Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 207 Crushing the Inner Court's Number One Puppet Master
"This kid actually mastered Senior Qin's Five Elements Profound Yang Sword, how did he do that?"

As Zhou Ling stored the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword into his storage bag like a wisp of fiery cloud, Dean Zhong exclaimed in surprise.

Even though he was already used to the surprises Zhou Ling brought, he was still shocked.

"The Five Elements Profound Yang Sword has been in the Sword Forest for over two hundred years, and no inner court disciple has ever been able to acquire it."

"But this kid has only been in the inner courtyard for a short time, and he's already taken him in!"

Supervisor Zhang also gaped, his eyes filled with disbelief.

It should be noted that this Five Elements Profound Yang Sword is a third-tier treasure sword.

It contains a wisp of the power of rules from when Qin Haoran underwent the Golden Core Tribulation.

This is something that many cultivators in the Daoist temple are aware of.

Every year, many disciples attempt to acquire this Five Elements Profound Yang Sword.

But even those with sword bodies, or even second-level sword dao disciples, have never succeeded.

But now, it has been quietly taken into Zhou Ling's possession.

How could they not be surprised!

The other judges were also somewhat lost in thought, staring at Zhou Ling with shocked expressions.

"Not only did he take the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword, but he also displayed the sword intent contained within it so vividly. Could it be that he has already mastered Senior Qin's power of rule?"

An expression of disbelief appeared on Instructor Lin's handsome face.

He sighed inwardly, wondering why he hadn't taken Zhou Ling as his disciple back then!

"This kid, I didn't expect that he could suppress the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword with only the first level of Foundation Establishment. He is truly an unparalleled sword genius!"

"I hope that after Senior Qin, Zhou Ling will become another sword genius of our Xuan Yuan Academy!"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing how far he can go in this competition."

Dean Zhong said with a hearty smile.

In every battle, Zhou Ling manages to bring him different surprises.

However, none of the opponents in the next round of 32 will be easy to deal with.

These are the elite of the inner court.

Moreover, they had all been immersed in the Taoist temple for many years, possessing profound magical power and refined cultivation.

It won't be easy for Zhou Ling to defeat them.

"Sigh, I thought it would be quite an achievement for him to even make it into the top sixteen! But now it's hard to say!"

Supervisor Zhang shook his head helplessly.

He can't help but doubt his own judgment now.

Normally, even if Zhou Ling is a Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment cultivator...

However, he was only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, while he was mostly encountering disciples at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

They have no advantage in terms of either cultivation level or combat experience.

Looking at both matches, Zhou Ling seemed to win quite easily.

This battle was resolved with just two sword strikes, forcing Lu Li, who was already capable of drawing second-tier high-grade runes, to admit defeat.

It's really unexpected.

Dean Zhong's description of him as an unparalleled genius in swordsmanship is truly apt.

Just as the judges were stunned by his performance, Zhou Ling also arrived at the rest area.

"Boss, you're amazing!"

Sun Dajie stared wide-eyed, his face displaying an exaggerated expression.

Even the other disciples in the rest area looked at him with disbelief.

"well enough!"

Zhou Ling was also somewhat surprised; had she performed that well?

In the battle just now, I was only at about 70% of my strength.

It seems this is due to the power of the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword.

Zhou Ling pondered this in his heart.

Not far away, several disciples were also watching Zhou Ling and discussing among themselves.

"I never expected that he would be able to take the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword. He is indeed a peerless genius. Only someone like him is worthy of Senior Qin's Five Elements Profound Yang Sword!"

A burly young man remarked.

A few months ago, he tried to take control of the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword, but he couldn't suppress the fiery sword intent within it at all.

He looked at Zhou Ling with a glint of light in his eyes, filled with fighting spirit.

"Senior Brother Cang, what are your chances of success if you fight him?"

A young man with fair skin, slightly narrowed eyes, and extremely bright eyes asked from the side.

The burly man looked at Zhou Ling, shook his head, and said in a deep voice, "It's hard to say. If he has mastered the wisp of rule power of the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword, it won't be so easy for me to defeat him."

Upon hearing this, the man beside him looked surprised and said, "Senior Brother Cang, who doesn't know that you have already reached the second level of swordsmanship? There are probably no more than a handful of people in the inner academy who can be your opponents."

"This kid has only just entered the inner courtyard, is he really that strong?"

Senior Brother Cang said calmly, "How old is this kid? With his talent and cultivation, it's only a matter of time before he surpasses me!"

Hearing that even the senior disciple of the Sword Forging Department treated Zhou Ling with such caution, the other disciples also became more cautious in their gazes towards Zhou Ling.

······.

"Boss! Tomorrow your opponent is Yuan Shi. He is an unparalleled genius of our puppet lineage and the number one puppeteer in the inner academy."

"I also participated in the competition last year and ranked sixth in the end."

"We are already able to refine second-tier high-grade puppets."

