Zhan Yue

"You want to meet Elder Pang?"

The female attendant smiled. "Okay, I'll go inform him, but he's busy, so he might not meet you."

"That's alright.Just tell him that Senior Uncle Lin Fengnian told me to find him."

"Great."

Not long after, the attendant returned and smiled, "Please follow me."

"Okay!"

……

I entered the back garden of Precious Treasure Pavilionand saw that there were fewer people here. Only those undead cultivators, who had joined Precious Treasure Pavilion, were in this place. I met Pang Dalong, a fatty who weighed at least 150 kilograms. The chair that he was sitting on appeared to be on the verge of collapsing.

This was also a cultivator.

I was stunned, but in truth, hovering above his head was the title ‘Precious Treasure Pavilion Head Pang Dalong’. I walked forward respectfully and said, "Senior Master Pang, hello!"

He sensed something weird and asked, "You brat... Did Lin Fengnian send you here?"

"Yes."I nodded my head. "I'm about to cultivate my soul, so Senior Master Lin told me to exchange for a thousand-year Soul Refining Flower."

"You want a thousand-year Soul Refining Flower?"

Pang Dalong frowned and asked, "Kid, d'you know how rare and expensive it is? With your...I don't think you have enough contribution points. Hahaha~"

I was speechless. "Senior master, you should tell me how much it is first, shouldn’t you?"

He raised one finger.

"A thousand?" I asked.

"No no no, ten times!" He grinned. "Ten thousand! To get this thousand-year Soul Refining Flower, our Black Castle elder lost an arm, so you need enough contribution points to exchange for it!"

"Ten thousand... Okay!"

I took out the token Ding Heng had given me, and on it was recorded the number of contribution points I had. "I want this thousand-year Soul Refining Flower!"

"What?!"

Pang Dalong looked at the token and he became dispirited. "You actually have so many contribution points... Forget it.Men, bring him to collect the flower; it's his!"

"Thank you, master uncle!"

After deducting 10000 contribution points, I followed the female attendant to collect the treasure. At the same time, I felt fortunate that I did not rush to buy any equipment. Otherwise, I would not have enough for the flower.

Right when I was about to step out, Pang Dalong said something calmly, "This kid is special!"

Pa ta...

I tripped and hit the door. This game, really!

……

Heaven and Earth Pavilion.

Shua~

A white streak of light flew up and turned into the true appearance of the thousand-year Soul Refining Flower. It was all green but bloomed a white flower.

"Very good!"Lin Fengnian smiled. "You really aren't simple. Getting this precious flower from Junior Brother Pang isn't easy. You need to collect the second ingredient next, and after that, you'll have the rightto refine a soul."

"So where is the Pure Ocean Suppressing Stone?" I asked.

"Heaven and Earth Pavilion has it," he replied.

I nearly spat blood. "Senior uncle, you could've said so long ago..."

He laughed. "Little fellow, although the Pure Ocean Suppressing Stone is not something rare, it's a great material, so it isn't easy to get it."

"Does the senior uncle need me to use contribution points to exchange for it?"

"No."He shook his head. "You need to pass the Heaven and Earth Pavilion's test to become its master."

"What test?"

"Puppet Pass."

He smiled and it looked a little sinister. "Pass ten stages guarded by different Puppets, and you'll obtain it. In the past, all the young prodigies in Black Castle got their stones like this, so you can only use this method, too.Will you confirm that you will try?"

"Yes"—I nodded my head—"I will!"

"Come on, then!"

He waved his sleeves, and within it was what appeared to be a world of its own. A small world came down from above my head, and the next moment, I appeared in a room. In front of me was a blade-wielding Puppet. This one was made of wood; it wore soft armor and its eyes shone brightly.

Level 21 Puppet.As for its stats, it was quite average.

The countdown timer rang in my ears!

3!

2!

1!

Right when it reached 0, the Puppet hollered in rage and its blade slashed at the top of my head.

Too slow!

I slid to the side and dodged this strike while using Gouge-Basic attack-Backstab combo to insta-kill this level 21 Puppet. What a joke. I had plenty of top equipment on me right now!

"Pass!"

Lin Fengnian laughed. "Second one is up next!"

A new Puppet appeared. This time, it was level 22 and the yellow wood was red. It became sturdier and its Health and Defense had both increased.

