Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

The Puppetry Department has a traditional competition called Puppet Fighting, held every three years. Liu Xing was so eager to personally refine a Foundation Establishment puppet because he wanted to register for this year's Puppet Fighting Competition. The Puppet Competition was held in the Arena Area, and registration was open today, so Liu Xing arrived early.

"Senior brother, I want to sign up for the Puppet Competition." Liu Xing took out his identity token and said to the late Foundation Establishment stage deacon at the registration office.

"Oh, isn't this the famous Senior Brother Liu? You personally refined a Foundation Establishment puppet?" The deacon clearly recognized Liu Xing. Liu Xing was practically a celebrity within the sect, and few of his peers didn't know him.

"Yes, please look, senior brother." Liu Xing said excitedly, took out his level 2 Green Wolf, and after installing the spirit stone, it really exuded the strength of a level 2 demon beast.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Liu, for a major breakthrough in the art of puppetry!" The deacon was stunned, filled with admiration for Liu Xing. Liu Xing had only been studying at the Puppetry Department for a little over three years, yet he had already crafted such a powerful puppet. Remember, he was only practicing puppetry as a sideline. His colleagues in the Puppetry Department had been studying for decades, and only a few could create puppets of comparable strength. This showed just how powerful Liu Xing was.

"Brother, you are too kind. This thing of mine is still very rough and has many shortcomings. Brother, can I sign up for the competition?" Liu Xing said modestly and changed the topic to the competition registration.

"Of course, I'll register you right away." The deacon immediately registered his name.

Three days later, the puppet competition officially began. Those who signed up were essentially Foundation Establishment puppeteers, with the vast majority in the early stages, a few in the middle stages, and no one yet capable of crafting a late-stage puppet. Foundation Establishment cultivators, such as Yue Qianjun, were considered both virtuous and academically excellent, yet they could only craft Qi Refining puppets. This demonstrates the difficulty of crafting Foundation Establishment puppets, as only those in the late stages possessed the skill to do so.

In today's first elimination round, Liu Xing faced a plump senior sister who had crafted a tiger puppet. With a roar, the puppet's majesty and vividness came to life. Her craftsmanship was exquisite, demonstrating her mastery of puppetry. In comparison, Liu Xing's blue wolf looked a bit crude. But appearance wasn't important; strength was paramount. The competition focused on speed, attack power, and defense.

The first competition was the 100-meter race. As soon as the referee called the start signal, the wolf and the tiger charged forward with all their might. The puppets were all controlled by the contestants themselves. Liu Xing's powerful spiritual awareness made it easy to control them, but the puppets themselves were not very powerful, so he lost a step in the speed competition.

"Junior Brother Liu, your wolf cub is no good. Do you want me to teach you?" The fat senior sister said as she cast a coquettish glance at Liu Xing and lifted her long hair. Liu Xing got goosebumps all over his body and quickly moved to the side, away from her.

Next came a test of attack and defense, a head-on battle, to be fought until one side was rendered incapable of fighting or conceded defeat. The tiger puppet, with a majestic roar, charged forward. The blue wolf, undeterred, charged head-on, the two beasts colliding and sending each tumbling backward. The blue wolf quickly regained its footing, tossing its head and unleashing a crescent-shaped scimitar emanating from spiritual energy. The tiger puppet, reacting quickly, roared, its sound condensing into a wave of energy that collided with the scimitar, dissipating the two forces randomly. Thus, the two beasts engaged in a relentless back-and-forth. Liu Xing's spiritual awareness was more powerful, giving him superior control, but his weaknesses were also evident: the precision of his puppets wasn't perfect, and the energy flow wasn't particularly smooth. As he battled, he constantly analyzed his experiences, gaining valuable experience and developing numerous improvements. The battle raged fiercely, but in terms of strength, the blue wolf was no match for the tiger. It’s just that Liu Xing has very strong combat experience and combat awareness. He has witnessed the battles between these monsters with his own eyes, so he was able to use his experience to control the blue wolf to defeat the tiger puppet.

"Hmph, you won, are you satisfied?" The fat senior sister said angrily and put away her tiger puppet.

"Senior Sister, thank you for your kindness." Liu Xing said modestly, put away his blue wolf, and left in a hurry. He had just gained a lot of insights from the battle and had to go back immediately to make improvements.

"Hmph, you're walking so fast, are you afraid that I'll eat you?" said the fat senior sister angrily.

Arriving at the temporary cave, Liu Xing immediately set to work refining the puppet. There was a slight hiccup in the energy transmission to the thigh, resulting in a lack of speed. There were also issues connecting the control system and the energy system, preventing his commands from being fully executed... He muttered to himself. Some parts were replaced, and new materials were used. Liu Xing had plenty of money, so he didn't skimp on materials, only focusing on how to achieve better results. His wealth was also an advantage. Other Foundation Establishment disciples couldn't afford such extravagance, meticulously using every bit of material, and therefore often made compromises due to material shortages during the refining process.

After half of the first round was eliminated, the second round began on the second day. This time, Qing Lang faced a stone giant, a stone puppet standing ten feet tall. Qing Lang looked like a tiny creature before it. The battle began immediately. The stone giant's fists were as big as Qing Lang's head, and they lashed out with powerful blows. Qing Lang could only dodge, not dare to take them head-on. While dodging, Qing Lang took advantage of the opportunity when the opponent withdrew his fists to unleash a crescent-shaped scimitar-like energy wave to strike the stone giant's ankles. The stone giant was made of a material called qinggang stone, which was extremely hard and could also release a shield of spiritual energy to protect its body. Its offensive and defensive capabilities were indeed excellent. However, this behemoth also had obvious drawbacks: its slow movement and huge spiritual energy consumption. The battle was scheduled to last for an hour, and no spiritual stones could be replaced during the battle. Therefore, Liu Xing adopted a guerrilla-like strategy, which eventually overwhelmed the stone giant. The spiritual energy was exhausted before the timer expired, and Qing Lang lost his fighting ability. Although he won, Liu Xing also realized that his puppet's combat power and defense were insufficient.

In the third round, Qinglang encountered a gorilla puppet, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, wielding a spear-like, top-grade magical weapon. This was the work of Qian Yuan, the foremost puppeteer and the most popular contender for first place in the competition. As if fame were undeserved, Liu Xing felt immense pressure the moment they made contact. He stabbed Qinglang in the ear with his spear and then shattered his tail with a cudgel. It seemed that possessing a weapon doubled the puppet's combat effectiveness. While controlling Qinglang's flight, Liu Xing used his consciousness to explore the secrets of the gorilla puppet's control and energy systems, essentially learning from its master.