Kong shi's Clone

Kong shi's Clone is the hostile necrophorus created when the real Kong shi severed the malicious portion of his soul. He is not Kong shi, not Kong Shiyao, and not Zhang Xuan's independent clone. Sharing the World Teacher's appearance, soul aura, memories, and many techniques, he spends millennia sealed in the Azure before Kong shi's ascent leaves him the strongest local power. He then takes control of the Ethereal Hall and the Hall of Gods, maintains the public identity of Kong shi, and seeks a fragment of the heavens that he believes will let him surpass the main body. (Chapters 2,073–2,074, 2,100)

His campaign centers on obtaining Zhang Xuan's Heavens' Imperfections. He first presents himself as a benevolent rescuer and uses real knowledge about heavenly fragments to lead Zhang Xuan into an extraction ritual, then retreats when the trap meets a prepared clone and a force of Semi-Divinities. After stealing an Aura of Divinity and attaining godhood, he attacks Starchaser Island to take a second Aura and kill Zhang Xuan. His envy, willingness to sacrifice descendants and subordinates, and obsession with public reverence finally expose the difference between inherited identity and earned moral authority. (Chapters 2,070–2,074, 2,087, 2,095–2,100)

Biography

Inheriting a name without its benevolence

The clone's origin is only made explicit after his defeat. Creating a necrophorus requires severing part of one's soul, and Kong shi separates the ill will produced by his inner conflict from the benevolence for which he is remembered. The result retains enough of the same origin to regard himself as Kong shi, yet the unequal inheritance becomes his foundational grievance: the main body keeps Heavens' Order, exceptional cultivation speed, and the title of World Teacher, while the clone is hidden and sealed away for several thousand years. (Chapters 2,100)

Kong shi's departure for the Firmament removes the only person the clone fears. Suddenly the strongest existence in the Azure, he allows long-contained resentment to define his choices. He interprets shared origin as entitlement to everything the main body possesses, including reverence, and treats the independent lives of subordinates and descendants as expendable. His ambition is not simply to survive outside the seal; it is to become the Kong shi whom everyone obeys while erasing evidence that his conduct contradicts the name. (Chapters 2,072–2,074, 2,100)

That motive leads him to seize both of the Azure's dominant transregional institutions. He massacres the previous chief and warriors of the Hall of Gods, makes himself its chief, and also controls the Ethereal Hall and its distributed network. He dispatches the deity who invades the Kunxu Domain, even though the attack endangers Kong shi's descendants and ancient disciples, and uses Ethereal Hall privileges to monitor Zhang Xuan. Institutional order becomes a tool for capture and concealment rather than the public good associated with the real World Teacher. (Chapters 2,072–2,074)

Rescuing Zhang Xuan into a prepared trap

The clone first appears openly when he pulls Zhang Xuan from the retracting Azure Bridge with the Evanescent Boots. He looks and feels identical to the World Teacher, asks after the Master Teacher Pavilion, and discusses mankind and the origin of the Forsaken Continent with an amiable, compassionate bearing. That performance exploits Zhang Xuan's respect for Kong shi while explaining away previous Ethereal Hall attacks as the work of traitorous subordinates. (Chapters 2,070–2,071)

Once trust is established, he reveals accurate information about heavenly fragments. He names his supposed ability as Heavens' Order, demonstrates that repeated use of Heavens' Imperfections increases the gray substance within Zhang Xuan, and warns that heavenly assimilation will eventually erase the user's identity. The underlying danger is real enough to make his proposed cure plausible: sever the Library of Heaven's Path through the same altar ritual the Hall of Gods attempted. He supports the lie with knowledge inherited from the main body and with an actual ritual procedure. (Chapters 2,071–2,072)

The cure is an extraction. He asks Zhang Xuan to surrender Luo Ruoxin's pendant, binds the apparent body to one altar, and stands on another so the Library will be transferred to him. When challenged, he admits that he wants Heavens' Imperfections as the stepping stone to godhood and that he previously left a will in Qiu Wu Palace for the same purpose. He also admits ordering the Kunxu Domain invasion, showing that descendants and ideals matter less than acquiring the fragment. Zhang Xuan concludes from that contradiction that the person before him cannot be the real Kong shi. (Chapters 2,072–2,073)

