Ji Wuri made it back in the end.
Powerful as they were, even the joined forces of the giant platinum constructs — wielding particle oscillation, concentrated-acid corrosion, extreme freezing, and vacuum suction — couldn’t hold him. But the ever-debonair, imposing Ji Wuri had been left in quite a sorry state. The “Vengeful Prince” he piloted had one steel arm corroded beyond recognition, its armor blown open in countless ghastly gashes, pitted and cratered all over, more tattered than a beggar’s clothes.
The Vengeful Prince’s left leg remained frozen solid from the knee down. Even if thawed, that steel was probably embrittled past any further use. Fortunately Ji Wuri had dodged the attack of the platinum construct with the vacuum-suction ability — otherwise the Vengeful Prince absolutely couldn’t have escaped back to the puppet hall.
Seeing Ji Wuri return in such disarray as well, the students could no longer hold their spirits together. Apart from Yangquan, Mige the Tall Tower War Wolf, and a few other elites who still dared remain to resist the bronze puppet beasts’ assault, the rest of the students had long since swarmed out through the transport gate in a disorderly retreat.
Fortunately, the half-hour time limit arrived and the transport gate opened once more. Otherwise, the students who’d volunteered for this evaluation really had been at risk of total annihilation.
Ji Wuri watched the four great platinum constructs in the distance for a while, shook his head slightly, put away his gravely-damaged, half-ruined Vengeful Prince, and left with composure — not even sparing a glance at the gloating Zhonghua.
“Tried to steal a chicken and lost the rice.” Zhonghua certainly had reason to be pleased now. Ji Wuri returning in defeat — wasn’t this exactly what he’d long wished for in his heart?
Ji Wuri had meant to take the puppet factory, further boosting his renown and gathering still more fervent followers. By his plan, even if he couldn’t take the factory, he could rescue students and win every heart. And now? Not only had his ten loyal, fervent followers and his painstakingly-crafted gold knights been wiped out entirely, but even the matchless, dazzling Vengeful Prince platinum construct had been left half-ruined. Granted, he’d shown the students the grace of a rescuing hand, but it couldn’t begin to make up for this loss. Most importantly, the Ji Wuri who’d been invincible in everyone’s hearts had finally failed — the myth of the undefeated genius collapsed under its own weight. Once a man stepped down off the divine pedestal, no future display of might could restore the impression people had formed.
With an unexpected outcome like today’s, how could Zhonghua not sing and dance for joy? Zhonghua had taken losses himself, but only one Jet Beast destroyed — a far, far better situation than Ji Wuri’s. Were it not for the need to maintain his composure before Mige the Tall Tower War Wolf and Yangquan, Zhonghua would have wanted to throw back his head and laugh three times to the heavens.
“You’re not leaving?” Yangquan, finding that Ren Tiange, the Silver-Eyed Great Sage, Hauge, and Qingmo weren’t retreating with the other students, felt great puzzlement. This battle couldn’t be fought any further — even Ji Wuri had been forced to withdraw — so why were these few insisting on holding on?
“We’re not like you. We won’t go touching the puppet factory — just clearing out a portion of the bronze puppet beasts is enough.” Hauge laughed heartily.
“Greedy for merit, advancing recklessly.” By comparison, Qingmo was rather less courteous, jeering outright.
“Then do be careful…” Yangquan’s face flushed at this, and he awkwardly retreated alongside Mige and the last of the elite students holding the line. Zhonghua instinctively sensed something a touch odd, but he’d fallen out with Ren Tiange, the Silver-Eyed Great Sage, Hauge, and Qingmo back in Demon Valley — that they didn’t gang up to attack him was already fortunate, and there was no chance of further conversation. Besides, the cheerful Zhonghua paid no mind to such small matters now. Ren Tiange and the others were no minor figures; were it not that they had no one backing them — a dragon stranded in shallow water — they’d genuinely have been a formidable group of rivals. So it was only natural that Ren Tiange and the others would want to grind out a few points here.
In his haste to leave, Zhonghua failed to notice one thing: the constructs Hauge and Qingmo were now using were both silver-tier war wolves — and identical war wolves at that. Perhaps he did notice, but figured that since Hauge and Qingmo had entered as teammates to begin with, with the Silver-Eyed Great Sage’s ability thrown in, developing identical silver war wolves wasn’t strange — so he gave it no further thought.
The moment Zhonghua, the last to leave, had gone, Hauge could hold back no longer. He immediately released his gold lion construct, sweeping every bronze puppet beast surging endlessly into the puppet hall clear back out.
