Ning Zhuo sank into thought.
He didn’t know what the hook on the mechanical component was, nor what the Qi Breath Technique entailed.
But he did understand spirit stones—and he knew he was currently lacking them.
“I’ve already spent a lot of time exploring my surroundings, and now there’s less than forty percent spiritual energy left in my spirit stone.”
“I’ll choose the spirit stone!”
With a decision made in his heart, a ring of light appeared in front of him. The circle expanded slightly, and a spirit stone emerged from within.
Ning Zhuo quickly caught it. At the same time, the ring of light dissipated.
Holding the second spirit stone, Ning Zhuo pushed open the door with difficulty and entered Room Two.
Bang!
The door closed automatically behind him.
Ning Zhuo turned to the door, attempting to return to Room One.
The door didn’t budge.
“Well, then.” Ning Zhuo turned back and began to carefully examine Room Two.
The layout of Room Two was quite different from Room One.
It was a long, empty space.
The floor and walls were lined with square, brass-hued bricks.
Directly opposite him, Ning Zhuo could see the door.
A message transmitted again—pass through Room Two and enter Room Three.
After a quick observation and finding nothing new, Ning Zhuo began walking toward the door.
After a few steps, he realized he was moving backward.
Looking down, he saw the floor tiles slowly receding!
He picked up his pace to match, but the tiles moved faster.
Increasing his speed, he was soon forced to run.
“If I’d known it would be like this, I would have chosen better legs and feet.”
In Room One, concerned about spiritual energy depletion and needing to save time, he had settled for mismatched leg lengths.
Now he had uneven legs that made his stride unsteady, affecting his speed.
When he finally reached the middle section at his top speed—
Suddenly, a massive wooden log burst out from the right wall.
One end was fixed into the wall, while the other swung out like a giant arm sweeping across the path.
Keeping alert, Ning Zhuo jumped up to dodge it.
But as he landed, another massive log shot out from the left wall.
Caught mid-jump, Ning Zhuo’s footing faltered due to the retreating floor tiles, and his jump fell short.
Thud.
A dull impact sounded as he was hit, drawing an arc through the air before slamming back down onto the floor.
He slid backward from the momentum, eventually stopping against the door at the starting point.
Dazed, Ning Zhuo lay on the floor, recovering after a few breaths.
“So there are more traps like this?”
He sensed a faint weakness in his soul.
Looking up, he saw the black runes on the log gradually fade as it retracted into the wall.
The surrounding wall bricks shifted back to their original positions.
“I get it!” A thought struck Ning Zhuo.
“These sweeping logs aren’t just obstacles; they’re stepping stones.”
“When they swing out, I need to jump onto them and use them to propel myself forward.”
As a mechanical puppet, his speed was limited, and halfway across the room, he’d started lagging behind the floor’s retreat.
Simply running wouldn’t allow him to reach the second door.
The smooth walls offered no leverage, but the protruding logs presented an opportunity.
With renewed resolve, Ning Zhuo resumed his attempt.
Timing his jumps carefully, he made progress. But on the fifth log—
Thud.
The log struck him, sending him flying.
“The closer I get to the door, the faster the floor tiles retreat. I need to accurately gauge the speed to land securely.”
After analyzing his mistakes, Ning Zhuo tried again.
Thud.
On the eighth log, the difficulty increased as a log shot down from above, smacking him mid-jump.
He crashed against the door, his body scattering.
After reassembling himself, Ning Zhuo retrieved his head and set it back onto his neck.
“This head is too large. Square-shaped, slow to turn—should’ve gone for a smaller one.”
“The main issue, though, is the uneven legs.”
“Still, I remember the positions of these logs; with trial and error, I should make it through!”
Thud!
His next attempt ended after just three logs.
Staring at the retracting log in shock, Ning Zhuo muttered, “Wait, these logs don’t stay in fixed positions? They can change at will?”
The difficulty had suddenly multiplied tenfold!
From a hidden vantage on the main hall’s throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been watching the first challenger with glee.
Watching the bumbling puppet Ning Zhuo was like an entertaining puppet show for the spirit, which chuckled in amusement.
Thud, thud, thud…
Ning Zhuo kept failing the challenge.
“I’m running out of spiritual energy.”
Sighing, he sat down, opened the small compartment on his torso.
Inside was a compartment containing a nearly depleted spirit stone.
Removing it, Ning Zhuo quickly inserted the second spirit stone.
After shutting the compartment, he tapped it gently with his small hand to make sure it was securely fastened.
“Replacing the spirit stone needs to be quick. It’s when the puppet body is at its weakest.”
The previous stone still had a trace of energy.
But Ning Zhuo dared not use it any further.
If he ran out of spiritual energy mid-sprint, his puppet body would be immobilized.
“Using the puppet body depletes more than just the spirit stone.”
“Each hit drains my soul, and this constant strain on the body builds up damage.”
Inspecting himself, Ning Zhuo found cracks forming in various parts—his arm, his head, and other components.
“With no fixed positions for these logs, there’s no shortcut—only perseverance.”
Resolute, Ning Zhuo resumed his charge.
Thud, thud, thud…
Each failure brought more experience, increasing his control over his puppet body.
His improvement was evident.
At the final stretch, seven or eight logs launched simultaneously.
Some swept horizontally, others lunged straight ahead, others descended from above, and some even changed directions mid-swing.
Struck again, one of his legs shattered, sending him tumbling back to the starting door.
With both legs now damaged, he was left with only one leg. What to do?
A bold idea formed in his mind.
“Should I give it a try?”
He detached both arms and attached them to the torso in place of his legs.
He then moved his remaining leg to his right arm position.
The resulting figure was an odd, eerie puppet.
Instead of rushing forward, Ning Zhuo spent some time practicing, slowly adapting to his new form.
Half an hour later.
With one arm remaining, Ning Zhuo finally made it to the second door.
In a weakened state, his soul depleted from the rune-etched logs.
“Quickly… just a bit more!”
He urged himself on, stretching his hand to touch the door.
Another message came through.
Like before, there were three options.
First, a spirit stone.
Second, a mechanical component.
Third, a technique.
Nearly out of strength, Ning Zhuo hastily chose the technique.
And the next moment, he fell unconscious.