Chapter 19: The Mechanical Poppet King

"The Combat Tower Test Begins – Round 120 – Sixth Floor – Mechanical Poppets"

Feng Yan reached the sixth floor, the first of the upper levels. She looked around and saw the same two colors she had seen in the previous floors. However, there was something different this time: there were eleven giant gates instead of ten as before. The eleventh gate was more brilliant than the others. Feng Yan looked at the gate and said to herself:

"The Gate of the Mechanical Poppet King."

"Feng Yan, as you know, since you decided that this will be your last round, the Mechanical Poppet King and the other poppet kings in the upper floors will be entirely different from what you have faced before. From this moment on, you will face the remnants of the souls of Yu Yue's victims, who perished in the Combat Tower before you, manifested through the bodies of the poppet kings."

"That's why the excitement burns in my heart. Facing people who were once real is thrilling. Since entering the Eternal Tower, I've only fought soulless poppets, which is boring. I need to fight a real person!"

"It seems your wish will come true soon. All I can say is be careful."

Then the ten gates began to open, and the mechanical poppets started to emerge. The poppets resembled those from the lower floors in body structure, but there were some significant differences. They were blue and white and had wings on their backs. After all of them emerged, they did not surround Feng Yan as usual. Instead, they gathered in front of the Mechanical Poppet King's gate, forming two rows on the right and left, preparing to welcome their king.

The doors slowly opened before Feng Yan's eager eyes. A mechanical poppet emerged, unlike any other. It had a face with a soul and a set of large wings. It advanced slowly, and the ordinary mechanical poppets bowed in its presence. The king spread his wings, looked at Feng Yan with arrogance and disdain, and said:

"Whoever you are, your end has come at my hands!"

"Such big words. Let's see whose end it will really be."

"Then prepare yourself to face this king."

Mechanical Poppet Formation > Quadruple Spear Assault!

The Mechanical Poppet King whispered, and immediately four poppets moved from behind him. They moved at an extremely high speed. As they ran, the wings on their backs disassembled into tiny pieces and reformed into spears and shields. Each of the four poppets held a shield in their left hand and a spear in their right, charging to kill Feng Yan with their four spears. Feng Yan saw everything before her and smiled a mischievous smile:

Bull Serpent Art > Serpent Bull Dash, Deadly Bull Serpent Dance!

Feng Yan used two opposing techniques, a highly dangerous move, but due to her high experience, she managed to use them skillfully. First, she dashed forward at great speed, achieving significant acceleration using the Bull Serpent Dash technique. Then, she used the Deadly Bull Serpent Dance technique to gain immense agility and lightness.

As a result, Feng Yan appeared in front of the four mechanical poppets before they could react. Thanks to her high agility, she somersaulted freely in the air to attack them with a sweeping kick, destroying the heads of the four poppets in a single attack. She landed on the ground, a trickle of blood dripping from her nose due to the strain of using two incompatible techniques. Wiping the blood from her nose, she looked at the Mechanical Poppet King and asked:

"Is that all you've got, Mechanical Poppet King?"

"Impressive, very impressive. You truly are worth my time. Very well, I won't let you get bored with this king's methods."

Mechanical Power: Assembly Technique: Flying Death Blades!

Immediately after the Mechanical Poppet King spoke the name of his technique, the parts of the four destroyed poppets began to vibrate, then floated into the air one after another, assembling to form a massive group of star-shaped blades the size of a fist with four sharp edges. Feng Yan was stunned by the sight before her. From a single glance, she could count fifty flying stars, spinning and floating in the air. Fear appeared on Feng Yan's face as she realized the danger she was in.

"You're right, Feng Yan. Your thoughts are not wrong. I can control these fifty stars freely and attack you from any direction I choose. Also, I can command my poppets to attack you simultaneously, and that's not all. After destroying each poppet, I can use their parts to create more stars or other things. In the midst of all this chaos, I can attack you directly as well. So, Feng Yan, can you survive all of this?"

The Mechanical Poppet King laughed as he spread his wings and flew into the air, surrounded by the flying stars like a swarm of bees venerating their queen. The Mechanical Poppet King looked down at Feng Yan with contempt, smiling with satisfaction at her apparent misery.

Feng Yan looked around, thinking about the points the Mechanical Poppet King had mentioned: deflecting the flying star attacks, dealing with the mechanical poppets whose destruction only made the king stronger, and amidst all this chaos, focusing on the Mechanical Poppet King himself. Feng Yan pondered for a few seconds, then a crazy smile appeared on her face, making the Mechanical Poppet King wonder. Feng Yan then spoke:

"Truly amazing, in every sense of the word! I've fought the Mechanical Poppet King many times. I didn't expect that once a soul inhabits a poppet, it could become so lethal. You've impressed this queen!

So, I won't disappoint you either. Get ready, as I will use my full power too!"

Bull Serpent Art > Bull Blood!

Immediately after pronouncing the name of her technique, Feng Yan's skin began to turn pink. Blue veins and some white fibers appeared, showing her muscle tissues. Her pores emitted white steam. She took a deep breath and exhaled white smoke from her mouth. Then she looked at the Mechanical Poppet King with red eyes that sent shivers down his spine. The Mechanical Poppet King felt fear for a moment but regained his courage. Before he could say anything, Feng Yan disappeared from her spot entirely. The Mechanical Poppet King tried to locate her, but before he could, he heard a loud explosion. He looked down to see one of the mechanical poppets shattered into thousands of pieces, with no trace of Feng Yan.

The Mechanical Poppet King looked around but couldn't find any sign of Feng Yan on the ground. He screamed in anger:

"Do you think such tricks will work on me? You are mistaken, Feng Yan!"

Mechanical Power: Control Technique: Ground Sweep!

The Mechanical Poppet King laughed maniacally as he reformed the stars around him into ten large versions the height of a person. Then he commanded them to sweep the area to flush Feng Yan out of hiding. The ten large stars spun and scoured the entire arena. While the stars swept, the Mechanical Poppet King watched, waiting to see where Feng Yan would appear. Suddenly, he felt something light land on his shoulder. Before he could react, he heard a whisper in his ear:

"At first, I thought you were very strong, but unfortunately, you couldn't figure out that I wasn't on the ground. You've disappointed me, Mechanical Poppet King."

Bull Serpent Art > Bull Serpent Impact: One Hundred Shocks: Festival of Fury!

Before the Mechanical Poppet King could respond, he was hit by a barrage of countless punches, each like the charge of an enraged bull. He was sent flying into the hall's wall, leaving an imprint of his shape there. But it didn't end there. Feng Yan followed him, delivering the full hundred strikes, causing the wall to crumble from the sheer force of her relentless punches.

After finishing off the Mechanical Poppet King, Feng Yan landed back on the ground. Quickly, before the Bull Blood technique's time ran out, she decided to eliminate all the mechanical poppets. It wasn't difficult after their leader was gone, and Feng Yan easily destroyed the remaining poppets one by one.

...

"That fool. He wasn't weaker than Feng Yan in any way, but he lost so pathetically because he underestimated his opponent. If only he had been a bit more cautious, Feng Yan wouldn't have surprised him so easily. It's unfortunate!

Well, it doesn't matter now. The important thing is that Feng Yan can claim the reward for defeating the Mechanical Poppet King without any damage. I only hope the other kings are as foolish as this one, though I doubt it!"

The First Claw observed everything from a three-dimensional display. He was pleased with Feng Yan's abilities but knew the other poppet kings wouldn't be as easy a prey as the Mechanical Poppet King. Feng Yan would face many challenges to defeat them all. However, to the First Claw, the rewards granted by the poppet kings upon their defeat were worth it.