The Attrition of a Fiendgod Clone

“A pity that I still haven’t truly gained the acknowledgment of the estate’s spirit.” Understanding this, Ji Ning realized why the yellow-furred bear kept so many secrets from him, forcing him to risk his life in these trials. If he died during the tempering… then he would die, just like Celestial Immortal Juhua and Lei Zhan had died. The estate spirit would simply wait for the next master. Even that Daofather Threelives had said that only when Ji Ning became a ‘True God’ would he be considered his disciple. Clearly, Ji Ning’s current strength was not yet sufficient.

“That makes sense. The stronger you are, the more attention you receive. Compared to when I first met the estate spirit, he’s much friendlier to me now.” Ji Ning clearly remembered that the first time he had seen the yellow-furred bear, the bear hadn’t paid him much attention at all.

These thoughts flashed through Ji Ning’s mind in an instant, then he suppressed them.

No more overthinking!

What mattered most now was defeating this Fiendgod clone before him!

“I’ve heard that some powerful Fiendgods can pluck a single hair and transform it into a clone.” Ji Ning stared at the distant golden-armored general, speaking in a loud voice. “But according to legend, a clone formed from a single hair is incomparably weak… I imagine your clone is quite weak as well.”

The golden-armored general’s expression shifted slightly. Ji Ning had struck a nerve. Yes, this clone of his was formed from just a sliver of divine power; even the weapon in his hand was conjured from divine power.

In terms of raw divine body, this clone was actually weaker than Ji Ning!

However…

His level of Dao comprehension was far higher.

“If my true self came, I could blow you into dust with a single breath!” The golden-armored general’s eyes held pride. “Even though this is just a clone condensed from a sliver of divine power—the weakest type of clone—it is more than enough to deal with you. Hmph!”

“Blow me into dust with a single breath. It seems his true self is indeed terrifyingly powerful. No wonder I felt such a strong sense of threat from him. I suspect the vague threat I sensed came from his true body.” Ji Ning made a mental note.

Ji Ning willed it.

Boom!

Seals of soul-suppression were activated within his sea of consciousness. Divine sense, using the soul-suppression seals as its nexus, surged outward like a tidal wave, rolling directly toward the golden-armored general.

“Boom~~” The surging divine sense crashed against the general like waves against a hard reef. Though the divine sense was vast, it was no match for the reef’s hardness.

“Haha, divine sense?” The golden-armored general shook his head disdainfully. “The sliver of divine power in me contains an equally minuscule sliver of soul, but its quality is far higher than yours. Even if your divine sense were ten times stronger, you couldn’t shake me, boy. Use whatever tricks you have. Don’t complain that I didn’t give you a chance when you lose.”

The golden-armored general appeared arrogant, but he was actually quite cautious.

He was equally curious and wary of this legendary place. “The legendary residence of a Fiendgod… why send me to deal with such a weak little child? What is his connection to the Fiendgod? His soul is quite strong though. He hasn’t even reached the Primal level, yet his soul is already this powerful.”

Though he was powerful himself, he had to look up to the legendary Fiendgod with reverence. A single glance from that one-armed Fiendgod could probably annihilate him.

Ji Ning found the golden-armored general mysterious.

The golden-armored general found Ji Ning equally mysterious.

“I could have sent a construct to fight you,” the yellow-furred bear said with interest. “But since you truly have the potential to inherit my master’s legacy and one day roam the Three Realms… I’ll let you touch upon some deeper matters in advance.”

Allowing Ji Ning to glimpse these secrets would only ignite a stronger desire within him to grow stronger.

“Grow strong.”

“It has been far too long since I last encountered those ancient, powerful beings.” The yellow-furred bear was also filled with longing. He had been lonely for far too long.

Within the third level of the War God Hall.

Ji Ning was rapidly formulating a plan. “He is a weak clone of a powerful existence. His advantage lies in his extremely high level of Dao comprehension. His weakness is that he is formed from just a sliver of divine power. Cut off from his true body, he is like water without a source—his divine power cannot be regenerated.”

The art of war required using one’s strengths against the enemy’s weaknesses!

“Drain his divine power!” Ji Ning immediately made his move.

Swoosh!

Instead of charging forward, he rapidly retreated to widen the distance. At the same time, over seven hundred flying swords appeared around him. He infused his late-Wanxiang level Ki into each sword, causing them all to hum and tremble slightly. After his breakthrough in Dao comprehension, the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation was noticeably easier to control.

“The ninth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.” A jade-like flying sword condensed before Ji Ning.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

One jade flying sword after another materialized, flying rapidly toward the distant golden-armored general.

“This sword formation is somewhat profound. A pity the one using it is far too weak.” The golden-armored general held his two great hammers, strolling forward leisurely. But each of his steps seemed to teleport him hundreds of feet, making him faster than Ji Ning’s Windwing Evasion.

“Water-Fire Lotus.”

Ji Ning used his divided mind.

He controlled the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation with one stream of thought and unleashed the Water-Fire Lotus with the other.

Blooming lotuses appeared around the golden-armored general, their enormous petals frantically binding and influencing his movements.

“Troublesome.” The golden-armored general frowned. He smashed one of his hammers forward, sending out rippling shockwaves that shattered the lotus petals layer by layer until the whole Water-Fire Lotus was destroyed.

