11: Throwing knife shatters mirror, two women defy fate

[Chen Yichun/Bai Zhaoning Intimacy +2]

"Huh??"

Huang Chen, who had just spent over an hour clearing the fourth stage, listened to the system prompt with confusion.

Why did the intimacy suddenly increase?

Could it be, as the romance guru on *Mǒuyīn* said, that feelings develop over time?

Hmm, it was indeed quite long last night, so an increase is normal!!

Huang Chen took the roasted rabbit out of his backpack, deciding to rest for a while before challenging the fifth stage.

Checking the panel, the stamina consumption for the fourth stage was a bit high; only 58/160 remains.

There was no alternative. Although his Movement Skill was top-tier, the Sky-Swallowing Python couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes, but his stamina was unfortunately a critical weakness.

No Cliff looked at the 'Four' display, which hadn't changed even after two hours, and his tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed.

Now, this is normal.

If others take several hours and you clear it in tens of seconds, that would be showing too little respect for the Heaven's Chosen.

The rest period after clearing the fourth stage was five hours, but since Huang Chen was not injured, it only took him one hour to fully recover his stamina.

At this moment, he deeply missed the Dream Butterfly Halo. Unfortunately, since both girls were not by his side, the Halo was in a gray state.

The fifth stage,

the location was no longer the Arena.

After Huang Chen said "Continue Challenge" to the sky, a Teleportation Gate appeared in front of him.

He stepped in,

appearing on a Small Isolated Island.

[Matching the Guardian for the Fifth Stage]

[Matching Complete]

[You must kill your Mirror Image within 10 hours. The Mirror Image possesses attributes equal to yours. If the countdown ends, the challenge fails, and you die!]

As soon as the system finished speaking, a cloth-clothed youth identical to Huang Chen appeared on the beach.

The youth was twirling a flying dagger in his hand and grinned at Huang Chen.

In that instant, the youth flicked his right hand, and a streak of silver light flew out.

"Uh~"

Watching the limp flying dagger drop at his feet, his face couldn't help but twitch a few times.

Am I that weak?

That's too insulting!

In fact, the reason Huang Chen's flying dagger possessed such great power was entirely due to his unseen Technique Proficiency.

However, the Mirror Image currently didn't even have the technique,

How much force and accuracy can you expect from someone who has never used a flying dagger, throwing one for the first time from dozens of meters away?

"Swish!"

Huang Chen threw a dagger, hitting the center of its brow.

[Congratulations on passing the Fifth Stage. Please choose whether to continue the challenge or rest.]

"Continue!"

[Matching the Guardian for the Sixth Stage]

[Matching Complete]

[You must kill two of your mirror images within 24 hours. The mirror images possess double your attributes. If the countdown ends, the challenge fails, and you die!]

Although the Mirror Images' attributes were doubled and there was one more person, in Huang Chen's eyes, they were only comparable to ordinary Level 4 monsters.

According to the rules of the Star Abyss, fighting two people with double your strength is naturally much harder than fighting a group of monsters, but the system didn't account for Huang Chen shamelessly Exploiting a Bug.

The Sixth Stage took 20 seconds.

In front of the mirror, No Cliff was completely stunned.

How could it be so fast?

Without wasting time, Huang Chen quickly entered the Seventh Stage.

The Seventh Stage was still on the original isolated island.

[Matching the Guardian for the Seventh Stage]

[Matching Complete]

[You must kill three of your mirror images within 24 hours. The mirror images possess quadruple your attributes. If the countdown ends, the challenge fails, and you die!]

As soon as the system finished speaking, three cloth-clothed youths, holding various weapons, appeared simultaneously in three directions on the beach a hundred meters away.

Saber, sword, spear.

Without waiting for Huang Chen to think, the three moved their feet and charged directly at Huang Chen.

Huang Chen's speed is 9 meters/second, which can reach 18 meters/second with the Movement Skill's double bonus. The speed of the three is 36 meters/second, equivalent to 129 kilometers per hour, a full two-fold difference.

I can't let them surround me!

Huang Chen instantly formed a plan in his mind, and his figure burst toward the spear-wielding youth.

The basic attributes of the three were four times higher than Huang Chen's, and the hundred-meter distance would be covered in three seconds.

As the saying goes, 'One force defeats ten techniques.' Once surrounded, his 160 HP couldn't withstand many hits.

I must kill two of them before they complete the encirclement.

