“Damn it, damn it!” A-Huo clenched his fists, feeling exceptionally frustrated.

His bamboo puppets not only had sound components but also incorporated his unique mechanism parts, each capable of self-detonation with considerable power. But now, he couldn’t control these bamboo puppets, watching helplessly as Ning Zhuo’s team cut through them like butter, rendering them useless. This left A-Huo, who had wanted to make a good showing, feeling utterly stifled.

Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppet team directly crushed Huo Nian’er’s small group and charged towards Zhang Dadan’s bamboo puppets. Zhang Dadan knew his disadvantage; unlike other cultivators of mechanism arts, his spiritual sense was heavy and difficult to control precisely. Thus, he played to his strengths, only releasing three heavy-armored giant bamboo puppets. These three large puppets appeared very clumsy when uncontrollable, standing still like pillars.

However, Zhang Dadan wasn’t too worried: “Even if I can’t control them temporarily, with such defense, they should be enough for you to chop for a while.”

The next moment, Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppet phalanx flowed like water, directly bypassing the three large bamboo puppets and continuing to press forward.

Zhang Dadan: “Uh—”

His plan had failed; Ning Zhuo had never intended to tangle with them from the start. Ning Zhuo had personally experienced two major battles and knew too well how crucial it was to seize opportunities. “At this moment, I need to inflict maximum damage, not get entangled with clumsy opponents. I must avoid such a waste of time.”

Ning Zhuo’s phalanx charged through, taking advantage of the opponents’ constrained movements to inflict several times more damage than they suffered, with visible results.

“Damn it!” Chen San was the first to regain his mobility. He gritted his teeth, fully driving his bamboo puppet team. His situation was somewhat awkward. Before the battle, he had already maneuvered his bamboo puppet squad to separate from the main force, attempting to circle behind Ning Zhuo’s team for an encirclement. But unexpectedly, facing such an enemy, Ning Zhuo didn’t choose to defend but directly attacked as a defense!

Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppet battle team was like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain; the beast horde under its claws could not withstand a single blow, with many wounded and dead. Chen San could only fully control his damaged team, rushing from the rear, but he couldn’t catch up to Ning Zhuo’s team, only watching helplessly as the sole enemy on the field, like a tiger, charged deep into their formation. This made the encirclement meaningless.

Chen San could only follow the opening Ning Zhuo had created and plunge in.

“Get out of the way!” Chen San yelled at Zhang Dadan.

Zhang Dadan returned a bitter smile.

The next moment, the onlookers saw a comical scene: Chen San’s bamboo puppet team crashed into the three heavy-armored giant bamboo puppets, many of his puppets falling to the ground, lightly damaged or completely shattered.

“Did he really practice mechanism arts with such control?”
“Compared to Ning Zhuo, the gap is too obvious.”
“He’s practically a clown!”

The crowd scoffed, some openly mocking Chen San with sharp sarcasm. Chen San’s face darkened, his eye twitching, crying out in his heart: “My performance is already very good. You know, I have never developed anything in sound control methods!”

As Chen San was desperately catching up, Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppet team encountered resistance for the first time. Jiang Xiaobian blew her flute with all her might, her face flushed. The flute sound was sharp, firmly holding its ground even under the cover of Ning Zhuo’s zither music. This led to her insect bamboo puppets also performing stubbornly. This strange team, composed of beetle shells, arm blades, and poisonous needles, showed a rigid yet pain-defying tenacity, full of aggression.

Bang! Bang!
Crack!—

The insect puppets fearlessly collided with Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppets. Arm blades sliced through the bamboo puppets’ green exteriors, poisonous needles cunningly struck the joints and other weak points of Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppets, even slowing Ning Zhuo’s own zither playing. This wasn’t due to external influence, but because the young man, Dàtóu, was delighted by the hunt, and seeing some peculiar mechanisms, a strong desire for exploration arose in him. He subconsciously paused his attack, wanting to observe the performance of these insect bamboo puppets.

As a result, his opponents all misunderstood.

“Good!”
“We still have a chance!!”
“Quickly adjust. Don’t waste energy on internal conflict, focus on Jiang Xiaobian!”
“Although Ning Zhuo is strong, this is just a bamboo puppet fight. If we work together, we still have great hope in this battle.”

This temporary alliance, under Ning Zhuo’s immense pressure, adjusted itself on the fly, becoming more organized with primary and secondary roles. This caused their individual sounds to quickly adjust, with Jiang Xiaobian, Chen San, Zhang Dadan, and others becoming the main force.

Jiang Xiaobian had never played her bamboo flute so fiercely, but she couldn’t break through, feeling her offensive was like a tide, yet the opponent was as solid as a rock.

“Chen San! Quick! Pincer attack!” Jiang Xiaobian’s eyes lit up when she saw Chen San’s team reaching Ning Zhuo’s rear, and she quickly sent a voice message. Chen San heard Jiang Xiaobian’s urgency and inwardly felt a chill, knowing that Jiang Xiaobian, though seemingly on the offensive, was actually exhausted and couldn’t sustain it for long.

