Chapter 906: More Than Just a Glance

"A glance?"

Everyone frowned.

What did that mean?

When asked how you lost, the implication was clear: which move or technique led to defeat... If you didn't want to say, fine, but why be so poetic?

And now "He glanced at you..."—was the next line going to be "And never forgot your face..."?

That was a popular frontier song in the Master Continent, many could sing it. But here they were asking a serious question, and a puppet, instead of answering properly, was spouting lyrics?

Elder Mi and the others shook their heads.

"I..."

Seeing everyone's expressions, the puppet looked on the verge of tears: "I mean, he glanced at me... and I lost!"

"A glance?"

Everyone was stunned.

They had heard of losing in one move, one palm strike, or one sword stroke, but never of losing from a single glance!

"You mean that the one who came to challenge yesterday didn't make a move against you, but just glanced at you, and you voluntarily admitted defeat?"

Xu Changqing seemed to understand something and couldn't help asking.

"Yes..."

The puppet nodded, nearly crying with emotion at being understood.

"Yes?"

Exchanging glances, Zhao Bingxu, Elder Mi, and the others were utterly bewildered.

You're a puppet, guarding the Record Mountain. The dean glanced at you, and you admitted defeat? Even if you wanted to curry favor, you didn't have to be so obvious!

Where was the fairness and justice in that?

"Could you describe yesterday's battle in detail?" Unlike the others, Xu Changqing asked.

"Alright!"

Nodding, the puppet didn't hesitate and recounted the battle scene from the day before.

Seeing Zhang Xuan, it initiated an attack. Just as it was about to reach him, the young man smiled slightly, and the light in his eyes converged at a point in the void.

The others didn't notice anything unusual, but the puppet, as if seeing a ghost, hastily retreated. Because the speed was too fast, the force of advancing and retreating clashed, causing its well-tempered body to suffer a violent collision—it was severely injured before even making a move!

"Is this... a flaw in the puppet's construction?"

While the other deans were still wondering if the story was too far-fetched, the dean of the Engineering Academy swayed and nearly fell.

Puppets are engineered items, different from human construction. Where the dean's gaze focused was precisely the greatest flaw in this puppet's structure. In battle, a mere finger tap there would render it scrap, completely incapable of fighting!

Moreover, it couldn't even be repaired afterward!

In other words, at the moment of the puppet's attack, the dean had not only found the flaw in its technique but also the vulnerability in its construction!

A glance without making a move was a warning, a reminder—if it didn't back off, it would likely face destruction.

With such danger, the puppet naturally dared not press on, resulting in the clash of forces and injury before it could strike...

Easy to say, but extremely difficult to do.

The puppets in Record Mountain were created by countless predecessors over countless years, incorporating the combat experience of many masters.

Their combat experience surpassed even that of battle-hardened soldiers.

Moreover, ten thousand leaves have ten thousand forms; even puppets made of the same materials by the same engineer have different flaws and manifestations.

Under such circumstances, to spot the flaw at a glance and identify the problem in the crafting... What kind of eyesight was that? And what combat adaptability?

"It can be like that?"

"I've heard of defeating the first-layer puppet in one move... but never of someone winning with just a glance before even making a move..."

Understanding what had happened, everyone scratched their heads.

As the ten great elders of the Master Academy, each present had lived no less than five hundred years and had seen and experienced many battles.

They had seen overwhelming strength that crushed absolutely, and one move that swept through thousands of troops... but never had they seen an enemy severely injured by a single glance!

Yet now, the fact was right before their eyes!

Earlier, they had thought that when the dean entered Record Mountain, he would surely do something others couldn't, but the most they imagined was surpassing Dean Mo Liuzhen in clearance time... Now it seemed they had been too naive...

He cleared levels without martial techniques or moves, just by 'looking'... Who else could do that?

"Let's go to the second layer..."

Suppressing their shock, no longer paying attention to the still-confused and somewhat despairing puppet, Zhao Bingxu and the others hurried to the second layer.

Like the first layer, the guarding puppet sat slumped on the ground, expressionless, like a defeated rooster.

"He... glanced at me twice, and then I was injured..."

The puppet explained.

Everyone's mouths twitched, and they hurried to the third layer.

"He glanced at me three times..."

The third puppet said with a mournful face.

"At the initial stage of the Silkworm Seal realm, defeating a demisage-level puppet, crossing a major level, and still not making a move, just three glances?"

Everyone swayed.

They had guessed that Master Zhang was very strong and would clear the levels easily, but they never imagined that with just a few glances, he would pass three levels, and most importantly, crush the puppets' fighting spirit.

