Chapter 27: The Power of the Clone Revealed

At the command of a middle-aged man named Yan Tao, a dozen men who looked like bandits began to shout arrogantly. "The Gu family is conducting business. All bystanders, get out of the way!" With these words, they shoved the people gathered at the inn entrance aside with brute force. Just then, an old man leading his seven- or eight-year-old granddaughter was about to enter the inn when a man with a small braided ponytail kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying. The man looked at the airborne old man and said with disdain, "Ignorant fool."

The old man crashed into a street stall and collapsed, blood immediately gushing from the corners of his mouth. An old man already nearing the end of his life could hardly withstand a kick imbued with internal energy; he was left with nothing but shallow, labored breaths.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" The little girl cried and ran toward where the old man had fallen, clutching him and wailing. "Uncles, please, I beg you, save my grandpa!"

In Yi City, the Gu family was the law. No one dared to offend them. Seeing this scene, not only did no one step forward to stop them, but the crowd retreated, terrified of being implicated.

"Who are they? How can they be so arrogant?" A man dressed as a merchant was about to step forward to check on the old man, but a lean man beside him pulled him back immediately. "Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed? They are from the Gu family. In Yi City, the Gu family is the heavens themselves."

The merchant, well-versed in the ways of the world, immediately shut his mouth. If it were just common thugs, he wouldn't care, but when it involved a powerful family, he had to weigh his own standing.

The crowd grew, some grinding their teeth in anger as they watched the Gu family members, yet no one dared to challenge them. Even the innkeeper and his staff were too frightened to emerge.

Just then, a man carrying a wine jug stumbled out from the inn's lobby. His body swayed, and his steps were unsteady. Any discerning eye could see he was a drunkard, and his shaky gait made one worry he might fall at any moment. Yet, strangely, those erratic steps always landed firmly on the ground, which felt somewhat eerie.

"Brother, come, have a drink," the drunkard muttered, weaving his way toward the man with the braided ponytail. But after only a couple of steps, he stumbled.

"Thud."

Before the braided man could react, his entire body was sent flying. He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground, unconscious.

Seeing a member of the Gu family struck down, many onlookers felt a secret joy, but they also worried for the drunkard. To harm a Gu family member in Yi City would surely invite retaliation.

Sure enough, dozens of Gu family guards saw the scene and, without a word, drew their blades and charged at the drunkard. The drunkard smiled, his body swaying to and fro. Strangely, every time it seemed he would fall, he would sway just enough to dodge the blades aimed at him.

"A fine 'Drunken Eight Immortals,' but what a pity... what a pity," the man holding a folding fan said with disdain.

The drunkard’s hands blurred as he struck out, knocking away the guards attacking him. He looked up at the man with the fan, and upon realizing he couldn't gauge the opponent's strength, he growled, "What is a pity?"

"It’s a pity you are too drunk." Before the words had faded, the man with the fan was already sitting inside the inn’s lobby, holding a wine cup and taking a light sip. "Yan Tao, what are you waiting for?"

The drunkard’s expression shifted. He hadn't even seen how the man had moved past him, and the effortless nature of it caused a ripple of unease in his heart. His eyes could no longer maintain their hazy, drunken look, and he stared in terror at the man with the fan. In that moment of distraction, a purple-clad figure appeared where the drunkard had been standing, and the drunkard himself was sent flying like a projectile.

"Sigh..." many in the crowd let out a breath, lamenting that the Gu family was simply too powerful.

The man with the fan smiled dismissively. "Yan Tao, guard the entrance. Yan Lang, go up and 'invite' that man out for me." He placed special emphasis on the word 'invite.'

Yan Lang was confused about who to invite, but remembering the massive surge of true essence he had just witnessed, he understood. Just as he was about to head upstairs, he saw a youth in red robes descending.

"No need. I assume you are here for me," Lei Yan said, walking slowly down the stairs. When he had been channeling energy to open Ding Wei’s meridians earlier, he had sensed someone locking onto him with their spiritual sense, and that sense was still fixed upon him.

"Indeed. You have guts," the man with the fan sneered. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, shooting a cold, sharp glare at Lei Yan. "Kid, don't say I didn't give you a chance. Hand over that Golden Core," he said coldly. He had sensed the fluctuations of true essence from downstairs and found a Golden Core, but the one holding it was only a youth in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. He immediately decided to seize it.

As the man finished speaking, the innkeeper, who was hiding and trembling nearby, cried out, "Sir, just give the gentleman what he wants!"

