Chapter 169: Chapter 164: Power Puppet, Aiolos
Cultivating the Secret Technique was very simple. With his Bloodline Power, he only needed to activate it within his consciousness. Once active, it would release automatically in every subsequent battle. He could choose to use the Red Lotus Ice Technique to amplify his power or save it for later. However, once the three Ice Crystal Petals were used up, he would be unable to use the Red Lotus Ice Technique again for the rest of the day.
Following the thod recorded in the Secret Technique Mantra, Mu Chen easily discovered the thin red line within his consciousness—no, it was more of a bloodline. His fingers flew, forming a series of strange Hand Techniques. The Extre Spirit Chaos Technique swiftly mobilized the Primordial Power from his Extre Ice Dantian, sending it drifting toward his mind. The Secret Technique stated that to activate this bloodline’s power, one had to use the Extre Ice Attribute; otherwise, even possessing the technique was useless.
The ice-blue Extre Elental Power slowly spiraled upward, instantly enveloping the red bloodline. Upon encountering the extre chill, the red bloodline suddenly exuded a joyous feeling, as if it had found family. Mu Chen knew the mont of activation had arrived. His hand seal suddenly clenched, and his eyes snapped open as he bellowed, "Bloodline Power, open!"
WHOOSH!
Under Mu Chen’s ntal command, the Extre Ice Elental Power abruptly contracted. Before the bloodline could react, it rged directly into it, transforming into a thin, Blue Crystal-colored thread. After fusing with the Ice Extre Power for a mont, the thread extended countless branches from its core. These branches instantly connected with every part of Mu Chen’s consciousness. Only then had Mu Chen truly and completely activated his Bloodline Power.
Feeling the new Bloodline Power coursing through him, Mu Chen offered a silent word of thanks to his Master. In his heart, the plan to help the Profound Old Ghost achieve his Awakening grew even more urgent.
’First, let’s test the effects of the Red Lotus Ice Technique.’
A corner of Mu Chen’s mouth quirked up. With a soft cry, Primordial Power erupted from his body. As he entered a combat stance, the thread of Blue Crystal bloodline in his consciousness suddenly emitted a terrifying aura. A cloud of icy mist materialized behind him. The mist then condensed, and three symtrically rotating Ice Crystal Petals appeared out of thin air. Simultaneously, it felt as though three zither strings had appeared in his consciousness. With but a thought from Mu Chen, it seed those strings would snap.
Of course, Mu Chen had no intention of letting these three strings snap randomly. It was obvious they were the triggers to release the Red Lotus Ice Technique.
For now, Mu Chen could only sense an extrely powerful force attached to the three petals. As for exactly how strong it was, he would need to test it in actual combat. With this in mind, Mu Chen quickly retracted his Primordial Power, and the three Ice Crystal Petals vanished as he left his combat stance.
Hoisting the Profound Jade Box onto his back, Mu Chen stepped into a golden Teleportation Array, unlike those on the previous ten floors. He no longer cared what kind of powerful Guardian awaited him on the other side. Free from the psychological pressure, Mu Chen felt he could finally let loose and fight to his heart’s content.
THUD! As his second foot stepped into the array, a VWOOM sound echoed, and the eleventh floor returned to its forr state. Aside from the blue world that had been there, everything was now deathly silent.
CRUNCH... CRUNCH...
Two soft crunches echoed from the entrance to the twelfth floor as Mu Chen’s figure materialized. He found himself in an ancient palace. Broken ramparts and crumbling ruins stood against a sky of swirling yellow sand. There was not a trace of greenery, not a drop of water. Withered vines clung to old trees under a lonely peak and a setting sun. The mont he arrived, a sense of desolate sorrow washed over him. His expression grew solemn. He could almost see the phantoms of countless warriors, roaring as they clashed and died on this battlefield.
"So this is the twelfth floor," Mu Chen muttered to himself.
"That’s right. This is the twelfth floor. It tugs at my heartstrings every ti I see it." A heavy, muffled voice finished his sentence.
Mu Chen looked toward the source of the voice. A towering figure stood beside a crumbling wall, caressing the broken stones. A faint sadness filled its eyes.
Mu Chen activated his Purple Sky Demon Pupils. After circulating them for a mont, he got a clear look at the person—or rather, the Puppet. It was a giant. From a distance, it looked to be at least four ters tall. Its entire body was encased in a strange crimson armor, leaving no weak spots exposed save for two glowing, crimson eyes.
He wondered if it was just his imagination, but as far as he knew, Puppets weren’t supposed to have intelligence. They were ant to be fighting machines that knew neither fatigue nor pain. To his surprise, however, it seed that the Puppets in the Tower of Calamity all possessed exceptionally high intelligence.
This Armored Giant carried no weapons. But looking at its two enormous, completely disproportionate Iron Fists, there was no doubt what its weapons were.
Mu Chen’s expression was grave. He asked coolly, "Are you the Guardian Puppet of the twelfth floor?"
