The Legend of Min Hong

Apparently, he had subconsciously influenced Min Hong and Daniel with its lack of knowledge and wisdom.

The reason they believed that was what happened, was because Min Hong and Daniel in their right minds would surely know better that, an expert on the level of the creator of this 'Pagoda of Ascension' would have thought about the probability of someone like them existing and as a result would have put a rule to counter such tactics.

But for them to actually think that they could pull a fast one over someone who would at least be half as powerful as the 'great creator' himself, isn't that a display of sheer stupidity on their part? 

Min Hong then swapped with Daniel King as he looked over at his tireless replica.

"There must surely be a way to defeat this guy… a chink in his armor… what am I missing?" Min Hong thought several questions up with himself.

Whoosh!

The replica flashed towards Min Hong as Min Hong placed a step forward as the space shrunk under his feet, by the time the space would return to its normal shape, it had already carried Min Hong to the other side of the dueling stage…

"Alright, testing theory number one of three…"

Swish!

Min Hong once again threaded through space, as the replica replicated the move, before they arrived at the center of the platform at the same time…

Min Hong sent a diagonal upward slash towards the face of his opponent who flashed to the side causing the ninjato and Min Hong to show an opening...

The arm Min Hong used to slash at the replica was now outstretched, revealing his defenseless ribcage which the replica didn't hesitate to send its sword into.

Min Hong who was just about to be impaled from the side twisted his body, which was already out of balance, in a 180 degree fashion, barely managing to roll over to his other side which was protected by the second ninjato.

Krinssh!

The sound of the tip of one sword scrapping another screeched across the entire stage as Min Hong managed to survive the dangers of his first theory…

"Did you sense that?" Min Hong asked

"Yeah, I did…" Daniel replied.

"It is sentient!"

Min Hong and black-robed Daniel chorused the last part of the sentence as the level difficulty of this level rose up another notch in their heads.

"So, I am basically fighting a replica me with limitless energy, sentience to use my technique more perfectly than me, and in case it falls into a disadvantage, it could just always mirror all my movements…" Min Hong noted.

"That's ultimate support ability in limitless energy, unrivalled attack in using all your techniques more perfectly than you and lastly, a defense tactics that basically mimics all its opponent's moves…"

"I have never been in a situation such as this before, and this would also be the first time I'm saying this, but seriously; we are f*cked!" 

"Don't be quick to rule us out of this one, yet…"

Min Hong motivated his companion, as he knew that if he had any chance or hope in this duel, he would undoubtedly need Daniel's help, so he tried to keep him positive minded…

"Testing theory number two of three…"

Min Hong mumbled as he once again dashed towards his replica and then began another bout of dangerous attacks.

The replica stabbed at Min Hong in a straight line as Min Hong sidestepped a bit whilst using his ninjato to guide away the thrust of the sword.

Min Hong then manipulated his Qi flow as he dropped his ninjato, taking his replica by surprise as he tried to use that opportunity to split Min Hong in half with a low strong swing of the sword towards Min Hong's hips.

Min Hong retreated with a single step that instantly put a 5 meters distance in between them…

Then, just as Min Hong retreated, the replica ducked as two short swords whistled over as it rolled on the floor to the side.

Min Hong who had attached his 'Vanishing Thread' – (The same technique he used to dice Chi Zheng to pieces) - to the hilt of his sword earlier, had pulled them over as he backed away from his replica, thus the idea was to launch a sneak attack from behind his replica and if lucky decapitate it from behind..

But, the replica dodged the attack so easily that Min Hong might have just attacked him from the front rather than endanger himself all because of a failed sneak attack. 

"That didn't work either…"

Min Hong just sighed deeply at the outcome as he prepared himself mentally for his third theory;

"Okay… time to test theory three of three – my kamikaze theory…"

Min Hong mumbled mentally as the black robes Daniel who heard his ramblings nervously interrupted when he heard the word 'Kamikaze';

"What are you trying to do?"

"Well according to a true life story of a legendary expert I have once read; it was said that, everything is not about winning because most times, we learn more from failure than from success…"

Min Hong explained the basis of his third experiment as the black-robed Daniel once again provided a logical antithesis; 

"But the conditions and situations that warranted that statement might be different… What if that expert had never been in this current situation?"

Daniel reasoned with Min Hong who was already preoccupied with his replica who wasn't trying to give him any resting time.

"Everyone can try to motivate the poor, but only those who have lived or experienced what it means to be poor can truly achieve that…" He added.

"So, do not take the words of someone who might have not even experienced a life or death situation at face value, rather, you should only try to safely relate his advice to your current situation…" 

It wasn't that the black-robed Daniel was scared of death or anything, after all, rather than them dying, the 'Pagoda' would spit them out of the trial and count it as a loss to them, which was exactly what he was trying to avoid at all cost.

Min Hong was only allowed to fail three times all through his time within the 'Pagoda', and if they were to fail when he was just at the Peak of Mortal Realm, then what would happen when he was to take the Spirit Realm trials or even the God-realm trials?

So it was more like Daniel was trying to save this loss for future use, should in case Min Hong meets a truly difficult foe when he enters the higher realms…

So, if Min Hong was to go with his suicidal theory, what if it doesn't work? That meant they would have wasted a defeat slot in a meager Mortal Realm.