Losing the ritual but preserving the impersonation

Zhang Xuan has anticipated betrayal. The body on the altar is his own clone, whose flexible, indestructible frame slips the ritual chains, while the true Zhang Xuan emerges from a storage ring with Semi-Divinity beasts and artifacts. The hostile clone casts aside benevolence, claims both halls as his domain, and fights at a level comparable to Zhang Xuan's clone. Even so, the combined pressure breaks through his defense and leaves him unable to dominate the encounter. (Chapters 2,073)

Rather than accept capture, he traverses space and detonates the Ethereal Hall headquarters behind him. The explosion destroys his own base and nearly cuts Zhang Xuan's clone apart, sacrificing whatever personnel may remain in order to cover his escape. He also leaves with a counterfeit pendant, having failed to recognize that Zhang Xuan never entrusted him with the real safeguard. The episode establishes two practical limits: he cannot discern flaws as the Library does, and equal-rank strength does not overcome prepared numbers and an indestructible opponent. (Chapters 2,073–2,074)

His survival creates an identity crisis for his pursuers. Appearance, soul aura, inherited techniques, and concealment associated with Heavens' Order make ordinary verification ineffective, but Vicious rejects him on character: the real Kong shi repeatedly risked death for disciples and would not steal a second heavenly fragment. The clone benefits from the public assumption that Kong shi must be benevolent, yet every escape makes the falsehood harder to maintain among those who see what he is willing to destroy. (Chapters 2,074)

Stealing the path to godhood

While Zhang Xuan prepares another route into the Hall of Gods, the clone changes objectives from immediate extraction to overwhelming power. He enters the mysterious palace that preserves trials and wills left by the real Kong shi, clashes with the main body's will, and steals the Aura of Divinity meant for a successful challenger. A restriction resembling the one that excludes Zhang Xuan's clone prevents him from freely entering the inner palace, suggesting that shared origin does not grant full recognition as the original. (Chapters 2,083–2,087)

He uses the stolen Aura to reach the level of the gods and conceals himself while consolidating the breakthrough. The advance changes the balance of the Azure: experts who could pressure him at Semi-Divinity can no longer withstand a casual strike. His control of Ethereal Hall space, the Paragon Blackmirror, and the Evanescent Boots allows him to move through otherwise inaccessible regions and threaten Starchaser Island before Zhang Xuan can obtain equivalent power. (Chapters 2,087–2,090, 2,095–2,096)

Godhood does not moderate his objective. He arrives while Zhang Xuan is cleansing a corrupted Aura of Divinity and dismisses the assembled High Immortals, Semi-Divinities, disciples, and beasts as obstacles. He kills Little Chick's current body, cuts through the coalition, and tries to seize the purified Aura for himself. The power he wanted in order to rival the real Kong shi thus produces the opposite of the World Teacher's legacy: an army united not by his teaching but by the need to stop him. (Chapters 2,095–2,098)

Being defeated under the identity he stole

Zhang Xuan uses the resistance of his disciples, clone, allies, and one hundred thousand cultivators to finish purifying the Aura and buy the seconds needed to ascend. The clone attempts to exploit his administrative authority over the Ethereal Hall to track Zhang Xuan's teleportation, certain that a newly ascended god cannot master divine strength in time. He is unaware that the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn accelerates Zhang Xuan's cultivation inside the Hall of Gods, turning a seemingly impossible delay into a completed breakthrough. (Chapters 2,096–2,100)

Once Zhang Xuan reaches godhood, the clone loses decisively. His divine body, spatial movement, and accumulated battle experience cannot overcome Zhang Xuan's stronger Pathos of Heaven, while previous fighting has already worn him down. Zhang Xuan seals his movements, strips away the Evanescent Boots and Paragon Blackmirror, fractures his attacks, and forces him to concede that he has lost. (Chapters 2,100)

