As the intensity on the arena cranked up, so did the excitement among the audiences. Suddenly, a few gasps erupted among the excited murmurs as an unexpected guest sat down among the spectators. The guest was Michaux Odin.
"What is he doing here?"
"Is he here to watch the fight? Did he think that one of those two fighters is actually worth his time?"
The journalist Zhang Mi was elated by this development. Conceding that she would never have a chance interviewing the big names, she had been following Team Ayrlarng—specifically, Wang Tong—ever since the qualification match.
She had found no news-worthy material during Wang Tong's first match, but it seemed that things were taking a very dramatic turn with Michaux Odin's appearance.
Despite the attention his appearance had attracted, Michaux had remained calm and stoic. A few of his followers sat around him, separating him from the rest of the crowd.
So unique was Michaux's soul energy that Wang Tong had picked up his presence as soon as he entered the arena. Wang Tong cast a glance at the young master and smiled at him knowingly.
Having registered the exchange of glances between Wang Tong and Michaux, the puppeteer asked, "Do you know Michaux? Did he come here to watch your fight?"
"Hehe, maybe, or maybe he is here for your puppet show."
"I don't have time for your jokes. To tell you the truth, the only person I don't want to fight among all the contestants is Michaux. Since he considers you worthy of his attention, I guess there is no excuse for me to keep on holding back my power any longer."
The puppeteer moved his hand and traced a circle in the air. Wang Tong watched as three more exact copies of the puppet appeared out of thin air.
Han Linu was controlling three puppets at the same time.
"I must apologize for my meager force. These puppets are very hard to come by. "Han Linu gave Wang Tong an ugly grin.
If weren't for Michaux, Han Linu would never use these many puppets in a fight with a no account.
The earthlings protested against such an unfair fight. Wang Tong was practically fighting against four level five fighters at the same time.
Even as the earthling audiences complained loudly about the unfairness, the referee released an instruction from the organizing committee, stating that Han Linu's technique was legal.
To clear the air with the angry mob, the referee announced loudly, "Han Linu possesses one of a kind web-like soul energy, and he uses these puppets as one would with a weapon. The organizing committee has made its ruling—the match will continue."
"Web Soul Energy? What the heck is that?"
The web soul energy was a unique and very rare form of soul energy. It was the most highly praised by fleet combat commanders, as the fine threads of soul energy meant unmatched micro control during a battle. However, the occurrence of the web soul energy was extremely rare; the odds were one out of a million, if not even smaller. Judging by the power of the fighter the Lunar Mastery had sent in, it was evident that the Lunar Mastery, like the great houses, had come for the title of champion of the tournament.
Wang Tong watched as Han Linu's soul energy covered the bodies of the puppets like a thin web, granting the puppets the same ability and soul level as the puppet master.
Even an amateur would have noticed that Wang Tong was in danger.
"What a d*ck move!" Karl cursed as he disproved the Iranian's cheap strategy.
"Calm your underpants, Karl!" Hu Yangxuan pressed Karl back to his seat.
"Calm my a*s! This is just not fair. Three more? Heck, next time, I might as well bring a combat drone with me."
"Combat drone is nothing compared to these puppets. I had learned about this technique before while I was at the Templar's court. The puppet master could control up to five puppets at one time through five of his fingers. The Templar told me that it was tough to find anyone who was talented enough to use the technique. The Templar's themselves had been looking for such talent for years, but without any success. That being said, you need to believe in Wang Tong. He... should be fine...I think"
"Thanks, that's very assuring," Karl said sarcastically.
"Young Master, it seems that the Mastery had improved themselves by leaps and bounds. But...Hehe... They are still no match for you...hehe..." One of the servile sect guards whispered to Michaux.
Michaux cracked a smile. "Not just me, he would not stand a chance against Patroclus, and... this Wang Tong."
The four sect-guards looked at each other in disbelief.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Han Linu had removed his cloth, revealing a tenacious body. Unlike other Mastery fighters, Han Linu relied on his body as much as he would on his puppets.
"Resonance!"
As the Ivantian puppet master shouted the command, his soul energy soared to over two hundred and seventy sols, and then so did his puppets.
As world's first level five puppet master, Han Linu was very confident in his abilities. Each one of his puppets was as threatening as a level five fighter.
Two Blades suddenly appeared in the four puppet's hands. In a blink of an eye, Wang Tong found him surround by eight sharp glinting blades.
The four puppets closed around Wang Tong swiftly, without giving Wang Tong any opportunity to break the encirclement.
Han Linu grinned and then announced, "You can give up now. I don't want to hurt you... or do I?"
"Hurt me with your dolls? Your mom never bought you boy-toys or what?" Wang Tong laughed as he stood still at the center of the shrinking encirclement.
Han Linu yanked his hand, channeling soul energy into the puppets as the eight sharp blades bore down onto Wang Tong.
Sitting in the audience seat, Lumi covered her eyes, fearing that Wang Tong would get hurt.
Wang Tong didn't evade the blow. Instead, he had something to show to Michaux, something he had promised to show the young master—the meaning of soul essence.
When the eight blades were mere inches away from Wang Tong's head, the four puppets' attack suddenly came to a jarring halt, as if they had been turned off. Wang Tong strolled out from under the eight blades.
The sudden turn of events dumbfounded Han Linu, and a sense of fear slowly crept into his heart. Han Linu didn't expect anyone other than the Divine Master Sect to be able to interrupt his puppetry, as the construction of these puppets were exquisitely designed to prevent interference. Han Linu was convinced that Wang Tong would not be able to disrupt his control unless he was a level six fighter. What was even more disbelieving to him was that even a level six fighter would not be able to achieve what Wang Tong had done so effortlessly.
In the beginning, Han Linu could feel that the connection between him his puppets still existed, although something was preventing the puppets' movement. However, with a loud snap of Wang Tong's finger, even the connection between the puppeteer and the puppets was lost.
The sudden loss of connection with his puppets sent a chill down Han Linu's spine. The puppets, on the other hand, started to dance and move like drunkards. After a few seconds, the puppets stopped moving altogether.
Michaux's eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of the moving puppets. He had finally found what he was looking for—the soul essence—encapsulated inside the puppets.
The soul essence was a well-kept secret among Einherjars. It would not grant one unlimited soul energy, but would steer the cultivator closer towards immortality. Although cultivation of soul energy would help extend one's life, the source of soul energy—the sea of consciousness—was tied directly to the cultivator's life force, which was deemed to perish over time. Therefore, the only way to achieve real immortality was through obtaining soul essence.