Eternal Heavenly Emperor

What surprised Chu Hao was that there were many fallen puppets in the valley, their chests completely split open as if they had been gutted.

Hmm, aren't these puppets supposed to be indestructible?

The visibility here was slightly better. Chu Hao glanced around and saw a few familiar faces, but not many.

– Cao Jingwen, Yao Di, and Gao Fei, the top three of the Four Talented, and Qin Gang, but he didn't see Qin Yulian, Wu Shitong, Jiang Qixuan, or Jin Yunlin.

Could they have already passed through?

Chu Hao descended and landed beside Qin Gang. Among the four people currently in Tianhe County, he found Qin Gang the most agreeable. He greeted, "Brother Qin!"

"Brother Chu!" Qin Gang nodded to Chu Hao while fighting a puppet but only gave him a quick glance. The battle was too intense for him to spare any attention.

Bang, bang, bang.

Chu Hao's puppet opponent also caught up. It seemed equipped with some tracking system and initiated an attack on him.

"Brother Qin, these puppets can be destroyed?" Chu Hao asked.

"Yes, at first, I thought these puppets were indestructible too, but later I found out that to pass through this valley, you need to defeat these puppets and extract their Puppet's Heart, then place it in the Formation within the valley to activate the Teleportation Array and enter the true third level," Qin Gang explained.

Chu Hao then engaged in battle with his puppet opponent. This puppet put considerable pressure on him; being equivalent to a Fourth Tier martial master, its strength far surpassed his, making him hesitant to take it head-on, forcing him to constantly dodge and move.

"Why don't people cooperate, teaming up to take one down should make it easier!" he said.

"It's not possible!" Qin Gang shook his head, saying, "The Teleportation Array here is very small, it can only send one person at a time, and the Puppet's Heart can be used only once. Moreover, once the Heart is extracted from the puppet, it can exist for no more than ten seconds before becoming ineffective. We can't possibly defeat two, three, or even more puppets within that timeframe. So who should get the Puppet's Heart?"

The person who obtains the Puppet's Heart must leave immediately, raising the question of who should it be given to? Everyone wants to leave first, and no one wants to pave the way for others, so alliances are naturally out of the question.

Chu Hao thought that with a queuing system, most people could still leave, leaving only the last entrants behind. But who would want to be the last?

After all, coming here is to compete with others, not to pave the way for them, right?

"Have many people already left?" Chu Hao asked.

"Yes!" Qin Gang nodded, struggling to parry, "Our Tianhe County is doing well; six people have already passed, more than half!"

That means Qin Yulian, Wu Shitong, Jiang Qixuan, Jin Yunlin, Cang Taiyun, and Feng Buping have all made it through.

Chu Hao sighed, talents emerge one after another, Cao Jingwen, Gao Fei, and Yao Di were once among the Four Talented of Tianhe County, but now not only have they lost their positions, they've been surpassed by Wu Shitong, Feng Buping, and Cang Taiyun, and can't even rank high among the Seven Stars.

Fortunately, Jin Yunlin barely preserved some face for the original Four Talented.

"Chu Hao!" At this moment, a deep voice called out. Cao Jingwen spoke, "Why aren't you coming over to help me deal with this puppet!"

Chu Hao looked over and saw that Cao Jingwen's aura had changed significantly, fluctuating wildly, yet completely indiscernible.

He had broken through to the martial sect realm.

Having just broken through, his aura was unstable, but being an entire realm higher, Chu Hao couldn't gauge his actual cultivation.

Chu Hao smiled and said, "Cao Jingwen, are you ordering me?"

"Of course, I am the Senior Brother of Yunliu Sect!" Cao Jingwen said proudly. His confidence stemmed from successfully breaking through to the martial sect realm with the assistance of the Spirit Chamber, feeling invincible.

Chu Hao was still merely a martial master, naturally to be easily suppressed. Cao Jingwen had broken through from a Nine Meridians martial master to the martial sect realm, naturally dominating all martial masters.

"You can show off your status as Senior Brother back in Yunliu Sect. This is the Ancient Training Ground; relying on others to get through, don't you feel ashamed?" Chu Hao mocked.

"Bastard!" Cao Jingwen was instantly furious. This kid dared to talk back to him? Does he think obtaining the title of the Four Talented by a fluke could last forever?

He would reclaim what was rightfully his!

Ignoring him, Chu Hao turned to Qin Gang, saying, "Brother Qin, let me help you defeat that puppet and return the favor."

