Geji! Geji!
Standing at the center of the room, Zhang Xuan watched as the puppet slowly walked out from behind the door, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
He had cleared eight of the ten Leaving Aperture realm trials, but he was still unable to compile the Heaven's Path Divine Art.
Left with no choice, he could only challenge the most difficult Leaving Aperture Corridor.
As the most difficult Leaving Aperture realm trial in the Sanctum of Sages, only seven people had cleared it in the past several dozen millenniums.
"The puppet in the Yi Corridor has already reached Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage. This one will be even more difficult!"
Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes.
The Yi Corridor had already posed a great challenge to him. The puppet possessed the fighting prowess of a Grand Dominion realm intermediate stage cultivator, and if not for him using the Library of Heaven's Path and the Eye of Insight, it would have been difficult for him to achieve victory.
Even so, he had still sustained some injuries. It was fortunate that his Heaven's Path zhenqi recovered swiftly, or else he would have had to give up on the challenge.
"Based on Lady Qing Yu's introduction, Ruoxin has cleared this trial … I'm going to clear it as well!"
Zhang Xuan's fighting spirit surged as his eyes glowed with excitement.
Over the past several dozen millenniums, only seven people had cleared the Jia Corridor, and one of them was Lozosy.
Since his girlfriend had already cleared the trial, he could not afford to show any weakness. Otherwise, even if they were to be together in the future, he would not be able to maintain his standing!
"Since you dared to challenge the Jia Corridor, it seems like you are quite confident. Let me see what kind of strength you have!"
The puppet abruptly opened its eyes, and its fighting spirit soared to its limits.
"You can speak?"
Zhang Xuan frowned.
Of the puppets he had seen before, only the one he had modified was capable of uttering a few words. Yet, this puppet was actually able to speak the human language. This was inconceivable!
"Make your move!"
With a cold harrumph, the puppet's body blurred.
Hu!
In the next instant, it was already right before Zhang Xuan.
Not expecting the puppet to move so quickly, crossing a distance of ten meters as if it was teleportation, Zhang Xuan abruptly retracted his body, and at the same time, he pushed his palm forward.
The power of the palm overlapped, and the layers of power merged together, forming a beautiful garden in the air.
This was a battle technique that Zhang Xuan had learned in the Yi Corridor — Overlapping Palms.
Crossing his hands, he achieved the same result as the Thousand Buddha Palm through a different method. His palm force stacked up in layers and flowed endlessly like a beautiful flower, carrying a killing intent amidst its beauty.
Even though this move wasn't as powerful as the Heavenly Demon Great Sorrow Palm in terms of offensive power, its defensive prowess was superb. More importantly, the moves were complicated, making it difficult for one to discern its true form. Thus, when used in battle, it could bring about unexpected results.
Rumble!
His palm strike was powerful, but the puppet's strength was even stronger. It was unknown what kind of martial technique it used, but when its fists fell from the sky, the surrounding space was completely sealed. Although the might of the Overlapping Palms was great, under the attack of the puppet, it had no effect at all.
"He has also cultivated the Overlapping Palm Technique …"
Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up, and he immediately understood what was going on.
For the puppet to be able to make such a judgment in an instant and suppress him completely, there was only one possibility … and that was that the puppet before him had a deep understanding of the Overlapping Palms, allowing it to know when to make a move, thus preventing him from exerting his full strength.
Even though Zhang Xuan had used his Heaven's Path battle technique to make up for the flaws in the Overlapping Palms, those who were familiar with the technique would still be able to find an opportunity to counterattack.
This wasn't a flaw, but rather a mutual restraint between moves, a crushing suppression of strength.
"Break!"
Knowing that he would be the one to suffer at this rate, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate at all. Instead, he flicked his finger lightly and sent a surge of sword qi toward the puppet.
Having comprehended Sword Quintessence, even though Zhang Xuan wasn't executing any special battle techniques, the might of his sword qi was still on par with that of a normal battle technique. Pu! The sword qi tore apart the space that the puppet had sealed and headed straight for Zhang Xuan's glabella.
"Humph!"
The puppet didn't expect Zhang Xuan to change his move so swiftly, and it harrumphed coldly. However, it didn't panic at all. Instead, it clenched its fists tightly and spread its fingers apart. Several surges of sword qi shot out from its fingertips to meet the incoming attack.
Po! Po! Po!
The two surges of sword qi collided with one another, and a series of metallic reverberations echoed in the air.
Zhang Xuan felt a stifling sensation in his chest, as if he had suffered a huge disadvantage.
"Sword Quintessence? A puppet's comprehension of the sword has reached such a level? "
He knew that the puppet of the Jia Corridor would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult!
Not only did Zhang Xuan possess a deep understanding of his palm art, his comprehension of swordsmanship had also reached the level of Sword Quintessence as well.
Just by relying on his Half-Quintessence cultivation and the Three Swords of Lingxu, Zhang Jiuxiao was able to clear the entrance examination of the Sanctum of Sages and become a student of the academy. From this, it could be seen just how rare Half-Quintessence cultivators were.
To think that a puppet would actually be able to reach such an incomprehensible realm. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't shocked.
"No, that's not right. This ability isn't something that the puppet has comprehended on its own. Puppets are born with a flaw that prevents them from comprehending sword arts. From the looks of it, a master who has comprehended Sword Quintessence must have infused his insights into the puppet's body, allowing it to display such formidable Sword Intent!"
After recovering from his shock, he quickly realized that something was wrong.
Puppets were unable to cultivate. Just like robots, they had to accept orders and fight. Every move was designed beforehand, and they had to fight according to the orders.
In other words, the Way of the Sword was not its own understanding, but a fusion of memories.
