Seeing Li Yun's choice, the puppet flicked his hand, and the other two black spheres vanished, leaving behind the one Li Yun had selected.
"Touch it, and you will receive your reward," the puppet said, pointing at the remaining black sphere in front of Li Yun.
'I hope it's something good,' Li Yun thought as he touched the sphere. It morphed and swirled like a black hole before vanishing, leaving behind an old book.
"This!" he exclaimed in surprise, quickly catching the book and reading the title.
"Seven Tribulations of Earth Calamity."
Li Yun felt a grand and ancient aura radiating from the technique as he held the book. The cover was embossed with intricate symbols that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. When he opened the book and began to read the first page, his eyes widened in astonishment.
The rank of the martial technique was written in bold, elegant characters: Top-Grade Earth-Rank.
"A top-grade earth-rank martial technique?"
His eyes widened in disbelief as the realization hit him. Techniques were typically ranked from Human to Profound, Earth, and Heaven, with Human rank being the most basic and Heaven rank the rarest and most powerful. For him to now possess a top-grade Earth-rank martial technique was beyond anything he had expected.
"Isn't this too much for just reaching the fourth floor?" Li Yun asked, turning to the puppet.
The puppet smiled at Li Yun's shock and explained, "This reward is for first-timers like you, who have reached the fourth floor on their first try. Otherwise, there are no rewards for climbing the other floors unless you clear the sixth."
Li Yun understood, feeling overjoyed and fortunate that he hadn't given up. If he had, he would have missed out on an earth-rank martial technique.
"You can go now, but remember, the real treasure awaits at the very top of the Combat Pagoda," the puppet said, flicking his hand to reveal a door in the ever-changing wall of the room.
Li Yun nodded, placing the technique in his storage ring.
"When will I see you again?" he asked curiously.
"You'll see me when you clear the sixth floor—if you can that is," the puppet replied.
Li Yun understood that the puppet would only appear twice: once when a climber reached the fourth floor or above on their first attempt, and again when someone cleared the sixth floor, thereby completing the Combat Pagoda.
"I look forward to seeing you again," Li Yun said with a warm smile before stepping through the door and vanishing from the mysterious place.
***
Moments later, Li Yun found himself standing alone in front of the Combat Pagoda.
"I guess the others have left," he muttered, estimating he had about ten to twelve hours before the combat assessment ended.
"I don't have much time. I need to find the Beastbane Root fast," Li Yun thought, heading in a direction to search for the last ingredient. He needed the Beastbane Root at any cost if he wanted to come out on top in the combat assessment.
However, he hadn't gone far from the Combat Pagoda when he suddenly stopped.
"Come out now," he shouted, looking around. Ten disciples emerged from the bushes, behind trees, and from the treetops, surrounding him with sneering, greedy expressions.
Li Yun smiled, understanding their intentions.
"Xia Guo, come out too. No need to hide," he shouted, looking at a particular tree.
"Hehe, I didn't think you'd be able to spot us. I underestimated you," a figure said, jumping down from the tree. It was none other than Xia Guo.
"You couldn't live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me," Li Yun sneered, drawing his sword.
He continued, glaring at Xia Guo with a ruthless expression, "I'll give you one more chance. Take your goons and run, or you'll regret it."
Xia Guo burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Li Yun, I know you're strong, but do you really think I should fear you when I have so many 3rd-level Qi Training Realm disciples with me? You couldn't possibly defeat them all."
He drew his sword and pointed it at Li Yun. "Attack him," he ordered.
"Don't blame me, then," Li Yun said sinisterly, activating his left eye—Red Demonic Eye.
The moment his left eye turned red, an eerie stillness fell over the attacking disciples. Their previously fierce expressions froze into masks of tension and confusion.
They looked around, their eyes glazed over and unfocused, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. It was as if a sudden wave of disorientation had swept over them.
Slowly, their bodies went limp, their hands falling to their sides. They stood there, motionless and drooling, completely entranced and lost in a daze. The intensity of their aggression melted away, replaced by a vacant stare that suggested their minds were trapped in some inexplicable trance.
"You! What did you do?" Xia Guo cried out in horror, shouting at the disciples, "Attack Li Yun!" But they didn't hear him. They stood there like puppets, or zombies, completely unaware of their surroundings.
"Haha! Do you like it?" Li Yun smiled, blood dripping from his left eye as he looked at Xia Guo with a crazed expression. "This is true strength. What you have could never stand against me."
"I-I'll leave. Please, let me go," Xia Guo stammered, regretting his decision to attack. He had thought he could take advantage of Li Yun after he left the Combat Pagoda, but reality proved cruel.
"Oh, don't worry. I won't kill you. I can't kill you. But since you attacked me, I'll need some compensation," Li Yun said deviously, activating the first form of the Heaven Raging Chaos Art.
"Raging Heaven."
"NO!" Xia Guo backed away in panic, sensing the uncontrollable energy surging through him. But it was too late to retreat.
"Thunderclap Dragon Sword!"
Directly using the 6th layer of the Thunderclap Dragon Sword, Li Yun swung his blade.
Rumble!
Xia Guo couldn't react. He watched helplessly as the attack slammed into him. His horrified expression lingered as he was blasted away like a broken kite, coughing up blood before crashing into a tree.