Chapter 43

"Old rogue, old rogue, hurry up and awaken my Martial Soul!"

The Clone leaped onto the table in a frenzy. Dancing on his toes, he kicked over the cakes and tea that had been brought in yesterday.

He looked neither human nor monkey.

Were you the Monkey King reincarnated?

Jiang Hao sighed helplessly. Then he remembered that around a dozen recent Clones had yet to awaken. He might as well awaken them all while he was at it.

With that thought, Jiang Hao took the Awakening Stones and Guidance Array from his Soul Tool and set them in the center of the room.

One Clone after another emerged from Jiang Hao's Spiritual Sea. As soon as they appeared, he sealed the room with his Spiritual Power.

"Old rogue, awaken me first!" The monkey-like Clone bounded across the table toward him, only to be blocked by more than a dozen Clones who rushed out together.

"Why should you go first? Brothers, beat him up! This brat thinks he can cut in line!"

"We've been waiting in your Spiritual Sea for over ten days! You dare cut in front of your seniors? You're asking for a beating!"

Jiang Hao adjusted the array with a wry smile. Watching Sixth Bro get mobbed on the floor, he called out:

"All right, stop.

Keep this up and I'll assign every last one of you to the Self-Destruction Squad. We're on someone else's turf, so watch yourselves."

Jiang Hao clapped his hands, and the Clones stopped.

"Now line up by birth date. Anyone who cuts in line goes straight to the Self-Destruction Squad and can forget about getting a Soul Ring in this lifetime."

The Clones immediately formed a neat, obedient line.

The first Clone stepped into the awakening array, and light flared.

"Trash. Blue Silver Grass again? Why are the odds so high?

Don't tell me Third Bro really put a curse on me."

Jiang Hao waved a hand, and the Clone who had awakened Blue Silver Grass vanished, returning to the Sea of Consciousness.

The second Clone stepped forward.

As Soul Power flowed into him, the rather steady, honest-looking Clone instantly turned into a pile of sand and earth on the floor.

Jiang Hao curled his lip. "Why do today's drops feel so strange? What even is this? A sand Martial Soul? Next."

Jiang Hao released his Soul Power again. The Clone at the center of the array suddenly gave off a gentle holy light. As the shadow of his Martial Soul appeared, every hair on his head fell out.

"No! This isn't right! Where's my hair?" The Clone wailed and grabbed at his scalp. His hair had turned to ash, leaving his once long, silver-white locks replaced by a bald head.

A wooden fish sounded. A pure-white Wooden Fish had appeared in one of his hands, and a mallet to strike it in the other.

Now Jiang Hao really couldn't stay calm. "There's something wrong with these drop rates! Ever since my Soul Power reached level twenty, they've been all wrong!

Did someone secretly change my fate?

Did they put a curse on me?"

"Hurry up, old rogue! Hurry! I can't wait." The Clone at the back of the line shook the person in front of him.

Jiang Hao had no choice but to speed up the awakenings.

"Blue Silver Grass again. Now that's more like it. As long as Blue Silver Grass still shows up, I can relax."

Jiang Hao's heart finally settled. He had been afraid something had set its sights on him.

If it was that old turtle Third Bro, wouldn't he be finished?

If the dog leash meant for Huo Yuhao ended up around Jiang Hao's neck instead, that would be a disaster.

The next Clone stepped onto the Awakening Platform. The surging Soul Power instantly grew more violent, buffeting everything in the room.

The shadow of a dragon rose behind the Clone and plunged into his body.

Crimson dragon scales spread upward from his feet until they covered him completely.

His height shot from just 1.3 meters to 1.6. Beneath the pure-red dragon armor, his silver hair bound itself into a single bunch, then ignited and turned crimson.

"A fire dragon Martial Soul—and it looks like a mutated one!" Jiang Hao clicked his tongue. This might be the best Martial Soul he had ever awakened.

Judging by its entrance alone, it was far more imposing than Ice Sword Bro's.

"Main Body Old Rogue, this power really leaves a person feeling helpless.

I suddenly don't feel like eating beef anymore. What do you think I should do?"

Fire Dragon Bro grinned, and two jets of flame burst from the vents in his cheeks.

Jiang Hao waved a hand, calling on Mirror Bro's ability. A mirrored surface appeared and reflected the flames.

"Knowing how to use my Clones' abilities is one of my strengths."

Jiang Hao raised a hand. Fire Dragon Bro, armored from head to toe in scales, promptly collapsed where he stood.

Dragon Transformation followed, covering Jiang Hao in the same dragon armor. He carefully felt the power surging through him and reproached himself inwardly:

In this state, he has almost a third of the power I had at full strength yesterday—and he's fifty percent stronger than Ice Sword Bro.

He waved a hand to recall the Clone, then began the next awakening.

"A Frying Pan. Interesting, but it doesn't seem very useful.

A sword shattered into pieces and held together by a faint violet glow? That can be a Martial Soul?

Trash. If they didn't share Soul Power, I doubt any of these would even reach level ten. They're all useless except Fire Dragon Bro." Possessed by the spirit of Su Yuntao, Jiang Hao delivered his verdict on every awakened Martial Soul.

"Congratulations, Sixth Bro. You're the only one who earned a title before awakening his Martial Soul."

"Enough talk! Awaken me already! I'm going to slaughter everyone!

When it comes down to it, you're just too merciful!

This is so boring. I want to see rivers of blood!"

Sixth Bro held his hands before him like claws, palms up, and struck a ridiculous pose at Jiang Hao. (Look up the picture online.)

Jiang Hao said nothing and released his Soul Power.

The frenzied Sixth Bro calmed down. He spread his hands and felt the white Soul Power soak through his entire body.

Three seconds passed. A drop of water appeared beneath his feet.

Then came a second drop, and a third. They slowly gathered into a stream that flowed up toward his head.

?

???

What kind of underworld nonsense was this?

Before Jiang Hao could speak, a wretched cry rang out:

"No! Why? Why water? Why wasn't I the one who awakened the Soul-Refining Banner?

Why wasn't I the one who awakened the fire dragon?

Why did I get nothing but an ordinary element?

"Main Body, let me out! I'm going to become an Evil Soul Master!"

"I'll dye this clear water bloodred!"

"I'm going to be a middle-parted blood prince!"

Jiang Hao planted a palm against Sixth Bro as he tried to approach. Jiang Hao knew this move too well. The next step would probably be a sliding kneel, a hug around his leg, and snot wiped on his knee.

"If you want a middle part that badly, go sing, dance, and rap."

As for being a blood prince, this is Douluo Continent. If you go to a kindergarten, I might not even be able to find you.

Jiang Hao shook his head.

Still, he had the faint sense that the Clones he awakened after breaking through level twenty were of slightly higher quality.

SP:

This round of Clone awakenings gave priority to Yu Xiaoqi's Holy Light Wooden Fish.

Mo Le's suggested kitchen-utensil Martial Soul, the Frying Pan.

The mutated fire dragon suggested by the ever-so-humble Hu Hu.

The Thousand-Blade Demon Sword suggested by Little Gray Sky, who wanted to play the sly sixth man, along with suggestions from several other readers.

And the Underworld River—Against the Current, from Minghe Bumie's "I Shall Endure."

I'll keep adding more later.

Please keep reading—this really matters.

Three updates tomorrow! Please vote with your monthly tickets! Let's go!