Li Guanqi licked his lips, a glint of desire flashing in his eyes. He glanced at the already-chipped magical longsword in his hand. He’d been wondering how to find a soul artifact blacksmith.
His gaze swept over the puppet soldiers flanking him. “What’s the difference between these and those from our sect’s Sword Tower?”
Inside the sword box, Sword Spirit’s shadow curled her lips. “Puppet soldier orbs—a secret technique unique to the Mo family. Only in recent times have artifact blacksmiths begun to unravel their mysteries.
“But none have managed to replicate their precision. These orbs produce puppets far more agile than those in your Sword Tower.
“More importantly, the armor of these puppets can be worn directly by the user.”
Li Guanqi’s eyes gleamed with even more desire. He stood still, clutching a spirit stone to restore his vital force to its peak. Then he opened his eyes and stepped onto the altar.
Two waves of invisible pressure burst forth at once. Even Li Guanqi now felt an unprecedented pressure.
The two puppets sprang to life, each seven chi tall. The black-gold patterns etched in their silver armor flickered. They brandished their swords and lunged at Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi’s ears twitched. The muscles in his thighs tightened like coiled springs, and the energy from his inner dantian surged through his meridians and thirty-six acupoints. With a sharp boom, he used his sprint technique to shoot forward like an arrow from a bowstring.
But the puppets’ speed matched his own.
One of them moved instantly to block his path. Li Guanqi’s eyes widened—he hadn’t expected such speed.
So much for snatching the sword by sheer quickness.
The puppet swung its four-chi longsword at Li Guanqi’s shoulder, the air itself howling as it came. Li Guanqi tensed and raised his sword in defense. A thunderous force slammed into him, hurling him back several zhang.
He tapped the ground lightly with his feet, twisted mid-air, and dispersed most of the force.
A faint ripple brushed past his head. In a flash, he bent backward, barely dodging a sword strike that grazed the tip of his nose. Just as the puppet was about to follow up, Li Guanqi flung his sword at the puppet’s wrist joint.
The puppet rotated its wrist, blocking with the back of its silver gauntlet.
Li Guanqi pumped vital force into his right leg and swept it at the puppet’s chest, sending it flying over three zhang back.
His longsword flew back into his left hand. In that instant, Li Guanqi’s entire aura changed. He had previously kept a low profile, but now he was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.
Retreating ten zhang, the two puppets immediately flanked him from both sides in a pincer attack.
Li Guanqi grinned coldly and moved forward instead of retreating.
In the blink of an eye, sword light flashed across the altar. The two puppets attacked with incredible speed. Li Guanqi stood alone amidst the chaotic flashes of sword light—one man, one sword, fighting two puppets equivalent to late Foundation Building Realm cultivators.
The three figures shifted positions continuously, sword light flickering constantly.
Veins bulged from Li Guanqi’s neck, and his face flushed as his blood surged.
With a furious cry, his swordplay grew even faster than before. The strikes turned sharper, the angles more vicious, more unpredictable. Sparks sprayed from the puppets’ silver armor. In the span of a few breaths, he landed dozens of blows.
But their silver armor was simply too strong. Li Guanqi’s sword could only leave faint marks on their surface. Their agility was also far beyond anything from the Sword Tower of the Daxia Sword Sect.
With his divine consciousness extended, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. If these were real late Foundation Building cultivators, they’d be dead by now. What material are these puppets made of? Their defense is insane!
Then, he felt it—a flicker of spirit power from within the puppets.
The black-gold runes weren’t just for show. They seemed like mystical array circuits, guiding the puppet’s movements. But the core—the power source—remained hidden.
As the fight dragged on, Li Guanqi calmed his mind and used his divine consciousness to trace energy flow within the rune patterns. He couldn’t see inside the puppets, but he could observe the glowing runes along them.
His eyes narrowed. He realized that all the glowing patterns came from one point—behind the head.
With a sudden burst of strength, Li Guanqi leaped over one puppet, twisting in mid-air.
Behind the puppet’s head lay a delicate black-gold rune, etched with intricate detail. Streams of light radiated from it, coursing across the puppet.
As he was about to thrust his sword into it, the other puppet, five zhang away, suddenly hurled its sword at him with all its might.
A sharp screech sliced through the air. Li Guanqi didn’t have time to think. He raised his longsword to shield his chest.
A brutal shockwave erupted. His already-damaged magical longsword shattered into countless fragments.
The force also sent Li Guanqi flying dozens of zhang. His hair was a mess, but his lips curled into a strange smile.
Using the momentum, he retreated in mid-air. He arrived before the dark green longsword on the altar in the blink of an eye.
Li Guanqi smiled when he saw the puppet rushing at him. So the puppets are not very bright after all.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he let his vital force surge and slowly drew the blade.
A piercing sword cry echoed across the altar as he fully drew the sword. The puppets’ eyes instantly dimmed, and they sat back down, motionless.
Li Guanqi looked at the slightly trembling sword in his hand, his eyes glowing. This sword...
As he grasped it, he felt a strong connection forming between himself and the blade. Even the flow of his vital force became smoother when channeling it into the sword.
The sword was entirely dark green, with two ancient characters engraved near the hilt: Emerald Wolf.
Sword Spirit spoke softly, “Not bad. This has already reached the level of a spirit weapon.
“And it’s a soul artifact crafted by the Mo family. Looks like you won’t need a new sword until at least the Golden Core Realm.”
Sword Spirit manifested physically and spoke with a playful grin, “Want to try fusing the weapon soul into the blade?”