Chapter 334 Puppet Strings and Control

Chen Fei was well aware that the brawny man chasing him was already in a berserk state.

The angrier his enemy got, the more successful his plan became.

At that moment, Amu received the report that Chen Fei had been located.

Without any hesitation, she gave an order:

“Inform Gu Mu and A’Duo—they must rescue Holy Maiden A-Yue at all costs!”

At this point, killing Chen Fei was no longer the priority.

What mattered most was retrieving A-Yue, or they’d all be doomed.

The Matriarch Cult made their moves loudly, without any attempt at subtlety.

Not far from Mutuo, a panting brute ducked into a narrow mountain ravine, eyes flickering with suspicion.

“Weird… he gave up the chase just like that?”

He frowned, confused.

His abdomen bore a bleeding wound, and although the flesh tried to regenerate, a surge of Qi kept disrupting the healing process.

Still, the brute acted like he was completely fine, leaning against the cliff with his sword, like a statue.

He waited and waited, but the enemy never came.

Finally, he confirmed the chase had stopped and let out a sigh of relief.

“Mutuo… Seems someone stirred up the Matriarch Cult. But who?”

While he wasn’t close to every covert Heaven’s Apex operative, he had a rough idea of their capabilities.

To draw such a massive reaction from the cult—to the point they’d abandon their plans—meant someone had struck at a serious weak point.

“Could it be… him?”

Though unsure of his guess, the current situation presented a rare opportunity.

He glanced around, found a hidden cave, and quickly ducked in.

Meanwhile, Chen Fei came to a sudden stop, raising his head as a strange figure appeared ahead.

Tall and thin—with no face.

A faceless man.

“Chen Fei?”

The faceless man’s voice was low and muffled.

Chen Fei stared curiously at the blank face.

“Can you even breathe like that? Doesn’t it feel suffocating?”

The random question clearly caught the faceless man off guard.

He hadn’t expected that kind of response.

“Tch, you’re looking to die.”

With a flick of his hand, a figure emerged in front of him.

Chen Fei raised an eyebrow.

The faceless man’s technique was unusual.

The figure that appeared was like a 2D paper cutout—a flat silhouette of a human.

Red threads extended from the back of this paper man, and as the faceless man’s fingers twitched, the puppet’s body filled out into a more lifelike form, now holding a longsword that gleamed with chilling light.

“Puppet technique? No… this is—String Manipulation Technique!”

Chen Fei’s eyes widened slightly.

He knew his own weaknesses well. Since arriving at Heaven’s Apex, he had studied extensively to catch up on knowledge of cultivation methods.

While realms might be similar, cultivation styles varied wildly—especially at the Dao realm, where one’s comprehension determined unique powers.

This “String Manipulation Technique” was one of them.

It originally evolved from ancient shadow puppet shows—controlling silhouettes behind a curtain to tell stories.

A brilliant genius had once fused that with Dao power.

The resulting puppets didn’t tire, didn’t feel pain, and would keep attacking as long as the user remained alive.

Unless the controller was killed, the puppets could mount relentless assaults.

“Not bad! So you do recognize my technique—Heaven’s Apex indeed breeds quality,” the faceless man said smugly.

As he spoke, the puppet charged forward.

Its sword moves were swift and lethal, but Chen Fei countered with his massive sword, the Edge-less Greatsword.

Under Chen Fei’s raw power, the puppet’s frame distorted noticeably.

“Hmph… Not much.”

Though Chen Fei mocked it aloud, his heart remained cautious.

He slashed with full force—cutting the puppet cleanly in two.

So easy… it actually surprised him.

But then—pain.

A faint sting spread through his joints.

He looked up and saw it—the faceless man had extended his palm, and blood-red threads now linked his fingers directly to Chen Fei’s limbs.

These were no ordinary strings—this was the essence of his Dao force!

“This… this is true String Manipulation—control!” the faceless man said with satisfaction.

But just as he thought he had taken control, Chen Fei’s Void Heaven Cauldron inside his body trembled.

That feeling of stiffness, of being bound, vanished instantly.

This trick was impressive.

Had Chen Fei been caught off guard or lacked experience, even a moment of control could’ve tipped the fight.

The faceless man hadn’t expected him to break free so quickly.

Before he could react, his puppet—previously sliced in half—reassembled.

One half kicked toward Chen Fei’s groin, while the other thrust its sword toward his dantian.

A vicious, underhanded combo.

If the brute from before had been here, he’d probably have felt phantom pain just watching—he had once been ambushed like this himself and had paid dearly for it.

But Chen Fei?

Not flustered in the slightest.

With explosive leg strength, he clamped the puppet’s kicking leg between his thighs.

Then summoned the Void Heaven Cauldron, which emerged to cover his body.

“A cauldron martial soul?” the faceless man blinked, stunned.

And no wonder—

With all of Chen Fei’s talent and skill, he had only awakened a cauldron-type martial soul?

That was commonly known to be a non-combat soul!

But Chen Fei was already used to this kind of reaction.

He watched calmly as the puppet’s sword kept driving forward—and actually smiled.

You’ve no idea how deep this rabbit hole goes.

The sword smashed against the cauldron.

A strange wave of force rippled outward—and the puppet and its blade shattered instantly!

Rebound Force!

This was one of the results of Chen Fei’s recent secluded training.

Normally, cauldron martial souls were known for their high defense.

But Chen Fei had discovered they could also convert defense into offense.

After gaining deeper insight into the Ten Thousand Dao Manual, it was like something in his mind had clicked.

He had begun to explore the full potential of his own powers—and this rebound ability was one of the results.

And clearly, it was working beautifully.

The faceless man hadn’t expected such a reversal.

Worse, the backlash struck him—blood streaked across the blank face of his mask.

Chen Fei chuckled as he saw it.

“Oh, so it is a mask. Doesn’t it get stuffy in there?”