Clone

After Amon negotiated terms with Yan Jin and Ma Wen, the latter handed over this year's five hundred Gold Soul Coins on the spot and tossed Amon the key to a property beside Icewind Primary Soul Master Academy.

After leaving Thorn Manor, Yan Jin brought Lei Yin and the others over. Compared to the chaotic and dangerous West Street, the area beside the academy was clearly much safer.

"Are we going to live here from now on?" Lei Yin was still somewhat incredulous. He looked at Yan Jin worriedly. "Big Sis, what did you do?"

He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. To gain so much, they must have paid an equivalent price.

"Ah, it's nothing. I might just need to work for Ma Wen in the future."

"Ma Wen? That Ms. Ma Wen?" Lei Yin was shocked.

"We all know her businesses involve many dangerous fields. Working for her could cost you your life. Hurry and return the money. We can't let you take such a huge risk, Big Sis."

Yan Jin rolled her eyes. "Do you think it's still possible to return it now? If we try to back out of an agreement with Ma Wen, there'll probably be a few more corpses hanging from the 'Cured Meat Tree' outside the city tomorrow."

The "Cured Meat Tree" was a large tree not far from Frostleaf City's gates. People often discovered corpses that had mysteriously "grown" from its branches early in the morning, hanging there like cured meat.

Those who knew the truth understood that it was the work of the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce, Ma Wen's way of intimidating anyone who dared offend her.

"You don't need to worry. I won't be working for her right away, but later on. What we've received can be regarded as her investment in us, or as a different kind of student loan.

"Besides, I may not necessarily have to work for her later. It might be 'cooperation' instead, depending on how far I can go by then."

"Also, from now on, all of you should wear clothes like these whenever you go out." Yan Jin tossed the clothes provided by the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce to Lei Yin.

Besides collecting the clothes she was required to wear under the contract terms, Yan Jin had also asked Ma Wen for additional Work Uniforms from the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce.

This was also a safeguard for her younger siblings' safety. In Frostleaf City, very few people dared provoke the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce.

After reassuring Lei Yin, Yan Jin put on one of the black outfits provided by the chamber of commerce, moved her arms a little, and muttered, "Am I going to have to wear clothes like this all the time from now on?"

Amon smiled. "It might affect your ability to wear your favorite clothes and dress yourself up in front of your classmates, but look on the bright side. Free clothes aren't a bad thing."

"No, I don't really care about dressing up. It's just that some of the women's styles are a little cumbersome, which isn't convenient when fighting. But why don't you have to wear the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce's clothes?"

"Because I don't attract as much attention as you do. For instance, not many upperclassmen at our academy probably know me, an assistant instructor, but no one fails to recognize the famous student Yan Jin." Amon wore a smile.

"Oh, is that so..." Yan Jin eyed him suspiciously. "You should give me my share now, shouldn't you?"

Amon handed Yan Jin one hundred Gold Soul Coins.

She muttered under her breath, "Why isn't it split evenly? This was an investment in both of us, wasn't it?"

"Because I secured this sponsorship," Amon explained. "And I'll be providing you with guidance on the path of a Soul Master afterward."

In truth, of the five hundred Gold Soul Coins, Ma Wen had been willing to invest the vast majority because of Yan Jin's talent. Amon was merely included as an extra.

Her willingness to hand it over immediately also came from her recognition of Yan Jin.

The essence of this deal was that Amon was selling Yan Jin's future potential.

But Yan Jin herself did not know this. She only knew that Amon had secured many favorable terms for them during the negotiations.

"Alright, that's reasonable." Yan Jin nodded, accepting the distribution and feeling that Amon was quite a good person.

The house Ma Wen had lent them was fairly spacious and even came with a courtyard.

Amon chose a room on the easternmost side.

He made a trip to the academy dormitory and brought out his belongings.

After returning to the house, Amon closed the door. Two streaks of light flew from his body and transformed into two boys identical to him.

After this period of exploration, he had gained a deeper understanding of his Martial Soul's characteristics.

The Worm of Time Martial Soul naturally was not as strange and powerful as an actual Worm of Time. It merely possessed a portion of its abilities.

The process of splitting was essentially an allocation of soul and soul power. Amon had inherited Mysterious Amon's ability to wield extraordinary powers, so he could sense the subtle changes in his own soul. Half a month of experimentation had been enough for him to quantitatively analyze the recovery and restoration progress of his soul.

Taking his originally complete soul as one standard unit, and his original cultivation speed as the cultivation speed of Innate Full Soul Power, ten percent of a soul's share was roughly equivalent to the cultivation talent of innate first-level soul power.

Whether it was the Main Body or an avatar, their souls were slowly restoring themselves. The more of a share an avatar received, the faster its soul restored. By his rough estimate, the Main Body, which possessed eighty-five percent of the soul's share, would need about a year to restore ten percent of its soul.

An avatar with ten percent of the soul's share would need far more than a year to restore ten percent. As for the other one, which possessed only five percent, it would take even longer.

However, the restoration efficiency of one avatar with ten percent of the soul's share was lower than the combined efficiency of two avatars with five percent each.

For Amon as a whole, the more Time Clones he split apart, the faster his overall soul would grow.

Amon could not create Time Clones without limit, because carrying a complete consciousness required at least five percent of a soul. Furthermore, the smallest unit of Soul Power Level an avatar could possess was half a level. Any lower, and it could not manifest a body or cultivate independently.

With a thought, he split off another avatar with five percent of his soul and half a level of soul power. The avatar that had originally been used for comparison, possessing ten percent of his soul and one level of soul power, also split into two half-level avatars.

As the Worm of Time split apart, his Main Body's Soul Power Level also dropped to level eleven.

Splitting out four half-level avatars was his current limit. Moreover, he had no intention of reducing his Main Body's soul below eighty percent, as that would make the Main Body's cultivation speed too slow.

He had to ensure that his Main Body's cultivation speed remained at a certain standard. Otherwise, if his Soul Power Level was too low later on, he would not even be qualified to participate in the plot, much less gain benefits from it.

Amon had his own little goal—becoming a god faster than Tang San!

Before Tang San became a god, Douluo Continent was subject to relatively little high-level interference from the God Realm. Once he became a god, the rule that gods could not interfere with the lower realm without cause would become meaningless.

He casually formed a Monocle and placed it over his right eye. The four avatar Amons focused on the borrowed books and began studying.

One Amon suddenly laughed. He recalled his childhood dream—or rather, wish—before he transmigrated.

When he had been in school, he had always wished he could have several avatars to help him do homework and attend classes for him. Now, that wish seemed to have come true.

The avatars only had half a level of soul power, and their cultivation talent was poor, but they were perfectly suited for studying. They could directly transmit what they learned to the Main Body through synchronized consciousness, saving a great deal of time.

The Main Body Amon sat on the bed and cultivated his soul power.

Amon skillfully entered meditation. He felt as though he were suspended in the Void. Points of light drifted around him, and as his spiritual power spread outward, the light points continuously gathered toward him.