"Oh my God! What's happening on the field?! There are two identical Menk Rin!"
The female commentator's shocked voice echoed through Heavens Arena. The already noisy auditorium exploded with roars. Countless people pointed at the ring and shouted theories.
"Are they twins?!" the commentator shrieked with practiced excitement.
The referee beside the ring was also surprised, but it was too fake for the commentator to be this shocked.
What twins? Can twins stuff themselves into one body and compete as a single person?
These people had worked in Heavens Arena long enough. Even if they weren't Nen users themselves, they knew things.
The Floor Master in the ring had definitely used that superhuman power that 200th-floor fighters could wield. Creating a doppelganger!
Doppelganger was the folk term for physical manifestation.
The large and small Nen beasts Purple Ape had released in the first half of the match were pure aura constructs, invisible to ordinary spectators. They knew nothing about the real battle happening in the ring.
But at this moment, Purple Ape's gibbon Nen beast had materialized and transformed into an exact copy of him!
On and off the field, Liam and some of the 200th-floor fighters watching had the same thought:
This is expensive.
The human body was very complex.
To materialize such a sophisticated structure as the human body required a huge amount of concentration and considerable aura to successfully construct.
Shizuku herself was a Conjurer. She could certainly imagine how complicated it was to use aura to manifest a human body from nothing.
In practice, if there was no special purpose, no one bothered.
In actual combat, sacrificing huge amounts of aura to create a physical clone without special abilities was thankless. Half the effort, half the results.
Liam remembered that Hisoka—battle-hardened pervert that he was—had been momentarily surprised when he saw Kastro's physical doppelganger in the manga. It was really that uncommon.
His eyes were filled with Gyo. He carefully observed the two identical opponents before him.
They were both flesh and blood. Even the layer of aura covering their bodies was exactly the same.
But how is this possible?
It wasn't like this Shadow Beast could split one pool of aura into two parts and use it separately, right?
"You are indeed very powerful!" The two Purple Apes said with smiles in the same tone. "Not only have you mastered En skillfully, but the range is very large. No blind spots in the entire arena. I have so many Nen beasts that can be used as teleportation coordinates. I launched so many attacks from different angles, but I can't disrupt your movements. You're very strong!"
The two Purple Apes talked back and forth with calm demeanors, making it difficult to tell who was who, which one was real, or whether they were both him.
This kind of scene and momentum really gave a sense of mystery and oppression.
Seeing the other guy trying to be intimidating, Liam couldn't help reminding him, "The clone that appeared has clean clothes and no marks on the face. It's very simple to tell them apart."
Purple Ape choked. He subconsciously glanced at his Nen beast clone from the corner of his eye. Although the appearance, tone, demeanor, and aura were exactly the same as his own, it was indeed... spotless!
As for the real him? He'd been fighting Liam for a while. His face and body were dirty. He was injured with blood flowing down his face.
But the clone was pristine.
His Nen beast manifests in his appearance. This is an ability set during daily practice. It's equivalent to an auto-start program. I can't activate this ability every time based on different traces, dust, and injuries on my body at different times. That kind of delicate operation is too difficult.
Liam raised two fingers one after another. "Not only did you fail to fool me, but you exposed two characteristics of your Nen beast ability. First: obviously, it can materialize into your appearance and even simulate your aura. Second..." He gestured at both mouths moving in sync. "Since you can say the same sentence with two mouths, it seems you can control the Nen beast clone's actions at will."
Purple Ape's nerves were tense. He said coldly, "So what?"
The two identical Purple Apes surged with aura. They assumed the same posture. "You're indeed powerful. I may not be able to beat you alone. But what about two of me?"
The two Purple Apes activated simultaneously and rushed at Liam. One targeted his upper body. One targeted his lower body. They sealed off all space around him.
Liam dodged the overhead blow, used Ryu to distribute more aura to his legs, forming a stronger Ken, and kicked the Nen beast Purple Ape away.
Then he twisted around and punched, hitting the sharp claws on the real Purple Ape's arms as he passed through the air.
The collision of aura caused an impact that shocked the referee and made him gasp secretly.
The audience stared at the big screen in stunned silence. Although they couldn't see the aura, the devastation couldn't be faked. It looked like computer special effects in a movie.
The 200th-floor fighters were even more solemn. They were puzzled as to why this Floor Master used a clone. The strength of the clone seemed exactly the same as his real body?
Isn't this a huge waste?
