Chapter 196: "Third Arm"
Chapter 196 – "Third Arm"
The black giant's fist descended like a mountain—ordinary defenses were as flimsy as paper against such force.
Luckily, Luo En’s Flowing Barrier was no ordinary defense.
Under the giant’s crushing impact, the barrier rippled, forming a unique shock-absorbing structure that dispersed most of the force outward. Even so, Luo En winced as a sharp pain shot through his chest. He soared backward several meters, nearly crashing into a stone pillar.
Still, this level of attack—though devastating—remained within Luo En’s expectations.
"Master!"
Daire cried out, her fingers already weaving Water Element energy into a concentrated attack. Her violet-blue eyes burned with both worry and fury, her tiny frame trembling slightly from the impending surge of power.
"Calm down, Daire", Luo En said, his voice unexpectedly calm. His hand brushed the Puppet Substitute at his waist. "After all, I’ve still got secret weapons left."
"It’s time to test your true strength."
A portion of his consciousness slowly seeped into the Puppet Substitute. As torrents of mana flooded in, the previously unremarkable wooden puppet reacted instantly.
It swelled rapidly, its size expanding to match a human’s within seconds. Luo En felt his awareness split—part of it anchored in his physical body, another wholly immersed in the puppet’s strange dual perception.
The black giant seemed to sense the shift. Its once-calm posture tensed, its deep-blue eyes locking onto the transforming puppet.
Under Luo En’s spiritual control, the puppet’s form began to shift.
Smooth wooden surfaces erupted with countless scales, glistening with a metallic sheen like serpent skin—residue of the Serpent Demontrait fusion. Its limbs thickened, muscles bulging with raw power from the Lion Scorpion’s essence. A powerful tail emerged from its back, its stinger gleaming with pale purple menace.
Luo En felt fragments of instinctive memories swirling within the puppet’s "mind"—combat techniques and bodily control honed through lifetimes of battle, now resources at his command. Yet the puppet lacked independent will, functioning instead as an ultra-precise tool under his absolute control.
"Daire, step back."
As he commanded, the puppet adopted a combat stance.
The black giant hesitated no longer. It swung a brutal straight punch toward the puppet’s head, the force cleaving the air with a piercing whistle.
Rather than dodging, Luo En ordered the puppet to raise its arm and meet the strike head-on.
This decision stemmed from meticulous calculation. Previous experiments had confirmed the puppet’s unique ability to absorb abyssal energy.
"Boom!"
The collision erupted in a thunderous roar. Shockwaves radiated outward, lifting debris into the air.
Daire gawked as the Puppet Substitute held firm while the black giant’s fist hissed and cracked. The moment their strikes connected, the giant’s fist seemed to strike unstable matter, rippling with eerie waves before beginning to disintegrate.
Black matter sloughed off like ink dripping from its fist. Instead of scattering, the droplets were sucked into the puppet’s skin.
"Just as I suspected!"
Excitement flashed in Luo En’s eyes. This abyssal mana absorption ability was the Puppet Substitute’s most valuable trait—and far more effective than he’d imagined.
Through their spiritual link, he sensed a strange mana flow. The absorbed abyssal energy wasn’t fully assimilated but filtered, retaining only its most useful components.
This process mirrored his conceptualized "Furnace Conceptualization"!
The black giant reeled back its damaged fist, its left arm morphing into a serrated blade to slash at the puppet’s waist.
Luo En reacted instantly. The puppet moved—a blend of the Serpent Demon’s impossible flexibility and the Lion Scorpion’s explosive power, effortlessly evading the strike.
As it dodged, its tail lashed forward, piercing the giant’s chest like a rapier.
The stinger’s intrusion triggered a chain reaction. The giant’s once-stable form rippled like disturbed water, its black matter trembling and separating.
"Keep pressing the attack!"
At Luo En’s command, the puppet unleashed a tempest of strikes.
Under his control, the puppet displayed astonishing combat prowess—its right fist targeted weak points with surgical precision, its left leg swept opponents off balance, its tail hunted vital areas. Each move combined the Serpent Demon’s calculated strikes with the Lion Scorpion’s raw, rampaging force.
Most satisfyingly, each contact drained abyssal mana from the giant, weakening it further while empowering the puppet.
"Crash!"
Another thunderous blow landed—a cannon-like punch to the giant’s abdomen. The impact left a gaping hole in its torso, black mana spewing outward.
Luo En seized the advantage. The puppet’s left leg swept low, striking the giant’s knee with pinpoint accuracy.
"Crack!"
Though the giant’s body consisted of mana, the strike sounded like bone snapping. Its right leg buckled at an impossible angle, throwing its balance into chaos.
Seizing the moment, Luo En directed both of the puppet’s arms forward—a lion’s finishing move, claws digging into the giant’s head.
The claws sank deep before tearing outward…
"Crack… Boom!"
The giant’s head exploded like a firework, scattering into countless black fragments.
"Unbelievable, Master!"
Daire leaped up, her earlier worries vanishing.
Luo En, however, remained focused. Though decapitated, the giant’s body still attempted regeneration—a hallmark of Abyssal Creatures.
But something far more fascinating emerged: the Puppet Substitute, having absorbed massive abyssal mana, had grown a Third Arm.
This new limb extended from its right shoulder, entirely unlike the others. Dark purple scales sheathed the arm, clawed fingertips gleaming with an eerie blue light.
"This… the puppet is adapting and fusing new mana", Luo En marveled.
Adjusting tactics, he directed the Third Arm forward, piercing the giant’s chest to grasp the glowing core—the mana nexus of the fused Shadow Hunters.
As the core was seized, the giant’s body collapsed like a sandcastle washed away by waves, pooling into black liquid at the puppet’s feet.
Luo En commanded the puppet to lift the core, then reached out to touch the liquid, absorbing its mana.
The puppet’s form shifted subtly as absorption continued—its surface smoothing, muscles refining, its silhouette growing increasingly human. Most crucially, the Third Arm had fully integrated, as naturally as if it had always existed.
"Master… it’s… becoming more alive", Daire whispered, her voice tinged with both unease and curiosity.
"Don’t worry. It’s still under my control."
Luo En reassured her, inspecting the puppet’s mana status through their link:
【Abyssal Vitality Substance Absorbed: Charging Progress +5%】
【Current Mana: 8%/100%】
"Mana increased by 5%", Luo En calculated. "If we truly explore the Abyssal Chasm, this progress bar could fill rapidly."
Reaching 50% charging would unlock the Puppet Substitute’s "Two-Way Interconnection"—a state where the puppet could fully replicate his abilities, and he, in turn, could access traits it absorbed.
"At that point, I can advance the Puppet Substitute into a Demon Hunter class", Luo En mused, a faint smile forming.
Gaining all the Demon Hunter’s advantages—enhanced perception, physical resilience, toxin resistance, specialized combat techniques—without suffering the agonizing body modifications or lingering side effects.
Particularly against mutated creatures or "Awakening Beings", the Demon Hunter’s "Demon-Slaying" trait offered unmatched professional superiority.
Lost in thought, he watched as the puppet completed its absorption and stood waiting. A mere thought later, it shrank back to its original size—a simple wooden doll resting in his palm.
"Now, to handle the final matter."
Stowing the puppet, he approached the glowing stone pillar at the altar’s center. Ancient runes etched its surface, faintly luminescent blue.
Activating his "Transcendent Perception", Luo En studied the runes. They formed an intricate Teleportation Formation.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
