The silence stretched between Wu Kangming and his perfect copy, both figures standing motionless in the aftermath of the golem's destruction.

"Master," Azure's voice whispered in my mind, "this entity... it's not just mimicking Wu Kangming's appearance. I can sense traces of his spiritual signature, his technique patterns, even his sword intent. It's like it absorbed his essence during the transformation."

That was deeply unsettling.

If the copy could somehow duplicate not just Wu Kangming's physical form but his actual abilities, then we were facing something far more dangerous than a simple shapeshifter. We were looking at Wu Kangming with genuine Elemental Realm power backing every technique.

But as I studied the copy more carefully, something caught my attention. Wu Kangming always wore a simple ring on his right hand, nothing flashy or obviously valuable, just a plain band that most people wouldn't give a second glance.

I'd noticed it because of my suspicions about his mysterious power source. If my theories about protagonist tropes were correct, that ring likely contained his old grandpa mentor.

The copy's hands were perfect replicas of Wu Kangming's own, down to the smallest detail. Except for one thing.

No ring.

I felt a surge of relief wash through me. So, this being did have limitations.

It could copy Wu Kangming's physical form, his spiritual signature, even his technique patterns, but it couldn't replicate whatever power source was bound to that ring.

That was something, at least. Not much, given that it still had Elemental Realm cultivation backing Wu Kangming's already impossible techniques, but it meant this thing wasn't completely invincible.

"Lin Mei, Meng Haoran," I called out, never taking my eyes off the standoff. "Get back. Way back."

I didn't need to explain why. Both of them were experienced enough to recognize the spiritual pressure radiating from the copy, and smart enough to understand what that meant for their survival chances. At their cultivation level, even a glancing blow from an Elemental Realm technique would be fatal, and if they died, our teams would be expelled from the realm instantly.

Lin Mei grabbed Meng Haoran's arm and pulled him toward a cluster of bone-white trees about a few hundred yards away, both of them moving with the kind of desperate speed that comes from knowing your life depends on it.

Before they could even take a few steps, the copy moved.

One moment it was standing perfectly still, the next it had drawn its sword and launched itself forward with speed that made my eyes water.

The blade cut through the air with that same impossible precision I'd seen Wu Kangming demonstrate, but there was something qualitatively different about the attack. More refined. More devastating.

Wu Kangming's response was equally swift. His own sword cleared its sheath in a silver arc, meeting the copy's strike with perfect timing. The collision of blade against blade sent out a shockwave that flattened the grass around them and cracked the ground beneath their feet.

Both figures were launched backward by the impact, their feet carving furrows in the rocky terrain as they fought to maintain balance.

But while the copy landed gracefully, settling into a ready stance without apparent effort, Wu Kangming staggered slightly. A thin line of blood appeared on his cheek where a fragment of shattered qi had found its mark.

He was injured. Not seriously, but enough to make a statement about the power difference they were dealing with.

I felt my stomach clench as the implications hit me. Wu Kangming, who had just casually decapitated an Elemental Realm golem, was outmatched by his own copy. The thing wearing his face had access to all his techniques plus the spiritual foundation to use them at their full potential.

"This isn't a battle Wu Kangming can win alone," I muttered, extending my spiritual sense toward every piece of vegetation in the area. I had already left microscopic qi traces on all of it, creating a network of anchor points for Verduring Step.

Wei Lin stepped up beside me, lightning qi already crackling around his fingers. "I was thinking the same thing."

Luo Yichen drew his Mirrorwater Blade, the surface of the weapon reflecting the sickly green light of the realm. "Big Brother," he called out, his voice tight with concern, "we're with you."

Wu Kangming glanced back at us, and for the first time since I'd known him, I saw something that might have been surprise flicker across his features. He studied our faces for a moment, as if trying to determine whether we were serious about fighting alongside him against such overwhelming odds.

"If it really can use my techniques," he began finally, his voice carrying that same emotionless tone I'd grown accustomed to. "Then this isn't a battle we can win."

"We don't have much of a choice," I replied, settling into a combat stance. "In about three seconds, that thing is going to attack again. When it does, we're all eliminated if we don't work together."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The copy tilted its head in that perfectly mirrored gesture, studying our formation with those empty eyes. Then it raised its sword, and I felt the temperature around us drop several degrees as killing intent flooded the area.

"Here it comes," Wei Lin breathed.

The copy covered the distance between us in a heartbeat, its sword swept in a horizontal arc designed to bisect all four of us simultaneously, the blade trailing streamers of silver qi that cut through the air itself.

Wu Kangming intercepted the strike with his own blade, the collision sending sparks cascading around them like falling stars. But the copy's follow-up came instantly, a thrust aimed at Wu Kangming's heart that he barely managed to deflect.

I activated Verduring Step, my body dissolving into green light that flowed to a bone-white tree positioned behind the copy. As I rematerialized, thick vines erupted from the ground around the creature's feet, their spiritual energy reinforced by my qi as they sought to entangle its legs.

The copy didn't even look down.

A casual swipe of its free hand sent out a blade of pure sword qi that severed my vines like they were made of paper. The cut ends didn't just fall away, they were completely destroyed, reduced to particles of light that faded into nothingness.

