Trading Peashooters for Cannons

Xing Yao wore a sunny yet punchable grin, looking as though he was enjoying the spectacle and couldn't care less how big the trouble got, while a hint of mischief hid in his eyes.

Beside him, Clone No. 1 shook from holding back his laughter, clearly enjoying every second.

"Let's head home first."

The two wound this way and that through several secluded alleys before finally slipping back into the shabby little house.

After staying awake the entire night, their exhaustion exploded the moment they stepped inside. Their limbs were limp as noodles, their eyelids too heavy to lift, and all their earlier troublemaking frenzy had drained away, leaving only the utter exhaustion of wanting to lie flat right where they stood.

Both collapsed into puddles of mud-Xing Yao slumped onto the sofa and sank into it, too languid to move; Clone No. 1 sprawled opposite him in whatever position felt most comfortable, looking completely ready to give up trying.

After a long silence, Clone No. 1's eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaned closer with curiosity and anticipation:

"How many Resentment Points did we get this time? Enough to awaken my talent?"

Xing Yao said nothing. He slowly closed his eyes, plunging his consciousness straight into his mental world.

At the same instant, Clone No. 1 followed him in-with one obvious difference: only Xing Yao's mind entered, while his body remained comfortably sprawled on the sofa; Clone No. 1 passed through in his entirety, body included.

The moment they entered the space, both stared dumbfounded.

Resentment Points churned across the entire sky, so dense they had turned black, nearly condensing into substance, and their number was still skyrocketing.

"Holy crap! We're rich! We're rich!"

Clone No. 1's eyes sparkled with stars. He nearly jumped with excitement, his voice trembling.

Xing Yao's spirit form appeared as well. The staggering stockpile gave him quite a shock, and the corners of his mouth kept climbing uncontrollably:

"More than enough. This resentment won't just awaken your talent. I can make several more clones and give every one of them a talent too. I can also advance several stages myself. Hell, breaking straight through to Tier One might not even be a problem!"

As the two watched the Resentment Points continue their wild rise, Clone No. 1 couldn't sit still any longer and stamped his feet impatiently:

"Quick, quick, quick! Stop dawdling! Awaken my talent first!"

Smiling, Xing Yao walked over and rested a hand on Clone No. 1's shoulder. With a thought, he sent an enormous torrent of Resentment Points surging in, directly awakening his talent.

Black-purple resentment coiled and flowed around him. Within seconds, the awakening was complete.

Xing Yao withdrew his hand, curiosity all over his face. "What talent? Come on, tell me."

Clone No. 1 shuddered all over. Feeling the brand-new power inside him, he absolutely erupted:

"Space element! And I awakened two skills right away-Teleportation and Space Slash! Holy crap, this is way too busted!"

Xing Yao's pupils shook on the spot, his heart hammering wildly as delight overwhelmed him. The space element was already a ceiling-level rare talent, and it had come with two practical combat skills at once. This was a massive win-a profit so huge it left him numb!

Unable to restrain himself at all, he immediately mobilized a huge wave of Resentment Points and copied the entire heaven-defying space-element talent onto himself.

The next second, Teleportation's fluidity and Space Slash's sharpness all merged into his body. Xing Yao closed his eyes to savor them. A thought could warp space, and a light tap of his fingertip could tear open tiny rifts. The sheer pleasure of controlling space made his scalp tingle.

Before he could experience it for more than a few seconds, Clone No. 1 had already crowded close and begun urging him frantically:

"Quick! Make more brothers! With this much resentment, not making clones would be a colossal waste!"

Xing Yao cursed at him with a laugh, then wasted no time driving the Resentment Points to condense into form-

One, two, three!

Three whole new clones, all created in one go!

That round used up most of the Resentment Points they had accumulated, but resentment from outside was still pouring in madly. The Resentment Points continued soaring at breakneck speed, with no stopping them.

"Come on, let's get everyone set up!"

With a sweeping gesture, Xing Yao mobilized the remaining resentment and awakened the three freshly made clones' talents one by one.

Xing Yao looked at Clone No. 2 and asked with a smile, "What talent did you awaken, and what skills?"

