Suspected...

Yanluo City.

Li Fei emerged from beneath the ground.

He arrived at an inn, ate and drank his fill, then rented a room to rest for the night.

It was already late, so he planned to set off again tomorrow.

At his current Wood Release travel speed, he should reach Heaven Dou City tomorrow.

Too lazy to head to Spirit Hall, he suddenly remembered the soul skill he had newly comprehended and decided to give it a try.

"Wood Release: Clone Technique!"

A willow branch rose from the ground.

In an instant, it transformed into someone who looked exactly like him.

This was the latest product of combining his Second Soul Skill, Willow Shadow Clone, with the Body Double Technique from Naruto.

The Willow Shadow Clone alone had a limited range of movement and could only display seventy percent of his strength.

After combining it with the Wood Release: Clone Technique, not only was its independent movement range vastly expanded, but it could also wield one hundred percent of the original body's strength.

Its cultivation could even feed back to him. It truly was like Naruto's cultivation cheat from that world.

He had only developed it before setting out and had never used it until now.

"Go to Spirit Hall and tell them about what happened in the village," Li Fei said.

"Yes." The clone nodded and promptly left the room.

"Let's see how efficient your cultivation is."

Li Fei continued summoning a group of clones.

He began testing whether they could all cultivate together.

If the Body Double Technique still did not have range restrictions, his main body could stay at Plant Academy to cultivate while his clones explored the world for him.

Even if they died, it would not matter.

Moreover, the farther away they were, the greater the Soul Power Consumption for him, the main body.

After cultivating for a while, Li Fei finally understood the drawback.

With so many clones cultivating at once, less than one percent of the Soul Power Energy fed back to his main body.

He tried reducing the number of clones.

As the number of clones decreased, the cultivation feedback gradually increased.

Only then did he understand that the Soul Power Energy from cultivation would decrease drastically as the number of clones increased...

In the end, he reduced them to just one.

He received one hundred percent feedback!

He summoned a second one and had it continue cultivating.

At that point, the feedback from the two clones was only fifty percent.

It was as though the first clone's results had been split in half before being given to him...

In other words, having one clone and one main body cultivate together was the fastest and most efficient method.

"Forget it. This method still needs further improvement. I have to perfect this Body Double Technique. In the future, it will be extremely helpful for my battles, cultivation, and exploration of the world."

Li Fei thought silently.

In his view, this Body Double Technique was more important than practically all of his Self-Created Soul Skills.

Meanwhile, after Spirit Hall received the clone's report and learned that he had buried the bodies, the Branch Hall's higher-ups took the matter seriously. They even suspected that the Fallen Soul Master was the 'Demon Scythe' whom Spirit Hall had recently been hunting and investigating!

They immediately dispatched a team to rush to the village and investigate the situation.

After leaving the Martial Soul Branch Hall, the clone went to an uninhabited corner and automatically dispersed, turning into a willow branch that burrowed into the earth and vanished.

Li Fei, who was meditating in his room, smiled in satisfaction after learning that the matter had been handled.

What came next was Spirit Hall's headache.

It had absolutely nothing to do with a passerby like him.

Time flew by, and a night passed in the blink of an eye.

After finishing his cultivation.

Li Fei carefully assessed the results of a night's cultivation between the two of them.

The one-hundred-percent feedback had indeed greatly accelerated the rate at which his Soul Power Energy condensed.

However, it was still not enough for him to break through from Level Twenty-Five to Level Twenty-Six.

Still, if he continued cultivating at this rate, raising one level every three months would not be a problem.

After all, he had previously needed the equivalent of half a year for each level.

Now, with a clone, the two of them could cultivate together.

That meant cutting the original time in half once more.

At that rate, if he focused on cultivation for a year, he could raise his Soul Power by at least four levels!

However, there was another factor he had to take into account: as his Soul Power increased, the amount of Soul Power Energy required would grow greater, the Soul Power Quality required would become higher, and his speed would slow. These factors could turn four levels a year into two levels a year.

