By the time they returned to Gai Yue's secluded residence, it was already deep into the night. Each of the three chose a wooden cabin to rest in.
But Oscar did not spend the night cultivating. Instead, he turned over a wild idea in his mind — inspired by the two effects of his fourth spirit ability.
His fourth ability had two effects: one was Clone, and the other was Copy.
If he ate a Clone Sausage, he could produce a clone identical to himself in strength, linked directly to his mind.
Most importantly, the clone had no time limit. It only disappeared when its spirit power was depleted, or if Oscar actively dismissed it.
What's more, while clones could not cultivate to raise their spirit rank, they could meditate to recover spent spirit power.
This meant that, as long as a clone's power wasn't completely drained, it could theoretically exist forever — a second Oscar, equal in power to his true body.
And if that were the case… the possibilities became limitless.
One Oscar was strong. But two Oscars? Three? Four? … That was an entirely different story.
He could send clones to handle all kinds of tasks. Even if they were destroyed, he would lose nothing except the energy and time it took to make them.
Each Clone Sausage consumed one-third of his spirit power. Recovery took time. But Oscar was the best food-type Spirit Master in the world — his own First Spirit Ability: Super Recovery Sausage could bypass the limitation.
This meant he could create more and more clones, stockpiling them in advance. After creation, clones no longer drained his spirit power, and as long as they didn't completely exhaust themselves, they could meditate to restore their reserves.
In practice, this turned each clone into a portable spirit power battery. When dismissed, the clone's remaining energy would flow back to Oscar.
For example, if a clone had used no spirit power at all, dismissing it would instantly return one-third of Oscar's energy.
And because the clone and original shared a mind link, distance was irrelevant. At any time, with just a thought, Oscar could absorb the clone's remaining energy back into himself — like wireless charging.
This was even more convenient than eating Super Recovery Sausages.
There was, however, one limitation: clones could not grow. A clone made at rank forty-three would always remain rank forty-three, even if Oscar advanced in the future.
But even that was not a true weakness. After all, clones could also consume Copy Sausages and wield martial spirits borrowed from blood providers.
And so, Oscar's mind leapt to an outrageous idea — what if one man could fight an entire nation?
He would only need to produce a few clones. Then, those clones could themselves make Clone Sausages and Copy Sausages. Infinite nesting dolls of Oscar!
As long as the clones never exhausted themselves entirely, they could, in theory, exist forever — unless destroyed by force or dismissed.
Each time Oscar advanced in level, or even just gained one rank, he could create new clones, preserving versions of himself at every stage.
In time, he could build an army of Oscars, ranging from rank forty-three up to whatever ultimate level he might one day achieve.
If this vision came true, Oscar could truly stand as one man against nations.
And with Copy Sausages, he could be any martial spirit, any power. He could be the entire Spirit Master world embodied in one person.
The thought made Oscar's breathing grow heavy. If this path proved possible, one day, he would become the uncrowned king of the Douluo Continent.
It was terrifying. Unreal. And yet, if realized, it would be absolutely unstoppable.
And so long as he kept his true identity hidden in the shadows, he would be untouchable.
Of course, for now, it was only a vision. He would need many experiments to confirm its feasibility.
By the time he had organized the full process and steps in his mind, dawn had already arrived.
Oscar gave it a try. He activated his fourth spirit ability and created a "Mimicry Sausage", then consumed it.
A second Oscar — identical in appearance and aura — appeared at his side.
He gave his true body a Super Recovery Sausage, restoring the spent energy, and then went outside to prepare breakfast, leaving his clone indoors to continue refining last night's ideas.
In truth, this was no different from multitasking. Since the clone shared his consciousness, Oscar was still thinking things through himself, only in parallel.
And multi-tasking was already second nature to him. Sword flight demanded at least two streams of focus, often three, four… or more.
Right now, Oscar could control five flying swords simultaneously, weaving them into an offensive killing array. He was already capable of true five-way multitasking.
After breakfast was prepared and eaten with Gai Yue and Dugu Yan, the three set off for the Ice Spirit Ravine.
The ravine lay over eighty li away, but with both Oscar and Gai Yue capable of sword flight, the distance was negligible.
By midday, after traveling and admiring the icy landscapes, they arrived.
The Ice Spirit Ravine was a unique marvel of the Extreme North: a deep, icy gorge with sheer cliffs over a thousand meters tall. The deeper one went, the colder it grew, with the innermost depths plummeting to temperatures below minus one hundred degrees.
Even so, the weakest of them — Dugu Yan — was already ranked forty. Combined with the tremendous strengthening effects of the Acacia Heartbroken Red, her body was far harderier than before. At the outer gorge, she felt nothing more than a refreshing chill.
Gai Yue took the lead, stepping into the ravine. But before doing so, he ate one of Oscar's Clone Sausages, leaving a duplicate behind to protect Oscar and Dugu Yan.
