Number Two began to grow irritated. This cat isn’t dead yet! Shouldn’t you just collect my life force and put it away, if only for show? It’d be nice to have it in reserve if my copying failed. I can reabsorb my energy!

But you’re just taking it into yourself!

Are you not going to give it back to me if I’m not really the dao of replication?

As dejected as the cat was, Number Two didn’t say anything. Its presence declined rapidly as life force dispersed. Or rather, its presence completely disappeared.

The current Number Two seemed to be back where it’d just returned to life. Its presence was very weak and it hovered in and out of existence. The cat resided on the cusp of life.

It actually resembled the omnipresent great dao. One could sense it, but not fully grasp it. Li Hao grew even more convinced by this that Number Two was a dao spirit.

He’d wondered before why Number Two could conceal its presence so well. Now the young man understood that the cat wasn’t concealing it on purpose, but that it was present wherever the great dao was. It took deep comprehension of the great dao for someone to see its true nature. Otherwise, one would only know that it existed and wouldn’t be able to sense it.

Everything could be explained if he drew a connection between Number Two’s marvelous aspects to the cat being a dao spirit.

The cat ignored Li Hao and began attempting to copy everything it’d seen in the river of memories. A strange feeling welled up in Number Two. The cat had never made such an attempt before. It hadn’t known that it’d possessed this kind of ability, after all.

It turned its mind to various details of Li Hao’s life and sought to step into the young man’s shoes. Some changes gradually took place in its appearance.

They seemed to return to the day of Li Hao’s birth.

Number Two slowly began to melt, like it was a ball of dough. Li Hao’s eyes widened. What hovered in the void now wasn’t Number Two, but a bare-naked boy.

That’s... me!

Li Hao looked on with a complicated look in his eyes. It was hard to describe the sensation he was feeling. Was this a complete replication? It would be terrifying if there wasn’t the slightest difference between him and Number Two.

The dao of copying was an incredibly strong dao, but if someone could replicate whatever they wanted without restriction... then wouldn’t they be able to copy even time?

That wasn’t possible.

If that was, the Number Two’s grasp of a single dao would put it above someone who knew a myriad of daos.

Various ideas popped into Li Hao’s mind as the child in front of him began to grow. It progressed from an infant to toddler, then to the teenage years. He seemed to be following Li Hao’s path as he began to study martial arts, cultivate, absorb energy, cultivate dao...

This was another Li Hao!

The look in Li Hao’s eyes shifted. Was this what Number Two did back in the day to muddle the false with true? Was this how it convinced others that it was a projection of Big Cat?

It was almost impossible to tell the two apart. Their biggest difference was in terms of personality and thus, their bearing.

After that, some differences in strength developed. Otherwise, there would be almost no way to determine real from fake.

The ‘Li Hao’ in front of him was exactly the same as the Li Hao of his memories. There didn’t seem to be any differences. The only one was with strength. The Li Hao in front of him was very weak at present, but continuing to grow.

“Meow?” Number Two returned to its senses. Li Hao would’ve truly suspected himself if it wasn’t for the meow reminding him of the cat’s identity.

It was also very, very strange and uncanny to see himself meow.

“I think... I really can do this!” said a shaken Number Two.

It didn’t know why either, it’d simply immersed itself in Li Hao’s past and memories before changes appeared in its body. It really had become a second Li Hao.

Number Two was the young man’s projection now!

“I knew it!” Li Hao exhaled heavily. “So everything in that pocket of space, even the War Sovereign himself, was... just a projection. You copied it into being!”

Number Two froze. It really couldn’t comprehend what was being said.

I... copied it? So the one who taught... didn’t exist at all?

“The War Sovereign must have actually spent a period of time living with you,” Li Hao said when he realized what the cat was concerned about. “You might even represent a portion of the War Sovereign’s consciousness! It’s only because it actually took place that you are able to exist. The daos you replicate need to be personally experienced and perceived. That is how you are able to copy them.”

The life that Number Two had shared with the War Sovereign had truly existed. Since the cat was a dao entity, then it might not have spent time with War in the form of a cat. It might’ve been a dao spirit that’d always been with War.

The cat was lost in thought before it said slowly, “Li Hao... do you mean... that I am the dao spirit of the one who taught?”

“That’s what I think,” Li Hao nodded. “You might even be the spirit of the War Sovereign’s core dao! It would’ve been too difficult for him to swiftly comprehend time otherwise. Replicating daos is so much easier.”

Number Two didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. It could be happy that it was a real living being. No matter what its core essence was, it truly did exist. That sad thing was... it was not a cat?

“Are there any drawbacks or difficulties to your copying?” Li Hao quickly asked.

“Immersing myself into the subject and becoming you is not difficult,” the cat answered after prolonged thought. “What’s difficult is that I cannot fully replicate you. I am fully absorbed in your present, but I failed when I tried to build a thousand domains.

