C75 Purpleclothed Youth(1)

Step by step, Woo Zhengyang ascended the steps of Profound Heavy Mountain. Though his pace seemed effortless, each step he took was under immense pressure. The unique feature of the heavy stones was not their weight but their strong pull, which absorbed the genuine energy from within him.

At this moment, the sword-shaped genuine energy within Zhengyang was almost entirely concentrated in his legs. Each step felt like dragging hundreds of pounds, and the higher he climbed, the greater the force became. Fortunately, Zhengyang's physical cultivation far surpassed his previous level, making this challenge relatively easy for him. The only real struggle came from the sharpness of the sword-shaped energy, which made every step feel like walking on the tip of a needle.

After eighteen steps, Zhengyang felt a sudden lightness underfoot, and the scene before him changed abruptly. He found himself in a space resembling a training room, but he knew it was no ordinary room; it was the first test of Profound Heavy Mountain.

The room was empty, and as Zhengyang looked around to find the source of the challenge, the wall in front of him began to ripple like water. A shadowy figure emerged from within the wall.

Upon closer inspection, Woo Zhengyang realized that the figure emerging from the shadows bore a striking resemblance to the puppets he had encountered in the Mirror of Inquiry. The only difference was that those were in the form of demonic beasts, while this one was humanoid.

As he pondered this, the humanoid puppet took a few steps forward and swung a punch at Zhengyang's face. The punch wasn't particularly fast, nor did it seem powerful. However, uncertain of its true strength, Zhengyang decided not to take any chances. He activated his Floating Light Step technique to dodge the punch.

Zhengyang was quite confident in his speed. Even without using his Sword-shaped Genuine Qi, he believed he could evade the punch and had already planned his counterattack. But in the next moment, he was taken aback.

"Thud..."

The humanoid puppet's fist struck Zhengyang's left shoulder directly. Before he could recover, a second punch was aimed at his midsection.

At that moment, Zhengyang finally understood the difference between this humanoid puppet and the demonic beast puppets from the Mirror of Inquiry. This puppet was crafted from a special stone known for its hardness and its unique ability to absorb energy. As Zhengyang tried to dodge, he felt a powerful suction from the puppet's fist, pulling him in.

Caught off guard, Woo Zhengyang's attempt to dodge completely failed, almost as if he had willingly moved into the punch. Even though he quickly reacted, he couldn't avoid the blow. In a typical fight, getting hit once wouldn't be a big deal; Zhengyang would usually use the momentum to retreat. However, the humanoid puppet's suction made even stepping back a luxury. As the puppet's second punch aimed for his stomach, Zhengyang had no choice but to counter with a punch of his own.

"Thud..."

His fist got stuck too.

It was the first time Zhengyang faced such a situation, and he was momentarily stunned before regaining his composure. Fortunately, while the puppet was made of tough material, its attacks weren't overwhelmingly powerful. With Zhengyang's resilience, taking a few hits was manageable, almost like training.

Of course, Zhengyang wasn't about to give up. Using the powerful grounding force of the "Dragon Countering Nine Steps," he managed to create some distance between himself and the puppet. With this preparation, the fight became much simpler. Zhengyang, now wary of the puppet's suction, skillfully used the "Dragon Countering Nine Steps" to avoid getting trapped, exchanging blows with confidence.

As the battle wore on, Zhengyang grew more adept. Eventually, he didn't even need the "Dragon Countering Nine Steps" to deftly control his power and disengage when necessary.

After a brief moment, Woo Zhengyang had fully taken control of the battle's rhythm, rendering the trial somewhat pointless. However, he had to keep going because, despite being unscathed and able to resist easily, he couldn't find a way to deal with the humanoid puppet.

The Profound Iron Number One Token, crafted simply from profound iron stone, was comparable to a high-grade treasure. The hardness of the same level of profound heavy stone was unimaginable.

Woo Zhengyang's Tyrannical Mountain Shattering Fist had reached the Perfection Stage, yet his own cultivation was still at the Martial Disciple level, making it difficult to inflict significant damage on the humanoid puppet.

The stalemate lasted for about half an hour before Woo Zhengyang finally breathed a sigh of relief. The humanoid puppet retreated on its own, revealing a light door on the wall ahead, along with a staircase leading further up.