"Moreover, his spiritual cultivation is quite high, and he can now control two second-tier high-grade puppets at the same time!"

Back at the hermitage, Sun Dajie introduced it to Zhou Ling.

Now that most of his wealth is tied up in Zhou Ling's hands, he definitely needs to make sure this information service is in place.

If Zhou Ling can make it into the top eight, then this is a huge win.

With Zhou Ling's amazing performance in the two matches today, the odds of him advancing to the quarterfinals are now 1 to 4.

This proves that quite a few people are now starting to have a positive view of Zhou Ling.

However, the next person we'll encounter, Senior Brother Yuan Shi, will be a tough opponent!

After all, he can control two second-tier high-grade puppets at the same time.

This is equivalent to facing attacks from two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators simultaneously, and the puppets, fearless and ruthless, display even greater combat power.

"A second-tier high-grade puppeteer!" Zhou Ling said with a smile.

He now possesses five mid-grade second-tier Five Elements puppets, and he can control them simultaneously to form a Five Elements Puppet Array for attack.

Tomorrow will be a good day to test the combat power of this Five Elements Puppet Formation.

He wasn't afraid of puppets at all.

Zhou Ling pondered this in his heart.

Even when fighting with puppets, he can now crush most of the inner court disciples.

However, considering that these five mid-grade second-tier puppets are not cheap to produce, it would be a bit of a waste if they were damaged in battle!
In addition, it also consumes mid-grade spirit stones, which is also a considerable expense.

They then added more wine for Sun Dajie, and the two of them drank while taking out the commemorative jade from the other matches of the day to watch.

Zhou Ling was more focused on the top-ranked disciples.

By observing the sword techniques and runes displayed on the image jade, one can roughly estimate their actual combat strength under the [Intermediate Observation] and [Intermediate Analysis] levels.

Even his weaknesses and shortcomings will be extremely advantageous when he encounters these opponents in the future.

······.

The next day.

The square was packed with people.

The competition among the top 32 attracted a large number of disciples to watch.

Many of them were also disciples from the outer academy.

Several geniuses from the same year as Zhou Ling, such as Du Yu and Ye Zhilan, also came.

Although they had long been able to establish their foundation, they were unwilling to continue at that stage.

Everyone is waiting to compete for the Heavenly Grade Foundation Establishment Pill next year so they can establish their foundation.

From the moment they entered the academy, despite their reputation as geniuses, they were constantly suppressed by Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling always came in first place in every competition, and he even won the Heavenly Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

Now, Zhou Ling has entered the inner courtyard and is performing even more impressively. Not only did he demonstrate astonishing combat power in this practical competition, but he even acquired the peerless sword Five Elements Profound Yang Sword from the Sword Forest.

This left them all feeling quite emotional.

He had originally hoped that after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he would be able to leave Zhou Ling behind, but now it seems that the gap between them is widening.

Even though they are all rare geniuses, they all feel powerless to catch up with Zhou Ling now.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, the competition among the top 32 began in the morning.

"Being able to take the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword suggests you're quite powerful, but against my puppet, I advise you to just admit defeat!"

On the competition platform where Zhou Ling was, a slender young man opposite him glanced at Zhou Ling and said seriously.

"I'd love to see Senior Brother Xia Yuan's puppet!"

Zhou Ling smiled.

"Alright, then so be it!"

As soon as Yuan Shi finished speaking, he immediately began chanting the incantation.

Immediately afterwards, a loud bang was heard.

A huge black shadow descended from the sky and landed on the ground, causing the entire arena to tremble violently.

Its power and influence were extremely frightening.

Zhou Ling's gaze swept across the area, and he saw a huge blood-red spider, its body reaching three zhang in length.

The eight blood-red claws gleamed with a cold light.

As a puppeteer, even without the aid of [Intermediate Observation], Zhou Ling could tell that the giant claws of the blood-red spider had been modified.

Each giant claw was like a sharp sword, gleaming with an astonishingly cold light.

This is one of the two second-tier high-grade puppets of Yuan Shi, the Crimson Spider.

It was crafted from the intact body of a second-tier blood-red spider.

Its body shimmered with golden light, clearly indicating that it had been modified by golden silkworm silk, greatly enhancing the blood-red spider's defensive capabilities.

This puppetry technique impressed Zhou Ling greatly!
"Junior Brother Zhou, are you scared? But I still have more!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another loud bang.

Another puppet fell to the ground; this time it was a black-armored swordsman puppet.

Its entire body shone with mysterious light, and its power was no less than that of the blood-red spider puppet.

"Well, it's not too late for you to admit defeat now!"

Yuan Shi chuckled as he spoke.

Zhou Ling looked at the two puppets and shook his head.

"Sigh, I originally thought that with the Five Elements Profound Yang Sword, Zhou Ling should be able to enter the top eight, but unfortunately he encountered Yuan Shi."

