Running and Jumping with Arms

Ning Zhuo fell into thought.

He didn't know what the hanging rings on the Mechanical Components were.

He also didn't know what the spell A Breath of Qi was.

But he knew about Spirit Stones, and he was well aware that he currently lacked Spirit Stones.

"I spent a lot of time exploring the surroundings before. Now, the spiritual energy in the Spirit Stones within me is less than forty percent."

"I'll choose Spirit Stones!"

Ning Zhuo made his decision in his heart.

The next moment, a halo of light appeared out of thin air in front of him. The halo expanded slightly and spat out a Spirit Stone.

Ning Zhuo quickly caught the Spirit Stone. At the same time, the halo quickly dissipated.

Carrying the second Spirit Stone, Ning Zhuo laboriously pushed open the door and entered Room Two.

Bang!

The door automatically closed behind him.

Ning Zhuo turned around and pushed the door, trying to return to Room One.

The door didn't budge.

"Alright." Ning Zhuo had no choice but to turn back and begin to carefully examine Room Two.

The layout of Room Two was very different from Room One. The room was long and narrow, completely empty. The bricks on the floor and walls were square and emitted a brassy sheen.

Ning Zhuo saw the door at a glance.

The door was directly opposite him.

Information was conveyed again—pass through Room Two and enter Room Three.

Ning Zhuo observed for a moment. After failing to gather any new information, he took a step and walked directly towards the door.

As a result, after walking a few steps, he found himself moving backward.

He quickly lowered his head to check and saw that the floor tiles were slowly moving backward!

Ning Zhuo had no choice but to quicken his pace, increasing his speed.

The speed at which the floor tiles moved backward also increased.

He walked faster and faster, forced to run.

"If I had known it was this kind of test, I should have chosen the leg components carefully."

In Room One, Ning Zhuo was worried about the consumption of spiritual energy and wanted to save time. Coupled with the difficulty in matching the leg lengths, he had just made do.

Now, as a result—his two feet were uneven, and he ran with a limp, quite bumpy, which affected his speed.

When he ran at his maximum speed to the middle section.

Suddenly, a giant log shot out from the wall on the right.

One end of the giant log was fixed in the wall, and the other end popped out, sweeping across like a giant's arm.

Ning Zhuo remained vigilant and quickly leaped up, dodging the giant log.

But just as he landed, another giant log popped out from the left wall.

Ning Zhuo had already made a jumping motion, but the floor tiles were constantly moving backward. His exertion wasn't enough, and his footing was unstable, causing him to jump too low this time.

Bang.

With a soft sound, he was hit by the giant log and drew a long arc in mid-air before falling to the ground.

He slid backward on the ground for a distance, finally crashing into the first doorway before stopping.

The puppet Ning Zhuo lay on the ground, dizzy. After a few breaths, he recovered.

"There are mechanisms like this?!"

"The runes on that giant log seem to have the ability to weaken the soul."

Ning Zhuo felt his soul weaken for a moment.

He looked up and saw: the dark runes on the giant log gradually disappeared, and the entire giant log slowly retracted into the wall. Then, the wall bricks on both sides shifted with a clicking sound and returned to their original state.

"I understand!" Ning Zhuo's heart stirred.

"These sweeping giant logs are both my obstacles and my stepping stones."

"I need to leap up onto them when they sweep across, and then use their force to leap forward."

The speed of the mechanical puppet itself was very limited. In the middle section, it began to be slower than the backward movement of the floor tiles.

Just by running, Ning Zhuo could never get close to the second door.

Originally, the wall surface was extremely smooth and offered no leverage. But the popping out horizontal logs provided an opportunity.

With this new discovery, Ning Zhuo tried again.

He seized the opportunity and leaped repeatedly. By the fifth giant log...

Bang.

He was swept away by the giant log.

"The closer I get to the doorway, the faster the floor tiles move backward. I must accurately judge the backward speed to land steadily."

After summarizing his experience and lessons, Ning Zhuo continued.

Bang.

When he jumped to the eighth giant log, the difficulty increased again. A giant log shot out from the ceiling, coming down from above and directly knocking him away.

