City Lord Luo's Gaze

Talent Amplification was one thing, but he had no idea how it manifested in practice. The description could not possibly explain the effects of every possible Talent Amplification combination, because the sheer amount of information would be enough to burst the entire Original Universe.

Originally, he had expected Talent Amplification to work like addition—the more clones he had, the more his talents would increase by multiples.

But after experiencing it firsthand, Jin Yu no longer naïvely believed it was merely addition. He strongly suspected the calculation was multiplicative amplification, perhaps even some unimaginable nth-power amplification.

Terrifying!

Although the Golden Horned Beast was naturally compatible with the Law of Gold, that affinity would only become apparent after it reached the Universe level.

But he was only Planetary level now! Yet he had already sensed a trace of the Law of Gold's fluctuations! The terrifying explosion in his talent left him incredulous.

He was shocked, awed, and wildly excited.

At the same time, all his previous plans had been overturned. He needed to map out his future again.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Jin Yu began thinking once more.

"Now that I've become a Golden Horned Beast, does that mean City Lord Luo in this world is basically finished?"

He had actually considered this question the moment he became a Golden Horned Beast. He had merely forced himself not to think about it, because surely he would not be stupid enough to sacrifice himself for someone else, right?

But now that he had the clone system, it seemed he could spare a clone slot and let City Lord Luo possess it.

After all, as long as it did not affect his own development, investing in an Origin Lord-level existence was profitable no matter how he looked at it.

This was a once-in-an-age investment with guaranteed returns. It was far more profitable than an ordinary person being reborn on Earth in the original world and going all-in on Alibaba.

The return on investment for this move was at the Origin World level.

"Before, I would have been gambling with my own life, which wasn't realistic. But now I'm only gambling with a clone. Even if I lose it, I can bear the loss."

Jin Yu actually had another plan in mind. Logically speaking, a lost clone could be restored. If he let Luo Feng possess it and could still restore it afterward, then he would have the resources he needed to soar.

If he ever lacked money or equipment, couldn't he just sell himself? A living Golden Horned Beast, a peerless genius! Highest bidder wins. Ahem, asking for a Heavy Treasure or something wouldn't be excessive, would it?

Having made up his mind, Jin Yu began swimming at top speed toward the Huaxia Coast.

He had delayed for a day already, and he did not know whether the Jianghe Beast Tide in China's Southeast Military Region had ended.

Yet at that moment, the bloodline within Jin Yu's body began throbbing violently. Instinctively, he shot toward the ocean surface at extreme speed.

Following the direction of that bloodline throb, he saw something almost phantom-like flying in from beyond the sky toward the ocean.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!"

In an instant, Jin Yu felt the scales all over his body stand on end, while a bone-deep chill gripped his soul. It was nothing else—his bloodline resonance told him with absolute certainty that it was a Golden Horned Beast.

Or rather, a Golden Horned Beast Egg.

But wasn't he the only Golden Horned Beast? Where had this one come from?

"An interesting little fellow, haha. As expected, the boundless Primordial Chaos Space still contains countless unknown existences."

City Lord Luo!

The future City Lord Luo was behind this!

A voice sounded in Jin Yu's mind without warning. Jin Yu, whose scales had already risen, shot straight upward where he was. His startled soul caused him to lose control of his body, and his massive form plummeted into the sea.

What a monster!

Jin Yu was so frightened that his thoughts nearly froze. What he feared had come true.

Luo Feng's future self!

No wonder everything in the original novel had seemed tailor-made for Luo Feng, one link after another.

Jin Yu strongly suspected that he had arranged it all himself!

Luo Feng's future had been arranged perfectly by his own future self! Perhaps his real experiences had been too tortuous, so City Lord Luo had revised his own past to let himself develop more smoothly? The exact reason was unknown.

"But if you wanted to arrange things, then arrange them. Why did you have to scare me? I was already prepared to hand over a clone for you to possess, the kind that required no payment at all. Did you really need to arrange another Golden Horned Beast Egg? Did you really need to send me a message specifically?"

Fear, unease, and helplessness caused Jin Yu's mind to crash for nearly a full minute.

"Even you dare bully me! You're courting death!" During the time his mind had crashed, countless carnivorous sea creatures had been continuously biting his body.

Humiliated and enraged, Jin Yu directly used his Devouring talent to devour more than ten thousand monsters of various levels.

"I feel much better now."

After venting through Devouring, Jin Yu's mind became active again. At the same time, his thoughts began turning once more.

For now, it seemed City Lord Luo's future was already set in stone. He would become that supreme Origin Lord!

Moreover, judging by the content of that message, City Lord Luo bore him no ill will—or perhaps he had no way to act against him? But either possibility meant that Jin Yu was safe for now.

Then he needed to build a better relationship with Luo Feng.

