After reliving the memories, Qin Ze couldn't help breaking out in goosebumps.
What kind of inscrutable ability was that?
It completely erased a person without leaving a trace, then turned its user into them.
The two were virtually identical, in both appearance and bearing.
Even their own mother would have had trouble telling them apart.
Fortunately, the clone shared memories with Qin Ze and the others. Otherwise, even Qin Ze would have had trouble telling the real one from the fake.
"How dare he! He actually killed one of our people?"
"Have Dharma King and Brother Devour take the brothers and rush him."
"Give it a rest. They wouldn't even make a full meal for him."
"Was that mirror his innate ability? It looked so damn cool."
"To be fair, it really did."
"He came for Brother Biao. He's probably looking for the key."
"Speaking of which, what door does that key even open?"
"Ghosts know."
"I'm dying here. This clown thinks his disguise is flawless, but he has no idea he can't join our local network."
"..."
The clones chattered nonstop.
Although he didn't know how the other party had seen through the beggar clone's disguise, now that the man had come knocking, Qin Ze couldn't keep being so passive.
Fortunately, the man seemed to have no further leads. Otherwise, he wouldn't have assumed the beggar's identity.
"Since you like being a beggar so much, I'll let you be one."
For the time being, Qin Ze decided to meet every change by staying unchanged.
The clones still holding their posts outside all went home.
The wind was turning; time to make a run for it.
Qin Ze pulled open his collar and glanced at the lifelike little tree on his chest.
What on earth was it, that so many people would flock to it like ducks?
So many people wanted it, so it had to be a treasure.
I don't have to know what the key is for, but I absolutely can't be without it.
Qin Ze yawned.
He had already cultivated for an hour today. He had really put himself through a lot.
"Time to sleep."
Qin Ze lay down and pulled his little blanket over himself.
Then he instructed the clones:
"Don't any of you go to sleep. Cultivate hard. How can you sleep at your age?"
The clones all said, "Qin Ze, am I pretty?!"
The school held a thorough cleaning that morning to prepare for the executive officer's arrival that afternoon.
The students were all excited too, eager to catch a glimpse of the executive officer's distinguished bearing.
He was a legendary Advanced Martial Artist, someone they normally saw only on TV or online.
Though they couldn't understand why a great deity like him would visit a little temple like Jiang City, being happy was enough.
"Welcome to our school, executive officer!"
That afternoon, Qin Ze's entire grade was taking body-forging class on the training field when the principal came over with a large entourage.
At their head was the Big Handsome Guy Qin Ze had seen in the surveillance footage, the executive officer who was the focus of today's inspection.
Behind him came Jiang City's city lord, the city defense army commander, various bureau chiefs, every adjudicator from the Law Enforcement Department, and a squad of law enforcers.
Qin Ze also saw Number Three.
The guy waggled his eyebrows and made faces at him in greeting from the crowd.
Who knew what had gotten into him?
"Executive officer, these are all the students from our school taking the martial arts exam this year."
The principal signaled to everyone, and the students welcomed the visitors with enthusiastic applause, just as they had rehearsed.
The Big Handsome Guy looked around and said calmly, "Your students are all full of vigor and spirit."
The principal smiled obsequiously beside him. "It's all because they heard you were coming today, executive officer. That's why every last one of them is so excited."
The Big Handsome Guy said, "Jiang City is a place of outstanding people and blessed land. It was once home to a level-eight Saber King."
"Let me see how Jiang City's younger generation is doing."
The principal understood what the Big Handsome Guy meant.
He immediately called on Fang Songhua and a few others he had arranged for in advance to give a demonstration.
They were already top students from well-off families, and after a period of hard cultivation-by gobbling up qi-gathering pills-their average qi and blood had reached eight hundred.
That was equivalent to a level-0.8 martial artist.
At their age and level, they would have been a sensation even at a martial arts university.
They sparred for a while, but the Big Handsome Guy showed little interest.
"Lin Zhiyuan, come and show the executive officer your innate ability."
The principal had been watching the Big Handsome Guy's expression the whole time.
Seeing that he wasn't interested in the children's roughhousing, he immediately thought of the fatty, the only student in the school who had awakened an innate ability.
Called by name, the fatty stepped forward.
He concentrated, preparing to use his ability.
"Hah!"
With a shout, the fatty abruptly used Teleportation to move forward by five and a half centimeters.
That was right!
Since the incident at the Black Mountain Research Institute, the fatty had improved again.
The scene was a little awkward.
The principal hadn't expected it to be this awkward either. He could only steel himself and lead the applause.
The accompanying martial artists were considerate enough to offer a few brief words of praise.
The Big Handsome Guy, however, became interested.
"How much spiritual power do you have now?"
The fatty answered, "0.3 stone."
A stone was the unit used to measure spiritual power.
Simply put, being able to move one standard measuring stone with spiritual power meant one's spiritual power had reached one stone.
The Big Handsome Guy said, "Your innate ability has great potential for development. It's very useful in actual combat and can often win through surprise."
Praised personally by the executive officer, the fatty puffed out his chest like a proud rooster.
"By the way, I heard your school has a student who cultivated the Fate Reversal Technique to the completion of the first layer. Which one is he?" the Big Handsome Guy asked.
"Qin Ze, come out. The executive officer wants to see your Fate Reversal Technique," the principal said.
He had some impression of Qin Ze.
After all, students who could cultivate the Fate Reversal Technique to that level while still in high school were extremely rare.
He had once pinned high hopes on Qin Ze.
But during the qi and blood test, Qin Ze's value had been too ordinary, so the principal had forgotten about him.
Qin Ze came before the Big Handsome Guy, feeling a little uneasy.
This was his first time facing an Advanced Martial Artist directly.
The man's aura was warm and gentle, making him feel as though he were basking in a spring breeze. It carried none of the pressure he had imagined a powerful expert would exert.
"You seem a little afraid of me," the Big Handsome Guy said with a smile.
"This is my first time meeting an Advanced Martial Artist. I am nervous," Qin Ze explained.
The Big Handsome Guy looked Qin Ze straight in the eye, his smile slowly fading.
"First time meeting?"
"Your reaction doesn't look much like it's your first time seeing me."
Qin Ze's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
Were the instincts of an Advanced Martial Artist that sharp?
Danger! Danger! Danger!
"Hahaha!"
"I was teasing you. Look how scared you are."
The Big Handsome Guy suddenly laughed.
"I have to say, your reaction is pretty cute, like a little mochi."
Qin Ze's mouth grew a little stiff.
He didn't know whether he should smile or smile.
"Let me see your Fate Reversal Technique."
Qin Ze shook both arms.
Crack, crack, crack, crack-
A series of explosive cracks rang out inside his body.
Eighty acupoints were forced open by his qi and blood in succession.
But Qin Ze had deliberately kept his qi and blood value just above seven hundred.
"Pretty good. You have a chance of becoming Jiang City's next Saber King."
The Big Handsome Guy nodded in satisfaction, offering high praise.
The Saber King was the only level-eight martial artist Jiang City had produced to date.
He was the pride of everyone in Jiang City.
Qin Ze said, "My aptitude is mediocre. How could I possibly compare with the Saber King?"
The demonstration over, Qin Ze was about to return to the group when the Big Handsome Guy suddenly called him back.
"What is that thing you're wearing on your wrist?"