C49 His Strength Increased Greatly
"Divine Level Duplication System."
"Host: Lin Xuan."
"Stage: Qi Gathering Stage, Fourth Layer."
"Talents: Spirit Grade Cultivation Talent, Top Grade Talents in Speed, Strength, and Swordsmanship, High-grade Saber Talent, Top Grade Attribute Talents in Sharp Gold and Gale, High-grade Attribute Talents in Crimson Fire and Earth, Middle-Grade Attribute Talents in Green Wood and Heavy Water."
"Concepts: 20% Sword Intent, 10% Wind Artistic Conception, 5% Fire Artistic Conception."
"Energy Points: 14,000."
"Personal Space: 44."
At the first level of the Puppet Tower, Lin Xuan surveyed his vastly altered attribute panel and nodded in approval.
These were the enhancements he had acquired after duplicating from Xu Annlan.
His cultivation level might have remained constant, but he could sense a revolutionary change in his power.
Lin Xuan was thoroughly pleased.
And all this transformation had unfolded in mere moments. On the field, two hundred Outer Sect disciples were engaged in intense combat.
Even the deacon tasked with covertly keeping score hadn't detected the shift in Lin Xuan.
"Now, it's time to challenge the next level and amass more energy points," Lin Xuan whispered to himself.
He was also eager to gauge the extent of his newfound capabilities.
With that, Lin Xuan advanced.
A whirlwind swept through the area.
The once-obstructing puppets were now just a heap of rubble on the ground.
In that moment, everyone's expressions locked in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"What just happened?"
"Who took down all these puppets?"
"Senior Brother Lee, was it you?"
Amidst the buzz of conversation on the first level, everyone was astounded.
The power displayed by the unseen force was staggering.
Such a feat was beyond the realm of an Outer Sect disciple!
Yet, there it was, right before their eyes, almost too surreal to accept.
Many eyes turned to Lee Cheng, one of the top ten masters in the Seventh Team.
He appeared to be the strongest among them, the only one theoretically capable of such a deed.
"It wasn't me!" Lee Cheng denied, shaking his head.
He continued, "It was Lin Xuan. I've been watching him since I arrived. He erupted with power, annihilating the puppets in an instant and dashing to the second floor. His speed was so incredible, I couldn't even catch a glimpse of his technique!"
As Lee Cheng spoke, his eyes were wide with astonishment.
He hadn't anticipated Lin Xuan's strength to be so formidable. He himself was significantly outclassed by him.
The moment Lee Cheng's words fell, an eerie hush descended upon the arena, quickly giving way to a buzz of noise.
"Lin Xuan did this? How can that be?"
"Senior Brother Lee himself confirmed it. He's not close with Lin Xuan, so there's no way he'd lie for him. It has to be true!"
"So, it was really Lin Xuan's handiwork?"
"Wasn't Lin Xuan a beginner just a month ago? How could he be this powerful?"
"Not even the top three masters of the Outer Sect might be capable of this, right?"
"It looks like Lin Xuan's talent is even more extraordinary than the rumors suggested! In a mere month, he's achieved such formidable power!"
The disciples couldn't stop talking and exclaiming in amazement.
Their voices were laced with profound disbelief.
They found it hard to accept that the spectacle before them was Lin Xuan's doing!
But Lee Cheng, the strongest among them, conceded he couldn't match it. He affirmed it was Lin Xuan's achievement.
They were left with no alternative but to believe.
After all, there was no one else on the field capable of such a feat.
With this realization, the disciples were even more astounded.
Just a month into his training, Lin Xuan was already on par with the Outer Sect's three top experts, if not surpassing them.
His pace of cultivation and his power were astounding!
They were truly witnessing the full extent of Lin Xuan's fearsome talent!
Even the deacon lurking in the shadows, tasked with recording the trials, was dumbstruck for a long while, struggling to accept what he'd seen.
As someone who routinely documented the Puppet Tower challenges, he had seen countless Outer Sect disciples take on the test.
Yet, he had never encountered anyone accomplishing what Lin Xuan had.
Not even those who had become core disciples could claim such a feat.
This left him even more stunned than the rest of the disciples, taking a considerable time to snap out of his daze.
Eventually, the disciples regained their composure.
Their faces were etched with astonishment.
They hadn't foreseen Lin Xuan demolishing most of the puppets on the first level.
They no longer needed to fight; they could proceed directly to the second floor.
Under normal circumstances, they would have been delighted by such a turn of events.
But now, they couldn't muster even a hint of a smile.
A disciple who had only been at the beginner level for a month had astonishingly outstripped those who had been there for several years.
Their emotions were a tangled mess, and they struggled to find any semblance of peace.
On the second floor.
Lin Xuan stood at the stairwell, a grin spreading across his face as he watched all the puppets swarm towards him.
"So this is the extent of my power now? I can hardly believe how strong I've become."
With this thought, Lin Xuan's grip tightened into a firm fist.
His strength had soared to new heights.
Even without tapping into the Concept, he was significantly more formidable than before.
Back on the first floor, he hadn't even tapped into his full potential, exerting a mere 10% of his power.
Yet, the puppets had crumbled before him in an instant.
It was only now that he truly understood how far he had surpassed his former self.
"Let's keep going."
The first-floor puppets, all at the Enlightenment Stage, were too fragile for him to gauge his true capabilities.
The second-floor puppets, however, had attained the Qi Gathering Stage, presenting a much more formidable challenge.
Without hesitation, Lin Xuan charged at the multitude of puppets arrayed before him.
His formidable power compressed the air with such intensity that it erupted in a thunderous boom.
The puppets stood no chance against him, and Lin Xuan swiftly dispatched them all.
Having cleared the second floor, he made his way to the third.
The disciples from the first floor were taken aback when they reached the second floor and saw the heaps of puppet debris scattered across the ground.
Outside the Puppet Tower, in the clearing.
The Head Elder and Xu Annlan were seated on stone benches, sipping tea as they observed the contest.
A flicker of impatience crossed Xu Annlan's face.
"Elder Liu, is this really why you summoned me here?"
Xu Annlan, a Core Disciple in the Spirit Opening Stage, was among the most gifted of the twenty-plus Core Disciples.
To him, the Outer Sect disciples' contest seemed trivial.
If this was all he was here to witness, he considered it a profound waste of his time.
"Annlan, the battle with Luo Feixue is in two months. Are you confident you can come out on top?" the Head Elder inquired.
