Multiplicative Growth Across Different Floors

"Damn it, seriously damn it!" Evan Yang never expected things to be like this here, so he immediately used his Sky-Dance Step to hold himself in place, trying not to fall, but the descent was unavoidable—the pull was just too strong.

"What kind of trash bridge is this?" Evan cursed, unleashing every bit of his power to keep himself from falling.

But the result was the same—nothing helped. He was like a falling stone, dropping faster and faster until he finally saw what was below: water. Only then did his fall slow and steady out.

"I'm saved!" Evan exclaimed with surprise when he saw the water below.

But as soon as his heel touched what looked like water, Evan heard a loud boom, and his feet went numb.

"What kind of freak place is this?" Evan looked down, unsure what he was standing on, and found half his leg sunk into whatever it was.

Evan twisted, leaping up from below and landing on the 'water's surface.'

But it wasn't water at all—it looked like a mirror. The mirror reflected his image. Because he was falling so fast earlier, Evan just assumed it was water, but he'd actually landed on a reflective surface that only looked like water.

Just as Evan was cursing, wondering what the heck this thing was, a figure appeared.

"Who are you!" Evan shouted in shock. When he saw the figure, he froze completely.

"You!" The figure before Evan's eyes was someone who looked exactly like him.

"Welcome to the First Floor of the Demon-Fiend Underpalace." The figure smiled, even the voice was identical to Evan's, which startled him.

"Who are you, really?" Evan asked in shock.

"I'm you. You are me." The figure smiled.

"Impossible!" Evan refused to believe this was himself.

"Don't believe it? Watch closely." The figure smiled.

The figure suddenly used Phantom Step Art, moving incredibly fast.

Seeing this footwork, Evan recognized it instantly—he was the only one who could use that technique here. So at that moment, he didn't believe, but also kind of did. He asked, "Tell me, who are you really?"

"I already told you, I'm you. You are me." The figure still replied the same way.

"You're not going to say, are you? Then watch this." Evan snorted coldly, and began fighting the figure. Their attack patterns were identical, and their defenses were exactly the same.

But there was one difference: the artifacts and unique attributes on the replica weren't the same as his own.

Evan drew his dagger and started fighting the replica. He quickly dealt a heavy blow, then followed up with a powerful strike from his gauntlets.

The replica crashed into the cliffside, its whole body embedded in the stone.

Blood spurted from its mouth—the replica's blood was red, unlike Evan's. This reassured Evan; at least the replica didn't have some of his unique traits.

"Talk, or you're dead!" Evan said with a cold snort.

"I'm you. You are me." The replica still replied the same way.

"Still not talking, huh?" Evan snorted coldly. Staring at someone who looked exactly like himself, he really found it hard to strike the killing blow.

Just as the dagger was about to stab the replica, it spoke again: "This is the First Floor of the Demon-Fiend Underpalace. I'm your replica, copied at one times your attack power, techniques, and so on."

"First Floor? Replica?" Evan asked suspiciously.

"That's right. The Demon-Fiend Underpalace works this way—the greatest enemy is yourself. I'm your enemy, so only by defeating yourself can you move forward." the replica explained.

"What about the Second Floor?" Evan asked suspiciously.

"It copies you at double your attack power—and speed too," the replica replied.

Evan was shocked. If the Second Floor was like this, what would the Third Floor be? He pressed for more details, and sure enough, the first ten floors all worked this way—especially the tenth, which copied him at ten times the power.

This surprised Evan, but he was glad the replica only copied the cultivator's learned techniques and body—not any of his unique attributes.

At least Evan had his Fly-Fire Boots, which could reach fourfold speed. So the first three floors wouldn't be a problem, but on the Fourth Floor, beating a version of himself with equal speed would be tough.

Just as Evan was thinking about what would happen after he defeated his replica, two paths appeared before him—one red, one blue.

The blue path let you exit, the red let you continue forward. Evan remembered what the old caretaker had said.

After thinking it over, Evan chose the red path.

The result was the same—he was transported somewhere unknown, faced another strange mirror, and out came a replica that really was twice as strong as him.

Both attack power and speed were doubled. The replica could use Evan's Phantom Step Art and Starry-Sky Heart Technique too.

With boosted speed and attack, Evan still easily defeated the Second Floor's replica using his Fly-Fire Boots and gauntlets.

The Third Floor was the same, but Evan knew the Fourth Floor was where real tempering happened. To win, he'd have to get stronger as the fight went on.

As he grew stronger, the replica stayed at the level it had when copied. That's why everyone who entered here improved so quickly—their enemy was themselves, and only by constantly getting stronger could they survive. Otherwise, one slip and the replica would kill them, since its abilities matched theirs exactly.

