Chapter 352: Puppet Show
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Wang Tong’s opponent was Han Linu from the Lunar Mastery. Although he was not listed as one of the seeded players, his power was considered at par with them.
As the strongest member of the third generation at the Lunar Mastery sect, Han Linu was considered by most people to be the winner of this fight. Not only had he mastered the Lunar Mastery, but he had also invented a unique mastery himself, which had surprised even his master. During his first fights, he had won without even using the Lunar Mastery. Therefore, everyone was eager to see his techniques during the fight with Wang Tong.
The crowd boiled over as they saw Wang Tong and Han Linu stepped onto the stage simultaneously.
Wang Tong studied his opponent and was surprised by his lack of expression on the face. When Wang Tong probed his opponent with soul energy, he was shocked to discover that his opponent’s sea of consciousness was empty.
Wang Tong immediately registered that something was amiss. He cranked up his soul energy as a golden light glinted in his eyes. Already, he had detected a strand of soul energy that was attached to the back of his opponent’s head. Tracing back along the strand of soul energy, he found the source of energy —an audience member who looked precisely like Han Linu.
“Match, start!”
Wang Tong suddenly requested a timeout before the referee’s announcement had faded away.
“Wang Tong, do you have any questions?” The referee ran to Wang Tong and asked, seemingly unimpressed by Wang Tong’s mischievous behavior.
Wang Tong cracked a smile and then answered, “My real opponent is still sitting down there.” Wang Tong pointed towards the source of the soul energy.
Wang Tong’s reply disheveled the referee. After a while, he said, “What do you mean? Your opponent is right here, right in front of you.”
As the referee was convinced that Wang Tong had an episode of stage fright, a young man stood up from the direction where Wang Tong had pointed, and he walked slowly toward the stage.
“Well done, I didn’t expect you to see through my trick.” The young man said as he applauded.
The referee closed into the audience and announced, “Mister, this is a combat area. Only combatants are allowed here.”
The young man took off his sunglasses and hat and then laughed, “Haha, I AM the combatant.”
The referee was shocked by the young man’s likeness with the Han Linu on the stage. He looked at the young man in front him, then looked at the Han Linu on the stage, and then looked back at the young man before realization finally dawned on him.
“Han Linu, you have violated the rules of the tournament, I thereby denounce your qualification for the fight. The winner is—”
“Mister, the match has just started, and he has already revealed himself. I think we can carry on the match now.” Wang Tong suddenly cut the referee short.
“Wang Tong, this is not up to you. The rules are there, and everyone has to follow them.” The referee was adamant in his decision.
Wang Tong smiled and then shrugged his shoulder.
Han Linu also cracked a smile as he found his opponent pleading for his qualification rather amusing.
Han Linu sauntered towards his double on the stage, grabbed onto its scalp and pulled. The action had removed the double’s skin and revealed a mechanical robot.
“Sir, this is only my weapon. It is part of my mastery. I am going to use the unique technique of the Lunar Mastery—The Puppeteer. “
Han Linu bowed to the audiences and announced, “This is my combat puppet.”
Everyone realized that they had watched a match between a puppet and a human in Han Linu’s last game, and were shocked that the puppet had won.
The referee was not sure whether to believe Han Linu or not. He had never heard of such thing.
“I believe him. Let’s not hold back the fight any longer. ” Wang Tong didn’t want to waste too much time.
The referee hesitated slightly and then commenced the match again. The situation was apparently beyond his pay-grade, but he found it reasonable for a puppeteer to use his puppet as the weapon.
“You are Wang Tong, aren’t you? I wonder what made you so brave. Puppet One, Attack!”
The puppet heard the command and threw its body at Wang Tong. Although the movement of the puppet was mechanical, Wang tong could sense the thousands of strands of meticulously controlled soul energy behind it.
Wang Tong punched at the puppet, trying to gauge its strength.
“Haha, Wang Tong, my puppet was custom made from Titanium alpha-alloy. It’s indestructible!”
Wang Tong suddenly changed his course as he circled the puppet and closed in again.
Han Linu was unruffled by the incoming attack. He took a quick breath, set both hands on his chest, and then shouted, “Now!”
Wang Tong’s body came to a jarring halt, as if an invisible wall stopped him. Behind Wang Tong, the puppet had already changed its course, running towards him. Han Linu’s soul energy soared up to two hundred and sixty.
Han Linu started to think that he was going to finish this fight with ease. “Wang Tong, did you take me for a helpless puppeteer? Well, think again.”
A swell of cheers and applause rose among the Ivantians audiences, and a smug look appeared on Han Linu’s face.
The students from Ayrlarng remained silent. They felt indignant for Wang Tong, as he had to fight an indestructible puppet and a level five fighter at the same time.
As the puppet closed in, Wang Tong punched heavily at its body, shattering its outer shell and revealing the shiny inner mechanical components.
“Haha. The human body is weak. But, we combined the soul energy and technology to create the most powerful weapon and the perfect combat strategy. Don’t waste your time and energy; even a level six fighter won’t be able to destroy my puppet.”
Han Linu touted his puppet as a crazy evil scientist would to his planet-devouring laser beams. The Lunar Mastery had been investing many resources in the technique of the puppeteer, and it didn’t succeed until Han Linu gave it a try. His success was mainly due to his unique soul energy that was able to be broken down into extremely fine threads. Over time, the technique matured, and the Lunar Mastery finally decided to reveal it to the world. The Lunar Mastery wanted to prove to the world that combining the soul energy with technology was the right direction for the human’s military development.
The soreness in Wang Tong’s hand had proven Han Linu’s claim regarding the puppet’s indestructibility. Wang Tong had thought that the puppet was operated by a serious of mechanical contraptions hooked up to a power source. However, after a few close observations while exchanging blows with the puppet, Wang Tong was surprised to see that the puppet seemed to be powered by soul energy, as it lacked complex mechanical components inside.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Han Linu asked as his eyes glinted. He was convinced that after this year’s tournament, the Lunar Mastery would finally become as influential as the five great houses.
After exchanging a few rounds of blows, Wang Tong watched as the Puppet retreated to the front of Han Linu, eclipsing its master’s figure. Suddenly, the puppet and the puppeteer seemed to merge into one, and it charged at Wang Tong anew. Wang Tong immateriality saw through the illusion. As the fused figure was about to land a blow, it suddenly separated into two, each wielding twin blades. Suddenly, Wang Tong found himself surrounded by four sharp blades.
“Komm!”
The attack cracked the floor where Wang Tong was standing. However, Wang Tong was no longer there. Instead, he reappeared about four meters away from where he was standing.
Han Linu shook his head and then said, “I thought I was good at concealing power. Seems like you are even better. We should talk after the match.”
It had finally occurred to Han Linu that Wang Tong was no ordinary fighter. Otherwise, he would not be able to detect his usage of a puppet, much less escape his last attack.
