My Clones Can Cultivate

Chapter 140

Elder Ting looked at Liyu, who was smiling subtly like a man who had been robbed of his freedom for a long time and had suddenly been given back that freedom alongside some free money.

Even with how wide, warm, and genuine the smile on his face was... that smile... and the crazy curl at the side of his lips... made Elder Ting feel slightly weird and unsettled.

Yet that was not what Elder Ting was looking at, as his attention was instead focused on another matter... a far deeper and more unsettling matter.

Elder Ting turned his gaze toward the battle stage. With his eyes alone, he was able to tell and feel that the gravity around the area was still greatly increased, and it wasn’t at a low level either.

That meant the gravity was still at the same twenty-five-fold increase as before. Yet unlike before... something had undoubtedly changed, and that change was Liyu.

Only a few minutes ago, Liyu had been unable to even lift his head beneath the overwhelming pressure. Yet now... not only was he lifting his head... he was standing casually inside that heavily pressurized area as if there were nothing wrong at all.

No... Elder Ting realized that he was wrong. Liyu wasn’t merely acting as if he couldn’t feel the pressure. From the scene before him, it was easy and simple to reach the conclusion that Liyu was no longer affected by the increase in gravity at all.

Instead... he seemed to have completely adapted. Adapted to a twenty-five-fold increase in gravity in less than twenty minutes, and he had done all of that while being under the constant and relentless attacks of his opponent.

Shi Mo had struck him without mercy. He had attacked over and over again without allowing Liyu even a single moment to rest. And yet... and yet... Elder Ting’s gaze seemed to dim slightly as he looked toward Liyu. And yet the kid was completely fine.

Apart from the small amount of blood flowing down the side of his head... and the tiny droplets of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth... he was completely fine.

And now... he had completely adapted to a twenty-five-fold increase in gravity as if it were nothing more than a small and casual everyday chore.

Elder Ting’s eyes became unreadable in an instant. His thoughts went from being completely blank... to rapidly churning... then becoming increasingly complicated... before intense disbelief filled his mind.

That disbelief was soon followed by another period of blankness. The absurdity of everything he was witnessing had completely overwhelmed his thoughts.

A deep sigh escaped from Elder Ting’s heart as he continued looking at Liyu. "This kid... he is really starting to scare the shit out of me now..." And Elder Ting wasn’t joking. Far from it. He was completely serious.

This kid had not only shattered every single piece of sane logic that Elder Ting, alongside the other powerful cultivators, had followed throughout their entire lives... he had also done things that completely overturned everything cultivation logic dictated.

Being able to easily defeat opponents who were an entire cultivation realm above you... and doing so with such ridiculous ease... already overturned everything logic dictated. That alone was absurd enough.

Yet Liyu had gone even further. As if that wasn’t enough... he had taken strike after strike from Shi Mo with a playful grin plastered across his face.

The same punches and attacks that were more than enough to instantly end the life of anyone in the Qi Gathering Realm... the same attacks that could cripple, if not outright kill, cultivators at the early and middle stages of the Qi Refining Realm... and the same attacks that were certainly capable of heavily injuring, or perhaps even knocking out, those at the late stages of the Qi Refining Realm... had struck Liyu over and over again.

Not only that... they had struck him while he was under the suffocating pressure caused by the terrifying increase in gravity. The pressure had made it difficult for Liyu to even move.

Yet instead of attempting to avoid Shi Mo’s attacks... he had allowed Shi Mo to continue attacking him. He had allowed himself to be struck. And he had been struck... again... and again... and again.

Yet the attacks that should have instantly killed him by every logical account... were taken as if someone were merely rolling a small pack across his body. It was almost as if he wasn’t being punched at all. It made no sense.

And above everything else... he had adapted to a twenty-five-fold increase in gravity in less than twenty minutes. That was no longer merely being talented. That completely bordered on being an absolute monster.

Just how freakishly overpowered would that kid become if he managed to reach the Golden Core Realm like myself? The thought slowly crawled into Elder Ting’s mind.

It was slow... unwanted... and deeply unsettling. Yet the moment Elder Ting imagined Liyu possessing this same illogical power while continuing to advance through the stages and realms... the more cold sweat began to cover his back.

He imagined Liyu reaching the Qi Refining Realm. Then the Foundation Realm... the Core Realm... and eventually... the Golden Core Realm. If Liyu continued possessing this same absurd power while advancing through every realm... then just what kind of terrifying existence would he become?

Elder Ting quickly shook his head and dismissed the outrageous thoughts from his mind. That surely wasn’t possible. Far from it. After all, the higher one walked along the path of cultivation... the more strenuous and difficult the journey became.

