Although the pain was unreal, and the feeling of his bones grinding against the combat puppet's woody fists was extremely unpleasant, Fang Zhaoge felt vigorous! The main reason, contradictory to what one would expect, is actually because his physique was simply too godly.
No matter how hard the puppet punched his body, it wouldn't matter. At most, things will get bloody and some bones may be taking a little bit too much of hits…
So he couldn't care less about his safety! All he knows is that he must fight and fight and fight! The formation is also another layer of measure, thus sending him into an even more frenzied state.
When one disregards safety, whatever the reasons they have, they could burst out with their most latent potential.
When one is fearless towards death, whatever the reasons they have, no one could theoretically stop them! Because even death could not!
Without Fang Zhaoge's realization, as he fought bloody battles with the battle puppets, his fighting sense has grown so frighteningly! If it was made a comparison, before, he was merely a normal teenager who could throw out punches and perform techniques according to the instructions.
But now, he could be considered as a man who could fight unrestrainedly regardless of the rules and the norms! The type of fighter everyone feared!
Years went by, yet because Li Tianwen was merciless and did not allow the formation to give Fang Zhaoge a break, he truly underwent battle after battle continuously for these past years!
In the first week, he let the combat puppet pull its punches as he was lying on the ground exhaustedly. Despite the pain, his mentality truly couldn't take it anymore.
In the first month, he was beaten to a pulp by a Foundation Establishment combat puppet.
And it was at that moment he realized, without ungodly strength brought by breaking limits continuously, which was only possible by the system, he was simply too weak. He couldn't hold a candle against a Foundation Establishment expert as a normal cultivator…
He tried everything he could, yet, even after a whole month, he couldn't figure it out. It was then that he realized the Foundation Establishment realm actually had a magnified qi!
At its essence, the Foundation Establishment realm was to establish a foundation to uphold the cultivator's qi and powers, while Qi Refinement was merely a realm to refine qi. Refine qi so it's refined enough to form a foundation!
As for the foundation, it was simply another unlocked meridian, so a cultivator could have multiple meridians. This is why a Foundation Establishment expert's qi is more refined and could be utilized more efficiently!
Fang Zhaoge is essentially a Qi Refinement expert, so despite having the same level of strength, going against a Foundation Establishment expert is simply too hard. Even geniuses could only skip realms by breaking their limits or mastering techniques to a certain degree.
Then, he gradually realized his master's intention as he was getting beaten up by the puppet. His master actually wanted him to defeat the realms above him while having the same amount of strength as a Qi Refinement realm…
It doesn't even matter if the enemy was a Divine Hall expert, his master wanted him to defeat such an expert through the same method.
"F*cking ridiculous!"
It has to be understood that a Golden Core expert has formed his golden core, thus his qi was even more refined, as it has been condensed into a core. A Nascent Soul expert has formed his soul out of his golden core, while a Soul Formation expert could condense the materialization state of his soul…
There's no need to mention the realms of the semi-immortal where they could utilize divinity and perform ridiculous wonders.
And his master wanted him to defeat them all with the same amount of physical strength?
Just what's the f*ck up with that brain of his?
However, a test is a test, thus, Fang Zhaoge racked his brain to figure out the way to pass this insane assessment before he realized what he had overlooked in his suffering.
Unfortunately, it's not the qualities. His strength stayed the same no matter what, so even the multiplier from the qualities was useless.
It's the techniques!
[Abilities:
Level 1: [+]
Level 2: [+]
Level 6: [+]
Level 8: [+]
Level 9: [+]
Level 10: [+]
Level 11: [+]]
[Attribute Points: 116]
Ironically, it was a feature he basically never used. After all, he could easily get a better technique from the simulation and self-comprehension, so what's the point of using these?
But now, as his face received yet another punch, his rage was truly at its peak. He couldn't use the technique at a semi-immortal level as his strength was insufficient and the stupid formation was restricting him from doing so, thus he could only revert to the good old ways.
Fang Zhaoge quickly selects a particular technique.
[Mountain Breaking Fist (Level 1, Pinnacle) → Earth Breaking Fist (Level 2, Entry) Cost: (2 ÷ 1) 2 Attribute Points, Confirm?]
Without any further thought, he lets out a blood-curdling scream, "Confirm!!!"
Right after that, he pulled his punch and smashed it against the battle puppet's face! The rage contained and accumulated for a whole month was expressed through violent means! The battle puppet was sent away, but he wasn't done yet!
