Chapter 0777: The Diamond Puppet

Chapter 0777: The Diamond Puppet

As Yang Shiyue had said, Long Shengkuang and the others didn’t immediately reveal their full strength, keeping others guessing.

Despite their usual arrogance, Long Shengkuang and his group remained wary of genius disciples like Jian Nanhu.

At this moment, they were being extremely cautious!

"These guys are fighting so timidly!" Jian Ruyan snorted disdainfully.

The audience also burst into complaints, as the lackluster battles failed to satisfy their expectations.

"Yan Mei, your Jian family’s puppets are too weak!" Qin Yun teased. "Are these really top-tier Martial Lord-level puppets?"

Jian Ruyan grumbled under her breath, "I don’t know either—they do look pathetically weak!"

Jian Nanhu said coldly, "It’s not that our Jian family’s puppets are weak, but those from the Profound Domain are too strong!"

Yang Shiyue explained, "The Profound Domain group appears slow, but they’re covertly emitting an energy that dulls the puppets’ movements. That’s why the puppets seem weak, and Long Shengkuang’s group doesn’t need to exert much strength."

"They just wait for the right moment to land a killing blow!" Chu Binyu added.

Suddenly, Long Shengkuang struck, abandoning evasion. With a single punch from a distance, he blasted the middle-aged puppet away.

The puppet lay paralyzed, unable to move—signaling its defeat.

Long Shengkuang had successfully advanced!

Soon, all ten Martial Lords from the first batch finished their battles, each defeating their puppets.

The second batch included Yang Shiyue, Jian Nanhu, and Jian Ruyan.

The order followed the registration sequence.

Long Shengkuang’s group had signed up first, and given their overbearing attitude, no one dared to compete with them for priority.

When it was Jian Nanhu’s turn, the Long family fielded their puppets.

Their puppets likewise took middle-aged forms.

Once the battles began, the fights turned intensely fierce.

Jian Nanhu didn’t bother hiding his strength, launching a ferocious assault and quickly reducing the Long family’s puppet to junk.

Jian Ruyan did the same!

The Jian family disciples all attacked with overwhelming force from the start.

Only Yang Shiyue fought with careful precision against her puppet.

Qin Yun observed her but couldn’t sense any surges of energy—her techniques were ordinary, devoid of any special aura.

"Elder Sister Yang is concealing immense strength!" Ling Yuner remarked.

"Indeed, she’s likely only using her raw physical strength right now," Qin Yun agreed.

The second batch, facing the Long family’s puppets, all managed to defeat them—and even shattered the puppets into pieces.

The audience, especially the Martial Lords present, were stunned by this display.

The participating Martial Lords were only at the mid-stage Profound Martial Realm, while the puppets they faced should have been at the peak Profound Martial Realm!

Yet, those puppets were all destroyed!

Were the puppets too weak, or were those young geniuses simply too strong?

This had everyone scratching their heads!

The puppets' strength was indeed lacking—at least, that's what Qin Yun believed.

After all, puppets were quite valuable, especially those at the peak Profound Martial Realm.

Now, the Long family had lost ten of them, which must’ve hurt!

But they had no choice—the show must go on!

The Long family was already regretting volunteering to provide the puppets.

But they couldn’t bear to miss the chance to target Qin Yun and Yang Shiyue.

The puppet they sent against Yang Shiyue was also quite strong, yet it was still torn to scrap.

As the matches continued, lesser Martial Lords started showing up!

Some couldn’t defeat their puppet opponents within the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

A few were even injured by the puppets.

Only the first and second batches of Martial Lords were truly strong—the first batch consisted of disciples from the Mystic Domain and the Long family, while the second batch included top disciples from the Jian family and a few other sects.

The later participants just couldn’t measure up!

By noon, ten rounds had been completed.

Only around forty people made the cut, while the rest were eliminated.

Qin Yun was the last to sign up, so his match was also the final one.

"About damn time this guy steps up!" Yu Zhenshen, who had previously tripped Qin Yun, said impatiently as he watched him step onto the stage. "If it weren’t for wanting to see him get crushed, I would’ve gone to sleep long ago!"

Yu Zhenshen let out a big yawn.

Long Shengkuang laughed. "The earlier puppets were just the Long family’s junk puppets! But the one on stage now is from our Mystic Domain!"

Yu Zhenshen cackled. "I have to admit, Qin Yun must have some skill for our Mystic Domain’s big shots to treat him so specially!"

Jian Nanhu and the others went a shade paler upon hearing this.

Long Shengkuang shot Jian Nanhu a smirk. "Jian Nanhu, just sit back and watch Qin Yun’s beatdown by our Mystic Domain’s puppet!"

Jian Nanhu sneered. "Long Shengkuang, wasn’t it your big dream to take Qin Yun down yourself in the arena?"

Yu Zhenshen mocked, "If Qin Yun can’t even beat a puppet, he isn’t even worthy to face the mighty Long at all!"

...

Qin Yun was stuck in the last batch, paired with nobodies from minor sects.