Wei Lin chose that moment to strike, lightning erupting from his palms in a brilliant blue-white bolt that could have punched through a mountain. The copy raised its sword, and the lightning was absorbed into the blade like water into a sponge.

The weapon began to glow with electrical energy, crackling and sparking as it contained power that should have been destructive enough to level a small city.

The copy swung the now electrified blade toward Wei Lin, releasing all that absorbed lightning in a concentrated beam. Wei Lin dove aside, the attack carving a perfectly straight trench through the landscape behind him that stretched for hundreds of yards.

"It can absorb and redirect lightning," Wei Lin called out, rolling to his feet with his robes singed from the near miss. "That's not supposed to be possible with sword cultivation!"

I glanced at Wu Kangming's reaction, and while Wei Lin and Luo Yichen looked genuinely shocked by the copy's ability to absorb lightning, Wu Kangming's expression remained perfectly neutral. Not surprised, not confused, just that same calculating look he always wore when observing a technique he was already familiar with.

Luo Yichen attacked from the copy's blind side, his Mirrorwater Blade creating multiple reflected images of itself as it approached. The technique was designed to confuse opponents about which strike was real, forcing them to defend against several simultaneous attacks.

The copy dealt with this by simply moving faster than the eye could follow. Its sword became a silver blur, parrying each reflected strike with perfect precision before driving the point toward Luo Yichen's chest.

Only Wu Kangming's intervention, his own blade deflecting the thrust at the last possible moment, prevented the younger cultivator from being run through.

The exchange left both Wu Kangming and Luo Yichen off-balance, which the copy immediately exploited.

It spun in place, its sword extended, creating a whirlwind of cutting force that drove us all backward. I felt the edge of the attack catch my shoulder, tearing through my robe and leaving a shallow but painful cut across my upper arm.

"This thing fights like a battle prodigy," I gasped, pressing my hand to the wound to stop the bleeding. "Not just an Elemental Realm cultivator, but one who can fight above his weight class."

And that was the heart of the problem. A typical Elemental Realm cultivator would be powerful but predictable, relying on superior spiritual pressure and refined techniques to overwhelm lower-realm opponents. This copy fought with the kind of tactical brilliance and adaptive thinking that marked true genius.

It was Wu Kangming's talent in an Elemental Realm body, and that combination was proving nearly unstoppable.

Wu Kangming's next attack came without warning, a technique I'd never seen before that seemed to cut through space itself. His sword didn't move through the air so much as appear at his target, reality bending around the blade as it sought the copy's throat.

The copy met this impossible technique with one of its own, and the collision of two space-cutting strikes created a distortion in the air that made my eyes water. For a moment, it looked like the very fabric of reality was tearing around the point where their blades met.

Both fighters were thrown backward by the spatial shockwave, but again, Wu Kangming bore the worst of it. Blood ran from his nose, and his usually perfect stance wavered as he fought to remain upright.

"We need to coordinate," I shouted, channeling qi into the network of plants I'd marked earlier. "Individual attacks aren't working!"

Wei Lin nodded grimly, switching to his fire stall. Flames erupted around his hands, not the wild uncontrolled fire he'd used against the sand creature, but channeled through some technique. "What did you have in mind?"

I was already moving, Verduring Step carrying me to a position behind the copy as massive vines erupted from the ground on all sides. But instead of trying to entangle the creature, I wove them together in a complex pattern, their green energy forming intersecting lines that surrounded the copy's position.

"Qi Disruption Array," I called out, the formation pulsing with light as it took hold. "It can't dodge while trapped in this!"

The copy tested the barriers, its sword striking the vine formations with enough force to make the entire array shudder. But the formation held, spiritual energy flowing through the interconnected plants to maintain its integrity.

"Now!" I yelled.

Wei Lin stepped forward, drawing on every stall in his spiritual marketplace simultaneously. Fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, void, and even his newly formed death stall – all of them contributed power to the attack he was preparing. The energy gathering around him was so intense it made the air itself glow.

"Marketplace Devastation," he announced, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "Everything I've got, all at once."

The attack that erupted from his hands was unlike anything I'd ever seen. It wasn't just one element or technique, it was a fusion of every type of spiritual energy he could command, compressed into a beam of pure destructive force.

The very air caught fire as it passed, and the ground beneath it turned to glass from the sheer heat.

It looked like we'd finally found something that could overwhelm the copy's defenses.

The attack struck dead center, engulfing the creature in a maelstrom of elemental fury that lit up the entire landscape. Steam and smoke filled the air, making it impossible to see the results of our combined assault.

For a moment, I allowed myself to hope that we'd actually won.

Then the smoke cleared.

The duplicate was still there, but something was wrong with its appearance. Instead of Wu Kangming's pale features and white robes, it now looked exactly like Wei Lin. Same height, same build, same confident expression.

And in its hands, instead of a sword, crackling bolts of lightning danced between its fingers.

"You've got to be kidding me," Wei Lin breathed, his most powerful technique had disappeared into what was essentially his own cultivation method.