As the battle progressed, Ye Yunfei intentionally slowed his pace, believing that if he slowed down, his opponent's combat speed would also slow.
This was because every single move and technique of that being was merely mimicking his own.
Indeed, as Ye Yunfei eased up, the fighting speed of the being facing him – an exact copy of himself – also began to slacken.
"What kind of opportunity would be the best chance to defeat this fellow?"
With his combat speed reduced, Ye Yunfei now had ample time and mental energy to observe and ponder.
After fighting a while longer, Ye Yunfei's speed suddenly surged. The longsword in his hand danced continuously, unleashing dozens of thick sword rays in an instant.
Each sword ray contained terrifying power, immediately causing the space ahead to split open repeatedly.
However, the space here possessed astonishing restorative ability. The moment it was split open, it would revert to its original state just as quickly.
When Ye Yunfei attacked swiftly, the being opposite him also sharply accelerated, executing the exact same movements as Ye Yunfei and releasing one powerful sword ray after another.
At this moment, the combat speed of both sides reached an extreme. Massive sword rays emerged in a constant stream, assailing the opponent with staggering speed.
Ye Yunfei suddenly blurred forward, closing the distance to appear right before his double. His right hand wielded the sword, his left clenched into a fist, simultaneously unleashing sword arts and fist techniques at his target.
The opposite being immediately performed the exact same moves, also launching a savage assault against Ye Yunfei.
Now, their speed became even faster. During the fight, Ye Yunfei began utilizing his comprehension of the Time Law to accelerate himself.
Sure enough, once Ye Yunfei employed the Time Law, his attack speed increased further.
The conversation with Hun Lao moments ago had helped Ye Yunfei realize that fast and slow were ultimately matters governed by the Time Law.
Gradually, Ye Yunfei's attacks, aided by the Time Law, grew increasingly rapid.
The reason for accelerating was that Ye Yunfei believed the faster he attacked, the more difficult it would be for his double to mimic him.
After all, that being was not truly him – it was merely using a sophisticated pupil technique to analyze and copy him.
Indeed, as Ye Yunfei continuously accelerated his attack speed via the Time Law, he began to perceive, using his formidable Soul Power energy, that although his double could still execute the same techniques, its rhythm was starting to lag slightly behind his own.
The delay was extremely brief – so brief that Ye Yunfei nearly missed it.
But it proved that once his speed increased, his opponent's task of mimicking him indeed became harder.
Therefore, Ye Yunfei continued employing the Time Law, pushing his attack speed to the limit.
"It seems you have grasped that the essence of attack speed, whether fast or slow, lies in time. By utilizing the Time Law to coordinate during battle, you can maximize your combat speed," Hun Lao said with a laugh.
"Yes. So in the future, the core of increasing my combat speed will be continuously elevating my mastery of the Time Law. The higher my understanding of time, the faster my attack speed will be," Ye Yunfei nodded.
It was then.
"The opportunity is here!" Ye Yunfei murmured inwardly.
The next instant, more than forty identical copies of Ye Yunfei suddenly appeared in the space around him! All forty-plus copies looked exactly the same, identical in both appearance and soul body.
All forty-plus Ye Yunfeis moved together, each performing a different technique or secret art, their angles of attack also varying.
In a flash, the forty-plus Ye Yunfeis surged toward the opponent with astounding speed.
"Let's see how you try to analyze and mimic me now," Ye Yunfei said, smiling.
If his opponent still intended to mimic him under such circumstances, it would mean having to simultaneously analyze and mimic over forty versions of him.
Ye Yunfei was confident his opponent's mimicry capacity was not limitless.
Each of these forty-plus copies possessed its own soul body, each appearing to be the original, making them impossible to distinguish.
Just as Ye Yunfei was wondering if his opponent could still copy him, the being who was his perfect duplicate suddenly froze in place, completely motionless.
Ye Yunfei's myriad attacks rained down upon it continuously, yet could not harm it in the slightest – because this being's body seemed translucent.
All of Ye Yunfei's attacks simply passed through its body, inflicting no damage whatsoever.
Then Ye Yunfei watched as the being identical to him began to gently distort, its form gradually shifting from solid to illusory.
"Master, you're too amazing! You finally defeated that thing!" Seeing the creature begin to fade away, Hu Miao became very excited and shouted out immediately.
"Defeating a creature exactly like you truly isn't simple," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also breathed a sigh of relief and chimed in.
"Actually, it wasn't me who defeated it, but Sword Elder," Ye Yunfei transmitted to everyone via Sound Transmission.
"Although it was indeed Sword Elder who told you the method to defeat this creature, it still required your own natural talent and comprehension to succeed," Hun Lao said with a smile.
