Chapter 908: The Depressed Puppet

"Special? What could be special?"

Wei Ranxue was puzzled.

"To tell you the truth, the eighth level is not a puppet, but a clone made by Dean Mo Liuzhen from his own rib!"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Bingxu said.

"A clone?" Wei Ranxue was stunned. "That's right. Back then, Dean Mo Liuzhen reached the peak of the Ninth Layer of Mortal Transformation and challenged the tower again. Unlike the first time when he only reached the seventh level, this time he made it to the eighth and... defeated the puppet there. Feeling there was a major flaw, he personally took action, extracted one of his own ribs, and with the help of a Heart of the Earth Crystal, recreated the guardian of this level according to his own strength and combat skills!"

"Heart of the Earth Crystal? That rare ore born from the earth's core?"

Wei Ranxue frowned.

She had heard of this crystal—a rare ore, extremely hard, containing scorching energy, highly effective for tempering the body and refining puppets.

It was said that this material had been exhausted thousands of years ago, making it hard to find even a single piece. That Mo Liuzhen actually used it to refine a puppet... just thinking about it felt extravagant.

Even if used only as the main material, its power could not be underestimated!

It might even be able to defeat a peak Saint Ascension or a First Layer Saint Domain expert.

"Not only that, but he also left his will inside... meaning the eighth level is no longer an ordinary puppet, but an exact replica of Dean Mo Liuzhen back then. Combined with a body that feels no pain and is nearly invincible in defense, even the original Mo Liuzhen would find it hard to overcome, let alone our current dean!"

Zhao Bingxu smiled bitterly.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the dean, but the dean's current strength was only at the early stage of the Ninth Layer of Mortal Transformation—too low.

When this puppet was created, Dean Mo Liuzhen was already at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Mortal Transformation, not far from Half-Saint.

Both were super geniuses, but with a gap of nearly a major level, and the latter being a tireless, painless monster, it was no wonder he had no confidence.

Wei Ranxue was speechless. If that were true, it would indeed be too difficult for the dean to win—perhaps even impossible.

"Enough talk. Let's go up and see, then we'll know!" Xu Changqing waved his hand.

"Yes!"

Everyone nodded and headed toward the eighth level.

This level was also very quiet, with no signs of battle, but the ground was pitted and broken everywhere, clearly indicating a fierce fight had taken place.

"We're too late; the battle should have ended long ago..." Zhao Bingxu said, looking around.

As masters, their eyesight was sharp; they could easily tell the battle had occurred a day ago, meaning the outcome had been decided a day earlier.

They hurried to the center of the room and searched separately, but found no sign of anyone, nor any broken parts.

"Who won?" They looked at each other.

If it were like the previous level, with fragments and parts everywhere, it would be obvious that the dean had successfully defeated the puppet.

But now the ground was clean, with only these battle traces—could it be that the dean had lost?

But if he had lost... where was the puppet?

Why was it missing too?

"There's blood here!" Suddenly, Wei Ranxue stopped, looking anxious.

Everyone came over and indeed saw a pool of blood on the ground, indicating a serious injury.

"It's the dean's blood..." They clenched their fists.

Although this puppet was a clone made from Mo Liuzhen's rib, it had no blood... The blood on the ground meant the dean was no match and had been wounded on the spot.

The first seven levels had been easy, but this one was different; passing this level was indeed difficult.

"Though he's injured, don't worry too much. The puppet on this level carries Dean Mo Liuzhen's will, so it shouldn't kill the dean outright!"

Seeing everyone worried, Zhao Bingxu explained.

The puppets on the first seven levels were ordinary spiritual beings, only knowing how to fight and guard, without human emotions.

Since Dean Mo Liuzhen left his will on this level, it naturally possessed his temperament and thinking. Knowing Zhang Shi's identity, it shouldn't kill him!

Thus, the dean was safe, at least his life was guaranteed.

"Look!"

As they speculated about what the dean had experienced here, they heard a cry from the dean of the Painting and Calligraphy Academy.

They quickly looked and saw him pointing at the ceiling, his face stunned.

Following his gaze, everyone else froze.

On the ceiling wall, a figure was pressed tightly against it, embedded deeply, forming a 'big' character, with eyes closed, apparently unconscious.

"It's the puppet refined by Dean Mo Liuzhen..."

Zhao Bingxu recognized it and said hurriedly.

Knowing who it was, the elders didn't hesitate; they all flew up and dug it out of the wall.

Zhong Dingchun and the dean of the Artificer Academy came over to help treat it. After a while, it slowly woke up.