In other words …
Knowing how, but not knowing why!
But even so, it was still an incredible feat.
Infused with the understanding of a swordsman, the puppet's battle had become instinctive to it. Even if Zhang Xuan were to improve swiftly, it would still be difficult for him to stand against it.
"It's going to be difficult for me to defeat the puppet with my swordsmanship. I won't be a match for it in terms of palm techniques either … "
Zhang Xuan thought.
Given how powerful the other party's swordsmanship was, it would be nigh impossible for him to defeat the puppet. Furthermore, in the clash of their palms earlier, the other party's strength was still above his.
How was he supposed to fight against it?
"Dominion!"
With a thought, a one-meter diameter Dominion appeared around Zhang Xuan.
It seemed like he had no choice but to use his strongest move!
Weng!
Before Zhang Xuan could make any other moves, he suddenly realized that the space around him had been sealed. The puppet's Dominion had been activated.
The puppet's Dominion had a diameter of twenty meters. If one were to fall into it, it would feel as if someone had been chained down, rendering them unable to move at all.
"This is … Grand Dominion realm pinnacle?"
Zhang Xuan's lips twitched frenziedly.
It was no wonder he was being suppressed so easily. It turned out that the puppet's cultivation had already reached Grand Dominion realm pinnacle!
With his current strength, he would be able to defeat a Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator with ease. However, against a pinnacle pinnacle cultivator, it would be nigh impossible!
Hu!
Knowing that he was no match for the puppet, Zhang Xuan executed the Unbounded Voyager, and in an instant, he broke free from the shackles around him.
With a flick of his wrist, he took out a card.
Zhang Xuan pinched it lightly.
Weng!
A powerful aura burst forth from the card, and the puppet, which was intending to attack Zhang Xuan, abruptly halted its attack and retreated several steps in confusion.
"You've admitted defeat?"
The battle between a man and a puppet might sound complicated, but in truth, it had only been three breaths of time. The outcome of the battle had not been decided yet, and they hadn't even come into contact with one another yet … Wasn't it a little too fast for the other party to admit defeat?
"I'm not a match for it yet!"
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Those who were able to clear this trial were all Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivators. Zhang Xuan was only at Leaving Aperture realm primary stage, so it was not impossible for him to clear the trial if he used all of his means.
"Farewell!"
Knowing that it was impossible for him to defeat the puppet, Zhang Xuan turned around and left the room.
If I don't clear the Jia Corridor, I won't be able to perfect the Leaving Aperture realm Heaven's Path Divine Art. In order to obtain the secret manual, I'll have to defeat the puppet first. Thus, the most urgent matter at hand is to raise my fighting prowess as soon as possible!
Zhang Xuan pondered as he walked to the front counter. It seems like I'll have to learn the Three Swords of Lingxu or the Divine Eyes of the Ninth Netherworld!
There were two ways to raise one's fighting prowess. Firstly, one could raise one's cultivation, and secondly, one could cultivate formidable battle techniques.
Without the Heaven's Path Divine Art, it would be difficult for him to advance his cultivation. It seemed like he would have to resort to the second method.
At the moment, he had two formidable battle techniques in his possession — the Three Swords of Lingxu and the Divine Eyes of the Ninth Netherworld.
If he could master either of them, his fighting prowess would soar, and clearing the Jia Corridor would be a walk in the park.
I should go ask around and see if I can find any sword art manuals!
With such a thought in mind, Zhang Xuan walked to the front counter.
"Zhang Shi … You cleared the trial?"
Seeing that Zhang Xuan had arrived, Senior Shui was still in the room.
"I didn't." Zhang Xuan shook his head. "The trial is too difficult. I'm not a match for it …"
"I see …"
Hearing those words, Senior Shui heaved a sigh of relief.
If he were to clear the Jia Corridor as well after clearing eight trials consecutively, he would really be shocked to death.
"May I know where I can learn swordsmanship in our Sanctum of Sages?"
Ignoring the other party's expression, Zhang Xuan passed the card over and asked with a smile.
In order to learn the Three Swords of Lingxu, he would have to raise it to the level of Heaven's Path first. In other words, he would have to look for books to browse through.
"You wish to learn swordsmanship?"
Before Receptionist Qing Yu could speak, Senior Shui had already turned to look at Zhang Xuan with a frown.
"Yes!"
Zhang Xuan nodded.
"If you wish to learn swordsmanship, you have found the right person. Senior Shui is the youngest genius in the Sanctum of Sages, and her teacher is the most formidable swordsman in the Sanctum of Sages!"
Qing Yu said.
"You know how to use a sword?"
Taken aback, Zhang Xuan turned to look at the young lady before him.
Previously, when he cleared the Bing Corridor, she had exerted her full strength and used all kinds of means, but he did not see her using any swordsmanship at all.
"Of course!"
Hearing Zhang Xuan's question, Senior Shui frowned. With a flick of her wrist, a sword appeared in her hand. "Why? Do you want to try my swordsmanship? "
Weapons were not allowed in the Spatial Corridor, so she had not used her sword all this while. However, judging from the other party's tone, it seemed like he was a little doubtful. Thus, she raised her sword, and concentrated Sword Intent burst forth.
"Not bad, but you aren't a match for me. Do you know where I can find swordsmanship manuals? Can you bring me there to take a look? "
Not expecting the young lady's comprehension of swordsmanship to have already reached the level of Upper Sword Heart, Zhang Xuan complimented.
"You aren't a match for me? Let me see how deep your comprehension of swordsmanship is then! "
Senior Shui harrumphed coldly as her figure morphed into a sharp sword and charged forward.
Paji!
But before she could even reach Zhang Xuan, the sword in her hand abruptly slammed into her body, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
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