The higher the realm... the more impossible it became to advance. His momentum would surely slow down eventually. That was simply how cultivation worked. That was logic.

Then once again... this kid... he didn’t follow logic.

Elder Ting shook his head once more. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He would think about it later. For now... he only wanted to see how the large kid would try to rein in this freakish being called Liyu.

Meanwhile... Guan Ju’s eyes darkened. Inside his mind, he screamed... I knew it! I was right! Too damn right! That kid... he is going to become a really big problem for us in the future.

He would become an even bigger problem than all the members of the Li Clan combined if he were allowed to continue growing like this. If things continued this way... and this monster... this monster called Liyu... was given the chance to grow.

To truly grow... then the position of both the Shi Clan and the Guan Clan would be placed at risk.

Guan Ju didn’t really care much about the Shi Clan. If they faced trouble because of Liyu, then so be it. That wasn’t his concern. But his Guan Clan... his clan would face unimaginable trouble if they allowed that kid to continue growing.

Not only was Liyu freakishly powerful... he was also ruthless. A complete monster in every possible sense. And then there was that monstrous ability to adapt... how can someone adapt that fast? That quickly?

To such an overwhelming increase in the world’s gravity? It shattered every piece of logic. It made no sense whatsoever.

Guan Ju’s fist slowly clenched. The uneasiness inside his heart continued growing.

That Li Clan kid... he has to be killed. I must begin planning his assassination immediately after this tournament ends. Guan Ju thought as uneasiness continued clawing deeper into his heart.

Meanwhile, Li San simply sat there, looking at Liyu with a complicated gaze as he wondered... Just what is the limit of this kid? Yeah, he had always known that Liyu didn’t adhere to normal logic.

But still... that kind of adaptation speed... adapting to such a massive spike in environmental pressure... the simple fact that he had managed to pull off something like that to begin with made Li San question himself.

No matter how highly he evaluated Liyu... the kid might very well continue shattering those evaluations over and over again, with no end in sight to when he would finally stop surpassing them.

Li San rubbed his temple before a small smile appeared on his face. Well... I guess this is a good thing. The kid was already monstrously powerful at his current stage and realm.

Once he reached the higher realms, he would undoubtedly defy even deeper laws and logic while gaining far more power. Then... he would be safe. Whatever concerned the kid’s safety was the foremost thing in Li San’s heart. That was what mattered the most to him. Go on, kid... end this match.

Meanwhile, back on the stage... Shi Mo remained frozen in pure disbelief. He looked down at his own hand, where the blood he had wiped from his mouth remained clearly visible.

Then, he slowly raised his gaze toward Liyu. Yet Liyu hadn’t even spared him a meaningful glance. It was almost as if Shi Mo wasn’t there to begin with.

And Liyu... well... he might very well have been feeling exactly that way. It wasn’t that he had forgotten about Shi Mo. Rather, he was currently feeling far too pleased with the results of his adaptation.

The shift in his physical strength and overall physique wasn’t that large. At least... it didn’t feel overwhelmingly large. Yet without even needing the System interface to confirm it, simply clenching and unclenching his fists was enough to convince Liyu that his physical abilities had grown by at least twelve percent.

That might sound incredibly small to someone who didn’t know just how ridiculously powerful Liyu already was. A twelve-percent increase... to someone as powerful as Liyu... would be massive. No... it would be far too massive.

Liyu took in a deep breath. He felt good. Really good. He slowly exhaled as a pleased smile appeared on his face before finally turning his gaze back toward Shi Mo.

"Alright... back to our business," Liyu said with a small and charming smile on his face.

"You really got to deal a lot of beatings to me. Don’t freak out, though. I would only beat you in return. It’s just that I like paying people double whatever they pay me with."

"Or whatever they never even get the chance to pay me with. It doesn’t really matter to me. The moment someone stands across from me, their fate is already sealed. So yeah... you would be receiving double the beating you gave me."

Liyu paused before shaking his head. "Actually... due to how large you are, maybe four times would be better. It would fit your large frame more." He paused once again as if even that amount of beating wasn’t enough to satisfy him in the slightest.

And that was the truth. Four times didn’t feel like enough. Not even close.

Then... Liyu looked around at the air that remained heavily pressurized. The terrifying twenty-five-fold increase in gravity was still present around the entire battle stage. And suddenly... something struck him. An idea. And it wasn’t a good idea. Not in any possible way.

Liyu grinned. "Wait... four times seems too small. What about twenty-five times instead?" Liyu’s grin widened.

His smile was that of a lunatic who had finally discovered the best possible way to display his madness without anyone being able to stop him. He looked toward Shi Mo with a sadistic grin before continuing.

