Chapter 9: Pupet Trial

“Wow! Ugly monster!!” The children standing nearby immediately shout and make faces at Yan Jin Chang. Some even instinctively reach for stones on the ground.

Their parents have warned them repeatedly that they must show their most obedient, humble, and polite side in front of the nobles. But these children have grown accustomed to bullying this wild child with no family support.

Whenever they see him, they always shout “ugly monster” and pretend to chase him away with stones and sticks.

They have formed a habit that cannot be changed by their parents’ warning from the morning. As soon as they see Yan Jin Chang, they blurt out the insult.

Their obedient face immediately turns into disdain, trying to drive away the boy wrapped in white cloth.

Moreover, some children have just lost in the puppet battle, their puppets are knocked out of the competition circle by the tall boy’s puppet. This leaves them in a bad mood, and their voices rise in volume with a harsh tone.

Seeing this, the men and women who have come to find talented children can’t help but furrow their brows. They are clearly disturbed by the contrast in the children’s behavior.

These children were just being cautious and sweet in front of them moments ago. Now, after losing a small puppet battle, they carry resentment and throw insults at a child who may be injured.

With such a temperament, how can they comprehend the Dao?

However, these are matters within the village, and they are only here to select gifted children, so they refrain from interfering. They express their discontent but do not speak up to stop it.

The parents of the children, noticing the displeased expressions of the nobles, immediately cover their children’s mouths, scolding them to stop talking nonsense.

The children feel somewhat unhappy to have their mouths covered. After all, it was their parents who told them not to play with the “ugly monster” and to drive him away. They are merely following their parents’ words—what’s wrong with that?

The man in blue says: “This venue is for you children to compete. If you want to try, you can. Lu Yao, help him wrap the Bai Ling Silk.” 

“Yes.” The woman in blue replies.

She then turns to Yan Jin Chang and asks: “Which puppet do you want to choose?”

Yan Jin Chang thanks her and steps forward, he walks past the relatively larger puppets until he arrives in front of a palm-sized puppet doll. “Can I choose this one?”

Laughter erupts from the crowd. Until the man in blue glances over that the laughter immediately stops.

The woman in blue says: “Of course you can. However, it was used by other children earlier, it even has some damages. Are you sure you want to use it?”

Yan Jin Chang nods.

The woman in blue replies: “Then extend your hand.”

Yan Jin Chang says: “Thank you.” 

He then squats down, quickly wrapping his fingers around the Bai Ling Silk. By the time the woman in blue reacts, the palm-sized puppet doll has already stood up from the ground. Its little hands and feet move as it raises its small hand to support its slightly tilted big head, clicking back into place.

The man in blue, who was initially watching, instantly straightens up and asks sternly: “Have you practiced the art of puppetry before?” 

“…No, given the level of skill, it seems he has done more than just practice alone.” The man thinks. 

Yan Jin Chang replies: “Yes, but not very skillfully. Can I start now?”

“Go ahead.”

The tall boy still standing in the competition circle watches as Yan Jin Chang enters with a palm-sized puppet doll. He can’t help but roll his eyes. “I just knocked this little guy out of the ring with my puppet. It’s probably broken now. Do you really want to compete?”

The woman in blue announces the start of the competition, and the tall boy immediately spreads his arms, moving his fingers. The puppet under his control charges toward Yan Jin Chang’s face!

Yan Jin Chang’s fingers dance quickly, and the little puppet at the other end of the Bai Ling Silk instantly takes off, crashing into the neck of the oncoming puppet!

“Crack!” The puppet in the tall boy’s hands is instantly beheaded!

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Chapter 10: Showdown

As long as the Bai Ling Silk absorbs spiritual energy, it can store that energy within the silk thread. Even an ordinary person without spiritual power can use it easily.

The Bai Ling Silk, fully charged with spiritual energy, can last for a long time. However, the user must only use this energy to control the puppets to walk, jump, and perform normal movements. If the user tries to use the puppets to release spiritual energy, the energy within the silk thread will run out rapidly.

Once the stored energy is exhausted and the controller has no spiritual power to replenish it, the puppet will stop as if it has lost its “breath”, only hanging from the strings.

As Yan Jin Chang’s fingers wrap around the Bai Ling Silk, he feels the stored spiritual energy is not that much. Otherwise, the doll’s movements wouldn’t be so slow.

However, while it seems slow to Yan Jin Chang, the tall boy doesn’t think so. When the tall boy sees his puppet’s head knocked off by Yan Jin Chang’s palm-sized doll, he is stunned. The Bai Ling Silk controlling the tall boy’s puppet head is still intact, so the head that gets knocked off flies back and hits him on the head.

The boy cries out in pain and instinctively takes a step back. But Yan Jin Chang steps forwards, and the palm-sized doll leaps into the air, quickly retracting its tiny limbs. Using its relatively hard back to smash against the opponent puppet’s joint.

“Crack!” The puppet’s left hand breaks.

“Snap!” The puppet’s right leg snaps off.

Yan Jin Chang brings his fingers together, making the puppet doll spin rapidly in his direction until many strands of Bai Ling Silk twist into a single line. He then yanks it hard to the sides and pushes it forward! As a result, the puppet doll spins back at high speed in the opposite direction of the previous spin!

He controls the Bai Ling Silk, pushing the spinning puppet doll toward the opponent’s puppet. The boy tries to dodge, but Yan Jin Chang has already knocked off the head, one hand and foot of the boy’s puppet. The boy misjudges the control strength so he accidentally pushes it out of the way.

Yan Jin Chang has already aimed in that direction. Therefore, the puppet doll in his hand crashes directly into opponent puppet, creating a large hole in its waist! If the his puppet doll had sharp edges, that hit could have split it in two.

The tall boy had initially chosen the largest puppet, and since entering the competition circle, he has relied on the puppet’s size to win. He feels smug, convinced of his victory. However, as soon as Yan Jin Chang suddenly appears, within a few moves, he dismantles the puppet in the boy’s hands.

With so many people watching, the boy feels utterly embarrassed. Anger rises in him, and in a rage, he throws the severely damaged puppet at Yan Jin Chang’s face!

Yan Jin Chang flicks his hand, guiding the puppet doll in front of him to block the attack. The tall boy’s puppet strings slip from his grasp and fly out of the circle.

Yet, the next moment, the tall boy rushes forward, throwing a punch at Yan Jin Chang. Yan Jin Chang sidesteps, deliberately letting one leg stretch out and dodges the incoming punch. The tall boy trips and falls out of the ring.

As he rolls on the ground, he finds a stone and without hesitation, he throws it at Yan Jin Chang! Just as the stone is about to hit Yan Jin Chang, the puppet doll appears again, blocking in front of him.

“Smack!” The puppet doll is made of wood, and it’s not high-quality wood. So although it stops the incoming stone, many parts are shattered, even the head flies off. Yan Jin Chang swiftly pulls the flying head back.

So, the tall boy watches as the shattered puppet doll in Yan Jin Chang’s hands is pulled together by the Bai Ling Silk, assembling itself in mid-air. Finally, the doll even extends its hand to pick up the large head, snapping it back on and twisting it around.

“Click, click, click!” The puppet doll’s mouth opens and closes. To the tall boy, it looks like the doll is mocking him, which makes him angrier. 

He curses: “Ugly monster!” and grabs a handful of sand to throw at Yan Jin Chang.

At that moment, a long sleeve blocks his way. “The victor is decided.”