Nanjiang City.
Located in the southeast of the Human Territory, bordering the Guixu, its outskirts are mountainous and hilly, covered in forests, with widespread miasma, poisonous insects, and rampant fierce beasts and birds.
The harshness of the environment ranked it among the top hundred human cities.
Nanjiang City was built between two large mountains, serving as the sole passage between the Human Territory and Guixu.
It was the closest city to Guixu, a vital border town for the Human Race, boasting a developed trade. Its walls were tall, with three city gates, both inside and out.
Entering the outer gate led to a barbican; entering the middle gate revealed three more, with only one being the true passage, the other two connecting to a reservoir and a laser weapon array.
The sky was also equipped with formations and energy shields, offering far superior protection than Ji City.
This multi-layered defense made Nanjiang City impregnable, repelling every attack from both foreign races and fierce beasts.
At this moment, Lin Yu and his senior brother disembarked from the train.
The attendant and others waved goodbye behind them.
"Have a safe journey!" they shouted.
Lin Yu smiled, while his senior brother, quite pleased, turned and waved back, "You too, have a safe journey!"
Then, he pointed towards the city ahead and said, "Pass through this city, and after about a hundred miles, we'll reach our academy."
"That far?" Lin Yu exclaimed.
"Of course. If it were too close, Nanjiang City would be in trouble," he said, gesturing at the merchants coming and going.
Indeed, if it were situated right on the front lines, these merchants wouldn't dare to move so freely. What if there were spies?
"Let's go!"
Along the way, Lin Yu didn't need to show his identification card. With his senior brother's black card paving the way, they passed through without any hindrance, even gaining access to the City Lord's mansion. Such was the convenience of privilege.
Lin Yu couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
Senior brother led the way, not stopping at all, heading straight for the city outskirts. Lin Yu asked in confusion,
"Senior brother, aren't we going to rest here?"
"I'm tired of this place. Nothing fun here, and the girls aren't pretty. Might as well go back to the academy for a drink," he replied.
Lin Yu's face turned red at his words. So, he was quite the 'playboy' of the martial world?
As they walked and chatted, they unknowingly exited the city.
The scenery outside the city was vastly different from Ji City.
Ji City had a temperate climate, while this region was subtropical, with taller trees and a more humid and warm atmosphere.
On the road, Lin Yu created a hundred clones to scout the surroundings. They were instructed to kill any fierce beasts they encountered if possible, and flee if not.
True to form, there were indeed an astonishing number of fierce beasts outside. Lin Yu's clones were getting exhausted from the constant fighting.
"Another pack of wolves. Senior brother, will there be this many fierce beasts in Guixu too?" Lin Yu complained.
Senior brother chuckled, "This is nothing. Guixu has far more fierce beasts. They even have beast tides from time to time. Only Master can endure that place; anyone else would have fled long ago."
Hearing this, Lin Yu became even more eager for his trip to Guixu.
Along the way, his clones had killed at least a hundred fierce beasts in just half an hour. He couldn't imagine how many more they would encounter.
Suddenly, Lin Yu frowned.
Senior brother instantly became alert and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Yu pointed ahead, "One of my clones is dead."
"Let's go and see!"
Senior brother was well aware of Lin Yu's clone's strength, which was even greater than his main body. Any beast capable of killing Lin Yu's clone would be at least fourth-tier.
"No need, Senior brother. I'll handle this myself!" Lin Yu said.
On their journey so far, the enemies he had encountered were almost all overwhelmingly defeated. This time, he had finally encountered a fourth-tier monster, and he wanted to test its strength.
Lin Yu replenished his clones to one hundred, then commanded all of them to take action.
Clone Number One and Number Two exchanged a look. Light flared in their hands, one condensing a flaming spear, the other a water axe. Both were among the earliest clones, possessing more靈性 (lingxing - spiritual intelligence/vivacity) and appearing more lifelike than others. However, they had not yet developed consciousness, and it was unclear if they ever would.
The other clones also began to cast the "Myriad Treasures Condensing Art," causing various colored lights to erupt as weapons of different shapes and forms were materialized.
Then, they conjured armor and donned it. Only then did Lin Yu command them to attack.
Senior brother watched from the side, slightly surprised.
He muttered softly, "Each clone possesses strength approaching fourth-tier, and they inherit skills. Hiss, Lin Yu's talent is truly terrifying."
The thought that he was such a monstrous talent as merely an S-class Awakener filled him with even greater astonishment.
"Aren't you going to the front lines?" Senior brother asked.
Lin Yu replied, "It's safer by Senior brother's side!"
Senior brother was speechless at this remark. As expected, he was just like those controllers—he should have gone to the Controller Academy. They were all cowards hiding in the back, a true 'old six.'
No, he was even more of an 'old six' than them. At least those would follow up. This guy, however, hid in the back and let his clones do everything while he reaped all the benefits.
He almost envied the clone talent. With such talent and the use of suicidal tactics, who could withstand it?
At this moment.
The clones had all arrived at the scene.
They saw a bull-shaped fierce beast with two horns and covered in thick scales, looking at Lin Yu's clones with confusion.
Within its limited intelligence, it distinctly remembered killing this human just moments ago, yet now a whole group had appeared.
However, it didn't care. It snorted, its nostrils expelling gas, and glared with angry eyes.
Yet, there was something peculiar about this beast. Its scales looked as if they were made of metal.
Seeing the beast's ferocity, Lin Yu quickly issued the command to attack.
The clones automatically divided into ten teams, led by numbers one to ten. They were the first and second batches of clones, and after numerous battles, they were more spirited than the others.
The clones shared combat experience and insights, coordinating with great precision.
Clone Number One, accompanied by nine others, circled behind the beast. Holding a flaming spear, it jabbed towards the beast's rear.
Number Two met the beast head-on. The water axe in its hand cut through the sky with streaks of energy, slicing towards the monster's head.
Roar!
The monster roared, and dark light appeared on its body, forming a protective shield around it.
Clang!
Clang!
Two consecutive metallic impacts. The spear and the axe struck the shield.
No penetration!
At this point, the other clones also arrived.
Their weapons attacked the monster's body. Although they couldn't penetrate, under such a barrage, the monster's energy wouldn't last long.
Indeed, with a whimper, the monster's shield shattered. Dark light flickered above its head, transforming into rays that attacked in all directions.
Mountain Arm!
All the clones' arms were covered in a layer of earthy-yellow armor, their strength doubling instantly. They brandished their weapons and attacked fiercely!
"Kill!"
After their treacherous tactics proved ineffective, the clones resorted to suicidal attacks.
Out of one hundred clones, thirty were sacrificed, but they successfully killed the fierce beast.
A system notification chimed in Lin Yu's ear.
"Ding, you have killed the Black Scale Barbarian Bull Puppet, Upgrade Points +3000!"
So many upgrade points! Lin Yu was excited. Wait, why was it a puppet?
Just then, information came from his clones. Upon receiving this news, Lin Yu urgently said,
"Senior brother, there's a mastermind behind this. Come with me quickly!"