Chapter Seventy-Four: The Puppet Beast

Leng Tian stepped inside the tower, and before his eyes unfolded a spacious square hall. The walls encircling it were a deep, shadowy blue, carved with countless ancient depictions of mythical beasts soaring in tumultuous flight.

There were also vivid murals of celestial maidens in colorful skirts dancing through the sky, so lifelike that it seemed as if, in the next moment, they might step out from the walls and appear before him.

The mural on the wall directly ahead caught Leng Tian’s attention. It depicted flying celestial maidens as well, yet around them coiled four divine beasts: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—four legendary monsters of the demon clan. Strikingly, both the maidens and the beasts were gazing upward, their eyes fixed in the same direction.

Following their gaze, Leng Tian saw at the top of the mural a resplendent throne radiating rainbow light, as if it reflected the colors of the heavens. Upon it sat a giant, as imposing as a mountain, clad in water-blue divine armor—a middle-aged man, one hand supporting his chin, while the other gripped a three-pronged spear.

Seeing this figure, Leng Tian felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him before. With a brief recollection, he realized this was the very deity of the demon clan who had appeared in the sky above the endless sea during the grand pilgrimage of myriad monsters.

Understanding now, he surmised that this Jade Ocean Paradise must once have been the secluded retreat of that divine being; otherwise, why would there be murals within the tower showing divine beasts and celestial maidens worshipping such a powerful deity?

He took a few steps forward to examine the mural more closely, but failed to notice that, a few paces later, he was standing within a teleportation array. As soon as his body entered, the array suddenly burst forth in dazzling light, illuminating the entire hall.

Leng Tian felt as if his vision were engulfed by brilliance, his body stretched and torn, a slight dizziness clouding his mind. But in the next instant, clarity returned, and Judah’s voice sounded in his ear: “Teleportation arrays are wonderful, they save so much time!”

The dizziness faded; Leng Tian opened his eyes and looked around, discovering his surroundings had changed completely. The square hall vanished; now he stood on a circular platform, and upon sensing the area, realized the platform floated in mid-air.

At the edge of the round platform, towering cylindrical stone pillars rose several dozen meters high. Each pillar was linked to its neighbors by eight thick silver chains, encircling the entire platform like a cage.

“Why does this look so much like the dueling arena I once saw in the Tianyuan Continent?” Leng Tian observed the arrangement, recalling the martial arenas from his travels.

“Boss, it seems this path to Jade Ocean Paradise isn’t a smooth road after all!” Judah, sensing something, spoke with a hint of concern.

Leng Tian, too, sensed the strange aura permeating the air. His divine sense instantly swept outward, probing for any suspicious changes around him. A quick scan of the platform revealed no teleportation arrays nearby. He realized there must be some rule or challenge here, waiting for him to break through.

Just as he thought this, Judah cried out in alarm: “Boss, something’s coming! Damn, is that a bull or a bear?”

Leng Tian’s divine sense was equally sharp, feeling a massive pressure from above. Instantly, he shifted several feet away, stabilized his stance, and turned to look.

A muffled boom resounded, and a colossal creature appeared—a body as robust as a bear, but with the head of a bull, two curved horns gleaming coldly.

Yet this strange bull-headed beast’s enormous black eyes showed no spark of intelligence, as if it possessed no soul, a cold body standing motionless.

Its massive frame loomed like a black mountain, the visual impact enough to send chills through one’s core. Leng Tian’s eyes narrowed, his body instinctively tensed, a faint golden light enveloping him—he was ready for a fierce battle.

The bull-headed beast snorted two jets of white air, its mechanical black eyes swiveling toward Leng Tian. With a thunderous stomp, its bear-like legs pounded the ground, leaving a shockwave in its wake, and in an instant it charged at Leng Tian, ramming heavily into his chest.

Another dull crash echoed; Leng Tian’s eyes flashed with surprise—he hadn’t managed to block the assault. Like a golden meteor, he was knocked backwards, slamming hard into the silver chains between two stone pillars.

His chest surged with tumultuous energy, even his glass-like golden body threatened to break. The rebound from the chains hurled him back toward the bull-headed beast.

The beast let out a muffled roar, its feet moving so fast they left afterimages. Lowering its waist, its cold, gleaming horns aimed straight at Leng Tian’s chest.

Leng Tian squinted, his body still unable to halt its forward momentum. Judah, seeing the bull-headed beast's ferocity and sensing Leng Tian might not withstand it, asked anxiously, “Boss, should I help?”

