Chapter 55 Continuing the Fight

The intra-family martial trial relies on combat against combat puppets, largely eliminating the possibility of fatal infighting among relatives while successfully serving to motivate the younger generation—a method highly approved of by the clan elders.

These combat puppets are merely of a lower grade, possessing strength roughly equivalent to that of spirit-refining practitioners.

The puppet on the first tier possessed strength matching a practitioner who had undergone spirit-refining six times. Despite launching a sudden strike, it still failed to pose any threat to Qin Liang.

With wind stirring beneath his soles, he dodged the lethal blade in a flash and delivered a palm strike directly at the puppet.

Bang!

With a deafening crash, the bulky combat puppet was sent flying, slamming into the wall, the spiritual radiance upon its body instantly dimming.

Qin Liang successfully cleared the first tier. Seeing the door of the sparring chamber open, he proceeded to the second tier.

Among the younger generation of the Jiang family, nearly a hundred possessed strength at the sixth level of spirit-refining. Most of them found the first tier quite manageable and cleared it within moments, leaving only a small fraction still locked in fierce combat with their puppets.

"Qin Liang, I advise you to save your breath. There is only one spot available, and that Tier 2 spiritual medicine belongs to me."

While heading toward the second tier, Li Hongcai spotted Qin Liang in the corridor and immediately sneered.

"A defeated opponent dares to run his mouth here."

Qin Liang brushed past him, leaving behind a single sentence that tore open Li Hongcai's old wounds, making the latter's expression turn even more grim.

The second tier also consisted of sparring chambers.

Everyone faced puppets of equal strength—specifically, combat puppets equivalent to practitioners who had undergone spirit-refining seven times. Radiating spiritual light and wielding gleaming, cold iron sabers, they resembled generals clad in battle armor.

Many youths who had only reached the sixth level of spirit-refining began to suffer setbacks on this tier, their cries echoing continuously.

Bang, bang, bang...

Clash sounds of intense combat resonated within the sparring chambers, sword edges grinding against one another and throwing off blinding sparks.

"No, I quit!"

Unable to withstand the pressure any longer, someone cried out in a loud voice.

Upon hearing the word "quit," the combat puppet genuinely ceased its attacks automatically, shuffling sluggishly back into a corner.

The sparring chamber doors opened, and several sixth-level spirit-refiners staggered out, supporting themselves against the walls in a disheveled state.

Some refused to quit out of sheer unwillingness, fighting to the point of severe injury and coughing up mouthfuls of blood before finally forcing themselves to utter those two words.

"Look quickly, Cousin Li Ming has come out... How... how is he injured this badly?"

Those waiting outside kept peering toward the entrance of the sparring pavilion. Soon, people were seen emerging—some stumbling out while supporting one another, others carried out directly, their injuries varying in severity.

"You little brats, let's see if you dare slack off during training ever again."

Several clan elders rushed forward to inspect them. Discovering that none of their lives were in mortal danger, their tones abruptly turned icy.

***

On the second tier, Qin Liang entered his sparring chamber.

Facing a combat puppet comparable to a seventh-level spirit-refiner, he decisively unleashed the Three-Confluence Fist, shattering the puppet to pieces with a single punch. Spiritual light splattered everywhere, and various internal components scattered across the floor.

Such low-grade combat puppets were abundant in the Jiang family, with quite a few damaged and discarded every year.

Not just Qin Liang, but others as well; accidental destruction of puppets while clearing the initial tiers was a common sight.

Walking toward the stairway leading to the third tier, Qin Liang noticed that very few people had managed to pass the second tier.

Almost all the sixth-level spirit-refiners had been stopped in their tracks at the second tier, while only a small handful of seventh-level spirit-refiners had cleared the trial, continuing onward to the third tier bearing injuries of varying degrees.

Meanwhile, the combat puppets inside the sparring chambers on the third tier were all equivalent to eighth-level spirit-refiners. Each was fully armored and heavily armed, looking imposing and extraordinary, executing their attacks completely devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

They resembled dead-men warriors on a battlefield, cold and ruthless.

"I quit!"

Some seventh-level spirit-refiners were injured so severely that the moment they caught sight of the puppet, their legs turned to jelly and they decisively chose to quit. Had they hesitated even a fraction of a second in shouting those words, they would have lost their lives.

Those seventh-level spirit-refiners who sustained minor injuries managed to exchange several blows with the puppet, but ultimately proved no match. Unwillingly, they shouted the two forbidden words before fainting outright and being carried out of the sparring pavilion.

Even Feng Yi was forced to regretfully withdraw.

It was not that he lacked strength, but facing these ruthless puppets with his seventh-tier spirit-refining cultivation genuinely unnerved him.

