Chen San roared inwardly, going all out as he controlled all the bamboo puppets, crashing fiercely into Ning Zhuo’s rear flank.
Ning Zhuo’s team was caught in a pincer attack!
Seeing this situation, the cultivators watching inevitably grew tense, as if Ning Zhuo’s defeat was right before their eyes.
"Is success imminent?" Patchwork Sun nervously clenched his fists, fully aware of his own lack of strength, and decided to keep all his bamboo puppets stationary at the rear.
Only by first defeating Ning Zhuo would he have any chance to control his own bamboo puppets and find a sliver of hope for victory in the subsequent competition.
Ning Zhuo remained calm, his eyes narrowed slightly, feeling somewhat disappointed.
"Is that all?" After observing for a moment, he saw no new tricks from the insect bamboo puppets.
Then, in the next moment, Ning Zhuo’s suspended left hand finally ceased plucking just one or two strings. His hand opened abruptly, and his fingers were like eagle claws, striking a shadow that enveloped the zither strings!
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
Though still piercing, this suddenly erupting zither sound was distinct in rhythm, austere and majestic, carrying a strong battle spirit akin to golden spears and iron horses, a ruthless resolve to slaughter!
Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppets, at this instant, seemed to come alive.
They seemed to truly transform into a battalion of elite soldiers!
Those apparent gaps, once "torn open," closed immediately! The few insect bamboo puppets that charged in were quickly obliterated, as if caught in a meat grinder.
The inner circle puppets twisted their bodies, arms like spears, precisely striking joints!
The outer circle puppets spun like wheels, raising a gust of wind, and brutally knocked flying the incoming insect puppets!
Some of the bamboo puppets craftily attacked from below, while others leaped high, like tigers pouncing on their prey, savagely exterminating Chen San’s puppets.
The entire bamboo puppet team transformed into a high-speed, intricately meshed mechanical grindstone!
No matter how resilient your insect armor, how fierce and peculiar your toxic needle and arm blades, nor your rear attack with syringes and arm crossbows, once caught in this sound-driven slaughter formation, it’s like beans thrown into a millstone, crushed to pieces!
Jiang Xiaobian, Chen San widened their eyes, pupils shrinking, faces full of shock.
The audience gasped in amazement.
"Is this... a battle formation?"
"Like a limb making commands! What an incredible manipulation skill!"
"A military family battle formation! How did he incorporate the way of military family formations into mechanism control?!"
On the stone seat, Qinghuangzi straightened his hunched back, his muddy old eyes shining with unprecedented brilliance.
A moment ago, he was worried for Ning Zhuo, but now he was almost excited enough to stand up.
"With such skill, it’s no wonder Ning Zhuo is so confident."
"A genius like him, able to inherit the master’s legacy and carry it forward, Heaven truly favors us."
Qinghuangzi was astonished.
He had anticipated Ning Zhuo’s mastery in mechanisms but didn’t expect the latter to also excel in the Soldier Dao, and his military family expertise was equally profound.
The audience’s exclamations ceased, turning to discuss Ning Zhuo.
"Ning Zhuo is so young yet has such mastery; truly a genius. He’s already far ahead of all opponents."
"With the power of one, he can control dozens of bamboo puppets to execute such a sophisticated battle formation... the top spot in this trial is certainly his!"
The consensus was that Ning Zhuo must be the leader of this Xingyun Trial.
Yet at this moment, Ning Zhuo looked up at Qinghuangzi.
Qinghuangzi’s eyes narrowed, sensing Ning Zhuo’s eager ambition.
This old cultivator couldn’t help but feel a surge of heroism: "Does Ning Zhuo crave an even greater challenge? If that’s so, then let me add fuel to the fire!"
He flipped his withered hand, and a flute of pure black jade appeared.
Qinghuangzi brought the flute close to his lips, took a deep breath, using Divine Sense and Mana, and played with all his might!
Wuuu—Oooom—!!!
The flute sound suddenly rose, suppressing all other sounds. Directly targeting other musical notes, it caused intense interference and distortion.
Patchwork Sun, Jiang Xiaobian, Chen San, Zhang Dadan and others turned pale, as if hit by a heavy blow.
The difficulty of controlling bamboo puppets soared several times, causing them to stagger, some even collapsing on the ground, spinning crazily in place!
Ning Zhuo’s masterfully controlled and finely tuned battle formation also suffered a severe impact. All puppets’ movements slowed and distorted.
"Qinghuangzi has made a move!"
"What is this flute sound? It’s making Divine Sense communication extremely difficult."
