The moment Jason Wu lunged, the throne hall split in sound, like two identical blades scraping against each other in the void.
Because that's exactly what this was.
Jason Wu.Versus the Jason Wu that should have replaced him.
A rule-made echo.A correction.A perfect, Administrator-approved version of himself.
Longwu Sword vibrated like a furious hornet nest in Jason's grip.
["Reminder: if he kills you, I refuse to serve him. I'll haunt him instead."]
"Comforting," Jason muttered back.
THE FIRST CLASH
Jason swung first—clean, sharp, with that slightly chaotic footwork he used back in Chapter 8 when he tripped Lan Yuren by accident.
His shadow-self copied him perfectly.
They clashed—BOOM!
A shockwave tore the hall apart.
Fragments of memory-stone spiraled like feathers made of broken time.
Lan Yuren shielded Wei Qing with his arm. "Their movements… they're the same."
Wei Qing whispered, "No. Look carefully. Jason is improvising… the other one is optimizing."
And she was right.
Jason struck with instinct.The shadow struck with calculation.
Same stance.Same muscle.Same reaction time.
But the intention was different.
Jason twisted midair and slashed down.
The shadow preempted the angle—blocked—countered with a palm strike aimed at Jason's ribs.
Jason rolled back, breath knocked out.
"Ow—okay, he hits like my senior-instructor after I accidentally set his lunch on fire."
Longwu clicked metaphorical fingers.
["Fight stupid."]
Jason blinked. "What?"
["He's you if you were competent. So be the you that annoys people."]
"…You mean me?"
["Exactly."]
Jason grinned.
FIGHTING LIKE AN IDIOT (STRATEGICALLY)
Shadow-Jason dashed forward—fast enough to blur.
Jason raised Longwu—then dropped it.
Literally dropped.
The sword hit the floor with a loud clank.
The shadow froze for 0.01 seconds—not understanding.
Jason used those 0.01 seconds.
He ducked, rolled under the shadow's guard, and kicked him square in the shin.
"GOTCHA!"
Wei Qing choked. "Jason!? You just—kicked yourself!?"
Lan Yuren: "…Beautiful. I mean—wrong, but beautiful."
The shadow staggered back, recalibrating.
It tilted its head.
"Your combat pattern is… corrupted."
Jason smirked. "Nah. It's called being unpredictable."
Longwu corrected him:
["No. It's called being you."]
The shadow lunged again, this time with an Administrator sequence—a flowing, rule-coded martial form that burned white across its arms.
Jason narrowly dodged.
"Whoa—was that cosmic legal paperwork martial arts?!"
"Correction pattern: enforced."The shadow rushed again.
Jason braced. "Okay, that one actually scares me."
THE SHARD INTERFERES
As the shadow slashed, the golden shard embedded in Jason's palm pulsed tremulously.
A thin layer of distorted light shielded his ribs—the Administrator-correction strike skidded off.
Jason stared at his hand.
"So you are trying to help?"
The shard flickered like a nervous cat.
Longwu muttered:
["Don't get attached. It's literally just a memory fragment with abandonment issues."]
The shadow assessed the new development.
"Unapproved inheritance detected.Source: The First Lie."
Jason stepped back. "Bro, stop narrating your scans. It's creepy."
The shadow's head twitched.
"Emotional variance detected.You are inefficient."
Jason grinned wider.
"Good. Efficiency is overrated."
He spun Longwu.
"Let's get even more inefficient."
JASON UNLEASHES CHAOS
Jason sprinted—not in a straight line, but weaving like a drunk duck violently arguing with gravity.
The shadow mirrored at first—then faltered.
Trying to optimize chaos is like trying to discipline a tornado.
Jason leapt off a fractured chunk of throne-stone, rebounded, then kicked another stone into the shadow's face.
The shadow caught the stone easily—but that wasn't Jason's goal.
He used the moment of catch to slip behind it and slam Longwu into its spine.
CRACK!
The shadow jerked forward.
Wei Qing gasped. "He landed it!"
