The dark shadow rose from the cracked jade, swirling like black smoke. Slowly, it took shape—an exact copy of Li Ming… but with an evil grin.

Its hair stood up like it lost a fight with lightning, and its eyes glowed red.

Bai Guo gulped. "Descendant… did you… eat something weird? Why does that thing look like you after failing your math test?"

Li Ming pointed his sword. "Shut up! That's not me! That's… Evil Me!"

Evil Li Ming sneered. "Close enough. I'm everything you tried to hide—your laziness, your chaos, your bun addiction!"

Li Ming gasped. "HOW DARE YOU MENTION THE BUNS!"

The shadow laughed maniacally. "Face it. You're a joke. A clown with a sword!"

Li Ming's eyebrow twitched. "Clown? No no no… clowns have plans. I have instinct!"

Bai Guo flapped his wings nervously. "Descendant, maybe… uh… you two should talk this out?"

Li Ming shook his head. "You can't reason with evil. Especially not evil with my face!"

The clone stepped forward. "Prepare to lose… to yourself!"

Li Ming puffed his chest. "Ha! Joke's on you. I already lose to myself every morning!"

The clone blinked. "Wait—what?"

Too late. Li Ming charged.

Their swords clashed in a burst of golden and crimson Qi, each strike shaking the ground. They were mirror images—every move matched, every block countered.

It was like watching two idiots try to outsmart each other.

"Take this!" Evil Ming shouted, unleashing a dark shockwave.

Li Ming countered with a glowing spiral slash. "And you take this!"

The two waves met midair—BOOM!

Smoke filled the clearing.

Bai Guo peeked through his feathers. "Are you both… dead?"

Two voices shouted at once: "I'm fine!"

The smoke cleared. Both Lis stood with messed-up hair, pointing swords.

Evil Ming scoffed. "You're predictable."

Li Ming smirked. "You're predictable-er."

Bai Guo sighed. "That's not a word."

Li Ming ignored him. "Listen, you bunless fraud, I'll beat you with the one thing you can't copy—my stupidity!"

Evil Ming raised an eyebrow. "That's… actually true."

Li Ming grinned. "Exactly!"

He dashed forward, feinted left, rolled right, tripped over a rock, spun midair, accidentally kicked a branch—

BONK!

The branch hit Evil Ming in the face.

Everyone froze.

Li Ming blinked. "I… meant to do that."

Bai Guo screamed, "He actually hit him!"

Evil Ming rubbed his face, glaring. "You clumsy fool!"

Li Ming shrugged. "Accident or destiny? You decide."

The clone roared and rushed him again, swinging wildly. Li Ming ducked under each blow, letting his instincts—and sheer dumb luck—guide him.

He spun, blocked, and sent a light kick to the clone's chest. Evil Ming staggered back.

"Impossible," he growled. "You shouldn't be able to beat me!"

Li Ming pointed dramatically. "You're wrong! You might have my power, my face, and my hairstyle—but you don't have one thing…"

Evil Ming frowned. "And what's that?"

Li Ming smirked. "Bai Guo!"

Bai Guo gasped. "Wait—me?!"

Li Ming nodded. "Yup. Attack!"

The chicken panicked. "Descendant, I can't fight!"

Li Ming grinned wider. "I know! Distract him!"

Before Bai Guo could protest, Li Ming grabbed him and threw him straight at the clone.

"BAWK—!!!"

Evil Ming looked up in confusion. "What—"

SMACK!

Bai Guo slammed into the clone's face, feathers everywhere.

Li Ming took the chance, dashing forward with his sword glowing gold. "Secret Technique—Chicken-Boosted Punch!"

BAM!

The clone went flying into a tree, smoke rising from the impact.

Li Ming landed with a pose. "See that? That's called teamwork!"

Bai Guo stumbled up, dizzy. "Next time warn me before you throw me like a cannonball!"

Li Ming patted him. "Don't worry, your aim's perfect!"

The dust cleared again. Evil Ming stood, cracking his neck, a faint smile on his face.

"You think this is over?" he said darkly. "You forgot… I'm you."

Li Ming frowned. "So?"

Evil Ming raised a hand. "That means… I can do this."

He closed his eyes, and a wave of energy pulsed out.

Golden Qi.

The same Qi Li Ming used.

Only stronger.

Bai Guo's eyes widened. "Uh oh… he's unlocking your next stage!"

Li Ming blinked. "WHAT?! That's cheating!"

Evil Ming smirked. "You always say that when you're losing."

The clone's power doubled, his sword glowing brighter. "Now… let's see how you handle a real fight."

The ground shook as Evil Ming charged, his blade slicing the air like lightning.

Li Ming braced himself, sweat dripping. "Alright… now it's serious."

He tightened his grip. "No more playing around."

Bai Guo flapped wildly. "Descendant! He's stronger than you! You can't win!"

Li Ming smiled. "Maybe… but if he's me… then he's also stupid."

He planted his feet. The two Lis charged at each other—

Swords drawn.

Qi blazing.

Both shouting—

"HAHHHHHH!!!"

The ground cracked, air boomed, and—

CRAAASH!