The Fourth Floor's replica had four times Evan's power. That meant its speed and attack could reach four times Evan's baseline—even without using artifacts.

Even with the Fly-Fire Boots, Evan could only barely keep up with the replica.

"Should I use soul force?" Evan considered it, but realized his strength wouldn't improve much that way, so he decided not to use it unless his life was truly in danger.

It was the same for the gauntlets—Evan didn't dare let the replica get its hands on them. Since the replica could use Starry-Sky Heart Technique, its attack could multiply, and stacking that with fourfold power would make its strikes scarier than Evan's gauntlets.

So Evan was basically fighting himself, using the battle to improve, find his weaknesses, and slowly overcome the replica.

The Demon-Fiend Underpalace was designed so you had to defeat yourself. From the First to the Tenth Floor, you fought versions of yourself with one to ten times your power. To survive or improve your cultivation, everyone had to work hard to beat their own replica.

This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click the next page to keep reading the rest!

Relentless fighting was their only option—otherwise, if they stopped, the replica would kill them.

Soon, many people appeared outside the Demon-Fiend Underpalace. Some returned injured, some collapsed as soon as they got back.

The old caretaker of the Demon-Fiend Underpalace had seen this many times before—he just ordered people to carry them away.

As for those who died inside, that was just their bad luck—they'd never come out again.

About ten days later, Captain Ling finally came out, one arm in a sling, cursing in pain, "Damn it, what kind of hellhole is this place?"

A few days later, Captain Lee came out, looking even worse. With blood still on his lips, he cursed, "Damn it, what was that kid doing in a place like this?"

Soon, more people appeared—some from Captain Ling's group, some from Captain Lee's, and some from Evan's.

After leaving, everyone went back to rest and recover.

Some gained a lot from the trials inside, while others made no progress at all and nearly died.

About half a year later, a young woman emerged. The old caretaker quickly stood up, looked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt, and asked, "Miss, which floor did you reach?"

"I checked all the way from the First to the Fifth Floor, but how come I never saw that guy?" the young woman muttered.

"Miss, you went in to look for someone?" the old caretaker exclaimed.

"Yes, why?" the young woman replied.

"Miss, didn't you know? Different people appear in different places when they go in. Even if you're in the same space, you might not find them," the caretaker explained.

"Really? How come I never knew that?" the young woman muttered.

"That's just how this place is, Miss. If you've never been here, of course you wouldn't know," the caretaker said with a chuckle.

The young woman understood, then asked curiously, "Does each floor increase by multiples?"

"Yes, that's right," the caretaker replied.

"Are there only ten floors?" the young woman asked.

"Yes, that's right. There are only ten floors," the caretaker nodded.

"How many floors have you reached?" the young woman asked curiously.

"I'm not very skilled—I've only made it to the Fourth Floor," the caretaker said with an embarrassed smile.

"I struggled with the Fifth Floor, so I didn't go to the Sixth. I wonder if that kid has come out yet," the young woman said, suspicious.

"Who?" the caretaker asked, curious about whom she was looking for.

The young woman showed him a portrait of Evan. The caretaker shook his head. "Doesn't look familiar. Maybe he died in there?"

"Impossible," the young woman said, refusing to believe Evan could die inside.

"It's quite possible. Most people who stay inside for a long time die there, though a few remain to keep training," the caretaker explained.

"How can you tell if someone's dead?" the young woman asked curiously.

"Come with me," the caretaker said, thinking it over. He waved his hand at a wall, and a tunnel appeared.

The curious young woman followed the caretaker, and soon they arrived at a large pit. Inside, all sorts of corpses lay scattered.

"What...?" The young woman was shocked, her face changing as she saw so many corpses for the first time.

"These are all people who failed inside and were sent here," the caretaker explained.

"Why not clean them up?" Seeing the thick layer of corpses below, the young woman felt disgusted.

The caretaker gave an embarrassed smile. "I can't touch these bodies. All I can do is leave them here."

"Why keep something so disgusting? Why not just burn them?" The young woman glanced around, unable to tell which corpse was Evan's—most were unrecognizable.

"Orders from above—we must guard these bodies and can't destroy them," the caretaker said, pointing at the corpses.

"Whose orders?" the young woman asked angrily.

"The Palace Master's," the caretaker replied, shaking his head helplessly.

"The Palace Master? The current one?" the young woman asked suspiciously.

"No, the order was given several generations ago. So many of these bodies have been here for a very long time," the caretaker explained.

"Disgusting. I'm leaving," the young woman said, feeling nauseated.