"Master?"
"Wait!"
"Could it be… that thing?!"
Su Zhan suddenly raised his palm, staring at the black imprint that had long since gone silent.
In an instant, he understood.
Three pure spirit stones—this shadow clone was the result of the black imprint devouring them!
"At last…"
Su Zhan trembled all over, overcome with excitement. Joy surged in his chest, so overwhelming that he nearly wanted to throw his head back and laugh for three minutes straight.
But he forced himself to hold back.
This mining camp was full of wretched people dragged here by force—and the lowest of the low loved nothing more than turning on each other.
In less than a month, Su Zhan had already witnessed more cruelty and darkness than in his entire previous life combined.
So he took a few deep breaths, suppressing the urge to laugh wildly. Yet, he couldn't stop the grin tugging at his lips, almost stretching to his ears.
"So this is my cheat!"
"Even if it came a bit late, even if I've suffered so much… it's better late than never!"
His eyes sparkled. "Based on all the novels I've read, this shadow—it's my clone! It has my exact height, build, and appearance. If I'm right, it's a doppelgänger, a duplicate of me!"
"That means… I now have a perfectly loyal death soldier at my side!"
It wasn't like the cheats in other novels—no instant god-tier power-ups, no gifted divine artifacts, no meteoric rise to the peak of the world.
But at the very least, it gave him a massive boost to his chances of survival.
Then, another thrilling thought struck him: What if this wasn't the only one?
If there could be a second, a third, a tenth… or even thousands, tens of thousands—
Then forget this mining camp, even the Pure Yang Sect itself would mean nothing to him!
"The one who dragged me here was a Mortal Realm, Sixth Stage cultivator… I thought revenge was impossible. But now, maybe there's hope!"
His eyes gleamed with hatred. Once, that level of cultivation had been beyond reach—so much so that he hadn't dared even show hatred.
But if he grew stronger, then every bit of suffering he endured today would be repaid, a hundredfold, a thousandfold. He'd let that bastard truly understand what it meant when they said: a drop of blood repaid with a spring of vengeance!
"You… can you understand me?"
He tried speaking to the shadow clone.
As expected, no response.
But Su Zhan didn't give up—he began testing carefully.
After just an hour, he had discovered plenty:
The clone had intelligence. It could learn, though only on the level of a three-year-old child. It could mimic actions and movements but was hopeless with deeper concepts like cultivation techniques.
The clone's strength matched his exactly. In power, speed, defense, and reaction—it was identical. This made his heart pound with excitement. If it could grow alongside him… the potential was limitless!
The clone could be injured and healed at the same rate as him. But since it didn't feel pain, it could fight without hesitation.
The clone had no life aura. No heartbeat, no blood, no heat. That was why he hadn't sensed its presence earlier, nearly scaring him to death.
Most importantly— the clone could be stored! With a thought, it dissolved into black smoke, returning to the imprint. Another thought, and it would reappear.
In short, the shadow clone was like a living human, except it lacked blood and had low intelligence.
"Gu—"
His stomach growled loudly, breaking his thoughts.
"Time to eat. Xiao Hei, tomorrow's mining depends on you!"
Such a powerful shadow clone—tireless, fearless, the perfect tool for mining.
And so, Su Zhan gave it a name: Xiao Hei (Little Black).
The clone tilted its head at the name, confused, but said nothing.
Su Zhan chuckled, stored Xiao Hei back into the imprint, and left the shabby wooden hut for the mining camp's market.
The market was bustling.
The mining camp was enormous. The exchange hall Su Zhan had been to was only one of many, and the thousands of miners he had seen earlier were but a fraction.
In truth, the camp held tens of thousands—perhaps over a hundred thousand—people.
"Boss, a bowl of noodles!"
He had eaten the same noodles for nearly a month, sick of them, but survival left no choice.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, he sensed a hostile gaze.
Looking up, he spotted a ragged man with triangular eyes on the other side of the noodle shop.
The man's lips curled into a mocking grin, revealing yellowed, crooked teeth. His eyes were full of scorn.
Su Zhan's expression darkened.
Leng Lichang.
A fellow villager. Once a friend.
Su Zhan's transmigration had landed him in Qingfeng Village, a small settlement of about a thousand people.
Without a system, without family, he had barely survived through the villagers' charity.
Luckily, his talent in cultivation was extraordinary—reaching Mortal Realm, First Stage easily while his peers still struggled. Naturally, he was hailed as a genius, a future inner disciple of the sect.
So of course, he had gone with other hopeful youths to join the largest nearby sect—the Pure Yang Sect.
Along the way, Leng Lichang had flattered him constantly, serving at his side. Su Zhan, naive and grateful, had even thought to help him if he joined the sect.
But once outside the village, Su Zhan's "genius" paled. Among the tens of thousands of applicants, his level was nothing.
He didn't even pass the first selection round.
But a few of his fellow villagers did, including Leng Lichang, who broke through to Mortal Realm, First Stage.
From then on, Leng Lichang's attitude changed. No longer fawning, he formed cliques, mocking Su Zhan behind his back.
Though Su Zhan disliked him, he hadn't hated him—yet.
But later, a Mortal Realm, Sixth Stage cultivator blocked their path. Claiming only the strong had the right to live, he forced those below First Stage to kill each other. Many youths broke through under the pressure. The rest—ordinary villagers—were slaughtered on the spot.
Terrified, Su Zhan and the others didn't dare resist and were dragged to this mining camp as slaves.
Here, Leng Lichang revealed his true nature. To gain spirit stones and please the camp bullies, he ambushed fellow villagers, killed for loot, and even handed over village girls to the overseers for his own benefit.
He had even betrayed Su Zhan once, nearly costing him his life.
From that moment, Su Zhan's hatred was sealed.
And now, seeing Leng Lichang smirking smugly, surrounded by fine food, Su Zhan's buried rage ignited once more.
"Perfect. I need spirit stones badly."
He looked away, hiding the cruel glint in his eyes.