Shadowless Clone

On the weekend morning, Jiang Hao finished breakfast, picked up his packed backpack, and went out to meet Chubby.

What he failed to notice was that Liao Yunxiao, who never missed breakfast, was absent.

He arrived at their agreed meeting place, the transport station.

What surprised Jiang Hao, however, was Wen Ruxue standing beside Chubby. She wore a short black trench coat and knee-high boots, her hair tied in a bun. He had never imagined that this normally gentle girl could look so dashing.

Chubby was even more ridiculous: a T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of enormous sunglasses. Did he really think they were going on a picnic?

Jiang Hao himself looked much more normal in his clean, crisp white casual outfit.

Jiang Hao pointed at the station entrance and asked in confusion, "Wen Ruxue, what are you doing here?"

Where was she going?

Afraid Jiang Hao would misunderstand, Wen Ruxue hurriedly explained, "I know you're going to Wu Ji Mountain to hunt rare demon beasts, but the two of you alone clearly won't be enough. I asked Guo Dundun to bring me along. My Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly has already reached the golden body realm. If you get into a tough fight, it can use Healing Art to quickly restore your health and your Beast Pets'."

Chubby chimed in, "Hao, I think it's a good idea. If we really run into danger, my little bear might not survive more than a few hits. But with her Beast Pet helping heal us, we'll have a fighting chance."

Wen Ruxue's Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly was a rare support-type pet. Not only was it an excellent healer, it also possessed a special ultimate skill, Magnetic Field Rally. It could rouse the fighting spirit of every teammate within fifty meters for five minutes, doubling their pets' combat power and attributes for that duration.

Clearly, Jiang Hao could not refuse her.

"Then let's get this straight first. I'm the captain for this operation, and everyone has to follow my orders."

Wen Ruxue immediately smiled like a blooming flower, the little dimples on her cheeks sweet enough to drown someone in sweetness.

"No problem! Whatever you say!"

The three entered the station and boarded a flight to Celestial Pole City. Make no mistake: the Beast-Taming World had no airplanes. These so-called flights were actually mounts, a type of working pet called the Windriding Bird. They were fast and could carry over twenty people at once.

The journey from Primordial City to Wuji City was over a thousand kilometers, but a Windriding Bird could cover it in just eight hours.

The Wuji Mountains lay toward the north of the Shenzhou Kingdom. Wuji meant boundless, without end. This was the kingdom's longest mountain range, spanning the greatest stretch of latitude and covering nearly a tenth of its territory. Its highest ridges reached almost ten thousand meters, and its complex, ever-changing terrain was home to countless varieties of demon beasts.

The far end of the Wuji Mountains marked the Shenzhou Kingdom's border. There stood the City of Eternity, where the Shenzhou army was stationed, with a permanent population of roughly three hundred thousand.

The moment he sat down on the Windriding Bird-

A notification from the Survival Simulator suddenly sounded.

"Ding! A journey to the Wuji Mountains has been detected. Would you like to enter the real-world survival simulation game? Once you enter, you will learn everything that is about to happen in advance. Killing monsters in the game will grant you any one attribute and skill. Don't let this opportunity slip away."

Jiang Hao nearly failed to keep his drool in his mouth.

The Survival Simulator could predict the future, too?

If it really let him know what would happen ahead of time, that was outrageously powerful.

If possible, he would rather learn how the Beast Pet Tournament would unfold. That would help him avoid plenty of trouble.

Of course he chose to enter.

When the Simulation Game began, not only did he and Big Hen appear in the game, but Chubby, Wen Ruxue, and their Beast Pets were pulled in as well. They were merely bundles of data without thoughts of their own, though.

For some reason, that made Jiang Hao breathe a sigh of relief.

There was a safe passage into Wu Ji Mountain here, specially opened by Wuji City, which extended twenty kilometers into the Wuji Mountains.

On his first attempt, Jiang Hao chose to enter far from the passage entrance. Before the three had walked even a kilometer, a pack of level 35 Snowfrost Wolves surrounded them. The level 21 Big Hen could not hurt them at all, and even Chubby's level 30 brown bear died after taking just a few hits.

