Final Trial

Assessment Space.

"Boom!"

After the violent explosion, a voice echoed through the space once more, "Second round of assessment passed. Evaluation: Excellent!"

"The third level will open in half a day!"

Xiao Han looked at the parts scattered on the ground and shook his head regretfully. What a good henchman, now he's just ruined.

However, he immediately showed delight and looked at Puppet Saint Number Two. There was still one left, which was not bad.

Then, Xiao Han frowned. For some reason, he had a feeling that there might be some changes in the third level. He quickly dismissed the thought. Since he had already come this far, he could only deal with whatever came his way.

In another Assessment Space at this time.

With Jiang Yu's puppet and Xiao Han in front and behind, they solved the Puppet Array of the second level and are now waiting for the third level to begin.

Jiang Yu's eyes were fixed ahead, a glint of something unreadable flickering within them. He murmured, "You shouldn't disappoint me, will you?"

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye as Xiao Han cultivated.

Amidst the spatial tremors, the scene before Xiao Han's eyes changed rapidly.

In just a moment, an old man with white hair and gray clothes came into Xiao Han's view.

A notification sounded in my ear, "Third stage. Defeat the examiner to pass. Those who achieve an excellent rating can participate in the Final Trial!"

"Oh?" Xiao Han subconsciously became wary and cast an inquiring glance at the old man in front of him. If what the Assessment Space said was true, then defeating the examiner this time was definitely not the only goal.

Is it better to eliminate the other party as quickly as possible? Or...?

Is there something else going on?

Xiao Han first tentatively unleashed his Dou Qi, and then saw the old man's eyes light up, and his figure instantly disappeared.

Xiao Han's eyes sharpened, and Cold Qi emanated from his hand as Ice Spear took shape. Without a second thought, he thrust it into the space in front of him.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the space, and the old man suddenly appeared a foot in front of Xiao Han, his fist facing the tip of his spear.

"As expected, it's another puppet?" Xiao Han thought to himself.

This puppet's strength is rather ordinary, merely Seven Star Dou Sheng. It seems the situation of the Ten Thousand Puppets Sect at that time was indeed extremely urgent; the strongest member of the secret treasure that enabled the younger generation to rise again was merely a Nine Star Dou Sheng puppet.

This is really not up to par compared to the sect that was once the strongest at the Peak Dou Sheng.

Having tested the puppet's strength, Xiao Han then proceeded to calmly examine its various stats during the battle.

Under Xiao Han's formidable strength, the puppet's attacks, which would normally make even the strongest warriors pale, were completely ineffective.

Suddenly, a strange look appeared in Xiao Han's eyes; the puppet's right leg seemed somewhat unusual.

"Fine!" Xiao Han shook his head, chuckled, "I'm not playing with you anymore!"

The spear in his hand gleamed slightly, and a chilling Cold Qi suddenly erupted, piercing the puppet's chest in an instant.

"The Spear Lock, Mountainless!"

A chilling Cold Qi erupted, covering countless parts within the puppet with white frost. Its once lightning-fast attacks became sluggish, crawling like a tortoise.

Xiao Han then flashed a white Light Seal in his hand, and with a slight lift of his hand, his palm gently pressed against the puppet's calf as it swept towards him.

"Seal up!"

With a low Xiao Han, countless Runes instantly crawled onto the puppet's legs, and within a breath, the puppet became motionless.

Xiao Han took a few steps back and calmly watched the scene before him.

At this moment...

"Mission to defeat the puppet completed. The puppet's damage level is less than one-tenth. Rating: Excellent!"

"Proceedings to the Final Trial!"

"Please wait, examinee!"

Xiao Han felt relieved. His guess was indeed correct. Although the third test was to assess strength, it was an assessment set up by the Ten Thousand Puppets Sect, a sect famous for its puppets.

There are many ways to defeat a puppet, the dumbest of which is to dismantle it completely.

However, this method was intolerable to the Ten Thousand Puppets Sect, which is why they set the evaluation standard as the degree of damage to the puppets.

The "unspoken rule" of this test is to stop the puppet while causing it as little damage as possible!

Xiao Han directly located the core of the puppet and sealed it, which had almost no effect on the puppet. Once the seal was broken, the puppet could even continue to fight, perfectly meeting the requirements.