"The aura in your body hasn't weakened at all!"
Purple Ape grinned, raised his leg, and kicked Liam away. "Are you sure you don't need your ball-throwing ability?"
"There's no need to use that to deal with you, right?" Liam answer.
Liam did a backflip. He crushed a corner of bricks after landing. He disappeared on the spot and turned into an afterimage. He swooped at the other Nen beast Purple Ape and threw a punch.
The real Purple Ape attacked Liam from the side.
To avoid being attacked from the side, Liam had to allocate more aura to defend that direction.
The Nen beast Purple Ape had no time to dodge. It could only defend head-on. But the surging aura in its raised arms wasn't very strong.
The real Purple Ape intercepting from the side suddenly switched places with the Nen beast parrying from the front. Purple Ape's body changed to the front. The momentum of the transformed ape claws rose to tear at Liam.
What is this, a second-stage teleportation?
Normally speaking, faced with such a sudden change in frontal and side threats, whether defending or attacking, aura distribution would be caught off guard. The side that was originally the focus of defense would suddenly be replaced by the smaller threat of the Nen beast clone. And the target he was attacking from the front—supposed to be the Nen beast clone—turned into the original Purple Ape with raised sharp claws.
But after Liam entered Flowing Star Strike state, what reacted in actual combat wasn't entirely his subjective consciousness.
The body under the Star Mark's operation freely changed the aura distribution the moment Purple Ape switched positions.
The power of the aura in Liam's fist increased sharply, far exceeding any previous concentration, leaving only a thin layer on other body parts. It was almost a Ko punch. It hit with a bang, shattering the aura claws Purple Ape was tearing toward him, causing Purple Ape's cheek to deform slightly.
But at that moment, the Nen beast Purple Ape on the side slammed into Liam, disrupting his movements. In a flash of lightning, Purple Ape switched places with the Nen beast clone again.
The one who bumped Liam from the side turned into real Purple Ape. The corner of his mouth bled. His chin was tilted. He drove a hard knee strike.
However, what shocked him was that Liam could even react to such an attack. He blocked his abdomen with his palms and was knocked back by the knee, but wasn't seriously injured.
Liam was knocked high by the knee. The entire audience raised their eyes with him, then lowered them.
"Not bad, not bad. There's something there." Liam waved his palm. The knee strike just now was still powerful.
The slight pain from the impact on his waist was quickly dissipated by the Star Mark's self-healing effect.
"Three." Liam raised three fingers to the panting Purple Ape. "The Nen beast that became a clone has almost the same power as your original body, which is wasteful. But it can't make good use of techniques like Ten, Hatsu, Ren. In other words, its aura techniques are rough. Very rough. Almost like a layman. It can only be regarded as a relatively impressive vase."
"Stop talking!" Purple Ape roar getting mad at Liam attitude
The two Purple Apes straightened their crooked chins simultaneously, roared together, and rushed at Liam.
His mentality is breaking!
In the auditorium, Tetsuro and other knowledgeable people immediately saw the changes on the Floor Master's side.
The Floor Master was indeed powerful. Crushing aura, overwhelming 99% of the masters baptized on the 200th floor. His unique Nen beasts, physical clones, and other abilities also made people fearful. Most of the 200th-floor fighters watching believed that if they played in his place, they wouldn't survive the second round under this Floor Master's hands. They wouldn't even be able to force him to use his physical clone!
But at this moment, in the pitted arena, the Floor Master was gradually falling into disadvantage and becoming more desperate.
He and his clone attacked together, but Liam dealt with it more and more calmly, becoming more comfortable in the airtight moves.
Even his move of constantly exchanging positions with his clone was gradually becoming familiar to Liam.
Everyone's fighting style had their own habits and familiar rhythm.
Liam, who'd activated Flowing Star Strike combat mode with the Star Mark on the back of his neck, gradually mastered Purple Ape's rhythm. The timing of changing places with the Nen beast. Sometimes he could even predict in advance when Purple Ape was about to teleport and swap positions.
Liam was enjoying this battle.
Shizuku, watching from the sidelines, quietly observed the changes in the ring.
The opponent became more anxious. But Liam's attacks became more restrained, like a leaf flying in the wind between them.
But for Nen users, even picking flowers and flying leaves could hurt people.
Purple Ape, whose aura was getting more depleted, was caught by Liam when a flaw appeared in his continuous attacks.
Liam's palm passed through the gap between the two sets of fists and feet like paper. It landed heavily on one of the Purple Apes. Then clenched into a fist and struck hard.
