Chapter 245: Surpassing Oneself!
In front of Priam stood an exact replica of himself, wearing his usual black clothes with golden details. His eyes sparkled like stars.
Without wasting a single second, the doppelgänger slammed his fists together.
An aura resembling scarlet flames erupted from his hands as he stared at Priam with a cold gaze.
The next instant, the doppelgänger’s expression changed. Emerald-green light exploded from his pupils, and wind runes covered his entire skin in a fraction of a second.
*Wooosh!*
Priam’s survival instinct screamed, forcing him to dodge to the side at the decisive millisecond.
A devastating piercing punch grazed his ribs and made the stone floor tremble under the pressure of the shockwave.
It was Sky-Rending Wind!
Barely finished dodging, the doppelgänger opened his palm toward him. An arrow of pure fire shot from his fingertips, cutting through the air with terrifying speed and precision.
Priam threw a straight cross to intercept the projectile.
*BOOOM!*
The resulting explosion sent Priam flying backward, sliding heavily across the stone floor.
A cold shiver ran up his spine. From that first exchange, he realized the brutal truth: his doppelgänger’s base fire and wind power was subtly stronger than his own.
That level of trial was a refined absurdity. The challenge hadn’t merely duplicated his Magical Arts and Bloodlines; it had created an optimized version of himself.
As Priam readjusted his stance, the doppelgänger shot forward and split into six indistinguishable figures, surrounding him from every angle.
They were the Celestial Wind Steps! However, the technique was being combined flawlessly with the unknown Magical Art and the Eyes of the Wind bloodline—an integration that Priam himself could perform, but never with such mastery.
With such a fast split and attack, there was no time to distinguish the real one. None of the six figures seemed like mere illusions; their coordinated movements sealed off every escape route.
Priam tried to dodge, but he couldn’t.
The doppelgänger anticipated every one of his reactions. That was because even his Transcendental Anima had been copied perfectly!
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
The enemy’s fighting style was methodically cruel. Every thrust and combination suffocated his attempts to react, giving him no room to breathe.
It was the first time Priam had witnessed, from the victim’s perspective, just how terrifying his own fighting style could be. And that realization only increased his desperation.
The air whistled beneath the storm of blows, which came crashing down like endless waves.
With no other choice, Priam put the principles of the two newly acquired Divine Martial Arts into practice.
As expected, the copy also executed the techniques with slightly greater precision.
After dozens of exchanges, Priam used his ability to improvise.
He faked a strange stumble, deliberately leaving an opening while redirecting the internal flow of Ether.
The doppelgänger took the bait and drove a direct strike into the offered opening.
At that moment, Priam channeled the essence of the Martial Art, Emperor’s Body. The brutal impact pierced his flesh, but the structure of his muscles and the redirected flow of energy absorbed and dispersed much of the damage.
Priam smiled through the pain and spun his body on its axis, delivering a devastating sweep with his leg in a counterclockwise arc.
The counterattack came from a blind angle, meant to catch the copy off guard... or almost.
The copy possessed the same stolen cheat as Priam.
For him, the world was also moving in slow motion. Even caught in the trap, the doppelgänger reacted at the exact same millisecond, shifting his stance and delivering a countering knee strike.
*CRASH!*
A violent crack rang out as the attacks collided.
Both were sent flying twelve meters backward, tearing up the ground with their feet.
Priam spat out a mouthful of blood, but felt satisfied that he’d broken some of the enemy’s bones with that strike... until he looked at the figure in front of him.
"Damn, you really know how to steal!" Priam cursed, gritting his teeth.
The doppelgänger was already surrounded by a soft, life-giving emerald-green aura.
The Pristine Primordial Core had also been replicated with absolute perfection. It had the power of nature to heal itself freely.
That figure standing before Priam wasn’t just a dangerous opponent. It was a living nightmare, a true mirrored monster.
"Fuck! Come!!"
Priam roared, planting his foot hard and channeling Sky-Rending Wind with all the fury he had left.
The doppelgänger didn’t hesitate. It replicated the move at the exact same millisecond, advancing in the same deadly stance.
*KBOOOM!*
The two fists coated in cutting elemental wind collided head-on.
The resulting shockwave was so devastating that the air cracked and the rock beneath their feet split into dozens of fissures.
They held the impact for mere seconds, forehead to forehead, staring directly into each other’s eyes.
