I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

The seventh layer, the "Cyclical Chain".

Clearance condition: Sever the causal link between you and your "enemy of fate".

Each person who enters will be assigned a "fateful enemy".

This enemy possesses the exact same skills as you, but without AI control; it only exhibits instinctive combat reactions.

You must sever the invisible "causal line" between the two of them while killing them.

Li Wu's nemesis is a mirror image of himself that is exactly the same as him.

But this time, there wasn't a complete set of ten mirror images; there was only one.

"Not again?" Seeing his destined nemesis, Chasing Wind felt a chill run down his spine. "Why is it another mirror image?"

"It's different," Hua Zitong explained. "This time, it's not a competition of skills, but a competition of understanding cause and effect. The thread of cause and effect is the bond that connects two opposing laws. To sever it, what's needed is not strength, but understanding."

Li Wu looked at his mirror image opposite him, fully activating his sense of destiny.

In his perception, there was indeed an extremely thin thread between the two of them, emitting a pale golden light.

The silk thread was constantly undulating, as if it were alive.

"Cause and effect..." Li Wu pondered for a moment.

Cause and effect are the most fundamental connections between all things.

Cause leads to effect, and effect originates from cause. To sever cause and effect means to cut off this connection.

But he cannot use brute force to cut it.

Cause and effect are matters of the law level, not the physical level.

Li Wu drew his bow, and two secret runes appeared on the bowstring: 【Fate】 + 【Absolute】.

"缘" means connection, and "绝" means severance.

The arrow was shot, but instead of flying towards the mirror image, it flew towards the line of cause and effect!

The golden thread was struck by the arrow, instantly taut, and then...

Snapped!

broken.

The moment the causal thread shattered, the mirror image on the other side seemed to lose its foundation of existence, its body began to become transparent, and finally turned into light spots and dissipated.

"Passed."

Zhui Feng stared in disbelief: "It's that simple?"

"If you have a deep enough understanding of the law of causality, it's simple." Li Wu put away his bow. "If you only know how to attack with brute force, even if you kill the mirror image, the causal thread will not be broken, and you will be trapped here forever."

The following eighth, ninth, and tenth levels each test the application of laws in different dimensions.

The eighth level, the "Mirror Maze," required finding the real exit among countless mirrors. Li Wu used a combination of [Break] and [Illusion] to directly shatter all the false mirror images.

The ninth layer, "Elemental Balance," requires maintaining a balance among the four elements: fire, ice, lightning, and wind. Li Wu used three arrows—[Balance], [Flow], and [Rotation]—to create a dynamically balanced elemental cycle.

The tenth level, "Sea of ​​Will," requires one to remain conscious amidst endless mental interference.

There are no monsters on this floor, only a constant stream of illusions and fear.

An ordinary player with strong willpower might be able to tough it out, but Li Wu chose a more direct path.

He used the combination of [knowledge] + [anchor] + [determination] to create an "anchor of will" in his own mental sea, which could not be shaken by any external interference.

After clearing the tenth floor, everyone returned to the rest area.

Caesar's Heavenly Punishment Guild had just cleared the tenth floor, and the group was in a sorry state. Iron Wall even needed Banxia to cast a healing spell on him before he could barely stand up.

Seeing that Li Wu and the others had been waiting for a long time, Caesar's expression became even more unpleasant.

"How did you get here so quickly?" he couldn't help but ask.

"You'll get used to it," Li Wu replied casually.

Caesar gritted his teeth and said nothing more.

For the first time, he truly felt that the gap between himself and Li Wu was no longer a difference in level or equipment, but a difference in understanding.

Li Wu looked at the teleportation array leading to the eleventh floor, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

What follows should be even more interesting.

The eleventh level, "Law Repulsion Field".

Passing condition: Survive and reach the exit in a space where three different laws apply simultaneously.

As soon as Li Wu stepped into this floor, he felt three completely different forces pressing down on him at the same time.

Space is distorted, gravity is disordered, and the flow of time is uneven. These three laws repel and collide with each other in the same space, forming an extremely unstable region.

"What the hell is this place?!" As soon as Zhui Feng landed, he was thrown away by a spatial distortion force, crashed into the wall, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Be careful! The three laws are interfering with each other!" Hua Zitong shouted a warning.

Li Wu's perception of destiny instantly captured the laws and structure of this space.

The three laws are like three raging dragons, tearing each other apart in the same territory.

Each collision generates a deadly energy storm.

"We can't force our way in." Li Wu quickly analyzed, "The three laws are mutually exclusive. If we are affected by all three laws at the same time, our bodies will collapse directly."

"What should we do then?"

"Find the resonance point." A glint flashed in Li Wu's eyes. "Although the three laws are mutually exclusive, they can resonate briefly at certain specific locations."

"At the point of resonance, the three laws will temporarily reach a balance and will not interfere with each other."

He drew his bow, and three secret characters—[Knowledge], [Law], and [Balance]—condensed on the bowstring.

This is a new combination he comprehended after the tenth level, used to analyze and balance complex legal structures.

The arrow was shot out, but instead of flying towards any target, it exploded in the air, turning into countless tiny points of light, spreading across the entire space like a large net.

The light spots fell in different locations, some bright and some dark.

"The bright spots are the resonance points!" Li Wu shouted. "Follow the light!"

Everyone immediately sprang into action.

Guided by Li Wu, they navigated the gaps between the three laws, each step precisely landing on a point of resonance.