"Qin Liang, I advise you to quit early, lest you end up being carried out and making a fool of yourself."

Li Hongcai sneered repeatedly. "Even though you defeated me before, these combat puppets are far stronger than cultivators of the same tier. After all, you're merely at the sixth level of spirit-refining; you'd better know your own limits."

Barely having stepped onto the third tier, Qin Liang was greeted by these very words.

Glancing sideways at Li Hongcai, Qin Liang calmly replied, "Since you knew these puppets were stronger than you and yet failed to quit, why should I?"

"You—" Li Hongcai was left completely speechless by the retort, choking on his own impotent fury.

"Little Liang, pay him no mind. Let's continue our fight." Jiang Yulong reached out, resting a hand on Qin Liang's shoulder.

Entering the third-tier sparring chamber, facing an even more formidable puppet, Qin Liang took the initiative and launched the attack.

The second frenzy of the Berserk Beast Physique: Lion-Tiger Frenzy.

The moment the fight began, Qin Liang activated his secret technique to enter a berserk state. Spiritual light surged across his entire body, instantly augmenting his strength and speed. He clenched his hands into tight fists, resembling two blazing suns, and rained frantic blows forward.

Swish, swish, swish...

The puppet moved with incredible velocity, executing a rapid succession of sword slashes. The blade light sliced through the void like successive crescents of brilliant silver moon.

"Roar!"

A deafening tiger roar erupted. Qin Liang seemed to transform into a savage beast, combining his assault with the might of the Four-Confluence Fist.

***

The fist momentum, carrying scorching, intense heat, collided with the blade light and shattered it to pieces. Simultaneously, his figure flickered to the side of the puppet, sweeping out with a dark cyan whip-kick resembling the tail-swipe of an Azure Flood Dragon.

Bang!

A thunderous roar echoed through the sparring chamber. Qin Liang was driven backward several paces, his complexion turning slightly pale.

"As expected of a puppet comparable to an eighth-level spirit-refiner, its defense is truly formidable."

Qin Liang felt a surge of astonishment. The armor worn by the heavily armed puppet possessed astonishing defensive properties. With his current strength, even when utilizing the Berserk Beast Physique, he could only manage a dead-even stalemate regarding defense.

To breach the puppet's defenses, his only option was to land the Four-Confluence Fist squarely upon its physical body.

Seeing the puppet charge at him once more, Qin Liang decisively utilized wind-movement techniques to dart away, slamming a palm directly onto the long saber.

With a sharp metallic clanging sound, the puppet's weapon was finally blasted out of its grasp by Qin Liang. Seizing this golden opportunity, he swiftly followed up with his fist momentum, causing the whistling sound of rushing wind to continuously howl throughout the sparring chamber.

Fortunately, the surrounding walls were custom-built from refined iron, allowing them to withstand the ceaselessly reverberating terrifying shockwaves.

Robbed of its saber, the puppet continued to fight using its bare fists.

Its fists were far harder than those of an ordinary human, but in his berserk state, Qin Liang's physical body was reinforced, and his strikes were no less formidable. The two engaged in a brutal, flesh-against-metal slugfest, making Qin Liang momentarily forget all sensation of pain.

Boom!

Finally, seizing an opening, Qin Liang unleashed the Four-Confluence Fist once again.

A towering phantom of a fierce tiger, cloaked in a fiery outer garment, charged forward and slammed directly into the puppet's chest, blasting it backward.

Though this blow failed to shatter the puppet outright, the hidden internal force penetrated its body, smashing its vital internal components and rendering it incapable of further combat. Had an ordinary eighth-level spirit-refiner taken that punch head-on, they would likely have suffered severe injuries as well.

"With my current cultivation level, I恐怕 can no longer afford to use the Four-Confluence Fist repeatedly."

Qin Liang gasped heavily for breath, his expression turning grave.

The stamina drain of the Four-Confluence Fist was simply too immense. Having deployed it four or five times in rapid succession, he was beginning to reach his limit.

Yet they had only reached the third tier, and time afforded him no luxury of rest.

He needed to ascend to the fifth tier in the shortest time possible and clear its trial to secure the reward of the Tier 2 spiritual medicine—his sole remaining hope for attempting the seventh spirit-refining breakthrough at present.

In truth, the pressure Qin Liang felt stemmed primarily from Jiang Yulong. After all, the latter was a ninth-level spirit-refiner. Though they were sworn brothers, this was a martial trial, and he trusted that Jiang Yulong would not throw the match.

"Having tangled with this puppet for so long on this tier, Big Brother Yulong is likely already on the fourth tier."

Dragging his fatigued body out of the sparring chamber, Qin Liang strode with firm determination toward the entrance of the fourth tier.