Shadow Clone, Hashirama Senju's Sage Body?

(The author didn't expect this chapter to stir up such a huge controversy, but it's too late to change it now, so it can only stay this way.)

(The author only used this thing to make the protagonist's cultivation easier. It basically won't be shown much, so please rest assured.)

(At the same time, I warn those leaving malicious bad reviews and spamming Naruto, Naruto in the comments after reading for two minutes: don't use your interests to challenge the author's livelihood!)

Dazhu Peak.

Within the Black Bamboo Sea.

Bai Ye still wore that calm, unruffled expression. From time to time, he took a swig from the Drunken God Gourd. Dressed in white like snow, with the breeze stirring his robes, he carried the air of a Drunken Sword Immortal.

If anyone saw this scene, they would surely have to call him a Drunken Sword Immortal!

After finding a spacious, secluded place dappled with sunlight, Bai Ye put away his wine gourd and sat down cross-legged.

Letting out a deep breath, Bai Ye worked to calm his heart before closing his eyes and comprehending the Ten Thousand Eight Thousand Swords Divine Ability in his mind.

Ten Thousand Eight Thousand Swords.

This was said to be the supreme Divine Ability of a Sword Emperor, a peak sword dao Divine Ability whose power was in no way inferior to the Qingyun Sect's Divine Sword Lightning Control True Art.

Once cultivated to great completion, a single sword strike could gather ten thousand eight thousand sword intents, forming a vast, supreme river of swords between heaven and earth.

Wherever it passed, everything would be reduced to ruins. Even divine mountains and great rivers would shatter beneath this strike.

At this moment, Bai Ye's eyes were tightly closed, his aura spreading throughout his body.

Then, five figures slowly appeared around him. Their appearances were exactly the same as Bai Ye's, without the slightest difference.

Buzz~!

After the five figures appeared, nothing unusual happened. They merely began cultivating continuously, just like Bai Ye.

The sword art they cultivated was precisely the Ten Thousand Eight Thousand Swords.

Only after a long while did Bai Ye slowly open his eyes. Looking at the five figures still cultivating without pause, a faint smile appeared in his gaze.

"It took quite a bit of effort, but fortunately, I finally succeeded in cultivating the Shadow Clone Divine Ability I obtained from signing in."

"With them cultivating for me, I can properly slack off."

Shadow Clone Divine Ability!

This was a special Divine Ability Bai Ye had obtained by signing in three years ago. It could split his form into multiple clones and use those clones in battle.

Naturally, the clones' strength was vastly inferior to the original body.

Bai Ye had never expected them to be of much help in battle. What he valued was their use in cultivation.

A portion of the insights gained through the clones' cultivation would be transmitted back to his original body, allowing Bai Ye to directly obtain those cultivation insights.

It was like having someone work for free for you, then hand over part of their wages while you only had to lie back and relax.

Of course, the damage, physical exertion, and spiritual power consumption suffered by the clones would also be borne separately by the original body.

That was why Bai Ye had only created five clones. Any more than that, and even his own body would not be able to bear the consumption.

It was somewhat like a technique from an anime Bai Ye had watched in his previous life.

"Five clones are enough. With the five of them cultivating, the cultivation speed of this Ten Thousand Eight Thousand Swords Divine Ability will increase tremendously."

Glug glug~!

Bai Ye took a gulp of wine and lay atop a massive boulder, looking incomparably content.

This Shadow Clone was amazing!

It was practically a divine technique for slacking off!

"This time, I showed a little of my strength and successfully defeated Fang Chao. That should be enough to intimidate some petty rats."

"No matter where you are, if you don't show some strength, there will always be people trying to walk all over you."

Bai Ye narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself.

"Though it drew some attention, there were plenty of benefits as well. Most importantly, I didn't reveal my true strength—only a portion of it. It was worth it."

The strength he had displayed so far only made him look like a genius. While it had drawn some attention, it would not make others hostile toward him, and he could continue slacking off while cultivating.

For someone who liked to slack off, trouble was the most frightening thing of all!

Being able to pay a small price to solve most problems was a good thing.

"Woof woof woof~~!"

Just as Bai Ye was lost in thought, a burst of barking rang out.

When Bai Ye opened his eyes, he saw a large yellow dog baring its teeth, staring at his five clones with confusion and even anger as it barked wildly at them.

"Damn dog!"

"What are you barking at? Don't you recognize me?"

Seeing the big yellow dog, Bai Ye was so annoyed that he laughed.

After hearing Bai Ye's words, Big Yellow raised his head and looked at Bai Ye, then looked at the five clones. The confusion in its eyes only deepened.

It cautiously approached Bai Ye. Only after smelling the familiar scent of wine on him did it finally realize who he was. Its tail wagged wildly as it leaped straight onto Bai Ye and began licking him nonstop.

"Lick, lick your grandpa! If you were a person, you'd definitely be the ultimate bootlicker!"

Feeling the big yellow dog's passionate enthusiasm, Bai Ye could only feel helpless.

Big Yellow seemed to understand Bai Ye's words. Its body froze for an instant, and its large eyes stared at Bai Ye. Then, it immediately returned to bootlicker mode and gave Bai Ye a thorough face wash.

"Woof woof woof~!"

Then, with a leap, Big Yellow provocatively peed on the grass in front of Bai Ye.

Immediately afterward, it dashed toward the depths of the bamboo forest.

"Fine, fine, fine!"

"Damn dog, three days without a beating and you're tearing the roof off, huh!"

Seeing this, Bai Ye instantly flew into a rage and shot off in pursuit of Big Yellow.

Seeing Bai Ye chase after it, Big Yellow became even more excited. It accelerated again and ran deeper into the forest.

Amid the deep valley and shifting tree shadows, one man and one dog, one behind and one ahead, chased each other.

This big yellow dog was raised by Tian Buyi and was no ordinary mortal dog, so it was naturally quite fast. Bai Ye did not pursue at full speed either; he was merely playing around with it.

After half an hour, the man and dog arrived at a secluded valley.

Deep within the valley was an emerald-green pool.

Looking at the valley, the pool, and the beautiful scenery, Bai Ye's eyes lit up slightly.

"I never expected there to be such a quiet, beautiful place within the Black Bamboo Grove."

"It's quite a good place to hook up!"

"Woof woof woof~!" Big Yellow came to Bai Ye's side and looked at him disdainfully with its dog eyes before staring fixedly at his wine gourd.

Its meaning was obvious: it was thirsty!

"Damn it, you're a dog. If you're thirsty, go drink water. Isn't there a pool right there?"

Bai Ye was so exasperated that he grabbed Big Yellow by the ear, wishing he could throw it into the pool.

"Woof woof woof~!"

Big Yellow ignored Bai Ye's scolding and barked at him again.

"You've got me. I never should have let you drink in the first place. You're a dog, yet you've started drinking alcohol."

Bai Ye smiled and shook his head before lifting the wine gourd and pouring it out.

Before the wine could even touch the ground, Big Yellow opened its huge mouth, its expression utterly intoxicated.

Only when it began feeling drunk did Big Yellow stop, swaying slightly before collapsing onto the ground.

"Your tolerance is terrible, yet you still love drinking."

Bai Ye looked at Big Yellow lying on the ground, feeling helpless.

Ding... Congratulations, Host, for signing in at the Secluded Valley Pool.

Ding... Sign-in successful. Reward obtained: Hashirama Senju's Sage Body.

Ding... The reward has been successfully distributed to the system space. The Host may fuse with it at any time.