X-Dragon Era

If it's a clone, although its strength isn't limited by the original and can even surpass it, in terms of abilities, it is subject to too many restrictions. The vast majority of capabilities of the original are not accessible to the clone. Despite formidable power, the absence of corresponding abilities actually makes it less fearsome.

The representative of clones is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong. Although he can create countless clones, these clones lack the corresponding abilities. They can't ride the clouds or perform the Seventy-Two Transformations, let alone use the Life-Saving Monkey Hair.

While incarnations are limited in power, clones are limited in abilities, each with their own flaws. However, Xin Yun's Four Great Sword Souls manage to achieve a balance; their strength may not exceed the original but they can reach the exact same realm as the original! And although their abilities are limited, they are not completely incapable of using them.

For example, Sun Wukong's clones cannot cultivate; once used, they disappear. But Xin Yun's clones can practice Xin Yun's cultivation techniques and can indeed cultivate! Since they can cultivate, they naturally can use some abilities and wield some weapons and magical artifacts, something clones can't do.

Between realms, clones, and incarnations, the abilities cannot be higher than the original, but they can exercise certain powers. This is the Method of Division that Xin Yun comprehended from the Sky-opening Axe Soul. After contemplating for a long time, Xin Yun finally named these entities that are neither clones nor incarnations but the Four Great Sword Souls as "Mirror Images."

After placing the four Mirror Images in the pot-in-the-sky to cultivate, Xin Yun stood up, pushed open the door, and left. The cultivation there only needed to be checked every evening. Once the Four Great Mirror Images reached Xin Yun's realm, Xin Yun could regularly extract energy from them to directly enhance his strength, which is like transferring energy from one part of the body to another, causing no disadvantage whatsoever.
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Of course, the Four Great Mirror Images couldn't cultivate there forever. Like Xin Yun, they had a fixed amount of time for cultivation each day. Otherwise, the overworked soul would collapse and the Mirror Images would dissipate, an outcome not worth the risk.

Beyond cultivating, Xin Yun assigned tasks to the Four Great Mirror Images. When they weren't busy, they would mine colorful Spirit Stones and build houses, preparing for the eventual arrival of Yan Qingying's Twelve Disciples and Ming Xuan's 365 disciples to cultivate there, as there was no better place for them.

Though the pot-in-the-sky was surrounded by mountains, its area was vast, much larger than Taiwan Island. Even with tens of millions of inhabitants, it wouldn't feel crowded at all; on the contrary, most of the land would remain unoccupied.

As the most loyal and central strength of the gang, these children usually lived and trained there. They would be called to action only when needed. This was a hidden, incredibly powerful force, and the Axe Gang's last resort.

In the following week, everyone took leave from the academy to focus on cultivating their magical artifacts in secret chambers. Xin Yun continued his cultivation, merging the nine dragons within the Dragon Ball into one.

The week passed quickly, and after breaking through, everyone was extremely excited. With the refinement of their magical artifacts, everyone's strength improved significantly. Although their intrinsic power had not changed, once in battle, their prowess would be extraordinary.

However, the holiday was over, and as much as they would have liked, there simply wasn't time to spar. After eating the breakfast prepared by Mother Lan, the four of them headed to the academy together.

At this moment, for the first time, the group centered around Xin Yun was all studying together in the first-grade segment. They could go to school together in the morning and leave together in the evening. Everyone was very happy about this.

Without further conversation, the four arrived at the academy gate. Yi Luo Xiang and Yan Qingying went ahead, while Xin Yun and Ming Xuan rushed to the academy's guidance office to receive their Academy Badges.

As they were challengers who advanced by ranking among the last hundred in the second year, their rankings could only be within these last hundred spots. To participate in the end-of-year assessment for advancement to the third year, they not only had to break out of this range but also enter the top hundred, or else they wouldn't even qualify for advancement.

Like the first year, the second year also consisted of a thousand students. Every year… the last hundred from the year's segment faced a challenge match, with winners entering the second year and losers returning to the first year, while... the top one hundred of the current year's segment could take part in the challenge match for advancement to the third year, with winners moving up and losers remaining. This was Combat Dragon Academy's advancement rules, a highly systematic process of trimming at both ends.

However, Xin Yun and Ming Xuan weren't worried about breaking into the top hundred at all. If necessary, they could directly challenge the class leader; once someone became the class leader, they'd be directly promoted to the third year. With ten classes in the second year, there were ten class leaders, securing ten spots in the annual advancement.

Thus, after obtaining their badges, the two of them weren't in a hurry to leave the challenge area. Led by Ming Xuan, who knew the academy well, Xin Yun quickly familiarized himself with the layout of the academy, as well as the location of each training hall and all the training programs offered.

Ming Xuan had been in the second year for far too long, almost seven or eight years, which in some respects made him more authoritative than a mentor. After all... mentors and students have different perspectives on issues.