Chapter 26: Running and Jumping with Arms

Ning Zhuo fell into contemplation.

What a hanging ring on a mechanical component was, he didn't know.

What a "breath of magic" was, he didn't know either.

But he knew about spirit stones, and he was well aware that he was currently lacking them.

"I spent a lot of time exploring the surroundings earlier. Now, the spiritual power within the spirit stone in my body is less than forty percent."

"I'll choose the spirit stone!"

Ning Zhuo made the decision in his heart.

In the next moment, a halo appeared out of thin air before him. The halo expanded slightly and spat out a spirit stone.

Ning Zhuo quickly caught the spirit stone. At the same time, the halo rapidly dissipated.

Ning Zhuo, carrying his second spirit stone, laboriously pushed open the door and entered room number two.

Bang!

The door closed automatically behind him.

Ning Zhuo turned around and pushed the door, attempting to return to room number one.

The door didn't budge.

"Alright." Ning Zhuo had no choice but to turn back and begin carefully examining room number two.

The layout of room number two was vastly different from that of room number one. The room was long and narrow, completely empty. The bricks on the floor and walls were all square and emitted a luster like brass.

Ning Zhuo spotted the door at a single glance.

The door was directly in front of him.

Information was once again conveyed – to pass through room number two and enter room number three.

Ning Zhuo observed for a moment, and after failing to glean any new information, he strode forward and headed directly toward the door.

However, after taking a few steps, he realized that he was moving backward.

He quickly looked down and saw that the floor tiles were slowly moving backward!

Ning Zhuo had to quicken his pace and increase his speed.

The speed at which the floor tiles moved backward also increased.

He walked faster and faster, until he was forced to run.

"If I had known it would be this kind of test, I should have chosen the leg and foot components more carefully."

In room number one, Ning Zhuo was concerned about spiritual power consumption and the need to save time. Furthermore, matching leg lengths was difficult, so he just made do.

As a result, now – his two feet were not level, causing him to run with a limp, quite bumpy, which affected his speed.

When he ran with his maximum speed, he reached the middle section.

Suddenly, a massive log abruptly sprung out from the wall on the right.

One end of the log was fixed in the wall, while the other end shot out, swinging like a giant's arm.

Ning Zhuo had remained vigilant and quickly leaped into the air, dodging the log.

But just as he landed, another massive log sprung out from the wall on the left.

Ning Zhuo had already made the jumping motion, but unfortunately, the floor tiles were constantly moving backward. His force exertion was insufficient, and he lost his footing, resulting in a low jump this time.

Bang.

With a soft thud, he was struck by the log, drawing a long arc in the air before falling to the ground.

On the ground, he slid backward for some distance before finally slamming into the first doorway, where he came to a stop.

The puppet Ning Zhuo lay on the ground, dizzy and disoriented. After a few breaths, he regained his senses.

"There are traps like this?!"

"The runes on that log seem to possess the ability to weaken the soul."

Ning Zhuo felt a wave of weakness wash over his soul.

He raised his eyes to observe and saw that the jet-black runes on the log were gradually disappearing, and the entire log was slowly retracting into the wall. Subsequently, the wall bricks shifted with a series of clicks, returning to their original state.

"I understand!" Ning Zhuo's heart stirred.

"These logs that sweep across are both my obstacles and my stepping stones."

"I need to leap up when they strike, jump onto them, and then use their momentum to leap forward."

The mechanical puppet's own speed was very limited. By the middle section, it began to be less than the speed at which the floor tiles moved backward.

Relying solely on running, there was no way Ning Zhuo could approach the second door.

Originally, the wall surface was smooth and offered no leverage. But the logs that sprung out actually provided opportunities.

With his new discovery, Ning Zhuo tried again.

He picked the right moments and leaped repeatedly. By the fifth log...

Bang.

He was swept away by the log.

"The closer I get to the door, the faster the floor tiles move backward. I must precisely judge the speed of backward movement to be able to land stably."

After summarizing his experiences and lessons, he continued.

