Playing with mud

At that glance, Xing Yao froze on the spot. Three seconds later, the laughter he had held in to the limit nearly choked him to death.

What soul skill, what law, what heaven-defying ability!

There was Clone No. 1, squatting on the ground with a lump of mud condensed from mental power before him, his face solemn, utterly earnest and serious as he-played with mud and made little figures!

His fingers clumsily rolled it back and forth, shaping it into something recognizable. He was ten times more focused than the other clones were on cultivating.

Xing Yao doubled over laughing on the spot, clutching his stomach, unable to straighten up. He pointed at Clone No. 1, his mockery utterly undisguised, rising wave after wave as the contrast reached its peak:

"Hahahaha-Clone No. 1! Are you trying to make me die laughing?!

You're the badass who one-shotted the Redrock Magma Rock Demon General!

A Second Tier powerhouse who once cut down a formidable enemy with a single slash and shook the region!

I thought you were studying some earth-shattering ultimate move after your breakthrough, cultivating an invincible secret art, but you're actually hiding in this shabby little corner, playing with mud and making little figures like a three-year-old?

Come on, you're a grown man! Can't you be a little more mature?!

Are you living up to your record of one-shotting the Rock Demon General? Are you living up to your status as a Second Tier powerhouse?

No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 are still cultivating desperately to catch up with you, and here you are, slacking off and playing with mud!

If word got out, who would believe that an expert who one-shotted a vicious demon was actually like this in private?!"

Xing Yao laughed so hard that tears streamed from his eyes. Pointing at Clone No. 1's crooked little mud figure, he mercilessly twisted the knife:

"Look at what you've made! Such an impressive battle record, and this is what you do for fun?

If I were the Rock Demon General, I'd be so furious I'd crawl back up from the dead!"

Startled by the sudden wild laughter, Clone No. 1 shuddered. His hand shook, and the little mud figure he had just finished collapsed into a flat lump with a plop.

He jerked his head up, his entire face instantly flushing scarlet, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. His panicked gaze darted everywhere as he frantically hid the lump of mud behind his back. He was so embarrassed that he was practically smoking, wishing he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it right there.

Clone No. 1 lowered his head in mortification, his voice as faint as a mosquito's whine as he protested pitifully:

"I... I was just too bored after advancing, so I played for a little while..."

Seeing Clone No. 1 so embarrassed that his toes were digging into the ground, Xing Yao couldn't stop laughing. His unrestrained guffaws filled the entire mental world.

Clone No. 1's neck had turned red from being laughed at, but he stubbornly held his head high and refused to back down:

"What's wrong with having a childlike heart?! I'm a clone of you, the original! Who else would I get my personality from?! If I want to play, that means you, the original, have the same urge!"

Xing Yao instantly froze, the smile on his face stiffening harder than cement. It took him ages to react, and he nearly failed to catch his breath.

"What did you say?!"

Xing Yao pointed at Clone No. 1, his finger trembling with anger, his sarcasm turned up to the limit:

"So you've actually found a justification for playing with mud and making little figures?

By your logic, since I see you're so engrossed in it, should I join you in playing with mud too?

Who taught you that twisted nonsense?!"

Clone No. 1 retorted with complete conviction:

"Well, what else?! You're my original, and I'm your clone! You think you can separate yourself from this?

If I play with this, that means you like it too!"

"I don't like it! I don't like it at all!"

Xing Yao practically exploded with anger on the spot. He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes hard, his tone full of disdain:

"Even if I, Xing Yao, cultivate until the heavens and earth go dark today, even if I go out and slay a hundred Rock Demon Generals, I will never play with this childish stuff!

Who is this guy? I don't know him! Don't pin this on me!"

A few minutes later.

In that secluded corner of the mental world.

Two figures squatted side by side on the ground, their heads close together, watching with utter concentration.

One was the original, Xing Yao. The other was none other than Clone No. 1, whom he had just mocked relentlessly and declared he absolutely did not know.

Xing Yao held a little lump of mental mud, clumsily rolling and kneading it between his fingers, his brows tightly knitted. He was even more serious than when studying cultivation techniques, and he solemnly offered instructions:

"No, no, you made the head too big. It looks like a doofus. Smaller! Smaller!"

Clone No. 1 immediately objected:

"You're the one whose technique sucks! The one I made earlier looked better than yours!"

"I suck? I'm the original! You dare say I suck?"

"Well, yours still doesn't look as good as mine!"

As they argued, the two kept their heads down and furiously molded mud figures, having the time of their lives. Their earlier lofty declarations about being a "Second Tier powerhouse," "one-shotting the Rock Demon General," and "never playing with childish things" had long since been flung beyond the ninth heaven.

Clone No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4, who were still cultivating diligently nearby: "..."

Silently sensing the childish air drifting over from the corner, they all pretended they had seen nothing.

Utterly engrossed in shaping the mud, Xing Yao still stubbornly insisted:

"I-I'm just keeping you company for a bit! This is purely an experiment! It's not because I like playing!"

Clone No. 1 gave him an indifferent glance:

"Oh. Then stop grabbing it so fast."

Xing Yao: "..."

Fine. Forget saving face. The mud figures mattered more.

After quite a while, Xing Yao's hands suddenly paused over his mud figure. His head buzzed, and only then did he abruptly come back to his senses.

He set the little mud figure on the ground, slapped his forehead, and looked as though he had just seen the light:

"Right! You almost led me astray-what ability did you actually awaken after reaching the Second Tier?"

When Xing Yao saw that his flurry of movements had knocked his freshly made mud figure crooked, his face crumpled with heartache on the spot.

He hurriedly crouched back down, carefully cradling the lump of mental mud in both hands and slowly repairing it bit by bit. He lavished more care on it than he would on restoring some supreme treasure, muttering all the while:

"Oh no... my little figure... don't fall apart, don't fall apart..."

After fussing over it for ages, he finally restored the mud figure to a neat, proper shape.

Only then did Xing Yao reluctantly draw back his hands. He gave it two more pained looks before slowly standing up.

He dusted nonexistent dirt off his hands, cleared his throat, and tried hard to look solemn again as he turned to Clone No. 1:

"All right, no more playing. Let's get down to business-

What exactly is the ability you awakened at the Second Tier?"

Clone No. 1 gently smoothed out the crooked mud figure on the ground and carefully reshaped it. Only then did he clap his hands, still wanting more, and slowly stand up, his expression suddenly turning serious.

"Let's get down to business. My ability... is different from before."

He paused and looked at Xing Yao. "You should remember that my original origin was space-type, right? It was by comprehending the Law of Space in this consciousness world that I successfully broke through to the Second Tier."

Xing Yao immediately nodded, his gaze focused. "That's right. I've always been clear on that."

Clone No. 1 continued, his tone carrying a gravity that even he himself had not noticed:

"Only after breaking through did I discover that my current space origin has already merged completely with the laws of this consciousness world. Simply put-the Law of Space in this world is me, and I am the Law of Space in this world. The connection is countless times closer than before."