"These are the two strong ones that senior brother said you met on the soul-guide train?" Cowering behind the elders, Shen Yi whispered to Wu Zhangkong, staring in shock at the two figures at the center of the "testing zone."
In all human powers on this continent, Yun Ming was undisputedly the number one.
He suppressed all rivals for a generation; even in the Great Star Dou Forest, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King—Beast God Di Tian—was his equal at best.
But now, out of nowhere, these two—a young man and a woman.
A man who looked far too young for such gravity, yet even Yun Ming was on full alert against him.
"That's right," Wu Zhangkong said, a complicated look on his face.
He hadn't been wrong.
That white-haired girl, who had effortlessly smashed one of the Spirit Pagoda's Four Heavenly Kings, must have a companion of the same level. Perhaps even more terrifying—
He seemed stronger!
Looking at the casual, arms-crossed pose of Gu Yuena, Wu Zhangkong recalled how on the soul train she'd been absolutely obedient to this youth…
"..."
"I remember… when Pavilion Master battled Vast Sea Douluo, his face looked just as grim. For years, in our world, Pavilion Master has been invincible. But it's been ages since I've seen him so serious."
"Zhangkong is right."
"Just where did these two monsters crawl from? Why can't I find anything about them in the ancient records?"
"Soul beasts?"
"Hard to sense…"
Shen Yi's peers debated, while the Sea God Pavilion elders showed similar shock.
Nearly a hundred-meter-wide metallic platform.
Two figures stood face to face.
At the edge, a plaque read: "Freshman Testing Arena."
But in the next moment—
Everyone felt the space seem to stretch, the arena expanding endlessly, though visually nothing had changed. The gap between them and the field had drastically widened.
Zhuo Shi breathed deeply. "It's started!"
"Buzz…"
Yun Ming raised the Sky Stele Spear. Dazzling white light flared, the spear tip taking up two-thirds the length, its blade burning with fire. A terrifying half-divine pressure swept out.
The whole Shrek Academy trembled.
"He's going all out from the start!!"
Zhuo Shi was stunned.
They could not sense Yun Ming's inner thoughts, but the pressure this mysterious man exerted—must be off the charts…
Otherwise, even peak-class powers like Sea God Douluo would never act so alarmed.
At the same time—
Yun Ming's battle armor appeared.
Nearly transparent, but burning with strange white incandescence, covering eleven key body points.
His aura rose inch by inch—almost touching the heavens!
But as he neared "divinity," an unseen barrier blocked the way. If the Divine Realm still existed, at thirty-something he'd almost certainly have entered godhood.
"Tsk—impressive indeed…"
Su Wen looked up at Yun Ming, whose power changed the color of the sky itself.
Who should I send out, then?
"Lord, permit me to fight…" came a weak voice.
"Jing?"
Su Wen was surprised.
A formless, diamond-sparkling humanoid soul beast rose from his spirit sea, pulsing with desperate longing…
"Go for it!"
Xuan Ji yawned, bored—his lord had promised the Abyss Plane for him to play with, so he didn't care about this chance. Dà Yǎn just lazed, copying Bai Xiuxiu's bubble blowing. Azure Luan abstained from involvement. Bing Huang still kept herself hidden.
"..."
"Aren't you going to attack?" Yun Ming asked, spear poised, still tense.
He was the number one, which made him see the horror on the other side—the hints shown were only the tip of a vast iceberg.
Though the opponent looked fragile and weak in physical combat, somehow…
He radiated an oppressive, suffocating threat of death.
"Please," Su Wen said, smiling as ever.
"Haah!"
No more hesitation; Yun Ming charged down with the Sky Stele Spear, force like a mountain.
The air itself solidified, an invisible gale forcing Wu Zhangkong and the others to summon their battle armor and shield themselves.
"Haah!!!"
The spear arrived in a flash—
The air compressed, tighter and tighter, until—BOOM—it burst.
"Stop maintaining that useless shield! The newly purchased rank-8 energy shield—no way it can handle these two's aftershocks!!!" Zhuo Shi roared, dragging two Shrek middle-aged teachers away while retreating at top speed.
Cai Yue'er and the others also withdrew rapidly, all summoning their battle armor.
"Where's the vice master?"
"Sister Ya Li just went to Heaven Dou City, the headquarters of Forgemaster Association…"
"Just us old folks left—hopefully we can hold out?"
"Dammit, are those even humans?!"
"..."
Luckily, the energy fluctuations were being contained; the two seemed to be holding back, and no major casualties occurred.
As the dust cleared—
Everyone widened their eyes.
"What...?"
Yun Ming, in a lunging posture, had just struck with his spear at Su Wen—yet Su Wen stood calm and unmoved.
But, eerily, another "Yun Ming" figure had appeared before Su Wen; two spears met, dead even.
"Two Pavilion Masters?!"
Ignoring the confusion, Yun Ming was astonished too.
"So this is your ability…" He retreated, staring at the duplicate beside Su Wen and scanning around, curious. "A mirror field? It can even copy my domain? What a bizarre power."
"But…"
He curved his mouth in a faint smile.
He then split, forming a streak of cold light, joining the false "Yun Ming" in a fierce clash.
But with time, sweat beaded on Yun Ming's palm holding the spear—across from him, at some point, two more of his "clones" had joined!
One versus three!
Perfect copies—except their strength was only 70% of his, but the weapons and moves were identical!
Fortunately, they couldn't copy his battle armor…
Otherwise he'd have been thrashed.
"So that's your limit?" Su Wen murmured.
A nervous voice at his side: "Please punish me, Lord…"
"No need. I'm not blaming you," Su Wen smiled gently. "You've done well…"
Skill: Thousand-Faced Curtain.