They were vicious!

Snow wolves were Beast Pets exclusive to the North Sea Kingdom. That kingdom revered brute force and plunder, so the people of Shenzhou jokingly called them northern barbarians.

The North Sea Kingdom bordered two countries: the Cangling Kingdom and the Shenzhou Kingdom. The three formed a triangle, with much of their territory adjoining. The Cangling Kingdom lay west of the Shenzhou Kingdom, while the North Sea Kingdom lay to its north. Most of the latter's territory was covered in snow year-round. Its bitterly cold climate caused food shortages, so it frequently harassed the Shenzhou Kingdom's borders, simply because Shenzhou was weak and easy to bully.

But that was getting off track.

The first game ended in failure. That route was a dead end.

In the second game, Jiang Hao took a wide detour around the Snowfrost Wolves' territory. This time, they traveled five kilometers before encountering a level 40 Ironclad Centipede and getting wiped out again.

Fortunately, the Survival Simulator had a save function. Otherwise, the attributes Big Hen would have lost from dying twice would have left him sobbing himself unconscious in the bathroom.

On his third attempt, Jiang Hao chose a route closer to the safe passage entrance. This time, after walking six kilometers, they finally encountered a relatively weak Flower Civet Cat.

Flower Civet Cat

Level: 29

Quality: superior.

Combat power: 210

Strength: 95

Endurance: 30

Defense: 25

Agility: 118

Skills: Shadowless Clone, Skyward Strike

The instant they encountered each other, the Flower Civet Cat attacked. Its speed could only be described as lightning-fast. It charged straight at Pang Dudu, whom it considered the greatest threat.

Skyward Strike!

A prompt appeared above its forehead, and it leaped high into the air, slashing viciously at Pang Dudu's face with its sharp right claw.

It was so fast it left afterimages.

Before Pang Dudu could react, the blow landed. An enormous -599 damage number rose above his head. Despite his thick hide and tough flesh, a third of his health bar vanished instantly.

The battle had begun.

Wen Ruxue hurriedly released her Beast Pet, the Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly, to heal Pang Dudu.

A single dose of healing restored all his lost health.

Threatened by the enemy, Big Hen immediately triggered his passive skill, Hen and Eggs in Ruin.

"Cluck-cluck!"

An egg shot out of his rear.

Every time Jiang Hao saw this, he could not help covering his face.

The egg came with its own GPS targeting system. No matter how fast the enemy was, it made no difference. When it came within two meters of the Flower Civet Cat, it suddenly burst apart. A fist-sized fireball wreathed in raging flames swiftly struck the cat.

"Meow!"

As the Flower Civet Cat cried out in pain, a -251 damage number appeared above its forehead. This damage was calculated from the Beast Pet's combat power, strength, and skill damage combined, making it very different from the Survival Simulator's built-in game world.

The attacked Flower Civet Cat quickly turned its attention toward Big Hen. That would never do! Big Hen had only one point of endurance. A single touch would kill him.

Seeing the enemy about to switch targets, Pang Dudu swung his paw without hesitation and slammed a heavy strike into the Flower Civet Cat.

Smack!

Another enormous damage number, -200, appeared.

Those two attacks alone stripped away more than half the Flower Civet Cat's health bar.

After taking two hits, the Flower Civet Cat finally grew cautious. Rather than attack recklessly again, it used its extraordinary agility to circle Big Hen and Pang Dudu, searching for a weakness to exploit.

Big Hen hid behind Pang Dudu, giving the Flower Civet Cat no opening as he waited for his skill's cooldown. With its agility, ten seconds was enough for the cat to kill Big Hen several times over.

At the nine-second mark, the Flower Civet Cat finally attacked again. It rushed straight to Pang Dudu's side, coming within half a meter of Big Hen.

"Cluck-cluck!"

Another egg dropped into the world.

At the same time, Pang Dudu raised his right bear paw and brought it down. Caught in a two-pronged assault, the Flower Civet Cat was struck by the Heavy Strike and fireball simultaneously.

