It let out a low roar, its feet and hands stepping on the wall, its golden body rising like a dragon!
With a few leaps, it arrived beneath Meng Chong.
At the moment of exertion, its body suddenly spread out, like a giant war bow being drawn, showcasing the beauty of power.
Its right arm thrust out fiercely, clearly with great force, yet it felt light and agile, like a crane spreading its wings.
Then, Dasheng's palm fell gently, its five fingers nimble as if it were still alive, landing on the puppet's head of Meng Chong.
A light twist, a quick wrench.
When it landed on the ground, its toes touched first, and then its arms, like a cloak, wings against its sides, slid down swiftly, bringing a bright red shadow.
The gust of wind howled, but when it landed, it was nearly silent.
In stark contrast was the sound of Meng Chong hitting the ground.
A loud bang reverberated inside Checkpoint No. 3.
Yuan Dasheng let out a light breath, looked at the severed head of Meng Chong in his hand, then flipped his wrist, and let the head roll out like a wooden ball.
The head rolled a short distance due to the movement before coming to a rest on the ground.
Despite the limited expressiveness of the puppet's head, one could still see a hint of Meng Chong's shocked expression at the moment of the fatal blow.
Meanwhile, at the City Lord's Mansion.
Meng Chong's eyes snapped open.
He looked as if awoken from a nightmare, the sensation of death so vivid, deeply shaking his soul.
"Huff, huff, huff!" He panted heavily, his whole body drenched in cold sweat.
If Han Ming had seen him, he might not have recognized Meng Chong. At this moment, Meng Chong looked emaciated, like a patient with a lingering illness, unable to bask in the sunlight all day. His once robust body had become extremely thin, his cheekbones prominent, and his eye sockets deeply sunken.
Originally, his eyes were sharp and intimidating. But now, his gaze was utterly dim.
"Strong, that mechanical monkey is so strong!"
"But I will not lose."
"As long as I train specially, I can definitely make a comeback, defeat it, and pass this checkpoint!"
Meng Chong was heavily struck but not discouraged.
However, just as he tried to sit up, the small movement caused his eyes to go black, and he fainted directly.
With a thud, he lay back down on the bed.
The servant outside the door, who had heard the commotion, knew that Meng Chong's soul had already returned to his body. Upon hearing the thud, the servant immediately felt uneasy, hurriedly calling out, but received no response from Meng Chong.
The two servants outside turned red with anxiety, and in their panic, decided to break down the door together.
"Young Master Meng Chong!"
"It's bad, Young Master Meng Chong has fainted!!"
The cries for help spread out, and chaos erupted in the back courtyard of the City Lord's Mansion.
Underground workshop.
Ning Zhuo's mouth was slightly open, unable to hide his joy.
This outcome was very different from what he had estimated.
The joy was a bit overwhelming.
"The combat power of Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng was much higher than Meng Chong's."
"From this practical test, although Meng Chong's Immortal Talent Mad Dash Thunder had improved, it still couldn't match Yuan Dasheng."
"The turning point was that Meng Chong himself had an issue, seeming unable to use Mad Dash Thunder."
Ning Zhuo speculated, this was likely due to Soul Entering Immortal Palace.
Without a physical body, many things were inconvenient.
Just like Ning Zhuo needing the Life Hanging Thread to sense the Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
Meng Chong's situation was the same.
Activating Mad Dash Thunder continuously consumed essence, qi, and spirit. This consumption was already fierce, and the transfer through the Life Hanging Thread caused too much loss, and it was used recklessly on the puppet body by Meng Chong.
"If facing Meng Chong in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, his Mad Dash Thunder would be more effective!"
"On the other hand, because Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng was a mechanical monkey, its combat power remained unchanged inside and outside the Immortal Palace."
"Dasheng's close combat ability was extraordinarily strong, Meng Chong couldn't match it at all."
"Previously, Meng Chong could rely on Immortal Aptitude to maintain the situation. Once Immortal Aptitude couldn't be used and he was closed in by Yuan Dasheng, he had no chance."