This clearance was too effortless, too easy!

When they had challenged Record Mountain, they were beaten black and blue, nearly dead. He just glanced a few times, and the puppets lost all confidence... Did the gap have to be this big?

"The fourth layer has a puppet at the late demisage level. Once 'sage' is involved, whether demisage or subsage, it's completely different. Perhaps... it won't be solved with three or four glances..."

Seeing the oppressive atmosphere, Elder Mi couldn't help saying.

Though everyone felt the same, no one dared to speak.

These representatives of the Master Academy, the most insightful and powerful elders, had never been correct in their judgments about this dean. Even if they wanted to say something, they couldn't.

"Let's go up and see..."

Shaking their heads, knowing that thinking more was useless, the elders all headed to the fourth layer of Record Mountain.

It was more spacious than the first three layers, a platform dozens of zhang in radius. A tall puppet lay motionless on the ground, head tilted, eyes vacant, with an expression of utter despair.

"The dean didn't... glance at you four times and leave you like this, did he?"

Xu Changqing couldn't help approaching.

Was this fellow, like the previous levels, defeated by the dean with the same method?

"Four glances?"

Struggling to get up, the puppet shook its head, ashamed and wanting to crawl into a crack: "Not that many... He just glanced at me once, then said 'Lie down,' and then... I ended up like this..."

"A glance? Saying 'Lie down'?"

Everyone looked at each other, utterly confused.

Earlier, multiple glances landed on the puppet's weaknesses and vital points, preventing it from using its power and forcing it to admit defeat... Even if they couldn't understand, they could accept it.

But this... a glance, saying 'Lie down,' and you lie down... That's too obedient!

"No..."

While others were puzzled, only Jiang Qingqin thought of something and narrowed her eyes: "Could it be... that his voice carried demonic sound?"

To make a puppet comparable to late demisage lie down with a single sentence, she couldn't think of any other means besides demonic sound.

"It did carry demonic sound, and it targeted my vital point directly... I couldn't resist!"

The puppet said, full of disappointment.

The opponent's strength wasn't very high, even somewhat low in its eyes, but as soon as he entered, glanced, and shouted, it lay down... It felt a deep sense of defeat.

"Targeted the vital point? A demonic sound master's strongest attack is on the soul... You're a puppet, with no soul at all—how could it attack?" Xu Changqing was puzzled.

The other elders shared this doubt.

What made demonic sound masters feared was their ability to ignore material defenses and target the soul directly... Though puppets have spirituality, it's formed from spirit medicines or spirit beasts, lacking an independent soul. Even if Jiang Qingqin used a seven-star demonic sound, it would be like playing music to a cow. How could a single sentence make it lie down?

"His demonic sound didn't attack the soul, but caused my body to resonate... If I dared to continue attacking, I would have cracked and turned to powder..."

Shaking its head, the puppet's eyes showed awe and fear.

"Resonance?"

The elders' mouths twitched.

This type of attack did exist and was very effective against puppets, but the prerequisite was... a deep understanding of the materials used to craft the puppet and the new substances formed after tempering.

Otherwise, no matter how much preparation or how loud the demonic sound, if it didn't target the right problem, it would be useless.

Arriving at the fourth layer, glancing at the puppet, he knew what materials it was made of and what demonic sound to use... Wasn't that too exaggerated?

Dean, were you really here to challenge, or just to play around and casually take down a few puppets?

"The puppet on the next layer has reached the peak demisage level and is skilled in combat techniques. At the same level, even I would find it hard to defeat. The dean... might not find it so easy!"

After asking a few more questions to clarify what happened on this layer, Zhao Bingxu said.

"Let's see."

Knowing that guessing here was useless, they continued forward and soon reached the fifth layer.

Like the fourth layer, a puppet lay on the ground, unable to move, occasionally twitching.

"What happened?"

Approaching, the dean of the Engineering Academy, after barely repairing it, asked hastily.

"That person... said 'Lie down' to me twice. The first time I didn't listen, the second time I ended up like this..."

The puppet said.

"Twice?"

"It seems the dean didn't have as easy a time on this level as the last; he had to say it twice to make it lie down..."

"The puppet on the next level has subsage strength. The dean is only at the Silkworm Seal realm. He can't possibly defeat it by shouting three times, can he?"

"Why not? After what we've seen on these levels, do you still have doubts?"

"This..."

...

Hearing the puppet's words, the elders' mouths twitched uncontrollably, and they couldn't help hurrying to the sixth layer.