Aron's mood was at an all-time high as his gaze landed on the ability upgrade he'd been holding onto.

Back then, he couldn't decide which talent to use it on, but now, his mind was made up.

His gaze shifted to the Clone Ability, and a huge grin spread across his face.

[Self Clones (Trisource)]

Able to create 30 self-clones with 40% overall self-strength.

After creation, clones can last infinitely, never run out of stamina, and are immune to all good or bad effects.

Cost: Consumes mana according to user rank.

Penalty: Each clone's death deducts 10 years from the user's lifespan.

---

[Ability Upgrade Used. Clone Upgraded.]

---

[Clone]

Create duplicates with 50% of your power.

Limit: 1 clone per 1,000 years of lifespan (e.g. 10,000 years = 10 clones; 2,000 years = 2 clones).

Duration: Infinite.

Immunity: Unaffected by buffs or debuffs.

Creation Cost: Mana cost scales with rank.

Penalty: Lose 10 years of lifespan per destroyed clone.

---

Aron's eyes widened, excitement and disbelief flooding his face.

The upgrade had taken an unexpected turn, an even better one than he imagined.

Instead of being capped at thirty, he could now summon as many clones as he wanted, limited only by his lifespan and mana.

With his current lifespan of 123,078 years, he could easily create 123 clones, and with infinite mana, there was absolutely nothing stopping him.

Without hesitation, Aron poured a massive wave of mana into it.

Light burst from his body as clones began to appear one after another, in dozens, until ninety-three new copies joined the thirty he already had.

In total: one hundred twenty-three Arons, standing tall beneath the desolate sky.

He grinned as he watched his identical selves scatter across the desolate land, each one moving in perfect coordination before sitting down in various spots.

"Perfect," Aron said, unable to hide the huge smile on his face.

He had decided to bide his time here until he reached the top of the cultivation ranks before returning.

Thanks to the Zulcan, who had sacrificed its precious horn to send him into this death arena, he doubted he'd ever find a place as peaceful as this one.

His gaze shifted toward the unconscious Zulcan impaled on a spear.

Seeing it now, Aron couldn't help but think it didn't look as ugly as before.

"Well, you did your part," he muttered before sharing his cultivation technique with his clones.

Immediately, all of them began cultivating.

Aron watched as waves of black and white energy flowed toward his clones, causing visible distortions in space.

Feeling content, he glanced once more at the Zulcan, nodded in gratitude, and returned to his tent.

He brought out a small clock, set it to one hour, and started a movie called Formula one .

Leaning back on his cushion, Aron munched on the food he'd prepared, all while keeping track of his clones through his sensory ability.

----

Pip... pip... pip...

The timer rang, signaling that an hour had passed.

Aron's face twisted in frustration.

He had just reached the best part of the movie.

He sighed, turned it off, and moved to sit at the edge of his bed.

Despite his reluctant expression, a barely concealed smile formed on his lips.

He sent a mental command for his clones to stop cultivating.

In an instant, a flood of notifications filled his vision.

[Cultivated for 1 hour. 100× Rebate Activated: 4 days and 4 hours.]

[Cultivated for 1 hour. 100× Rebate Activated: 4 days and 4 hours.]

[Cultivated for 1 hour. 100× Rebate Activated: 4 days and 4 hours.]

...

..

.

A massive surge of energy rushed into Aron's body as he instantly broke through another minor realm, reaching the peak of the foundation establishment realm.

He could feel that he was on the verge of advancing again, but he restrained himself, holding the energy within.

Deep in his heart, a round orb formed, half black, half white.

As he absorbed more power, the colors grew more distinct: the white became purer, the black darker, until it felt like it could swallow light itself.

Then, he couldn't hold it anymore.

BOOOM!

An overwhelming aura burst from his body, shaking the surroundings as he broke into the Nascent Soul Stage, the realm where one's soul could separate from the body and project spiritual consciousness outward.

But the surge didn't stop there.

His solidified core began to dissolve into his soul, and his aura climbed even higher until he reached Mid Nascent Soul Stage.

The air trembled before the energy gradually calmed down.

However, the eruption of energy had roused the Zulcan from its unconscious state.

Its eyes wide open, and what it saw made it freeze in horror, hundreds of Arons sitting in meditation across the barren land, their combined auras blazing.

From the tent, an even greater power radiated, one that pressed against its very soul.

The Zulcan's eyes filled with dread and despair.

Who… what kind of monster… had it provoked?

Knowing it had no chance of survival, a ruthless light flashed in its gaze.

Forcing its mouth to move, it began chanting weakly.

"Zamuda... Zamuda... Zamuda derentai…"

A black portal began to form above the ground, expanding as the Zulcan's body started to dissolve, its life being offered up to fuel whatever it was doing.

Inside the tent, Aron's Danger Sense went berserk.

"What...?" His eyes widened.

He vanished in a blur, appearing before the Zulcan in an instant.

Aron threw a punch intending to knock it unconscious before it could finish the spell.

BOOOM!...

Blood and brain matter splattered across the sand.

The Zulcan's head exploded into nothingness.

"...Shit."

He hadn't meant to kill it outright, he still wasn't used to his new strength.

The moment the creature died, the black portal went wild.

A separate exit portal appeared beside it, likely the one that would've taken him out of the arena, but before Aron could even move, both portals merged.

The fusion turned unstable, sucking in everything around it with terrifying force.

The tent.

The generator.

The food.

Everything.

" Shit, shit, shit...!" Aron muttered, planting his feet. "Earth Control!"

Stone spikes erupted, anchoring his feet, but even that was useless.

The pull intensified, dragging everything toward the vortex.

He gritted his teeth, un-summoning every single clone in a flash before the storm consumed him too.

The portal collapsed. Silence returned to the desert.

--

Darkness swallowed his vision.

When a voice echoed faintly in his mind.

[Helena Raim is now soul-bounded to you.]

Aron blinked as light returned to his eyes.

What he saw next made his heart skip a beat.

He was standing in the middle of a massive hall filled with thousands of silent spectators.

In front of him stood a man frozen in shock, his hand hovering over Aron's forehead as if mid-ceremony.

To his right stood a beautiful woman in a wedding gown, staring at him with wide eyes.

Another man, dressed in a suit, sat on the ground nearby, apparently the one Aron had just replaced.

On a raised platform above them were four figures wearing crowns, two men and two women, all staring down at him in disbelief.

The entire hall was so silent, Aron could hear his own heartbeat.

(...F** me.)*

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.