“A gold-tier construct really does pack a punch — earlier I nearly suffocated, watching those clowns put on airs while I had to hide my strength and lurk in the back. Ha, my Golden Lion King, now’s your moment to cut loose — charge, charge, charge, ship all this scrap copper and rotted iron off to the junkyard!” Hauge worked the gold lion’s transformation, switching it to construct mode, and leapt into the cockpit, as thrilled as a child who’d just gotten a new toy, sweeping all before him as he cleared the surrounding puppet beasts and cheered at the top of his lungs.
“So childish.” Qingmo shook his head, feeling this fellow Hauge was utterly beyond saving.
“Stay put for now — there are still four big ones outside!” Ren Tiange worried Hauge wouldn’t rein himself in and really would charge out to fight the four platinum constructs single-handed.
“…I was just worked up, hands itching, eager to vent. I’m not some big-headed, brainless…” Hauge fell speechless. Do I really look that much like a fool?
Atop the puppet factory roof, Mingzhu — who’d finished gnawing the corn — reached over and nudged Yue Yang, signaling that he could get to work.
Yue Yang, in no hurry at all, hopped down from the puppet factory, his stride as leisurely as a man strolling the streets window-shopping with a pretty girl, the little finger of his left hand idly digging at his ear now and then. Seeing Yue Yang putting on airs like this, even Mingzhu covered his face, unable to bear watching — genuinely afraid the kid would be flattened by one of the four platinum puppets’ great feet, stamped into a thin “human mat.”
The four platinum constructs spotted Yue Yang the instant he hopped down. Two circled around to handle the flanking maneuver, while one drew back slightly to stand sentry and provide supporting fire. Had Mingzhu not witnessed this tactic with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have dared believe that mindless puppet constructs could fight in such coordination. To claim there was no one manipulating these puppets from behind — that this was merely natural coordination — Mingzhu wouldn’t have believed it if you’d beaten him to death.
“Even a walking-corpse-style living puppet couldn’t accomplish this,” the Silver-Eyed Great Sage said, frowning and shaking his head.
“He’ll be all right, won’t he?” Only now did Ren Tiange realize that earlier, had Ji Wuri not fled fast, had he stayed until now and the four platinum puppets deployed this combined tactic, that Vengeful Prince would most likely have gone down right here. If someone was indeed manipulating these puppets from behind, then against Ji Wuri and the others they’d merely been holding back their strength for some purpose — and only now was their true strength being revealed.
“Hmph.” Qingmo gave a cold snort — an attitude that wasn’t a wish for Yue Yang to fail, but rather a sense that worrying over this kid was somewhat superfluous.
“It looks very difficult, but I believe in him!” Hauge had become Yue Yang’s fervent fan, convinced nothing in the world could stump this monstrous genius. Ji Wuri couldn’t beat them? That was Ji Wuri — not this little Titan, more monstrous than a monster!
The first to attack Yue Yang was the platinum construct that knew particle oscillation. Its great hand came clamping down like a metal Five-Finger Mountain. Fortunately it wasn’t the Buddha — otherwise, even if Yue Yang turned into the Monkey King who’d raised havoc in Heaven, he couldn’t have escaped.
Boom…
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
A string of explosion-triggered shockwaves spread across the ground. Whether it was Ren Tiange’s side, the Ghost King Phantom’s puppet hall, or Mingzhu fretting atop the factory roof, all had their sight blocked by the smoke, unable to make out how the battle was going.
The last image everyone caught was the particle-oscillation platinum construct chasing Yue Yang and ceaselessly triggering oscillation waves, blasting the ground into chain explosions. And right along Yue Yang’s escape route, the extreme-freezing platinum puppet — the one assigned to sentry and support — suddenly raised both arms to throw up a wall of ice blocking the path, followed immediately by an enormous oscillation eruption. The shockwave was earth-shattering, the air filled with flying sand and rolling stones, dust and smoke sweeping across the ground, sight obscured, no way left to see how Yue Yang fared in the end.
Speaking of personal strength, Yue Yang — who could wage a hundred-day war against the Heavens-Splitting Demon Lord — needed no worrying over. But this was Human Valley. However strong one’s personal strength, it was useless; in combat one had to use puppet constructs.
Mingzhu clenched his fists tight, watching the field anxiously, hoping this rotten kid would show himself soon and stop making people worry so.
The smoke, as though deliberately contending with people, took a long while to disperse. And when the situation on the field finally revealed itself, everyone was struck dumb.
