Spiritual Clone

After deciding to take on the Mirror Shadow Beast alone, Huo Yuhao summoned his Four-Not-Like Martial Soul. A pair of gleaming golden dragon claws advanced toward the beast as he walked slowly forward.

"Grr!"

As Huo Yuhao drew closer, the Mirror Shadow Beast's tail stood upright. Its spine arched tight as a bow, and it whined like a dog, warning him not to come any closer.

"Roar!"

Driven out of the undergrowth and backed against a large tree, the Mirror Shadow Beast roared and sprang at Huo Yuhao with lightning speed. Foul-smelling saliva dripped from its fang-filled jaws as it lunged.

Clang!

Metal rang against metal where the beast's fangs clamped down on Huo Yuhao's scaled dragon claw. No matter how hard it bit, its teeth could not sink in another fraction.

A layer of ice-crystal-like substance spread across Huo Yuhao's trapped arm. It was one of the abilities the Ice Empress had given him: Ice Emperor Bodyguard.

It made his hands and arms as hard as Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Ice, greatly increasing his defense.

Huo Yuhao gripped the Mirror Shadow Beast's throat with one hand and swept his other claw lightly across its body. The scales that had looked so tough split open beneath his claw like butter under a hot knife.

The Mirror Shadow Beast growled at the sharp pain in its back and released Huo Yuhao's claw. It scrambled away, but before it got far, it struck something invisible and was lifted bodily into the air.

Huo Yuhao turned toward the Snow Empress. She nodded slightly, confirming that she had stopped the beast from escaping.

With no way out, the Mirror Shadow Beast turned to face him again. Its eyes were bloodshot, and low growls kept rising from its throat as its presence surged. It was clearly ready to fight Huo Yuhao to the death.

The beast opened its jaws, and a silver-white beam shot straight at Huo Yuhao. He activated Ice Emperor Possession again, gathering ultimate ice into a semicircle outside each hand.

Huo Yuhao raised both arms before him. The two semicircles joined to form a small round shield just large enough to cover his body.

The silver-white beam slammed into the ice shield. It drove Huo Yuhao back a few steps but did not harm him in the slightest.

After blocking the attack, Huo Yuhao's eyes flashed blue. A Spiritual Shock shot toward the Mirror Shadow Beast.

The move caught the beast off guard. The human before it looked like a close-combat soul master; it had never expected him to use a mental ability. Its carelessness left it reeling from Huo Yuhao's attack.

While the beast was stunned, Huo Yuhao switched to his Four-Not-Like Martial Soul. Blue light, identical to the glow on his arms, flickered at the tips of his golden claws. This was the second ability the Ice Empress had given him—Ice Emperor's Pincer, which greatly strengthened his attacks.

Stepping onto Auspicious Clouds gathered beneath his feet, Huo Yuhao flew toward the Mirror Shadow Beast. Blue light flashed as his claw, empowered by Ice Emperor's Pincer, pierced straight through its abdomen.

The beast managed only a pained cry before clutching its belly and collapsing. Its body convulsed, and its blood stained the white snow crimson.

Gradually, the Mirror Shadow Beast stopped twitching, and its breathing faded. At last, a purple Spirit Ring slowly rose from its body.

"You did it, Yuhao!"

Tian Meng's delighted shout rang through Huo Yuhao's mind. Beside him, the Ice Empress looked approvingly at Huo Yuhao, who was spattered with blood.

"Not bad!"

The Snow Empress floated over to Huo Yuhao and offered her own quiet praise.

"You're too kind, Senior Snow Empress, Brother Sky Dream. Without the two abilities Senior Ice Empress gave me, I couldn't have beaten the Mirror Shadow Beast."

Huo Yuhao rubbed his head as he spoke modestly.

"You've had those abilities for less than a day. Doing this much is already impressive. Don't sell yourself short."

After chatting with them for a while, Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged beside the Mirror Shadow Beast's corpse at everyone's urging and activated his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul. A pulling force drew the Spirit Ring floating above the corpse into his body.

Absorbing this Spirit Ring was nowhere near as difficult as absorbing the Ice Empress's. The Mirror Shadow Beast was far younger, and Huo Yuhao's meridians had widened again after he absorbed the Ice Empress's Martial Soul.

The Soul Power from the Mirror Shadow Beast's Spirit Ring did not even make Huo Yuhao feel bloated. In less than half an hour, he opened his eyes and slowly breathed out.

The golden dragon scales faded from his hands, and blue light shone from his eyes. Two Spirit Rings, one gold and one purple, rose beneath his feet.

The first ring flashed, and its platinum color changed back to the purple Huo Yuhao usually showed others.

"Yuhao, how is it? What ability did you get? Is it copying?"

Tian Meng came up to Huo Yuhao and asked eagerly. The Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and the others looked on with curiosity. Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"Then what ability did you get?"

Tian Meng was disappointed to learn that Huo Yuhao had not gained the Mirror Shadow Beast's signature copying ability.

Huo Yuhao, however, felt no disappointment at all. The Mirror Shadow Beast's Spirit Ring had given him an ability that suited him perfectly.

"Watch this, Brother Sky Dream!"

Huo Yuhao's second Spirit Ring flashed several times. Three or four translucent blue figures appeared before everyone in an instant.

"Clones?"

"That's right. This is the second ability the Mirror Shadow Beast gave me. I call it Spiritual Clone. I can create a clone by expending some mental energy."

Seeing their expressions, Huo Yuhao added, "The number of clones depends on how much mental energy I have. In theory, I can make an unlimited number of Spiritual Clones."

Golden light gleamed in Tian Meng's eyes after he heard the explanation.

"That's a great ability! You can use those clones to throw enemies off on the battlefield."