Lei Yan snorted. Having broken through in his cultivation, he possessed immense confidence. Even facing a Golden Core stage cultivator, he felt no fear. He glanced coldly at the innkeeper, who shuddered, thinking to himself, "This one is a demon, too. Why did I ever want to offend him?"

"Kid, don't be ungrateful. It is your honor that our Master Zi has taken a liking to your possession," Yan Lang said with a sneer.

"Brother Lei, what’s going on?" At this moment, Qing Ling and the Flower Demon descended from upstairs. Seeing the situation, she asked, while the Flower Demon looked at the men downstairs with extreme vigilance; she could clearly feel their hostility.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" When the man with the fan saw Qing Ling and the Flower Demon, his eyes flashed with greed. He repeated the word 'wonderful' three times before turning to Yan Tao and Yan Lang. "Kill the man. I want to take that spirit for pill refinement." As soon as he spoke, Yan Tao and Yan Lang roared like wild beasts and charged at Lei Yan.

Watching them charge, Lei Yan’s body began to sway slightly. He had memorized the first form of the "Dragon Mastering Art" and decided this was the perfect opportunity to practice.

"Clang! Clang!" The swords left their scabbards, sending two crescent-shaped glints of cold light toward Lei Yan.

Lei Yan’s body swayed slightly. The two glints grazed his skin, tearing two holes in his robes and leaving two shallow bloody marks on his smooth skin.

Seeing Lei Yan wounded, Qing Ling grew worried. "Both of them are very strong. Can Brother Lei handle this?"

"Brother, this kid is weak. I could kill him easily. Why don't you let me take over and you rest?" Yan Lang said dismissively.

"Don't talk nonsense. A lion uses its full strength even to hunt a rabbit. Be careful not to capsize in the gutter," Yan Tao scolded sternly. As he spoke, the light from his sword flashed repeatedly.

The speed of the sword light was extremely fast, even to Lei Yan’s heightened perception. He had to be careful; this sword technique went beyond the mundane world.

*Could it be that they have entered the Dao through swordsmanship?* Lei Yan mused. Entering the Dao through swordsmanship meant the technique was fused with the 'Dao,' and its power was no less than the 'Dao' fused into Lei Yan’s own fist techniques.

Under the joint attack of Yan Tao and Yan Lang, the entire inn was reduced to ruins. As the battle progressed, Yan Tao and Yan Lang’s expressions turned to shock. From beginning to end, they hadn't seen Lei Yan strike back; he was purely dodging. Moreover, Lei Yan’s speed was increasing, and they were struggling to track his movements.

A growing smile played on Lei Yan’s lips. He realized that as his mastery of the "Diving Dragon Godly Wander" deepened, his movements felt ethereal, as if his body were about to split apart. Yet, this sensation wasn't painful; it was strangely exhilarating. Suddenly, a tearing sound echoed in his ears, and an identical figure surged out from his body. In an instant, two identical figures stood in the air.

"Impossible! Impossible!" The man with the fan’s expression changed. A spiritual sense could instantly distinguish illusions, but he couldn't tell which of the two Lei Yans was real. Both seemed real, and both seemed fake.

Lei Yan felt a sense of absurdity, as if the second figure were his own clone. Their thoughts and intentions were perfectly synchronized, and he could control its movements at will. With a thought, one figure charged at Yan Tao, while he himself charged at Yan Lang.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Yan Tao and Yan Lang blocked the two Lei Yans with their blades, and for a moment, the two figures hung in the air, locked in a stalemate with them.

"Two Brother Leis?" Qing Ling stared in confusion, trying to distinguish the real one from the fake, but she failed. Both appeared completely real.

"Is it really like this?" The man with the fan’s expression shifted repeatedly. His spiritual sense couldn't tell them apart, and the sight of two Leis in the air shook his confidence in his own bizarre techniques.

Yan Tao and Yan Lang looked at each other, sweat dripping down their foreheads. They were frustrated, feeling the immense true essence pouring from the blades against them.

Both Leis let out a low shout simultaneously. Bolts of lightning surged from their hands. The attack, infused with the 'Dao' of lightning, instantly numbed Yan Tao and Yan Lang’s hands, forcing them to drop their swords. They then watched as a burning palm struck their chests, and they heard the sound of their own internal organs rupturing before their bodies were sent flying out of control.

The hands of both Leis remained burning. They looked at each other, smiled, and merged back into one.