Shadow Clone Technique

What did they mean, a six-year-old had defeated three genius Soul Grandmasters?!

What did they mean, a six-year-old had a hundred times the Soul Power of others at the same rank?!

What did they mean, a six-year-old had created several powerful Soul Skills of his own?!

Qian Daoliu stared at the intelligence report, almost convinced that one of his subordinates had drunk too much and written down his dreams.

After all, it was simply unbelievable.

What kind of six-year-old was that fierce?!

Even Qian Daoliu himself had still been playing with pee and mud at six. Compared to Qian Guxing's record, he hadn't been worth dog shit.

Now Qian Daoliu genuinely felt some regret.

Qian Guxing was no ordinary genius.

He was a talent seen only once in countless ages!

A hero who, like the Angel God and the Sea God, might very well create his own godhood!

If the Sea God knew what Qian Daoliu was thinking, he would surely say:

"You're drunk out of your mind, comparing me to Qian Guxing?"

"Can we even be compared?"

"He's starting out as a God King. There's no competing with him!"

Qian Guxing cared about neither Bibi Dong's shock nor Qian Daoliu's regret. Right now, he was wholly focused on developing Shadow Clones.

The principle behind Shadow Clones was actually quite simple. In the Naruto world, half of one's Chakra was split off to form a clone with a physical body.

The most crucial points, however, were how to give the clone consciousness and have its memories and experience return to the original when it dispersed.

On the Douluo Continent, there was no concept of Chakra. There was only Soul Power.

The process of constructing a clone with Soul Power went quite smoothly for Qian Guxing.

But the clone was like a puppet, controllable only through his thoughts.

Faced with this problem, Qian Guxing's initial idea was to split off part of his own spirit and merge it into the clone.

But after further research, he found that it simply wasn't realistic.

Leaving aside the danger of splitting one's spirit,

the hundreds or thousands of Multiple Shadow Clones Naruto routinely made in the original story couldn't possibly have been created by splitting his spirit.

Otherwise, Naruto's soul would have split into who knew how many pieces long ago.

Now that Qian Guxing's comprehension had improved dramatically, inspiration flashed through his mind. He recalled a physical phenomenon he had heard about at school in his previous life: quantum entanglement.

It referred to two particles affecting each other even when separated by a great distance.

When in doubt, quantum mechanics.

Of course, Qian Guxing wasn't trying to talk science in a fantasy world like the Douluo Continent.

Rather, quantum entanglement had given him an idea.

The material world was three-dimensional, and distance existed within it.

But was there distance in the world of consciousness?

Imagination was infinite.

The key to Shadow Clones wasn't splitting one's spirit at all, but projecting one's consciousness.

It was like how the various gods of fantasy worlds could ignore space and project themselves across ten thousand miles.

Once he understood that, the rest fell naturally into place with Qian Guxing's comprehension.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Qian Guxing clapped his hands together. Smoke burst out, and a person identical to him stood at his side.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... I'm fucking handsome."

Qian Guxing circled his Shadow Clone once, quite satisfied with his looks.

The Shadow Clone's eyes were remarkably lively. He could hold a conversation and reason logically, making him little different from an independent person.

But the clone was essentially a projection of Qian Guxing's consciousness. There was no chance of the clone taking over the main personality.

After all, if that sort of thing could happen, Naruto's personality would have split who knew how many times already.

When Qian Guxing dismissed the Shadow Clone, he clearly felt a new set of memories appear in his mind.

Senju Tobirama had originally created the Shadow Clone Technique to gather intelligence, so it wasn't particularly strong in combat.

Only someone like Naruto Uzumaki, with tons of Chakra to burn, could squander it without restraint, using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique from the beginning all the way to the finale.

Qian Guxing's main reason for creating the Shadow Clone Technique, however, was to speed up his progress in creating his own Soul Skills.

"There are a lot of directions I need to develop in right now."

"First, develop Wood Release and tap into the potential of the Hashirama Senju Physique and the Ancient Tree of Nature."

"Second, develop a secret technique for cultivating spiritual power, both so I can withstand higher-age Soul Rings later and make up for my weakness."

"Third, train in hand-to-hand combat, saber techniques, and sword techniques, so I don't waste the abilities of the True Essence Dao Body, the Falling Star Heavenly Blade, and the Destruction Sword Mark."

Qian Guxing counted on his fingers and found that he had a lot to do.

Fortunately, now that he had successfully developed the Shadow Clone Technique, Qian Guxing could focus on several things at once and accomplish all of the above simultaneously.

"I'm in a good mood, so let's open a treasure chest."

Qian Guxing hadn't forgotten the bronze treasure chest that had dropped from Hu Liena earlier.

He also had two rewards he had yet to claim: thirty Soul Saint deathsworn and the Hundred Knowledge Pavilion.

He hadn't claimed them because he was in the Pope's Palace. There was no way to explain so many extra people suddenly appearing.

Qian Guxing planned to claim both rewards after finding an opportunity to go out.

System, open the bronze treasure chest, Qian Guxing said silently.

[Ding! Bronze treasure chest opened. Obtained ultimate cooking skills!]

In an instant,

an endless flood of culinary knowledge poured into Qian Guxing's brain.

In the blink of an eye, Qian Guxing went from a complete novice in the kitchen to a master with ultimate cooking skills!

Qian Guxing was fairly satisfied as he took in the culinary knowledge in his mind.

After all, it was only a bronze treasure chest. He couldn't expect it to produce some heaven-defying treasure.

At least it was a skill, and it would be quite useful for hooking rich guys-ah, no, for getting closer to girls.

Qian Guxing clapped his hands and used Multiple Shadow Clone, releasing thirty clones. His original body lounged in a recliner while the clones began cultivating diligently.

Soon, afternoon arrived.

Bang, bang, bang~

The sounds of clones being dismissed rang out one after another.

A cloud of white mist filled the small courtyard.

When the mist cleared, Qian Guxing felt a vast flood of memories crash straight into his sea of consciousness.

Unlike the gentle infusion of knowledge drawn from the system,

the memories and experience sent back by the clones came without the slightest delay.

A vast mass of memories-hand-to-hand combat, saber techniques, sword techniques, experience deducing secret techniques for spiritual power, experience developing Wood Release, and more—was crammed into Qian Guxing's brain all at once.

Qian Guxing felt as though his head had nearly burst.

His face turned slightly pale, and he stayed where he was for quite a while before he began to adjust.

"Looks like even using a cheat comes at a price."

Qian Guxing shook his head. It hurt, but it was worth it.

Thirty clones cultivating simultaneously couldn't increase his Soul Power, but they could accumulate experience and deduce Self-Created Soul Skills.

It was as if Qian Guxing had switched on a thirty-times speed cheat!

Once Qian Guxing's spiritual power improved, he could make even more Shadow Clones and increase that multiplier!

"With superhuman comprehension and Shadow Clones to improve my efficiency, I alone can deduce countless secret techniques!"

Qian Guxing was quite satisfied with the Shadow Clones' effect. He straightened his clothes and worked out the time:

"Time to go eat with my teacher."