At first, the Puppet ignored Mu Chen, gazing out at the war-torn battlefield. In that sa muffled voice, it said, "This scene is real. This was my ho. But it no longer exists. Did you know? This kingdom was once one of the most beautiful on the entire Extre Martial Continent. But its very beauty attracted the greed of invaders. Overnight, this once-beautiful nation was reduced to... this. I despise them! So I sold my body to a Demon in exchange for imnse power! I slaughtered every last one of them! HAHAHAHA! But... why? When I killed the final invader, why did I feel not a shred of joy, but only endless grief?! Why? WHY?! Can anyone tell ?!"
The Armored Giant raised its fists and furiously hamred them into the ground. The trendous force shook the entire twelfth floor. It was the giant’s release. After its outburst, the colossal Armored Giant actually curled up, held its head, and began to sob like a child. Mu Chen had listened to the entire story from the side. In response to the Armored Giant’s pained questions, he sighed. "Because... even with all the invaders dead, you can never bring back the beauty this kingdom once had..."
...
CLANK...
The Armored Giant suddenly lowered its arms. It stared blankly at Mu Chen, repeating his words in its muffled voice. "Because... even with all the invaders dead... it can’t bring back the beauty this kingdom once had..."
Mu Chen nodded silently, but the vigilance in his eyes didn’t waver for a second. The Armored Giant Puppet tilted its head, glanced at Mu Chen again, and said, "Thank you. I think... I understand now."
With that, the Armored Giant rose to its full height with a chorus of clanking tal. It stood perfectly straight. With a loud THUMP, it pressed its right fist to its chest, giving Mu Chen a standard knight’s salute. In a deep voice, it declared, "I am the Guardian of the twelfth floor of the Tower of Calamity. Aiolos, the Power Puppet!"
"Aiolos?" Mu Chen murmured. This was the first opponent he had t in the Tower of Calamity who had a na.
"In return for answering my question, I can give you two pieces of information," Aiolos said, lowering his right arm and staring at Mu Chen. "First, I was ant to be the Guardian of the final floor of the Puppet Dao. However, because your strength is too great and you have perfectly cleared eleven floors in a row, the Tower of Calamity has set
as the Guardian of the twelfth floor to bar your way. As a result, my Martial Artist Realm is now only that of a Fifth-Ring Martial King."
"A Fifth-Ring Martial King?! *Only*?!" Mu Chen’s scalp went numb. This was far beyond his upper limit. As the Martial Artist Realm increased, Tier Jumping beca harder. With only one Extre Attribute and the strength of a Three-Ring Martial Spirit, the absolute most Mu Chen could do was challenge a Fourth-Ring Martial King. Even then, he would have to go all out, using every Combat Skill and hidden ability he possessed, just for a slim chance of victory!
He had thought that with the Red Lotus Ice Technique, his odds of defeating a Fourth-Ring Martial King might increase by ten percent. But this behemoth before him had long since surpassed that realm. He was a Fifth-Ring Martial King who had been nerfed by the Tower of Calamity. ’What am I supposed to do?’ A hint of confusion flickered in Mu Chen’s eyes.
The Power Puppet, Aiolos, clearly had no regard for Mu Chen’s ntal state. He continued, "The second piece of information is this: the condition for clearing this floor is not to defeat . Of course, you couldn’t defeat
anyway. Though I am known as the Power Puppet, I have another title—the Master’s Puppet! My defense is as formidable as my power. Even the great Shen Jianxin, using his full strength, only lasted two minutes against . And I... was completely unhard. However, his was a normal clear, so lasting two minutes was enough. But you are different!" A fierce battle lust suddenly ignited in the Power Puppet’s eyes. He pointed at Mu Chen. "As a challenger who has achieved perfect clears, each of your trials is far more difficult than a normal person’s. Therefore, your condition for clearing this floor is to endure my attacks for six minutes. If you are still standing after six minutes have passed, you will have perfectly cleared the twelfth floor!"
"Just survive for six minutes, huh?" Battle intent flared in Mu Chen’s own eyes. He smiled. "But I don’t think I’ll be satisfied with just surviving for six minutes. I’m going to try and defeat you!"
Aiolos let out a low growl. "Is that right? Then bring it on."
CLANK!
The sound of grinding tal echoed as Aiolos took a thunderous step forward. The powerful Qi Force generated by the movent caused sparks to erupt from the friction between his feet and the ground. As sparks flew, the imnse force of his step made the solid ground cave in.
"Beng Fist! HAH!"
With a deafening roar, Aiolos twisted his body at an extre angle. He swung his arm, launching his steel-like fist forward. Mu Chen felt a fierce Gang Feng tear through the air, violently whipping up the sand and dust from the ground. The imnse pressure made it impossible for him to even lift his head to see Aiolos’s attack. He couldn’t stand it. Braving the gale-force wind and sand, Mu Chen rapidly activated his Purple Sky Demon Pupils and looked up. What he saw was a colossal black shadow, accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, hurtling toward him...
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