Chapter 1339: Failed the Challenge

The sound of creaking filled the air. Standing in the center of the room, Zhang Xuan exhaled as he watched the puppet slowly emerge from behind the portal.

He had cleared eight of the ten Spirit Ascension realm challenges in a row, yet still hadn't collected all the Heavenly Dao cultivation techniques, leaving him feeling helpless.

With no other option, he had to attempt the most difficult challenge.

As the most challenging 'A' lane for Spirit Ascension realm cultivators in the Saint Son Hall, it had only been cleared by seven individuals in tens of thousands of years, making its difficulty level quite apparent.

"The puppet in the 'B' lane had already reached the peak of the mid-stage Domain realm; this one must be even more formidable!"

His eyes narrowed. The 'B' lane had already posed a significant challenge for him. The puppet there possessed the combat power of a peak mid-stage Domain realm cultivator. If he hadn't used the Library of Heaven's Path to identify its weaknesses and relied on his Eye of Insight to pre-plan his combat route, victory would have been far from easy. Even with those advantages, he had sustained injuries. Fortunately, his Heavenly Dao True Qi recovered extremely quickly; otherwise, he might have had to abandon today's challenge.

"According to Miss Qing Yu, Ruoxi passed this stage... I must pass it as well!"

His eyes gleamed with determination, and Zhang Xuan's fighting spirit surged.

Of the seven individuals who had cleared the 'A' lane over tens of thousands of years, Luo Ruoxi was one of them.

Since his girlfriend had passed, he naturally couldn't afford to show weakness. Otherwise, he felt he would have no standing, even if they were together in the future.

"To dare challenge the 'A' lane, you appear quite confident. Let me witness your true strength!"

As Zhang Xuan approached, the puppet's eyes suddenly opened, and its fighting spirit instantly flared to its peak.

"You can speak?"

Zhang Xuan frowned, looking intently at the puppet.

Among all the puppets he had encountered before, only the one he had personally modified could utter a few "roars." Other puppets could only produce single-syllable sounds, making this one's ability to speak human language truly astounding.

"Let's begin!"

With a low snort, the puppet swayed its body, disinclined to speak further.

In the next instant, it was directly before him.

Its incredible speed caught him by surprise; it covered over ten meters in what felt like an instant teleportation. Zhang Xuan's body sharply recoiled, and simultaneously, his palms rotated, striking forward.

His palm forces layered, combining power upon power, creating what appeared like a vibrant, blossoming garden in mid-air.

This was a martial technique, "Stacking Palms," that he had learned from a secret manual acquired in the 'B' lane.

With crossed hands, it bore a striking resemblance to the Thousand-Hand Buddha Palm, its palm force layering ceaselessly, like a cluster of brocade flowers, beautiful but laden with killing intent.

While this technique didn't possess the offensive power of the Great Sorrow Demonic Palm, its defensive capabilities were exceptional. Crucially, its intricate movements made it difficult for an opponent to discern its true nature, allowing for unexpected effects in combat.

*Boom!* While Zhang Xuan's palm force was formidable, the puppet's strength was even greater. He didn't know what martial technique it employed, but its fist descended from above, locking down all surrounding space. Despite the considerable power of Stacking Palms, it proved completely ineffective against the puppet's assault.

"It has also practiced Stacking Palms..."

Zhang Xuan's eyebrows rose as he instantly grasped the situation.

The puppet's immediate judgment, which suppressed him to the point of being unable to resist, suggested only one possibility: it possessed an extremely deep understanding of Stacking Palms, knowing precisely when to strike to prevent him from unleashing his full power.

Although he had used Heavenly Dao martial techniques to patch up many of this move's flaws and significantly enhance its power, someone familiar with the technique could still find opportunities to counterattack.

This wasn't a flaw in the technique itself, but rather an inherent counter within the move, combined with an overwhelming difference in raw strength.

"Break!" Realizing that continuing the attack would put him at a disadvantage, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. He changed his palm to a finger, flicking it lightly, and a surge of sword qi shot forth.

Having comprehended the true essence of swordsmanship, every casual movement of his became a sword strike. Although he didn't employ a specific martial technique, its power was no less. With a soft *thwip*, the sword qi cleaved through the puppet's locked space and swiftly darted towards its forehead.

"Hmph!" The puppet clearly hadn't anticipated such a swift, impromptu change in his move. It snorted, yet showed no panic. Its clenched fist unfurled, fingers splaying out like an orchid, and several streaks of sword qi shot from its fingertips to meet the incoming attack.

*Pop! Pop! Pop!* The two surges of sword qi collided, creating a series of sharp, airy sounds before both vanished.

Zhang Xuan felt a dull ache in his chest, as if he had taken a considerable hit.

"The true essence of swordsmanship? A puppet has also attained such a profound understanding of the sword?"

He had known the 'A' lane puppet would be challenging, but he hadn't anticipated *this* level of difficulty!

Not only did it possess extensive knowledge of his palm techniques, but its comprehension of swordsmanship had also reached the true essence level, which was quite terrifying.

Zhang Jiuxiao, for example, had passed the Saint Son Hall's assessment and become a student simply by relying on a half-step true essence and some seemingly ambiguous Spiritual Void Three Swords. This alone demonstrated the rarity of such a profound realm.

To claim he wasn't surprised that a mere puppet had achieved such an incredibly profound realm would be a lie.

"No, that's not right. This ability isn't something it comprehended on its own. Puppets have inherent limitations and cannot grasp techniques. It appears a master who understood the true essence of swordsmanship integrated their insights into this puppet's body, enabling it to exhibit such formidable sword intent!"

After the initial shock, he quickly discerned the truth.

