Chapter 292: Assessment Concluded

"Boom!"

Four figures collided, then separated at the slightest touch.

"Puppet Control Technique, Heavenly Fusion!" A vortex suddenly appeared on the abdomen of Jiang Yu's puppet. As Jiang Yu changed his hand seals, his entire body instantly became illusory and was drawn into the puppet's body.

"I really didn't expect that a mere assessment would be this troublesome!" At the same time, Jiang Yu's voice came from within the puppet.

Xiao Han's eyes turned sharp. In his perception, Jiang Yu's aura surged once again, reaching the level of an Eight-Star Dou Sheng.

This was already another Eight-Star Dou Sheng powerhouse Xiao Han had encountered outside of the Ancient Race, even if it was only temporary.

If others knew there were so many top-tier powerhouses outside of the Ancient Race, one could only wonder how many alpacas would be stampeding through their hearts.

Noticing Xiao Han's momentary daze, Jiang Yu frowned and shouted, "Don't get distracted!"

"Oh!" Xiao Han snapped back to his senses and fiercely threw the long spear in his hand, "Go!"

The puppet middle-aged man did not even look back; he immediately repelled Jiang Yu, then threw a punch, and the long spear, which had the power to pierce through a mountain range, shattered instantly.

Just at this moment, Xiao Han's figure suddenly appeared behind the middle-aged man, "Rain of Spear Flow!"

One spear transformed into ten thousand shadows, pointing directly at the puppet's vital points, yet the puppet middle-aged man's figure disappeared from where he stood at that very moment.

Immediately, Xiao Han's pupils constricted, his whole body retreated explosively, and he blocked with his long spear in front of him.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang in Xiao Han's heart. The next moment, the middle-aged man's expressionless figure appeared beside him, his fist carrying a powerful gust of wind.

"I've been waiting for you." A strange smile appeared on Xiao Han's handsome face, and the corners of his mouth parted slightly: "Frost Mirror Image, Shift Form Change Shadow!"

The next instant, the fist passed through Xiao Han's body without any resistance, causing the puppet middle-aged man to stumble.

And in the distance, Jiang Yu's eyes were excited: "A flaw!"

"Heavenly Imperial Dark Explosion." With a palm strike, a mysterious force penetrated into the body. A muffled sound rang out, and the puppet's body stalled.

Xiao Han did not let this opportunity slip; his figure manifested, and he swept out with his spear.

"Boom~"

The puppet's body was instantly driven several zhang into the ground, and thick dust filled the air. The two waved their hands slightly to disperse the dust.

"Assessment passed!"

A resonant voice echoed in the space, and the puppet that had been struck into the ground by Xiao Han appeared silently behind the two.

Xiao Han and Jiang Yu felt their hair stand on end and turned their heads in an instant.

What made the two feel slightly strange was that the puppet middle-aged man's eyes seemed somewhat lively, no longer as rigid as they were at the beginning.

"This seat is the last Sect Master of the Wan Kui Sect, Tianwu Ye!"

Xiao Han only felt that the puppet's voice carried a deep sense of sorrow, "Ancestors of the Wan Kui Sect above, the continent has suffered a great upheaval, and our sect could not remain unscathed. Ten thousand years of heritage, destroyed in a single day!"

"The catastrophe has arrived. Disciple Tianwu Ye knows that I am powerless to preserve the sect and feel ashamed before all the ancestors. To ensure the heritage is not lost, I had no choice but to transfer the sect's foundation into this secret place, in hopes that a successor would discover it."

Immediately, the voice changed, becoming extremely solemn: "Successor, this seat does not care if you are a descendant of the Wan Kui Sect."

"However, since you can hear these words, you have clearly passed the test and are therefore fated."

"You are qualified to carry forward our sect's heritage."

"If you are a descendant of our sect, you must carry forward the Wan Kui Sect, make our sect's name spread for a hundred generations, and stand tall at the center of the continent once again."

Then the tone changed, sounding slightly pleading: "If you are not a disciple of our sect..."

"I do not ask you to rebuild the Wan Kui Sect, I only hope you will preserve our sect's heritage and let it continue to spread..."

Tianwu Ye's voice grew smaller and smaller until it was finally inaudible. The puppet itself turned directly into a pile of powder; perhaps this was the price of remaining until now.

Only a vortex remained, appearing eerily before the two.

"What a brilliant method!" Xiao Han could not help but exclaim after hearing this.

The Wan Kui Sect belonged to the ancient era and had a history of tens of thousands of years. Yet, this recording had been preserved perfectly; it was truly worthy of amazement.

Immediately, Xiao Han sensed something was wrong. He glanced at Jiang Yu, who had been silent all this time, and was stunned to find that the latter's fists were tightly clenched, his veins were bulging, and the tiny crystals near his eye sockets reflected a faint light.

"Hm?" At this moment, Jiang Yu suddenly came back to his senses, and as he turned around, he met Xiao Han's astonished and suspicious gaze.

