A gigantic mechanical ape stood before Ning Zhuo.
The ape was at least four or five times the height of Ning Zhuo’s puppet form.
Its body was immensely robust, with arms thick enough to rival the puppet’s torso.
Yet, the ape was not cumbersome in the slightest.
With a light push, it opened the first door and ducked to step inside.
The doorway’s height barely reached its waistline.
As it moved forward, the mechanisms activated, and the thousand-pound hammer stand came crashing down upon it.
The mechanical ape didn’t even look up, extending an arm upward to intercept.
Simultaneously, it straightened, its imposing form rising like a towering peak!
As its muscular arm met the hammer, it didn’t confront it head-on.
Instead, it skillfully redirected the force, guiding the hammer’s trajectory off course.
Bang!
The thousand-pound hammer stand was easily deflected by the ape’s arms, smashing into the wall beside it.
The mechanical ape’s stance remained calm and unshaken.
Since entering the room, it had barely moved, standing upright without shifting an inch.
Having neutralized the trap, the ape examined its arm.
Had it resisted the hammer with brute force, its wooden limb would have shattered.
But now, only a few slight cracks had appeared.
"Using finesse to shift great force!"
Ning Zhuo observed, instantly realizing that the mechanical ape’s close-combat skills likely surpassed even those of the martial puppets.
The previous move, light and graceful yet potent, embodied a refined elegance and beauty of strength.
The mechanical ape continued forward.
Thump.
Another mechanism triggered, releasing a golden silk net that swept up from below to ensnare it.
The ape sprang lightly, extending its arms and precisely gripping the edges of the golden silk net.
In midair, it executed a backward spin.
Its massive body landed with only a faint sound.
The golden silk net, torn by the ape, now draped over its shoulders like a protective cloak!
Ning Zhuo watched in awe.
"This is surely the work of a martial arts master!"
The ape’s movements flowed like water, effortlessly turning threats to its advantage.
Its strength was considerable, easily tearing the net’s cords, yet its control over that power was remarkably precise.
Next, Ning Zhuo saw the mechanical ape break through each challenge swiftly, its speed outpacing even the retreating floor tiles.
Amid a barrage of horizontal logs, the ape’s arms struck out, sometimes smashing logs like heavy hammers, sometimes piercing through obstacles like a spear.
At times, it leapt nimbly, light on its feet.
At other times, it stood its ground like a sturdy pillar.
With every step, it shattered activated traps, advancing like a graceful yet unstoppable mechanical bulldozer.
Reaching the second door, it paused thoughtfully.
After a few breaths, it chose spiritual stones as its reward.
Seeing this, Ning Zhuo’s mind stirred. "With a body of this size, it must consume substantial spiritual power. Spiritual stones are essential."
After observing, Ning Zhuo reset the monitoring mechanism components in a corner.
He quickly moved to Room Three.
The sight in Room Three stunned him again.
The thirty or forty martial puppets lay scattered, many severely damaged, some entirely dismantled.
In the forty or fifty days Ning Zhuo had spent entering and exiting the Lava Immortal Palace, he had never seen martial puppets damaged like this before!
Ning Zhuo retrieved the surveillance mechanism, watching in silence.
Upon reaching Room Three, the mechanical ape had been besieged by numerous martial puppets.
Though the ape’s large form and formidable skills seemed disadvantageous due to its limited limbs, Ning Zhuo now understood the meaning of “a martial master can turn any part of their body into a weapon”!
In Room Three, the mechanical ape rolled, leaped, crouched, using not only fists and feet but elbows, head, chest, back, even tail and hips as weapons.
Its sweeping arms sent puppets flying.
Its elbow, sharp as an awl, pierced through a puppet’s chest.
A headbutt launched a puppet to the ceiling.
When it fell, the ape’s tail whipped like a lash, striking it away and toppling several others in the process.
The mechanical ape spun through the room like a whirlwind.
One puppet after another charged forward, only to be flung back in defeat.
When the ape finally stood still at the center of the room, all the martial puppets lay on the floor, even the yellow lights in their eyes dimming.
Ning Zhuo had a sudden revelation: "I think I understand now."
"This is the proper way to clear Room Three!"
"Using martial arts to fight breaks the martial puppets. Using spells to take shortcuts results in a strict prohibition on damaging puppets."
"This mechanical ape’s martial skill is astonishing!"
Ning Zhuo sighed in admiration.
He had always cleared Room Three using spells to find loopholes.
With extensive experience in spells gained through weekly ranking rewards, he had mastered numerous techniques.
"If I were to fight it, I’d have to maintain distance and rely on ranged spells to stand a chance."
"In close combat, I wouldn’t have any chance at all!"
There are times when qi-refining cultivators in the early stages have been killed by mortal martial masters. Such cases are not unheard of.
Watching the mechanical ape select spiritual stones and leave Room Three, Ning Zhuo quickly reset the surveillance components and followed.
The preparation room was empty aside from himself.
This both relieved and alarmed Ning Zhuo.
On the one hand, he didn’t need to fight in the confined space of the preparation room; on the other, it meant the mechanical ape had already passed through, advancing even further.
Retrieving the surveillance components, Ning Zhuo saw that the ape had circled the room several times, examining each mechanism base and even picking up some crafting tools before putting them down again.
Finally, the mechanical ape stopped before the five stone pillars of the ranking board, studying it for some time.
Ning Zhuo sighed in relief as the ape didn’t channel spiritual energy into the stone pillars, thus avoiding the trial disciple’s mark.
Ning Zhuo stepped up to the five stone pillars.
What he saw shook him.
He was now only ranked first on four of the boards, with one ranking knocked down to second place.
"My qi-refining rank is tied for first, but my essence-refining rank dropped behind. I’ve reached the third layer in essence refining!"
"What’s going on?"
The mechanical ape clearly had some hidden advantage, as it had long begun cultivating the Demonic Blood Vein Technique!
"Yuan Dasheng?" Ning Zhuo stared at the ape’s name, deep in thought.
"This mechanical ape is evidently a non-human demon cultivator."
"Its expertise in martial arts and its behavior in the preparation room indicate intelligence far beyond ordinary."
"It has a name, and this name feels familiar..."
A myriad of questions filled Ning Zhuo’s mind.
How had this demon cultivator named Yuan Dasheng acquired the Demonic Blood Vein Technique so early?
Did it live within Fire Persimmon Immortal City?
Initially, Ning Zhuo suspected the mechanical ape might be a Fire Fusion Demon Ape from the volcano.
However, his later discoveries dispelled this notion.
"Where have I heard this name before?"