Chapter 12: So You're Smashing My Puppet, Huh?!

Chapter 12: So You're Smashing My Puppet, Huh?!

Half an hour earlier.

Walking through the dense forest, Xiao Yan looked confused. "Teacher, what should I do next?"

The surroundings were filled with nothing but trees endless trees.

"Look for medicinal herbs, find a suitable location," Yao Lao's voice echoed in his mind. "Didn't you want to learn a Heaven tier Dou Technique? Find a place with a waterfall preferably a tall one. And collect herbs along the way… If I'd known, we should have just bought some back in Qingshan Town."

Yao Lao sounded a bit regretful. Problems that could have been solved with money were now consuming time due to their oversight.

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes. See? I knew skipping Myriad Medicine Pavilion might've been a bad idea.

"Head deeper into the forest. There's nothing suitable around here," Yao Lao instructed, his soul sense quickly scanning the terrain.

"Got it!" Xiao Yan replied, diving deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

However, not long after, Yao Lao suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. "Wait... Stop!"

Xiao Yan skidded to a halt. "What's wrong, teacher?"

"To the north… There seems to be a powerful spiritual force," Yao Lao muttered, a hint of surprise in his voice. It was unexpected to find someone strong in this part of the forest.

"Should we check it out?" Xiao Yan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Up to you," Yao Lao chuckled. "Although the other party seems strong, your teacher is confident I can handle them… Besides, the area there looks promising."

Licking his lips, Xiao Yan's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Alright, let's take a look!"

With that, he leaped forward, heading north. Following Yao Lao's guidance, he soon arrived at the edge of a river. Creeping along its course, Xiao Yan finally saw something that shocked him.

"Damn it! Why is this guy so much more handsome than me?!" Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his teeth gritted in frustration. We both have two shoulders and one head. What gives him the right to be better looking?!

"What is he doing?" Xiao Yan muttered, though he quickly shifted his attention elsewhere. After all, staring at a shirtless pretty boy felt a bit awkward.

On the riverbank, a dark metallic corpse with strange glowing runes floated in midair.

"It looks like he's refining a puppet…" Yao Lao said solemnly, his spiritual sense covering Xiao Yan to shield him.

Through his perception, Yao Lao observed that the puppet wasn't simply floating it was being supported by a flame, slowly tempering its surface.

The flame was formless and invisible, yet its heat was intense. Even from a distance, they could feel its scorching temperature.

"Could it be the Fallen Heart Flame?" Yao Lao wondered aloud.

"Fallen Heart Flame?!" Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Is it a Heavenly Flame?"

He'd had enough of suffering under the limitations of his low tier Huang grade Flame Mantra!

"You idiot!" Yao Lao snapped irritably.

Before Xiao Yan could process his teacher's harsh tone, a chill ran down his spine. His gaze locked onto a pair of eyes staring directly at him.

"Crap! Teacher, he spotted us!" Xiao Yan yelled in panic.

"Take him down!"

Before Yao Lao could respond, a calm voice echoed in the air.

In an instant, a flash of black light darted forward the metallic puppet's foot slammed into the ground as it shot toward Xiao Yan like a black streak.

Its iron like fist came crashing down with terrifying force, aimed squarely at Xiao Yan's face.

"Damn it!"

Startled, Xiao Yan instinctively swung the Xuan Heavy Ruler in front of him.

Clang!

The resounding clash rang out like a bell being struck.

A tremendous force surged through Xiao Yan's body, sending him flying uncontrollably. He crashed into the ground, creating a large crater.

"So strong!" Xiao Yan exclaimed, crawling out of the pit in a sorry state. "Teacher, I can't beat this thing!"

"This puppet isn't that strong. It only managed to knock you back," Yao Lao said calmly. "Try fighting it you might actually win."

"…" Xiao Yan was speechless.

You call that not strong?!

Before Xiao Yan could voice his frustration, the puppet's figure blurred and charged at him again, its black fist smashing toward his face just like before.

"Damn it!"

Anger flared in Xiao Yan's chest. He twisted his hand, stowing the Xuan Heavy Ruler back into his storage ring. Dodging to the side, he avoided the puppet's punch and countered with his own.

"Eight Extremities Collapse!"

Xiao Yan's fist collided with the puppet's body with a thunderous boom.

…

Xiao Yan shouted internally as he clenched his fist tightly, his punch tearing through the air with a sharp sound.

Lu Bu stood calmly with his hands behind his back, silently observing the battle between Xiao Yan and the puppet. He had spent three whole months refining this puppet and was eager to see its true combat effectiveness.

In reality, refining the puppet wouldn't normally take this long. However, Lu Bu had added a few "special touches" to it, requiring extensive modifications to its formation, which had significantly extended the process.

