Puppet Warriors

Elder Wang, whom Lu Ming had met before, was presiding over this preliminary trial. He had been the one who went to Shuofeng City to verify Lu Ming's identity.

After appearing, he first explained the details of the preliminary trial, then stated some requirements.

Next, he had everyone split into ten teams according to the number plates they had received yesterday and stand at the designated positions.

Zhu Ningyun naturally returned to the end of the tenth team.

Once the teams had been arranged, Elder Wang finally raised a hand. Following his gesture, the ground suddenly began to tremble.

Then the ground split open, and broad stone paths, each more than a zhang wide, rose from below.

The scene was truly grand.

This was the first time Lu Ming had seen such a sight. To be honest, the shock it gave him was no weaker than the grand spectacles brought about by the technology of his previous life.

It even carried a hint of the mystical.

A giant stood at the entrance of every stone path, clad in heavy armor and wielding a blade and shield.

Most of them were more than two meters tall. Their entire bodies were forged from steel, and they radiated imposing might and immense pressure.

"Are these the Puppet Warriors?"

Lu Ming was astonished, and the others were much the same.

Even the disciples who had seen them before could not help feeling a chill in their hearts.

"I got stuck at the first stage last time. This time, I'll definitely pass," someone from the ninth team beside them said.

"Eh? Something's not right. Look, that Puppet Warrior doesn't seem to be the same as last time."

"Indeed. I just don't know how strong it is. The first stage last time was already at the peak of the Early Zhen Qi Realm. Surely they won't skip straight to the mid-stage this time just to save time?"

"Who knows?"

"All right, quiet down!"

Elder Wang stood above the ten puppet paths and surveyed the entire scene.

"The puppet paths are ready. The first stage will be guarded by a Puppet Warrior with ordinary Early Zhen Qi Realm strength. The disciples will step forward in order and knock down the Puppet Warrior to pass and proceed to the next stage!"

"I didn't expect it to become easier. That's good too. I'm even more confident that I can pass now."

"Now, I announce that the assessment begins!"

Elder Wang spoke again.

With his official announcement, the outer sect elders stationed before each puppet path also began to move.

Holding their registration lists, they began calling out almost simultaneously:

"First team, first person, Chi Xuan. Step forward now."

"Second team, first person, Li Qi. Step forward now."

"Third team..."

The assessment officially began. When Chi Xuan of the first team heard his name, he calmly stepped out and walked toward the Puppet Warrior.

The Puppet Warrior seemed to sense someone approaching. Its originally dim eyes suddenly lit up like light bulbs.

Then, as though it had gained life, it completely awakened.

It struck its shield with its blade, then suddenly charged toward Chi Xuan with heavy strides.

Along the way, it had already raised its massive blade. Its icy edge made everyone shudder.

Chi Xuan, however, remained unmoved. Without making any unnecessary movements, he casually waved his hand and sent out a burst of energy, blasting the heavy Puppet Warrior into the air and sending it crashing to the ground.

"Passed!"

The elder in charge of the first path was not very surprised. Although he was an outer sect elder, there was no way he would not know about the talented disciples of the inner sect.

Thus, after the Puppet Warrior was knocked down, he announced that Chi Xuan had passed and let him through.

In the blink of an eye, Chi Xuan entered the passage and proceeded to the next stage.

Next was He Jianjun, ranked second. She likewise had no trouble. Without even taking down the ancient zither on her back, she knocked the Puppet Warrior down with a single strike and entered the next stage.

Zongzheng Yunlou, ranked third, was the same.

Overall, aside from the newly promoted inner sect disciples, the first stage posed no problem for most inner sect disciples.

It was only a matter of how long it took.

However, precisely because of this, there was also a time limit for passing. For example, the first stage required them to finish within half an incense stick's time.

Otherwise, some people could rely on lightness skills to drag it out for half a day.

There had to be restrictions.

Before long, people began to be eliminated for exceeding the time limit.

Even with this restriction, however, the teams advanced at entirely different speeds. The fastest were naturally the first and tenth teams.

The first team was fast because its members were strong and defeated the Puppet Warriors quickly.

The tenth team was fast because its members were weak and were defeated quickly.

After all, most of the people in the tenth team had only recently entered the inner sect, and not all of them were prodigies like Lu Ming and Zhu Ningyun.

Thus, before even half an hour had passed, it was Lu Ming's turn.

"Next, number sixty-nine."

The elder in charge was somewhat surprised by Lu Ming's cultivation realm. After all, it was exceedingly rare for someone who had just entered the inner sect to be at the mid-stage of the Zhen Qi Realm.

Clearly, he did not know about Lu Ming's circumstances.

That made sense. Without a certain status, he truly could not know.

