《The Envoy From the Heavens》 Chapter 1 Long Tian ¡°The request today is to hunt down five dire boars?¡± A youth with a short ponytail stood respectfully next to an elderly person. ¡°En, there have been sightings of boars near the village¡¯s crops. With autumn closing in, the boars will be actively hunting for food before it snows.¡± The elderly person is called Wang Wei, the village elder. The youth is the village hunter, Long Tian. Long Tian cups his fist and bows. ¡°As you wish, Elder Wang.¡± Taking up his spear that was leaning on the elder¡¯s hut, Long Tian headed towards his shack where the majority of his hunting tools rest. Brushing the fur cloth that covered his doorstep aside, Long Tian took with him a stone axe, a bow with its arrows, and an extra spear. He glanced at an area surrounded by a table covered in white cloth. On the table laid three stone tablets, each with the names of his deceased family member. ¡°¡­¡± With a heavy heart, Long Tian sighed and walked out. Walking towards the field and into the woods, a group of farmers greeted Long Tian. ¡°Oh? Long Tian? Are you hunting those boars now?¡± ¡°Ah. Uncle Du, yes. Here¡¯s the spear you requested.¡± Long Tian handed the extra spear to Du Zhao. ¡°Thank you Tian¡¯er, the village would be in quite a bit of trouble without you. Stay safe.¡± ¡°I will uncle, I will.¡± As the farmers watch Long Tian walk towards the forest, one of the members turns towards Du Zhao. ¡°Say, wasn¡¯t an important figure coming today?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes, the young master of the Ming family. One of the young masters.¡± ¡°I hope Long Tian doesn¡¯t meet him. His family had always despised cultivators.¡± ¡°I hope so too, but I wished he would learn that not all cultivators are bad people¡­¡±
Sqeee! A dire boar squeals and charged madly at Long Tian. Having one of its eyes gouged out by an arrow and another arrow stuck on its back, how could the giant boar not go berserk? Long Tian dropped his bow and pulled out the stone axe. He swung the axe towards the right side of the boar where its eye has been gouged. Sqeeeee!Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The charging boar stumbled and fell sideways. It tries to pull itself up, but Long Tian reacted faster and stab at its throat with his spear. Choking, the boar twitched before going stiff. Whew. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Long Tian dragged the leg of the boar towards a nearby tree with multiple markings he carved with a knife. He would drag his kills towards the marked tree and then transport them back to the village. Since the boars are heavy, he would need some help dragging them back. Long Tian started to calculate whether he should construct a makeshift sled to pull a handful of his kill, or drag one back and asked for the villagers to help him. ¡°If I had known better I would have brought the sled with me¡­ Who¡¯s there?!¡± ¡°Audacious! How dare you point a weapon at the Ming''s convoy?!¡± An armored soldier bellowed and glared at Long Tian, a large floating carriage floated silently behind him. Several other armored soldiers appeared, all riding horses. Ming convoy? The Ming family is well known and is one of the most influential noble families in the Heavenly Azure Empire. ''¡­ They must be here for the exam at that damned mountain sect.'' Suppressing his anger, Long Tian put on his most respectful face and kowtow at the convoy. ¡°Forgive this village nobody! I had no idea there was ¨C¡° ¡°Silence.¡± A bored voice emitted from the floating carriage. ¡°Bring him over here, I would like to see who was foolish enough to stand in my way.¡± Two guards dismounted and pulled Long Tian up. They pushed him towards the carriage before forcing him down. Inside the carriage sat a young man with piercing eyes and long silky black hair. His looks were above average, with a slightly square chin and thin cheeks. The young man narrowed his eyes even more as he saw Long Tian. This bastard was more handsome than he is! ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°This nobody is Long Tian, young master.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The young man blurs and appears before Long Tian. With a sharp kick, Long Tian was sent flying from the guard''s grasp into a tree. Puah! Long Tian spewed blood out of his mouth. Collapsing onto the ground, Long Tian coughed and glared at the young man. Pa! A powerful slap caused Long Tian to lose several of his teeth. ¡°How dare you glare at me?¡± Gripping Long Tian by the neck, the young man lifted him into the air. ¡°Since you¡¯re nobody. It won¡¯t matter if I just kill you here.¡± Ptoo! Long Tian spat on the young man¡¯s face. ¡°Go¡­ To hell¡­ Ugly...¡± The young man¡¯s face scrunched up and raised a fist to Long Tian¡¯s face. Father, mother, little brother¡­ Soon¡­ Long Tian closed his eyes as his consciousness faded.
¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not like that, Long Tian.¡± Long Tian¡¯s eye shot wide open. He was lying on the side of the river, with half of his body floating on the clear blue water. His body no longer hurts and showed no signs of injuries. Long Tian slowly pulled himself out of the river and surveyed his surroundings. He spotted an elderly man with flowing white hair and beard standing on a gold-colored road. ¡°Greetings Long Tian. I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± Long Tian stood up and cautiously greeted the saint-like figure. ¡°How¡­ Can I greet senior?¡± ¡°Oh ho! Forgive me. I am Ji-Ching, the Gatekeeper of the Heavens.¡± ¡°The¡­ Heavens?¡± ¡°Indeed, this is the realm above all else." ¡°¡­¡± "While your fate demands your demise, we have plans for you. You may be wondering why we choose you but bear with me. The Celestial Emperor will explain everything.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Long Tian didn¡¯t know what to say. How can one make sense of this situation, much less a mere mortal like him? ¡°¡­ Long Tian, are you willing to serve the Heavens? If you wish not to, the Heavens will allow you to move onto the next life.¡± Long Tian''s ears perked at Ji-Ching¡¯s offer. His parents had always patronized the Heavens and it seemed that Long Tian has always fallen for their ways. ¡°Senior Ji-¡° ¡°Ji-Ching is fine, oh ho!¡± ¡°Ji-Ching, how may I be of service to the Heavens?¡± ¡°You shall serve as the Heaven¡¯s envoy! You will descend into the lower realms and suppress those who defile the Heaven!¡± Chapter 2: The Celestial Court Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chapter 3: Training
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Chapter 4: The Lustrous Steel Armory After Long Tian finished sparring with General Kwan-Ti. The four-armed giant took Long Tian to an armory. Long Tian has grown very accustomed to flying. He couldn''t describe it, but after ''releasing'' himself from the grasp of gravity, he was able to soar freely like a divine dragon. "There it is. The Lustrous Steel Armory." Kwan-Ti pointed one at the looming castle. The castle was made up of white marble stone with blue streaks. Eight towers connected with the large castle oversee a large portion of its surrounding areas. Kwan-Ti signals Long Tian to land at the top of the large stairs that lead towards the armory''s gate. Blue armored guards lined up the walkway and saluted Kwan-Ti. The general nods at them and strode forward towards the large gates. Long Tian trailed behind him and stopped when the general paused in front of two gatekeepers. They wore the same blue armored that lined up the walkway, but both had a red cloth over one of their shoulders. The red cloths had a golden lion inscribed into them, one guard wore it on his left, while the other wore it on his right. They both bowed at Kwan-Ti. "We greet Great General Kwan-Ti! The Master Blacksmith Long Wei is awaiting inside!" Eh? There was someone here who has a similar surname as him? Long Tian blinked. The gatekeepers pressed their palms on the gate and the silver gate slide open without a sound. Kwan-Ti gently pushed Long Tian forward and the two entered the armory. The scenery is stunning needless to say. Beautiful purplish carpets laid undefiled on the white marble floor lead towards numerous doorways. Gigantic banners hung from above with imposing depictions of dragons, phoenixes, giants, and other beings Long Tian was not familiar with. Long Tian glanced around the large hallway dazed. Kwan-Ti nudged him towards a doorway at the center. "Your ancestor once studied under Long Wei''s father. Hence why your ancestor was allowed the surname, Long."The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Eh? My ancestor did...?" "Of course, how else did he get even more powerful and peerless?" They walked down the straight corridor until they reached a large room that appears to be a blacksmith''s workshop. "I''ve been waiting." A white dragon with a golden mane and blue eyes floated down from above. Its serpent-like body curls gently. Kwan-Ti politely saluted the divine dragon. "I greet young master Long Wei." "You do not have to be so formal with me, Great General Kwan-Ti. It is already an honor for you to be here. And I believe you are Long Tian?" Long Tian straighten his back and performed the same salute Kwan-Ti did. "Yes. This one is named Long Tian. I greet, uh, young master Long Wei." The dragon chuckled. "There is no need for you to be formal either. Simply call me Long Wei. My father has told tales of your ancestor. If it weren''t for him, I too, would not exist in this world." Long Tian was speechless. Just how great was his ancestor?! "Is Long Tian''s armor completed?" "Yes, I have finished forging his armor and weapon." Long Wei floated upwards and grabbed a large container with his three-fingered arms. Descending, Long Wei opened the container and revealed his recent work. The golden armor was radiant with tints of teal at the edge of each plate. The helmet was decorated with a white dragon coiling around the helmet, its head staring outward at the front. A face guard was attached to the helmet that covered only the mouth and nose. Long Wei then placed another container. This one contained an