Chapter 165: The Battle of Top Scholars Amidst the Dream Disaster of a Fallen State

Du Fang had actually guessed at his sister-in-law's special ability before.
Now, however, it was truly confirmed.
This was a special ability of the clone category—
The Myriad Phantasm Clones, capable of possessing countless avatars.
As to how much of the original body's strength the clones could inherit, Du Fang was not entirely certain.

[Myriad Phantasm Clones: The combat power inherited by the clones depends on the number of clones. The greater the number of clones, the weaker their inherited combat power will be. Furthermore, the clones can serve as coordinates, enabling position swapping between the original body and the clones.]

Du Fang looked at the description popping up on his retina,
gaining a rough understanding in his heart.
The more clones there were, the weaker their individual power; that made complete sense.
According to the prompt, the number of clones Du Fang could deploy right now was ten. This was not a small number, meaning that during combat, Du Fang could simultaneously release ten clones.
The impact on battle would naturally be enormous.
However, what Du Fang was curious about was: if all ten clones were summoned at once, how much combat power would they have?

Du Fang stood before the floor-to-ceiling window,
and took out a pencil—an ordinary-looking pencil, yet an extraordinarily terrifying taboo artifact, seemingly entwined with a heart-palpitating curse.
As Du Fang gripped the pen, dream spirits frantically poured into it.
Immediately after,
figure after figure materialized within the room.
Looking at one strikingly handsome and familiar face after another, Du Fang could not help the slight upturn of his lips.
Eleven Du Fangs, looking almost identical.
Every detail was completely identical,
as if they had been duplicated.

This was his sister-in-law's Myriad Phantasm ability, truly a terrifying power.
After summoning the clones, Du Fang was able to confirm that each of the ten clones possessed roughly one-tenth of his combat power.
However, if he changed it to just a single clone, it would possess one hundred percent of his combat power!
The meaning of "the more clones, the weaker the combat power" was abundantly clear.
Du Fang felt not a shred of disappointment, because this ability was already terrifying indeed.
Du Fang could choose to control the clones directly, or he could allow them to act on their own accord.
However, once the dream spirits were exhausted, the clones would directly dissipate, bursting apart like a cluster of ink.

Du Fang was overjoyed, like a child who had received a new toy,
playing endlessly with this clone ability.

......
......

The next day dawned clear and bright.
Without the little assistant to wake him up, Du Fang felt a tiny bit unaccustomed, but it was no big deal.
Pushing open the door to leave the hotel, he found a luxury sedan already parked and waiting for him, arranged by the assistant.
Du Fang got into the car, and the luxury sedan set off, carrying him toward the Dream-Crossing Tower.

Today marked the grand opening of the Top Scholar Tournament.
Naturally, Du Fang had to attend, even though he had long known that the location for this year's tournament had been changed, seemingly shifted by Night Sovereign to the site of that dream disaster.
Still, go he must. He had heard that the opening ceremony involved all sorts of random speeches and the like.
When Du Fang arrived at the Dream-Crossing Tower,
it was far more bustling than usual. Crowds surged in an endless stream,
and a number of ordinary citizens had even gathered spontaneously at the entrance, some holding up banners and others waving posters, all there to support the top scholars of their respective provinces.
Du Fang glanced over and unexpectedly spotted a poster supporting himself amid the crowd.

Entering the Dream-Crossing Tower,
there was no need to take the elevator; everyone was gathered on the first floor.
Du Fang spotted Zhao Lingyin. Today, she looked solemn, carrying the Fire God Spear on her back like a coiled-up little cheetah ready to strike.
Aside from Zhao Lingyin, there were many unfamiliar faces.
These were the top scholars from the various provinces.
Though their features still held a trace of youthfulness, each of them radiated vibrant energy, and their dream spirit auras were quite formidable.
These were the genius dream-crossers of the Great Xia Nation, the pillars of the future.
An air of arrogance rested on everyone's face—the kind of pride justified by genuine capability.

Du Fang's arrival naturally drew the attention of many provincial top scholars.
Caution and solemnity flashed in the eyes of numerous individuals.
The name Du Fang was already like thunder piercing the ears of these provincial top scholars.
Anyone who hadn't heard of Du Fang didn't even deserve to be a provincial top scholar!
The top scholar of Jiangnan Province—a genius who had slain a city-annihilation-class entity and assisted in crushing a national-class one!
He was simply a monstrous existence.
There were even rumors claiming that in a fight between Du Fang and Zhao Lingyin, Zhao Lingyin had been routed!
Who was Zhao Lingyin?
She was a genuine prodigy who had made a name for herself in the imperial capital at a very young age,
having awakened a domain, possessing infinite dream spirits, wielding an immensely powerful spatial-type special ability, and holding the serial taboo artifact, the Fire God Spear...
She was practically scripted to be the number one figure of the younger generation!
Everyone had assumed that the national top scholar title for Great Xia's rookie dream-crossers would undoubtedly belong to Zhao Lingyin.
Yet,
news had leaked out:
Zhao Lingyin had gotten beaten.
Beaten by Du Fang! This simply shocked countless people to the point of disbelief.

As Du Fang stepped onto the first floor of the Dream-Crossing Tower,
countless gazes landed on him.
"So that's Du Fang..."
"He really is handsome, just as handsome as the rumors say!"
"It looks like he's already a city-crossing-class dream-crosser. Are there even a few city-crossing-class folks among the provincial top scholars at this age?"
"I heard he beat Zhao Lingyin, but I firmly believe Zhao Lingyin must have held back. If she went all out, it's hard to say who would beat whom!"
...
Discussions and murmurs drifted in from all directions.
Du Fang, however, remained entirely indifferent to it all.
Zhao Lingyin, on the other hand, lost her composure completely, scanning her surroundings with a look of mingled embarrassment and anger.
Her gaze was so full of murderous intent that it practically screamed:
"None of you had better try to frame me!"