The ravine was home to many spirit beasts over ten thousand years old. Though the pair had hidden themselves in a secluded spot, the added protection was wise.
Even at sixty percent of his original strength, Gai Yue's clone was more than enough to unleash Contra-level power.
And if they encountered something even stronger, the clone could still stall until the true Gai Yue returned.
Not long after he entered, Oscar discovered another powerful use of the clone: long-range communication.
Because the mind and clone were linked, Gai Yue could directly relay what he encountered inside the ravine.
Oscar grew even more certain: his Clone Sausage was truly a bug-tier ability.
The clone stood guard while reporting calmly:
"Little Ao, I think I've found the Ice Origin Chi Dragons you spoke of. But… it isn't just one. It's a whole group…"
Oscar raised his brows.
"Teacher, just capture one around fifteen thousand years of cultivation. No need to linger in battle."
The clone glanced back at him.
"Brat, do you think I need your instructions? There are at least ten of them in here. The strongest one must be over seventy thousand years…"
His expression tightened.
"No more time to talk. I'm moving in."
…
Half an hour passed. Then, suddenly, Gai Yue's clone vanished — absorbed back to restore his spirit power.
Soon after, the true Gai Yue returned, hauling the corpse of a snow-white Ice Origin Chi Dragon over seven meters long.
Dropping it at their hiding spot, he let out a breath.
"That group of Ice Origin Chi Dragons… they had something like a martial spirit fusion technique. Their combined assault actually put me under some pressure."
He smirked coldly.
"But in playing with ice… those beasts are still far inferior to me."
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up as she looked at the barely-breathing dragon, on the edge of death.
Oscar stepped forward.
"Fourteen thousand five hundred years old. Sister, finish it and claim your ring."
Dugu Yan nodded. Raising her right hand, she transformed it into a scaled, jade-green dragon claw. With a flash of cold light, she pierced the dragon's heart.
Its last breath faded. A pitch-black ten-thousand-year spirit ring condensed above its corpse.
Sitting cross-legged, Dugu Yan summoned her martial spirit. Two yellow and one purple ring rose first, followed by the new black one, as she began absorption.
Her body and mind, tempered by the Acacia Heartbroken Red, were strong enough to handle a fifteen-thousand-year ring. Though this dragon's quality was top-tier, it still fell within her limits.
The process was tense, but not dangerous — just time-consuming.
An entire day passed before the black spirit ring finally settled upon her. A surge of spirit power burst out, and her rank shot up to forty-seven!
Gai Yue was astonished. Oscar, however, looked unsurprised, as though he had expected it.
After all, for someone who had consumed a top-tier immortal herb like the Acacia Heartbroken Red, a jump of several levels was normal.
Still, most of its energy had gone toward evolving her martial spirit, not simply raising her level. Which, in Oscar's eyes, was the greater boon.
Her martial spirit had transformed from the high-grade Jade Phosphor Snake into the top-tier Jade Phosphor Poison Dragon — and this was only the beginning of its evolution.
With every future advancement, her spirit would grow purer. This was her true harvest.
Even her appearance changed subtly. Her jade-green eyes now carried streaks of icy blue. Her hair, once entirely green, was streaked with cool blue strands as well.
The dragon's bloodline had refined her further, its power feeding back into her body.
Where before she had been striking but not peerless, now her beauty reached the pinnacle of the continent's first-class standards.
Combined with her mature, seductive figure, if she were to don a cheongsam now, Oscar feared he would lose all self-control.
Indeed, if Gai Yue hadn't been present, the thirteen-year-old Oscar might not have resisted the urge for… a deeper "exchange" with his beloved sister Yan.
Oscar was no prude. His restraint until now had been out of caution for Dugu Bo. But his and Dugu Yan's bond was already unshakable.
And, as the saying goes, bottled-up desire only causes problems. Oscar had no intention of being a "problem boy."
Dugu Yan rose, eyes shining with joy. Four spirit rings — two yellow, one purple, one black — circled her.
She turned to Oscar.
"Little Ao, I've reached rank forty-seven. My spirit power is solid, not hollow at all. Its density rivals that of a Spirit King! That immortal herb gave me an unbelievable boost!"
Her voice trembled with excitement. If she had refused the Acacia Heartbroken Red back then, she could never have reached such heights.
Oscar smiled.
"Congratulations, Sister. I'm still only rank forty-three, and you're already forty-seven."
Gai Yue laughed heartily.
"Yan Yan, this breakthrough is tremendous. If your grandfather Dugu Bo knew, he'd be dancing for joy!"
Dugu Yan giggled.
"And it's all thanks to Little Ao's immortal herb. Without it, I could never have achieved this."
With that, she retracted her martial spirit and walked into Oscar's arms, hugging him gently.Thank you, Little Ao.