"Is this the true challenge of the Xingyun Trial?"
Ning Zhuo’s formation fell into disarray, with heavy losses becoming increasingly severe.
Despite his opponents suffering even greater losses, the situation was distinctly more disadvantageous for Ning Zhuo.
Because he couldn’t afford to replenish.
Facing many foes, each bamboo puppet was precious. Conversely, his opponents had abundant soldiers, with large, resilient forces that could withstand attrition.
Moreover, Zhang Dadan’s group, with only three heavily armored large bamboo puppets, was easier to control. In this situation, the large bamboo puppets pushed Ning Zhuo’s team as if three heavy hammers were about to shatter his formation.
Patchwork Sun was going all out; his mechanical techniques were unique, capable of patching up and stitching the wounded. His opponents were already plentiful in soldiers, with him actively assisting, pulling injured soldiers back up and into battle.
The observing cultivators noticed Ning Zhuo being targeted and were somewhat discontented.
"What’s with Qinghuangzi? Showing favoritism?"
"First, the rules allow teaming up, then the flute sound interferes; this is overly targeting Ning Zhuo."
"This isn’t fair at all!"
Ning Zhuo’s brows furrowed slightly, then smoothed out, for the first time showing a slight expression of battle intent.
Before everyone, he slowly spoke, his voice not loud, but infused with mana, making it clear: "Now, this is getting interesting."
"It’s worth using both my hands."
Chen San, Jiang Xiaobian, and the others’ pupils suddenly shrank to needle-point size.
Patchwork Sun’s music went off-key.
Zhang Dadan’s heart skipped a beat.
Only then did the observing cultivators suddenly realize: all along, despite the seemingly perilous situation, Ning Zhuo had only been using his left hand.
Now, his wrists were suspended in the air, and his ten fingers were placed upon the ancient zither.
Clang, clang, clang, clang...
Ning Zhuo’s hands swept and rolled across the zither strings like a storm!
The ancient zither erupted with an unprecedented sound, sharp, violent, almost like a roar.
The sound ripped through the air, carrying a penetrating quality, filled with ultimate battle intent.
The zither sound completely overshadowed the entire scene, even stealing the flair from Qinghuangzi’s flute sound.
Qinghuangzi’s fingers slightly trembled on the flute, his eyes filled with unbelievable delight!
"This child’s music skill is so solid and profound, how old is he? He seems to be of the same age as me, but when I only exert Foundation Establishment level power, I’m suppressed by him!"
With the zither sound dominating the scene, Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppets surged forward like tigers breaking free from chains, with their formation unhindered once more!
Crushing, utterly crushing.
Wiping out everything! Truly wiping out everything!
Moments later, on the stone stage, only Ning Zhuo’s bamboo puppets remained, their formation still sternly standing silent.
While the other bamboo puppets had all turned into heaps of debris!
The dust settled.
Only the last lingering resonance of a sharp zither note echoed above and in the hearts of everyone.
A few breaths later, Qinghuangzi broke the silence, asking Ning Zhuo: "What ancient zither score method did you use?"
Ning Zhuo cupped his fists in salute, loudly said: "Senior Qinghuangzi, this is the Dawn Demon-Vanquishing Chart. It embodies my will to glorify the Righteous Path, slaying evil and vanquishing demons, using the tearing sound of the zither to destroy all sins. Even if there’s darkness, it will be torn and penetrated. Should a long night endure, I will bring the dawn!"
The young man in white stood tall and straight, speaking with conviction.
"Well done, well done, Dawn." Qinghuangzi eventually couldn’t help but stand up, his eyes shining, looking at Ning Zhuo, full of admiration for this young talent.
"For this Xingyun Trial, you are the top scorer!"
"This inheritance of my master is most appropriately passed to you."
Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and loudly said: "Thank you, senior!"
Patchwork Sun, Chen San, Jiang Xiaobian, Zhang Dadan, Ahuo, and others wore expressions of defeat, with no dissent.
The large chunks of bamboo puppet debris on the stone platform best embodied their deepest sense of powerlessness at that moment.
The crowd that came to watch, originally filled with curiosity and doubt toward Ning Zhuo, after witnessing this trial firsthand, were left only with conviction and awe.
"This... this is simply a crushing victory!"
"Actually, Qinghuangzi already sided so much, yet he still couldn’t suppress Ning Zhuo."
"There’s no point in holding the Xingyun Trial any longer. Ning Zhuo was too dazzling, and Qinghuangzi’s decision is a wise one."