Puppets cannot cultivate; they are akin to robots, accepting and executing commands in combat. Every one of their moves is pre-designed and performed according to specific instructions.

This means its swordsmanship isn't based on its own understanding, but rather on integrated memories.

In other words...

It knows *what* to do, but not *why*!

Nevertheless, even with that limitation, it was still incredibly formidable.

Having integrated the swordsmanship understanding of a grandmaster, its combat was akin to instinct. Even with his rapid progress, he would likely find it difficult to contend with.

"Defeating this opponent with swordsmanship will be difficult! My palm force is even less of a match..."

Thoughts swirled through his mind.

The opponent's swordsmanship was so potent that victory through that avenue seemed nearly impossible. And in their recent clash of palm forces, the puppet had still been superior...

How was he supposed to fight this?

"Domain!" With a mental command, a one-meter diameter domain materialized around his body.

It seemed he would have to use his strongest ultimate technique!

No sooner had his one-meter domain appeared than Zhang Xuan, before he could make any other move, found the surrounding space locked down as the puppet unleashed its own domain.

The puppet's domain was a full twenty meters in diameter. Trapped within it, he felt as if he were bound by iron chains, completely unable to move.

"This is... the peak of the Domain realm?"

His mouth twitched uncontrollably. No wonder he had been continuously suppressed in their previous exchanges; it turned out this puppet's strength had already reached the peak of the Domain realm!

With his current strength, fighting early-stage Domain realm cultivators was no issue, and he could barely win against mid-stage ones. But against a peak Domain realm cultivator, victory was almost impossible!

Realizing he couldn't contend, he unleashed "Limitless Wanderer," instantly breaking free from the shackles and moving to one side of the room.

With a flick of his wrist, a card materialized in his palm.

He squeezed it lightly. An aura surged forth, and the puppet, which had been preparing to attack, instantly halted its advance, retreating a few steps with confusion in its eyes.

"You surrendered?"

The battle between man and puppet, though seemingly intricate, had actually comprised only three moves — a punch, a sword, and a domain — lasting no more than three breaths. The outcome was undecided, and their techniques had barely engaged. To surrender so abruptly seemed incredibly fast!

"I'm not its match yet!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head. This particular challenge was typically overcome by cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Ascension realm. He was only in the early stage; while it wasn't impossible to force his way through by deploying all his abilities, it was... entirely unnecessary.

"Farewell!" Knowing victory was impossible, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. He turned and exited the room.

"Without passing the 'A' lane, I can't gather the perfect Heavenly Dao Spirit Ascension realm cultivation technique. To obtain the secret manuals, I must defeat this puppet. Therefore, my immediate priority is to swiftly enhance my combat strength!"

As he walked towards the front desk, he mused, "It seems I'll need to learn either the Spiritual Void Three Swords or the Nine Netherworld Divine Eye!"

There were two primary methods to enhance his combat strength: first, advance his cultivation level; second, master powerful martial techniques.

Without Heavenly Dao cultivation techniques, advancing his cultivation would be difficult, so he set that aside for now. It seemed he could only pursue the second option.

He currently possessed two potent martial techniques: the Spiritual Void Three Swords and the Nine Netherworld Divine Eye.

If he could master either of them, his combat strength would immediately surge, making it much easier to clear the 'A' lane.

"I'll go ask where I can find sword technique manuals!"

With a plan formulated, Zhang Xuan approached the front desk.

"Teacher Zhang... did you pass?"

Senior Sister Shui had not yet departed when he arrived.

"No," Zhang Xuan shook his head. "This challenge is too difficult; I'm not its match yet..."

"Oh..." Senior Sister Shui finally let out a sigh of relief.

He had rushed through eight stages consecutively. If he had managed to clear this 'A' lane as well, it would have been truly astonishing.

"Excuse me, where in our Saint Son Hall can one learn swordsmanship?"

Ignoring her expression, Zhang Xuan handed over his card and looked at her with a smile.

To learn the Spiritual Void Three Swords, he first needed to elevate it to the Heavenly Dao level, which meant he needed to find relevant texts to study.

"You want to learn swordsmanship?"

Before the Qing Yu attendant opposite him could speak, Senior Sister Shui frowned and turned her gaze towards him.

"Yes!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"If you're serious about learning swordsmanship, you've come to the right person," Qing Yu interjected. "Senior Sister Shui is the academy's youngest sword arts genius... and her teacher is the Saint Son Hall's most formidable swordsmanship grandmaster!"

"You use a sword?"

Zhang Xuan was momentarily taken aback and looked at the girl before him.

When she had cleared the 'C' lane previously, she had used all her strength and various techniques, yet he hadn't seen her employ any swordsmanship then.

"Of course!" Hearing his question, Senior Sister Shui frowned, then flicked her wrist, causing a long sword to appear in her palm. "What? Would you like to test my sword techniques?"

Weapons were prohibited in the corridor challenges, which was why she hadn't used her sword until now. Hearing the hint of doubt in his tone, she immediately raised her long sword, and a profound sword intent instantly erupted from it.

"That's not bad, but you're not my match," Zhang Xuan complimented. "Do you happen to know where I can find books on swordsmanship to study? Would you be able to take me to see them?"

Zhang Xuan praised her, surprised that her understanding of swordsmanship had already reached the Upper Sword Heart realm, and then asked.

"Not your match? Then let me see how profound your understanding of swordsmanship truly is!"

Snorting, Senior Sister Shui's lithe body shot forward, transforming into a sharp sword that lunged directly at him.

*Splat!* Before she could even reach him, the long sword in her hand suddenly vibrated violently, causing her to be pulled forward and land flat on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.