Not even a minute had passed, and he was already out? That was way too fast, wasn’t it? A few outer disciples still paying attention froze in place.
Then, their expressions twisted into sneers. “Coming out this quickly—there’s no way he cleared it, right?” “Probably a new disciple who got scared out the moment he entered the Puppet Tower.” “...”
Their mockery didn’t let up. The commotion drew the eyes of many other outer disciples, who turned to look. “Isn’t that Lin Xuan?” “The one who’s been making waves lately—the rumored top genius of the outer sect?” “Why is he out so fast?” “It’s been less than a minute. Even Senior Brother Chen, who’s already at the Qi Transformation stage, took three minutes. There’s no way he cleared it, right?” “He probably got swarmed by all those puppets in the tower and ran out in fear.” “Who would’ve thought the outer sect’s top genius had such little guts. That title really doesn’t fit him.” “Yeah, exactly!” “...”
The disciples buzzed with chatter, a noisy uproar. When they realized the one who came out was Lin Xuan, the ridicule only grew louder. By now, everyone was convinced Lin Xuan had fled.
Moreover, Lin Xuan had only been an outer disciple for a month, yet his performance had already surpassed theirs, the veteran disciples. That rankled them deeply, stirring up resentment. Now that they had a chance, they let it all out, heaping scorn on Lin Xuan, eager to tear him down to nothing.
Off to the side, the Grand Elder, seated on a stone bench, furrowed his brow at the scene. Xu Anlan, however, let out a mocking laugh: “So the outer sect has produced a waste like this. Truly, each generation is worse than the last.” “It’s still too early to jump to conclusions,” came the Grand Elder’s voice from beside him.
He, too, recognized Lin Xuan as the rising top genius of the outer sect. Though he didn’t believe Lin Xuan could have cleared the tower in such a short time, he didn’t think Lin Xuan was the type to seek attention. So he spoke up to stop the mockery.
Just then, the steward in charge of records inside the Puppet Tower rushed out, looking flustered. “Looks like even the steward can’t stand it and wants to come give him a scolding!” “Hahaha!” Several disciples burst into loud laughter.
The Grand Elder stood up and walked over, barking coldly: “Sun Wen, what are you doing out here? Don’t you need to record the results?” “Grand Elder, there’s no need to record anymore!” Sun Wen panted heavily, his eyes filled with uncontrollable shock. He pointed at Lin Xuan nearby and shouted: “Because all the puppets inside the Puppet Tower have been destroyed by him! The elimination rounds can’t continue!”
The words fell. Shhh! The field fell into dead silence. Everyone’s eyes went wide, frozen in place as they stared at Lin Xuan, utterly incredulous.
Had they heard that right? All the puppets in the tower—destroyed? By Lin Xuan, a new disciple? That was too absurd, wasn’t it?
They knew the puppets in the tower were made of special materials, incredibly sturdy. Even the puppets on the first floor were tough for Qi Gathering stage disciples to break. And the ones on the highest, sixth floor were even stronger than a peak Qi Gathering stage cultivator, making them nearly impossible for even Qi Transformation stage disciples to destroy.
When they challenged the tower, they always avoided direct clashes, using movement techniques to dodge and clear it. Even Chen Yuze, who had already broken through to Qi Transformation, did the same. That’s why it took him three minutes. As for destroying the puppets—none of them had ever considered it.
Now the steward was saying a new disciple, only a month in, had done it. Not just destroyed a few puppets, but wrecked every single one in the entire tower. The gap between before and after was like a chasm. It was unimaginable!
The disciples felt as if they’d fallen into a dream. A wave of unreality washed over them, making it feel like they were hallucinating. Because what they were seeing was just too fake.
At that moment, a large group of disciples streamed out of the Puppet Tower. Nearly two hundred of them—the members of the seventh group. “Senior Brother Lin is way too strong, isn’t he?” “Yeah, even the puppets on the sixth floor were wrecked by him.” “I bet Senior Brother Lin isn’t just the outer sect’s top genius—he’s probably a top-tier talent in our entire Flowing Cloud Sect, right?” “Mm-hmm, very likely.” “...”
The exiting disciples buzzed with chatter. Clearly, they hadn’t recovered from the shock they’d just experienced.
Hearing this, the disciples in the open area were jolted again, stunned into stillness. With so many disciples coming out and saying the same thing, even if Lin Xuan could fool the steward, there was no way he could fool two hundred outer disciples at once, right?
So it was true? Lin Xuan had really destroyed every puppet in the tower all by himself? And cleared it in under a minute? This unreal scenario had actually come true!
It left the disciples even more shaken, some even spiraling into deep self-doubt. Because this scene shattered their understanding, making it hard to believe. Yet every piece of evidence pointed to it being fact! The stark contrast was too much for them to process in such a short time.
Scrape, scrape, scrape... A grating noise rang out. The disciples turned to see an outer sect steward in charge of records dragging a fishing net full of puppet fragments toward them. “Grand Elder, these are some of the remains from the sixth-floor puppets. I knew you wouldn’t believe it, so I had them hauled out. If you still doubt me, you can go into the tower and see for yourself,” the steward Sun Wen explained to the Grand Elder.
The disciples stared at the puppet fragments, gasping in shock. “These really look like the remains of the sixth-floor puppets—I saw a few of them just now!” said a peak Qi Gathering stage outer sect expert. “Is that Big Black? It got destroyed too?” exclaimed a top-ten outer disciple. “It really does seem like Big Black’s remains!” “Big Black was the final guardian puppet, over three meters tall. How could it be destroyed?” “But these definitely include Big Black’s remains!” “How is that possible? Even Big Black got wrecked?” “...”
After scanning the large pile of puppet fragments on the ground, the disciples’ gazes toward Lin Xuan shifted once more. A chorus of sharp intakes of breath followed, and the field erupted like boiling water. “Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!” “It’s actually true!” “Senior Brother Lin is way too strong! Is he really a new disciple?” “With strength like this, I doubt even the top ten outer disciples can match Senior Brother Lin, right?” “...”
The disciples’ chatter reached a fever pitch. They looked at Lin Xuan, trembling with awe. No matter how much they wanted to deny it, faced with the puppet fragments before them, they had to accept the truth! It was a fact! Lin Xuan had single-handedly destroyed every puppet in the entire Puppet Tower! And he’d cleared it in under a minute!