Bang!

A deafening noise echoed as Xiao Yan's fist slammed into the puppet's chest. Yet, there wasn't the slightest hint of satisfaction on Xiao Yan's face.

Unlike the usual feedback he felt when executing Eight Extremities Collapse, the punch didn't make the puppet feel like a metallic object. Instead, the puppet seemed to emit a faint suction force, as if draining some of the power from Xiao Yan's attack upon impact.

Thud, thud, thud!

The puppet staggered back two steps but quickly arched its back and lunged forward once more.

"Explode!"

Xiao Yan shouted as the hidden force of Eight Extremities Collapse erupted inside the puppet's body.

"Idiot, that's a dead corpse it feels nothing. Internal force won't work!" Yao Lao couldn't help but interject. Xiao Yan had just made a critical mistake in battle.

As Yao Lao had predicted, a muffled bang rang out within the puppet, but it didn't flinch. It continued its relentless assault, charging straight at Xiao Yan.

"Damn it!"

Xiao Yan grabbed the Xuan Heavy Ruler and held it before him like a shield.

Clang!

Another resounding collision rang out. Xiao Yan felt half his body go numb as he was blasted backward, crashing into the ground and creating a crater.

"Teacher, I really can't beat this thing…" Xiao Yan said with a wry smile, struggling to get up.

"Leave it," Yao Lao said. "Let's find another place to train."

Xiao Yan sighed and stored the Xuan Heavy Ruler back into his storage ring. Using both hands to push off the ground, he leaped out of the pit and fled into the dense forest.

"Humph! You think you can just run?" Lu Bu snorted coldly, quickly forming a series of hand seals.

Immediately, a faint blue Dou Qi enveloped the puppet's feet. With a soft whoosh, the puppet moved like a blur, appearing right next to Xiao Yan in the blink of an eye.

Its Dou Qi enhanced leg lashed out like a whip, striking Xiao Yan mercilessly.

"Wait, what?! This puppet can use Dou Qi?" Yao Lao exclaimed in shock.

"Now's not the time to analyze that!" Xiao Yan shouted in panic, once again pulling out the Xuan Heavy Ruler to block.

Clang!

The force of the blow sent Xiao Yan flying like a kicked ball, slamming into the cliffside near the waterfall.

"It really is Dou Qi…" Yao Lao muttered in amazement.

This was the result of Lu Bu's efforts over the past three months. He had sealed residual Dou Qi within the corpse's body using formations, storing it for later use. He also designed specific techniques to convert this stored energy into Dou Techniques.

To put it simply, a regular fighter's Dou Techniques were like those in a classic arcade fighting game requiring precise inputs to execute.

Lu Bu's puppet, on the other hand, was like a modern mobile game. Its pre installed formations allowed it to unleash preset Dou Techniques with a single command.

Of course, this came with limitations. The stored Dou Qi would gradually deplete over time and needed to be replenished periodically. Additionally, the puppet's maximum power was capped by the strength it had in life.

Lu Bu nodded in satisfaction. "Aside from the hassle of carving the formations, there's no real downside…"

As he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a gleam flashed in his eyes. If he could figure out a way to incorporate the puppet's devouring properties, he might be able to create something akin to the legendary Devouring Corpse!

Brilliant!

His mind raced with ideas, but he shelved them for later.

"Xiao Yan, leave this to me," Yao Lao's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's mind. He could tell his disciple wouldn't last much longer. If they kept going, he might end up losing his prized student entirely.

"About time…" Xiao Yan grumbled, his arms now completely numb.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Suddenly, a torrential surge of spiritual energy erupted, shaking the tranquil forest. A fierce gale swept through the area, and even the air seemed to cry out in protest.

Xiao Yan's eyes glowed faintly white as his body became infused with Yao Lao's spiritual power. Wielding the Xuan Heavy Ruler, he swung with all his might, slashing at the puppet.

Boom!

The puppet was knocked into the lake beneath the waterfall, leaving a deep mark across its chest.

"Kid, are you seriously chopping up my puppet?"

Lu Bu's grin widened as formation patterns lit up beneath his feet. A surge of overwhelming spiritual energy roared forth, colliding head on with Yao Lao's spiritual force.

BOOM!

The lake exploded, the forest was sliced clean through, and the resulting shockwave flattened everything in its path.

"Xiao Yan, we've got a problem!" Yao Lao's tone turned grim as a pale, icy flame appeared in his hand.

This man's spiritual strength was comparable to his own a terrifying prospect!

"Oh? Bone Chilling Flame?" Lu Bu chuckled lightly, his hands dropping to his sides as he conjured his own spiritual fire. The formless blaze roared to life, casting a menacing glow.

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