"I will beat you twenty-five times harder and more brutally than the beatings you gave me. So... are you ready for your beating now?"

Liyu asked with a calm and composed smile. Although... his eyes betrayed the complete madness nesting deep within them. I am really... really... very, very really going to thrash this bastard. Liyu thought internally.

As much as the refinement he had undergone was the least painful compared to the ones he had experienced before... no matter whether the pain wasn’t as great as the previous refinements that had nearly claimed his life... the fact remained the same.

And the fact was... the refinement hurt. It really hurt. It hurt so much that it had made him whimper a few times.

And although the force behind Shi Mo’s attacks wasn’t that massive when compared to the terrifying pain of his previous refinements... when those attacks were added to the pain caused by the refinement itself... it became incredibly painful.

It was really painful. In fact, it hurt so much that Liyu would have screamed if not for the fact that doing so would cause him to lose his aura.

So he didn’t scream. Instead... he continued smiling. All while comforting himself with the soothing thought that Shi Mo was completely doomed once the adaptation was finished.

And now... the adaptation was complete. Liyu was ready to begin his own beating on the big guy. He could finally relieve himself of all the pain he had endured.

"So... which one would you prefer to be beaten with?" Liyu asked as he raised one of his fists. "A punch?" Then, he raised his second hand. This time, his palm was completely flat as he held it high in the air. "Or a slap? So choose one." Liyu shrugged.

"Anyone you choose is fine by me, really. But I wouldn’t do something you don’t want. I don’t want to bully kids, after all." Liyu said with an annoying smirk.

Shi Mo’s gaze twitched as he looked at Liyu as if he wanted to walk over and rip his head straight off his shoulders. "Arrogant bastard..." Shi Mo’s gaze darkened as he spoke.

"Just because you got a lucky hit on me last time doesn’t mean it would repeat itself, you know. Don’t get too cocky now." Shi Mo spoke with a dark voice that was far from amused.

Anyone with eyes and ears could clearly tell that he was furious. He was furious at Liyu’s complete lack of respect toward their battle, and even more furious at the fact that Liyu was treating him like some little kid that he wanted to bully... despite the fact that, when their appearances were compared, Liyu was the one who looked like a child beside Shi Mo.

So... Shi Mo was angry. He was furious at being looked down upon. And what was that nonsense about Liyu saying that he was going to beat him twenty-five times worse? What did Liyu take him for?

Was he a moron? A weakling who would simply stand in one place and allow Liyu to throw attacks at him without blocking? That was stupid. Such a stupid way of thinking.

The wariness Shi Mo had felt only a moment earlier slowly vanished. In its place was nothing but anger... and the overwhelming need to show this arrogant brat that he wasn’t invincible.

Liyu looked at Shi Mo as he spoke. Not for even a single second did the crazy grin on his face change. "Since you aren’t going to choose... then let me choose for you."

Liyu said as he looked down at his fist before shifting his gaze toward his open palm. If he used his fist... he would probably break most of Shi Mo’s bones rather quickly and end the fight far too soon. And that wasn’t what Liyu wanted.

The slap, though... well... it would humble the big guy. Big time. And that wasn’t the only good thing it would do. No... the slap would allow Liyu to humiliate Shi Mo while dragging the face of the Shi Clan through the mud.

At the same time... it would inflict unforgettable pain upon Shi Mo. Liyu would make him feel dread. Pain unlike anything he had ever experienced before. And when Shi Mo finally wanted to beg for mercy... Liyu would simply slap his mouth shut. He would make him lose all hope before finally finishing him.

A dark chuckle escaped Liyu’s mouth as he thought about everything he had planned for Shi Mo. If the big guy could see the thoughts running through Liyu’s head... he would probably give up the tournament immediately. And unfortunately for him... he still didn’t know. Not yet.

"Alright. Come on. Show me what you’ve got." Shi Mo said as he raised his guard and waited for Liyu to make a move.

Liyu looked at him. Amusement danced within his eyes. Then... he nodded before lowering his fist. He would go with the slap.

Liyu took one step forward. Then another. And the moment his third step touched the ground... he vanished. Shi Mo blinked.

Before he could even begin to understand what had happened... Liyu was already standing directly in front of him. One of Liyu’s hands had grabbed Shi Mo by the shirt. He pulled the giant closer.

Then, without any ceremony... Liyu slapped him directly across the face. Just like the way a mother would discipline a stubborn child.

PAH!

The loud and sharp sound reverberated throughout the entire Ray Arena, and soon... it was followed by the shocked gasps of the crowd.