Mist drifted through the clearing as the waterfall poured endlessly into the pool below. Jiang Chen stood at its edge with his hands behind his back.
Now that he was done measuring his strength, it was time to test his speed.
He bent his knees slightly, muscles coiling with power.
The Myriad Strength Tiger Bone essence stirred.
In that instant his body felt lighter, as if the world had loosened its grip on him. The ground beneath his feet cracked with a dull sound as he pushed off.
Jiang Chen shot forward, his figure tearing through the air like a released arrow. Wind screamed past his ears, trees blurring into streaks of green.
When his foot stilled on the ground again, he was already at the cliff edge.
More than a hundred meters away!
Jiang Chen breathed out slowly.
"Two breaths," he murmured. "Perhaps three. No more."
His eyes gleamed.
"Again."
Jiang Chen exploded into motion, his figure tearing across the ground like living thunder. He circled the field in wide arcs, then snapped back at impossible angles. With every step dozens of meters vanished beneath him. To most outer disciples it would leave nothing but an afterimage.
This was the terrifying speed of a peak level Rank One demonic beast.
When he finally came to a stop, Jiang Chen lowered his gaze to his legs. Heat lingered beneath the skin. A faint strain had begun to develop.
He assessed it calmly.
'If I maintain this pace for two or three hours, the flesh will surely tear. The bones will hold, but exhaustion will cripple me.'
The clearer he saw the limits of his flesh, the deeper his desire to refine it became.
Offensive might alone was not enough. Endurance and vitality were just as important.
'You play with the hand you are given. Complaining changes nothing. For now, this is it.' Jiang Chen approached the matter pragmatically.
Still, satisfaction settled in his chest. With this speed, the tempo of his combat would shift decisively. The initiative was his. Engage, kill, then retreat.
Jiang Chen inhaled slowly and turned his awareness inward.
Now came the test he truly held expectations for.
The Iron Striped Mirage Tiger bloodline jolted within him. Another Jiang Chen stepped out from his body, as if peeled directly from it.
The clone stood silently.
"Move," Jiang Chen commanded.
The clone burst forward.
Fast. Much faster than before.
Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed.
'Not on my level.'
He stroked his chin as he observed. The clone's speed had undoubtedly increased, but it lacked the explosive force he himself possessed.
Jiang Chen jumped into motion. He crossed paths with the clone, exchanged several rapid bursts, then sent it to test its strength against the cliff wall.
'About thirty percent.' He withdrew and dismissed the clone.
'So the Myriad Strength Tiger Bone essence only partially nourishes the bloodline manifestation. Hm, that makes some sense. The clone is formed from spiritual essence and bloodline power, not true flesh and bone.'
A faint smile appeared.
'Even so, this is already absurd.'
Thirty percent was not weak.
Without using Heavenly Tiger Fist, the clone already carried the strength of a low Rank One demonic beast. Against ordinary cultivators it would be fatal.
But its flaw remained unchanged.
'Defense is severely lacking. Once struck cleanly it collapses like a blade made of glass. Lethal in offense, unfortunately equally fragile.' Jiang Chen sighed softly.
Spiritual energy within him churned and flowed into the bloodline.
This time two figures stepped out.
Three Jiang Chens stood within the clearing.
He divided his spiritual essence with precision. Thirty percent to each clone. The remainder stayed within his dantian. He suppressed the Tiger Bone essence deliberately, allowing only a fraction of its might to circulate.
If he used too much power, the exchange would end before it truly began. This was meant to be sparring, not a one sided slaughter.
The clones moved at once.
The nearest clone slashed forward, its fists cutting the air like twin blades. Jiang Chen hurriedly dropped his center of gravity, ducking low and rolling beneath the strike. His robes brushed the grass as he twisted, momentum carrying him forward in a smooth arc.
Before the clone could adjust, Jiang Chen's leg snapped upward. The kick smashed right into the clone's knee. Qi rippled violently and its leg burst into smoke and scattered light, its form destabilizing rapidly.
Jiang Chen's eyes flickered.
His will descended like an iron net. Through their spiritual connection, fragmented qi shuddered and reversed course, flowing back together as if dragged by an invisible tide. In a breath, the clone's leg reformed.
Though its outline was slightly thinner and less vivid than before, nevertheless it held firm and bore weight without issue.
Jiang Chen had no time to admire it.
The second clone struck from the flank, a sweeping kick aimed straight at his kidneys. The wind pressure alone was enough to tear grass from the ground.
Jiang Chen twisted his torso, letting the kick slide past with a hair's breadth to spare. He countered instantly, fingers stabbing toward the clone's throat as tiger bone essence roared beneath his skin.