azure guandao with the character of Long Tian''s name engraved in it. "These armors and weapons... They are yours." "Eh? Ah, thank you very much!" Long Tian bowed and was about to say more before Kwan-Ti placed a hand on his head. "Get changed into your armor. I believe you have the silk clothes that go with these?" The last sentence was directed at Long Wei. The dragon nodded. "How could I have forgotten? Here." Silk clothing appeared in front of Long Tian and landed in his arms. "You may change over there." Long Wei pointed at a large door to the side of his workshop. There was a smaller door embedded into the larger door that was human size. "Thank you, but I don''t know how to put on armor." Long Wei seemed to smile. Kwan-Ti laughed at patted Long Tian''s back. "Well, now is the time to learn!"
Long Tian returned to the workshop in full gear. The armor Long Wei crafted for him fitted him perfectly, despite Long Tian never meeting the dragon blacksmith until recently. The guandao that he wields feels comfortable and seems to be very compatible with him even though he was more familiar with the spear. "Hm, you looked fierce." "Indeed..." Kwan-Ti and Long Wei admired Long Tian''s new look. "It''s about time we go." Kwan-Ti motioned Long Tian towards a teleporting array. "I will be using your array just this once, Long Wei." Long Wei merely nods. Long Tian walked towards the array before turning around the bowing at Long Wei. "Thank you for everything." The dragon smiled. "Still, this debt is not yet paid." The array activated, teleporting Kwan-Ti and Long Tian to the Military Towers. Chapter 5: Descending If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! BANG! BANG! WHEW WHEW WHEW! BOOM! WHOOM! Chapter 6: The Heavens Wrath The golden armored figure''s words echoed throughout the entire region. Its voice causes nearly everyone to drop to their knees. "This... This... It''s from the Heavens?!" The middle-aged man was scared out of his wits. He had heard tales of Heaven imposing cruel punishment on those who defiled their fate, but he had never heard about Heaven sending down a being to deal with the offender. Nearby, his three sons were on their knees, shaking. "What''s... Going... On...?" The eldest brother cries out. BOOM! The golden armored figure struck Yan Tu with his guandao. The old man sent out a palm strike, but he didn''t meet the incoming blade. Instead, the palm strike blasted Yan Tu back, escaping the sudden attack. SHA! The golden armored figure blurs and lunges forward, its guandao aimed straight at Yan Tu''s heart. "Earthly Mountain Peak Ascension!!" The stone underneath Yan Yu shatters and green energy sprouted upwards. Sharp stalagmite shot towards the armored figure, but the figure was too quick. RUMBLE! A mountain arose from the gray stone floor and encased Yan Tu in a green coffin. The armored figure lashes out, shattering the mountain and the green coffin. BOOM! The green coffin engulfed the entire area in a fiery explosion. "Ancestor!" The people who saw this felt like their heart was torn to shreds. If the Ancestor is dead, then the other clans will pick them apart! The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The explosion dissipates leaving only the golden armored figure floating in the air. It glances around its surroundings on guard. The space above the armored figure shivers. RIIIP! The air split open and a roaring golden tiger drops down on the armored figure. The tiger''s mouth opens wide and was about to devour the armored figure but was quickly destroyed by an upward slash. A silhouette appears behind the armored figure and struck its helmet. "Ancestor! He''s alive!" Yan Tu let out a bellowing roar as he lunged forward with his fist. Before his fist could connect with the armored figure, Yan Tu was blown back with a purple bruise on his chest. "Puah!" Yan Tu spewed out blood from the vicious counterattack. He raises his hand and made three mudras to heal his wounds. WHEW! WHEW! WHEW! The bruising slowly fades away and Yan Tu charges forward to meet the armored figure. BANG BANG! "Agh!" After trading two blows with the armored figure, it manage to cut off his index and middle finger. The Yan Clan stood by helplessly. A fierce wind was preventing them from getting closer to the battle that seems to grow more and more distant. "This is bad!" The old man with the gruff beard had an extremely anxious look on his face. "Ancestor Yan Tu can no longer perform the 15 Skyroot Buddha Mudras! He won''t last any longer if he can''t avoid the attacks!" "Our array formations! We can''t activate it!" "What?!" "Fuck! What can we do to help ancestor?!" "Look!" Yan Tu lands on the shattered stone floor and releases a jade amulet into the air. The jade amulet emits a powerful blast pushing the armored figure away. Wooooooooo... The energy from the amulet flowed into Yan Tu. His entire body started to glow brightly till it looked like Yan Tu was equal to the golden armored figure. "Primordial Beast Procession!!!" ROAAAAAR!! The pressure surrounding the entire region became very heavy as countless