The Clone's Ambition

The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen, with his Eight Aspect Worlds granting him inconceivable speed, arrived in an instant before the stone giant. His left hand shimmered with black light, his right hand crystalline as jade—both struck at the colossus's enormous head. Those hands embodied the forces of time and space, each radiating an aura of annihilation. Even a cultivator beyond the Deathless Longevity realm would have been extinguished in both body and soul if struck true.

Bang!

The twin palm-blades were terrifying to behold; the air where they passed grew indistinct, as if time and space themselves had been thrown into chaos. They slammed heavily into the stone giant's head. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though two distinct handprints had been seared into the stone.

Zhao Lin'er's secret weapon had failed to so much as scratch that stone statue. The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen, naturally, could not shatter it either—but his strike revealed the unfathomable depth of his cultivation.

"Hah!"

Primal energy roiled. The stone giant trembled, then swept its war sword outward. A torrent of solid sword-qi sent the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen hurtling away. In the next instant, the colossal blade arced downward, stirring up waves like a tsunami.

The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen's combat instincts were superb. Sensing the danger, he twisted through the air like a leaping dragon, then seemed to tear through space itself within eight illusory realms, instantly retreating thousands of zhang.

But he had underestimated the stone giant's might. One sword-stroke shook the rivers and seas. Though the stone blade remained far behind him, the ethereal sword-qi crashed against his body as if it had struck true.

Bang!

He was flung across the distant sky as if caught by a collapsing mountain, tumbling hundreds of zhang before stopping. A trail of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Had he not cultivated the supreme Martial Body, this single blow would have shattered his bones, snapped his sinews, and scattered his soul.

"To think that a stone which once sealed a spatial rift and held back an Ancestral God could possess such power!" He wiped the blood from his lips, his face darkening. "There are few left in this world who can still harm me..."

He stood in the distant heavens.

Suddenly, he let out a great roar—a sound so fierce it scattered the clouds at the horizon. In the next instant, eight illusory worlds materialized around him, their depths churning with a hazy, primordial chaos. The eight realms swelled larger and larger, threatening to engulf the very sky, bearing down upon the stone giant ahead.

At the same time, the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen's body also expanded, until he became a mountain-sized giant standing deep in the sea, controlling the Eight Aspect Worlds as they swept toward the stone colossus.

The stone giant moved without haste, striding into the sea. Its war sword traced an inscrutable arc through the air, then snapped with a thunderous tremor. Ten thousand bolts of purple lightning crashed down from the sky, smashing into the Eight Aspect Worlds.

From afar, the entire heavens turned violet. The thunder-shock shook the nine firmaments.

BOOM!

The wild lightning shattered the eight illusory realms that reeked of chaos. They collapsed and dissipated like smoke.

The distant giant spat out a great mouthful of blood. His towering form shrank rapidly, and he toppled into the sea.

The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen understood now: the stone man was invincible to him. If the colossus possessed any true intelligence, it could almost certainly annihilate any being in this world.

Finally, he pressed his palms together and shouted: "Return to the Origin!"

A blinding light burst from his entire body, radiating in all directions. This was his own creation—a divine ability that seemed to make time flow backward and space disintegrate, all directed at the stone giant.

It appeared to force the titan to revert to its original state, to return dust to dust and earth to earth, blurring heaven and earth.

It was a terrifying, world-shattering technique. But the stone giant could withstand Ancestral Gods. Forged from the power of the Twenty-Four War Swords, it erupted with twenty-four pillars of light that pierced the sky, illuminating the entire Eastern Sea.

Though the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen had created a peerless divine art, ultimate technique could not overcome absolute force.

Here was the truth of the saying: "One measure of strength conquers a hundred skills."

His technique was exquisite, but its power could not compare to the giant's. The stone sword swept forth and snuffed it out.

The misty sky cleared in an instant. The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen coughed blood and flew backward a thousand zhang, his mighty Martial Body on the verge of collapse.

And this was merely from having his technique broken—he had not even been struck directly by the stone blade. One could only imagine the horrific force contained within that towering statue standing in the sea.

The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen crashed into the ocean, drenched in blood, a pitiful sight. Yet in that very moment, his danger sense flared. He ignored his grievous wounds and used the Eight Aspect Worlds' ultimate speed to flee to the farthest heavens.