The clone leaned back at the last instant. The strike missed by the width of a fingernail.
Jiang Chen did not slow down. He darted forward, dropping into a low roll between the two clones. His leg scythed outward, sweeping the first clone's ankle. At the same time he spun on one hand and lashed out with his other leg, catching the second clone's thigh. Both clones staggered like newborns.
But before Jiang Chen could press the advantage, a fist was ready to greet his face.
He dipped under it and drove his elbow into the clone's ribs. The clone was driven back violently, a massive portion of its torso collapsing inward and dissolving into drifting light. Jiang Chen's divine sense snapped tight. The loose qi fragments tried to rebel but were forcibly tyrannized back into place. The clone skidded across the clearing, boots carving long furrows in the ground before it steadied itself.
The rhythm of the battle was relentless.
Jiang Chen kept moving. His steps were light but decisive, with no wasted action. He struck ruthlessly when openings appeared and wisely withdrew when pressure mounted, always aware of both enemies at once.
And the clones mirrored him with precision that was dangerous to say the least.
Golden tiger phantoms started to flare along forearms again and again. Each collision from the Heavenly Tiger Fist technique continually altered the balance of the fight. The clearing flashed with bursts of golden qi that erupted and vanished in rapid succession.
Gradually Jiang Chen bent the flow of battle to his will. He positioned himself so that one clone's advance restricted the other's movement. He sidestepped at precise angles, forcing their attacks to cross paths. More than once a clone had to pull back to avoid striking its counterpart.
Still the pressure never truly eased.
At times Jiang Chen drove them back with a storm of strikes. At others the clones charged forward, exploiting blind spots and forcing him to retreat.
A fist grazed Jiang Chen's sleeve while a kick brushed past his shoulder. Twice golden light passed so close he felt heat against his skin. Yet he evaded each time, sometimes by instinct alone.
And then...
Bam!
A rare misstep on his part allowed a sneaky blow to land squarely on his back.
The impact felt like a charging carriage. Jiang Chen was sent flying several meters, his body twisting through the air before crashing into the pond with a loud splash.
Both clones advanced toward the water's edge, their senses probing the rippling surface.
Suddenly gold erupted from the pond.
A massive blue wave surged upward, crashing down like a curtain of water. In that instant of obscured vision Jiang Chen burst out, his feet finding the ground as he closed the distance. For a brief second a look of excitement flashed across his otherwise expressionless face.
As time dragged on, changes emerged.
The clones weakened. It was subtle at first. Their qi bodies grew less dense and reconstructions took longer. The Heavenly Tiger Fist appeared less frequently, as if the clones had begun to forget it.
Jiang Chen felt his own reserves thinning, yet his body remained steady. The Tiger Bone essence used in such a restrained manner had caused no tearing or backlash.
The battle was now in its final stages.
One clone suddenly lunged forward with aggression. Its hands glowed as Heavenly Tiger Fist surged to full strength. Phantom claws wrapped around Jiang Chen's wrists, suddenly locking his arms in place. The ground beneath their feet cracked from the force of the clash.
At the same moment Jiang Chen sensed instability behind this clone. The second clone standing behind it was seemingly collapsing, its form flickering violently from repeated dispersal.
It looked moments from failure.
Then golden light flared.
The second clone actually drove its fist straight through the back of its counterpart. The first clone's body tore open to allow the strike to pass. The glowing fist pierced forward, aimed directly at Jiang Chen's abdomen in a final desperate assault.
The distance was less than an arm's length.
Jiang Chen could not counter with his hands as they were firmly held, but he still did not panic.
Strength rolled into his legs. In a single explosive motion he launched himself upward into a forward flip, arms twisting against the locked grip. The golden fist passed beneath him, missing his back by the width of two fingers.
As he inverted, Jiang Chen's heel came down like a falling mountain. It crashed into the first clone's head. Bone essence surged violently. The clone shattered completely, its qi form exploding into scattered light that could not hold together. The spiritual link snapped. That clone was gone.
Jiang Chen landed lightly, knees bending to absorb the impact. Before the second clone could stabilize its half collapsed body he swooped in and yanked the clone's head from its body.
The clone disintegrated like frost under sunlight, its remaining spiritual essence scattered into the cold wind until nothing remained.
The spiritual link was severed.
And quiet returned to the area.
Pale mist spread across the land once more. Broken grass sprawled across the ground and deep fissures ran like veins through the soil.
Jiang Chen stood alone. Sweat ran down his temples and drenched his outer sect robes.
He wiped a thin line of blood from his lips.
"Not bad... for mere copies."