Even so, the situation was still fraught with danger.

Once, a resonance point suddenly disappeared, and the immovable mountain was almost torn apart by the spatial distortion force, but fortunately the steel shield pulled him back in time.

"The laws governing this layer are constantly changing!" Hua Zitong exclaimed, "The location of the resonance point is also shifting!"

"I know." Li Wu adjusted the distribution of the arrow's light spots as he moved. "Keep following the brightest points."

Finally, they managed to cross the law's repulsion field with great difficulty.

The moment they cleared the level, everyone was exhausted.

"This is only the eleventh floor..." Zhui Feng gasped for breath, "There are still seventy-eight floors to go. I'm going to die here."

"Stop talking nonsense and continue." Li Wu looked at the entrance to the twelfth floor.

The twelfth layer, the "Concept Contamination Zone".

Clearance condition: Purify the area contaminated by the "Conceptual Curse" and restore normal law and order.

The entire space on this floor was shrouded in a black mist.

The fog is not just ordinary poisonous fog or a curse, but a "conceptual pollution" that is changing the fundamental definition of space.

For example, in this region, the definition of "up and down" is reversed, the definition of "front and back" is blurred, and even the definition of "existence" becomes unstable.

"What...what the hell is this?!" Zhui Feng felt like he'd been thrown into a twisted nightmare. "I can't even tell which way is which!"

Li Wu closed his eyes, and his perception of destiny was fully activated.

He discovered that at the heart of this pollution was a black sphere suspended in the center of space.

The sphere continuously emitted ripples of distorted concepts, polluting the entire space.

"We must destroy that core." Li Wu pointed to the black sphere. "But the problem is, with the concept distorted, our attack itself will also be distorted."

"What should we do then?"

"Use a more advanced concept to cover up the distorted one." A cold glint flashed in Li Wu's eyes.

He drew his bow, and five secret characters—【New】, 【Law】, 【Absolute】, 【Knowledge】, and 【Balance】—condensed on the bowstring.

This is a five-character combination he created on the spot, the effect of which is to "reset the definition of concepts within the area".

The arrow was shot out, heading straight for the black sphere.

However, during flight, the arrow itself was also affected by conceptual contamination, and its trajectory began to become distorted.

"No!" Hua Zitong shouted, "The arrows are contaminated too!"

Li Wu remained unmoved. He had anticipated this situation.

"So I didn't just shoot one arrow." He raised his hand, and the second arrow was already formed: [Break] + [Illusion] + [Fake] + [Real] + [Anchor].

The second arrow was fired and caught up with the first.

The two arrows collided in mid-air, bursting into a dazzling light. The first arrow was responsible for "resetting the concept," while the second arrow was responsible for "anchoring to reality."

The combined effects of the two arrows created a "concept purification wave" unaffected by conceptual contamination.

The purification wave struck the black sphere!

The sphere trembled violently, and the black mist on its surface began to dissipate. The distorted conceptual definitions within the space gradually returned to normal.

"It works!" Chasing Wind shouted.

But the sphere wasn't destroyed; it was only temporarily suppressed. It began frantically releasing more polluting energy, attempting to warp space again.

"It's resisting!" Hua Zitong said.

Li Wu's eyes turned cold.

He drew his bow, and this time, seven secret characters condensed on the bowstring: [New] + [Law] + [Absolute] + [Knowledge] + [Balance] + [Break] + [Anchor].

This is the maximum combination he can consistently perform well with at the moment, and it is also the "conceptual purification arrow" he has prepared for this situation.

The arrow was fired, carrying enough power to purify the entire space, and struck the black sphere.

boom!

The sphere shattered, and the black mist receded like a tide. The entire concept of space was completely reset in an instant.

"Passed."

From the thirteenth to the fifteenth floor, the rules become increasingly complex and the difficulty increases.

The thirteenth layer, the "Maze of Cause and Effect," requires finding the correct one among countless causal lines. Li Wu used the combination of [Fate] + [Knowledge] + [Law] to directly perceive the direction of all causal lines.

The fourteenth level, the "Elemental Furnace," requires survival amidst the seven elements of fire, ice, lightning, wind, earth, light, and darkness. Li Wu used five arrows—[Balance], [Flow], [Transformation], [Domain], and [Constancy]—to create a balanced field of the seven elements.

The fifteenth layer, the "Time Corridor," requires finding a node to "break out of the loop" in the constantly looping timeline. Li Wu used a combination of [Constant] + [Dimension] + [Anchor] + [New] + [Absolute] to create a "Time Law Anchor Point," thus extricating himself from the loop.

On each floor, Li Wu was constantly creating new combinations of arrow signals.

His grammatical intuition became increasingly refined, and his understanding of the cryptic texts improved rapidly.

Li Wu smiled slightly; this tower was practically a training ground tailor-made for him.

Rest area.

Caesar's Heavenly Punishment Guild is still struggling on the twelfth floor.

Although they were also max-level powerhouses, they were clearly outmatched when faced with a trial that required an understanding of the laws.

"He...he's already reached the fifteenth floor?" Silverwing's voice trembled slightly as he looked at Li Wu's progress displayed on the system.

Caesar remained silent. For the first time, he truly understood what "dimensional reduction attack" meant.

Li Wu stood in front of the entrance to the sixteenth floor and took a deep breath.

The third phase will likely present even greater challenges.

But he was looking forward to it.