ancient beasts materialize beside Yan Tu. Their auras were extremely dense causing the air around Yan Tu and the armored figure to distort. ROAAAAR!! Yan Tu charges and the ancient beasts follow suit. The stampede shook the entire world and destroy the area around them causing everyone to flee. The golden armored figure tightly grips its guandao and levitates into the air. With a warcry that sounded like thunder, the golden armored figure struck like lightning. The golden armored figure shatters the ancient beasts causing a powerful explosion that would shake the Heavens. BAM BAM BAM BAM!! BOOM! Yan Tu was sent flying into a distant forest. The impact flattened the entire terrain. "Cough, agh..." Yan Tu stares bleakly upward into the pitch black sky. "Ah... It''s an honor... So, this is... The might of the Heavens..." The golden armored figure appeared next to Yan Tu. It raises its guandao into the air and stabs downward. PING! "Eh?" Yan Tu felt as if his body was anew. Heavenly Qi trickles from the sky onto Yan Tu as the black clouds slowly dissipate. The blade was just inches away from Yan Tu''s head. The golden armored figure was frozen in place. It looked like it was hesitating. Yan Tu frowns. What was this fellow doing? The golden armored figure withdrew his guandao and disappears in a flash of light. "... The Heavens... Spared me...?" Chapter 7: Tales of the old Long Tian kowtows in front of General Kwan-Ti, for he had failed in killing Yan Tu. "I have no excuses! He was unarmed and I was not, yet I failed to kill him!" Kwan-Ti looked amused by Long Tian''s overreacting attitude. He reminded Kwan-Ti of Long Long with his quickness to admit fault when he failed even the most trivial tasks. The four-armed general walked over to the kowtowed Long Tian and gave him a pat on the back. "Haha! My boy! We said to punish him. We never stated that he must be killed, but if he did die during the tribulation, then it was his own fault! Stand up, you did very well." "Yes." Long Tian got up on his feet but still looked down at the floor. Ashamed. Despite wielding a guandao, which has a long reach. He was still unable to severely injure Yan Tu, who was fighting barehanded! "Yan Tu is a prodigy in insight laws and unarmed combat. He fought against countless weapons users and beasts with just his mind, body, and soul. There is nothing to be ashamed of. He had several generations of experiences." Long Tian understood this and nodded. "En." "Follow me, it''ll be a while until you get your next assignment." Kwan-Ti waves his hand and the large doors swung open allowing him and Long Tian to pass through. As they walk down the hallway, Kwan-Ti said, "That battle shook the entire world and into the other realms. It was quite a fierce, but short battle." "En." "The battle is now the talk of the lower realms. Others may doubt that the Heavens are now personally punishing cultivators, but they cannot deny that the battle happened. Nonetheless, cultivators from all realms will be warier before they decide to break through to what they call the Ascension stage." Most tribulations come in the form of bolts of lightning that will strike the offending cultivator. These lightning are no ordinary lightning. They are capable of shattering every single protective treasure and insight law. There is no way a cultivator could avoid damage but at the same time, it is not effective in deterring brave cultivators. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A cultivator may die from the tribulation, but it is in a sense mere lightning. For a cultivator, all they have to do is to prepare for the lightning strike and endure the pain and suffering from it. It may be sudden, but it is predictable. For a cultivator that has stepped into the Ascension stage and beyond, a lightning strike from the Heavens may be frightening, but the tribulation will be quite simple. Cultivators at the Ascension stage will not be easily deterred. Many of them had lived through generations and survived terrifying situations. It is also these cultivators that do the most damage to the Fate seals that locked away the cruel, old gods. The Heavens cannot spare anybody to suppress those cultivators, for they are fighting multiple fronts against the Devil race. To make it worse, the Fate seals constantly need repairs and requires a lot of manpower. However, Long Tian is an expectation. He is the sole survivor of the human Long clan, and his ancestor did the Heavens a huge favor by fighting against the old regime. Heaven is indebted to Long Tian''s ancestor, therefore they decided to bestow divinity upon Long Tian and have him suppress the cultivators underneath the Heavens. It''s killing two birds with one stone. "General Kwan-Ti, why do you think cultivators challenge Heaven''s Will?" "Hm, why do you think mortals strive to become cultivators? To become immortals?" "They want power and fear death." "Yes. Some of them do it solely for power and immortality, but it stems from something. Can you guess?" "No, I''m afraid I do not have the slightest clue." "To defend, and to protect. While