The scene fell into silence.

Finally...

Xiao Han spoke slowly: "Are you a successor of the Wan Kui Sect?"

This was the only plausible answer in Xiao Han's heart, although he did not know why a successor would remain for the Wan Kui Sect, which had been extinct in the Dou Qi Continent for many years.

But only in this way could one explain why a powerhouse with strength comparable to an Eight-Star Dou Sheng would lose control of his emotions because of a simple message.

Since things had come to this, Jiang Yu knew he could no longer hide it, so he nodded helplessly and said: "This seat is the two hundred and thirty-fifth generation disciple of the Wan Kui Sect!"

"Your Wan Kui Sect still exists?" When his guess was confirmed, Xiao Han felt it was hard to believe.

And it had been passed down for over two hundred generations?!

Xiao Han did not know how to think. He then seemed to have discovered something, and his sharp gaze shot toward Jiang Yu, "Since that is the case, why did you only come here now, and why did you invite me to accompany you? Don't tell me your Wan Kui Sect has always been a single-line succession!"

"How did you know?" Jiang Yu's words left Xiao Han completely dumbfounded.

He said in a daze: "Are you kidding me? The Wan Kui Sect is a single-line succession?!"

Jiang Yu could only sigh, then began to explain; the things buried in his heart for many years had to be poured out!

Under Jiang Yu's explanation, Xiao Han slowly began to understand. Although he did not know if it was true or false, the credibility was quite high.

The powerhouses of the Wan Kui Sect at that time were indeed wiped out, but some disciples were not in the sect and luckily escaped the disaster.

Even so, the survivors suffered heavy losses in that great catastrophe, and in the end, there were no more than ten left.

Because the disciples were not strong, and the Wan Kui Sect still had enemies alive at the time, in order to avoid their enemies, the many disciples could only choose to break up into parts, leave the sect separately, and develop and grow in secret, in hopes of restoring the sect.

However, how could things be so simple? Those remaining Wan Kui Sect disciples did not have great talent, and because the Wan Kui Sect had transferred its foundation in advance, the disciples outside did not know about it at all.

This meant they could not obtain any of the Wan Kui Sect's legacy. The consequence of having to rely on themselves was that those surviving disciples of the Wan Kui Sect were simply unable to establish a powerful sect.

In order to pass on the Wan Kui Sect's heritage, they could only choose to take in disciples in secret. Although this choice avoided being hunted by enemies, it also caused a certain degree of historical loss.

In the end, a strange tradition was formed, that is, a single-line succession. No one knew when this rule started, they just did it that way, and it was passed down safely.

It was not until a few hundred years ago that an anomaly was born, namely Jiang Yu, whose master passed away unexpectedly shortly after the former had advanced to the Dou Wang realm, leaving behind only his life's learning and a roster of the sect's past Disciples.

However, Jiang Yu still relied on his own natural talent to fully absorb the inheritance left by his teacher, and he ventured across the continent alone.

Perhaps Heaven did not intend to end the Wan Kui Sect, for during an accidental adventure, Jiang Yu stumbled into a secret realm of a Puppet Master.

In the process of undergoing the trials of the secret realm, Jiang Yu gradually discovered many similarities between the Puppets there and what he had learned himself, which led to his suspicions.

It was not until the end that he finally realized this so-called Wan Kui Sect was likely the sect of his own ancestors.

After obtaining the Saint inheritance within, Jiang Yu also learned some information regarding the hidden treasury of the Wan Kui Sect.

This time became the greatest opportunity for Jiang Yu to change his destiny; relying on what he gained in the secret realm and his exceptional aptitude, he successfully forged his own path in the way of Puppets, reaching his current level in just a few hundred years.

It was also many years ago that he began to scout for experts qualified to accompany him to the Wan Kui Sect's secret treasury.

Ultimately, he selected Xiao Han, a legendary expert from the Central Plains who had a good reputation and sufficient strength.

He even made special arrangements for this; in fact, if Xiao Han had not won that inheritance at auction back then, Jiang Yu would have won it himself, but fortunately, things developed according to plan.

After hearing Jiang Yu's experience, a strange feeling arose in Xiao Han's heart—why did this feel somewhat familiar!

But none of that was important now; Xiao Han said, "I don't care about your affairs, as long as you give me what you promised beforehand."

"No problem!" Jiang Yu readily agreed.

Both men simultaneously dismissed the idea of double-crossing each other; for no other reason than that Jiang Yu did not know the extent of Xiao Han's strength, and Xiao Han was not clear on what kind of power Jiang Yu, as a successor of the Wan Kui Sect, could exert within the Wan Kui Sect's secret treasury.

Neither had absolute certainty of killing the other, so to ensure nothing went wrong, it was best to distribute the spoils according to the previously agreed-upon conditions!

Then, the two walked with anticipation into the vortex suspended in mid-air.

A quarter of an hour later...

"Are you kidding me!" The devastated voices of Xiao Han and Jiang Yu rang out.