Fang Zhaoge wanted to maximize its proficiency and immediately upgrade the technique to do a satisfying beating to this flat-woody-faced b*stard! Thus, he jumped like an even crazier dog than a rabies dog and beat the puppet up!
After an hour or so, the proficiency was finally maximized, and Fang Zhaoge didn't even read the details before he screamed crazily as he punched the puppet's flat face.
[Earth Breaking Fist (Level 2, Pinnacle) → Earth Destroying Fist (Level 3, Entry) Cost: (4 ÷ 2) 2 Attribute Points, Confirm?]
"Confirm you dipf*ck!"
He was not in control! He's been possessed by a demon! A gorilla demon! If the puppet is conscious, it will definitely think so!
The technique's change was exaggerated, and his next fist was covered by a layer of blinding, torrential layer of aura of extermination! Under such an assault, the puppet could only fall as its head exploded.
Fang Zhaoge took a deep breath after the satisfying beating before a 2nd Foundation Establishment combat puppet simply appeared behind him and punched him in the face…
"I'm truly done with you!"
It may seem unbelievable, but in the Foundation Establishment realm, it took a relatively short amount of time. The real challenge was to defeat the first stage, but afterwards, by overwhelming them with his technique, it only took him another month before he could meet the Golden Core battle puppet.
Don't see how it actually took a month to pass the stages. If it was a battle against a real cultivator, it could be shortened by at least a tenth of the original duration it took. Unfortunately, he was up against these fearless puppets with unlimited stamina.
It was simply too hard to find an opening. Only when all aspects were truly by his side such as momentum, angle and power could he defeat them.
Despite overwhelming the puppets in terms of techniques, fighting against a fearless opponent with the same realm and strength while it has unlimited stamina was simply too difficult…
He also could feel how the duration of the fight was drastically lengthened as the realms got higher. In the Golden Core realm, even the first stage took a whole year before the battle could conclude itself.
It took 3 decades to finish the battle in the Golden Core realm.
This battle alone increased his age by 200%. Now, he is already 47 years old. But as a holder of a physique comparable to Peak God Immortal, not a single change could be seen on his physical body.
What's frustrating was the fact that he could not use techniques above mortal realms! So when the Earth Destroying Fist, which has turned into Earth Extinction Fist at level 5, he could no longer upgrade it. If he did, it would become useless.
In the Nascent Soul realm, it took a hundred years.
In the Soul Formation realm, it took over a thousand years…
And against the puppet at the 10th Soul Formation realm, even when 300 years have passed, there's no clear indication of the winner. It's the same exchanges getting repeated over and over again…
Outwardly, Fang Zhaoge cursed everything to death, however, inwardly, his heart was too stable. His senses were sharp, ready to identify even the slightest bit of mistake made by the puppet while performing perfect counters and exchanges against a battle puppet with a purple sheen on its body.
On its purple, flat head, 10 yellow stripes shined, indicating its stage.
"Master truly wanted to test me in a battle at the same level."
Fang Zhaoge closed his eyes as he flatly uttered. In fact, it was no longer on the same level. After all, both fighters have the same level of technique and strength.
However, the puppet could condense its soul! It could watch the battle with its condensed soul from any side while occasionally ambushing Fang Zhaoge from unexpected directions.
But his senses were too sharp now, and even those ambushes were useless. His unimaginable talent has been sharpened and magnified for more than a thousand years!
In short, although he has the same physical strength and level of technique as the puppet, those are the only things that could be considered equal!
In terms of realm, the difference was basically like heaven and earth. Yet Fang Zhaoge could stand his ground calmly for 300 years!
Finally, when another exchange was initiated, Fang Zhaoge abruptly opened his eyes and performed a hidden uppercut! The puppet's condensed soul obviously saw this, and the puppet automatically calculated the best attack. Its hand curled into a fist as it blocked the attack while its soul ambushed him from behind.
However, Fang Zhaoge simply continued the endless exchanges as his eyes struggled for a billionth of a second before he decided to do it.
He wanted to initiate simulations and received a movement technique! Prior, he did not need it since he could basically overwhelm anything with his sole technique. He was also struggling to make the decision.
However, having been stuck in the same battle for 300 years, he could only steel his heart and let go of the 40 consecutive simulations…
As he fought against the puppet, he decisively decided, "Simulation!"
[Detected that the host has enough energy to instigate 20 consecutive simulations. Do you wish to proceed?]
It's also a shame to do it once. The price was to let go of a quality above red. Fang Zhaoge reminded himself once again, don't worry, there'll be another chance to accumulate energy, there's definitely a chance!
"Proceed!"