February 5, 2023, Nearing Midnight
Sizhu and two Ye Chens stood silent in their respective places. The two Ye Chens raised both hands, ready for Sizhu's attack.
Twirling the green fiery staff. Sizhu began to step forward and lower his body.
Tap!
Burnz!
Sizhu twirled the staff as he reached two Ye Chens, but the two Ye Chens immediately knew Sizhu's intention and jumped backward while protecting their stomachs from the staff's spin, which could easily split their bodies in two.
One Ye Chen on the right jumped back while one Ye Chen on the left immediately counter-attacked Sizhu as soon as his feet landed on the ground.
Sizhu, who had just delivered a spinning staff blow, immediately kicked the one Ye Chen on the left who was approaching him.
Thud! The kick was blocked by a trident, then with a quick movement, one Ye Chen managed to inflict a stab wound on Sizhu's calf, who was late in pulling his leg back.
Crit! Sizhu didn't flinch and retaliated by stabbing the green fiery staff at the left Ye Chen.
Blar! Stab! Hitting the left Ye Chen's right shoulder. Recklessly, just as Sizhu stabbed his right shoulder, his left hand moved to stab towards Sizhu's face. Zrat! Sizhu managed to dodge, so the stab only grazed his cheek slightly.
Tap! Stepping to the right, Sizhu twirled his green fiery staff right after stabbing the left Ye Chen's right shoulder. Burnz! Crat! Successfully decapitating one Ye Chen.
Crat! But from the back right side, the other Ye Chen managed to throw a trident, embedding it in Sizhu's left shoulder. Sizhu's foot stepped in, walking behind the decapitated Ye Chen, then using his body as a shield from the right Ye Chen's charge. Sizhu quickly pulled out the trident embedded in his shoulder.
"Hiding like a rabbit."
For some reason, the decapitated Ye Chen's body could still move and hold Sizhu's hand. Two tridents were embedded in his wrist because he was off guard. And again, from the decapitated head rolling on the ground, a new Ye Chen body grew.
Sizhu immediately struck with the green fiery staff to burn the headless Ye Chen's body completely. But he lost the opportunity because one Ye Chen quickly attacked him with a trident, forcing Sizhu to retreat quite far.
Now there were three Ye Chens in the arena. Sizhu was quite sweaty, and his body was adorned with many scratches and stab wounds.
"You must be overwhelmed facing us, Sizhu."
"Last night you couldn't even fight me alone and ended up seriously injured."
"Are you sure you can fight all three of us at once?"
The three Ye Chens, holding tridents and in relaxed stances, said.
Sizhu stood tall and regulated his ragged breathing.
"I'm still not used to magic. My master only taught me how to fight and kill with raw strength. Soon enough, I will find a way to kill you all in one go."
Sizhu changed his stance, adopting a stance with the staff over his shoulder, like when he fought Muzhe.
He tried to recall the sensation of that night, when he faced dozens of fist-sized poisonous wasps and burned them all at once.
"Let me tell you. Doppelganger is a technique of self-replication using dark magic. I can replicate myself as many times as I want, and from my surviving self, I can replicate again."
"Watch this, Sizhu."
"吾之一身,化為千影;千影之形,皆為吾身.夜與鬼魅佐吾之影;吾伏於地獄,而魔授吾以祚.
"Wú zhī yī shēn, huà wéi qiān yǐng;
qiān yǐng zhī xíng, jiē wéi wú shēn.
Yè yǔ guǐmèi zuǒ wú zhī yǐng;
wú fú yú dìyù, ér mó shòu wú yǐ zuò.
"(I am thousand of myself. And thousand of myself is me. Night and demons aid my shadow. I prostrate myself before hell, and the devil bestows blessings upon me.)"
Slowly from Ye Chen's shadow, a new Ye Chen emerged like a shadow coming out of a mirror's reflection.
"This is..."
Sizhu remained silent, waiting for his opponent to finish casting his magic. More than twenty Ye Chens now stood opposite Sizhu.
"Doppelganger."
It didn't stop at twenty, from twenty to forty, to eighty, doubling each time as they emerged from Ye Chen's shadow.
Before long, Ye Chen's army surrounded Sizhu from all sides. Filling the arena, which was 200 square meters.
"..."
Sizhu was still focused on observing his surroundings. He hardened his stance and grip on the green flaming staff in his hand. He began to inhale, and exhaled with full concentration.
"It's time for you to die. Sizhu."
Dozens—hundreds of Ye Chens surrounding Sizhu from all directions immediately rushed at Sizhu, who stood in the middle of the arena like a flood.
Sizhu immediately struck down each approaching Ye Chen. Twirling his staff left and right, splitting the easily split Ye Chens one by one. Kicking and punching back, front, left, right. Striking upwards, ducking his head, tilting his body, avoiding hundreds of tridents stabbing from all directions.
More and more scratches and stab wounds hit Sizhu's body. He was overwhelmed by the relentless attacks from all directions. Even one attack began to hit his vital point. Grazing his neck, though not deeply.
Slowly, one by one, Ye Chen's heads and bodies fell. Although it was only a dark magic technique. But Ye Chen's split and severed body still looked real and had an existence.
Even so, Sizhu felt something was strange. Unlike the first magic technique, this magic technique relied more on quantity than quality. So Sizhu could easily sever the body when the green flaming staff struck the charging Ye Chen.
Like hitting a real shadow.
Shadow?
Attacked by endless Ye Chens, Sizhu leaped high and swung his staff wide. He gathered a large amount of green fire on his staff in the air.