That was when Priam felt the temperature of the surroundings rise rapidly. His eyes widened as he noticed dozens of flaming runes emerging from nowhere around him, pulsing at a sinister rhythm.
It was Purgatory Prison!
The copy had used the clash of their fists to lure him into a deadly trap. The cage of flames condensed at a terrifying speed, about to crush him.
Priam’s expression fell. That bastard wasn’t just a copy of his stats; it possessed a ruthless tactical intellect.
Priam had made it fall into a trap, and now it had paid him back in kind.
"Purgatory Prison!"
With no time for evasive maneuvers, Priam invoked the same Magical Art—not to imprison the enemy, but to raise a defensive cage around his own body. Trying to corner the copy would be useless given its surreal agility, making the spherical barrier his only salvation.
The two fire structures collided with an infernal roar.
The copy’s outer cage tried to crush him; Priam’s inner cage fought to expand. It was a brutal contest of pressure and pure elemental force.
Terror settled in when Priam saw his barrier give way inch by inch. In less than two minutes, his defensive sphere had shrunk from five meters to less than two.
That final challenge was a living nightmare. The opponent knew every Magical Art, anticipated every decision, and fought at a permanent energy peak without ever showing fatigue.
’How do you defeat a version of yourself that is superior in absolutely everything?’
With the infernal heat drying the sweat on his skin and his breathing ragged, Priam’s mind spun at maximum speed. That was when a crucial detail clicked in his thoughts.
’Wait... it copied my bloodlines and Magical Arts, but it DIDN’T use the Power Runes, and it doesn’t have my synthesis system... or it would’ve suddenly used them to corner me.’
For a fraction of a second, the temptation to activate the Berserker Runes and use his system’s unique resources to overwhelm the copy seemed like the perfect solution.
The Nexus Seed was something far too anomalous and complicated; there was no way it could copy something like that.
But... the thought soured in his mouth immediately afterward.
’No. That’s an illusion.’
Priam let out a deep sigh in the middle of the hell of flames.
’True experts don’t become who they are by circumventing obstacles with temporary crutches. No matter how terrifying the enemy is, this trial demands a victory through genuine strength. If I cower just because my opponent is an improved version of myself, what will I do in the future when I face gods or the real Sovereigns? Will I run every time I can’t see an easy way out?’
His eyes, previously clouded by doubt, lit up with a terrifyingly clear glow. The purpose of this final trial had become crystal clear.
The first challenges measured talent, assimilation, and physical adaptation. But this Special Trial ignored stats—it was a test of mental overcoming and the transcendence of one’s will.
’I received the God of Fists’ inheritance and the three Divine Martial Arts. The temple has already given me every tool I need. The copy may have higher stats, but it’s just a soulless construct. It doesn’t carry my memories, my past, the responsibility for the people who depend on me... nor my desperate determination to survive!’
’If I win using shortcuts from the system, I might walk out alive, but my score will be mediocre, and I’ll leave an irreparable crack in my martial heart. To reach the peak and obtain the maximum score, I need to defeat it head-on, refining my technique until I surpass myself at my own game!’
With his decision made, he acted.
[Activate Power Rune?] [Yes / No]
Priam burned the Power Rune, solely to generate an instant burst of raw energy.
*KBOOOOOOM!*
The explosion of strength shattered the outer Purgatory Prison, smashing the copy’s cage of fire and giving him back the space of the arena.
Freed from the suffocation, Priam planted his feet on the ground. He stared at the doppelgänger, deliberately dissipating the Power Rune’s energy immediately afterward.
"I’m not using that again," Priam declared, his voice echoing firmly and coldly through the colossal cavern. "I want a clean fight against you. If I lose to my own shadow, it’ll only prove that I’m too mediocre for my goals."
He clenched his bloodied fists, feeling his pulse accelerate.
"If I want to become truly strong, I need to put my life on the line. I can’t afford to die here—there are people waiting for me. So, I’m going to crush you."
Priam roared, releasing such a dense killing intent that the air around him seemed to freeze.
His eyes burned with an insane flame. The doppelgänger possessed greater raw power, but it didn’t carry the weight of real life, nor the fury of someone who refuses to accept their fate.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Priam charged forward like an unleashed beast.
He abandoned hesitation, stripped himself of any concern over victory or defeat, and even of concern for his own preservation. His thoughts narrowed down to a single, absolute purpose: the visceral eradication of his own image.