Daniel didn't think this trial or its rewards were worth that single loss strike which might be the deciding factor, if Min Hong were to ever complete all the trials within this 'Pagoda of Ascension'…

"Just hold on a bit longer, there is no one who is perfect and sooner or later it would reveal its own weakness…"

Black-robed Daniel tried to instill patience into Min Hong which worked like a charm because Min Hong's aura suddenly went as calm as a ten thousand year old pond…

It was when Min Hong went calm that he realized that the test had already begun since they stepped into this dimension… 

"So, that's how it is, unh?"

Min Hong thought to himself as he easily deflected his replica's sword strike to the side,

"Have you noticed that our mental state has been erratic since the beginning of this trial?" Min Hong asked.

"Yeah, to the extent that we got influenced by our dumb self and never realized it…" Daniel replied.

"It was the wait… first, was the wait which drained all the anticipation and excitement we had about this trial…" Min Hong was arriving at a point.

"I think, there is something within the atmosphere that is currently either directly affecting our minds or manipulating and relaying out thoughts to this guy…" Min Hong arrived at his theory… 

"But, we have also swapped places earlier and it didn't turn out so well…"

Daniel recalled the mysterious situation when they attacked the replica only for the real person to feel the pain…

"Why don't we try this and see if it would work?"

Min Hong suggested a plan to Daniel whilst he calmly fended off his replica's attacks which obliviously to him have suddenly become slightly easier than before.

"Ha-ha ha, that's a crazy idea but I like it… but first let's do a rough test on him and if the effects aren't negligible, then we can just go all in with your plan."

Daniel laughed slightly when he heard Min Hong's ridiculous plan…

Boom!

This time Min Hong moved with real intent to do battle and not just the trial and error situation he had put himself in earlier…

He arrived instantly in front of his replica as he diagonally sent a slash towards its chest, the replica blocked the attack easily like he had thought about the attack before Min Hong made it.

Min Hong simply rolled the sword in his hand as he continued on with another 'Wind Blade' move and just like before the replica easily evaded it, like he was the one who planted the move on Min Hong's head.

But just as it thought it had evaded Min Hong's strike and prepared to land its own counter strike, he suddenly found a foot magnifying in front of its face.

Then;

Bam! 

Min Hong was sent tumbling and hurtling over to the edge of the dueling platform as he stabilized himself with a cunning smirk plastered on his face;

"I told you that is the way it worked…"

It was the black-robed Daniel who had used its ten percent access to Min Hong's consciousness to trigger a kick which landed squarely on the replicas face.

But just like the first time, it was Min Hong who felt the pain and was sent flying.

"I have studied about this before…" black-robed Daniel said…

"It is just like a symbiotic link, where the host would be killing themselves if they tried to harm or remove the virus and vice versa…" He explained.

"So, if it is you who feels your replicas pain... then who feels yours?" "You have just gotten the logic behind my Kamikaze theory…" Min Hong said with a smirk.

Knowing the chink in his replicas armor, Min Hong carefully acted and attacked like he still haven't figured it out as he slashed ferociously at his replica once again, purposely revealing an opening in his flank, which the replica jabbed its sword at.

But just as the sword was about to pierce Min Hong, the replica abruptly lowered its sword slightly causing it to tear Min Hong's cloth making the entire situation seem like he had missed by a narrow margin.

Min Hong then stopped and turned around to gaze at his replica and spoke…

"Trying not to attack me won't do you any good, when I can just attack myself…" Min Hong spoke as he stabbed his sword towards his laps.

Splurt!

Blood splattered on the floor as the Min Hong duo, for the first time, saw the replicas face show a slight reaction but was still covering it up with an emotionless face.

Though, Min Hong felt the pain of the stab, it was nothing compared to what the replica was currently feeling.

Then Min Hong went for his hand and severed his thumb.

Splurt!

The moment he did that, the Qi sword in the replicas hands fell as the Qi dissipated causing thee smile on Min Hong's face to broaden as he threw all caution into the air and went for his own jugular.

Min Hong stabbed the most painful and fragile part of his body as the replica finally showed a reaction and bolted towards Min Hong trying to catch his arm and prevent him from stabbing himself… 

But everything was already too late as Min Hong's sword sank deep into his own jugular before letting the Chaos Qi run wild, untamed and rampant within him.

Just as the Chaos Qi began to ravage Min Hong's insides, the replica that was just a hair's breath away from Min Hong abruptly crashed to the ground as it began to spasm and display all the expression and pain Min Hong was supposed to be feeling at the moment.

Then in less than ten minutes, Min Hong's replica dispersed into several motes of light as he vanished along with the wound and blood on Min Hong's body.

"So, all of this was to teach me a single lesson, unh?" Min Hong looked into the sky as if someone was watching him as he spoke.

"What lesson is that?" Daniel asked as Min Hong took a deep breath in and exhaled a sigh before replying;

"Sometimes in battle, you have to be ready to lose an arm or leg just to take your opponents life…"

Min Hong voiced out he had learnt from this trial and as if confirming his statement, the trial realm shattered like glass as Min Hong returned to the sixth level of the 'Pagoda of Ascension'.

"Good. Now compare that to the statement made by that legendary figure you once read about…"

The black-robed Daniel King buttressed his earlier point as Min Hong smiled and spoke;

"Everything in this life, at the end of the day, is all about winning…" It was only then that Min Hong realized the true intention behind the legendary expert's statement.

Sometimes, you have to lose some to win some. Most people are scared of losing, that they don't realize that;

'Failing in school is not a criteria for you not to lead a successful and happy life...'

'Sometimes, you just have to lose the battle to win the war…'