While Ye Yunfei had conquered his mirror double, the other powerful experts were still engaged in combat – including those several powerhouses from the Wanmu Ancestral Land.
However, Ye Yunfei noticed that several of them seemed close to reaching a conclusion.
Since all these experts were fighting their own perfect copies, Ye Yunfei couldn't at present tell which were the originals.
Just as Ye Yunfei was observing the other fighting powerhouses, he suddenly felt the space ahead of him begin to tremble faintly.
Previously, monstrous white mist had blocked the river's surface ahead, rendering the opposite bank invisible not only to the naked eye but also undetectable by Soul Power. But now, Ye Yunfei noticed the white mist ahead of him was slowly receding.
Rumble…
The space ahead trembled gently, and then a white stone path materialized beneath Ye Yunfei's feet.
"This path must be the road forward. You defeated that creature and have likely earned the qualification to proceed. Hurry and move on," Hun Lao, looking at the white stone path before Ye Yunfei, immediately guessed what was happening.
"But they're still here. Especially Yang Feng… With his strength, he likely cannot cross this river," Ye Yunfei glanced at the Wanmu Ancestral Land experts and Yang Feng, hesitating.
He truly wished to help them, but did not know how.
Because at this moment, Ye Yunfei simply couldn't distinguish which ones were their real selves.
"Never mind. I'll just transmit to them the method of dealing with these strange creatures. As for whether they succeed or not… that depends on their own destiny." After a thought, Ye Yunfei made his decision internally.
He immediately sent separate Sound Transmissions to the several Wanmu Ancestral Land experts as well as to Yang Feng, explaining the secret behind why these weird beings possessed techniques identical to theirs, and offering some suggestions.
Ye Yunfei knew these Wanmu Ancestral Land powerhouses and Yang Feng couldn't use two soul bodies and dozens of Soul Power stars to deal with the duplicates, as he had.
But they could accelerate their combat speed, or create some clones resembling the main body to confuse their opponents.
As long as the timing was grasped correctly and their speed was sufficiently fast, it was possible to interfere with the doubles' mimicry, thereby defeating them.
Since Ye Yunfei couldn't tell which were their true forms at the moment, he simply transmitted to everyone present – including the strange beings themselves.
"Young Master Ye, I truly didn't expect you to be the first to defeat yourself. Truly, the younger generations are formidable!" one Wanmu Ancestral Land expert, upon receiving Ye Yunfei's transmission, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
After sending his transmissions, Ye Yunfei strode forward along the white stone path before him.
"How is this possible? That kid actually defeated himself?!"
The other powerhouses still locked in combat, witnessing Ye Yunfei suddenly march boldly forward, felt extreme shock, unable to believe it.
In these experts' eyes, a mere Heavenly God was little more than an ant. Yet now a Heavenly God had defeated his duplicate sooner than them within this white river. Didn't this indicate that this youngster, merely at the Heavenly God realm, was mightier than they, these famous experts renowned throughout the Primordial Void Sea?
"Damnation! How did that kid defeat himself so quickly? Could his talent truly be so monstrous? Did the Sword Realm truly cultivate such an extraordinary successor?" At this moment, the Blade World experts watching Ye Yunfei stride forward wore expressions that couldn't be uglier.
"No wonder this youngster was able to annihilate our Guardian Faction branches in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids. Although the overall strength of those three branches was relatively weak, they were still forces under our Guardian Faction banner. For them to be wiped out by a junior shows this kid indeed possesses extraordinary attributes." The Guardian Faction's members were also observing Ye Yunfei at this moment, but those experts had neither the time nor the mind to harass him now.
Treading upon the white stone path, Ye Yunfei advanced with large strides. No further obstacles impeded him along the way.
Before long, Ye Yunfei suddenly realized he had seemingly reached the end of the white stone path. The scene before him underwent a massive transformation.
He now stood within a Small World of picturesque beauty, blanketed in blossoms, where spring reigned eternally. A harmonious, tranquil atmosphere pervaded everywhere he looked. Lush green vegetation covered the entire Small World, and various small animals peeked curiously from nearby, observing Ye Yunfei.
"It seems this place should be the core area of Tianmu Shenjun's training cave abode. We must quickly explore this core area thoroughly and see if we can obtain any treasures or legacies Tianmu Shenjun left here. In this situation, speed is of paramount importance. If we wait for those fellows behind to catch up, then any treasures or inheritances will have to be contested," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm spoke to Ye Yunfei.
"Indeed, we must be faster," Hun Lao also said.
Right then, Ye Yunfei abruptly sensed a powerful teleportation energy descending from above, instantly enveloping his form. The next moment, he found himself standing atop an ancient altar.
This ancient altar was located in an eastern corner of the Small World.