Even so, it still accelerated his Cultivation Speed.

Otherwise, the further he progressed, the more likely he would be to gain only one or even two levels a year.

"Once this Immortal Herbs journey is over, I'll obediently return to Plant Academy and focus on cultivation."

Li Fei secretly made up his mind.

After washing up, he went downstairs for breakfast.

It was already bustling early in the morning.

All kinds of fragrances wafted into his nose.

The first floor of the inn was packed.

This inn truly deserved to be the best-located and most profitable one in Yanluo City.

"Shopkeeper, bring me one serving of every signature dish you have."

Li Fei found a seat and sat down, intending to have a good meal and satisfy his cravings.

"Right away! Please wait a moment, honored guest!"

The shopkeeper called out happily.

Next, Li Fei carefully listened to the gossip among the surrounding diners.

There were merchants, wandering cultivators, mercenary squads, and all sorts of people from every region here. It was like a miniature society with people from all walks of life.

He could hear plenty of strange tales from around the world.

These people loved talking about such things while eating.

As someone from a previous life, Li Fei loved listening to gossip most of all.

The stranger it was, the more he liked it.

For example, some people were discussing an official's affair with the widow next door, various murder cases, and Hunter Soul operations.

But in the next moment, Li Fei heard about the massacre of Grass Temple Village by a Fallen Soul Master.

The village Li Fei had passed through earlier had the words Grass Temple Village written on its signboard.

Li Fei remembered it vividly.

Suddenly, a squad clad in golden armor, with Six-Winged Angel emblems on their chests, appeared outside.

"They're Spirit Hall's Hunter Soul Team! This division specializes in capturing Fallen Soul Masters. Why are they here?"

"Could there be a Fallen Soul Master among us?"

In an instant, everyone in the inn panicked.

"My lords, may I ask what brings you here?"

The shopkeeper came out and asked respectfully.

"We're looking for someone."

The Hunter Soul Captain stepped forward, sweeping his gaze across the crowd until he finally spotted Li Fei.

He walked straight over.

Watching the other party approach, Li Fei narrowed his eyes.

If they posed a threat to him, he would immediately use Earth Escape to leave.

"Why are you looking for me?" Li Fei asked.

"This Young Master, you were the one who reported the case last night, correct?" The Golden Armor Hunter Soul Captain stopped before Li Fei and asked.

"That was me. Why?" Li Fei's eyes flickered, but he did not deny it.

After all, the clone looked exactly the same as his main body.

"Good. We now have a major question, and we hope you will answer truthfully!"

The Golden Armor Hunter Soul Captain said.

"Ask away." Li Fei nodded.

"When you reported the case, you said that you buried all those bodies. Is that true?" the Golden Armor Hunter Soul Captain asked.

"That is true. Is there something wrong with it?" Li Fei asked in confusion.

"Very good. Then tell me, how did someone as young as you bury so many bodies in Grass Temple Village? That was no small undertaking!"

"Weren't you afraid that the Fallen Soul Master would return to inspect the crime scene while you were burying them and kill you!?"

"There are far too many suspicious points about you! We now strongly suspect that you have a serious problem! Please cooperate and come with us to Spirit Hall!"

"Don't worry. If the investigation proves that you truly have no issues, we certainly will not wrong you! We will even compensate you with Gold Soul Coins for the time you lost!"

The Golden Armor Hunter Soul Captain spoke coldly.

The entire hall erupted in uproar at his words!

I should've known better than to report it. This is such a hassle!

Li Fei cursed inwardly.

He wanted to use Earth Escape and leave, but that would only further prove that something was wrong with him.

Spirit Hall would definitely put out a warrant for him, making it even harder to explain himself.

A clear conscience feared no accusation. He would go with them and see what happened first. If they tried anything, it would not be too late to leave.

At worst, he would hide in Plant Academy and never come out again.

Until he became a Title Douluo!