Only then does he openly distinguish himself from the real Kong shi, voicing the envy behind his impersonation and blaming the main body for enjoying the honor he considers jointly theirs. Zhang Xuan refuses to execute him because judgment belongs to Kong shi, but seals his cultivation and confines him in a folded storage space. This imprisonment is a temporary judgment rather than the endpoint of the clone's arc. (Chapter 2,100)

When Zhang Xuan later meets the real Kong shi, he releases the captive and apologizes for having acted against the World Teacher's severed will. Kong shi accepts Zhang Xuan's choice, explains that the clone had long ceased to represent his intentions, and reduces the hostile necrophorus to a wisp of green smoke with a flick of his finger. The clone vanishes completely and makes no later independent return in the supplied corpus. (Chapter 2,228)

Appearance and personality

The clone is physically indistinguishable from the traditional image of Kong shi: a tall man with a flowing beard, a scholarly bearing, and an expression capable of conveying benevolence and compassion. His soul aura and mastery of Kong shi's techniques also match closely enough to defeat ordinary identification, and he can reproduce the World Teacher's warm manner when manipulation requires it. Only sustained scrutiny of his decisions exposes the difference. (Chapters 2,070–2,074)

He is patient, calculating, and adept at using partial truth. His warning about heavenly assimilation, knowledge of rituals, and explanation of Heavens' Order are convincing because they draw on real experience; the lie lies chiefly in whose benefit the proposed cure serves. He prepares destructive formations in his own headquarters, keeps alternate spatial routes, changes objectives when a plan fails, and is willing to wait for godhood rather than repeat a losing battle. (Chapters 2,071–2,073, 2,087–2,095)

Beneath that control is profound envy. He wants the main body's heavenly fragment, cultivation speed, social honor, and name, and interprets his own sealing as an injustice that licenses any retaliation. Defeat strips away his cultivated serenity, leaving savagery, denial, and resentment. His tragedy is that he seeks the World's Teacher's reverence through domination while rejecting the benevolence that caused people to offer that reverence voluntarily. (Chapters 2,073–2,074, 2,099–2,100)

Abilities and cultivation

Necrophorus body and inherited identity

As a soul-severed necrophorus, the clone begins with Kong shi's origin rather than merely copying his face. He carries the main body's appearance, soul aura, memories, combat comprehension, and a derivative grasp of Heavens' Order techniques. That inheritance can conceal his nature from the Library of Heaven's Path and lets him impersonate Kong shi across institutions built around the World Teacher's authority. It does not give him the unique heavenly fragment itself, just as Zhang Xuan's clone cannot cultivate the complete Heaven's Path Divine Art. (Chapters 2,071–2,074, 2,100)

This split creates both power and limitation. He can reproduce Kong shi's battle methods and exploit spacetime principles, but the mysterious palace recognizes a distinction between him and the real Kong shi, and he cannot inspect flaws or authenticate objects as Zhang Xuan's Library can. His identity is therefore extremely resilient to superficial tests but vulnerable to artifacts, laws, and people that distinguish original intent from shared soul origin. (Chapters 2,073–2,074, 2,083–2,087)

Combat, space, and godhood

At Semi-Divinity realm, the clone suppresses multiple beasts and fights Zhang Xuan's exceptionally strong clone on equal terms. His inherited martial understanding lets him execute sophisticated swordsmanship built around Heavens' Order and resonance, while spatial traversal permits rapid escape. Once he absorbs an Aura of Divinity, he reaches godhood, can tear open space freely, and overwhelms the Azure's Semi-Divinities through the qualitative superiority of divine energy. (Chapters 2,073, 2,085–2,087, 2,095–2,100)

His mature strength remains conditional. Before godhood, coordinated Semi-Divinities can break his defense, and after godhood he is damaged by Little Chick, Zhang Xuan's golden page, and the disciples' formation before facing Zhang Xuan at the same realm. The Evanescent Boots and Paragon Blackmirror greatly expand his mobility, but removing them closes his escape routes. Most decisively, his version of Kong shi's art is surpassed by Zhang Xuan's Pathos of Heaven once both possess divine cultivation. (Chapters 2,073, 2,088–2,090, 2,096–2,100)

