Chapter 375: Three Replicas

After three victories, the scenery before Tang San suddenly changed. When he reappeared on Crystal Sacred Mountain, he was surprised to find that he was no longer on the original ninth step but halfway up the mountain. Gu Li was somewhat blurry in the distance.

So, it wasn't about facing hundreds of replicas one after the other? That made sense. Otherwise, with continuous evolution and replication, each battle would consume physical energy and bloodline power. The climber would be exhausted to death, making it impossible to pass the test.

It seemed the number of trials was limited. The first three must have been the introductory tests.

On the surface the Crystal Palace's trials didn't benefit the examinees, but that was really just on the surface. In fact, the benefits from the Crystal Palace were likely greater than those from other palaces; the trials provided self-reflection.

By constantly battling oneself, finding and solving personal issues, and continually breaking through and improving, it was undoubtedly excellent training for the strong. Of course, losing once meant losing ten naturae coins, so it was also excellent training for the rich.

Tang San could even guess that when the Crystal Palace first introduced this test, many strong individuals attempted it, and the palace must have made a lot of money.

But later, people realized it was too costly. Not everyone could defeat themselves in just one or two tries. Some likely couldn't even defeat their first replica after dozens or even hundreds of attempts.

After all, most demon and nymph clans had only one bloodline, with obvious abilities and talents. Defeating a version of oneself that could use said abilities better was no easy task.

Tang San silently felt the changes in the surrounding aura. He found that the changes in the spiritual energy were most noticeable halfway up the mountain.

The spiritual energy around him had become noticeably fuller and was extremely pure, without any specific attributes. This energy could be directly converted into bloodline power.

Clearly, this was meant for the examinees to recover and rest.

Tang San hadn't expended much energy, so without pausing for too long, he stepped onto the next level of the staircase.

This time, there was no scanning sensation. However, Tang San suddenly felt some pressure.

He continued upward, and after he climbed three more steps, the scenery changed again. He was shifted back to the previous crystal illusion.

The shadow at Tang San's feet detached and slid into the distance. However, Tang San's pupils immediately contracted.

The shadow split into three, forming three figures in front of him. Yes, this time there were three replicas of Tang San!

Is this how the difficulty increases?! This is cheating! It's a geometric increase in difficulty!

Facing three of yourself in this unique isolated space—how could an ordinary demon or nymph overcome such a challenge?

While Tang San was internally shocked, the three replicas had already launched their attack.

A Spider Web Restraint came straight at Tang San, while a Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear was being formed. Even more terrifying, numerous Blue Silver Emperor vines frantically sprouted from the ground, covering a 100-meter area with Tang San at the center.

Blue Silver Thrust! Tang San had used this before. However, with three replicas deploying it simultaneously, the coverage area was larger, and the power naturally greater, sealing all escape routes.

"You guys are good!" Tang San murmured. One against three—if he only had the Blue Silver Emperor, then even with superior techniques, defeating these three replicas wouldn't be easy, and he might fail.

The most terrifying aspect of these replicas was their timing and their mastery of using abilities. Their cooperation was flawless, not merely a simple release of skills.

Unfortunately for them, they were facing more than just the Blue Silver Emperor in him!

When Tang San arrived at the Crystal Palace, he was prepared to reveal at least two bloodlines. Though rare, having two bloodlines was not unheard of. Mei Gongzi, for example, had two bloodlines, and they were both first-tier at that!

Thinking of this, Tang San wondered what would happen if Mei Gongzi's White Tiger Transformation and his own Lion-Tiger Transformation were combined.

This thought flashed through Tang San's mind, and at the same time, incandescent flames surged up around him.

Whether it was the Blue Silver Thrust or the approaching Spider Web Restraint, both turned to ashes instantly. Tang San's right hand reached out and caught the lightning-fast Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear, which also quickly burned.

The massive strength granted by the Lion-Tiger Transformation made it impossible for the Blue Silver Emperor Tyrant Spear to break through his defenses.

Then Tang San moved, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track along with the Lion-Tiger Golden Astral! He was unstoppable!

Half a minute later, the three replicas had turned back into shadows, returning to Tang San.

This time, after the shadows returned, Tang San clearly felt that he had gained some new insights. The experiences from the three shadows during their battle had deepened his understanding of the Blue Silver Emperor.

This could be considered cheating. Using the first-tier Lion-Tiger bloodline, he had forcibly defeated the three replicas. Otherwise, if it had been Blue Silver Emperor against Blue Silver Emperor, the experience would have been more profound. Of course, he would have been very likely to fail.

Standing still for a moment, he pondered on these new insights.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

When he stepped onto the stairs again, a powerful scanning force instantly descended upon him as if trying to peel him apart and examine every cell.

The Lion Tiger Golden Astral burned fiercely, covering everything, even the Blue Silver Emperor's imprint. The powerful first-tier bloodline was scanned.

This time, the scanning took noticeably longer.

From the previous battle, Tang San realized that during the fight, the replicas could directly learn his techniques for controlling his bloodline abilities. However, they couldn't learn the bloodline power itself during the fight. So when Tang San suddenly used the Lion-Tiger Golden Astral, the three replicas from the previous round couldn't learn it.

But it was clear that in the next round, he would face the abilities of the Lion-Tiger Transformation

and

the Blue Silver Emperor.

The Lion-Tiger Golden Astral, being a first-tier bloodline power, would be much harder to deal with.

Tang San could have used the Golden Roc Transformation or the Chrono Croc Transformation to defeat the three replicas. However, he had already used the Lion-Tiger Golden Astral in the Sword Saint Palace and the Celestial Fox Palace. He couldn't reveal too much! Who knew if these palaces shared information? Two bloodlines might be considered acceptable, but three or four would likely lead to him being caught and used as a research sample.

So, Tang San chose the Lion-Tiger Transformation. He felt that the Crystal Palace's actual test wouldn't have too many rounds. Facing three replicas was already an insurmountable challenge under normal circumstances. If the tests got any harder, who could handle them? Since it was a test, there had to be some chance of passing!

Finally, the scan ended, and his sluggish body could move again. When Tang San stepped onto the stairs again, he was once more transported to the crystal battlefield. Three shadows flowed out from his feet and solidified in the distance.

This time, Tang San didn't wait for the three shadows to finish condensing; he moved first.

Without a doubt, this round he would be facing three replicas that had both the Lion-Tiger Transformation and the Blue Silver Emperor's abilities. He couldn't afford to be as composed as before and reveal the bare minimum of his abilities. He had to seize the initiative.