“Ning Zhuo’s mechanism arts are truly strong. I admit that no one on our side is your match.”
“But precisely because of this, the current situation has been created.”
“The path of cultivation lies in struggle! Ning Zhuo, you are a first-class genius, but I am not. I must seize every opportunity possible.”
“For you, Qinghuangzi’s inheritance might be nothing. But for me, it is the greatest opportunity of my life!”

Chen San roared in his heart, going all out, controlling all his bamboo puppets to violently crash into the rear of Ning Zhuo’s team. Ning Zhuo’s team fell into a pincer attack! Seeing this situation, the onlookers inevitably grew nervous, as if Ning Zhuo’s defeat was imminent.

“Is it going to succeed?” Buting Sun nervously clenched his fists. He knew his strength was insufficient, so he simply stopped all his bamboo puppets at the rear. Only by first dealing with Ning Zhuo could he hope to control his own bamboo puppets and find some slim chance of victory in the subsequent competition.

Ning Zhuo’s face was calm. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he felt a hint of disappointment in his heart. “Is that all?” After observing for a moment, he saw no more novelty from the insect bamboo puppets.

Thus, the next moment, Ning Zhuo’s left hand, hovering in mid-air, finally ceased plucking one or two strings. Instead, it suddenly spread open, fingers like an eagle’s talons, and a shadow suddenly appeared, enveloping the zither strings!

Zheng zheng zheng zheng

Although still piercing, this sudden burst of zither music was now rhythmic, solemn, grand, and carried a strong battle intent of clashing weapons, iron and blood! Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppets, in that instant, seemed to come alive. They seemed to truly transform into a hundred-times-tested elite army!

The few seemingly “torn open” gaps instantly closed! Several insect bamboo puppets that had rushed in were like falling into a meat grinder’s vortex, rapidly annihilated. The inner circle of bamboo puppets staggered and twisted, their arms like spears, precisely thrusting at joints! The outer circle of bamboo puppets spun like wheels, creating whistling winds, fiercely knocking away the incoming insect puppets! Some bamboo puppets cunningly attacked the lower body, while others leaped high, like tigers pouncing on prey, fiercely eliminating Chen San’s bamboo puppets. The entire bamboo puppet phalanx transformed into a high-speed, precisely interlocking mechanism, a grinding disc!

No matter how tough the insect armor, how insidious and peculiar the poisonous needles and arm blades, no matter the attack from the rear with syringes and arm crossbows, once caught in this sound-driven killing battle array, they were like beans thrown into a millstone, utterly crushed!

Jiang Xiaobian and Chen San both widened their eyes, their pupils constricting sharply, their faces filled with shock. The onlookers roared, crying out in alarm.

“This—this is a battle array?”
“As easy as moving an arm! What incredible control technique!”
“Military battle array! He actually integrated the way of military battle arrays into mechanism control?!”

On the stone seat, Qinghuangzi straightened his hunched back, his cloudy old eyes gleaming with unprecedented brilliance. A moment ago, he was worried about Ning Zhuo, but now he was so excited he almost stood up. “Ning Zhuo has such strength, no wonder he is so confident.”

“Such a genius, able to inherit my master’s legacy, will surely carry it forward. This is truly heaven’s blessing upon me.” Qinghuangzi was astonished in his heart. He had anticipated Ning Zhuo’s mechanism proficiency, but he hadn’t expected the latter to also cultivate the military path, and his military proficiency was also very profound.

The shouts of the crowd subsided, turning into discussions about Ning Zhuo. “Ning Zhuo is so young, yet he has such mastery. He is indeed a genius; he has completely left all his opponents far behind.”
“Controlling dozens of bamboo puppets with one person’s strength, capable of executing such a subtle battle array—the top spot in this trial is already guaranteed!”

Everyone agreed that Ning Zhuo would undoubtedly be the top performer in this Xingyun Minor Trial. However, at this moment, Ning Zhuo looked up at Qinghuangzi. Qinghuangzi’s eyes narrowed, sensing Ning Zhuo’s eagerness to try. This ancient cultivator, at this moment, couldn’t help but feel a surge of heroic spirit: “This child, Ning Zhuo, is not satisfied, expecting a higher difficulty? If so, let me add more fuel to the fire!”

He flipped his withered palm, and a obsidian jade xiao appeared in his hand. Qinghuangzi brought the xiao to his lips, took a deep breath, and used his spiritual sense and magical power to play it with all his might!

Woo-weng!!!

The sound of the xiao suddenly erupted, instantly overpowering all other sounds. It directly targeted other musical tones, causing strong interference and distortion. Buting Sun, Jiang Xiaobian, Chen San, Zhang Dadan, and others turned pale, as if struck by a heavy blow. The difficulty of controlling the bamboo puppets soared several times, and the bamboo puppets on the field stumbled and swayed, some collapsing directly to the ground, others spinning madly in place!

