Another Trial Cleared

Second level, first trial.

Liang Bo stood in the empty hall, carefully studying the puppet warrior across from him.

This puppet warrior wielded a black longsword. Unlike the swords commonly used by ordinary people, however, its sword was especially long—the blade alone was likely one meter seventy, and even longer with the hilt included.

"Strike the rune core in my chest, and you may pass this trial!"

The puppet warrior spoke coldly, then suddenly charged forward. In an instant, it crossed nearly thirty meters. The tip of its longsword was like a bolt of lightning, sending ripples through the air as it stabbed straight at Liang Bo's brow.

What speed! Liang Bo was startled. He hurriedly unleashed his movement technique, his body shooting backward as the longsaber in his hand slashed out like lightning!

Clang! The puppet warrior tilted its longsword slightly, colliding with Liang Bo's Purple Lightning Blade in a thunderous crash.

Liang Bo immediately felt a tremendous force travel up his arm and into his body. He quickly retreated at explosive speed, bleeding away the opponent's power.

The puppet warrior refused to let up. It leaped forward, skimming along Liang Bo's blade before sweeping horizontally toward his neck!

Liang Bo retreated again, raising his longsaber horizontally to block.

Whoosh! The puppet warrior's longsword did not collide with Liang Bo's saber. Instead, it instantly traced an exquisite arc, evading Liang Bo's block and cutting toward his left shoulder.

Liang Bo retreated explosively for the third time, withdrawing nearly thirty meters in an instant and reaching the edge of the hall.

Such strength, such exquisite techniques! Liang Bo marveled inwardly.

They had exchanged only three moves, yet Liang Bo had been forced back three times.

He could clearly sense that his opponent's strength was absolutely greater than his own. Its moves were not much less refined than his, and in terms of movement technique, it was even stronger than Liang Bo had been when his movement technique proficiency was at 11 points.

This was undoubtedly the strongest opponent he had encountered since crossing over here. It was countless times stronger than Sima Kai and Liang Cheng!

This was absolutely strength at the Human Origin Realm level!

Liang Bo lowered his head and glanced at the longsaber in his right hand, falling into brief contemplation.

This puppet warrior's strength definitely exceeds mine. Even if I transferred all my proficiency into Wave Stacking, my strength might not surpass its. The path of overwhelming it with brute force is impossible. As for saber technique, both the puppet warrior and I are at the level of saber and man as one. Perhaps I am somewhat stronger, but its tyrannical strength is enough to make up for the gap in swordsmanship. During that exchange, its consecutive moves seemed born of heaven itself, without the slightest flaw. One move followed another, every one an attack. If I confront it head-on, I will never be able to defeat it. Therefore, relying on strength or the refinement of my saber techniques will both be difficult. The only way is to suppress it with my movement technique!

Having made his decision, Liang Bo immediately activated the modifier and transferred part of Wave Stacking's proficiency to the movement martial skill Flowing Light.

At that moment, the puppet warrior's assault came again. Its body flashed toward Liang Bo like a streak of light.

"Ha!" Liang Bo burst forward, the speed of the Purple Lightning Blade in his hand soaring to its limit. Coupled with his exquisite movement technique, he chopped straight down at the charging puppet warrior!

The puppet warrior flipped its longsword, preparing to block Liang Bo's move. Yet before Liang Bo's attack could run its course, his body had already shifted to the puppet warrior's right. At the same time, the longsaber in his hand rapidly changed moves, slashing toward the puppet warrior's left ribs.

Liang Bo's fighting style could be summed up in one word: fast! He never clashed head-on with his opponent. Instead, he relied on his superior movement technique to fight while circling, constantly seeking openings and preventing his opponent's offensive from taking shape.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The entire hall was filled with the figures of Liang Bo and the puppet warrior. Their movement speeds had reached an astonishing level, and they had completely become two afterimages.

One of those figures in particular was clearly faster than the other, and every movement produced a piercing shriek sharp enough to burst the air apart!

This was Liang Bo's first time engaging an opponent in fierce battle at such speed. If he had not mastered the Eye of Truthpiercing, he feared that he would already have been unable to catch sight of the opponent's movements.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes!

In the blink of an eye, the two had fought at tremendous speed for more than a quarter of an hour.

Relying on the advantage of his superior movement technique, Liang Bo absolutely refused to confront the opponent directly. Whenever he spotted an opportunity, he struck with his saber; whenever there was none, he immediately fled, leaving his opponent with a body full of strength but no way to unleash it!

Suddenly—

Liang Bo caught sight of a flaw in his opponent's defense, and his heart leaped with joy.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the longsword stabbing toward his left shoulder. His feet shifted sideways three steps in succession, then his longsaber thrust toward the puppet warrior's chest.

Pfft! The rune core on the puppet warrior's chest was struck, and its body immediately froze.

At the same time, Liang Bo's left shoulder was also pierced by the opponent's longsword, and a burst of agonizing pain immediately shot through him.

Fortunately, his left shoulder was protected by the Red Dragon Armor, so the opponent's longsword had not pierced through it. Only the force had penetrated inside. After resting for perhaps a quarter of an hour, he should be fine.

"Challenge, Liang Bo wins!" A cold voice echoed through the hall.

Outside.

More than a quarter of an hour had passed since Liang Bo entered the first trial of the True Martial Tower's second level.

Seeing that no new information had appeared from the True Martial Tower for so long, the watching crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank heavens, thank heavens! I thought this Liang Bo would easily pass the first trial of the second level too. It seems that although he is strong, he is not strong enough to defy the heavens."

"That is normal. The second level is much more difficult than the first. Liang Bo could quickly pass the first level, but passing the second level will not be so easy."

"It will not be easy, but even if he fails the trial today, that would still be extraordinary. After all, passing the first level only ten days after entering the sect already makes him an unparalleled genius."

"Indeed. Since the founding of our True Martial Sect, over these ten thousand years, how many have managed to pass the first level just ten days after joining, like Liang Bo? What is more, he did not fail the first trial of the second level the moment he entered. He was able to fight fiercely for at least a quarter of an hour. That alone is enough to prove his strength."

Just then, a new message appeared on the stone monument outside the True Martial Tower:

"Liang Bo, direct disciple, has passed the first trial of the True Martial Tower's second level."

"What? He passed the first trial of the second level too? Does that not mean he has caught up with Lu Jinghui?"

The watching martial artists erupted into an uproar.

What was a genius? This was a true genius!

Su Yang and Lu Jinghui had passed the first trial of the second level after a little over a year in the sect. That naturally qualified them as geniuses. Even with the True Martial Sect's deep foundation, such a genius might only appear once every ten or twenty years.

But compared to Liang Bo, they fell far short.

If Su Yang and the others counted as geniuses, then what was Liang Bo? A freak? Or a monster?