C21 You Don't Need to Compensate for the Damage, Right?

"You've got quite the knack for surprises!"

Yun Yan watched Su Yun return and clapped him on the shoulder with a chuckle, "Nicely done, though!"

Su Yun just shrugged, his gaze drifting over to Yun Yilan.

But she wasn't looking at him; instead, she was staring at the ground, lost in thought.

Su Yun didn't try to strike up a conversation, aware that Yun Yilan wasn't in the mood to chat.

His attention shifted back to the arena.

Su Yun had stepped down without having to exert his Soul Power, unlike the others.

As expected, Lin Feng had dominated the competition, defeating the three other youths. From the arena, he shot Su Yun a frosty glare, his eyes brimming with defiance.

He had won, yet he was still second best.

Su Yun didn't even spare him a glance, which only fueled Lin Feng's frustration, making him seethe with resentment.

"Now for the fourth group," announced the middle-aged man with black hair from the loft. "Due to a crystal ball being damaged, each group will now have nineteen participants. The remaining individuals will form a final group of their own."

Upon hearing this, all eyes in the arena turned to Su Yun, whose performance had prompted a change in the rules.

As the tests continued, waves of young men and women took to the stage and then departed. This process marked the gradual conclusion of the first round of Soul Power testing.

It's worth noting that Yun Yilan's turn on stage caused quite a commotion. Her Soul Power test produced a beam of light that soared to an impressive seven meters. To put that in perspective, the highest any of the other youths had achieved was around four meters and nine centimeters, a record held by Lin Feng and Dong Tianlong.

This cast Su Yun and Yun Yilan in an odd light, their Soul Power test results both remarkably astounding, and the fact that they were a married couple only added to the intrigue. There had to be more to their story!

Su Yun himself was taken aback by this.

His own test had shattered the crystal ball due to the Thunder God Holy Body and his mastery of the Soul Controlling Stage. As for Yun Yilan...

"It looks like I still have a lot to learn about Yilan," he mused silently.

Yet, he couldn't help feeling proud of her.

Yun Yilan's complex emotions were evident after her test results, particularly when she caught sight of Su Yun applauding her from the sidelines.

"The first round has concluded!"

With the final pair advancing, the voice of the middle-aged man with black hair echoed throughout the venue, "We will now move on to the second round of the combat test. This round is split into two phases, the first phase..."

He paused abruptly, gesturing towards the stage below.

The long table and crystal ball that had been there were gone, replaced by a line of seven wooden puppets, each inlaid with several white crystals.

"As you can see, these are the battle puppets custom-crafted by our Yuntian Sect, each boasting impressive combat capabilities. Your first-stage challenge is to engage in combat with them!"

The black-haired man elaborated, "These seven puppets before you are embedded with white crystals. Inflict enough shock or damage, and the crystals will fall off. Your task is to dislodge at least one crystal within three minutes. Achieve this, and you'll move on to the next phase!"

His words hung in the air as the sixty-two remaining young men and women's eyes locked onto the seven puppets on the stage.

Their faces lit up with anticipation as they eyed the numerous crystals adorning the puppets.

"Now, I will call out the names of those who will step up to the challenge!"

He picked up the list again and began to read, "Huang Yuan, Nie Yong, Lin Xiaozi..."

One by one, as their names were announced, the seven youths swiftly ascended the stage.

"The combat puppets are now activated!"

The man with black hair held a special token, channeled a force into it, and then declared, "Start the three-minute timer!"

Shua! Shua! Shua!

As his voice ceased, the seven combat puppets lunged at the seven challengers.

The clash between the young fighters and the wooden adversaries erupted!

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

In just the initial clash, all seven were simultaneously pushed back.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Scarcely having a moment to recover, the puppets launched another assault.

Taken by surprise, two of the youths were unable to mount a defense and were knocked out of the arena. Landing with a thud, they sat on the ground, their expressions filled with dismay.

The five remaining contenders on the stage were struggling.

Despite their quick reaction and attempts to fight back, they were overwhelmed by the relentless assault of the battle puppets, left with no option but to defend.

Within a mere two minutes, each one was successively knocked out of the arena by the puppets.

A collective hiss rippled through the crowd as they witnessed the scene.

The combat puppet's strength was astonishingly formidable!

In just two minutes, seven promising young talents from Yunhe City, all of whom had cleared the first round of the Soul Power test, were sequentially eliminated. The challenge was to dislodge the crystal from the puppet within three minutes. Given the current scenario, surviving three minutes, much less dislodging the crystal in that time frame, seemed doubtful.