Lan Yuren exhaled. "The disorder is working."
But the shadow… wasn't slowing down.
Its body twisted, joints rotating at unnatural angles, Administrator glyphs lighting up along its limbs.
Jason felt his stomach tighten."Okay… that's not me anymore."
Longwu whispered:
["That's you… without any of the things that make you you."]
Jason's grin faded.
"…Then I definitely can't let it replace me."
THE SHADOW ADAPTS
The shadow blazed forward—faster now.
Each step shattered the floor.
"Optimization update:Chaos adaptation activated."
Jason's eyes widened.
"Oh come on—he can download my stupidity!?"
Longwu snapped:
["THEN BE EVEN DUMBER!"]
Lan Yuren coughed. "Are… are we really encouraging this?"
Wei Qing whispered, "It's the only way."
THE SECOND STAGE OF IDIOCY
Jason opened his stance—
And started talking.
Not trash-talking.
Talking.
"HEY! DID I EVER TELL YOU ABOUT THE TIME I ACCIDENTALLY SCAMMED TWO BANDIT CLANS BY SELLING THEM THE SAME MAP!? BASICALLY—"
The shadow flinched.
"Auditory overload detected."
Jason kept going louder:
"AND THEN LEON THOUGHT I SUMMONED A DRAGON BUT IT WAS JUST A CAMOUFLAGED COW WITH HORNS—"
Lan Yuren, whispering: "He's weaponizing his storytelling."
Wei Qing: "Honestly… effective."
The shadow, desperate, charged blindly to shut him up.
Jason smirked.
He slammed Longwu upward with a reckless, borderline suicidal angle.
BOOM!
The shadow flew back, smashing into a broken pillar.
Longwu hummed proudly.
["I hate your storytelling. But wow, it works."]
BUT THE SHADOW ISN'T DEFEATED
Smoke filled the hall.
A figure stepped out.
The shadow's body cracked—Administrator runes crawling like insects.
But it was evolving.
Repairing.
Hardening.
Wei Qing's face paled. "It… it won't stop."
Lan Yuren's voice tightened. "Jason, if you don't end it soon—"
"I know."
Jason tightened his grip on Longwu.
The shadow lifted its head.
"Final correction routine initiated."
Its hand reshaped—into a blade.A perfect Longwu replica.
Jason felt rage crack through his chest.
"Oh hell no. Only I get to hold my sword badly."
Longwu shrieked:
["HE COPIED ME!? THAT—THAT CHEAP IKEA KNOCKOFF—KILL HIM!"]
Jason surged forward.
THE FINAL COLLISION — CHAOS VS PERFECTION
Jason didn't dodge this time.
He met the shadow head-on.
Longwu screamed in fury.
The fake blade screeched in return.
Metal clashed.Qi clashed.Rules clashed.
But Jason had something the shadow never would—
Lan Yuren's voice in his memory.Wei Qing's worried expression.Lily's laughter from the past.Leon's annoying shouting.Seniors. Juniors. Masters. Foes. Friends.
Memories of being human.
Flawed.Chaotic.Unoptimized.
Jason roared:
"YOU CAN COPY MY MOVES—BUT YOU CAN'T COPY MY PEOPLE!"
Longwu blazed gold.
The shard flared bright white.
Jason poured everything into one reckless, stupid, glorious strike—
And the shadow shattered.
Like glass dropped from heaven.
Silence.
Then—
Longwu exhaled.
["…I told you being dumb was your greatest power."]
Jason collapsed onto his back, chest heaving.
Lan ran over. "Jason!"
Wei Qing knelt beside him. "Are you hurt?"
Jason raised a thumbs-up.
"Nope. Just emotionally offended he copied my sword."
The shard in his palm dimmed…but didn't vanish.
Jason stared at it.
"…The first lie wasn't just about ascension.It was about what they expected me to become."
Longwu hummed.
["Cold. Efficient. Replaceable."]
Jason sat up.
"I'm none of that."
["Exactly."]