After speaking, Yuwen Xing couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "Not only is this man's cultivation talent exceptionally rare in this world, but his willpower and courage in cultivation are also seldom seen in our time.
"Those seventeen mechanical puppets are strong enough to make ordinary cultivators flee in terror. Yet Zhang Haobo uses them to test his swordsmanship.
"Tsk, tsk. If this man doesn't fall prematurely, he's certainly destined for the Great Dao!"
Li Fan nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Fellow Daoist Yuwen."
For a long while, no further messages came from the other side. Clearly, Yuwen Xing had gone off to spread this tale to even more people.
Coalescing twenty-four Sea-Calming Swords is typically only possible at the Dao Establishment realm, yet Zhang Haobo managed to form them shortly after reaching Qi Refinement.
Is he particularly suited to this technique? Or is there some other reason? Interesting...
Suddenly intrigued, Li Fan immediately set out for Tian Yang’s cave dwelling to see for himself.
The cave dwelling was located within a dormant underwater volcano in the western waters of the Congyun Sea.
Since the previous volcanic eruption had revealed the cave dwelling, the earthfire veins in the nearby seabed had grown increasingly active.
Along the way, Li Fan occasionally spotted small groups of Qi Refinement cultivators traveling together.
Their faces were excited, and their conversations revolved around Zhang Haobo.
From their discussions, it seemed Zhang Haobo could now hold out against those seventeen mechanical puppets for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Whenever Zhang Haobo occupied the puppets, numerous others would seize the chance to sneak into the cave dwelling, attempting to seek opportunities.
But a single cup of tea's time was too short. Before they could discover anything, Zhang Haobo would exhaust his strength and withdraw from the cave dwelling.
These opportunists would then become targets for the puppets' wrath, meeting gruesome deaths.
However, rumors suggested that through these repeated sword training sessions, Zhang Haobo was improving at an astonishing rate. Perhaps he would soon break through to the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm.
When that happened, his strength would surely undergo a huge leap, allowing him to restrain the puppets for even longer.
Those nearby would then be able to fish in troubled waters, entering the cave dwelling to search for opportunities.
As for Zhang Haobo, he seemed largely indifferent to this behavior, showing no particular dissatisfaction. He merely repeated the tedious cycle of rest, training, and rest again.
Thus, the number of cultivators harboring such cunning intentions grew steadily.
Of course, some were purely here to witness Zhang Haobo’s prowess, awestruck by his feat of single-handedly battling seventeen puppets.
Before long, Li Fan arrived at the waters where Tian Yang's cave dwelling was located.
Due to the active earthfire veins, the seawater here was noticeably warmer than elsewhere.
Numerous dead fish floated on the surface, and this was after cleanup efforts had already been made.
Fortunately, Li Fan had come prepared. Activating both his Form-Concealing Talisman and Fire-Bathing Talisman, he dove into the seawater.
The deeper he went, the hotter the water became.
By the time he neared the seabed, the water was nearly boiling.
Scorching lava erupted continuously from an underwater volcanic vent alongside billowing white smoke.
When the lava hit the seawater, it cooled instantly, hardening into black rock that piled up and spread outward.
Numerous cultivators gathered around the volcanic vent.
They paid no mind to the boiling water or the spectacular sight of the underwater volcanic eruptions.
Their attention was entirely focused on Zhang Haobo, who sat with his eyes closed in meditation not far away.
As Li Fan drew closer, he caught snippets of their hushed discussions.
"That was his first attempt after reaching the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm. It doesn’t seem like he lasted much longer than before."
"What do you know? Can't you see that the force behind his moves is about the same as when he was in the early-stage Qi Refinement realm? He's clearly still adjusting to his newfound power."
"Exactly. I bet this round he'll last for the time it takes two cups of tea to cool!"
Amid the chatter, Zhang Haobo's eyes snapped open, his expression as unreadable as still water. He rose abruptly and charged straight into the volcano's mouth.
The onlookers didn't follow him in. Instead, a watery screen flickered to life at the center, displaying the scene inside the cave dwelling.
The seventeen mechanical puppets were clearly not mindless constructs. After Zhang Haobo's repeated provocations, they had anticipated his return and lay in ambush right at the entrance.
The moment he entered, they launched their assault.
Zhang Haobo remained unflustered. Twenty-four shimmering blue water swords arrayed themselves around him, deflecting the puppets' attacks one by one.
Meanwhile, he leapt and darted through the gaps between the mechanical puppets, and in the blink of an eye, he had broken through their encirclement, emerging on the other side.
He then soared upward, hovering mid-air.
"Eh? What's he planning?"
"He's not just defending? Is he switching to offense instead?"
Amid the crowd's astonished cries, Zhang Haobo fixed his sharp gaze on the puppets below, forming a swift hand seal.
In that instant, the twenty-four water swords accelerated dramatically, moving several times faster than before. They rained down upon the mechanical puppets like a sudden, violent storm.
The swords danced like spirits, creating countless afterimages and turning the area into a crisscrossing web of blue silhouettes. It gave the illusion of hundreds or even thousands of water swords striking simultaneously.
The mechanical puppets had incredibly resilient bodies; the water swords couldn't leave a scratch on their surfaces, only managing to briefly halt their movements with each impact.
But the moment they recovered from the slight pause, another barrage of attacks would already be upon them, locking them in a cycle of perpetual interruption.
The relentless, waterfall-like assault forced the puppets into a purely defensive stance. Zhang Haobo, alone, was suppressing all seventeen mechanical puppets!
Outside the cave dwelling, every cultivator watching the scene was struck dumb, and their hearts raced with awe.
"Is Zhang Haobo truly only at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm? What technique is he cultivating? He's unbelievably strong!"
"They say he only began cultivating a little over a year ago. This is a true once-in-a-generation talent!"
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Fellow Daoists, let’s charge in now! Look, those puppets are completely pinned down. This is our chance to explore the cave dwelling's opportunities!"
The rest were immediately stirred into a restless, eager mood.
Just then, a burly man shook his head and said, "I don't think so. Brother Zhang's move is undoubtedly fearsome, but it must consume a tremendous amount of vital essence. It can't last long. I fear he won't even hold out as long as he did last time."
The crowd paused at his words, pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded in agreement.
Li Fan, however, kept his eyes fixed on Zhang Haobo’s image in the watery screen, his brow slightly furrowed.
He recognized the move Zhang Haobo had just used. It was a killing technique from the Sea-Calming Sword Art: Water Dragon's Roar.
His sword danced like a dragon, wild and untamed, sweeping across the battlefield with devastating range, blinding speed, and brutal force.
It was an extraordinarily powerful technique. But it demanded a tremendous expenditure of spiritual power to sustain, one typically only achievable by those at the Dao Establishment realm.
Baili Chen from before, though also at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm and a practitioner of the complete Sea-Calming Sword Art, had been incapable of executing this move.
What puzzled Li Fan was this: while it was true that Zhang Haobo's talent far surpassed Baili Chen's, he was still only at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm. This particular technique, Water Dragon's Roar, simply couldn't be maintained for long.
Yet, Zhang Haobo wore an expression of utter confidence, as though not the slightest bit concerned that he would deplete his spiritual power.
Why was that?