Chapter 101: The Doppelganger Technique and Departure

In the Virtual Universe's Thunder Island, at a spot on the mountainside near the top, a massive palace stood majestically.

In a resting hall of the palace, the three‑eyed elder Kandeli sat opposite Zhou Yang.

"Heh, Chaos City in thirty years, and you directly broke through Tongtian Bridge Eighth Level; the stir you caused this time is no small matter— even many elders who have cultivated in seclusion for billions of years were awakened."

Kandeli's third vertical eye fluttered slightly, as if infinite divine light were being nurtured within.

Just the day before, his newly accepted disciple, after a fifteen‑year gap, challenged Tongtian Bridge again; not only did he successfully pass the major checkpoint between the Sixth and Seventh Layers, but also consecutively cleared the Seventh and Eighth Layers, only being defeated at the Ninth Layer.

This dazzling performance made many who had doubted his earlier disciple recruitment instantly fall silent, and he naturally felt elated.

"Hmph, who made them keep their airs and refuse to show up back then? Now they can only envy my good luck, hahaha…"

He laughed heartily.

"All thanks to the teacher's excellent guidance!"

Zhou Yang also flippantly offered a flattering remark, making Kandeli's smile grow a few shades richer.

"Alright, enough idle talk."

Kandeli laughed for a moment, then gradually composed his expression.

He raised his hand and flicked; a golden booklet about a foot long, half a foot wide, roughly finger‑thick, flew through the air toward Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang lifted his hand to catch it, but saw the booklet had no cover, not even a name.

"Teacher, this is—"

"This is my Doppelganger Technique."

Kandeli said with a faint smile.

"This method, including you, I have taught to nine people in total, but so far none have succeeded."

"Now it seems, among the few disciples I've taken, your talent is probably the highest, and you are most compatible with this Secret Technique; perhaps there truly is a chance of you mastering it."

"Take it back and contemplate on your own; if anything is unclear, you can ask me through the Virtual Universe."

"If you manage to successfully cultivate this Secret Technique, then congratulations; from now on, whether you explore Secret Realms or go to Extraterritorial Battlefield, your survivability will be greatly enhanced, and I won't have to worry about your safety all the time."

Having heard Kandeli's words, Zhou Yang hurried to stand, respectfully bowed and performed a salute.

"Teacher, rest assured, I will contemplate earnestly!"

"Mm."

Kandeli nodded slightly.

"Go then, less than a month remains before you leave Chaos City; when it's time to contemplate the Chaos Monument, do so; when it's time to bid farewell to friends, do that— you need not stay with me."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Zhou Yang bowed once more, then walked slowly out of the palace, and only then did his figure disperse.

The next second, his figure slowly coalesced again in a manor within the Primitive Zone of Yuxiang Mountain.

He raised his hand and flipped, and a finger‑thick golden booklet appeared in his hand.

"Teacher Kandeli, wielding the Doppelganger Technique that has traversed the universe for countless epochs, I wonder what marvels it truly holds!"

His fingers turned the pages, and he began to skim through its contents rapidly.

The booklet was thin; with his now massive Spiritual Power, he skimmed through most of its contents in a moment.

"So that's how it is."

A look of sudden realization appeared on Zhou Yang's face.

No wonder Kandeli had previously praised his own Soul Power alone.

One of the prerequisites for cultivating this Secret Technique is to possess sufficiently strong Soul Power!

Come to think of it, the operating principle of this Secret Technique is somewhat similar to how the Insect Race queen controls the Insect Race Army through Soul Resonance.

The core of this Secret Technique is to imprint a series of special secret sigils within one's own Soul using a unique method!

These secret sigils have only one function: they are equivalent to opening a series of doors on one's own Soul.

Or, if one likens one's Soul to a massive reservoir, these sigils are like holes drilled into the reservoir's sidewall.

Once the sigils are successfully imprinted, water in the "reservoir" will flow out through these "holes."

Eventually this creates a state where the "reservoir" is linked to a series of smaller "pools."

These "pools" are special Doppelgangers cultivated by injecting one's own Gene with massive Life Energy.

The "reservoir's" fluctuations naturally affect the rise and fall of the "pools."

Thus fulfilling the requirement for a single main body to control multiple Doppelgangers.

The larger the "reservoir," the more energy can be injected into the "pools," and the stronger the Doppelgangers' combat power!

The difficulty of this Secret Technique lies in two points.

First, the special sigils are extremely complex and profound; unless one has special research on the Soul Path, comprehension is exceedingly arduous.

Second, it requires Soul Power to be strong enough to endure the "diversion" of each hole!

Imagine, if the "reservoir's" capacity itself is limited, yet you still have to think about diverting out.

Then not only would the resulting "pools" be pitifully small, but the original "reservoir's" reserves would also become strained.

In that case, not to mention controlling Doppelgangers in battle, the very strength of the main body would be greatly affected.

The few disciples Kandeli took may not only be because this Secret Technique is hard to practice.

It may also be that after weighing, the Doppelgangers formed after cultivating this Secret Technique would amount to only ten to twenty percent of the main body's strength.

Not only is the improvement to oneself limited, it may even affect the main body's power, so they simply gave up outright.

However, upon reading this, Zhou Yang's eyes instantly brightened!

Soul Energy! That's what he lacks not at all!

During these thirty years in Chaos City, he has been constantly operating the "Three Souls Nine Refinements," and his Soul Power has become unbelievably strong!

Anyway, with his current eyesight, he can no longer gauge what level his Soul Power truly is.

Anyway, it's absolutely very strong—at least dozens, even hundreds of times stronger than a genius of the same rank!

Moreover, as he continuously operates the "Three Souls Nine Refinements", his Soul Power keeps getting stronger!

"This Clone Secret Technique is practically tailor‑made for me! No wonder Teacher Kandeli said I'm extremely compatible with this Secret Technique!"

Zhou Yang felt excited.

He opened the Jin Shu booklet in his hand and began studying the mysterious secret pattern.

But once he truly began to study it, he instantly felt the strain!

The complexity of this secret pattern was beyond imagination; countless bizarre lines seemed to come alive, constantly writhing and slithering, making them impossible to grasp.

The Qingliu Formation within the Meteor Tear surged, instantly flooding his mind, keeping his thoughts perpetually clear and bright.

A brilliant divine light shone in his eyes, and he gradually caught a faint trace of those complex lines.

"It seems there's a hint of the Wood Origin Law, but it appears even more profound—splitting, transmutation, grafting, growth."

Zhou Yang kept researching, and instantly sank into it.

In the final month of Chaos City, the members of the Genius Battle all became rapidly busy.

Some rushed to study the ubiquitous Law Secret Pattern in the sky; those who had more opportunities to contemplate the Chaos Monument hurried to meditate on the Chaos Monument; those who didn't also went to challenge the Tongtian Bridge.

Some were also busy saying goodbye to teachers and friends they had just met.

After all, once they go, Xingkong stretches billions of miles, and they won't know when they'll meet again.

Time drifted slowly.

On that day, a strange airship, entirely deep‑blue and fish‑like, passed through the Spacetime Passage and arrived at Chaos City.

A booming shout instantly resonated in the minds of over eight hundred surviving geniuses of this Genius Battle.

"Come quickly!"

Thank you, gentlemen, for continuing to read; wish all of you good health and a hearty appetite, ~~~

(End of Chapter)