Ning Zhuo’s precisely operating battle array, controlled as if by an arm, also suffered severe impact. All the bamboo puppets’ movements slowed down and became distorted.

“Qinghuangzi has made his move!”
“What kind of xiao is this? I feel even spiritual communication is difficult.”
“This must be the true test of this Xingyun Minor Trial, right?”

Ning Zhuo’s phalanx became chaotic, and the damage worsened. Although his opponents suffered even more losses, the situation was clearly more disadvantageous for Ning Zhuo. Because he couldn’t afford it. He was fighting alone against many, and every bamboo puppet was precious. In contrast, his opponents had abundant troops and large teams, capable of sustaining attrition. Moreover, there were those like Zhang Dadan, who only had three heavy-armored large bamboo puppets, making control inherently easier. In this situation, the large bamboo puppets pressed on Ning Zhuo’s team, like three heavy hammers, aiming to shatter Ning Zhuo’s phalanx.

Buting Sun was also going all out. His mechanism art was unique; he could patch things up, specializing in mending the wounded. Ning Zhuo’s opponents already had abundant troops, and with his full assistance, the wounded were pulled back up and immediately sent back into battle.

The onlookers saw Ning Zhuo being targeted and became somewhat dissatisfied. “What’s wrong with Qinghuangzi, playing favorites?”
“First, the rules allowed alliances, and then the xiao’s sound interfered. This is a bit too targeted at Ning Zhuo.”
“This is not fair at all!”

Ning Zhuo’s brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed. His calm expression changed for the first time, adding a hint of fighting spirit. In front of everyone, he slowly spoke, his voice not loud, but with magical power, making it clearly transmitted: “Only now does it get interesting.”

“It’s worth using both my hands.”

Chen San, Jiang Xiaobian, and others’ pupils suddenly constricted to pinpricks. Buting Sun’s music went completely off-key. Zhang Dadan’s heart also skipped a beat. The onlookers then realized: all this time, seemingly in a dangerous situation, Ning Zhuo had only used his left hand. Now, both his wrists hovered in the air, his bamboo-like fingers resting on the guzheng.

Qiang qiang qiang qiang—

Ning Zhuo’s hands swept and rolled across the zither strings like a raging storm! The guzheng erupted with unprecedented sound, shrill, violent, like a roar. The sound was撕裂 (sīliè, tearing apart), yet penetrating, filled with extreme battle intent. The zither music directly overwhelmed the entire field, even eclipsing Qinghuangzi’s xiao music.

Qinghuangzi’s fingers holding the xiao trembled slightly, his eyes filled with an unbelievable, pleasant surprise! “This child’s musical skill is so solid and profound; how old is he? It’s as if he’s my age. If I only exerted my Foundation Establishment level strength, I would be suppressed by him!”

Accompanied by the guzheng music that overwhelmed the entire field, Ning Zhuo’s puppet figures were like fierce tigers breaking free from their shackles, their formation flowing unimpeded once again! Crushing, absolute crushing. Devastating! Truly devastating!

A few breaths later, on the stone platform, only Ning Zhuo’s puppet figures remained. They still stood in strict formation, silently. All the other puppets had been reduced to scattered debris and fragments on the ground!

The dust settled. Only the last mournful lingering sound of the guzheng echoed in the sky and in everyone’s hearts for a long time.

After a moment of silence, Qinghuangzi broke it, asking Ning Zhuo, “What guzheng technique are you using?”

Ning Zhuo bowed respectfully and said loudly, “Senior Qinghuangzi, this is the ‘Dawn Dispelling Demons’ score. My ambition is to glorify the righteous path, slay evil and dispel demons. The tearing sound of the zither kills all evil, even if there is darkness, it will be torn apart and pierced through. If there is a long night, I am the dawn!”

The white-robed youth stood tall and spoke with conviction.

“Good, good a ‘Dawn’ indeed.” Qinghuangzi finally stood up, moved. His gaze was fiery, looking at Ning Zhuo, filled with admiration for this junior. “You are the top performer in this Xingyun Minor Trial!”

“My master’s inheritance, for you to inherit, is most fitting.”

Ning Zhuo’s face broke into a smile, and he said loudly, “Thank you, Senior!”

Buting Sun, Chen San, Jiang Xiaobian, Zhang Dadan, A-Huo, and others had ashen faces, without any objections. The large pile of shattered puppet fragments on the stone platform best reflected the deep sense of powerlessness in their hearts at that moment.

The crowd who had come to observe, initially with curiosity and doubt about Ning Zhuo, now having witnessed this minor trial with their own eyes, were left with only conviction and shock.

“This—this is simply crushing!”
“Indeed, even with Qinghuangzi helping so much, he still couldn’t suppress Ning Zhuo.”
“Continuing this Xingyun Trial further would be meaningless. Ning Zhuo is too brilliant; Qinghuangzi’s decision is wise.”