I could not insta-kill it with one set of skills unlike the first one, so I added one basic attack before I managed to killit. At the same time, I took a blade and lost 300 plusHealth.

Next were the third and fourth stages, which I passed one after another without difficulty.

In just a moment, I reached the seventh stage.

Shua!

For this one, the Puppet was level 27, three levels higher than I was. Not mentioning one set, even 1.5 sets of skills were not enough. Thus, when we entered the battle, I entered Stealth. Assassins were best at sneak attacks, so if I did not use it, it would be such a waste.

In the end, I used sneak attack and then fought the Puppet head-on to defeat it.

I did the same for the eighth stage, and by the end of it, I had lost 40% of my health. I was actually starting to feel pressure!

When the Puppet at the ninth stage appeared, I was stunned. This was a copper puppet, and its body was made of copper metal. Its stats were way stronger than the previous Puppets.

I went into Stealth once more.

After a series of random blows, I won with only 12% health.

Not good!

I panted while I looked at the level 30 Puppet which had appeared before me. My stats were being fully suppressed. This was a yellow copper puppet which wore armor. It held a shining short blade and looked at me with empty eyes. The moment the countdown ended, the blade slashed and it actually noticed where I was at!

"D*mn!"

I sidestepped but still got hit, incurring myself 400 plus damage. I spun aboutand swept my dagger across the Puppet at lightning fast speed. Gouge success!

I went around and used a basic attack then Backstab!

Two damages exploded, but it was still not enough. Its skin was too thick, and right when I retreated, it happened to have turned around. Three slashes landed on my body with its blade. I only had 3% of health left!

Dangerous!

I retreated while not bothering about anything. I hollered and used my strongest move. Golden dragon energy wrapped around my right arm as I pushed my palm forth. Instantly, there was a dragon roar and many old talismans appeared around me. Along with my palm pushing forth, the unstoppable dragon intent slapped onto the yellow copper Puppet's body—

‘Dragon Will!’

Hong!

2872!

A firm blow cleared out its remaining health!

I won!

However, I stood there in shock. This was too dangerous and even Dragon Will's attack strength was a little weird. Logically speaking, the 300% attack damage should not insta-kill it. After all, I was not using White Cloak, so how did it deal close to 3000 damage? Maybe Dragon Will could suppress some NPCs?

Who knew but I should forget it?In any case, I passed!

"Pass!"

My eyes lit up as the area around me disappeared. Lin Fengnian retracted his sleeves and smiled. "Little fellow, you really aren't simple. You actually know such a strong technique. No wonder Ding Heng took you in as his disciple even after years of not taking anyone..."

"Senior uncle, can I obtain the Pure Soul Suppressing Stone now?" I smiled and asked.

"En."

He opened his palm and instantly a palm-sizehuge stone floated above his hand. As it spun, many deep ocean patterns appeared, giving out a mysterious power which made my heart jump. This stone was a huge treasure; in terms of status, it was no weaker than that of the thousand-year Soul Refining Flower.

"Okay, you have completed the two tests and obtained the two items. Now, head to the Ancient Battlefield and find Senior Brother Zhang Xiaoshan; he'll tell you where to collect souls. Right. Bring this gourd; it can collect souls. Remember:Return after collecting 1000 souls and don't be greedy. Otherwise, you'll suffer the consequences!"

"Oh!"

He tossed me a gourd which had a cap. The gourd was pitch-black and it looked like a funnel specifically crafted for this purpose.

"Also"—he looked at me and smiled—"remember not to offend Senior Brother Zhang Xiaoshan.He's the only one your master can't afford to offend."

"Oh... Oh..."

I was stunned and nodded. "Thank youfor the reminder, senior master!"

"Go!"

……

I put the black gourd intomy bag and confirmed that both the items were inside before I left Heaven and Earth Pavilion. I followed the mountain path out. I knew about Ancient Battlefield; I saw it when Master Ding Heng brought me around to tour Black Castle, but I only got to look at it from afar and did not get too close.

After walking for ten minutes, I reached the end of the valley.

"Kid, why are you here?!"

At the entrance, an Undead Cavalry, who was holding a bloody head, asked coldly, "Are you a spy sent by the human race?"