Chapter 471 - 468: The Eighth Gate

Chapter 471: Chapter 468: The Eighth Gate

The Fierce Tiger Puppet kicked off the ground with its four claws, its dark gold metal body transforming into a streak of light as it shot straight for his face.

The Giant Bear Puppet strode forward. The ground trembled slightly with each step it took. From the left, it viciously swatted down with both palms, carrying the momentum of Mountain-Splitting Stone-Shattering.

The Giant Python Puppet coiled its body, then shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow. It opened its massive metal jaws, biting at his waist from the right.

The Giant Ape Puppet leaped up from behind. Its dark silver arms extended past its knees, and its fists came together like a giant hammer, smashing down with a roar.

The Giant Eagle Puppet beat its wings once. Its bronze metal feathers cut through the air as it swooped down from above, its sharp talons aimed straight for the top of his head.

The Mantis Puppet’s scythe-like forearms slashed out in a crisscross pattern. The faint blue light at the blades’ edges left two distorted trails in the air.

The Spider Puppet pushed off with all eight of its metal legs simultaneously. Its pitch-black body circled to his side and rear, and the sharp spear-tips at the end of its eight legs stabbed out from eight different angles.

And as for the Scorpion Puppet—

Its speed was astonishing.

Its dark red metal body left a distorted afterimage in the corridor. Its tail hook was raised high, the faint blue glow at its tip like the gaze of death itself.

It didn’t attack directly. Instead, it prowled the outer edge of the encirclement, its tail hook always aimed at Bai Yan’s back, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

Eight puppets, eight directions.

This was even more ferocious and deadly than the sixth trial.

Bai Yan’s right hand rested on his sword hilt.

SHINK—

The longsword left its sheath, its pale green blade flaring with brilliant light.

His Wood Sword Intent erupted forth. That vigorous, unceasing essence of life was released without reservation.

A verdant green light flowed over the blade. Faint phantoms of grass and trees appeared in the air, as if an entire forest had awakened at that very moment.

He unleashed a strike.

No, not one strike, but eight.

The sword light left eight verdant trails in the air, striking all eight puppets at almost the exact same instant.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!

The eight sounds of metal clashing rang out almost simultaneously, merging into a single, long chime that echoed through the corridor.

The Fierce Tiger Puppet was sent flying backward.

The Giant Bear Puppet staggered back.

The Giant Python Puppet’s head was knocked aside.

The Giant Ape Puppet’s fists were blasted apart.

The Giant Eagle Puppet was flung skyward.

The Mantis Puppet’s scythes were knocked high into the air.

The Spider Puppet’s eight legs were thrown into disarray.

And as for the Scorpion Puppet—

Its tail hook was knocked to one side by the sword strike, and its dark red metal body slid back several meters.

But in just a flash, it lunged forward again. Its tail hook carved a bizarre arc, piercing through a gap in Bai Yan’s sword light.

Bai Yan’s expression tightened. He twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike.

The tail hook grazed his waist, slicing open his moon-white robe and leaving a shallow, bloody scratch on his skin.

With a backhand strike, he knocked the Scorpion Puppet back more than ten meters.

However, the other puppets had already closed in again.

The Fierce Tiger Puppet lunged once more, the Giant Bear Puppet’s palms swatted from the left, and the Giant Python Puppet’s tail swept from the right.

The Mantis Puppet’s scythes slashed in a crisscross pattern, while the Spider Puppet’s eight legs stabbed from every conceivable tricky angle.

The assault was like a tidal wave, one crashing in before the last could recede.

CLANG CLANG CLANG—

Bai Yan’s sword light crisscrossed the corridor as he pushed his Wood Sword Intent to its absolute limit. His swordsmanship was steady yet agile, always managing to neutralize the puppets’ attacks in the nick of time.

But the coordinated assault from eight Early Stage of Second Grade puppets was simply too relentless.

Thirty moves.

The Fierce Tiger Puppet’s claws grazed his left shoulder, tearing his moon-white robe and leaving a bloody gash.