many races are powerful, they cannot compete against wild beasts and monsters that were born powerful. As such, mortals strive to survive against those threats. They cultivate to survive, to build a world for themselves and their loved ones. This was very much true back in the old days where numerous beasts and monsters roamed across all realms." Kwan-Ti''s view of the immortals causes Long Tian to open his mind a bit. He was too narrow on the subject and often despise them for being power hungry. It seems that at its core, cultivators were only trying to survive and protect their families. Though that certainly can''t be said for all of them and he''s still bitter about being killed by one. "I... Never thought of it that way." "Just like humans, there are good ones, bad ones, and those in between. You simply have to meet the right one, just like your ancestor." "En!" Kwan-Ti grins, "Another reason why we tolerate cultivators is because they reminded us of ourselves." "Eh? Really?" "Indeed, we rebelled against the Heavens once! The old regime ran by those old monsters. The rebellious attitude we had back then was nothing compared to all the cultivators combined. To oppose a greater force despite being weak, it''s what the cultivators are and what we once were. That is why we tolerate the mortals cultivating to this day." "I had no idea... Who are these old monsters? I heard about them from Gatekeeper Ji-Ching, but he didn''t really say much about them." Kwan-Ti made a grim expression as if he was having a horrific flashback. "No one truly remembered where those old monsters came from. They existed before we did and all of our ancestors. Many believed that they were birthed when chaos ended and the universe came to being. Their personality is unpredictable; they destroyed realms and let them reform before corrupting them, then destroying them again. They even fought among themselves when they had a common enemy. If it weren''t for their infightings, we wouldn''t have won and sealed them away. There is simply no word to properly describe them, but chaotic." "..." "We''re here, our new training ground." The duo was on a balcony with two stairs that lead downwards. The balcony oversees a very large room with various puppets, weapons, and platforms. Golden lights shined overhead, and a cool breeze could be felt despite the room having no windows or openings for the wind to come through. "Prepare yourself, for this is the basic training of all Heavenly soldiers!" Chapter 8: Advancements "Haa!" Long Tian push himself off the ground with great difficulty. A golden statue of a smiling Buddha sat on his back, weighing him down. To Long Tian, he felt that he was holding up an entire world. Even his Divine Physique was unable to provide any help. "Hmph, keep it up. You have 11 more to go." Kwan-Ti had four of his arms crossed as he oversee the training. The training session was a requirement for all Heavenly soldiers, and it was often considered the worst as the training emphasizes endurance. With trembling arms, Long Tian slowly lowers his entire body near the stone floor. Barely touching the floor, Long Tian heaves and pushes himself up from the floor. "Gah... Ah..." He slowly and painstakingly repeated these same steps 10 more times. Each one seemingly added more weight to the golden Buddha statue. When he was done, the golden statue lost its shine and Long Tian felt the weight lifting off of him. He collapses face first onto the floor and pants. "Get ready, in a few moments you will be fighting a puppet that is tailored to fight at your level." "Y-yes..." Long Tian slowly caught his breath and let the flow of divine energy circulate through his entire body. The divine energy came from his heart, or what was once his heart. It flows throughout his entire body quickly, numbed his sore muscles, and rejuvenates his body. This technique was taught to all recruits that joined the Heavenly Army. Kwan-Ti lifts up a wooden puppet that stood straight alongside identical-looking puppets and props it a few meters away from Long Tian. "This puppet is impossible to beat. The only way to defeat this puppet is to advance to the next stage of your Divine Physique. You are to fight this puppet until you achieve a breakthrough, then we''ll take a break!" Long Tian stood up and loosened his body. He nodded at Kwan-Ti to show that he understands and raised his guard. "Very well, begin!" The wooden puppet''s wood grain turned red and the entire puppet suddenly was engulfed in a crimson color aura. Its hollowed eyes lit up as well and stares at Long Tian before charging toward him. Long Tian met the puppet head-on, their fists connected with each other sending them both spiraling back. Long Tian regain his senses only to see a blurred foot aimed at his head. The kick sent Long Tian flying several meters and he landed on the cold floor, tumbling. He picks himself up from the floor just in time to see a roundhouse kick aimed at his head again. Long Tian ducks as the kick flew past him. The momentum of the kick causes the puppet to awkwardly turn its back towards Long Tian, completely exposed. Long Tian grins and swings his arm at the puppet. However, the puppet stomped its foot down and sent a backward kick aimed square into his chest.