Bang.

When he jumped to the eighth log, the difficulty increased again. A log shot out from the ceiling, directly smashing him down from above.

Ning Zhuo crashed into the door, and his body fell apart.

He scrambled to reassemble himself, and finally stretched out his hands, picked up his head, and placed it back on his neck.

"The head component is also a bit too big. It's square and turning is slow. I should have changed to a smaller head."

"The key is that the legs and feet are uneven, which has the greatest impact."

"Fortunately, I remember the positions of these logs. By constantly trying and failing, I should be able to pass!"

Bang!

This time, he was knocked back after jumping only three logs.

Ning Zhuo looked at the logs slowly retracting into the wall, utterly astonished: "No, the positions of these logs aren't fixed? They can change freely?"

The difficulty instantly increased tenfold!

On the throne in the main hall, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been secretly watching the first trial participant all along. When it saw the puppet Ning Zhuo standing still, it chuckled with glee.

The dull-witted puppet Ning Zhuo seemed to be performing a lively puppet show for it. The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, who was watching the whole play, gained a lot of amusement.

Bang, bang, bang...

Ning Zhuo repeatedly failed to break through.

"Not enough spiritual power."

He sighed in his heart, sat down, and opened the small lid on his belly.

Under the lid, there was a hidden compartment containing a spirit stone.

This spirit stone was already dim and lackluster; the spiritual power within it had been almost completely exhausted.

Ning Zhuo removed this spirit stone and quickly filled the compartment with the second spirit stone.

He closed the small lid on his belly and gently patted it with his small palm to ensure that it was firmly secured.

"The spirit stone must be replaced quickly, making use of the spiritual power still circulating within the puppet's body. This is probably the puppet's weakest moment."

The spirit stone that was replaced still had a little bit of spiritual power left.

But Ning Zhuo didn't dare continue using it.

If he were to completely exhaust his spiritual power during the rush, leaving not a single drop in the puppet's body, then he would be completely stranded.

"In puppet form, the consumption is not just the spiritual power within the spirit stone."

"Every time I am hit, the runes on the logs weaken my soul once."

"I am in a state of soul possession. If the soul weakens to a certain extent, I will be stranded even if I have spiritual power."

"And this puppet body is constantly accumulating injuries."

Ning Zhuo observed himself and found cracks and fissures appearing in various parts, such as his arms and head.

"The positions of the logs are random, offering no shortcuts. All I can do is work hard."

Concentrating his mind, regrouping, Ning Zhuo launched another assault.

Bang, bang, bang...

Ning Zhuo was repeatedly knocked back, but he was also accumulating experience and increasing his proficiency in controlling the puppet's body.

His progress was visible to the naked eye.

When he rushed to the final stretch, seven or eight logs struck simultaneously. They were like epileptic fits, constantly shooting out. Some swept horizontally, some thrust directly, some descended from the sky, and some even changed direction halfway.

Ning Zhuo was knocked down once again, and one of his legs was shattered directly. After falling to the ground, he was carried back to the first doorway by the backward-moving floor tiles.

Previously, both legs were damaged.

Now that he was missing one leg, what could he do?

After thinking about it, Ning Zhuo had a bold idea.

"Let's give it a try?"

He disassembled his arms one after another and replaced his thighs with them, using them as a substitute.

Then he inserted the remaining thigh into his right arm.

He transformed into a bizarre puppet, with a rather strange image.

Ning Zhuo did not rush to try, but stayed in place, practicing for a while, gradually mastering his new form.

Half an hour later.

With only one arm remaining, Ning Zhuo narrowly passed and crawled to the second door.

His condition was extremely poor, and his soul had been weakened too much by the runes.

"Quick, quicker!"

He urged himself, and struggled to reach out and touch the door.

In an instant, information was conveyed.

Just like before, there were still three options.

First, spirit stones.

Second, mechanical components.

Third, spells.

Ning Zhuo was at his limit and didn't have time to look closely, so he directly chose spells.

In the next moment, he fainted.