Clone Technique

"I failed. The difficulty of the fifth layer of the illusion is unexpectedly high; I had absolutely no power to resist."

Inside the palace, the consciousness of Yu Duan returned from the Virtual Universe. His expression was unsightly, clearly dissatisfied with his own performance.

The Eighteen Layers of Life and Death Illusion—each layer cleared represents an improvement in willpower.

The first three layers correspond to the willpower of a Star Level powerhouse.

From the fourth to the sixth layer, it is the willpower level of a Domain Lord Level powerhouse.

As long as one can clear the fourth layer, their willpower intensity reaches the average standard of a Domain Lord Level, with higher levels being excellent and then extreme.

"Hahahaha... disciple, the fact that you could clear the fourth layer already makes your master very satisfied."

The figure of Qinghuan King appeared before Yu Duan, a gentle smile on his face, his gaze toward Yu Duan filled with gratification.

When Qinghuan King takes on disciples, he values willpower above all else. Among his dozen or so disciples, none of them lack in willpower.

However, for Yu Duan to be a Star Level martial artist and have his willpower span an entire major level beyond the Universe Level, rivaling that of an ordinary Domain Lord, that cannot be called "not lacking"—it is extremely excellent.

"Master!"

Seeing Qinghuan King appear, Yu Duan hurriedly stood up.

Qinghuan King waved his hand and said, "You are aware of the news that the Genius Tournament is about to begin, right?"

Yu Duan nodded slightly: "Yes, disciple is already aware and is currently making preparations for the Genius Tournament."

"Good. Back then, I told you that as long as you could become the champion of the Genius Tournament, I would implore your martial uncle to prepare a heaven-defying opportunity for you. I was not joking."

"An opportunity of this caliber can no longer be measured by money; even your martial uncle would need to apply to the race to obtain it."

"But the prerequisite for applying to the race is that you are sufficiently excellent; otherwise, the application will be rejected."

Yu Duan nodded, weighing things in his heart for a moment before finally asking: "Master, the opportunity you speak of... is it the Clone Technique?"

This time it was Qinghuan King's turn to be surprised. He sized up Yu Duan and did not deny it: "I didn't expect you, little one, to even know about the Clone Technique."

"Disciple heard of it by pure coincidence. It is said that such a secret technique is rare even among Immortal Gods, one in ten thousand. Even after the Genius Tournament ends, I will only be a little Universe Level kid. Do I have the qualifications to obtain such a secret technique?"

Generally speaking, there are only two ways to possess the Clone Technique.

The first is Possession.

The second, naturally, is a special encounter.

One can basically forget about special encounters. For Yu Duan, the most likely possibility of possessing a clone is through Possession.

Facing Yu Duan's question, Qinghuan King couldn't help but laugh: "How could it be at the Universe Level? You really dare to dream, kid."

"If you can take first place in the Genius Tournament, I will ask your martial uncle to pull some strings and grease some palms."

"Then, if you wait another few hundred thousand years, there is still hope for you to possess a super lifeform that has the ability to clone when you reach the World Master level."

For the entire human race in the universe, capturing and enslaving some powerful lifeforms with cloning abilities is not too difficult.

In the race's treasury, there are more than a few 'resources' sleeping that are available for Possession.

But limiting it to the Universe Level is very difficult—extremely difficult, in fact.

The Universe Level youngsters of major factions are all cultivated within the core territories of their respective domains. Especially those geniuses with cloning abilities are extremely precious and cannot be easily released.

If they don't go out, there is no talk of capturing them alive. Therefore, it is basically hopeless for a Universe Level to possess a clone.

There is another factor: the lifespan of a Universe Level lifeform is too short. Even if a 'resource' is captured, it is hard to 'store' it, and it is quickly used up.

As for the Domain Lord Level, the quantity is slightly higher, but they are still very rare, and competition is fierce.

The World Master level above that is where the race has the largest number of 'resources' in reserve.

At this level, they have already begun to hone themselves outside their territories, and the hope of being encountered by the race's powerhouses is the greatest. Moreover, the lifespan of a World Master is long enough that even if captured, they can be 'stored' for a period of time.

However, almost all lifeforms at the World Master level with cloning abilities have already gestated their clones to improve their own survival capabilities.

Even if one were to possess such a super lifeform then, one could not choose the clone autonomously.

To be like Luo Feng, possessing a 'baby' Golden Horned Beast that hadn't used any of its three clone slots, is simply heaven-defying luck.

Even Chaos City Lord evaluated it as a medium-to-high-grade opportunity.

Chaos City Lord is a super ancient existence who has lived for over a trillion epochs. If even he evaluates it as a medium-to-high-grade opportunity, one can see how rare such an opportunity is.

"Master, what level must I reach, or what achievements must I accomplish, to have hope of obtaining cloning abilities at the Universe Level?"

Yu Duan has the Book of Causality to rely on. At worst, he can cultivate for tens of thousands of years at the Universe Level and demonstrate sufficiently heaven-defying talent; perhaps there is some hope.

Qinghuan King laughed and said: "It's difficult. Your martial uncle and I do not have that much influence. I have previously told you that the Time Origin Law has a deeper level of 108 profound essences."

"If you can thoroughly comprehend these 108 profound essences at the Universe Level and attract the favor of an existence even greater than your martial uncle, you will be able to possess a clone at the Universe Level."

Mastering 108 profound essences of the Time Law?

As soon as Yu Duan heard this, he knew how difficult it was.

Comprehending all the profound essences of the Time Law is considered a high level of law attainment even among Immortal Generals.

If a Universe Level had this level of law attainment, it would be enough to clear the legendary 'Universe Level' Original Tongtian Mountain.

Only with this level of talent would one be valued by a great existence surpassing a Lord of the Kingdom.

Seeing Yu Duan actually begin to ponder, Qinghuan King was amused.

"Child, do not aim too high; although your talent is quite good, those kinds of geniuses are beings that only emerge once every ten million or even a hundred million epochs across the entire human race."

Facing Qinghuan King's admonition, Yu Duan bowed slightly and said, "Rest assured, Teacher, your disciple will not aim too high; I merely wish to understand the level of difficulty involved."

Hearing this, Qinghuan King nodded in satisfaction.

He had always been very pleased with Yu Duan's temperament.

"The Genius Tournament is approaching. Do you have any needs or plans? I can help you prepare."

His little disciple had basically never asked him for anything, so with the Genius Tournament drawing near, Qinghuan King had taken the initiative to come and ask.

"Plans, you say..."

Yu Duan's eyes flickered, and after a moment, he cupped his hands and said, "Teacher, I intend to go home and take a look. After this Genius Tournament, I do not know how many years it will be before I can return again."

It was not that Yu Duan lacked any feelings for Light Source Planet.

However, for someone who had transmigrated and been reborn with memories of a past life, it was difficult to view Light Source Planet—where he had lived for only a dozen years and had no parents or relatives—as his true hometown.

The next time Yu Duan returned to Light Source Planet, it would likely be thousands or even tens of thousands of years later.

By then, there would be very few of his old acquaintances left on Light Source Planet.

This trip home will arrange an upgrade for the protagonist, which counts as a small opportunity; my good brothers can try to guess what it is.