Lin Yu watched Fu Yunzi depart before he himself flew off into the distance.
From high above, the world's entirety was pierced by solidified clouds, reaching deep into the earth. Here, the clouds resembled towering mountains.
The clouds varied in color: some were black, some blue, and others green, a vibrant spectacle.
Living on or within these colorful clouds were the world's inhabitants—
—Sha Beasts!
These were monsters that subsisted on Sha Qi. Each was incredibly powerful, possessing innate combat instincts.
Lin Yu incapacitated a Sha Beast with a single finger and studied it for a moment before giving up.
Researching such creatures was too troublesome; it was best left to Lin Wu.
He collected a few Sha Beasts and placed them in his small world. Once Lin Wu achieved a million-level integrated clone, this new task would be assigned to him.
Lin Yu mused that this would be a simple matter for Lin Wu.
He had many similar tasks prepared for Lin Wu.
If Lin Wu knew about this, he would surely curse.
After all the effort to complete the million-level homologous clone task, to be assigned so much more work – was there no justice?
Lin Yu glanced below and noticed disciples from immortal sects were everywhere.
"There are too many immortal sect disciples here. I should go to a place with scarce human presence to hunt," he decided.
With a flash, he vanished, reappearing in a cloud forest.
This place was sparsely populated, with only a dozen or so immortal sect disciples cautiously hunting. This wouldn't affect him much.
He silently chanted, "Clone!"
Boom!
White light appeared and then dissipated.
Numerous clones materialized around his body.
These clones, numbering in the billions, soon filled every visible space.
Lin Yu chuckled, "With so many clones existing, even this vast cloud forest might not be enough to contain them all!"
Clones continued to appear.
Upon emergence, the clones automatically received their tasks and flew towards the cloud forest below.
Their intelligence was so high that Lin Yu no longer needed to direct them. They could independently ponder and resolve any issues they encountered.
One by one, the clones descended into the cloud forest.
This cloud forest spanned hundreds of thousands of miles, but with twenty-five billion clones, they could appear almost everywhere.
Soon, the immortal sect disciples hunting in the area began to notice anomalies.
Chen Feng, a disciple of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, watched as a monster was snatched by Lin Yu's clone, his face darkening.
He shouted, "Hey, why are you stealing my kills for no reason?"
Lin Yu's clone glanced back at him. His handsome brows curved slightly as he smiled, "Are you mistaken? This monster was closer to me."
"But I saw it first!" Chen Feng felt frustrated.
He had no idea where this person came from. Their speed was astonishing, seemingly faster than his own master.
However, being straightforward, Chen Feng couldn't keep his thoughts to himself; he felt uneasy if he didn't speak his mind.
The clone teased, "So, whatever you see is yours? That's absurd. Is this bandit logic something your master taught you? Tell me, which sect do you belong to?"
The clone's rapid-fire questions left Chen Feng speechless.
His face turned crimson. Finally, he bowed and apologized, "It was my fault. Farewell!"
With that, he turned to leave, his face still red.
Seeing him leave, the clone didn't press the issue. It also turned away, as this cloud forest was large, and there was work to be done.
Meanwhile, after leaving, Chen Feng, despite apologizing, still felt indignant.
That was a Sha Beast he had been eyeing for a long time, only to have it snatched away.
Anyone would feel resentful.
"I should have acted sooner. It's my fault... No! It's the fault of the person who stole the kill. If not for them, that beast would still be mine!"
He drew his sword and vented his frustration on the nearby wild grass.
Suddenly, shouts of combat echoed from a distance. He recognized the sound and hurried over.
Indeed, he saw the same person who had just stolen his kill, now fighting a colossal Sha Beast.
This Sha Beast was at least a thousand times more powerful than the one he had encountered earlier. Even from afar, his hairs stood on end.
"Why is he here?"
"I'm so unlucky. No, I can't go this way. I need to change direction. I suspect that guy is tracking me, intending to prevent me from completing my hunting mission."
"If I can't complete the mission, I won't be able to become a core disciple. This is a mission I've been preparing for for three hundred years!"
The thought of his core disciple promotion assessment made him restless.
He quickened his pace.
Dozens of miles away, he stopped.
He glanced back, still able to hear the sounds of fighting, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"He didn't follow. Excellent! I've shaken him off. Now, I need to find another Sha Beast to complete my promotion mission."
With that, he eagerly began his search.
However, although there were usually many Sha Beasts in this area, today he couldn't find a single one.
Just then, shouts of combat sounded again from afar. Hearing the familiar voice, his heart sank.
He ran to investigate and, as expected, saw that familiar face again.
"Damn it. No wonder I couldn't find any Sha Beasts. He must have killed them all. Why is he here again?"
"But he was fighting monsters over there, so how can there be another him here?"
"No, this time I'll run much farther. He definitely won't be able to catch up."
This time, he ran for over a thousand miles.
However, his nightmare descended once more, and he encountered the familiar figure again.
He felt something was wrong and that his eyes were deceiving him.
So, he ran again, and again encountered the familiar figure.
He realized that no matter how far he ran, he would always encounter that familiar figure.
And wherever that person appeared, there were never any Sha Beasts left.
They were all killed.
What kind of being was this person?
The Sha Beasts in this area were not weak; many were at the Heavenly Immortal level. He had to bypass them, yet such powerful beasts were like ordinary creatures in this person's hands, slaughtered with ease.
He dared not approach or question the person, only continuously evade them.
Soon, he broke down.
Leaning against a large tree, he sobbed uncontrollably.
He remembered his assessment, his pride, and...
"Why am I so unlucky?"
"Heaven, who will save me? Why is someone always following me?"
"I refuse to accept this!"
He fell to his knees with a thud, flailing his hands.
His tragic state was soon discovered by another equally tragic individual.
Both were disciples undergoing promotion assessments for their immortal sects, having prepared for centuries for this assessment, and Lin Yu's clones had ruined it all.
They were on the verge of tears, filled with grief and indignation.
At this moment, the two like-minded individuals found each other and, crying, embraced.
"You too?"
"Yes, me too!"
"Don't cry, don't cry!!!"
"Wuwuwu~~~" The two embraced and wept.