Given Huang Chen's strength, the flying daggers can maintain their attack power within 80 meters.

In just one second, Huang Chen's flying dagger shot straight toward the opponent's face.

The spear-wielder quickly dodged and swung his spear to block.

But how could a flying dagger thrown at the Return to Simplicity realm be blocked by someone whose Movement Skill and techniques were both Level 0?

In an instant, the flying dagger appeared at the opponent's throat.

A blood-red '-640' floated up, and the spear-wielder vanished, turning into a streak of white light.

The 100x attack was truly effective; the opponent's 640 HP was instantly depleted.

Huang Chen turned around, his brow slightly furrowed. The sword-wielder and the saber-wielder were already less than 50 meters away from him.

If he dealt with one more, the other would inevitably close in.

But I have 160 HP, and the opponent's attack is four times mine, meaning they can hit me for 36 points of damage per strike. If I protect my vital points from critical hits, I can withstand four hits!

Running is impossible; I can only risk my life and fight.

A streak of silver light flashed, and the saber-wielder turned into white light, while the sword-wielder had already swung his sword down, aiming directly for Huang Chen's face.

In the nick of time, Huang Chen dodged sideways, simultaneously clenching his right fist and heavily smashing it into the opponent's chest.

Bang!

The sword-wielder flew backward, a '-640' figure appearing above his head. While still in the air, he turned into white light and vanished.

Although Huang Chen used all his strength to dodge sideways, limited by his low agility, a large piece of flesh was still torn from his chest.

-82

A blood-red data point floated up.

Huang Chen's expression changed; he had been careless.

He had forgotten that generally, when an attack exceeds resistance by ten times, the damage dealt receives a Coefficient Bonus.

[Congratulations on passing the Seventh Stage Challenge. Do you wish to continue the challenge or rest?]

"Rest!"

[You have 24 hours of rest time. When the time is up, you will immediately enter the next stage challenge.]

His HP was only 79 points. Based on the natural recovery rate of 20% per hour, Huang Chen would need at least five hours to return to peak condition.

Since the Seventh Stage was already this difficult, Huang Chen couldn't imagine how others managed to pass the challenge under such overwhelming circumstances.

There are three stages left, and the upcoming challenges will undoubtedly be even harder.

Just as Huang Chen sat down cross-legged, a system prompt suddenly rang in his ear.

[Congratulations, Host. Bonded Goddess Chen Yichun has gained 5 Potential Points. Rewarding Host with Potential Points +5]

[Congratulations, Host. Bonded Goddess Bai Zhaoning has gained 5 Potential Points. Rewarding Host with Potential Points +5]

Hearing the prompt, a smile immediately appeared on Huang Chen's pale face.

Have they started leveling up?

He had calculated the leveling process for the two girls.

The Mirror Abyss only records the initial data upon entry, using it to match opponents.

Therefore, any insights or advancements gained after the challenge begins will not be applied to the challenging opponents.

Huang Chen brought over 30 days' worth of food. 30 days is enough for the two girls to reach Level 10, which will then feed back 90 Potential Points to him, effectively increasing his strength by more than ten times.

If he still can't pass the challenge after that, then it's a matter of fate.

Satisfied, Huang Chen allocated all the Potential Points to Physique, instantly raising his HP and stamina values to 360 points.

His attack power was sufficient, and his Movement Skill was decent, but HP was his biggest weakness.

Otherwise, if the next opponents' attack power exceeded his HP, he would be injured by a mere brush and killed by a touch.

After adding the points, Huang Chen sat down cross-legged on the beach. With 360 HP, his recovery rate was 72 points per hour, meaning he could return to peak condition in just over an hour.

But he was not in a hurry; he planned to use up the entire 24 hours.

The two girls are currently fighting monsters and leveling up; he can let the bullets fly for a while longer.

This time, No Cliff looked at the mirror surface, which hadn't moved for several hours, and nodded contentedly.

This is the correct way to challenge the Mirror Abyss!

It's already good that he reached the Seventh Stage.

That young man is probably being chased and playing hide-and-seek in the island's jungle right now.

With quadruple attributes, even one is hard to defeat, let alone facing three at the same time.

Sometimes he even suspects that the Star Abyss created this challenge not to open a window for the White Slates, but to point them toward a dead end.

Anyway, in nearly ten thousand rounds, he hasn't seen anyone pass the Eighth Stage.