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "Puah!" Long Tian was sent flying again and fell on his back. He quickly circulates the divine energy from his heart to heal himself from the powerful kick. The puppet launches itself at Long Tian, hands outstretched. Long Tian uses his arms and legs to push himself back before sending a foot out into the puppet''s head. The impact snaps the puppet''s neck back and causes it to collapse on the floor. Despite having its neck snap, the puppet uses its two hands to grab both of his legs. The puppet''s grip was strong, causing Long Tian to grimace. He brought his fist down on the puppet''s head causing it to release him. The red aura surrounding the puppet intensified. It swiftly recovered from all damage and stood up. Long Tian also stood up and prepare to meet the puppet head-on. The two rushed at each other again and clashed viciously. The blows were heavy and swift, with none being able to overcome each other as the exchange was equal. They both disengaged to recover. The puppet''s red aura brighten before dulling, while Long Tian took a deep breath and channeled his inner vitality. Long Tian put most of his power on his hind legs and pushed off the floor. He blurred towards the puppet and ducked as it swung its right arm at him. Long Tian brought his fist upward connecting to the puppet''s jaw if it had one, sending it flying into the sky. Long Tian launched himself upward to finish the puppet, but just when he was within a few feet from it. The puppet blurs and Long Tian saw a fist descending towards his forehead. BANG! Long Tian was sent down to the hard floor. His head was in a daze and his vision was blurred, but he could make out the red aura. The puppet smashed into the floor barely missing Long Tian. It grabbed Long Tian by the shirt and pulled him towards itself. It made a fist and sent it towards Long Tian''s stomach. However, Long Tian regained his senses and palmed the puppet in the chest sending it flying. He stumbled as the puppet''s grip on his shirt pulled him with it. He landed on the floor and quickly stood up while circulating energy throughout his entire body. The puppet also stood up and glowed brightly before dulling. Both sides paused, studying each other before they blurred and collided with each other. The cycle repeated itself, either the puppet or Long Tian gets an upper hand before getting countered. They then disengaged from each other to recover. By then, Long Tian became increasingly frustrated as the puppet constantly countered his attacks, or recovered causing all his effort to be wasted. Again, they both lunged toward each other with neither side having an advantage over the other. As the fierce battle drew out, Long Tian began to realize that the puppet could not increase its strength and speed. Each time they exchanged blows, Long Tian strained his entire body to execute a powerful attack in hopes of putting the puppet down for good. A gap was starting to become apparent. Kwan-Ti also stated that it was impossible to beat it at his current level... Long Tian had to push his body to the limits! "Ha... Ha... I got it..." Long Tian and the puppet disengaged once again to recover. This time, Long Tian let the divine energy slowly course into his muscles and bones. His recovery was slower than the puppet''s who had finished. It stares at Long Tian before rushing him. Long Tian met the charging puppet with both of his hands. The puppet''s fist was caught by Long Tian and the two were locked in a stalemate. Both sides were on equal footing. Long Tian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He began to put all his focus on his inner body. The puppet started to tremble as Long Tian slowly started to overpower it. He was slowly pushing the puppet back, its arm started to strain and loosen. However, the puppet''s aura suddenly expanded causing it to halt Long Tian''s advantage. But Long Tian was not deterred. He strained against the puppet''s aura and soon the puppet faltered. Long Tian''s eye shot open and he let out a roar. His entire body crackling with golden energy. He pushed against the puppet causing it to lose its stance. It fell onto the floor with a loud crack followed by Long Tian''s fist smashing into its chest. A gust of wind in the shape of a ring erupted from the impact. BOOM! CRACK CRACK! The red aura wavered and dissipated from the puppet. The wood grain also lost its red color and faded to dark brown, and the puppet stopped moving, going limped. Breathing heavily, Long Tian slowly stood up and caught his breath. Despite looking exhausted, Long Tian actually felt stronger. "Well done!" Kwan-Ti clapped with all four hands and patted Long Tian on the back. "T-thank you. General..." "You earned a break, but remember that we''re not finished." "..." Chapter 9: Supplementary Lessons If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.