Thud—
Lin San was sent flying and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Damn it..." Lin San muttered as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He had underestimated the strength of these monsters, which were formed from pure energy.
Their power was far too overwhelming.
Before Lin San could make another move, the monsters attacked again, rushing toward him with incredible speed. His expression changed as he gripped the Ye Fan Sword tightly. With a surge of energy coursing through his body and into the sword, the blade emitted a fierce burst of sword energy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sword energy shot out, tearing through the air as if it were slicing through space itself.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sword energy struck the bodies of the monsters, leaving deep gashes across them. But in mere moments, the wounds began to heal, and their bodies regenerated as if nothing had happened.
What is going on!?
Lin San's eyes widened in shock as the monsters charged at him again. He swiftly dodged, his body flashing away from the spot.
Boom!
The monsters' attack slammed into the ground where Lin San had been standing, leaving a massive crater. But just as quickly, the ground began to heal, the crater disappearing in seconds.
It must be the power of this training tower.
[Void Slash]!
Dodging to the side, Lin San swung the Ye Fan Sword, sending out a wave of sword energy.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The powerful sword energy formed a cone and slashed through the charging monsters, splitting them in two. The monsters disintegrated into energy and dissipated.
"They're gone… No, wait!"
Lin San's eyes widened again. The energy that had scattered began to coalesce once more, reforming into the monstrous figures he had just defeated.
Damn it! Why aren't they dying!?
Lin San was stunned. Were these monsters impossible to kill because they were purely made of energy?
There was no time to think. The monsters charged at him again, relentlessly attacking!
…
"The sixteenth floor… someone's already been here?"
At this moment, several martial artists had begun ascending the tower. Since Lin San had already absorbed most of the energy from the previous floors, the remaining energy was weak. Moreover, the tower had not yet replenished the energy quickly enough.
As a result, these martial gods were able to ascend the floors without facing the usual overwhelming force from the staircases.
"The seventeenth floor!"
"Someone's already passed through here as well!"
The martial gods quickly reached the seventeenth floor, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Who could have made it this far?
"Hurry to the eighteenth floor!" someone shouted.
The eighteenth floor was the highest level of the tower, and the energy there would be incredibly rich if it hadn't been fully absorbed yet. They needed to get there as soon as possible!
Several martial gods rushed toward the staircase to the eighteenth floor.
Boom!
As soon as they reached the steps, a powerful force blasted them backward.
Thud!
They hit the ground of the seventeenth floor heavily.
"Hahaha! It looks like the energy on the eighteenth floor hasn't been absorbed yet!" one of the martial gods laughed.
If the stairs still held such a strong force, that meant the energy on the eighteenth floor was still abundant.
The martial gods quickly gathered their strength and began ascending the stairs again.
…
"Damn it! What's going on!?" Lin San slashed through the monsters again, splitting their bodies apart, only to watch them reform as energy and reappear.
After fighting for so long and expending so much energy, he still hadn't been able to defeat them. Worse, he hadn't absorbed any energy at all from them.
But then, something strange happened. The energy that Lin San had just dispersed began to coalesce, slowly taking on a humanoid shape.
Huh!?
Lin San's eyes widened in shock. This time, something was different!
The figure that formed wasn't just another monster—it was a perfect replica of Lin San!
"What the hell!?" Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise as he watched the energy coalesce into an exact copy of Lin San.
This copy of Lin San smirked sinisterly, wielding an identical Ye Fan Sword that appeared out of thin air.
Without hesitation, the fake Lin San lunged at the real Lin San with the sword.
Lin San's pupils shrank in response. Without wasting any time, he raised his Ye Fan Sword to counter the attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two swords collided, producing loud metallic clashes. It was as if the fake Lin San's sword was a real weapon too.
"Huh?" Lin San muttered as the clash continued. "The energy fluctuations… they're not that strong?"
Meanwhile, several martial gods had reached the eighteenth floor. They looked around, perplexed. The energy on this floor didn't seem as dense as they had expected.
"That doesn't make sense. The stairs had such a strong force, and it was so difficult to get up here."
Why wasn't there any powerful energy on this floor?
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The martial gods were soon drawn to the sound of clashing weapons.
"There's someone fighting!"
Looking ahead, they saw two figures locked in battle.
"Wait, those two… why do they look exactly the same?" one of the martial gods asked, astonished as they watched Lin San battle his doppelgänger.