And the puppets they faced were still courtesy of the Long family.

The ten puppet warriors that appeared were shimmering with golden radiance, as if forged from golden crystals. They had no human features, just crude humanoid forms of solid golden metal.

Moreover, these ten golden-bodied puppets were massive, each exuding intense martial aura.

It was also evident that within these golden-bodied puppets lay Dao Mystic Pills of Xuanwu realm peak cultivation.

The crowd went wild, for they had finally witnessed formidable puppet warriors!

"Sword Sect Leader, isn't this a violation? Their puppets must be cheating!" Bao Changshou quickly shouted.

Anyone could see that these puppets were ridiculously overpowered.

An elder from the Profound Domain sneered, "Our puppets aren't at the Martial King level—how is that a violation?"

The puppets from the Profound Domain were truly different!

Jian Shitian and several HalfImmortals from the Jian family rushed to examine them, then shook their heads, for these puppets were indeed not at the Martial King level.

Long Shengkuang crowed victoriously. "These are our Diamond Xuanwu Puppets! Even an early-stage Martial King would have trouble taking one down before an incense stick burns out, let alone Qin Yun!"

Jian Linglong frowned. "Those diamond puppets seem to have Dao Totems inside them! Hell! Those are top-tier totems!"

The totem patterns inside the previous puppets were merely Xuan Totems.

But the diamond puppets contained Dao Totems, making them way more dangerous.

Yu Zhenshen snorted derisively. "Even we would find it difficult to defeat these diamond puppets. What a pity—Qin Yun won't survive to see the next round. I really wanted a chance to humiliate him!"

Seeing these diamond puppets enter the arena, many began to worry for Qin Yun.

Among the ten fighters on the arena, nine instantly backed out.

By now, the spectators also knew that the diamond puppets were inscribed with Dao Totems and crafted from extremely rare materials.

"No surprise coming from the Profound Domain—far superior to those from our Mortal Domain! A single diamond puppet is worth an early-stage Martial King!" an elder from the Long family said with a grin.

An elder from the Profound Domain boasted, "Worth more than one? Try two! These diamond puppets took a thousand years to refine—they’re priceless, primarily used to explore perilous environments!"

"Diamond puppets can operate in extreme environments where most cannot, such as scorching heat or freezing cold. They’re mainly used for treasure hunting, which is why we also call them Treasure Seekers!"

"The value of a single diamond puppet is immeasurable! The ability to craft such puppets reflects the strength of a faction!"

The proud words of the Profound Domain elder echoed across the arena, reaching tens of thousands of spectators.

The audience murmured in amazement, many immediately daydreaming about having one to aid them in treasure hunting.

Since nine Martial Lords had forfeited, only Qin Yun remained on the arena.

However, the Profound Domain elder did not withdraw the other nine diamond puppets, leaving them on the field.

This served as a show of force.

Seeing Qin Yun’s unwavering determination and refusal to forfeit, Jian Shitian gave a mental sigh before shouting—begin!

Boom! It started!

The diamond puppets blitzed forward like golden bolts!

They moved with speed rivaling that of a Martial King.

"Qin Yun's finished!" Yu Zhenshen shouted excitedly.

The Golden Vajra Puppet lunged forward like lightning, delivering a crushing punch!

Boom!

The massive golden stone-like fist of the Golden Vajra Puppet struck Qin Yun's face, detonating into a devastating shockwave!

Golden shockwaves surged across the hundreds-of-meters-wide arena, stirring up roiling energy currents.

The arena's protective barrier instantly contained those shockwaves.

Though the field was now filled with golden mist, everyone had clearly seen Qin Yun's face being struck in that instant!

A direct headshot—potentially fatal!

Jian Ruyan was frantic with worry, gripping Jian Linglong's hand tightly.

As the golden mist dissipated...

The crowd gasped. Qin Yun stood completely unharmed!

"Qin Yun's head is still there! He's not dead!" someone exclaimed in shock.

Not only was Qin Yun's head intact, but the injury on his face was also minor—merely slightly flushed.

Witnessing this, Long Shengkuang, Yu Zhenshen, and the other prodigies from the Profound Domain widened their eyes in disbelief.

The elders from the Profound Domain were utterly dumbfounded, could scarcely believe what they were seeing.

Qin Yun touched his face and sneered, "And you dare boast about this worthless scrap? Even a mud figure I shape would be stronger than this!"

As he spoke, the Golden Vajra Puppet launched another crushing blow!

Qin Yun dodged the strike, swiftly moving behind the puppet, then formed a sword-finger stance and drove them with explosive force toward the puppet's head—

This was the HeavenPiercing Finger's EarthPiercing Shatterstrike Finger!

Crack!

A heaven-shaking detonation erupted!

Qin Yun's merged fingers unleashed a searing black beam, boring clean through the Golden Vajra Puppet's skull!

Boom!

The puppet's head burst apart in a shower of golden shards, glistening remnants dispersing into the wind.