Lu Ming stepped forward without wasting time. With a flash, he appeared before the charging Puppet Warrior. Before it could raise its blade, he extended his palm and lightly pressed it to the ground.

It was like toppling someone who was about to fall asleep.

The elder in charge's eyes lit up. To do it so effortlessly without even appearing to circulate any true qi was truly extraordinary.

After all, the Puppet Warrior weighed a thousand jin.

"Not bad. Passed."

He could not help saying two extra words.

"Thank you, Elder."

Lu Ming bowed, then turned and nodded at Cui Bai and Zhu Ningyun before entering the next stage.

"Next, number seventy."

When Cui Bai heard his number called, he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

After nearly a year of cultivation, his realm had reached the peak of the early stage of the Zhen Qi Realm. He had also cultivated the Hundred Refinements Profound Technique, which he had switched to, to a certain level.

Thus, dealing with a Puppet Warrior with ordinary Early Zhen Qi Realm strength was no problem.

With a deep shout, he threw a punch just as the Puppet Warrior attacked.

He successfully knocked the Puppet Warrior down.

"Passed."

The elder in charge could not help nodding. Although it was clear that Cui Bai had used most of his strength, his victory had still been clean and decisive.

He was far better than the disciples who had been assessed before him.

Cui Bai happily exhaled a breath of white vapor, bowed to the elder, and quickly entered the next stage.

Next came the three people who had entered the inner sect at the same time as Lu Ming. Compared with Cui Bai, their strength was a notch weaker.

Thus, they struggled somewhat when dealing with the Puppet Warriors.

In fact, given their strength, they might have found it easier to fight a True Person. After all, the Puppet Warriors were extremely heavy and did not fear injury, making them very difficult to knock down.

Of the three, only two managed to pass with difficulty.

After that, the participants' strength was even poorer. Only a handful relied on their lightness skills to hold out a little longer, but they ultimately failed.

Thus, it was soon Zhu Ningyun's turn.

"Last person, number ninety-two."

The elder in charge turned his gaze toward her. Compared with Lu Ming, whose identity the sect had deliberately kept secret, Zhu Ningyun was far more famous.

Not only did people in the Wuji Sect know of her, but many outside the sect did as well.

Thus, the elder in charge knew of her existence.

Zhu Ningyun stepped out and easily dodged a slash from the Puppet Warrior. Then, with a single upward flick of her sheathed sword, she sent the Puppet Warrior toppling over.

"Not bad. Passed. Proceed to the next stage."

The elder in charge's eyes lit up as well. With his discernment, he could naturally tell that she had not circulated much true qi. Moreover, unlike Lu Ming, she had not used much physical strength either.

She had relied entirely on technique, taking advantage of the instant the Puppet Warrior attacked and following the direction of its exertion to topple it with the flow.

There was a hint of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.

This required extraordinarily sharp observation.

And so, the first stage of the tenth team was completed. The number of people proceeding to the next stage had clearly decreased. Of the original ninety-two, only thirty-seven remained.

When Lu Ming and the others waited for the elder in charge who had accompanied Zhu Ningyun to arrive, it meant that the second stage was about to begin.

The Puppet Warriors guarding the second stage possessed strength equivalent to the peak of the Early Zhen Qi Realm.

Clearly, even fewer people from the tenth team would pass this stage.

For Lu Ming, however, it was nothing. When his turn came, he once again pressed the Puppet Warrior to the ground without giving it any chance to resist.

Next was Cui Bai. It was clear that he was struggling somewhat now, but he cultivated a technique that tempered both the inside and outside of the body. His defenses were strong, and he possessed great strength.

Thus, he still passed within the allotted time.

Zhu Ningyun naturally needed no mention.

By the third stage, only eleven people remained in the tenth team.

The third stage was guarded by two Puppet Warriors at the peak of the Early Zhen Qi Realm, making it even more difficult.

As a result, only Lu Ming and Zhu Ningyun passed. Cui Bai's strength was also decent, but facing two heavy Puppet Warriors at once proved somewhat difficult for him.

In the end, he exceeded the time limit and regrettably failed.

In fact, it was not only the tenth team. By the time they reached this stage, the number eliminated from the other teams had also increased greatly.

"Sure enough, things are easiest here. All right, you two and the remaining people from the ninth team will merge into the eighth team and continue the assessment."

When they reached the fourth stage, the elder in charge suddenly spoke.

It turned out that the puppet paths were arranged like the spikes of a thorn. The farther inward they went, the fewer stone-path entrances there were.

By the fourth stage, only eight stone-path entrances remained.

"Yes."

The two did as instructed, while the elder in charge carried their information over to assist the elder overseeing the eighth team.