“Only one lotus destroyed?” The golden-armored general was secretly alarmed.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The jade sword-light flew in, like brushstrokes on a canvas. They were simple, unadorned, and restrained—yet they filled the golden-armored general with extreme wariness. “Sword Dao… and such a fierce, terrifying swordsmanship.”

Clang! The golden-armored general wielded his pair of hammers, blocking Ji Ning’s sword-light. Each time he parried, the hammers trembled violently. After all, these hammers were merely condensed from divine power, not true magic treasures.

Clang!

Facing the Water-Fire Lotus imbued with cold-sha and earthfire, and facing the countless sword-lights of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, the golden-armored general found himself in a flurry.

Back in the Mount Yujue Wasteland, the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation had been inferior to Ji Ning’s close combat. But after his breakthrough from early-Wanxiang to late-Wanxiang back at the Black-White College, the increase in his Ki had elevated the formation’s power by two full levels. Now, it was very close to his close-combat strength.

“Despite being such a weak clone, he can still withstand all my attacks.” Ji Ning’s face hardened. His Northsea swords vanished, replaced by a massive black bow.

This black bow was an Earth-ranked flying-arrow treasure. It was of ordinary quality, lacking any special enhancements.

Legendary divine bows were hard to come by.

But…

This Earth-ranked divine bow was more than enough to fully unleash Ji Ning’s physical strength.

“Starseizing Hand!” Ji Ning activated the Starseizing Hand instantly. One hand gripped the bow, the other pulled the string. The arrow was nocked…

Whoosh.

The bowstring was drawn to its full crescent.

Ji Ning’s eyes were like lightning as he stared into the distance. Drawing and shooting a bow required very little mental energy—it consumed mostly divine power! Thus, Ji Ning could simultaneously shoot arrows while controlling the Water-Fire Lotus and the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.

Swish!

A streak of arrow-light flashed across the void, arriving before the golden-armored general in an instant.

“Not good!” The golden-armored general was greatly alarmed. This arrow was even faster than the sword-light of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. He hurriedly blocked.

Boom!

The great hammer in his hand trembled violently, cracks appearing on it before quickly reforming. The golden-armored general was sent stumbling back several steps.

The might of a bow and arrow… it gathered all of one’s power into a single arrow. In terms of instantaneous burst, it was naturally even stronger than Ji Ning’s close combat. The weakness of arrows, however, was their lack of flexibility. If the enemy could dodge, the arrow was wasted.

But Ji Ning and the golden-armored general were only a few hundred feet apart! With Ji Ning using the Starseizing Hand, an arrow could cross that distance in a mere instant—it was too fast!

Furthermore, the Water-Fire Lotus and the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation were constantly binding and affecting him!

These two factors made it impossible for the golden-armored general to dodge directly. He had to rely on his own abilities to block.

Boom!

Each arrow carried the force to shatter a mountain, hammering into him.

The Water-Fire Lotus, imbued with cold-sha and earthfire, combined with the ninth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation fueled by late-Wanxiang Ki, were no pushovers either… The golden-armored general was being pushed to his limit, his divine power constantly draining.

“If this keeps up, my divine power will be exhausted. Once this clone’s divine power is gone, I’ll dissipate on my own.” The golden-armored general knew he could not hesitate any longer.

“Kill!”

The golden-armored general let out a furious roar.

His entire body blazed with golden light. The great hammers in his hands turned into streaks of light, shattering the surrounding Lesser Thousand Sword Formation sword-light and the Water-Fire Lotus. He charged straight toward Ji Ning.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ji Ning simultaneously shot out four arrows!

Guided by Ji Ning’s divine sense, the arrows even traced slight curved trajectories in the air, encircling the golden-armored general. The encirclement of four arrows made it impossible for the golden-armored general to dodge… He could only struggle to block them, and was sent flying backward.

The Water-Fire Lotus and the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation sword-light entangled him once more…

Arrow after arrow, even more ferocious, shot directly at him. With his divine sense influencing the arrows, they became even more unpredictable. However, the arrows were too powerful—divine sense could only make fine adjustments.

“You little thief, if you have the guts, fight me at close range!” the golden-armored general roared.

“You have lost.”

Ji Ning said softly. As another four arrows shot out simultaneously, the golden-armored general barely managed to block them before his entire body trembled violently and then collapsed into nothingness. Before he vanished, he let out a furious roar. He was clearly unwilling to accept his defeat.

“Whew.” Ji Ning let out a breath.

“This Fiendgod was just a single clone, yet he was this troublesome. I used the Starseizing Hand and shot over eighteen arrows. My Lesser Thousand Sword Formation unleashed thirty-nine sword-lights.” Ji Ning felt the immense consumption of his divine power and Ki, and could not help but feel a secret shock.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning vanished.

When his surroundings became clear, he found himself in the main hall of the aquatic manor.

“You managed to win by using a bow?” The yellow-furred bear stared at Ji Ning, his eyes filled with disbelief. In his projections, this battle should have been extremely difficult. The two should have fought a desperate close-quarters battle, with Ji Ning more likely to lose.

Yet the result was…

Ji Ning had simply stayed far away, used the Starseizing Hand to shoot arrows, and killed the clone by attrition.

“The divine ability my master taught me can be used not only in close combat, but also for long-range archery,” Ji Ning said humbly. “I was also fortunate to win.”

“Fortunate?” The yellow-furred bear saw through Ji Ning’s inner pride. “Alright, you’ve cleared the third level. You may go to the Treasure Hall and choose one Earth-ranked treasure or an equivalent reward. Go on!”