Seeing everyone, the puppet's face flushed with anger, and it cursed: "Damn it... Who was that shameless guy who came to challenge me?"

"Shameless guy?"

Hearing Dean Mo Liuzhen's will evaluate the dean like that, everyone's mouths twitched.

According to historical records, this dean was unmatched in talent, with a very steady temperament and character, which was why he was admired by countless later students and left his name through the ages.

He was hailed as the true number one of the academy in ten thousand years!

How could such a steady man lose all dignity, cursing and being so agitated?

"That guy was no match for me in our fight!"

The puppet left by Dean Mo Liuzhen said angrily: "After a few moves, I knew he couldn't win if we continued, so I told him to leave wisely... But this guy was very enthusiastic, saying he admired me greatly, asking me to teach him martial arts personally, and even grabbed my hand, pouring out all kinds of flattery..."

The puppet's face was full of regret, its eyes showing it had been tricked: "Hearing that, as a master, I naturally felt obliged and casually gave him a few pointers..."

"But this guy held my hand and wouldn't let go, insisting on more contact with his idol... I let my guard down and fell for his scheme. I really thought he admired me, but then, but then..."

The puppet grew angrier and angrier, as if about to explode.

"But then what?"

Seeing him stop mid-sentence, Wei Ranxue couldn't help asking.

"But then this shameless guy wasn't admiring me at all, nor did he want me to teach him. Instead... he used the Heart of the Earth Crystal in my body to cultivate!"

"As you can see, I'm made from a Heart of the Earth Crystal... If this guy had absorbed wildly, I would have noticed. But he drew power bit by bit, and with his sweet talk, I didn't notice at all. He almost drained most of the crystal's energy from my body..."

Even though the puppet contained a human will, it was still a puppet, not sensitive to bodily control.

Like a soulless golden man, it was just a body that could walk and exert power; without fighting, it had no idea what was happening to its body.

"Without the crystal, my defense was weakened, but... somehow that guy's physical strength surged instantly. In the next fight, he punched me flying with one blow... Without defense, and with his increased strength... I was knocked unconscious on the spot and embedded in the ceiling..."

The puppet recounted the whole story, fuming.

If only it had known the guy was after its Heart of the Earth Crystal for cultivation, it would never have listened to him! Now, not only had its defense dropped and combat power weakened, but it had also been beaten to a pulp.

In all its years of cultivation and countless masters encountered, it had never seen anyone so shameless!

The more it thought, the more aggrieved it felt, and seeing the elders, it couldn't help venting.

"This..."

After hearing the story, the elders looked at each other, all their faces twitching.

It seemed the dean was indeed no match at first, but later, by contacting the crystal in the puppet's body and cultivating some technique, his strength increased dramatically, allowing him to defeat it...

In battle, such actions weren't a big deal—life and death could be cast aside—but using it to clear a level... was indeed a bit unscrupulous.

But if he had directly asked to use the crystal, the puppet would likely have refused and beaten him to death on the spot.

"Oh well, battle itself is about life and death, with no room for courtesy. That he could do this shows he's not rigid or stubborn. Such people usually break the mold and go further!"

Having vented his frustration, the puppet felt better and waved his hand.

A master, though a role model for others and mindful of status, shouldn't be too rigid; otherwise, how could they innovate and go further?

Not to mention others, even the original Master Kong was not stubborn; instead, he was open to good advice. Back then, he went into the underground caverns three times, disguised as an alien spirit, infiltrated them, and even became a king and emperor, nearly causing their extinction...

If masters were always concerned with status, rigidly adhering to predecessors' ideas without innovation or bold attempts, humanity wouldn't have developed so brilliantly in just a few tens of thousands of years.

"It's good that you can understand, Senior..."

Hearing this, Zhao Bingxu and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

This puppet contained Dean Mo Liuzhen's will, and the previous one was their dean. When gods fight, mortals suffer; it was hard to take sides. That he understood on his own saved them the trouble of persuading him.

"That guy defeated me and must have entered the ninth level. The ninth level is a forbidden area; even with your elder tokens, you can't enter. Better stay here!"

Nodding, the puppet stood up, looked upward, and said.

The ninth level, even with an elder token, could not be entered. Only by truly defeating the guardian with combat strength could one succeed...

Even the original him hadn't managed it.

"Indeed!" Zhao Bingxu and the others nodded. They knew the rules. They had thought they would find the dean on this level, but now it seemed the dean had gone further than they imagined.

"No... Senior, your strength doesn't seem to be at the peak of Saint Ascension..."

As everyone was marveling, the dean of the Artificer Academy noticed something and suddenly spoke.