Chapter 1222: Teacher Loves You!

Zhang Xuan frowned.

The brain controlled the central hub; even if the ruthless man could regenerate from a drop of blood and his body had shattered into countless fragments, as long as the brain remained, the other parts would have to obey its commands.

It was precisely because of this ability that the other party could easily control Qingtian Emperor, and even so many soulless golden men and puppets, and could so skillfully施展 the soul-witch technique, pulling his own soul into that black hole, ready to tear it apart at any moment!

Previously, he couldn't withstand it, but after reaching the peak of the Fetal Infant realm, it was already difficult for the other party to kill him with this method, but that didn't mean it wasn't terrifying!

An old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years, and crucially, still had memories... who knew what kind of methods he could use?

"You dare not confront him head-on?"

He hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Yes! Not to mention his strength, even if he were weaker than me, as the brain, I cannot contend with him and am easily controlled by him, unless... he loses consciousness and my will can钻进去..." said the ruthless man.

"Unconscious?"

Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

That was impossible.

The other party's will could easily pull him out of the black hole, showing its power; to obliterate it... how could that be done?

It was simply an impossible task.

Whoosh!

Their conversation, communicated through the soul, happened in a flash, taking less than half a breath. The other three puppets stepped forward and surrounded him. One of them swung a fist, crushing down with force.

"Golden Origin Cauldron!"

Knowing that with his current strength, he couldn't withstand all three, he called out. The cauldron suddenly appeared and rammed its rear into the puppet in front.

Bang!

The fist and the rear collided, producing a roar like a great bell. The puppet staggered back several steps.

The Golden Origin Cauldron was no match for Qingtian Emperor, but against these puppets that only used brute force, its defense and weight gave it a great advantage. In their fight, they were evenly matched, with the former seemingly having the upper hand.

Relieved, Zhang Xuan had no time to relax before the remaining two puppets charged again.

Rustle!

Wind and thunder stirred, aura like a rainbow, the surrounding air seemed torn apart.

"I'm the clone, that one is Zhang Xuan. Look how fierce he is..."

His face turning pale, Zhang Xuan hurriedly shouted.

"..." The clone.

"I really am just a clone. Have you ever seen a clone stronger than the original?"

While dodging, Zhang Xuan yelled.

Hearing his words, one puppet hesitated, then moved toward the clone and joined the other, quickly smashing the latter's head into a flat cake again.

"..."

The clone was about to cry.

Other people's originals were all upright and selfless, stepping forward in danger... but his original was something else...

Simply...

But, it seemed that last time when danger came, he had also run away early...

Full of frustration, he fought desperately against the two puppets. Before long, he took several punches, his chest and ribs caved in.

Fortunately, he was made from the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo and was not afraid of hammering; otherwise, he would have been dead long ago.

"Clone, find a way to hold these puppets off. I'll take care of one first, then come help you!"

Just as he was about to explode with righteousness, he heard the original's voice.

"Alright!"

Hearing that the other party wasn't deliberately abandoning him, the clone finally relaxed and felt much better.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Using all his strength, and since he didn't need to defend, he fought the two puppets to a standstill.

"Interesting... But no matter which of you is the clone and which is the original, none of you will escape today..."

The ruthless man, apparently surprised that the clone had such strength and could hold his own against two puppets, snorted and was about to continue when he suddenly paused: "You, you... quickly attack!"

Hearing his anxious tone, the clone was puzzled. After two punches to drive back the two puppets, he quickly looked at the original. What he saw left him stunned.

The puppet that had been chasing the original was now kneeling on both knees, looking up at the figure identical to him with adoration.

The original had said something, and the puppet trembled with excitement, unable to contain itself.

"What the..."

Swallowing, the clone looked as if he had seen a ghost.

He had fought tooth and nail, his head blown off several times, without harming the other party at all. The original had said something, and this puppet knelt down... the difference was too great!

He listened carefully and heard the original's encouraging voice: "...Go, teacher loves you!"

As soon as the words fell, the puppet that had been chasing the original charged straight at him.

"I..."

His face changed, and the clone was about to dodge in fear when he saw the puppet engage in battle with the other puppet beside him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two puppets fought fiercely, neither giving way.

The clone's mouth twitched. Relieved, he was about to deal with the puppet in front of him when the original came over and spoke with a special tone: "As a puppet, to only obey others' will—how tragic. Come, listen to me..."

Soon, the one who had beaten him senseless knelt before him, full of sincerity, just like the previous puppet.

"Go!"

With another shout from the original, this puppet charged at the one fighting the Golden Origin Cauldron.

"Alright..."