Institutional control and ritual extraction

Control of the Ethereal Hall gives him surveillance, distributed access, teleportation routes, and the credibility of its founder. Control of the Hall of Gods adds warriors, altars, and the ability to manipulate the Azure Bridge. He combines two altars, isolation and binding formations, chants, and a receiving body to attempt transfer of the Library of Heaven's Path. The method requires the target to be present and constrained, and Luo Ruoxin's pendant can interfere with the separation. (Chapters 2,070–2,073, 2,088–2,089, 2,099)

These systems amplify rather than replace personal judgment. Zhang Xuan defeats the extraction through a substituted clone, a false pendant, and forces hidden in storage; later he uses Ethereal Hall mechanics in an unexpected way despite the clone's tracking authority. The clone's institutions are broad, but they cannot compensate when he assumes that ownership of a network means complete knowledge of how an adversary will use it. (Chapters 2,072–2,074, 2,099–2,100)

Relationships

Kong shi

The real Kong shi is the clone's source, jailer, rival, desired identity, and final judge. By severing malevolent thoughts, Kong shi leaves the clone with memories and selfhood but not Heavens' Order, universal respect, or freedom. The clone views that division as theft and wants to surpass the main body, yet every atrocity validates the moral distinction the separation created. Zhang Xuan preserves him so Kong shi can decide what responsibility the creator bears for the severed personality; when that meeting occurs, Kong shi acknowledges the separation and erases the clone himself. (Chapters 2,100, 2,228)

Zhang Xuan

Zhang Xuan is first a target chosen for Heavens' Imperfections and later the opponent who dismantles the impersonation. The clone studies him through the Ethereal and Hall of Gods networks, uses Kong shi's reputation to invite trust, and repeatedly underestimates his preparation. Zhang Xuan's substituted body defeats the extraction, his coalition denies easy possession of the second Aura, and his accelerated godhood ends the final duel. (Chapters 2,070–2,074, 2,095–2,100)

Their conflict also contrasts two necrophori. Zhang Xuan's clone is vain and competitive but repeatedly protects the main body; Kong shi's Clone is envious of the original and organizes his life around replacement. Seeing that difference makes Zhang Xuan reflect on what each creator severed from himself, while the hostile clone is forced to confront an independent counterpart whose loyalty cannot be explained by shared origin alone. (Chapters 2,073–2,074, 2,100)

The Hall of Gods, Ethereal Hall, and their victims

The clone acquires the two halls through force and treats their members as instruments. He kills the earlier Hall of Gods leadership, suborns the Ethereal Hall's authority, kidnaps Du Qingyuan for her ritual knowledge, and destroys headquarters when it becomes a liability. His followers expect rewards from a new god, but he offers neither the reciprocal loyalty nor protection associated with a legitimate teacher. (Chapters 2,073–2,074, 2,087–2,090)

Kong Shiyao and the Hundred Schools are victims rather than extensions of his lineage. The deity he dispatches tries to capture her pure bloodline and nearly destroys the Kunxu Domain; the clone later admits that their survival did not outweigh his plans. This is another decisive boundary between him and Kong shi: biological or spiritual descent gives him a tactical resource, not a duty of care. (Chapters 1,890–1,894, 2,072–2,074)

Items

• Evanescent Boots — The clone borrows the Evanescent Immortal Sect's Guardian Artifact, using its extreme movement and Spatial Traverse to rescue Zhang Xuan from the Azure Bridge, cross sealed regions, and preserve escape options. Zhang Xuan removes the boots after the final defeat. (Chapters 2,070, 2,074, 2,087–2,089, 2,100)
• Ethereal Token — As Ethereal Hall master, the clone possesses a hall-master token and uses the network's authority to move through reflected Ethereal spaces and track transactions. That control lets him follow Zhang Xuan's attempted teleportation but does not prevent Zhang Xuan from exploiting different time flows to complete a breakthrough. (Chapters 2,088–2,089, 2,099–2,100)