"Meow!"

With a wretched cry, the Flower Civet Cat collapsed.

Delighted, Jiang Hao waited for the Survival Simulator's notification.

Suddenly, the fallen Flower Civet Cat climbed back to its feet.

Skyward Strike!

The blow killed the utterly unprepared Big Hen outright.

Jiang Hao: ???

Utterly bewildered, Jiang Hao finally heard the Survival Simulator's notification.

"Ding! Your Beast Pet has died. Game over."

What the hell? Did this Flower Civet Cat come with resurrection armor?

Again.

This time, Jiang Hao naturally did not dare let his guard down. After knocking the Flower Civet Cat down the same way, he immediately had Wen Ruxue's Beast Pet activate its ultimate skill, Magnetic Field Rally.

Under the rally effect, Pang Dudu's combat power instantly went off the charts. Giving the enemy no chance, he landed two consecutive heavy strikes on the newly revived Flower Civet Cat, leaving it with only a sliver of health.

-

400-

400

"Meow? Meow?"

Those two earth-shaking damage numbers left even the Flower Civet Cat dumbfounded.

Unable to take any more, the Flower Civet Cat turned and fled.

If it escaped now, wouldn't all their work go to waste?

At that critical instant, Jiang Hao hurriedly sent Big Hen forward to finish it with a fireball. Success or failure hinged on this one move. At worst, he could simply try again.

Big Hen was less than half a meter from the Flower Civet Cat. His sixteen points of agility did not even match the spare change of its stat, making him insignificant before it. But he did have a pair of wings, after all. Flying was just that little bit faster than running.

"Cluck-cluck!" The cry rang out like a death warrant.

-

A damage number of 111 rose above the Flower Civet Cat's forehead, emptying its health bar completely.

"Ding! Congratulations! Your Beast Pet, Ice Crystal Phoenix, has successfully killed a Flower Civet Cat and will receive any one of its attributes and skills."

"Ding! Your Beast Pet, Ice Crystal Phoenix, landed the final blow on the Flower Civet Cat. Skill points +20."

"Ding! Your Beast Pet has reached level 22."

For the attribute, Jiang Hao chose strength without a second thought. Ninety-five points of strength might be less than 118 points of agility, but as the saying went, the best defense was a good offense. Big Hen's strength reached 156. Wouldn't a single Fireball now take half an opponent's life?

As for the skill selection-

Shadowless Clone: the Flower Civet Cat's exclusive ultimate skill. Uses a false-death body to withstand one fatal hit.

Skyward Strike: leaps into the air at extreme speed, gaining an attack bonus to deliver a fatal blow to the opponent.

Reading Shadowless Clone's description, he finally understood how the Flower Civet Cat had revived. What an incredible skill! His own carelessness with it had tripped him up. Wouldn't it be wonderful to spring this surprise at the Beast Pet Tournament?

Finally, he allocated his skill points and attribute points, raising Fireball to level 2 at last. Big Hen still was not fast enough. After seeing the Flower Civet Cat's speed, Jiang Hao was unbearably envious, so he put all five attribute points straight into agility.

Beast Pet owner: Jiang Hao

Beast Pet: Ice Crystal Phoenix (hen)

Realm: Qi condensation (level 22)

Rapport: 75

Combat power: 221

Attribute points: 0

Skill points: 0

Strength: 156

Endurance: 1

Defense: 1

Agility: 21

Critical rate: 0

Precision strike: 0

Skills: Hen and Eggs in Ruin (passive), Shadowless Clone (passive), Fireball (level 2)

Hen and Eggs in Ruin: passive skill. Triggers a counterattack when the Beast Pet is threatened, randomly launching a skill that can accurately hit the enemy.

Shadowless Clone: sealed skill. Uses a false-death body to withstand one fatal hit. Cooldown: three hours.

Seeing those 156 points of strength, Jiang Hao could no longer contain his excitement. He threw back his head and let out a strange "geh-geh-geh" laugh.