Even as his body bled everywhere, he clenched his teeth and laughed. "My Martial Body defies all enemies! My dual cultivation of secret art and divine power surpasses the old Half-Ancestors! What I lack now is merely strength. Give me time, and I will one day be invincible under heaven. The Twenty-Four War Swords belong to me!"

The stone giant lifted its blade, dancing with the wind. Its movements were unhurried, but with each swing of the stone sword, heaven and earth quaked, and the sea roared. It seemed to move in perfect harmony with the world's pulse.

The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen could not contend with such power. Had he not mastered the Eight Aspect Worlds' extreme speed, he would have been annihilated long ago. He flew toward the distant horizon, his voice echoing back:

"I shall endure through the ages, eternal and undying!"

Only after the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen had vanished did the real Xiao Chen emerge from within the stone giant. He stood atop the colossal head, gazing into the distant sky, silent for a long time.

The flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen was truly formidable. Not only had he inherited all of Xiao Chen's former divine abilities, he had also created a peerless technique like "Return to the Origin." Even more terrifying, his left hand wielded the power of space, his right hand the power of time. If he continued to develop, who in this world could subdue him?

Through his observations over these days, Xiao Chen realized that his clone's temperament was vastly different from his own—ruthless and decisive. Whatever stood in his way would be slaughtered. Not all those who came seeking trouble on the coast were irredeemably evil, yet this fellow killed them regardless, even accidental intruders. Unless he wished to recruit them as subordinates, anyone trespassing faced only one outcome: death.

"This fellow is merely a fragment of my remnant soul. By all logic, his soul-force should be limited. How did he manage to complete his soul and grow so powerful?"

Finally, Xiao Chen sighed. He knew that this person was no longer truly him. After all, that being possessed only a tiny sliver of his remnant soul; now that it had been supplemented, he had become an entirely new person—a late-blooming powerhouse with limitless potential and extraordinary talent.

The true Xiao Chen had not been particularly outstanding among his peers before the Nirvana realm, but after several nirvanic transformations, everything changed. His potential had been endlessly excavated, and he no longer fell short of the legendary geniuses.

And this flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen had clearly undergone similar nirvanic changes, becoming an unstoppable rising force.

"That fellow is far more arrogant than I was back then. Still, there are few who can suppress him now."

Just then, two black dots appeared on the distant horizon. Xiao Chen immediately retreated into the stone giant.

Before long, the black dots grew larger, until they seemed like two dark clouds hurtling toward them from far away, stirring up gale-force winds that raised waves even on the ocean's surface.

They were... two Winged Dragons!

The dragons were colossal, their size rivaling rocs. Most would know them by another name—Holy Dragons.

Back in the day, when all dragons on Dragon Island were sealed, only this one lineage escaped the catastrophe, earning the reverence of the Eternal Continent's inhabitants. Their bodies were indomitable and powerful, and they could unleash terrible spells. Friendly with the various Western religions and churches, those with a sacred light attribute were even honored as Light Holy Dragons.

Xiao Chen suddenly remembered that there was another dragon island out in these wastes—an island of Holy Dragons. Since descending into this world, they had only tentatively appeared a few times before sinking back into hiding. Now, it seemed they were truly about to emerge.

The two Holy Dragons gleamed with light, covered in brilliant scales, each scale half a meter long. Their massive claws were sharp as knives; a pair of dragon horns on their heads blazed with divine radiance, wrapped in holy light. As they flew, their double wings beat the void until it blurred, revealing the terrible power contained within their bodies.

Even the smaller of the two Holy Dragons was over a hundred meters long. It was obvious they had achieved their size through later cultivation; otherwise, they would not be so enormous.

Kicking up fierce winds, they drew near the stone giant and halted. With a burst of light, they transformed into human form, becoming two golden-haired young men. They stared at the stone giant for a long time, then spread their wings and flew away.

"Someone fought here just now. Pursue!" They actually set off after the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen.

Two exceedingly powerful Holy Dragons—that was Xiao Chen's assessment. If the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen were to cross them, he would likely face disaster.

"I was just worrying that no one could rein in that fellow. Clearly, I needn't have. The War Clan, the Dragon Clan, the Elven Clan—all hundred races will soon emerge. Without his level of strength, it will be hard to gain a foothold on the Nine Provinces."

With his current power, the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen could only be considered a promising expert, not an invincible powerhouse. Amid the clash of a hundred races—the Dragon Clan, the Fallen Angel clan, the ancient Divine race—these would likely be the true protagonists.

