Chapter 20: First Claw's Plan

Boom!

Feng Yan crushed the last mechanical puppet. She began taking deep breaths as white smoke emanated from her pores, nose, and mouth. Then, she clutched her chest as if an invisible dagger had pierced her heart. Feng Yan fell to her knees, her head striking the ground. She clenched her teeth, trying to stifle any sound while holding her chest tightly.

After a short while, her body relaxed, allowing her to lie flat on her stomach. She remained in that position for a few minutes before turning to her right side to lie on her back. Her face, covered in blood, was now visible. Blood was flowing from the seven orifices of her head. Despite this, Feng Yan stared at the ceiling with unyielding eyes. Just as she attempted to rise, she heard First Claw's voice:

"Feng Yan, your will may be strong, but remember that a strong will cannot change the laws of this world. Your body has reached its limit; if you push it any further, it will be destroyed!"

"So what do you want me to do? Just give up? My body won't heal easily. It will take at least three days of hard work and high energy. Where can I get such high energy? There's no other way, so I must take this hard road and try to overcome the difficulties. First Claw, I must heal my body the hard way!"

Feng Yan shouted as she tried to lift her battered body from the effects of the Blood Bull technique. This technique rapidly unleashed stored power in the body, increasing the user's strength by fifty percent. However, it had a severe drawback, leaving the body extremely weak and devoid of energy needed for basic bodily functions.

First Claw knew the dangers of using this technique and also knew that Feng Yan, in her current state, was no match for Shun. Moreover, the Combat  Tower no longer had any resources to support Feng Yan. So, he had to find a solution, and he did find one that could give Feng Yan a fighting chance.

"Feng Yan, I know well that you would burn your lifespan to heal your body, but I believe that would be futile because you would lose your life, and even the Combat  Tower wouldn't be able to save you!"

"So what do you want me to do? I know from your tone that you have a solution!"

"No need to be angry, elder sister. You must be aware of the basic rules of the Combat  Tower. If an additional challenge is added by a supervisor, the Combat  Tower will reward the challenger if they manage to overcome it. This challenge was put in place to protect challengers from the bullying of supervisors, but for me, it was a loophole in the soul contract we signed. So, I added the challenge of the remnant souls of the Puppet Kings. And since this was a very difficult challenge, you should know that the reward will be excellent."

Feng Yan listened to First Claw's explanation and was surprised that he found such a loophole in the soul contract between her and Yu Yue. However, she felt a spark of hope in her heart that this loophole could give her a better chance to defeat him. But after another thought, she realized a terrifying truth: if First Claw found a loophole so easily, it wouldn't be difficult for Shun to find one as well. First Claw saw Feng Yan's thoughts through her expressions and hurried to explain:

"Feng Yan, I know your concerns about Shun, but you should understand that Shun represents the will of corrupted ancestors. Therefore, she won't do anything unscrupulous like exploiting loopholes in the soul contract. But to be on the safe side and not be too greedy as to provoke a crazy Shun, I decided to place this challenge in the final round to give Shun no room to play any tricks!"

"I understand. So, where is the reward?"

"It's with you. Open the control panel!"

Feng Yan immediately opened the control panel and found an image of a blue pearl surrounded by white sparks like stars surrounding a moon. Beneath the image was text that read 'Essence of the Mechanical Puppet King.' Feng Yan tapped the text, and another, much longer, text appeared. It explained that the blue essence contained the mechanical power of an eternal mechanical being. After reading it, Feng Yan was utterly shocked.

She quickly sat up as if the fatigue had entirely disappeared from her body. She knew well that what she held was a priceless treasure. The essence of the Mechanical Puppet King could absorb spiritual energy and produce mechanical power. This was a gift she never imagined she would receive. Feng Yan laughed maniacally despite the blood dripping from her mouth:

"First Claw, pinch me. Am I dreaming? Do I now possess an essence that can generate infinite mechanical power for me?"

"Almost right, but you should know that you have to control the mechanical power yourself."

"Wait, First Claw, are you saying that each time I defeat a King, I will receive an essence for the power they use?"

"That's correct."

Upon hearing this answer, Feng Yan realized that her chances of winning had multiplied against her opponent Shun. But moments later, she decided not to celebrate prematurely. Her opponent Shun was incredibly strong, in a way that bordered on the absurd, and her power was immense. Thus, she truly needed every bit of power that could enhance her strength.

"Summon!"

Feng Yan summoned the essence through the control panel. She touched the smooth blue pearl, and immediately, it absorbed some strands of her spiritual energy and began producing mechanical power. Through her fingers, the mechanical power seeped into her body. At that moment, Feng Yan felt the wondrous nature of mechanical power. She whispered in amazement:

"What an incredible power. I can feel every detail of my body, muscles, bones, veins, and organs, all clearly mapped in my mind. And I have complete control over them as well. So this is the true power of mechanics. It truly deserves to be the main power of an eternal mechanic!"

Feng Yan continued injecting spiritual energy into the essence, absorbing mechanical power in return. This power filled her body, giving her full control over it as if it were a machine that could be disassembled and repaired. Using the mechanical principle, Feng Yan began to fix the damage in her body caused by the Blood Bull technique. After three hours, Feng Yan had repaired everything, or more accurately, she had healed all the damage in her body. At that moment, her body ignited with a burning hunger, making Feng Yan scream in desperation:

"First Claw, I'm starving. Save me quickly!"

"Understood."

As First Claw laughed at Feng Yan, a table laden with all kinds of delicious dishes appeared before her.

"Eat!"

Feng Yan devoured the food like a beast that hadn't seen a meal in months. The mechanical power had consumed a large amount of energy to repair her body, triggering a wave of hunger that almost drove her insane. After a while, Feng Yan finished eating everything in front of her and stood up energetically with agile movements. This showed that she was completely healed and, in addition, had a vast amount of mechanical power stored in her body. Feng Yan smiled and said:

"If I gather four different types of powers from four Kings, I will be unbeatable and easily defeat Shun!"

"Big sister, I hate to spoil your joy, but even if you are stronger than Shun, you must remember that Shun is a creature millions of years old, and his combat experience is far more dangerous than his raw power!"

"What do you mean, First Claw?"

"I mean, even if you are five times stronger than Shun, it will still be difficult to defeat her because of her vast combat experience. Feng Yan, haven't you seen what a big difference in experience can make? Haven't you seen how you defeated the Mechanical Puppet King due to the difference in experience between you two, or how I defeated you the first time due to our difference in experience?"

Feng Yan was stunned by First Claw's words and realized the truth. A significant difference in combat experience makes a huge difference. She remembered how First Claw had defeated Shun before. At that moment, she clenched her fist tightly and said:

"To overcome the enormous gap in experience between us, I must have overwhelming power to crush that gap!"

"It seems the training hasn't gone to waste. Now, Feng Yan, go and crush all the Puppet Kings and amass overwhelming power to crush Shun!"