The legendary warrior novel Chapter 272

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Powerful bolts of energy burst out from within Thomas. He resonated an aura of extreme violence and Ricky could sense the daunting and dangerous energy that pervaded through the air. That aura gave Ricky a strange kind of unease, but he tried not to show it on his face.

'How many aces has he got up his sleeve? Is this another of his more powerful skills that he intends to use as a trump card?' Ricky couldn't help but wonder to himself in surprise.

Ricky decided not to pull his punches or hide his abilities anymore as the impending strike came toward him. Without delay, he activated the three kinds of fire energy he held in his body and wrapped himself up in the flames. He also boosted his runic power as high as it would go. By doing that, he had directly entered into his peak state and was at full power.

As he activated his full power, the Iron Destroyer in his hand seemed to be eager to leap into action again. It vibrated in accordance with his energy. The blade made a kind of excited buzz in anticipation. Ricky had heard that kind of buzz before, but this time, it was louder and its pitch became higher. He felt that a sort of strong connection between him and his weapon had started to form. At that moment, it all clicked for him.

"It seems that this situation has just now helped me build a unique connection between me and my saber. It feels strange, but I have a feeling that this connection will enhance the power of my saber-light," he murmured to himself in amazement.

He knew that there was no time for celebrating his progress just then. Thomas seemed to have fully prepared himself and was about to launch his attack. Ricky quickly shifted his attention back to his rival.

"I do admire your courage, Ricky. I know very few who would dare to challenge someone three grades more powerful than them. I respect you, so I will reward a talented warrior like you with a good fight. Enjoy it while you can!" Thomas shouted the last sentence out in a hoarse voice. Then he was submerged in a thick, dark fog of spiritual energy that was swirling faster and faster. It was pushing everything, including the air, out of the area around him as the energy inside the fog exploded all of a sudden.

Boom! Instantly, the explosion created shock-waves that carried the energy away from him. The ripples lashed out against everything around them. They caused the whole space to shake with their force. Even someone as powerful as Ricky was knocked back by the energy. He took quite a few steps back while raising his hands to fend off the air that buffeted him.

In his defensive position, Ricky's heart suddenly stopped in his chest. His eyes widened and his pupil shrank in shock. With his keen senses, he was able to feel the existence of a third person in the area. It had just appeared out of nowhere! He was both confused and astonished because he had been sure that the aura that the third man released was exactly the same as Thomas's.

Ricky found it hard to believe. He narrowed his eyes and tried to locate Thomas so he could see more clearly what had happened. His eyes were sharpened by the blue light in them, but he still had a hard time confirming the location of his rival.

Luckily, the waves of dark air began to gradually fade away. Slowly but surely, two figures stepped out of the fog. Ricky hoped that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but it seemed that they weren't after all. What he saw was real--There were two men standing in front of him, or more specifically, two identical figures that both seemed to be Thomas. The two figures looked exactly alike.

"What? But...how is this possible?" Ricky exclaimed in disbelief. He staggered back and nearly fell to the ground.

He was truly stunned by what he saw. The sight gave him no less shock than when he regained his spiritual meridian. It was something that he would refuse to believe even if it happened before his own eyes again. He wished that he could say he was dreaming.

Rubbing his eyes, he told himself that it was all just an illusion. When he opened his eyes again, nothing had changed. Instead, the more he looked at them, the more he realized that they were simply perfect replicas of each other.

"What do you think? Are you satisfied?" Seeing the astonishment on Ricky's face, the two versions of Thomas asked in unison. Both of their mouths curled into identical smirks.

"This is really shocking! How can this be real?!" Ricky admitted readily after taking a deep breath to calm himself down a bit. "May I know this cultivation method's name?" he then asked.

Apart from his shock, there was also greed in Ricky's eyes. He had no intention of trying to conceal it. He was intrigued by this kind of magical skill, and he desperately wanted to learn its secrets.

"Its name is Shadowy Replication. It's the top cultivation method of the Endless Shadow. As for its grade, well...I don't know what its grade is and I don't really care about it," Thomas replied, with some cockiness in his voice.

"Shadowy Replication!? Shadowy Replication is incredible!" Ricky repeated the name again and again in a low voice after Thomas told him what it was called. Excited, he activated his two powerful zones to try to investigate more about the differences between the two figures that both seemed to be Thomas.

Soon enough, Ricky was able to gain some information about them. He was able to figure out that the biggest difference between the two was that one of them was made of flesh and blood, while the other was formed by spiritual energy. He couldn't tell them apart by their appearances, and since their aura was also the same, ordinary warriors would usually think that the replication of Thomas was real.

'Now I know how this skill called Shadowy Replication works. You only have to create another self with your spiritual energy. It's nothing so complicated, ' Ricky thought to himself. 'It cannot be denied that this cultivation method is very tricky and powerful. It doesn't only replicate the users' appearance and aura, but also their level, strength, and abilities too. I was even tricked at first sight. I suppose that I can expect that Thomas' fighting capacity has been doubled because of it.'

Ricky was right about the situation. It was no exaggeration to say that he was facing two opponents now...Thomas and his copy were two warriors at the peak of the fifth grade of Bone Reinforcement! The situation was real trouble for Ricky. The replication might not last long, but if the two of them worked together and used their ultimate skill together, it would be quite enough to finish Ricky off.

"Well, well, now it seems the odds are against me!" Ricky said to himself. He felt troubled, but he still wasn't afraid. What happened just then was a bit too much for him to take in all at once, so he had needed a moment. Ricky got a huge adrenaline rush from learning about the Shadowy Replication skill. It made him nervous and excited about the coming fight at the same time. Above all, that sense of danger was what he needed at the moment.