Chapter 198

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Chapter 198: Xiong Li’s Weakness

“Can we really not move the time up a bit?” Ning Dao asked.

“No, it’s impossible to move it forward,” Xu Fan shook his head.

“Well, five years is just a blink of an eye for me.”

“But waiting for something you really want makes time feel so long,” Ning Dao sighed.

Hearing Ning Dao’s words, Xu Fan rolled his eyes.

“Brother Ning, don’t be so impatient. A good Spiritual Sword can’t be made in just a day or two.”

“Besides, the Spiritual Sword I’m making for you will be at least fifty percent stronger than your old one,” Xu Fan said.

Actually, Xu Fan planned to make a pretty basic Spiritual Sword for Ning Dao because the materials were limited. But what Xu Fan considers basic might be something most master craftsmen could never achieve.

“I know, Elder Xu, you’ve been working hard,” Ning Dao said, understanding that making a new Spiritual Sword in five years was actually pretty fast.

If it were any other master craftsman, it would take at least ten years, maybe even twenty.

“Well, when you get the Spiritual Sword, you’ll see these five years were worth it.”

Even a practice sword would be stronger than your old basic Spiritual Sword.

“Then I’ll be looking forward to it,” Ning Dao said with a smile.

The two then talked about the beast race, and Xu Fan asked Ning Dao for some public information and intelligence about the beast race from the Elder Council.

In the underground space, outside the beast race teleportation formation, Xu Fan held a space ring filled with Spirit Heart Ore, lost in thought.

“Spirit stones can solve all problems; if they can’t, it’s because there aren’t enough spirit stones,” Xu Fan said, looking at the space ring in his hand.

“I’ve gathered a small part of what I need; now I just have to make the heavy armor puppet.”

“Grape, I gave you twenty percent of the computing power, so why haven’t you come up with a high-level alloy formula yet?” Xu Fan asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

“……………..”

“Master, you’re cutting costs too much. A formula like spirit iron alloy is usually found by chance; to research it actively would take years.”

“Right now, Grape’s database is collecting all the smelting data for basic spirit ores in the cultivation world.”

“As we gather more data on smelting basic spirit ores, the formula you want might show up,” Grape’s voice had a hint of sadness.

“Alright, I overestimated your abilities,” Xu Fan admitted.

Since Grape leveled up, it had given him so many surprises that Xu Fan started thinking Grape could do anything.

“I’ve let the master down.”

“Don’t be disappointed; you’re already doing great. Now that the Spirit Heart Ore is here.”

“I’ll use two thousand pounds of Spirit Heart Ore to optimize you; how much will your computing power improve?” Xu Fan asked, knowing that if the computing power wasn’t enough, he’d need to optimize and upgrade.

“Computing power should increase by 30%, and the database capacity will go up by 50%.”

Grape, who had sounded a bit sad before, now sounded much happier.

“Not bad, that’s a bit better than I expected.”

“What’s the maximum data for merging Spirit Heart Ore?” Xu Fan asked again.

“The computing power increases by 60%. The database capacity increases by 100%, with a maximum of 5,500 pounds of Spirit Heart Ore that can be merged.”

“The optimal data value is merging 4,000 pounds of Spirit Heart Ore.”

After hearing Grape’s words, Xu Fan decided to go all out and optimize directly to the top level.

“After the Sect Competition ends, I’ll personally upgrade you,” Xu Fan said.

“Thank you, Master.”

After finishing the conversation with Grape, Xu Fan glanced at his two clones, who were being overworked by the capitalists.

At that moment, they were collaborating to craft an artifact-level Giant Shield. Checking the progress, they had already refined half of it, and the first Giant Shield was expected to be completed in three months.

“Don’t forget what you said. Once the Sect Competition is over, you have to come and help us craft,” the first clone said.

“Of course, this is about our future safety,” Xu Fan said with a smile, pleased that the first clone had developed a strong sense of responsibility and treated everything as their own.

Wait, isn’t that actually my own matter?

The next day, on Satellite Island.

Satellite Island was square-shaped, with a massive coliseum-like duel arena at its center, spanning 50,000 meters in diameter.

The competition had already begun in the arena.

The matchups were randomly assigned by Grape, ensuring no one could cheat.

The first match was between swordsmen.

With a flash of sword light, the battle ended swiftly—swordsmen were always direct and to the point.

The second match featured a spellcaster against a disciple from the Ten Thousand Treasures sect.

In the end, the power of money won out.

The third match was Xu Lingtai against a technical-style disciple, whom he promptly sent flying out of the arena with a large-scale spell.

The fourth match……………….

Xu Fan, watching from the platform, felt a bit bored. He couldn’t say the battles were unexciting, but they didn’t exactly thrill him either.

As the competition progressed, the first round of the arena matches concluded.

The tool puppets moved in to repair the damaged arena.

The 50 first-generation disciples who advanced took a break.

An hour later, the second round of the arena matches began.

The first match was Xiong Li versus Qian Bing.

“Brother Xiong, go easy on me,” Qian Bing said, his legs trembling slightly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just break your legs and give you a few minor injuries,” Xiong Li said with a menacing grin.