"Right, that bastard Zuo Shan Ke was probably also an NPC City Lord Luo prepared for himself, wasn't he? That golden light striking the Star Tower, the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual—it was all arranged by himself, right?" Jin Yu suddenly thought of a possibility. It was absurd.

So it probably, maybe, perhaps would not be excessive for him to fleece them a little?

City Lord Luo probably, maybe, possibly would not beat him to death, right?

Jin Yu became conflicted.

"Get lost, or in the future, I'll definitely let you know why flowers are so red!"

Just as Jin Yu was hesitating over whether to continue fleecing them, an exasperated yet amused threat sounded in his mind. Then the complete secret art of the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual appeared in his head.

"So it can work like this?" Jin Yu had a few guesses in his heart. "It seems City Lord Luo can know some of my thoughts, or perhaps my actions? But if something hasn't happened yet, he can't know about it in advance? Or perhaps only after an immense karmic connection forms can he find me and transmit his voice?"

"Some of my current decisions will directly affect Luo Feng's development. So when it came to an indispensable opportunity like the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual, he could not help but intervene.

"And it seems he truly doesn't bear much ill will toward me. I was trying to seize such an important opportunity, yet he still didn't act against me. Otherwise, a casual thought from him would have been enough to erase every trace of my existence. That earlier tone of anticipation when he mentioned meeting me was the attitude of an equal exchange. At City Lord Luo's level, even a God King would not be qualified to receive equal treatment from him."

"If he didn't attack me, then either it was because of City Lord Luo's personal charm and he disdained doing so, or because he couldn't."

"No, no matter what, I can't get carried away. Fleece them once and it feels great; fleece them forever and it feels great forever. But if I get slapped to death, there won't be anything left to fleece."

After thinking for a long time, Jin Yu finally and very sensibly gave up his designs on the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual on Earth.

What a joke. Now that he had the complete version, who would want that defective version? It was not as if he had masochistic tendencies.

As for whether he would fleece them in the future, only he himself knew.

"So if I insist on copying Luo Feng's genes now, won't I get beaten to death in the future?" Jin Yu thought furtively, instinctively glancing around.

He always felt that if he made up his mind to do something that seriously affected Luo Feng's development, the future City Lord Luo would sense it.

"Right, my Perfect Clone System! If I can't copy Luo Feng, can I copy my own soul?" Once he broke free of that mental constraint, Jin Yu suddenly thought of his clone ability.

According to the description, the altered clones were not limited to physical matter. Souls could also be copied. If he succeeded, only then could he truly be considered a human!

Moreover, whether on Earth or in the future universe, having a Human Clone would make it easier to act.

Jin Yu then decisively controlled a strand of his spiritual force mixed with a trace of soul aura and sent it into his Inner World.

"Talent, Clone!"

Suddenly, the previously tranquil Inner World erupted. Countless streams of golden air swirled around that strand of spiritual force.

Then they formed a Golden Egg roughly 1.8 meters tall.

"It really works. This system deserves five stars!"

Jin Yu had previously only understood that any life within the capacity of the Inner World could be copied into a clone. But because of his initial preconception, he had believed that physical components were necessary for copying.

It was not until City Lord Luo appeared and made him abandon the idea of copying Luo Feng's genes that he thought of trying to copy his own soul.

The result was excellent, more satisfying than he could have hoped.

First, it proved that his soul was still human. Second, he no longer needed to worry about whether his body belonged to someone else, or whether, if he found a partner in the future, it would count as his predecessor cheating on him or him cheating on his predecessor.

Nor did he need to worry about the philosophical question of whether his children would belong to him.

Jin Yu could now proudly say to the transmigration seniors: everyone here is—cough, cough, no. Everyone here is incredible, but they are still just a little inferior to him.

August 22, 2057, Earth Calendar.

A phantom moved rapidly toward the sea surface from the depths of the ocean.

"This is really awkward." The figure that poked its head out looked helplessly at the naked body soaking in the seawater.

The Talent Secret Technique could create a clone, but it could not create clothes. As a result, he could only appear here naked.

I didn't expect to receive a contract notification only a few days after posting it. I wrote another book before, but it never reached a million words. This has fulfilled one of my dreams of becoming an author, and I thank everyone for your support and Qing Hu's approval. Also, brothers, how about sending some votes my way? This book won't be dropped. Two chapters a day is generally my limit, and I hope everyone will subscribe more.

I've made some simple revisions to this chapter, with minor changes based on what everyone mentioned. Your subscriptions are my greatest support. If there aren't many subscriptions, I'll speed up the ending. The next book is already being planned.

I don't know why it got blocked after only two or three chapters... I asked the editor, and it involved military and political matters. Sorry, everyone. The following chapters will continue normally, and it shouldn't affect the reading too much.