Fifty moves.

The Giant Python Puppet’s tail swept across his waist, the impact sending his qi and blood into turmoil and causing a trickle of blood to escape the corner of his mouth.

Eighty moves.

One of the Spider Puppet’s metal legs pierced his right arm. Blood splattered, instantly soaking the sleeve of his moon-white robe.

Bai Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, and fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

But he did not retreat.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. In that instant, he pushed his Wood Sword Intent to an unprecedented extreme.

The verdant light on his blade suddenly surged, and an aura even more burgeoning and full of unending life than before erupted forth.

He unleashed several strikes in quick succession.

The sword light was like a rainbow, knocking back all the besieging puppets.

The Fierce Tiger Puppet was sent flying. The Giant Bear Puppet staggered back seven or eight steps. The Giant Python Puppet’s head was knocked to the side. The Giant Ape Puppet’s fists were blasted apart, and its entire body flipped backward.

The Giant Eagle Puppet was slashed and sent soaring into the air. The Mantis Puppet’s scythes were flung high. The Spider Puppet’s eight legs were thrown into disarray.

And the Scorpion Puppet was also sent sliding back several dozen feet by the strike, its tail hook trembling violently.

SWOOSH!

Bai Yan did not let this opportunity pass.

His figure shot forward, transforming into a streak of moon-white light that passed through the opening the puppets had left.

The Spider Puppet’s eight legs stabbed at him from the side. He twisted his body to avoid six of them, but the other two pierced his left leg and waist.

Blood splattered.

He let out a muffled grunt but used the force of the stabs to gain even more speed.

The Scorpion Puppet’s tail hook stabbed from behind. He twisted with all his might. The hook grazed past the back of his heart, tearing his moon-white robe and leaving a deep, bloody gash.

But in the end, he made it through.

The moment he passed through the corridor, he staggered a step and fell to one knee, gasping for breath.

His moon-white robe was soaked in blood, clinging tightly to his body.

Left shoulder, right arm, left leg, waist, back—more than ten new wounds of varying sizes covered his body. His face was as pale as paper, and his aura was weak.

Bai Yan slowly stood up, swallowed a Healing Elixir, and tore off strips of cloth to crudely bandage his deeper wounds.

His movements were steady and methodical, as if the wounds were not on his own body.

He turned around, his gaze falling upon the other end of the corridor.

There, Fang Han stood quietly.

"My turn."

Fang Han strode toward the corridor.

His green robe stirred slightly. The Cloud Splitting Sword hung at his waist, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

The instant he stepped into the corridor, the Fierce Tiger, Giant Bear, Giant Python, Giant Ape, Giant Eagle, Mantis, Spider, and Scorpion—

Eight metal figures lunged at him from eight directions at once.

Fang Han’s right hand rested on his sword hilt.

SHINK—

The Cloud Splitting Sword left its sheath.

Its dark cyan blade seemed to absorb the Luminous Pearls’ glow, suffused with a reserved brilliance.

The next moment—

A sharp aura, countless times stronger than before, suddenly erupted from his body.

The aura was so ferocious, so sharp, it felt as if it would tear the entire corridor to shreds.

An invisible Sword Intent seemed to flow through the air. Wherever it passed, fine white marks actually appeared on the corridor walls.

The Sky-Splitting Sword Technique at the Minor Achievement Realm!

This was the first time Fang Han had unleashed it without reservation: the Grandmaster-level Sword Technique he had cultivated to the Minor Achievement Realm.

On the blade, a cyan-gold light transformed into a sharp intent that was nearly transparent, yet as solid as a physical object.

The light wasn’t blinding, but one dared not look at it directly, as if a single glance would be enough to get wounded by its sharpness.

He unleashed a strike.

Not one strike, but eight.

The sword light left eight barely perceptible trails in the air, striking all eight puppets at almost the exact same instant.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!

The eight sounds of metal clashing rang out almost simultaneously, merging into a single, longer and deeper chime than before that echoed through the corridor.

