Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2950: Testing His Skills Against Puppets

The moment the duel began, Lin Mu’s world narrowed into motion, instinct, and edge.

The Third Stage puppet moved quickly, with crisp precision and a practiced style that mirrored the Flowing Water Sword Arts.

Its blade carved arcs through the air like smooth waves, but to Lin Mu, it was as if he were watching a slow dance. He sidestepped one horizontal sweep, redirected a thrust with a simple pivot of his wrist, and in three strokes, he disarmed the puppet.

His final strike tapped its shoulder joint, releasing a sound like cracking porcelain.

The puppet stilled. Then, with a hiss of spiritual energy, it returned to its original position and stood straight once more.

”Too easy,” Lin Mu muttered, though he was smiling.

He turned back to the inscription panel and selected the next level:

Immortal Tribulation - Fourth Stage

The second puppet activated, its silver-lit joints flaring brighter. It stepped forward with a heavier gait and drew a slightly curved longsword—Blazing Sun Edge Style this time.

The moment its feet touched the central circle, it charged with a burst of momentum, the curved blade shimmering with burning Sword Intent. Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and exhaled.

The first clash struck like thunder.

CLANG!

Lin Mu’s arm trembled slightly as he blocked the overhead arc. The puppet pressed in with brutal aggression, chaining slashes in fast, flowing arcs designed to push him back, box him in, and then crush him.

He parried and redirected with growing interest, rotating his shoulder to displace the puppet’s force, then turning his sword and lashing out with a thrust of his own.

CRACK!

A hairline fracture appeared on the puppet’s chest—but it was already stepping back, recovering, its cracked surface glimmering as formation runes activated and began to heal.

Lin Mu’s eyes gleamed. ”Auto-repair? That’s some exquisite formation work...”

He didn’t have time to admire it for long. The puppet surged in again.

For nearly an hour, Lin Mu danced with the Fourth Stage puppet. His sword swept and spun with elegant precision, meeting each challenge head-on with nothing but raw technique and the weight of his Peak Sword Intent.

No qi techniques.

No Dao Skills.

Not even his body cultivation.

Just the blade and will.

In time, his intent overwhelmed the puppet. He twisted past its final thrust and slammed the pommel of his sword into the exposed joint at its neck.

It stilled.

A flash of light signaled his victory.

And Lin Mu stepped forward again.

Immortal Tribulation - Fifth Stage

The third puppet stepped forward.

Its sword was long and narrow, barely the width of a finger—Moonlit Severance Form.

The moment the duel began, Lin Mu felt the change.

The puppet was faster, its technique sharp and unforgiving. It struck not just to overwhelm but to dissect. Every slash carried deceptive grace, each cut precise enough to split falling petals without disturbing the air.

For the first ten minutes, Lin Mu was forced entirely on the defensive. He blocked narrowly, his feet dancing backward, then sideways, then spinning away. His shoulder nearly took a hit from a feint that turned mid-air into a downward spiral slash.

”This thing’s reading me,” Lin Mu muttered.

He poured more of his sword intent into his blade, layering it with pressure.

His counterattack came like a flicker of lightning.

SHHHHHHHRK!

His sword nicked the puppet’s leg, slicing through the outer layer—only for runes to activate again and begin the rapid restoration.

”You’re not going down easy, huh?” he said with a grin.

The duel lasted two hours. Lin Mu had to shift styles, mixing defensive footwork with sudden bursts of aggression. He baited the puppet into over-committing with one hand and cut at its joints with precise counterthrusts.

Near the end, both man and machine were moving as blurs—clashing in bursts of light and pressure, their swords sparking off each other in a flurry of blows that echoed like drums through the hall.

Then, Lin Mu ducked under a wide cleave, pivoted in close, and stabbed up through the puppet’s shoulder. A surge of his sword intent traveled through the blade, temporarily overwhelming the puppet’s formations and forcing it into shutdown.

He staggered back, panting slightly.

But he smiled.

Immortal Tribulation - Sixth Stage

The final puppet activated.

This one bore a straight sword nearly identical to Lin Mu’s own. Its stance was... neutral.

No style. No flourish.

Only pure combat readiness.

It struck without warning.

The sword whistled in from the right, only to vanish and appear again at Lin Mu’s left. It used footwork and feints with terrifying skill—this puppet fought like a living, experienced warrior. One that had gone through thousands of battles.

Lin Mu barely blocked the opening assault.

His feet slid back five paces.

CLANG!

SHING!

THRUM!

The sound of sword against sword, the hum of vibrating metal, the hiss of compressed air—every sound echoed like a heartbeat in Lin Mu’s ears.

This duel was different.

Lin Mu had to dig deep into his muscle memory, call upon sword forms he hadn’t used in years. Even the stances and movements he had long since abandoned in favor of more efficient ones were brought back.

He parried, twisted, retreated, and struck back—but every attack of his was matched with uncanny symmetry.

The puppet even began adapting—mimicking his style in brief flashes.

Lin Mu was cut once. Then again. Minor grazes—but real.

Of course this was only possible becasue Lin Mu was totally supressing his physique. If not, there was no way he’d be scratched by the puppet with his Burdenless Dominator Physique. Even then a normal Sixth Tribulation Stage immortal would not be able to do this.

Only this puppet that could use exquiste sword arts and the sword intent that powered it could do it.

It was not the strength of the puppet that managed to cut him, it was the Sword Intent contained within it.

Blood welled up on Lin Mu’s left forearm.

”So that’s how it is...” he muttered, wiping the blood on his sleeve. ”It learns.”

He smiled fiercely.

’Then let’s teach it.’