Just as Xiao Han was pondering, the space once again changed back to its empty state, and a vortex appeared before Xiao Han's eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Han stepped inside.

As soon as he entered, Xiao Han saw the Hemp-Robed Middle-Aged Man who had appeared earlier. At the same time, Jiang Yu's figure also appeared from the vortex opposite him.

Upon seeing Xiao Han, Jiang Yu was visibly taken aback for a moment, then smiled and greeted him, to which Xiao Han nodded in return.

Then, the two turned their gaze to the figure who had remained silent.

"Mission: Kill the examiner!" The middle-aged mechanical voice rang out. This sentence was so straightforward that Xiao Han and the other person's expressions changed. They no longer cared about the details and their fighting Dou Qi erupted instantly.

"Frost Mirror Image!" The moment Xiao Han finished speaking, he shifted his position and flashed hundreds of feet away.

Jiang Yu, however, was not so lucky. His body was reduced to a pile of tattered remains in the blink of an eye. Then, his face ashen, he emerged from a hidden corner, muttering, "Damn it!"

A puppet so realistic it could be mistaken for a real puppet was thus rendered useless; even the most good-tempered man couldn't remain indifferent.

"Let's attack together!" Xiao Han shouted sharply in the direction of the former.

Jiang Yu did not refuse. This puppet was quite troublesome, and he really couldn't take it down by himself.

Xiao Han moved swiftly, and the spear tip, radiating Cold Qi, pierced through space, appearing in front of the middle-aged puppet. The puppet pointed at him, instantly repelling the puppet.

"Puppet Control Art, Bind!" Jiang Yu's voice rang out behind Xiao Han. The latter turned slightly to the side, and countless fluorescent green threads grazed his body and shot towards the middle-aged man's limbs and bones, instantly wrapping him into a large cocoon.

Xiao Han naturally wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by. Crystal blue armor condensed on his body, and a huge spear phantom materialized behind him. Then, the spear shadow, hundreds of feet long, pointed out, leaving a line of pitch-black cracks.

"Spear Lock, Dark Sun!"

The hundred-foot-long spear shadow instantly pierced the center of the cocoon, passing through without any obstruction.

Both of them paled drastically. "Ice Shield, appear!"

"Puppet Control Art, Heavenly Puppet Descent!" An enormous shield and a puppet tens of feet in size appeared before the two.

"Boom!"

The Ice Shield and the puppet shattered suddenly, in less than a breath.

Xiao Han frowned. He had sensed from the battle just now that the puppet didn't really intend to take their lives; it was merely unleashing the power of Eight Star Dou Sheng. This battle should just be a test.

Even so, it's still a bit tricky.

Jiang Yu's voice pulled Xiao Han out of his thoughts, "Puppet Control Art, Puppet Fusion!"

Jiang Yu's Storage Ring glowed slightly, and several puppets with the aura of Dou Sheng appeared in this space. Then, he formed several hand seals, and several pillars of light connected together. Immediately, the strength of the puppet at the front surged, reaching the level of Seven Star Dou Sheng.

Jiang Yu said in a deep voice, "Stop hiding your strength. I don't believe that the Ice Saint is only capable of this much."

"Hey!" Xiao Han was a little embarrassed. This guy got caught slacking off, and he felt a bit ashamed!

"I only hid a tiny bit!"

As he spoke, Xiao Han slightly increased the restrictions on his Dou Qi.

"Whoosh!"

Peak Seven Star Dou Sheng!

Jiang Yu was stunned by the sudden surge in his cultivation level. He then looked annoyed. "You've been hiding your cultivation level for too long. Are you planning to kill me by surprise and double-cross me?"

However, he no longer had the time to pursue Xiao Han's responsibility. Everyone was hiding their strength, and no one would believe they had good intentions!

"Attack!" He immediately charged forward. Jiang Yu didn't believe Xiao Han would betray him at such a critical moment; otherwise, none of them would survive.

Including Jiang Yu's puppet, there were a total of three experts on the field who had reached the level of Seven Star Dou Sheng, barely able to cope with one Eight Star Dou Sheng.

And so, another earth-shattering battle erupted within the space.