The distance between the two was now less than 50 meters.
30 meters!
10 meters!
5 meters!
It was all so close.
Su Zhan still chose to rush and break through without releasing the 20 Clones.
"Boy, die."
A ghostly voice came from behind Su Zhan.
"Damn it, fight!"
Su Zhan gritted his teeth.
Turning sharply, he caught a faint green light rushing straight toward his face—it was Zhou Yueshan's weapon technique. He didn't know its name, but he could clearly sense the particularly fierce power gathered within it!
In response, Su Zhan flipped his palm, and a long sword appeared. Gathering all his Spiritual Power into his hand, he swung the sword with full force!
Bang!
A sound like a cannonball explosion rang out.
The next instant, Su Zhan felt as if a massive force had slammed into him. His body was sent flying through the air, hitting the ground hard. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he rolled a long distance before barely managing to stop.
"This dagger will send you on your way!"
Zhou Yueshan gave him no chance to recover.
Leaping high, dagger in hand, he descended from the sky, aiming straight for Su Zhan's head!
Facing the strike, Su Zhan smiled miserably.
In that smile, there was no regret, no despair, no fear, no sadness—only joy.
It was precisely this expression that made Zhou Yueshan's heart skip a beat for no clear reason, a terrible warning rising from deep within his chest.
Could it be…
Boom!
The next moment, a surging momentum burst from Su Zhan's body.
At the same time, his flesh and blood, muscles and bones, meridians, Dantian, and every part of his body underwent earth-shaking changes!
"Damn it, if one strike was enough, I'd have stood still for you earlier… This whole thing didn't need to be so dramatic."
Fourth-Level Mortal Realm.
At the very last moment, Su Zhan had finally stepped into the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm he had been yearning for!
Feeling the constantly rising power within him and the transformation throughout his body, the difference from the previous three levels was like undergoing a rebirth in condensed form"
Bang!
Just then, Zhou Yueshan's attack landed—only to be stopped by a dark figure who suddenly appeared in front of Su Zhan, holding a long sword!
Human Fourth-Level Mortal Realm versus Clone Fourth-Level Mortal Realm.
The impact echoed off the empty ground.
An invisible shockwave leveled all the surrounding plants.
An ordinary cultivator, even after a breakthrough, would not have been able to withstand Zhou Yueshan's strike…
But this was a Clone—a fighter who felt no pain. Even if his arm was crippled by the sword, he would keep going!
"Damn… escape!"
Without hesitation, the moment the Clone blocked his strike, Zhou Yueshan's heart trembled and his face turned pale. Though he didn't want to admit it, he knew it was over. Killing Su Zhan and seizing the treasure was now an impossible dream. He made a decisive choice—turn and run!
"Want to run?"
Su Zhan stood up behind the Clone, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smiled.
"Zhou Yueshan, you've chased me for so long and put me in this state—you're really something!"
"But don't worry, I always repay kindness. Your 'favor' is so great, of course I have to return it properly… Hey guys, do it!"
At his words, a group of Clones—each one having broken through to the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm—charged forward, attacking Zhou Yueshan from all directions!
"Oops."
Zhou Yueshan's pupils contracted.
He moved frantically, dodging with his body speed pushed to the limit. When he couldn't avoid an attack, he used his dagger to parry.
But blocking one or two long swords was one thing—how could he withstand several coming down at once?!
Face-to-face.
Blood sprayed, flesh flew.
His shoulders, back, and thighs were torn open. Without his quick reflexes to dodge fatal strikes, he would have perished in the very first exchange.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"
Pain swept through his body as he fought fiercely.
"What the hell is that treasure on him?! He's already failed to break through twice—how can he still keep doing it a third time?"
"And those black shadows… they just broke through, yet they can take my sword?!"
Zhou Yueshan's heart was full of unwillingness.
How much time had he spent reaching the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm? How much energy had he used? How many battles had he fought?
In the end, this opponent barely lifted a finger—yet in just a few minutes, he had broken through repeatedly, surpassing years of Zhou Yueshan's effort. It was utterly outrageous!
And even if Su Zhan alone had broken through, Zhou Yueshan could still deal with him… But now all the Clones had broken through too—how could he possibly handle it?!
His biggest problem now was no longer killing Su Zhan, but how to save his own life.
"There's no escape."
"I can't stop their swords."
"Am I really going to die in this damned place?!"
Despair consumed at him.
"After all I've been through… surviving the Yun family… I can't die here! I absolutely can't!"
The desperate will to survive drove him mad.
His movements sped up.
His reactions became sharper.
His strength rose to another level.
"Mm?"
Su Zhan frowned as he noticed. "You're this injured, yet you still have so much strength? Did you use some special technique?"
The answer revealed itself almost immediately—an aura more powerful than anyone's burst from Zhou Yueshan's body!
"Good guy, are you breaking through on the battlefield? Straight from Fourth-Level to Fifth-Level Mortal Realm?"
Su Zhan was stunned.
Fighting to break through was nothing new—when he had been captured by a Sixth-Level Mortal Realm cultivator and taken to the mine, he had seen others break through in life-and-death battles.
But he hadn't expected Zhou Yueshan to pull it off here.
"Ha ha ha ha…!"
Laughter rang out from Zhou Yueshan.
Covered in blood, facing the attacks of more than a dozen Clones, he was no longer helpless. He met them with renewed strength, holding his ground.
My fate isn't ending today! Not today!"
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Su Zhan. His face, twisted and bloody, was filled with joy and pride.
"Su Zhan, you've made multiple temporary breakthroughs to reach the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm—impressive! But I'm even better! I've been at the Fourth-Level for years, and thanks to you, I've finally reached the Fifth-Level Mortal Realm!"
"Boy, it's your honor to die under my Fifth-Level Mortal Realm!"
Zhou Yueshan's laughter was endless—the joy of his breakthrough, the thrill of victory, and the confidence of ending Su Zhan for good.
No one knew better than him how terrifying Su Zhan's growth rate was. In just half a month, he had gone from Second-Level to Fourth-Level Mortal Realm. If allowed to live another year, he might break into the Origin Realm and crush Zhou Yueshan like an ant.
So now, empowered by his new strength, his arrogance returned in full force.
But Su Zhan only sighed and shook his head.
"I really didn't expect you to break through to the Fifth-Level Mortal Realm right in the middle of the fight… but you don't seriously think that means you can kill me now, do you?"