Clone No. 2 stood straight, with a cold, somewhat handsome gaze and a crisp, decisive tone:

"I awakened the Dark Element: Shadow Talent. My first skill is Invisibility, and my second is Shadow Kill-moderate strength, not excessively powerful, but definitely not weak either. They're particularly useful for sneak attacks, surprise assaults, and finishing enemies at close range."

Beside them, Clone No. 1's eyes instantly blazed with light. He rushed over, his face a mixture of spectator's delight and wild joy, clapping his hands nearly raw and stamping his feet in excitement:

"Holy crap! Invisibility plus Shadow Kill? That's way too good! Next time we go out causing trouble, you can turn invisible, pass through walls, and circle behind them while I coordinate with spatial Teleportation. We'll be an invincible duo!"

He bounced around until his hair was a mess, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes curved into crescents. He was the very picture of an outrageously excited hype-squad leader, sunny and lively, without a single malicious thought-just a young man's joy at getting new skills.

Xing Yao nodded with a smile, then turned to Clone No. 3. "What about you? What talent and skills did you awaken?"

Clone No. 3 had a steady, gentle air, like an ancient pine rooted in the earth. His stance was firm, and his voice grounded and strong:

"I awakened the Earth Element: Ground Talent. My first skill is Ground Life Drain-as long as I stand on the ground, I can continuously draw in vitality and control it freely, restoring myself or replenishing other people's life force. My second skill is Verdant Wood Mystic Armor-while my feet are on the ground, I can control soil and vegetation to form heavy wooden armor, maxing out defense and tanking damage exceptionally well."

"Holy shit?!"

Clone No. 1 practically bristled on the spot, his mouth forming an O, his face so shocked he seemed to question his life. He pointed at Clone No. 3, incoherent with excitement:

"You're dual-classing healer and tank! That's way too broken! With you up front tanking and healing, our whole team can run an immortality build. We'd have trouble dying even if we wanted to!"

He rushed over and threw an arm around Clone No. 3, shaking him back and forth, his face practically screaming "jackpot" and "we're taking off." His exaggerated, animated antics made all the new clones laugh.

Xing Yao's eyes brimmed with amusement as he turned to Clone No. 4. "And you? What goodies did you awaken?"

Clone No. 4 radiated a fiery drive, standing tall with an intensely blazing gaze and a tone explosive in its own right:

"I awakened the Fire Element: Blazing Flame Talent. My first skill is Flame Body Transformation-my entire body becomes a humanoid of flame, massively boosting all attributes, with attack, defense, and speed soaring across the board. My second skill is Flame Explosion Impact-I condense high-temperature flames and blast them out in a straight-line burst, with tremendous impact and a burning effect. Charge straight into their faces and blow the place apart."

"Woohoo-!!!"

Clone No. 1 spun in circles with excitement, making explosion gestures with both hands, his expression outrageously exaggerated as he nearly shouted himself hoarse:

"Fire daddy! Absolutely fire daddy! That's maxed-out damage right there! Invisibility, space, burst damage, tanking, healing... our lineup is a freaking dream team!"

One moment he was patting Clone No. 2, the next he was bumping into Clone No. 3, before leaning in front of Clone No. 4 to waggle his eyebrows. He was a walking bundle of happy, attention-grabbing antics, sunny and hot-blooded-a pure hot-blooded youth.

Suddenly, Xing Yao's gaze sharpened, and he lowered his head in thought.

"Right... since skills can be copied, if I share your individual skills with everyone, wouldn't that put the whole team in god-tier gear?"

Thinking how conspicuous it would be for them to emerge from the residential complex as a group every time they went out, his eyes immediately lit up. "Especially Invisibility! If everyone leaves invisible, who could suspect us? The perfect way to conceal our identities!"

He acted as soon as the idea struck, mobilizing the small amount of Resentment Points that had just replenished to give it a try-and it actually worked!

First, he copied Invisibility to every clone, maxing out their concealment.

Then he spent the remaining resentment freely, copying and sharing everyone's core skills with one another, making the entire team's skill pools explode in size.

He didn't waste even the last bit of resentment, forcibly pushing himself to mid-Tier One and raising every other clone to the peak of Stage Eight.

After that round of operations, they had traded peashooters for cannons and truly taken flight!