The entire clearing exploded in a flash of gold and red light—

And when the dust cleared…

Only one Li Ming was left standing.

He looked down, breathing hard. "Ha… I did it…"

Bai Guo stumbled closer. "You… you won?"

Li Ming smiled faintly. "Of course… I—"

CRACK!

A shadowy hand burst from the ground and grabbed his leg.

Li Ming froze. "Oh no… not again."

The voice echoed from below.

> "You can't destroy me, Li Ming… I'm your weakness…"

Li Ming's eyes went wide.

Bai Guo screamed, "DESCENDANT!!!"

The ground beneath them split open—

And both Li Ming and Bai Guo were dragged into the darkness!

----

Li Ming's feet slipped as the ground disappeared beneath him.

"WHOA!" he shouted, flailing.

Bai Guo flapped desperately, claws scraping against the air. "Descendant! Hold onto something!"

But there was nothing to hold. One moment, they were standing on solid ground; the next, they were falling into a swirling void.

"Great. This is definitely worse than the time I fought that chicken!" Li Ming groaned.

A strange glow formed below. They landed—not on the ground—but on a floor made entirely of floating teacups.

Li Ming blinked. "Teacups? Really? Who made this place? Some kind of… shadow tea party?"

Bai Guo flapped nervously. "Descendant… maybe don't ask questions!"

From the swirling shadows around them, a voice echoed:

> "Welcome… to your inner maze, Li Ming. Here, everything you fear… and everything you ignore… comes alive."

Li Ming adjusted his sword. "Oh, great. I'm fighting myself again… but inside a tea party?"

Suddenly, the shadow around them twisted, and dozens of mirror versions of Li Ming popped out of the darkness.

"This is bad," Bai Guo muttered. "Very, very bad."

Li Ming looked at them carefully. Each mirror copy had a different expression: angry, sad, hungry, lazy… one even had a tiny bun in hand.

"Uh… hello?" Li Ming called out. "Do you guys want to… fight?"

The angry clone stepped forward. "Fight? I am you! You've embarrassed me enough already!"

Li Ming scratched his head. "Embarrassed you? Really? I mean… okay, maybe that one time I tripped over a rock…"

The clone roared. "STOP MAKING EXCUSES!"

Before Li Ming could reply, a lazy clone yawned. "Or… maybe we just nap instead?"

Bai Guo clutched his feathers. "Descendant, can you deal with all these personalities at once?!"

Li Ming took a deep breath. "Alright… time to get creative."

He jumped onto a floating teacup and swung his sword in wide arcs. Each strike didn't hit the clones directly—instead, it sent shockwaves of golden Qi spinning around.

The clones bounced off the waves like bowling pins, landing in piles, groaning, and getting back up.

One clone, wearing sunglasses for some reason, threw a banana. Li Ming ducked, spinning midair. "Why do you even have a banana?"

Bai Guo groaned. "This is insanity…"

Li Ming grinned. "Exactly. My specialty."

He closed his eyes briefly, centering his Qi. "Alright… let's see how my inner chaos reacts to organized chaos."

Suddenly, the shadows shifted. The teacups became a spinning carousel, floating higher and higher. The clones began to multiply faster than Li Ming could track.

"Bai Guo, brace yourself!"

Bai Guo squawked, flapping like crazy. "I'm braced! Sort of… ish!"

Li Ming dashed between clones, flipping, dodging, and accidentally kicking one into another. Each collision sent a mini explosion of shadow energy.

"This is… actually working!" Li Ming shouted.

The angry clone, dizzy and cross-eyed, pointed. "Enough! I will crush you with my ultimate attack!"

A dark spiral of shadow Qi formed above it, ready to smash Li Ming.

Li Ming grinned, whispering to himself: "Time for… the secret move no clone can predict."

He tripped on a teacup.

WHAM!

He rolled under the attack. The spiral of shadow energy shot past him and… hit another clone squarely.

"Accidental genius strike!" Li Ming shouted.

Bai Guo fainted mid-air. "Descendant… that was insane… or stupid… maybe both!"

Li Ming dusted himself off, energy glowing. "Both is the new smart."

The clones groaned, getting back up slowly. "No! This is impossible! You're cheating!"

Li Ming smiled. "Not cheating… just very good at pretending!"

Suddenly, the floor beneath them shifted. Teacups fell away, revealing a massive pit of shadow energy.

Li Ming's eyes widened. "Uh-oh… that's new."

From the depths, a glowing red hand shot up and grabbed one of the clones. It pulled it down with a scream.

"Descendant… is that… your… shadow… strength?" Bai Guo stammered.

Li Ming gulped. "I… hope not."

The hand surged higher, cracking the walls of the inner maze.

> "Li Ming… you've fought bravely… but your heart is not ready."

Li Ming froze. "Not ready? I've survived explosions, mirrors, and even a flying chicken!"

The shadow hand surged closer. Its fingers stretched toward him like black lightning.

Li Ming's grip tightened on his sword. His Qi flared brighter than ever, golden and calm.

"I'm ready. Bring it on!"

The shadow's crimson eyes locked onto him…

And with a deafening roar, it lunged.

To be continued...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.