67 Zooming Through (1/2)

”Welcome to the Shi Trial Tower.”

Shi Li instantly felt uneasy after hearing those words. The voice sounded dark and mysterious, and it had a mechanical tone to it. Even though he learned that the tower had a mind of its own, he still felt uneasy either way.

”The trial is split into three tests,” the mechanical voice continued, not caring about whether Shi Li heard it or not.

”The first test is built to check your physical limits, the second test is to check your mental fortitude, and the third test is the hardest test...”

”As it tests your purpose,” with the way the mechanical voice said it, it gave Shi Li multiple things to ponder about. He set those things aside for now, focusing on what lies in front of him.

”I repeat, the first test is to check your physical limits,” the voice resounded once more after a few seconds of silence. At that instant, the floor was gradually being covered in a dark substance which made Shi Li's hairs stand up.

It covered the floor to the point that only a straight path was left for Shi Li to walk over. This path was marked with multiple dim lights on its side, showing Shi Li that if he ever went past this light, something bad was going to happen to him.

Just as he was wondering what to do, the voice spoke once more. ”What lies in front of you is a path that spans thousands of meters long.”

At that instant, Shi Li's visual senses were numbed to the point they could see up to the edges of the dark path laid in front of him.

”On this path are six clones that have different strengths. They have the same techniques you've cultivated as well as having the same appearance as you. What you have to do is pass through them one by one and reach the end. If you've defeated at least three clones, then you can move on to the next test,” the voice explained.

”If not, you shall be kicked out of the tower.”

Shi Li knew about the general rules of the tests of the tower thanks to Senior Yan lecturing him about it back then. But the only thing he didn't know was the strength, or the cultivation realms of the clones he had to face.

Giving it a try, Shi Li asked the tower. ”What are the cultivation realms of the clones from lowest to highest?”

It was only after a moment of silence did the tower answer. ”The first clone you shall face has the cultivation of a First Stage Bone Tempering cultivator. Every next clone after that has an increased cultivation of one stage, with the final clone you'll face being at the Peak of Organ Tempering realm.”

Shi Li thought about his techniques and nodded. Afterwards, he activated his movement technique with the world energy within the tower and started to head straight through the path.

...

A few minutes later, Shi Li was in front of a clone that looked exactly like him.

Its temperament, its body structure, everything was the same. Well everything except its bones. Compared to Shi Li's, the clone's bones were a bit more compacted than Shi Li's, signalling that the bone was already storing power, letting Shi Li know that the clone was at the First Stage of the Bone Tempering realm!

The clone grabbed a hammer out of thin air before facing Shi Li with an evil grin. ”Hehe, I'm your first opponent along this path. Can you defeat me?”

Shi Li, knowing that he can completely defeat this clone, grabbed the hammer behind his back and swung it using only his full physical strength. He didn't use any of his martial techniques whatsoever, just his physical strength.

The hammer only took a fraction of a second before it collided the clone, crushing the clone into pieces.

”One down,” Shi Li said this without breaking a sweat.

He put his hammer back on his back and continue to run along the path with the help of flaming boots.

...

For the next two clones Shi Li had to face against, they suffered the same fate as the first clone, but they were able to struggle a bit longer.

The clone after the first clone had a strength that was similar to Shi Li, but with Shi Li taking the initiative, the clone wasn't even able to fathom how it was defeated.

As for the clone that had a cultivation of being at the Peak of Bone Tempering, it had bones that glistened like rare crystals from deep underground. The insides of the bones were a marvelous sight as well, with a diamond lattice covering the bone's insides.

With that, the clone was bound to be able to withstand at least a few hits from Shi Li. But Shi Li first slammed his hammer on the path, forming a small magma pool and covering one end of the hammer's head with that magma.

Afterwards, what happened was just history. Shi Li had a few drops of sweat on his forehead, but he still had a lot of stamina remaining.