“No need…” Leng Tian replied, a white flash in his hand as he gripped the Bloodstain Blade tight, swinging it down with all his might at the beast’s hairy head.

The sharp blade sliced through the space between them, striking one of the beast’s horns. Sparks flew as metal clashed, the Bloodstain Blade bouncing high, while Leng Tian used the recoil to flip through the air and evade the beast’s deadly charge.

The bull-headed beast did not stop its forward rush despite Leng Tian’s daring strike, crashing into the stone pillar with such force that the entire platform shuddered.

Leng Tian landed, shaking his numbed arm and sheathing the Bloodstain Blade. In his eyes, flames of battle burned fiercely, a majestic aura surging forth as he converted his golden energy into tri-colored divine force. With fists clenched, sonic booms erupted with every movement.

His feet stamped the ground, trailing three-colored light, as he shot toward the bull-headed beast, which had turned to attack him once more. Both reached the limits of their speed, fighting with raw power—no embellishments, only strength.

In an instant, they collided. The beast’s powerful arms tried to encircle and crush Leng Tian, but Leng Tian’s eyes flashed with rainbow light, his body dropping low. He kicked off the ground, skimming beneath the beast, darting behind it.

Behind the bull-headed beast, Leng Tian pushed off the ground, leaping up. His right leg, laden with thunderous force, kicked at the beast’s knee. With a heavy thud, the beast’s leg buckled, toppling backward.

Its thick legs lifted, body thrown into the air and crashing down, shortening its height dramatically—an opening for Leng Tian to seize its neck.

With quick steps, he circled to the beast’s side, extending his right arm and locking its neck tightly around his waist.

His arm glowed with tri-colored energy; with a shout, his feet stamped the ground, generating invisible shockwaves. Step by step, he dragged the bull-headed beast with wild force.

The beast’s neck was locked, its arms smashing the ground in a frenzy, trying to stand, but Leng Tian gave it no chance. Dragging the massive creature, weighing at least a thousand pounds, across the platform, Leng Tian accelerated terrifyingly in just a few breaths.

A streak of tri-colored light, carrying the beast’s enormous body, crashed into a stone pillar like lightning.

A resonant hum rippled from the point of impact between the beast’s head and the pillar; Leng Tian released its neck and dodged away at the moment of collision.

The bull-headed beast slammed to the ground, fragments of skull and black hair flying across the platform. Leng Tian’s eyes shone with three-colored brilliance, watching the fragments land, and he let out a soft exclamation.

He darted over, picking up a piece of skull with hair attached, examining it closely. It felt heavy and cold, devoid of warmth.

The side with hair was unremarkable, but flipping it over revealed a bright silvery interior, shimmering with metallic light.

Leng Tian’s eyes narrowed, his divine sense sweeping over the fragment, and to his astonishment, discovered it was not bone, but an unknown metal.

The revelation puzzled him—what kind of monster could forge its bones into metal?

A thunderous sound drew his gaze—the bull-headed beast, its skull shattered, had already stood up. The roar had come from its forceful stomp. The knee Leng Tian had kicked earlier was bent, but with another powerful stomp, it mysteriously healed, causing Leng Tian’s eyes to contract. He thought to himself, “Its self-repair is truly unnatural—brutally efficient!”

“Boss, this thing isn’t flesh and blood—you saw its skull smashed without a drop of blood, didn’t you?” Judah, hiding in Leng Tian’s mind, immediately noted the beast’s strangeness.

Heeding Judah’s warning, Leng Tian focused his gaze; sure enough, the beast’s shattered skull leaked no blood, the interior completely hollow.

“Ah… I just realized!” Judah’s sudden shout startled Leng Tian. “Why the fuss? Did you figure it out?”

“If I’m not mistaken, this bull-bear hybrid is a mechanical puppet beast, a type long lost in all realms!”

“Puppet beast? What manner of creature is that?” The unfamiliar name made Leng Tian wonder—could there be other races besides spirit beasts and monsters?

“No, Boss. A mechanical puppet beast is simply an artificial construct, crafted to act as a soulless, emotionless fighter,” Judah explained contemptuously, watching the beast charge at Leng Tian again.

“Oh! So it’s controlled by someone to attack me?” Leng Tian clenched his fists, tri-colored energy surging around him. “Ha!” He hurled his fists at the charging beast.

Friends, thank you for your constant support of Martial Dao’s Pinnacle. Fengliu bows in gratitude to you all!

Martial Dao’s Pinnacle, Chapter 74: Puppet Beast, complete.