Ignoring the shocked clone, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Having comprehended the Teacher's Heart, he taught without discrimination. Even Zhang Jiuxiao's weapon could be persuaded to become a disciple; puppets with their own will were naturally easier.

"This trick of yours is amazing, unbeatable against puppets, much better than fighting..."

The clone couldn't help but admire.

"You want to learn? I can teach you..."

The original looked at him.

"..." The clone's face flushed red: "We're the same person, no need to put on airs... Isn't it just the Teacher's Word of Heaven? Who doesn't know that!"

Saying that, he flickered and appeared before the puppet that was fighting, extending his hand like a priest: "As a puppet, to only obey others' will—how tragic. Come, listen to me..."

Bang!

His head was punched flat.

"I..." The clone was furious.

We're the same person, said the same words. After the original said them, the puppet knelt; after I said them, I got my head smashed...

This is too unfair to clones!

"Sigh..."

Seeing the clone like this, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Having split his soul, when would this clone learn to be as low-key and restrained as himself?

Always thinking about showing off, never giving him peace of mind—it was exasperating!

"Let's find the ruthless man first!"

No longer paying attention to the fighting puppets and the clone, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and scanned the hall before him.

It was still an empty hall, with nothing except the four puppets.

"There must be a mechanism..."

Knowing that this so-called Ghost Lair had been filled with countless mechanisms by the ruthless man, he was about to search carefully when he heard the ruthless man's hateful voice.

"Using the Teacher's Heart and Teacher's Word of Heaven to bewitch my puppets... indeed, like Kong Shi, your tongue is unmatched! But do you think, after fighting Kong Shi many times, I would have no precautions?"

"Precautions?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

He quickly turned to look at the puppets nearby. The one that had listened to him shook twice, and its head exploded on the spot.

Thud!

It fell to the ground.

"You left a failsafe?"

His face darkened.

As expected of the ruthless man; even the puppets he refined had failsafes. Those that disobeyed could be instantly killed.

"Without a failsafe, could I have survived until now?"

With a cold laugh, the ruthless man snorted.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years and fought Kong Shi several times, without such precautions... he would have been destroyed by the Master Teacher Pavilion countless times.

Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

Killing the puppets he had subdued not only cost him two major assets but, more importantly, served as a warning to others.

The Teacher's Heart combined with the Teacher's Word of Heaven, though immensely powerful, relied on winning people over with virtue and reason, not forceful brainwashing.

The puppets' sentience, seeing their companion directly killed, would resist in their minds, making it nearly impossible to subdue them smoothly again!

Rumble!

Just as he thought the other party was clever to have thwarted his method, the remaining two puppets charged even more ferociously.

Seeing their companion die tragically, they felt a life crisis and fought even harder.

The clone and the Golden Origin Cauldron, attacked by these two desperate fellows, retreated repeatedly.

"Let's see how you withstand this..."

The ruthless man sneered, extremely pleased.

"Actually, there's no need to withstand..."

Seeing that the clone could handle it, Zhang Xuan didn't intervene but shook his head.

"No need to withstand?"

"Indeed. To deal with them is actually very simple..."

Sighing, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and Demon Armor and Demon Yi appeared before him.

He had put away these heart demons when he entered the underground palace.

"Go, possess those two puppets..."

"Yes!"

Demon Armor and Demon Yi turned into two wisps of black smoke and flew straight over.

Whoosh!

Heart demons were formless and intangible; even many cultivators couldn't resist them, let alone puppets. In a blink, they钻 into their foreheads.

Thud! Thud!

With the heart demons inside, the two puppets immediately lost their combat ability, shook a few times, and fell to the ground.

"You... used heart demons?" The ruthless man twitched.

This was something he had created... unexpectedly becoming the other party's weapon at a critical moment...

"Indeed. Although heart demons cannot erase the puppets' sentience or make them obey me, trapping them for a while and rendering them unable to fight is still easy!" Zhang Xuan said with a light smile.

Heart demons could confuse a person's mind, making them unable to fight. Though they couldn't control the puppets, making them lose combat effectiveness and stop causing trouble was simple.

"Very good, very good. You can control and block two puppets, but can you block this many?"

With another cold snort, following the ruthless man's words, a mechanism in the hall opened, and a group of puppets ran out, over a hundred in number.

"So many?"

The clone's face turned pale, and the Golden Origin Cauldron quickly shrank back, almost retreating into its lid.

"I have this many puppets. Do you have this many heart demons?"

The ruthless man laughed wildly.

Before his laughter ended, the young man raised his eyelids and shook his head.

"Sorry, I actually do."