For most human cultivators, the Nine Provinces would be fraught with danger and challenge. But for the strong, it would become ever more colorful and vibrant. The death-knell and the song of peace had already begun to play in unison.

Xiao Chen stood above the sea, his entire body flickering with purple light. He had currently reached the Purple Diamond Third Stage, his power comparable to his former Nirvana realm.

But he knew this was far from enough. So many years had passed; even though he had now recovered his former strength, others had also grown. The world today was not the world of the past. With the hundred races about to emerge, he needed to become stronger.

He decided to take a look at the Nine Provinces, then return to the World of the Dead to continue his cultivation.

Ascending to the Purple Diamond Third Stage had its benefits. His form had solidified from the illusory to the real, and he could now remain in this world for a longer period—seemingly enough to sustain a battle or two.

The news that Xiao Chen, fallen for so many years, had been reborn and reappeared in the world sent shockwaves through the Nine Provinces. The entire cultivation world was thrown into an uproar.

And then this resurrected powerhouse did something even more momentous: near Mount Tai in the East, he encountered two Holy Dragons and engaged them in a heaven-shaking battle.

The thousand-plus cultivators hidden in Mount Tai training witnessed the entire process. Both sides were so powerful that they terrified ordinary practitioners. After a fierce clash, an entire mountain range was shattered, and several peaks were leveled to the ground.

Xiao Chen, like a demon god, narrowly escaped death and was forced to unleash a peerless technique—Return to the Origin—which gravely wounded one Holy Dragon. Dragon blood spilled across the sky, staining the heavens crimson. The anguished roar of the dragon reverberated for hundreds of li.

In the end, the wounded Xiao Chen used the Eight Aspect Worlds' extreme speed to flee, with the two Holy Dragons in hot pursuit—a thousand-li chase.

This news shook the entire Nine Provinces.

The Purple Diamond bone-body Xiao Chen learned of this event on his second day back in the Nine Provinces. He personally went to Mount Tai to view the terrible battlefield.

The mountain range had completely collapsed, the trees withered. The chaotic battlefield was splattered with dragon blood—a jarring sight. Many gleaming, bloodstained dragon scales lay scattered among the broken peaks.

It was not hard to imagine how fierce and terrible the battle had been.

The Holy Dragons were truly formidable. Even the two that had flown out from the Holy Dragon Island as scouts displayed such terrifying combat power, which was deeply alarming. After all, the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen was one of the rare experts on the Nine Provinces.

On the third day, the Purple Diamond bone-body Xiao Chen received an even more shocking report: the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen had fled all the way, leading the two Holy Dragons near the imperial capital.

There, the severely wounded Holy Dragon attempted to ram the capital, but was nearly blown apart by a terror weapon hidden in the mountains outside the city. His injuries compounded, the lurking flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen seized the moment and struck, shattering his physical body.

Dragon-slaying!

The long-fallen Xiao Chen had suddenly resurrected and appeared before the world, and in his very first act had caused such a commotion—he had actually slain a legendary dragon!

The news was undoubtedly shocking.

Dragons! They were the most formidable beings, the apex species at the top of the food chain, the summit of the pyramid.

The long-dead Xiao Chen had come back to life and, on his first appearance, had killed a dragon. How could this not shake the world?

In the end, the flesh-and-blood Xiao Chen was hunted out of the Nine Provinces by the uninjured Holy Dragon, flying toward the desolate Western lands.

No one knew the outcome of that battle.

But every cultivator understood that the world was about to "change." The ancient cities, great islands, and deserts in the distant seas had descended into this world years ago without making a sound. Now, it seemed, their strong would finally emerge.

The Purple Diamond bone-body Xiao Chen stayed in the Nine Provinces for half a month, learning a great deal, and then thought to return to the World of the Dead.

But just then, in the Wuyi Mountains, someone set their sights on him. A crimson-haired youth, his eyes as sharp as swords, could actually see through the void and perceive the original essence.

"You are not from this world. I sense the aura of death on you. You do not belong to this world at all—you exist in a state of emptiness."

This was the first time anyone had seen through him so completely. Instead of answering, Xiao Chen asked, "And who are you? You don't seem human."

"I belong to the War Clan." The tall, imposing youth's eyes flashed with cold light like a drawn sword, his red hair blazing like fire.

"The War Clan has finally appeared..." the Purple Diamond bone-body Xiao Chen murmured to himself. He knew that the Nine Provinces were about to undergo a true "shift of the heavens."