Many of the young contestants waiting their turn went pale, their initial enthusiasm vanishing.

Unconcerned with the crowd's reaction, the middle-aged man with black hair continued to read from the list, "Group two, Xue Yin, Lin Feng..."

At the mention of the second name, the arena erupted in cheers.

It was Lin Feng's turn to enter the fray!

The previous seven had barely managed to put up a fight. What could the Lin family's top prodigy do?

Anticipation was etched on the faces of many spectators.

Lin Feng did not let them down.

As the black-haired man announced the start of the timer, Lin Feng charged at his designated puppet without waiting for it to make the first move.

With a resounding "Bam!" he collided fist-first with the puppet.

A swift kick followed, forcing the puppet into a hasty retreat.

The crowd was abuzz with excitement.

He had seized the offensive, pressing the combat puppet back...

The stark contrast to the previous seven, who had been utterly overpowered, was clear for all to see.

"Lin Feng!"

"Lin Feng!"

"Lin Feng!"

...

Lin Feng continued to live up to his supporters' cheers. In less than a minute, with a thunderous crash, he blasted a white crystal from the body of the combat puppet, which clattered onto the stage floor.

Lin Feng had advanced!

As for the six other young contestants who had shared the stage with him, they were so outmatched that they couldn't even muster a counterattack.

They were swiftly ousted from the platform.

This spectacle prompted many young spectators, especially the girls, to gaze upon Lin Feng with eyes brimming with adoration.

"Heh."

Lin Feng's lips curled into a smug smile at the sight of their admiration. His eyes then shifted to Su Yun in the arena, filled with scorn.

Yet, Su Yun paid him no mind, his head bowed as he fiddled with his fingers, his actions a mystery to all.

"Damn you, you bastard!"

Lin Feng seethed at being so blatantly ignored.

"Third group, Su Yun..."

At that moment, the middle-aged man with black hair announced the next group of youths.

Merely mentioning the first name drew all eyes to Su Yun, still toying with his fingers.

His earlier Soul Power test had shattered the crystal ball, capturing the attention of the entire audience.

Now, as he faced the combat puppets, all were curious to see how he would fare.

"I'll be amused to see if you can maintain your composure now!"

Lin Feng sneered inwardly.

He doubted Su Yun could dislodge the crystal from the puppets. After all, Soul Power testing and real combat were worlds apart, and he harbored significant skepticism about Su Yun's test results.

"Is it my turn already?"

Su Yun looked up, his gaze landing on the seven combat puppets on the stage. "I wonder how much power I should hold back to avoid breaking them..."

"Forget it!"

With a shake of his head, he stepped onto the stage.

In no time, he and the other six youths were positioned and ready.

"May I ask a question?"

Su Yun interjected just as the middle-aged man was about to signal the start.

"Hmm?"

The man paused, his expression softening into a smile upon seeing Su Yun. "What's on your mind, young man?"

"Um... I was just wondering, if by chance I break one of these puppets, there's no need to compensate, right?"

Su Yun's eyes were fixed on the combat puppet before him.

The question left the middle-aged man momentarily speechless, and a ripple of surprise spread through the crowd.

What did he mean?

He might accidentally break the puppet?

Could this guy truly be capable of damaging the combat puppet?

The crowd in the arena was left speechless.

"Daydreaming!"

Lin Feng, having just stepped down from the stage, scoffed at the remark with a dismissive twist of his lips.

Su Yun paid him no mind, simply lifting his gaze to meet the eyes of the middle-aged man with black hair, his expression earnest.

The black-haired middle-aged man caught on and chuckled, "Go ahead, break it if you can. I won't make you pay a single gold coin!"

"Then there's no problem!"

Su Yun visibly relaxed and nodded in agreement.

Destroy the combat puppet?

The black-haired middle-aged man couldn't help but shake his head, amused, as he began to announce, "Starting the timer now..."

"Boom!"

Before he could even finish saying 'start,' a thunderous explosion erupted from the stage.

The black-haired middle-aged man and everyone in the audience were momentarily frozen in shock.

Their eyes turned to the source of the noise.

There stood Su Yun, before a combat puppet that had toppled over, its wooden frame now splintered into pieces. The numerous white crystals that had been embedded in it were scattered all around.

A hush fell over the entire arena!

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