It wasn’t that Yue Yang had been blasted to smithereens by the platinum puppet’s particle oscillation, nor frozen into a human-shaped ice-pop by the frost. Everyone stared, slack-jawed, at an inconceivable sight: the Yue Yang who’d just been chased breathless by the platinum puppets was now sitting at perfect ease atop the shoulder of a hundred-meter platinum puppet, legs crossed, wearing an expression as insufferable as could be. Had he not been so far off, the teeth-gritting Mingzhu would have come over with the hammer to deepen his memory atop his head.
“Pfft!” Hauge, who’d been nervously drinking water, spat it all out at once, drenching Ren Tiange head to toe.
“How is that possible…” Ren Tiange didn’t even notice, staring blankly at Yue Yang seated atop the platinum puppet’s shoulder.
“Who knows what’s going on?” On the other side, the Ghost King Phantom and the Flayer King Blood Shave were dumbstruck too, utterly unable to make sense of it. Even with an inborn aura of friendliness — beloved by all who saw him — it couldn’t be like this. Those were emotionless platinum puppets that killed anyone on sight; how could they let this kid sit on their shoulder? And they’d been hunting him down moments ago — how had they suddenly become friends? Had they not seen that earlier scene, judging by the present sight alone, one could entirely conclude that this platinum puppet was the kid’s big toy.
“Never mind. With him, any inconceivable thing is possible.” Even the Silver-Eyed Great Sage couldn’t help shaking his head with a wry smile.
“Ah… you get down here right now!” Mingzhu came back to himself and immediately flew into a rage. I worry over you all this while, and you go climbing up that high to enjoy the breeze? Wanting to imitate someone debonair doesn’t justify this stunt!
Before Yue Yang could come down, the supporting extreme-freezing platinum construct immediately launched an attack — both hands, wreathed in bone-chilling frost, slapping straight at its companion’s shoulder. More eerie still: as it attacked Yue Yang, the platinum puppet with particle oscillation reacted as though it had seen its master come under assault, immediately counterattacking, its great arms bracing the companion’s hands — and even as the frost spread, an oscillation wave erupted, blasting its companion a hundred meters away.
Eh?
Ren Tiange and the others all dropped their jaws to the floor. What in the world was this? Could it be that in this short span, the kid had already taken that platinum puppet under his wing as a little underling?
The two platinum puppets handling the flanking maneuver, seeing Yue Yang still entirely unharmed, attacked as well — one concentrated-acid corrosion, one vacuum suction — both training their sights on Yue Yang’s slight frame. But halfway through their attack, the two suddenly went still, as though receiving an irresistible command. The four points of red light blazing in the two red-eyed platinum puppets’ eyes dimmed away. A moment later, the light reignited — turned white.
Mingzhu sharply observed that apart from the platinum puppet with the extreme-freezing ability, the other three all had the light radiating from their eyes shift from red to white, the glow growing brighter besides. There was definitely a problem — Yue Yang had definitely done something — but exactly what, no one could fathom.
“Come back, come back here — someone has something to tell you!” Mingzhu suddenly smiled and waved Yue Yang over.
“What do you want to tell me?” Yue Yang grew excited. Could it be that at this crucial moment, Mingzhu was about to share some tremendously important secret with him?
“If you don’t want me to strangle you, tell me the truth right now — my patience isn’t very good!” Mingzhu turned hostile faster than flipping a page, furiously seizing Yue Yang’s collar and hauling him up, then glaring with those bright eyes at Yue Yang, who could only touch his toes to the ground with his body arched backward.
“Gently, gently — I’ve got a delicate constitution, I can’t take overly violent SM,” Yue Yang said, hurriedly raising his hands in surrender.
“Still talking nonsense?” Mingzhu skipped the whip and went straight for the golden hammer.
“Wait, I’ll come clean… they’re parasite puppets. During our great battle on the beach, I discovered a hermit crab, which made me think of parasitic wasps, so I went and created parasite spiders. Just now I only let them do a little of their work. Honestly, if not for our fierce battle on the beach that night, I wouldn’t have thought of this idea…” Yue Yang produced an exquisite little gold spider puppet — and before he could even claim credit, the chest-heaving Mingzhu brought the hammer down on his head. The frenzied Mingzhu erupted in fury. “Shut your mouth — who had a great battle on the beach with you?”
“We didn’t? I distinctly recall the moon being very big the night of our great battle!” Yue Yang feigned deep thought, sending Mingzhu’s anger soaring to the heavens.
(End of Chapter)