Du Fang turned a blind eye to Zhao Lingyin's little antics and calmly found a seat, sitting down.
The surrounding gazes darting toward him had not the slightest impact on Du Fang.
The crowd quickly quieted down because Night Sovereign had appeared.
Night Sovereign was still wearing that blood-red robe and spectacles, looking refined and approachable.
He swept his gaze over the crowd, finally letting his eyes fall on Du Fang.
He nodded slightly, then broke into a meaningful smile.
The moment Night Sovereign saw Du Fang appear in the Dream-Crossing Tower, he knew what Du Fang's decision was.
Clearly, Du Fang had not chosen to back down; instead, he had chosen to participate in his plan.
For Night Sovereign, this was good news—at least he had someone he could trust, someone capable of entering the gray fog of the dream disaster to pinpoint the fallen god's corpse.

In the time that followed,
Night Sovereign began his address. Standing at the podium, he delivered an impassioned speech.
Down below, the provincial top scholars listened intently, their blood stirred by his words.
Night Sovereign was, after all, a ceiling-level powerhouse of the Great Xia Nation.
Many dream-crossers took him as their goal and idol, and the power of an idol was sometimes unimaginably strong.
Following the speech,
Night Sovereign smiled as he scanned the provincial top scholars present, as well as the various raid squad leaders lingering around the perimeter who were scouting for team members—
including Heavenly Sword, Cao Kong, and others.

"For this year's Rookie Dream-Crosser Invitational Tournament's Top Scholar Tournament, I plan to introduce a little twist. We are dream-crossers, and the meaning of our existence is to ferry the Yin and Yang, and guide people out of dreams."
"Venturing into dream disasters is our primary profession. Therefore, the venue and rules for the upcoming Top Scholar Tournament will undergo a change."
"This year's Top Scholar Tournament will be held within a nation-fall-class dream disaster."
"Surely everyone present has heard of nation-fall-class dream disasters, but you haven't actually stepped into one before... This can also be considered training for you, a rare opportunity to improve yourselves,"
Night Sovereign said with a smile.

The moment his words fell, the rookie top scholars froze.
What did Grand Elder Night Sovereign mean?
Wasn't this year's Top Scholar Tournament going to be held in a sparring format anymore?
Even several captains who had been preparing to recruit these rookie provincial top scholars into their raid squads paused for a moment.
Clearly, the situation for this year's tournament had exceeded their expectations.

"We're going to compete inside a nation-fall-class dream disaster?"
"Isn't that extremely dangerous? Nation-fall-class dream disasters carry immense risk; a moment of carelessness and peril will ensue!"
"How could Grand Elder Night Sovereign make such a decision? This is far too dangerous!"
...
Many raid squad leaders frowned, viewing this decision with utter disfavor.
Even top-tier national-class powerhouses like Heavenly Sword and Cao Kong did not quite agree with it.
After all, these provincial top scholars were very young; they were the future pillars of the Great Xia Nation and exceptionally talented dream-crossers. Given enough time, every single one of them had the chance to grow into city-crossing-class or even national-class powerhouses!
However, if they were to die meaninglessly in a dream disaster just because of a competition,
it would undoubtedly deal a devastating blow to Great Xia's vitality.
The losses would outweigh the gains.

Night Sovereign swept his gaze across the audience, his formidable aura pressing down like a massive weight upon everyone's hearts, including those of the raid squad leaders.
Abruptly,
Heavenly Sword, Cao Kong, and the others stopped voicing objections and attempts at persuasion.
Because whatever they could think of, Night Sovereign certainly had considered as well.
Night Sovereign probably cherished these rookie provincial top scholars even more than they did and would not allow these youngsters to come to harm.
Therefore, Night Sovereign must have prepared a backup plan.

"Alright, everything that needs to be said has been said. Now I am giving you a choice."
"If you are terrified of the nation-fall-class dream disaster, you can choose to withdraw right now and not participate in this Top Scholar Tournament. Of course, that also means you forfeit your qualification to contend for the national top scholar title."
"Now, those who wish to quit can turn around and walk out of the Dream-Crossing Tower. I will not stop any of you."
"Rest assured, no one will mock you either. This is not cowardice; it is a choice... When you are weak, choosing not to court danger is a very wise decision. I support that choice."

With that, Night Sovereign's gaze swept over all the young people.
The atmosphere grew tense and dense.
When the power of choice rested in the hands of every single rookie dream-crosser,
a wave of nervous tension spread through everyone's heart.
Even some of the raid squad leaders furrowed their brows tightly.
The ground floor of the Dream-Crossing Tower was utterly silent.
It seemed as though only the breathing of every rookie dream-crosser remained, and through their breath, one could seemingly glimpse their internal hesitation.
Some clenched their fists, only to slowly relax them again.
Some breathed heavily, doubt flickering in their eyes.
Of course, there were also those like Du Fang, who remained calm and collected,
and Zhao Lingyin, who held her head high like a little swan.

Time ticked away second by second.
As the pointer leaped past the final second,
Night Sovereign looked at the young, vibrant faces below—every single one of them wearing a resolute expression, choosing neither to leave nor to retreat.
He adjusted his spectacles,
a brilliant smile blossoming from the very depths of his heart.

*(Publisher's Note: Seeking monthly votes and recommendation votes!)*