Just as Zhou Yueshan was hesitating—
Suddenly.
The momentum around Su Zhan gradually weakened… and finally disappeared!
Zhou Yueshan was stunned for a moment.
Then he was overjoyed.
"His breakthrough… failed!!"
"Hahaha! Heaven is helping me! This treasure is destined to be mine!!"
That's right—Su Zhan's attempt at a Fourth-Level Mortal Realm breakthrough had failed!
Just moments earlier, Su Zhan, who had been ready to flee, suddenly felt the spiritual energy in his body surge violently.
His qi and blood surged uncontrollably, his meridians swelled, and even his flesh and bones suffered an immense impact and transformation.
At that instant, Su Zhan understood everything.
Instead of escaping, he stopped in place.
Feeling the fierce power raging inside him, he was overjoyed.
A Fourth-Level Mortal Realm breakthrough!
With such a chance right in front of him, why run? He could turn the tables on Zhou Yueshan instead!
He even intended to mock Zhou Yueshan once he succeeded, just to see the man's expression twist in disbelief and fury.
But before he could say anything—
In the blink of an eye, the surging power inside him began to weaken.
Finally, the momentum vanished entirely.
His body returned to its previous, completely calm state.
"Damn it!" Su Zhan cursed inwardly.
Although he had prepared himself for multiple breakthrough attempts—knowing that with enough tries he would eventually succeed—this was a life-or-death situation. Zhou Yueshan's attacks were far too fierce. This wasn't just a setback—it was practically a death sentence!
"Escape!"
Without hesitation, Su Zhan dashed away at full speed.
"Hahaha! To think you could attempt a breakthrough under such circumstances—your treasure is truly extraordinary!" Zhou Yueshan's eyes gleamed greedily. "You're no ordinary cultivator. And that treasure… it's not just something that shapes Clones. No, it's far beyond anything I imagined!"
"Su brat! Don't run! With your speed, you think you can escape me? Keep dreaming!"
Zhou Yueshan's expression twisted with excitement as he crushed the clones surrounding him, tripling his speed to rapidly close the distance.
"He's so fast!"
Su Zhan glanced back briefly, cold sweat breaking out.
A Fourth-Level Mortal Realm opponent was superior in every way—strength, defense, skills, reaction time—and their movement speed was completely overwhelming.
Once targeted by someone of this level, escape was almost impossible.
A few kilometers for Su Zhan meant exhausting effort and heavy breathing.
For a Fourth-Level Mortal Realm cultivator, it was no harder than lifting a finger.
But Su Zhan had already studied their strengths and weaknesses—he had his own countermeasures.
"Receive!"
Without slowing down, Su Zhan clenched his palm.
The clones that had been scattered earlier instantly vanished, their weapons disappearing as well.
The next second—
"Come out!"
They reappeared—this time right behind Su Zhan!
Without wasting a single word, each clone drew a long sword and charged at Zhou Yueshan!
"You can summon these black shadows at will?" Zhou Yueshan's eyes lit up in amazement, quickly turning into even greater delight. "This ability… marvelous! Truly marvelous!"
The more he saw of these clones' capabilities, the more excited he became—especially when he imagined that soon, all these abilities would belong to him.
Even when the clones' attacks shattered his low-grade spiritual armor and left him injured, Zhou Yueshan felt nothing but excitement.
"Can't head toward Wind Stone Town… must run somewhere with fewer people!"
Bursts of sunlight streamed down as Su Zhan dashed out of the mine.
Familiar with the area, he decisively chose a desolate route.
Crowds would only make things worse.
Not only would the clones draw unwanted attention, but other members of the Punishment Team might notice. And in this mine, if they saw Zhou Yueshan chasing a miner, no one would help Su Zhan—in fact, they might attack him just to curry favor with Zhou Yueshan.
"Excellent! Very good!" Zhou Yueshan's excitement grew.
Su Zhan clearly didn't want to expose his abilities in public—and Zhou Yueshan felt the same.
A treasure like this… the fewer who knew, the better.
If those at the Fifth-Level or Sixth-Level Mortal Realm caught wind of it, they would steal it without hesitation.
Especially after this special mission, Zhou Yueshan's trust in others had sunk to rock bottom—the cruelty and selfishness of the Punishment Team had shattered even his lowest expectations.
Suddenly—
"Hm?!"
Zhou Yueshan's expression changed.
Up ahead, Su Zhan had stopped moving.
That familiar momentum surged forth again!
Yes—Su Zhan was attempting another breakthrough!
"What kind of treasure is this?!" Zhou Yueshan's breathing quickened.
"To attempt breakthroughs one after another… and to try again immediately after failure?! Doesn't that mean… he can keep trying until he succeeds?!"
If so—
Then this treasure's grade was beyond imagination.
It might not only be worthy of the Origin Realm, Core Formation Realm, or Profound Realm—it could even be something coveted by cultivators of the Spirit Realm… perhaps even the legendary Heavenly Realm!
"Kid, kill me if you can!"
Zhou Yueshan's eyes narrowed in suspicion, while Su Zhan's heart leapt with joy.
The signs of another breakthrough appearing in his body filled him with excitement.
This ability was simply too amazing!
Normally, when a cultivator fails to break through, all the spiritual energy they've gathered for that attempt is wasted. They must slowly re-accumulate their cultivation over a long period of time before they can try again.
Not only that—
A breakthrough is a violent process. It forcefully impacts and tempers the meridians, blood, and bones—especially the most important Sea of Qi.
Such intense stimulation unavoidably causes some degree of damage to the Sea of Qi. Because of this, most cultivators can't attempt another breakthrough for at least several months.
If their talent is poor, it isn't unusual for them to wait a year or two before trying again.
But Su Zhan's clone cultivation was completely different.
Would a failed breakthrough damage the dantian?
Not at all.
The clones endured every bit of the burden, while Su Zhan enjoyed the gains.
Breakthrough failed?
Then simply accumulate energy again!
Where others might need a month to recover, Su Zhan could have twenty clones working at triple output—fully restoring his breakthrough spiritual power in mere minutes.
No—sometimes, just one or two minutes was enough. He could then change tactics and attempt another breakthrough immediately!
. "A cheat like this and I'm supposed to run? I'd rather die than disgrace it!"
"But then again… if I fail this time, it won't just be embarrassing—it could cost me my life."
Though the signs of another breakthrough surged within him, Su Zhan didn't stop like before to mock Zhou Yueshan or show off. Instead, he kept running at full speed, holding back for now.