For him, this battle was entirely under control, not too taxing while ensuring the ultimate goal is achieved.
The puppet’s three arms simultaneously lifted their weapons, closing in coldly on the clone that had lost most of its combat power.
Its steps were steady and forceful, like fate itself, unstoppable.
"Impossible... It shouldn’t be like this..."
The clone murmured, the light in its eyes growing dimmer, turning into a dead gray:
"I’ve absorbed so much power... so many clones... from those Awakened... I should have..."
"It has nothing to do with the energy you’ve absorbed. The reason for your defeat is simply because the origin of the main component that makes up you is in my hands."
Ron finally spoke, his voice calm.
The clone’s pupils contracted sharply, as if it finally understood something, a look of realization flashing in its eyes: "Are you saying..."
"That’s right, you and the ’Stand-In Puppet’ originally share the same source, you could even say a significant part of your spirituality and power was extracted by rules from it, creating similar substances."
Ron explained softly, his voice carrying a scholar’s calmness:
"So when you face it, it’s like facing your own origin—the battle was unfair from the start."
Hearing this explanation, the clone’s expression completely collapsed, the flames in its eyes extinguished, turning into a dead gray color.
Its shoulders sagged, as if it were a puppet drained of all support.
"Don’t worry, your power won’t be wasted."
Ron said, and the Stand-In Puppet’s three hands simultaneously launched an attack, completely dismembering the clone.
The Light Flame Longsword severed its head, the Ice Sword pierced its heart, and the Poisoned Thorn Short Knife completely penetrated its abdomen.
The three weapons exerted force in unison, creating a unique energy resonance that tore the clone’s body into countless fragments.
A mass of reddish-golden energy was liberated from the clone’s shattered body, forming an energy ball in the air, emitting pure and powerful waves.
But it didn’t disperse; instead, it was drawn by the Stand-In Puppet, slowly drifting towards the three-armed puppet, like iron filings attracted by a magnet.
The Stand-In Puppet extended its arms, as if embracing the energy mass.
At the moment it touched the energy, a dazzling light burst at the contact point, so intense that Ron had to squint his eyes.
Ron could feel the Stand-In Puppet undergoing a wondrous transformation—it was absorbing the clone’s energy, integrating it into itself.
This process was both violent and harmonious, like two similar yet completely different substances merging, accompanied by both repulsion and mutual attraction traits.
The Stand-In Puppet’s body began to undergo subtle changes, its surface becoming smoother.
The texture shifted from wood to a metallic-like substance yet retaining the unique resilience of biological matter.
The muscle lines became clearer, each piece like a meticulously crafted artwork containing explosive power.
The overall silhouette also became more humanlike, losing the initial mechanical and rigid feeling, becoming more full of vitality.
What was most surprising was a new arm extended from the left shoulder blade, forming a symmetrical structure with the extra arm on the right shoulder.
This newly born fourth arm was entirely reddish-golden, as if condensed from pure Positive Energy.
Its surface was covered with tiny scale-like patterns, each piece emitting a faint glow, seemingly inheriting traits from the clone.
After the energy absorption was complete, the Stand-In Puppet bathed in a layer of reddish-gold light.
The light gradually became restrained, merging into every inch of the puppet’s structure, like a form of baptism or sublimation.
Ultimately, when the light completely vanished, the Stand-In Puppet was renewed.
"Charging progress increased by 30%!" Ron was surprised to find that the Stand-In Puppet’s state had significantly changed:
[Active Abyssal Material automatically absorbed, charging progress +30%]
[Current charge: 38%/100%]
This was an unprecedented huge improvement, bringing the Stand-In Puppet one step closer to the threshold of activating bidirectional communication traits.
From the previous 8%, it leaped directly to 38%, increasing by a whole 30% in charge.
More importantly, the puppet’s energy operation became smoother.
The movements more coordinated and free, like going from a rough sketch to a complete artwork.
Actions that once required Ron’s full concentration to command could now be completed with a simple thought, executed with even more precision and fluidity.
The sensation was akin to controlling a precise Magic-Powered Airship, elevating comfort and control to an entirely new level over driving an old cart.
The coordination of the four arms also reached an unprecedented harmonious state.
The previous three arms had subtle coordination issues in certain complex actions.
Now, the four arms, like instruments in a symphony orchestra, executed each movement perfectly, forming a perfect rhythm.
"Come back." Ron gently ordered.
The Stand-In Puppet immediately shrank, returning to its original size, quietly returning to his hand.
As the clone completely disappeared, the entire crystal platform began to change.
The red lines on the crystal pillars’ surfaces started to flow violently, like the vessels of some organism throbbing.
Then these lines gradually detached from the crystal surface, converging into energy streams, all gathering towards Ron’s position, forming a massive red energy net.
"This is... bloodline enhancement?"
Ron quickly understood what was happening—he had defeated his clone, and now the Bloodline Altar was fulfilling its promise, providing enhancement and uplift in bloodline.
As he realized this, those energy streams accelerated their flow.
Finally, all converged above his head, forming a crimson energy ball about a meter in diameter.
The ball’s surface patterns flowed, seemingly conducting some complex calculation or evaluation.
A few seconds later, the energy ball descended slowly, gently enveloping Ron’s entire body, then gently seeping into his skin.