Chapter 89

Seeing that He Shengliang had not made a move for half a day, Hua Xiajiu thought that he had already understood the defensive index of the Metal Shield, but he still did not know the offensive power of the Metal Technique at the Core Formation stage. Therefore, he suddenly said, "It is impolite not to return a favor. Let Senior Brother He also experience my offensive spell."

After speaking, he focused his mind, and the Metal Spirit Qi in front of him condensed. Instantly, five Metal Spears, almost identical in size and appearance to the earth-colored spear He Shengliang had just used, appeared. Without any visible movement from Hua Xiajiu, the five spears turned into five golden lightning bolts and shot towards He Shengliang.

This time, He Shengliang clearly saw both of Hua Xiajiu's hands. When Hua Xiajiu cast the spell, his hands did not make any gestures. Therefore, he was now utterly shocked and filled with disbelief.

But seeing the five Metal Spears, which were emitting a cold light, attacking him, he did not have time to make any gestures to cast a defensive spell. So, with a loud shout, he released the attack spell he had just finished casting.

As He Shengliang waved the flag in his right hand, he attacked with an attack, and ten earth-colored long swords condensed out of thin air. They then went in pairs to meet the five Metal Spears.

With a series of "bang" sounds, the ten long swords met the five Metal Spears. The former instantly turned into fragments and dissipated, while the latter only shortened by a quarter and continued to shoot towards He Shengliang at the same speed.

"Ah— I surrender—" Seeing the five gleaming Metal Spears suddenly appear in front of him, He Shengliang felt the sharp Metal aura and the aura of death. He turned pale with fear and fell to the ground.

Buzz—

The tips of the five spears almost touched He Shengliang but suddenly stopped.

Although Hua Xiajiu lacked worldly experience and had no psychological burden about killing someone, he knew that he could not casually harm his fellow disciples. Moreover, He Shengliang had mentioned that one could not take another's life on the stone platform, and the disciple handbook also had rules about this.

Therefore, seeing that He Shengliang could not cast any defensive spells in time, Hua Xiajiu focused his mind, and the Metal Spears, controlled by his soul consciousness, stopped steadily and then dissipated, turning back into Metal Spirit Qi in the world.

Seeing He Shengliang fall so easily, Hua Xiajiu felt a bit unsatisfied, but he was also pleased to have earned another hundred contribution points.

But when Hua Xiajiu saw the look on He Shengliang's face, he was puzzled.

What kind of look was on He Shengliang's face? His pale complexion was understandable, but the look of terror and disbelief, as if he had suddenly seen a ghost, was striking.

Hua Xiajiu was puzzled and was about to say something polite, as he had read in books, when He Shengliang suddenly shouted, staggered to his feet, gave Hua Xiajiu a deep look, turned, and jumped off the platform. He left the hundred contribution points on the white jade square stone and then flew away.

After the battle, Hua Xiajiu naturally saw the difference between the Metal Technique and the spells He Shengliang had used. He did not need to make gestures, while the other side seemed to need to make gestures to cast spells, which directly affected the casting speed. This was the direct reason why Hua Xiajiu could defeat He Shengliang so quickly and easily.

Knowing the reason, Hua Xiajiu did not know the underlying cause. Otherwise, he would not have been so high-profile, and he would have understood why He Shengliang looked at him as if he were a monster.

He did not know that his ability to cast the Five Elements spells without making gestures had greatly shocked He Shengliang and the other disciples of the Metal lineage. He also did not know that if this news spread, it would cause a huge stir.

Hua Xiajiu did not take He Shengliang's abnormal behavior to heart and soon forgot about it.

At this moment, seeing that no one came up to the platform after He Shengliang left, Hua Xiajiu felt a bit anxious. If no one came to challenge him, he would not earn any more contribution points.

The competition among cultivators was mainly close-range and long-range battles. Hua Xiajiu had a powerful, almost demonic body for close-range combat and a Metal Technique that was much faster than ordinary casting speeds for long-range combat. Moreover, the Metal Technique itself was stronger than ordinary spells in both defense and attack, and only some secret techniques could compare. After two battles, the eight people who were to compete next were intimidated, and they hesitated for a moment.

But since they had already drawn cards, they had to either admit defeat or come up to the platform to compete.

The third person to come up was an old man in a white robe. He had once been an inner disciple of the Puppetry Academy but was demoted to an outer disciple ten years ago because he had not advanced to the Soul Departure stage within two hundred years. He was now at the late Core Formation stage.

Hua Xiajiu did not wait long on the platform. After a brief hesitation, the old man climbed onto the stone platform.

The old man looked at Hua Xiajiu with a serious expression, bowed slightly, and said, "I am Huang Dong. Please guide me." His words were simple and to the point.

After speaking, Huang Dong did not wait for Hua Xiajiu to return the bow. He waved his right hand, and a giant wolf, over three meters long and nearly two meters tall, appeared in front of him. The wolf was completely black except for its bright red eyes. It looked majestic and fierce, and its aura indicated that it was at least as strong as a mid-Core Formation cultivator.

Seeing the giant wolf appear, Hua Xiajiu's expression turned serious. He cautiously watched the wolf while releasing his soul consciousness to detect its true nature. Hua Xiajiu immediately sensed that the wolf had no life force.

The words "mechanical beast" flashed in Hua Xiajiu's mind.

Although Hua Xiajiu had information about puppets in the cultivation world, he had not thought of it because it was his first encounter.

Hua Xiajiu was extremely curious, but before his soul consciousness could spread out, the giant wolf shook its head and wagged its tail. It then leaped at Hua Xiajiu like an arrow, covering the ten-meter distance in an instant.

Hua Xiajiu, encountering such a thing for the first time and unsure of its exact strength, did not dare to be careless. He took out the black staff with his right hand and aimed at the giant wolf's head, striking it hard.

With a loud bang, the black staff did not hit the giant wolf's head but instead struck its front paw. Hua Xiajiu stood firm like a mountain, while the giant wolf rolled backward.

Although the giant wolf retreated in a sorry state after being hit by Hua Xiajiu, Hua Xiajiu敏锐地发现巨狼的右爪毫发无损，可见其身体极为坚硬。

Huang Dong saw the giant wolf being pushed back by Hua Xiajiu, his expression became even more serious, but he did not change his demeanor. He changed his hand movements, and the moment the giant wolf landed, it quickly turned its head. Its blood-red eyes glowed brighter, and it opened its mouth to spit at Hua Xiajiu.

A beam of fire, as thick as a bucket, shot out from the giant wolf's mouth, speeding towards Hua Xiajiu like lightning.

Hua Xiajiu, who was about to leap, stopped. Then, he extended his right hand, and the Metal Shield appeared in it.

Boom—

Amidst the splashing fire, the Metal Shield seemed to block the fire effectively, but Hua Xiajiu's right hand, holding the shield, suddenly felt a piercing pain, as if pierced by a venomous needle. Instinctively, he let go of the Metal Shield and pushed off with his foot, shooting backward like an arrow.

The moment the Metal Shield left Hua Xiajiu's right hand, it visibly twisted and softened, melting and deforming within a few breaths.

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