“Yuan Shi participated in the competition of the four major academies last year. Although he did not make it into the top sixteen, his strength was amazing.”

"He's improved quite a bit this year; Zhou Ling might not be a match for him!"

On the judges' panel, Instructor Lin said with some regret.

"Indeed! With two second-tier high-grade puppets, none of the disciples present would have a guaranteed victory against them."

"Moreover, these two puppets were specially crafted by Yuan Shi for this competition. Not only are their attacks powerful, but their defenses have also reached the level of the second-tier top grade!"

Dean Zhong nodded and said.

"Huh, Zhou Ling is actually a puppeteer too!"

As his gaze swept across the competition stage, Dean Zhong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

On the dueling platform, Zhou Ling smiled and said, "Then I'll see the combat power of the inner academy's number one puppeteer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of soft popping sounds came from in front of him.

He summoned five puppets directly.

Five Elements Attribute Puppets!
Of course, unlike the puppets of Yuan Shi, he controlled these five Five Elements puppets with the help of a Five Elements magic array.

"What? You're a puppeteer too?"

"You're planning to control five puppets at once?"

"Are you crazy?"

Looking at Zhou Ling's five swordsman puppets with different attributes, Yuan Shi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his face full of shock.

All he knew was that Zhou Ling was a weapon refiner and sword cultivator, and that his sword cultivation had reached the second realm.

But I've never heard of Zhou Ling being a puppeteer.

Moreover, controlling five mid-grade second-tier puppets at once was completely beyond his expectations.

It's important to know that controlling a puppet requires extremely powerful spiritual energy.

His current mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level, coupled with his mastery of a high-grade soul-cultivating technique, allows him to simultaneously control two second-tier high-grade puppets.

But Zhou Ling actually wanted to control five second-tier mid-grade puppets at once.

If that's the case, then his spiritual power is far superior to his.

But I can't think about that now.

He could only chant incantations to control the two puppets as they charged towards Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling also chanted an incantation, activating the Five Elements Puppet Array. He controlled five puppets, condensing them into an array to surround the opponent's two puppets.

The power of the "Five Elements Puppet Formation" lies in the fact that Zhou Ling modified it in conjunction with the Five Elements Sword Formation.

The five elements of sword intent are mutually restraining and mutually generating, endlessly regenerating.

Attacks primarily utilize metal and fire elemental sword energy, while defense relies on earth and water elements, and wood elemental energy increases the formation's recovery.

It can be described as the most versatile and enduring formation in all aspects.

Moreover, under the control of Zhou Ling's powerful divine sense, the Five Elements Puppet Array became even more flexible and unpredictable.

Even those in the late Foundation Establishment stage might not be able to control five second-tier puppets like this.

Zhou Ling's strength mainly stems from his powerful divine sense, coupled with his innate talent, which enhances his divine sense while consuming far less energy than other puppeteers.

Rumble!
In an instant, bursts of energy shot into the sky.

Fire splattered.

The Five Elements Swordsman Puppet unleashed a vast net of swords, while the Crimson Spider swung its blood claws incessantly.

The armored swordsman also swung his sword, launching a series of attacks.

Both sides are giving it their all.

Although they are all puppets, their bodies are extremely agile, and even sword cultivators cannot tell the difference between their sword attacks.

With swift movements and a whooshing sound of sword energy!
The Crimson Spider and the Armored Swordsman formed a pincer movement, constantly charging forward in an attempt to break through the Five Elements Sword Formation.

However, the five elemental swordsman puppets cooperated perfectly, as if they were living people, and the sword formation they formed was watertight.

Wave after wave of sword nets surrounded the other two puppets, giving them no chance to break through.

Seeing this battle of puppets, the disciples watching from below the arena couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

No one expected that Zhou Ling, who was originally known for his swordsmanship, would now fight to a standstill with the top puppeteer in the inner academy using puppets.

Moreover, Zhou Ling actually controlled far more puppets than Yuan Shi.

Such powerful spiritual energy is astonishing.

Moreover, he was controlling the Five Elements Puppet Array, which clearly demonstrated a level of strength superior to Yuan Shi's control of two second-tier high-grade puppets.

Even the six judges on the panel were speechless with shock at the sight.

The arena was filled with the light of swords, resembling a battlefield with thousands of troops.

No one expected that Zhou Ling would have such powerful puppet control abilities.

Just as everyone was in shock, Zhou Ling chanted the incantation again.

Another second-tier puppet flew out of his storage ring.

This is a second-tier flying beast puppet. With a flick of its wings, it instantly pounced towards the Yuan Stone.

"this?"

"You can actually control six second-tier puppets!"

Seeing the puppet flying towards him, Yuan Shi almost vomited blood in anger.

His divine sense could only control two second-tier high-grade puppets, and he was now completely powerless to control any others.

The two puppets were surrounded and unable to provide immediate support.

Faced with the puppet's attack, he had no other choice but to admit defeat!

(End of this chapter)