Among the five people, only the boss remained calm.
He knew the key was to take down the boss before the rest.
The moment he sensed something was wrong, he drew a primary-grade spiritual weapon longsword, charged forward, and rushed straight at Su Zhan!
"Want to kill me?"
"Too late."
Su Zhan chuckled.
An invisible momentum quietly surged from his body, scattering all the dust around him.
At that moment, the five of them—including the boss—widened their eyes in disbelief, looking as though they had just seen a ghost.
A chill stabbed through their hearts.
"Th-Three… three levels?!"
Yes.
The man named Su standing before them had broken through!
Without any signs.
Without any special movement.
Without any visible cultivation.
He had directly advanced from the Second-Level Mortal Realm to the Third-Level Mortal Realm!
"As expected of the Third Level… your sword is far too slow."
A longsword suddenly appeared in Su Zhan's hand. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes as he swung it with a deadly move.
Ding!
With the ringing clash of steel, the boss's longsword was struck by an overwhelming force. Pain shot through his tiger's mouth, and he could no longer hold onto his weapon—it flew from his grasp.
A flash of cold light.
Su Zhan's sword, glowing with a bright blue aura, was now pressed against the boss's neck.
Feeling the icy metal, cold sweat poured down the boss's forehead. His once-cruel and calculating face twisted into sheer panic. In Su Zhan's eyes, he saw not a man—but a natural killer.
"Why? These are treasures and surprises I specially prepared for you. I spent two whole days on them… you don't like them?"
Su Zhan's voice was calm, but in the ears of the five, it was like a death sentence from the King of Hell himself.
And when they noticed the strange, human-shaped black shadows—the Clones—all of them began trembling uncontrollably.
At this moment, they finally realized: Lord Zhou had not been mistaken. Su Zhan was indeed a problem—and a very big one.
"Su… Master Su, it's all a misunderstanding! We were only following orders, please—"
"Clones. Do it."
Before the boss could finish, Su Zhan gave a decisive command.
In an instant, the twenty-two Clones surged forward like a black tidal wave, enclosing the five completely.
Screams, shrieks, and pitiful cries echoed without end.
About a minute later, the Clones withdrew.
Four of the five men were now nothing more than crippled men—limbs severed, ears, tongues, and noses gone. Their ability to resist had been completely destroyed.
"Woohoo…"
Bloodied, trembling, and terrified, they tried to cry out—but could only make pitiful, broken sounds.
The smell was strong, and yellow liquid spread under him.
The only one left intact was the boss.
His entire body shook as he stared at his crippled companions, then looked up at Su Zhan with the horror one would reserve for a God of Death.
Everything before him shattered his understanding of reality.
The Clones alone—those strange black shadows—each possessed the strength of the Third-Level Mortal Realm. And not just one of them—all of them!
They felt no pain, feared no death, and showed no emotion, even when pierced by a sword. They were nothing short of ruthless killing machines.
Only two thoughts filled the boss's mind:
1. What kind of terrifying method did Su Zhan use to create these Clones?
2. Would he become the fifth "Crippled man"?
"I'll ask. You answer. Can you do that?"
"Y-Yes! I'll answer! But… if I answer truthfully, will you… spare my life?"
"What makes you think you still have that right?"
Su Zhan's tone was flat.
"Speak. Who gave you your orders?"
"It—it was Zhou Yueshan!" the boss blurted out immediately.
Su Zhan closed his eyes, leaning his head back slightly.
Sure enough, his suspicion was confirmed.
He had once been grateful to Zhou Yueshan, even thinking that when he became strong enough, he could repay the man—perhaps even work together to seize the mine. But now… the person he had been most thankful to was the very one seeking his downfall.
"Why did he target me?"
Suppressing his emotions, Su Zhan calmly pressed on.
"I don't know!" the boss said quickly. "Master Zhou only told us to follow you closely and report any unusual activity. But we've been tailing you for days without finding a single clue! I swear it's the truth!"
Su Zhan frowned.
Most likely, his rapid advancement had triggered Zhou Yueshan's suspicion.
Anyone else in the mines might not have drawn such attention—but Su Zhan had been in close contact with Zhou Yueshan for over a month, with no breakthroughs in sight until suddenly… his cultivation soared in a matter of days.
"Do you report to him every day?" Su Zhan asked.
"Uh… yes! Every single day. If we miss even one, we'll be punished!" the boss nodded.
But from the flicker of panic in his eyes, Su Zhan knew he was lying.
"I see."
A cold smile crossed Su Zhan's face. With a single stroke, he severed the boss's arm. Blood sprayed as the man fell to the ground, screaming.
"Clones. As before."
The Clones rushed forward, their swords cutting away every part of the boss's body that could be severed—while leaving him alive.
Su Zhan had no intention of killing them yet.
If they died, their positioning stones would shatter, and Zhou Yueshan would know instantly. He might even appear in less than ten minutes.
As long as these five stayed alive, Zhou Yueshan would remain unaware, giving Su Zhan precious time to grow stronger.
"With my current strength, if I tried to use these twenty-two Clones to encircle and kill a Fourth-Level Mortal Realm cultivator—especially a boss—the chance of success would be no more than twenty percent."
Su Zhan's eyes were burning.
He flicked his finger, and blood splattered from the long sword.
In fact, if they really had to face each other, he had a 40% chance of killing Zhou Yueshan!
After all, these were twenty-two Clones holding spiritual weapons, unafraid of death or injury… Their combat effectiveness was much stronger than that of ordinary Third-Level Mortal Realm cultivators!
Even if Zhou Yueshan was the leader in the Fourth-Level Mortal Realm, he would not be able to withstand such a siege.
But Su Zhan was not a reckless man—he preferred to strike only when victory was certain.