“I don’t know if that’s because of a lack of energy or because of so many daos that I am unable to individually discern them. I can give it a try again if you supply the energy of a thousand worlds to me...”

If not, the cat would not be able to copy Li Hao. Lack of energy was a problem.

“That’s not a big problem!” Li Hao breathed out. I’d start to suspect that I’m not who I am if you can be one hundred percent like me. “Do you need to combine with me?”

The cat looked at him, whereupon Li Hao said, “We don’t need to combine our physical bodies. I mind that quite a bit...”

The cat didn’t know what to say!

“For the combination of great dao, let’s try you deploying energy and me deploying energy. Let’s see if the energies can come together!”

The cat grumbled to itself, it minded as well, alright? Who wanted to combine bodies with the kid?? Who do you think you are?!

Number Two deployed dao strength, as did Li Hao. The two surges of dao strength varied in strength, but combined as one when they touched in the void!

They erupted with strength upon contact in the void and then... became one!

Boom!

Both parties had employed strength befitting a first rank. When they flared, the look in Li Hao’s eyes changed. Number Two started as well and reacted the same way as the young man.

The two strengths had overlaid on top of each other! They’d doubled in the true sense of the word!

They seemed to be naturally one kind of power. There was nothing untoward about their combination. Number Two looked at Li Hao with immense surprise.

“It really works!” Li Hao said softly.

“How can this be...” mouthed a stunned cat. “Then... aren’t I able to copy a ninth rank?”

“You don’t have that ability!” Li Hao shook his head. “You cannot peer into a ninth rank’s past, which means you won’t be able to fully copy them. You’re able to do so with me because I gave you access to my past...

“But this is what we can work with at the moment.” The young man furrowed his brows. “What I need now is for you to copy other people’s dao and turn it into what you’ve done with me. But I don’t need you to copy them! Besides, are you able to copy eighth ranks?”

If the cat couldn’t, then they would just concentrate on weaklings.

“Silver Moon’s dao is contained within the dao universe... it’s too troublesome to copy them one by one,” Li Hao said after some thought. “Can you copy the entire dao universe? It’s the same origin as mine, so I can incorporate the dao universe into my own cultivation system. I will be one with it...”

“You want me to change the nature of the Silver Moon dao universe and not have me turn into it, is that right?” asked the confused cat.

“Yep,” nodded Li Hao. “There’s not much meaning to just changing your form. As strong as you are, you are one cat at the end of the day.”

Number Two scratched its head. Could this be done?

“Then won’t I need to understand the structure and origin of the dao universe, perhaps even peer at its memories, to accomplish this deed?”

“Possible.”

“Then... what about a stronger universe than Silver Moon?”

Would that be better?

“Silver Moon’s dao is more of a match for me,” Li Hao responded. “I come from Silver Moon, which will make things easier. Silver Moon itself is not that strong. There’s only a couple of sixth ranks and just one seventh rank—my master.

“However, strength in numbers makes for terrifying accumulated strength. It’s also a twin dao universe. It might be able to help me with another one thousand daos if it’s fully part of my own dao.” With that, he looked at the cat. “You should go back to your own form first!”

With Number Two in the appearance of Li Hao, it gave the weird impression that he was talking to himself.

Number Two rolled its eyes, deepening Li Hao’s dejection. You still look like me right now, okay? Don’t roll your eyes like that. People who don’t know any better will think you’re me!

Number Two quickly returned to the form of a cat. This was what it was more used to. Even though it now accepted that it was the spirit of the dao of replication, it still felt that it was a cat. It’d been so many years that it couldn’t immediately change that preconception.

It was much more comfortable in the form of a cat. Number Two asked curiously, “Do you mean for me to change other people’s great dao so that it fully melds with yours? Will that enable you to take on those powerful exalted emperors then?”

“Yes.”

“And will those people be completely assimilated by you?” asked a nervous cat. “Will they be fully part of you?”

It really wanted to know the answer. That would be very dangerous!

If Li Hao was a greedier sort, this would be a huge shortcut for him. Other people’s dao would be the same origin as him, which meant he could outright devour their dao and turn it into his. He would quickly complete the accumulation of ten thousand daos.

While those daos would be weaker, it would do the deed all the same and help him officially set foot on the path of time. It would be very different from his current inability to complete that collection.

“Do you think I will?” Li Hao laughed.

Number Two shook its head. It didn’t think so, but people could change!

If Li Hao truly sensed the advantages of taking such a route, would he still maintain his current mindset? Even though Silver Moon’s daos were not perfected, he could still identify a few thousand that would work, couldn’t he? Making other people’s dao into his and fully integrating them would help him to instantly comprehend a few thousand other daos!

How much time would that save him?