired, and its power isn't depleted, while you..."

Shi Hao frowned: "Then how am I supposed to defeat it?"

The Void Heavenly Vine was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Surpass yourself. Your strength increases in battle, and it will also increase accordingly. But if you can have an epiphany in battle, forge an unprecedented path, and create a method that it cannot imitate, then you will have a chance to defeat it."

"Surpass yourself?"

Shi Hao nodded thoughtfully.

Surpassing oneself—isn't that exactly what he's always been doing?

It turns out that defeating this strange creature is so simple.

"Okay, let's try again..." After receiving the accurate answer from the Void Heaven's body, Shi Hao immediately looked at the strange creature and shouted.

Then, he swung his broken sword out again.

This time, however, he did not use any special techniques, not even the Grass Sword Technique.

He simply used the most basic sword techniques to launch attacks.

However, every sword strike he makes contains his understanding of the way of the sword and his perception of power.

Their swords clashed in mid-air, creating a dense metallic clang.

"—Clang clang clang clang!!!"

Sparks flew everywhere, and sword energy crisscrossed.

The two figures moved through the smog so fast that they were impossible to see with the naked eye.

Lin Dong and the others could only see two golden lights colliding, separating, and colliding again, each collision producing a deafening roar.

Shi Hao became more and more excited as the fight progressed. His swordsmanship improved continuously in the battle, with each strike being faster, more accurate, and more ruthless than the last.

Meanwhile, his body adapted during the fight, and each collision made his muscles even firmer.

But the strange creature remained in its original state.

He made no progress or improvement; he simply mechanically copied Shi Hao's previous moves.

"I understand……"

A glint of light flashed in Shi Hao's eyes: "You can only imitate the past me, not the present me... I am improving, while you are standing still."

Having said that, he suddenly thrust out his sword.

This sword strike was incredibly fast, leaving a golden trail in the air as it aimed directly at the strange creature's throat.

The strange creature tried to raise its sword to block.

But this time, he was a beat slower.

"--puff!!!"

The broken sword pierced the throat of the strange creature, and black blood gushed out.

The strange creature's body began to tremble violently, the broken sword in its hand fell limply to its side, its eyes remained empty, but for the first time, a blank expression appeared on its face, which was exactly the same as Shi Hao's.

Shi Hao drew his broken sword, took a few steps back, and watched the strange creature slowly fall to the ground.

"You lost because you are just my shadow, while I am the real me."

The strange creature did not respond to Shi Hao. His body began to disintegrate rapidly, like shattered porcelain, peeling off piece by piece, and finally turning into a handful of black ash and blood.

At the same time, the ancient lamp above Shi Hao's head flickered violently a few times, and then went out with a "poof".

The surrounding smog began to dissipate, and the ancient stone road finally returned to peace.

We won!

Seeing that the strange creature had been killed by Shi Hao, Lin Dong immediately rushed over.

But Shi Hao gestured for him to stay away.

Just as Lin Dong was at a loss, Shi Hao made another hand seal, drawing out all three thousand Great Dao Flames within his body, and began to burn the black ashes and blood.

Only after the black ashes and blood were completely burned to nothingness by the Great Dao Fire did Shi Hao withdraw all his magical techniques, letting out a sigh of relief: "Still want to rise from the ashes? Dream on..."

...(End of this chapter)