< Chapter 49: Receiving Awards, Submitting >
Ning Zhuo stood before five stone pillars, touching the surface with his palm, and immediately received a message.
He was collecting rewards for ranking first in the Qi Refining List, Speed List, and Progress List!
The rewards were still spiritual stones, mechanical parts, and spells, and Ning Zhuo needed to choose one.
“There are one hundred spiritual stones in the reward!” Ning Zhuo was slightly shocked.
The most he had ever received from a clearance reward was ten spiritual stones.
One hundred spiritual stones were ten times that amount!
Ning Zhuo decided on the spot to take the spiritual stone reward at least once.
Previously, he had used many items from the preparation room to set up mechanisms. The Buddha Heart Demon Seal could not let them go for free, as these were all chargeable.
As he set up more and more mechanical traps, Ning Zhuo’s spiritual stones were running low.
Suddenly having an extra hundred spiritual stones, Ning Zhuo was essentially without worries.
There were over a dozen options for mechanical parts, and Ning Zhuo saw items like hanging rings, boomerang disc wire, and small flying boxes among them.
The spells also included familiar ones, such as the Ice-Embracing Technique, Fire Grasping Technique, and Wood Connecting Technique.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was also observing Ning Zhuo, looking nervous as the latter stood pondering in front of the leaderboard.
Without a second thought, Ning Zhuo began to sense the Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
Unfortunately, he found out that he could not choose multiple rewards from the leaderboard; he could only choose one.
Seeing Ning Zhuo’s attempt fail, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted and still appeared nervous.
“Strange,” Ning Zhuo felt something was amiss.
“Something is indeed strange.”
The youth was exceptionally adept at spotting issues in detail.
“Each of the top rewards is actually the same, letting me choose one from three.”
“However, the value of these three options is not equivalent.”
“The spirit stones option amounts to a hundred pieces, while the other two options are still the same as the previous rewards.”
“I’ve used most of these rewards before; I’ve pretty much got all the spells.”
“The elders from the three sects wouldn’t make such a mistake… Which means, the other two rewards are actually far more valuable than they appear.”
“Let’s try all of them!”
Ning Zhuo had made his decision.
He had three opportunities to receive a reward, so he chose each option once.
A hundred genuine spirit stones.
For the mechanical component, he chose a suspension ring.
Finally, for the spell option, Ning Zhuo chose a spell he hadn’t mastered yet—Metal Attraction Technique.
The next moment, the information about the spell was transmitted into his heart.
Ning Zhuo was moved!
The Metal Attraction Technique was a spell that could draw metals and condense them at the fingertips.
This alone was not enough to stir Ning Zhuo’s emotions.
What was crucial was that along with the spell information, many cultivation insights were transmitted as well.
Although Ning Zhuo had just acquired the Metal Attraction Technique, because of these cultivation insights, he became someone who had practiced the Metal Attraction Technique for two and a half years instantly!
“Is this a method of ‘enlightenment’? Transferring the cultivation experiences of predecessors to the next generation?”
“Impressive, truly impressive.”
“With this, I can save so much time and effort.”
Ning Zhuo was secretly delighted. Compared to Meng Chong and others, he lacked a background, and now he could only rely on the ranking rewards to somewhat neutralize his opponents’ advantages.
After testing the magic reward options, Ning Zhuo meticulously inspected the suspension rings on the mechanical components again, finding that they were not much different from the previous rewards.
However, Ning Zhuo had a new hypothesis and was waiting for a future opportunity to verify it.
As soon as the time limit was reached, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit hurriedly pulled Meng Chong into the Immortal Palace.
During the portal rewards, Meng Chong chose the mechanical component this time. Holding the suspension ring in his hand, he was puzzled, “How do you use this thing?”
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit clenched its teeth, transmitting the message along with the usage method and even the mechanical blueprints to Meng Chong.
Instantly, in the main hall, two whips of fire condensed and viciously lashed at the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!
Snap, snap, snap.
For a moment, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s dragon claws clenched tightly, and it gritted its teeth as it endured the whipping, its body trembling and face contorting in pain.
Meng Chong, having received the message, suddenly realized, “So, this is how it’s used.”
He frowned again; deep down, he did not fancy such gadgets—he preferred a more direct approach.
This time, he gently cracked open the door. After pondering, he held the suspension ring, aimed in a direction, and shot out a bluish-purple colored drill.
The colored drill quickly merged with the wall, seamlessly integrating with it.
Meng Chong manipulated the suspension ring, and the slender rope instantly tensed up.
“Use the rope to speed up and rush through in one go!” Meng Chong activated his superior innate talent, Wild Sprint Thunderclap, sensing his own body. The next moment, his body flickered with electric light.
As the thin rope sharply retracted, he pushed the door forcefully and ran with all his might. With a crack, the electric light flared violently!
In an instant, his speed surged to its peak. He was almost like a bolt of lightning, slicing through the air, aiming to go far.
But in the next moment, a huge fishing net flipped out from beneath the floor tiles, securely enveloping Meng Chong. Every strand of the net was made from Boomerang Disc Wire, giving it tremendous extensibility and toughness. The net stretched long, like a drawn bowstring.
Meng Chong’s speed plummeted, and within a few breaths, his momentum was completely lost. He was like a projectile, harshly shot back by the retracting net! With a snap. A crisp sound echoed as he crashed into the now-closed door. He fell apart on the spot. Bang. The next moment, a massive, immensely heavy hammering platform smashed down from above. Meng Chong… shattered.
Regaining his senses, Meng Chong yelled furiously. The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit also slammed its hand down abruptly, showing an angry expression.
Dungeon. Han Ming slowly lifted her head to gaze at the young puppet master who had reappeared. Her face was haggard, numbed, as if she too was about to shatter.
It was not the first time her soul essence had been harvested.
She couldn’t remember how many times it had happened.
Several of those times, she had been unconscious.
She no longer cursed or railed against Ning Zhuo; partly because she lacked the strength, her physical condition was too poor, and partly because she had come to a stark realization of her reality.
Reality was so cruel that it had crushed her pride, compelling her to think desperately about how to survive.
“No, don’t control me anymore, I’ll help you.”
“I’ll actively extract the soul essence and transfer it to you.”
Young puppet master Ning Zhuo was momentarily stunned, then nodded: “You’ve finally come around, Han Ming. I’m pleased for you.”
Anger flared again in Han Ming’s heart, but she suppressed it: “Please give me the Soul Capturing Shuttle, and release some of the seals on the chains.”
Ning Zhuo smiled faintly, “Not in a hurry, have something to eat first.”
He directed a dozen small puppets, who came to feed Han Ming. Some sat on her shoulders, spooning soup to her; others stood on her chest, holding up drumsticks and pork knuckles. Others handled a pair of chopsticks together, cooperatively picking up vegetables for her to eat.
After finishing a hearty meal, a puppet held a handkerchief aloft, hanging down from above her head, alongside her hair, to wipe the corners of her mouth from a high vantage point.
Finally, three different puppets each held a variety of fruits, offering them to Han Ming as dessert.