Creates a kilometer-diameter mirror domain where up to three equal-level targets can be mirrored (body + soul skills). "Jing" can even forcibly create "pseudo-artifacts" like the Sky Stele Spear—and he's spent all his energy just doing this…
But after a top-tier battle, the drawbacks show.
Of Jing's three skills, the first and second both mirror targets—but cost huge "mana," so he's unbeatable in group battles; against a much stronger single foe, though, he struggles. (Jing only has about 500-600k years' worth of power, as the MC's second martial soul's soul beast. Yun Ming is at least 900k+.)
The second skill ("Character Trace") can pre-store units and simulate about 60-70% of their strength.
"I've found you…"
Yun Ming's eyes flashed, stabbing into a void spot.
Crack—
A sound like shattering glass.
As if ripping open reality. Before the shocked Shrek crowd, a luminous "person" was sent flying, impaled by a spear.
"As expected…"
Yun Ming became even graver.
Su Wen—still pulling the strings!
Peeling away one layer only revealed another veil—the one behind everything was still Su Wen.
He manipulated this strange fighter like a puppet.
Suddenly Su Wen seemed taller, backlit by darkness, holding a puppet, smiling as he watched his own duplicate battle…
But maybe if he destroys the puppet, the secret will be revealed.
Yun Ming's aura stayed calm, eyes firm.
As long as you're not a god, no matter how bizarre, I have faith I'll tear away your mask!
"Heh!"
Yun Ming roared, his spear's power surging, battle armor glowing to the limit.
He was also holding back reserves.
He went for the fallen "mirror man."
His spear stabbed through its body—
But as blood sprayed and Yun Ming's eyes shrank in shock, the one hit was only one of the three mirror clones!
Catching it instantly, he saw—the spot occupied by one clone was now the "mirror man" again!
The faceless figure seemed to smirk…
"..."
"Teacher, can Pavilion Master really win?" Shen Yi fretted.
"Of course." Zhuo Shi folded his arms. "Don't be fooled by the play—the enemy's burning through a ton of soul power for this. See how the clones are weakening? Pavilion Master is getting more comfortable…"
"Right," Cai Yue'er nodded.
"Brother Yun's true power is far greater. He's holding back, waiting for the other side's real trump card…"
"From the looks of it, that's all they've got." Another elder commented. "All show, little function."
"You think you could do better?" Zhuo Shi sneered.
"You just barely entered Super Douluo – three-word battle armor or not, you'd never last long!"
"..." The old man puffed and blustered.
About to argue again—until Cai Yue'er stopped them, eyes locked on the field: "It looks like there's about to be a winner!!"
All the commotion fell silent.
Inside—
Yun Ming destroyed the last clone.
Now only the mirror man and Yun Ming faced each other.
"This time, where will you run?"
Yun Ming's spear hung behind him.
"Let's end this—Ninth Soul Skill: Sky Stele, Sun-Piercer!"
An orange soul ring flared.
He drew back, then hurled his spear, roaring forth as a massive energy blast.
It locked on—the mirror man couldn't dodge.
The Shrek crowd cheered—
But the mirror man merely stood still, his body glowing, then melted and began to shift into something else.
"Wait!" Yun Ming gasped.
His aura soared—the spear howled, speeding up.
Just as the spear was about to strike,
A sky-covering form replaced the small mirror man.
"That's… a Golden Behemoth?!"
About 60–70% as strong as Xuan Ji—the mirror's second skill, character trace, at work.
"ROAR!!!"
The beastly bellow rocked Shrek Academy.
It broke through the mirror domain, unleashing its might.
Its sharp claws stopped the spear cold.
Yun Ming was left awestruck, looking up at the giant red-gold eye peering down at him—the beast towered into the clouds, terrifying everyone present.
"What now—is that another monster?!"
The pressure was overwhelming.
Golden Behemoth!
"No, it's a fake…"
Yun Ming narrowed his eyes.
Maybe from being too exhausted by the previous fight, the clone was weaker—it revealed a flaw that Yun Ming caught.
"So this is your trump card."
Yun Ming slowly relaxed.
Looks like that's your real ace?
He glanced at Su Wen being shielded by the beast, relief in his eyes. To force my ninth soul skill, you're no pushover…
But in the end, I am still superior!!!
"Divine Skill—Light of the Sky Stele!"
Yun Ming floated proudly in mid-air.
Golden beams burst behind him, splitting into thousands of dazzling rays. With arms spread, he glowed like a true sun, collapsing his power upon the Behemoth.
The beast refused to back down.
Even at only 60–70%, its power shook all hearts.
ROAR!!!
BOOM!
"..."
The field shook as if hit by an earthquake.
Within, the cataclysmic aftermath shrouded the fighter and beast, only the sound of battle echoed.
"Coming to a conclusion?" Zhuo Shi wondered.
As the dust settled, under everyone's stare, one figure appeared—
The normally graceful, immortal, aloof Sea God Pavilion Master, the number one in the world, now had blood at the corner of his mouth, his white face dirtied, his once spotless robes torn.
The mirror's avatar crashed down, leaving a crater, breath weak, barely alive…
They won?!!
The Shrek crowd cheered wildly.
"Hey, Su Wen, did you lose?" Gu Yuena teased with a smile.
"No," Su Wen, still standing in the dust, shrugged.
"Then what are they celebrating?"
"Maybe… they misunderstood something." Su Wen smiled as the victory celebration faltered and shock swept the Shrek crowd.
A sky-covering shadow slowly emerged behind him, and as the mist cleared, everyone could see—
"He's our least talented one…"
Xuan Ji's deep voice echoed.
His gilded eyes looked calmly down at the stunned Yun Ming.
"This is… the real… Golden Behemoth?!!"
—