"Seventh Staff Technique; 火龍之海!
Huǒlóng zhī hǎi! (Sea of Fire Dragons!)"
As soon as he landed, Sizhu slammed the huge, burning green flaming staff into the arena ground.
Thump! BURNZ!
The arena ground cracked from Sizhu's staff impact, and green flames immediately spread thirty meters around him, burning dozens of Ye Chens in the arena.
Sizhu's suspicion was correct, this magic technique relied more on numbers, so their bodies were easier to destroy and burn. From hundreds of Ye Chens in the arena, only half remained after being completely burned by Sizhu's green flames.
Sizhu stood tall and took a stance. Taking a breath, he ran quickly while spewing wide green flames to the right and left. Finishing off every Ye Chen who recklessly charged at him.
Burnz! Burnz!
Crat! Crat!
The arena was filled with a sea of green flames. The hundreds of Ye Chen shadow clones had now dwindled to a dozen.
Sizhu had been like a madman, spewing green flames all over the arena. Not letting a single Ye Chen shadow clone get close.
"Even if thousands of shadows are created."
Clang!
Sizhu put his staff behind his back. Parrying a sudden attack from behind the green flames.
"Only one person is real."
Ye Chen snorted and clenched his jaw. After losing many of his troops, he recklessly advanced to finish off Sizhu, who was already heavily wounded.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amidst the billowing green flames, the two ran and exchanged blows. With every parry and strike, there was the sound of sparks and clashing weapons.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The real Ye Chen was truly savage and wanted to finish off Sizhu as quickly as possible. From behind the flames, another Ye Chen leaped out as a diversion.
Burnz! Sizhu easily severed the body of the Ye Chen attacking from his side, but that left him open.
Crat! The real Ye Chen managed to stab a trident into Sizhu's exposed waist. Sizhu winced slightly, he spun his staff to counter the original Ye Chen's attack but was blocked by two fake Ye Chens. His blow severed both fake Ye Chens in one spin of the staff.
"Haha! You're hit hard! One last attack from me and you'll die!"
"Yes, one more attack and you'll die too! Ye Chen!"
Sizhu spun his staff and stepped forward swiftly, forgetting the pain of his fatal wound. Ye Chen did the same and stepped forward swiftly, closing the dozen-step gap in an instant.
"Second staff technique; 尖銳的火焰!
Jiānruì de huǒyàn! (Sharp Flame Fangs!)"
Zrat! Crat!
A sideways staff blow in the shape of a large green flame fang successfully split Ye Chen's body in two.
But that was just a fake shadow Ye Chen created, another Ye Chen emerged from behind the already split Ye Chen's body in the air, recklessly charging forward while brandishing both tridents.
"I won't be fooled."
With a sharp turn of his body, Sizhu's foot quickly spun backward while twirling his green flaming staff.
Zrat!
Forming a perfect green flame circle.
Crat! Crat!
Splitting the two Ye Chens coming from front and back.
The original Ye Chen's body was split as his two tridents almost touched Sizhu's neck. His entrails immediately spilled out along with red blood and green flames blazing through his stomach.
"Heh.. I failed... Master..."
Ye Chen lay on the ground with his heart visibly beating weakly and his lungs exposed. Separated from his lower body.
Sizhu then stabbed his staff into Ye Chen's heart and burned him completely with green flames. Preventing him from using another self-splitting magic technique.
The arena filled with Ye Chen's shadow corpses immediately disappeared as Ye Chen took his last breath. Leaving behind blazing green flames around the arena.
"Winner of the final duel of Zhan Dou second round. Sizhu!"
Liu Xingsheng raised his hand and shouted from the side.
The spectators immediately cheered and applauded Sizhu's victory.
"What a crazy fight."
"Against a clone user, that handsome green-eyed fought hundreds of clones alone and won."
"He's great! Very epic duel!"
"Where's my betting prize?! Where's my golden egg bet!?"
"Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou! Zhan Dou!"
***
Midnight. Inside the pagoda building of the Hunter's main headquarters.
"Looking around?"
Laohu Xin, the tiger Shengxiao, saw Liu Xingsheng, the monkey Shengxiao, staring at the Goujian sword relic in the middle of the room.
"..."
Liu didn't answer. He turned to Laohu who walked closer to him while offering a can of beer.
Accepting it, he immediately took a few gulps from the can.
"By the way, the nineteenth duel. Why did you allow it?" Laohu Xin asked beside Liu. Both of them faced the center of the room. The Goujian sword was stored behind a glass case.
"That monk?"
Laohu nodded. "He brutally killed one of our Hunters. With such ability, it seems he did it on purpose."
Liu didn't answer and gulped his can of beer.
"It's a shame. He died. His opponent was talented, and he was weaker than his opponent. What a pity. He was the only student I ever had." Twirling the cold beer can. His eyes never left the Goujian sword.
"Who?" Laohu asked.
"Hey, Xin. Why do you think people die?"
Laohu didn't answer directly and finished his can of beer.
"You're suddenly becoming a philosopher now? Old and feeling close to death? I know you very well, Liu. We are friends, and I'm very aware that you're starting to change. Since that time."
"Humans change. Laohu. Nothing stays forever in this world. Except for 'that'." Liu pointed towards the Goujian sword.
Laohu furrowed his brow, not understanding.
"Objects indeed have a longer permanence than living beings. You seem sleepy, Liu. Go to sleep."
Laohu crushed his beer can and threw it into the trash can next to the wall near the door.
He then walked away from Liu.
"He will rise. The immortal one will be free."
***