The two Purple Apes bled from the corners of their mouths simultaneously. They both fell back as if punched in the chest. However, they crushed the ring and stopped in their tracks. They fought back hard and knocked Liam over.
A half-meter-deep human-shaped crater was created in the ring by the weight of three people.
Dust flew from the crack. With a bang, two Purple Apes were thrown out in opposite directions.
The two Purple Apes rolled to opposite corners of the ring. They quickly got up, rubbing their chests that were almost suffocated by the punch, and spat out blood.
After the dust gradually dispersed in the crater, one could vaguely see Liam's figure climbing up. His voice came out: "Four. You and your clone share your senses. Even the attacks and injuries you receive are shared together. Like this—"
As the words fell, an aura bullet quickly pierced through the flying dust and crashed straight toward one of the Purple Apes.
This was the Nen beast Purple Ape!
The bullet shot through the air toward its head.
Purple Ape gritted his teeth, raised his arms to his head, and swapped positions with the Nen beast.
Blood foam splashed. The real Purple Ape's body materialized in front of the aura bullet. A bloody hole was made in his arm by the bullet.
"The clone's basic skills are weak. So when you face fatal danger but have no time to dodge, you need to swap bodies to directly receive the dangerous attack. Just like now."
While Liam spoke, a series of bullets popped up on his fingers.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The lowest-power Spirit Gun was like rays of light, shooting at the Purple Ape Nen beast very casually. Specifically choosing places to hit. Eyeballs. Throat. Forehead. Heart.
When the clone had no time to dodge, Purple Ape could only let his real body take the beating with tears in his eyes.
Suddenly, the scene in the ring became very funny. Purple Ape actually took the initiative to intercept bullets fired by Liam's finger snaps. He rolled and crawled, looking very embarrassed.
"Smith has completely seen through the secret of this Floor Master's abilities!"
"Seizing the opponent's ability weakness and not letting go, hitting the pain points specifically..."
"That said, this Floor Master's aura seems to have been consumed a lot. Why does Smith seem fine?"
The 200th-floor contestants in the audience talked among themselves. The intensity of this Floor Master challenge was very exciting. It was really hard-fought. Liam's martial art was superb. Floor Master Menk Rin's Nen ability was also dizzying. But up to this point in the match, one side showed signs of exhaustion while the other at least still looked calm.
Not only did Liam take it easy, he even raised his hands and threw out a dense mass of aura bullets that flew out like bubbles and surrounded the two embarrassed Purple Apes.
What the fuck...
Purple Ape looked up, almost despairing. Is this man's aura a bottomless pit?!
Liam waved his palm down. The Flying Star Bubbles crackled like a meteor shower and hit the two Purple Apes.
The original Purple Ape kept dodging.
The clone Purple Ape subconsciously held his head to block, but gradually discovered that these bubble bullets landed on his body... they actually felt like bubbles, without any impact at all.
But what it didn't notice was that inside one of the Flying Star Bubbles, a trace of blood formed a pentagram pattern, leaving a rose-gold pentagram mark half the size of a fingernail on its body.
The clone Purple Ape raised his head, only to see Liam approaching. He fired a spirit gun at his fingertips, charged it up, bursting out with frightening aura approaching his head.
Liam said, "Just kidding."
This is not a joke!
Purple Ape screamed wildly in his heart. He instantly swapped, exchanging places with the Nen beast clone.
The forehead—now transformed into the Nen beast clone—was met by Liam's charged spirit gun. But in an instant, the Nen beast clone disintegrated and turned into a ball of aura that dispersed.
The moment it was released, it seemed a large part of the energy and spirit in Purple Ape's body was also taken away. Purple Ape's aura instantly weakened and dropped significantly.
Five. Once the Nen beast clone is formed, as long as it's released, it will inevitably consume half of the main body's total aura. If the remaining aura of the main body isn't enough to deduct, then the main body will immediately collapse.
"Forget it, I admit—"
Purple Ape was exhausted. He was about to raise his hands to surrender.
On his raised arm, inside the elbow, there was the same rose-gold pentagram left by the Flying Star Bubble in the same position as the clone just now.
The referee thought the Floor Master was about to surrender. But Purple Ape suddenly stopped mid-sentence, put down his hand, and walked straight toward Liam.
With everyone watching, Liam walked up and threw a punch.
Purple Ape was blasted into the ring and completely passed out.
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