Summarizing up to here, Ning Zhuo felt a strong sense of relief again.
In analyzing intelligence earlier, he had estimated Yuan Dasheng's close combat prowess, thus avoiding direct confrontation, not even attempting a surprise attack.
The facts proved how wise his decision was.
If he had used force head-on earlier, he would have been fed to Yuan Dasheng.
Ning Zhuo concentrated, strengthening his connection with Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng.
A few breaths later, a white circle of light for teleportation emerged out of thin air in front of Ning Zhuo, expanding until it disgorged Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng.
Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng was shorter than him but had a more robust build compared to Ning Zhuo. Even standing still, its red and gold color scheme and firm expression made Ning Zhuo like it from the bottom of his heart.
The boy rubbed his hands together, his smile genuinely reaching the deepest part of his heart.
He squeezed a muscle of Yuan Dasheng and felt a chill instead. The fur of the mechanism Yuan Dasheng was very soft, while the exposed golden bones were extremely hard.
This texture was something the puppet Ning Zhuo didn't have.
Ning Zhuo inspected Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng and found some new scars on its body.
These were left by Meng Chong.
"The mechanism artifacts by the Magma Fairy Palace for Qi Refinement Realm trial disciples were not made with high-end materials."
"The Three Ancestral Masters probably wanted to give each trial disciple a relatively fine practice mechanism."
If the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit heard this analysis, it would be hopping mad.
What did he mean by "relatively fine"?!
Was that any way to speak!
The Magma Fairy Palace consumed an entire Golden Furnace for this! The materials used were at the limit of the checkpoint's regulations.
Nothing was better than Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng! Even compared to the suspended coffins in the checkpoints, Yuan Dasheng was far superior.
To make an analogy, the normal standard was wooden knives and wooden swords; Ning Zhuo's mechanism Yuan Dasheng was like a bronze or iron weapon!
Ning Zhuo attempted to repair the mechanism Yuan Dasheng.
The muscle structure made of Vermilion Fire Glaze had many fine cracks.
Looking closely at this muscle structure revealed a slight transparency.
The information given by the Magma Fairy Palace, though lacked a mechanical diagram, stated the muscle structure was made of Vermilion Flame Stone.
Fire Persimmon Mountain had an abundance of Vermilion Flame Stones.
Ning Zhuo had plenty stored in his material warehouse, so he took them out immediately, roasted them, and produced a bright red fluid, clear and luminous.
He infiltrated this fluid into the cracks, quickly sealing them completely, making them as good as new.
Ning Zhuo then studied the monkey fur and revealed a troubled expression.
He didn't understand how the monkey fur was made.
So, he decided to use his method to create some fur for Yuan Dasheng, planting it on the exposed parts of its body.
On the surface, it looked consistent with the large areas of the original monkey fur. But Ning Zhuo knew, its defensive performance had decreased significantly.
After completing the repairs, Ning Zhuo started cleaning Yuan Dasheng's entire body.
Finally, he took out a handkerchief, occasionally exhaling onto it, polishing the golden bones of Golden Blood Battle Ape-Dasheng until they shone bright, without a speck of dust, making him completely satisfied.
Just as he was about to study the mechanism Yuan Dasheng in depth, someone delivered a message.
The messenger left, Ning Zhuo opened the letter and read it, raising an eyebrow slightly.
The letter informed him to go to the Zhou Family tomorrow to check on his cultivation technique progress, and to use the Zhou Family's formation to aid his cultivation.
"So the Ning Family and Zhou Family have formed an alliance?"
"Hmm... then the Zheng Family must also be involved."
"The three families are united, what about the City Lord's Mansion?"
Ning Zhuo was not surprised; this shift in the situation was within his expectations.
What he pondered was, what image should he present to the three families?
After mulling it over for a little while, Ning Zhuo made a decision: "It's time to showcase some mechanical talents and steal some attention."