Clad in his heavy armor-style Spiritual Energy Armor and unleashing his Violent Energy True Form, Xiong Li watched Qian Bing with a calm, indifferent expression.

By then, Qian Bing was already surrounded by puppets, with a fire cannon positioned behind them.

Seeing this, Xu Yuexian turned to Xu Fan with concern and asked, “Master, isn’t this too dangerous?”

“Don’t worry, I’m watching. Nothing serious will happen,” Xu Fan said. Initially, he had considered holding the arena matches in a virtual space, but that idea was quickly dismissed. After all, nothing beats the thrill of real combat.

As for potential mishaps, Xu Fan’s consciousness had already enveloped the entire arena, ready to intercept any disturbances instantly.

On the arena, a hundred Foundation Establishment Stage puppets, each wielding Giant Shields, stood in formation, backed by another hundred archer puppets.

The fire cannon, prominently positioned by Qian Bing, loomed as a constant threat to Xiong Li.

“Brother Xiong, if you can dodge this shot, I’ll surrender. How about that?” Qian Bing taunted.

“You’re overthinking it,” Xiong Li replied coolly.

With that, Xiong Li unleashed his full power and charged straight at Qian Bing.

His Violent Energy True Form surged to a towering ten meters, resembling a mountain as he barreled toward his opponent.

“Come on, let’s see what that cannon of yours can do,” Xiong Li growled, his eyes locked on Qian Bing.

From his spatial storage, Xiong Li pulled out a pair of enormous golden hammers and swung them at the front row of Qian Bing’s giant shield puppets.

“Oh, so the hammers I forged ended up in this kid’s hands,” Xu Fan remarked, watching Xiong Li wield the massive weapons.

“The weight of those hammers is no joke—even a Golden Core cultivator would struggle to handle them.”

“But it looks like this kid’s got the hang of them,” Xu Fan added, observing as the hammers in Xiong Li’s hands grew even larger.

On the battlefield, Qian Bing watched in frustration as his front line of giant shield puppets was obliterated like tofu. “Xiong Li, you’re not playing fair! You always used your fists before!” he shouted angrily.

During the duel, Qian Bing had carefully calculated Xiong Li’s attack power. Normally, five giant shield puppets could withstand one of his strikes, but now, armed with hammers, Xiong Li’s attacks were unstoppable.

“Giant spear puppets, archer puppets, Spell Puppets—attack at full strength!” Qian Bing commanded.

Seeing Xiong Li tear through his defenses, Qian Bing decided to go all out. He pushed every puppet forward, hoping to force Xiong Li into making a mistake so he could deliver the final blow.

Two hundred giant shield puppets, a hundred giant spear puppets, a hundred archer puppets, and a hundred Spell Puppets formed a tight battle formation, surrounding Xiong Li completely.

The giant shield puppets absorbed the brunt of Xiong Li’s hammer strikes, while the giant spear puppets waited for openings to strike, their blows clashing against Xiong Li’s Violent Energy True Form with a resonant clang.

Meanwhile, the archer and Spell Puppets focused their ranged attacks on Xiong Li’s suspected weak points.

Watching Xiong Li encased in his golden Violent Energy True Form, Xu Fan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The flaw in this technique seems to be under his left big toe,” he mused.

“For now, that spot seems safe enough,” Xu Fan added with a smile. When he’d created this technique, he’d spent a long time debating where to place the weakness before settling on that location.

“Xiong Li’s hammer skills are impressive, and Qian Bing’s puppet control isn’t bad either. At least his battle formation is solid.”

“Too bad he’s up against a fully geared tank,” Xu Fan remarked.

In Xu Fan’s eyes, Xiong Li had already outgrown the Foundation Establishment Stage.

No sooner had Xu Fan spoken than Xiong Li shattered Qian Bing’s carefully constructed battle formation. Like an unstoppable tank, Xiong Li charged toward Qian Bing, obliterating every puppet in his path with a single swing of his hammer.

“This is bad. They can’t break through his defense. I’ll have to go all in,” Qian Bing muttered through gritted teeth as he watched Xiong Li close in.

By now, only a fraction of his puppets remained.

Just as Xiong Li prepared to swing his hammer at a fresh line of ten giant shield puppets, the fire cannon finally fired.

‘Bronze Battle Body!’

In an instant, Xiong Li’s golden Violent Energy True Form transformed into a coppery hue, and he swung one hammer with immense force at the incoming runic cannonball.

“Boom!”

The impact sent Xiong Li flying hundreds of meters, carving a deep trench into the ground.

Before he could recover, dozens of specialized runic arrows rained down on him.

“Duang!”

The sound reverberated like the tolling of an ancient temple bell.

Before Xiong Li could react, the fire cannon fired again.

“Boom!”

This time, Xiong Li’s Bronze True Form shattered, and the area was engulfed in smoke.

“I should’ve won this time,” Qian Bing said, wiping the sweat from his brow. From the moment he’d committed all his puppets, he’d meticulously planned every move, exhausting most of his energy.

“Junior Sister Su, it’s time to announce the results,” Qian Bing called to the girl standing outside the arena.

“Oh, I now declare……………”