91: Passing the level is as easy as drinking water! Was this trial made just for me?

At the top of the Sky-Reaching Pillar, clouds and mist swirled, making it look like a celestial wonderland.

This was ten thousand meters in the air; the atmosphere was thin, and the astral winds were piercingly cold.

Gu Yang sat cross-legged on a flat bluestone, swinging his legs out of boredom. In his hand, he held a half-eaten grilled squid tentacle, chewing on it absentmindedly.

“Too slow, really too slow.”

He glanced at the sea of clouds beneath his feet and couldn't help but yawn.

A full half-hour had passed since he reached the summit, yet aside from the whistling wind, he hadn't seen a single soul.

“Are these really the geniuses of the Central Plains? Why is their stamina so poor?”

Gu Yang shook his head, wondering if he had come to the wrong place. This wasn't a trial; it was a waste of time. In the time it was taking them, he could have gone to the Hunting Grounds to catch and roast two wild boars.

Finally, just as Gu Yang was about to fall asleep...

A large, sweat-drenched hand shimmering with golden light grabbed the edge of the platform.

Immediately after, the shiny bald head of Fa Hai, the Buddhist Son of the Vajra Temple, emerged.

He no longer possessed his previous solemn and dignified appearance. He was drenched in sweat, his golden body was dim, and he looked like a bedraggled dog pulled from a river, gasping for air in large gulps.

“Huff... huff... first... this humble monk is first...”

Fa Hai scrambled onto the platform with difficulty, a hint of a victorious smile appearing on his face.

However, when he looked up and saw Gu Yang sitting there picking his teeth, the smile instantly froze on his face.

“You... you...”

Fa Hai pointed at Gu Yang, his finger trembling, unable to utter another word for a long time.

He had exhausted all his strength and even burned a drop of Buddha-blood to climb up here, and yet this guy... was already up here having a picnic?!

“Yo, Great Master, you finally made it up?”

Gu Yang greeted him warmly and pointed to a patch of empty ground nearby. “Have a seat, rest a bit, don't be a stranger. Your constitution seems a bit weak; you really need to nourish yourself more.”

Shortly after, the Savage Mountain Prince, Savage Mountain, and the Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Palace, Feng Sha, also climbed up one after another.

Their condition was even more pathetic than Fa Hai's; each was pale and trembling, clearly having overextended their physical limits.

When they saw Gu Yang’s relaxed and comfortable appearance, their mentalities completely collapsed.

Is this guy even human?

This was ten thousand times gravity!

How could he act as if nothing had happened? Could he have some kind of cheating Divine Artifact on him that negated gravity?

“Cheating! He must be cheating!”

Feng Sha shrieked, his eyes filled with jealousy and resentment. “Elder! I want to report him! This person must have a strange treasure on his person!”

The Void Realm rippled, and the Elder responsible for the examination appeared.

He glanced at Gu Yang with an extremely complex expression, even carrying a hint of the terror one might feel when looking at a monster.

“Ahem... after inspection, Gu Yang has not used any Magic Treasures.”

“Not only that...” The Elder swallowed hard. “During the climb, he even actively used a Divine Ability to increase the gravity on himself by ten times.”

“Therefore... his results are genuine and valid.”

“What?!”

The prodigies felt as if they had been struck by lightning, each standing there dumbfounded.

Actively increasing the weight? Weighted parkour?

Who the hell was he trying to humiliate?!

“Alright, enough nonsense.”

Gu Yang stood up and patted the dust off his buttocks. “Let's get to the next stage quickly; I'm hungry. I heard there's spirit food for clearing the stages?”

The Elder's mouth twitched as he waved his hand to open a gate of light.

“Second Stage: War God Puppet Alley!”

“This alley is a thousand meters long and is guarded by eighteen Body Refining Puppets with the strength of the Nascent Soul Stage Peak. These Puppets are invulnerable to blades and spears, possess immense strength, and are arranged in a battle Formation with perfect coordination.”

“The rules are simple: as long as you can endure for the duration of one incense stick in the Puppet Alley, or successfully traverse the thousand-meter distance, you pass.”

The Elder specifically glanced at Gu Yang. “Remember, you must not damage the Puppets! These are antiques left behind by the Ancestral Master of the War God Hall and are incredibly precious!”

“Endure for an incense stick?”

Gu Yang curled his lip. “Why endure? Can't I just fight my way through?”

Without waiting for the others, he shouldered his Meteor Hammer and was the first to charge into the gate of light.

Behind the gate was a deep, long corridor.

As soon as he entered, eighteen giant Puppets cast from black iron, standing three zhang tall, opened their crimson electronic eyes (the Formation cores) and simultaneously locked onto Gu Yang.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The eighteen Puppets stepped forward in unison, making the earth tremble.

They didn't just swarm him; instead, they formed a tight battle Formation, sealing off all of Gu Yang's evasion space from every direction.

Massive iron fists, accompanied by the sound of whistling wind, fell like raindrops.

“Interesting, they know how to coordinate?”

Gu Yang's eyes lit up. Instead of retreating, he met them head-on.

“However, playing with Formations in front of me? You're still too green!”

He tossed aside the Meteor Hammer (fearing he'd break the 'antiques' and wouldn't be able to pay for them) and charged into the Formation bare-handed.

Primordial Indestructible Golden Body — Activate!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Several iron fists smashed heavily against Gu Yang's body, producing loud, metallic clangs.

Gu Yang remained motionless, while the Puppets were instead jarred until their arms went numb (if they could feel anything at all).

“My turn!”

Gu Yang grabbed a descending iron fist and chuckled.

“This arm... it's made of Deep Sea Sinking Silver, isn't it? Good stuff!”

“This leg... Star Steel? Valuable!”

“This head... though it's a bit ugly, this core Spirit Stone looks quite large!”

The light in Gu Yang's eyes grew brighter and brighter. It wasn't Battle Intent; it was... the joy of seeing a scrap recycling center!

“Dismantle!”

He exerted force with both hands, and the Five Elements Destruction Force erupted.

Crack!

An arm of that Puppet with Nascent Soul Peak strength was forcefully ripped off by him!

Next were the legs, heads, chest plates... Gu Yang was like an extremely skilled demolition contractor. Everywhere he passed, those indestructible Puppets instantly turned into a pile of parts.

“This screw is nice, I'll keep it.”

“This steel plate is quite thick; it can be made into a pot lid.”

“Oh dear, I accidentally crushed the core. My bad, my bad.”

The time for one incense stick hadn't even passed.

Puppet Alley had already gone silent.

All eighteen Puppets had been turned into a pile of scrap metal.

Gu Yang stood amidst the pile of parts, holding several Storage Pouches (his own, used to store the parts), looking at the large pieces on the ground that he truly couldn't fit with a face full of regret.

“What a waste, so many good Materials...”

Outside the light gate, the War God Hall Elder watched the scene in the Water Mirror Art, his heart bleeding.

“My ancestor! Those are Legacy Puppets left by the Ancestral Master! Every single one is worth a fortune!”

“I told you to endure for an incense stick, not to conduct a demolition!”

He clutched his chest, nearly fainting.

As for the prodigies who entered afterward, they looked at the wreckage covering the ground and trembled, hugging the walls as they walked, for fear of being dismantled by this madman who was currently stripping the Puppets.

“Elder, did I pass?”

Gu Yang poked his head out from the ruins, holding a Puppet's leg as a cane, and asked with an innocent face.