The twenty people stood in a formation with the ten members of the frontal forces standing in front of the technicians and the administrators. They did not understand what to do in the situation. The illusion in their minds had already dried them up of their mental composure.
They were still not able to stand without shivering after a few minutes. They looked up and cast a gaze at Shi Lang, who was still gazing at them with indifference. They watched as the young general stood up and took out the sword tied behind his back. They all tensed and felt a strong intention to kill locked in their bodies, this gaze from Shi Lang sent chills down their spines.
Shi Lang did not move but raised his hand to hold the blade from the edge and made a slit on his palm. Blood dripped from the wound, and Shi Lang flicked his wrist. Then he controlled the physique to close the wound and said, “You will five percent of my strength head on.”
His voice was cold and his intention was clear. He was going to test them to the edge. As his words dropped, he sat back in his place with the sword placed horizontally on his legs. The people were confused when they suddenly found, something gurgling from the ground.
They were all wearing visors and could see what it was. Shi Lang’s blood was multiplying at a pace where the drops turned into small puddles and then began to swarm against the void. The people were shocked, they had never seen such a thing and they were shocked to their cores. Before long, they found twenty Shi Lang standing in front of them. All of them are identical to the real one.
They gulped, the psychological shadow of Shi Lang was so strong that even his name was enough to influence them greatly let alone twenty identical clones. The twenty clones in front of them all stood bare-handed, and they spoke in unison, “For this round, we deal with hand-to-hand combat. Are you ready?”
The team nodded and the clones charged at them. These clones did not have a brain of their own, they were just manifestations that Shi Lang controlled with his mind. They had his external appearance, but they were not independent.
The battle was initiated and the people came at the clones without any hesitation. Shi Lang wanted them to do just this. This level was going to test their endurance and also expose them to their biggest psychological shadow, Shi Lang. His name was enough to cause a great tremor in their hearts and this was not what he needed from them.
If they faced an enemy that was stronger than them, they will have a shadow in their minds, and this shadow will interfere with their decisions. They will hesitate and in real battles, hesitation can lead to death. Shi Lang did not put these people through hell to send them to their deaths.
The battle was long and the attacks were repetitive. However, that was the test for mental endurance. The clones may not have the strength that could defeat these people in just one blow, but the techniques and reflexes were high. The energy inside these clones was endless, until they face a direct attack from a phaser weapon and are penetrated, they will not fall down.
After an hour the team, which was mentally exhausted, began to act frustrated, but they still did not show any big flaws, after all, if they could not defeat these blood clones, the same was true for the opposite party as well.
…
In the control room, everyone was sitting in their seats, silently. They had been holding down the curiosity to monitor the test. Shi Lang did not want them to know what they were doing in the ninth level, because he did not want anyone else to know about his skills. He even set OB-One to watch over anyone who tries to access the monitoring system.
Milo, however, as an analyst at heart was anxious, according to him, this was the cream content they were missing. This content could help them understand their weaknesses and improve. He could not understand the reason behind such secrecy, he even questioned if Shi Lang did not trust them. To which the young general replied, “Skills that cannot be learned should not be analyzed, they give you a tunnel vision.”
Yuu and the others agreed and respected his wishes, so they did not look into this matter, but the anxious analyst was moving around in the room like a malfunctioning bot. The battle instructor said, “Milo, either you sit down, or we can have a battle of our own, and this time I will not hold back at all.”
Milo stopped and looked at Yuu in an aggrieved manner. He said, “Chief, can you not do this? Don’t you know how curious I am?”
Amelia said from the side, “Curiosity killed the cat, Milo. You know that you cannot watch the test, and none of us will allow you either. Are the test and Shi Lang’s display more important than your career? This is the army, regardless of the fact of how unique the division is, following a direct command is the ultimate goal. Do you want to shame your colors?”
She was frustrated by Shi Lang being so secretive, and now this young man. She finally exploded. Watching her strong tone, Milo could only find a chair and sit down dejectedly.
…
Shi Lang was grinding the team for the past four hours and finally, they had begun to expose bigger loopholes in their attacks and battle skills. The clones exposed them without any shame. After a total of six hours the people were down on their knees, their bodies were covered with bruises of all degrees. Shi Lang opened his eyes and the clones dissolved.
They returned back to the form of blood drops before these drops crawled back to Shi Lang, who collected them in his palm and waited for them to melt back into his body. He raised his head and said in a cold voice, “For the next round, you will face me. Come at me with all that you have, make every move with the intent to kill me. You can use your spirit weapons, suits, and phasers without any hesitation. I will do the same. You can rest and replenish your strength for the next two hours.”
His voice was cold and the people were shocked. They trembled worse than before when they heard him say, come at me with the intent to kill. However, this was a trick question that they had to deal with on their own. How can they use killing intent without alerting the enemy?
They were all sensitive to the intentions pointed at them when someone gazed at them, if they try to avoid looking at him and attack, their attack will be weak, and if they did not have the intention to kill, then it was akin to suicide.
Ill-prepared attacks, or slacking in a battle that will lead to death was the first thing they all learned back in school. However, at this moment, they did not have the luxury to debate this thought in their minds. They began to meditate and run the spiritual energy they were absorbing from the spirit stone to replenish their tanks.
They had no doubt that Shi Lang will come at them with the intention to kill. As they meditated the time flew with a speed faster than their thoughts. Soon, they heard an indifferent voice in their ears, “Time up.”
They opened their eyes and found Shi Lang standing in the center of the big hall. He looked at them as if they were unrelated corpses. His gaze was enough to influence them, but soon they shook it off. The mind of a cultivator was really strong and persistent. It recovered very quickly as well.
They were told one thing before they stepped on Mythya. A cultivator lives to break past the limits set for them by the heavens. This is the greatest act of defiance and only when they have the resolve to get past their best, can they face the heavens.
Shi Lang was the ceiling they had to break, he was the milestone they had to cross on their long journey. They all stood up from the ground and took out their spirit weapons. The frontal force team stepped forward and the technicians took a step back. They did not rush to act but quickly assumed a formation.
The technicians stood behind the administrators, the former played support while the latter assumed the role of a think tank. The frontal assault was already decided. They all exchanged glances and cheered, “HOORAH.”
They were ready to face the devil in front of them and they were ready to stake their lives. Shi Lang looked at them and held out his shura blade parallel to the ground, with the tip pointing at them, and said, “Come.”