Ning Zhuo crashed into the door, and his body fell apart.

He assembled himself for a while, finally reaching out his hands to pick up his head and put it back on his neck.

"The head component is also a bit too big. It's square and turns slowly. I should have changed to a smaller head."

"The key is that my legs and feet are incomplete, which has the biggest impact."

"Fortunately, I remember the positions where these giant logs are launched. By constantly trying and failing, I should be able to get through!"

Bang!

This time, he only jumped over three giant logs before being knocked back again.

Ning Zhuo looked at the giant logs slowly retracting into the wall, utterly astonished. "No way, the positions of these giant logs aren't fixed? They can actually change freely?"

The difficulty instantly increased tenfold!

On the throne in the main hall, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been secretly observing the first trial-taker. When it saw the puppet Ning Zhuo standing still, it chuckled with delight.

The clumsy puppet Ning Zhuo seemed to be putting on a lively puppet show for it. The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, watching the entire performance, found great amusement.

Bang, bang, bang...

Ning Zhuo failed the challenge repeatedly.

"Not enough spiritual energy."

He sighed inwardly, sat down cross-legged, and opened the small lid on his belly.

Beneath the lid was a hidden compartment, and inside the compartment lay a Spirit Stone.

This Spirit Stone was already dim and lusterless, its spiritual energy almost completely depleted.

Ning Zhuo pried off this Spirit Stone and quickly replaced it with a second one.

He closed the small lid on his belly and even patted it gently with his small palm to ensure it was securely fastened.

"When replacing the Spirit Stone, I must be quick and utilize the spiritual energy still circulating within the puppet's body. This is probably when the puppet is most vulnerable."

The replaced Spirit Stone actually still had a little spiritual energy left.

But Ning Zhuo dared not continue using it.

What if, during his charge, the spiritual energy was completely depleted, leaving not a single drop in the entire puppet's body? Then he would be completely incapacitated.

"In puppet form, the consumption isn't just the spiritual energy in the Spirit Stones."

"Every time I'm hit, the runes on the giant logs will weaken my soul once."

"My soul entered the palace. If my soul is weakened to a certain extent, even with spiritual energy, I will be incapacitated."

"And this puppet body is also constantly accumulating injuries."

Ning Zhuo observed himself and found that various parts, such as his arms and head, had developed cracks and fissures.

"Since the giant logs' positions are random and there's no trick to it, I can only put in the hard work."

Concentrating his mind and regrouping, Ning Zhuo launched another charge.

Bang, bang, bang...

Ning Zhuo was knocked back again and again, but he also accumulated experience and increased his proficiency in controlling the puppet body with each attempt.

His progress was visible to the naked eye.

When he reached the final section of the path, seven or eight giant logs unleashed their power simultaneously. They seemed to be having a seizure, constantly launching out. Some swept horizontally, some thrust directly, some descended from the sky, and some even changed direction mid-air.

Ning Zhuo was knocked down once again, one of his legs directly shattered. After falling to the ground, he was dragged back to the first door by the shifting floor tiles.

Both of his legs had been battered before.

Now, with one leg gone, what was he to do?

After thinking, Ning Zhuo had a bold idea.

"Should I give it a try?"

He detached his arms one after another and moved them under his torso, replacing his thighs.

Then, he attached the only remaining thigh to where his right arm had been.

He became a strange wooden puppet, his appearance quite bizarre.

Ning Zhuo didn't rush to try. Instead, he stayed put and practiced for a while, gradually mastering his new form.

Half an hour later.

With only one arm left, Ning Zhuo managed to pass through by chance, crawling to the front of the second door.

His condition was extremely poor, his soul greatly weakened by the runes.

"Quick, hurry!"

He urged himself, reaching out with difficulty to touch the door.

Instantly, information was transmitted.

Just like before, there were still three options.

First, Spirit Stones.

Second, Mechanical Components.

Third, Magic.

Ning Zhuo was at the end of his rope, with no time to examine closely, so he directly chose Magic.

The next moment, he fainted.