The Fierce Tiger Puppet was sent flying backward, its dark gold metal body slamming heavily against the wall.

The Giant Bear Puppet staggered back more than ten steps before it barely managed to stabilize itself.

The Giant Python Puppet’s head was violently knocked to the side. Its massive metal body rolled several times on the ground before crashing to a halt against the wall.

The Giant Ape Puppet’s fists were blasted high into the air. Its entire body flipped backward, crashing heavily onto the corridor floor.

The Giant Eagle Puppet was slashed into the air, slamming into the ceiling with a dull THUD. It then plummeted, its metal wings scraping white marks across the ground.

The Mantis Puppet’s scythe-like forearms were knocked back so hard they nearly flipped over. Its dark gold metal body slid back nearly ten feet, and the faint blue light at its blades’ edges flickered violently, almost extinguishing.

The Spider Puppet’s eight stabbing metal legs were blasted into disarray. Its pitch-black body slid backward, the dark red light in its dozen or so compound eyes flashing rapidly.

And as for the Scorpion Puppet—

Its tail hook was knocked high into the air by the strike. Its dark red metal body slid back nearly ten feet, the faint blue light at the tip of its tail hook trembling violently.

It tried to stabilize itself but still plowed two white furrows into the ground.

Eight Metal Puppets, each comparable to an Early Stage of Second Grade expert, had all been knocked back by a single strike.

Fang Han didn’t pause. He moved forward.

He activated the Wind God Step. His figure became like a wisp of invisible wind, slipping through the gaps between the puppets.

The Fierce Tiger Puppet tried to lunge again, but he slid past it and, with a backhand strike, knocked it back once more.

The Scorpion Puppet’s tail hook stabbed from the side. With a slight sway of his body, he dodged it, then thrust his sword light straight into its body, sending it sliding backward.

The Spider Puppet’s eight legs stabbed from behind. He tapped the tip of his foot on one of the legs, using the force to float forward several yards. At the same time, he swept his sword out, knocking back both the Mantis Puppet and the Giant Bear Puppet.

He weaved through the eight puppets’ siege with ease, his sword light and Body Technique coordinated flawlessly.

Dozens of moves later.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his figure suddenly accelerated.

SWOOSH—

Like a streak of cyan light, he flashed through the gap between the Giant Python Puppet and the Giant Ape Puppet.

By the time the eight puppets closed their ranks again, he had already passed through the corridor and landed steadily on the other side.

He was breathing a little heavily, but he was completely unharmed. His condition was much better than Bai Yan’s.

In the hall of the eighth trial.

Bai Yan’s gaze was fixed on Fang Han.

On his face, which rarely showed emotion, there was now a trace of unconcealable surprise.

"Minor Achievement..."

He spoke in a low voice, so soft that only he could hear.

’An Intent-level sword technique... at Minor Achievement.’

’This young man, only twenty years old and from a remote county, hasn’t just comprehended Sword Intent. It’s not a simple, recent comprehension either. He has already cultivated an Intent-level sword technique to the Minor Achievement Realm.’

’Even in the Celestial Essence Sect, the number of disciples who can cultivate an Intent-level sword technique to the Minor Achievement Realm before the age of thirty can be counted on one hand.’

’And every single one of them was nurtured by the Sect with all its might from a young age. Resources, Cultivation Techniques, famous masters—they lacked for nothing.’

’But Fang Han?’

’He comes from a remote place like Qingyang County. His Sect is just an ordinary top-level power. In terms of resources, Cultivation Techniques, and legacy, the gap between it and the Celestial Essence Sect is as wide as the heavens and the earth.’

’Yet in such an environment, with such conditions, he has accomplished something that only the most elite disciples in the Celestial Essence Sect could achieve.’

’He’s even done it better.’

’Twenty years old, and already at the Minor Achievement Realm in an Intent-level sword technique.’

Bai Yan was silent for a moment before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

He had seen many geniuses, and even more prodigies.

But he had never seen someone like Fang Han, who had managed to blossom so stunningly from such barren soil.