Qin Gang was astonished. He had only told Chu Hao some common information that everyone here knew, nothing secretive, yet Chu Hao wanted to repay him with such a big favor. How could he not be surprised?

Chu Hao didn't say more, simply attacking Qin Gang's puppet.

Crescent Slash.

He unleashed his newly learned secret technique. Raising his left hand, a crescent beam slashed towards the puppet.

Martial Artist, even in the Martial Disciple Realm, if their strength reached a thousand pounds, their punches would create gusts, lethal at close range. As their strength increased, so did the power and destructiveness.

Nonetheless, it remained mere gusts, incapable of matching direct strikes.

Crescent Slash was different. It was compressed Star Force. Within its effective range, it equaled a fierce punch or palm strike from Chu Hao, without exposing himself to danger.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, the puppet's body shook violently. Its lower abdomen, where it got slashed, crumbled, dropping wood fragments.

Clearly, the puppets' realms had raised, but their defensive power decreased significantly, making them strong attackers but fragile defenders. If one could suppress or match their combat power, victory was within reach.

But that's easier said than done. A Fourth Tier martial master was formidable; few here could match, let alone suppress them!

Though Chu Hao's combat power couldn't suppress them, with the Sky Stepping Technique and Crescent Slash, he moved like a fish in water, maneuvering freely between two puppets and constantly attacking, breaking their defenses.

The compressed Star Force's destructiveness couldn't rival Starlight, but newly entering the martial sect realm, Starlight was only an inch long at best. Relying on it to break puppet defenses? Could one even get close without being slapped to the ground?

Chu Hao mused that Qin Yulian and Wu Shitong probably passed using Crescent Slash.

Seeing Chu Hao's prowess, Qin Gang intensified his attacks.

These puppets lacked intelligence, targeting whoever hit them hardest. With Chu Hao's offensive, both puppets focused on him. Qin Gang got attacked too, but far less pressured than before.

Chu Hao held back, only continuously unleashing Crescent Slashes.

With such giant puppets, these attacks severely impacted them, unable to retaliate, their exteriors continuously damaged, gradually revealing a crystal with a pulsating purple glow in their chests.

The Puppet's Heart.

"Brother Qin, it's time!" Chu Hao said, strengthening his assault.

"Thank you!" Qin Gang swiftly advanced, exploiting Chu Hao attracting most of the attacks. He drove forward, reaching the puppet's chest.

Click.

The puppet's movements halted abruptly. The Puppet's Heart was both the key to passing and its power source.

"Brother Chu, I'll head out first!" Qin Gang said. Once extracted, the Puppet's Heart functioned as a key for only ten seconds. Beyond that, it lost its effect.

Chu Hao nodded, smiling, "See you soon then!"

"Definitely!" Qin Gang felt grateful. He had only added a little at the end; Chu Hao could have dealt with the puppet alone, though it would have taken longer.

He quickly turned and headed deeper into the valley, with little time to waste.

Others were envious but busy with their own puppets, having no time for robbery.

"Chu Hao!" Cao Jingwen's face looked grim. This kid preferred helping an outsider over him. How infuriating!

"What do you need, Senior Brother Cao?" Chu Hao asked sarcastically, emphasizing "Senior Brother."

Cao Jingwen took a deep breath, saying, "Chu Hao, I'll give you another chance. Help me, or you'll never return to Yunliu Sect!" He coveted Chu Hao's ability to project Star Force.

Such a technique was invaluable against these cumbersome puppets.

Chu Hao lightly smiled and said, "Senior Brother Cao, are you asking for my help?"

Cao Jingwen's face changed repeatedly. He wanted to beat Chu Hao badly but restrained himself. Prioritizing gaining opportunities in the Ancient Training Ground was crucial. Everything else could wait.

Let Chu Hao be proud for now. He was just under 20 years old, and with rapidly growing strength, this confidence was overblown.

When they returned to the sect, Chu Hao would suffer dearly.

Thinking this, Cao Jingwen nodded, saying, "Consider it as me asking for your help!"

"Oh, is that so?" Chu Hao smiled, and just as Cao Jingwen thought he was agreeing, Chu Hao shrugged, "But I don't want to help. What now?"

Pfft!

Cao Jingwen almost spat blood from anger. His eyes turned fierce, "Are you mocking me?"

"It took you this long to understand? Well, at least you're not a total idiot!" Chu Hao laughed heartily, continuing to attack his puppet and breaking down its defenses.

Cao Jingwen finally lost it, roaring as he lunged at Chu Hao. His puppet opponent immediately chased, forcing Cao Jingwen to defend.

Truly a fool.