In truth, this island was supposed to give a puzzle that tested the participant's knowledge of arrays.
Mingyue had Vesa turn off that trial and send something else in.
As Linhua observed her surroundings, she realized there was a wooden mannequin crouching in the middle of the area.
If Alex had been there, he would have said, "Wait, is it a mokujin?"
The mannequin looked very similar to one.
He would also have known that it was not something to underestimate.
Linhua knew nothing about this.
Even if she had heard Alex talk about it, she would not have taken it seriously.
In her mind, Alex came from another world, and his strange references did not matter much.
But Vesa had modified the wooden puppet using Alex's knowledge, making it more deadly.
The puppet usually ran on simple commands.
Now it was reprogrammed into a self-learning AI with several fighting styles already inputted.
Its goal was to half-kill Linhua.
When it sensed her presence, the wooden puppet stood up.
Its eyes glowed red as it raised its hands in a combat posture.
Bam.
The puppet dashed forward.
Linhua moved at once, using her new sword art.
However, the puppet moved in a bizarre way.
It ducked under her sword and dodged her attack, then snapped upward and threw an uppercut toward her chin.
Linhua stepped back to dodge.
The uppercut stopped halfway, revealing it was only a feint.
The puppet then dashed forward with its head low and drove its fist into her side with a liver blow.
Linhua felt her intestines twist.
Her face turned blue from the pain.
The puppet did not stop.
It continued attacking, throwing multiple punches into her stomach.
Bam. Bam.
Bam.
Each hit sent waves of pain through her body and almost paralyzed her.
She forced her Qi to move and used it to jump high into the air.
In midair, she took out an artifact she had received as a reward from another stage.
Its effect allowed her to convert her Qi into the wind element and use it to fly.
Groaning in pain, Linhua poured her Qi into the artifact and shot out a wind blade at the wooden mannequin.
To her surprise, the mannequin faced it head-on.
It jumped up and raised both hands to cover its face.
A thick slab of rock suddenly appeared in its hands.
Crack. Crack.
The wind blade clashed with the rock.
The rock shattered into a cloud of debris and smoke.
After the dust settled, Linhua's eyes sharpened as she searched for it.
The puppet was nowhere to be seen.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
She felt a presence behind her.
She turned her head over her shoulder and saw the mannequin there, now holding a sword.
It slashed toward her neck.
Clang.
Linhua forcefully gathered her Qi and pushed her arm to move faster than what her body could normally handle.
Her hand met the sword and knocked it aside, but the sudden strain damaged her arm.
The puppet's red eyes glinted.
It stepped in and kicked her straight in the torso.
She shot downward and crashed toward the ground.
Bang.
As Linhua fell, the puppet also dropped, sword in hand, aiming the tip at her body.
Feeling her imminent death, Linhua's mind raced for a way out.
She had used all her tricks to reach this point.
The only thing left was the pill.
Her earlier hesitation vanished.
She took out the pill and swallowed it.
A warm energy spread through her body.
It started healing her broken bones and torn muscles.
Linhua then burned her Qi again, converting it into wind to move freely in the air.
Her body moved more smoothly as she used her sword technique.
The wind wrapped around her, complementing each move.
Her attack power rose to a new level.
Slash. Slash.
Slash.
Linhua launched a barrage of attacks.
The puppet tried its best to protect itself, but it was stuck in a bad position and its movements were limited.
Bang.
The mannequin fell to the ground.
Dust and small chips of wood scattered in the air.
Linhua used the wind to increase her falling speed.
She drove her sword down with force and stabbed through the wooden mannequin's body.
In another place, Mingyue watched the fight through a projection that Vesa created.
She smirked.
Her eyes glinted with satisfaction.
She knew what would happen next.
On the ground, the mannequin suddenly moved its hand and leg and grabbed Linhua's arm.
The Qi in its core began to churn.
Bang.
It exploded, taking her hands with it.
"Aarrrgh!"
Linhua screamed as intense pain flooded her mind.
Shock, panic, confusion, and fear all hit her at once.
She did not understand why the mannequin had only targeted her hands.
If it had pulled her closer before exploding, she would have died.
She was shocked by the pain.
She panicked and felt fear because she did not know if the trial was over or not.
Watching Linhua's pained face, Mingyue's rosy lips curved into a cold smile.
"Serves you right, bitch.
You tried to kill me, and I am kind enough to let you live longer," she mumbled.
[Shall we proceed, Queen?]
"Yes, do it as planned.
Give her the reward.
But are you sure the elder will not suspect the cultivation method?" Mingyue asked.
[No, the elder will barely understand how this cultivation works.
You do not need to worry, Queen.
I was sure she would hide it.
Just think, if you were in her position, getting a cultivation method like this without any prior knowledge, what would you do?]
Vesa had modified one of the cultivation methods they had obtained from the secret realm.
She had integrated her knowledge from Edonia into it.
Mingyue knew Vesa was right.
If she got a method like that, she would hide it from everyone.
Whenever news spread that an ancient grade cultivation method had been found, the story always ended with the founder disappearing.
"Alright then, give the information to her.
Do as we planned," Mingyue said.
On the trial island, Linhua lay on the ground.
She tore her sleeve off and tied it tightly over her shoulder to reduce the bleeding.
She kept her senses sharp, afraid that something else might appear.
Then a genderless voice suddenly echoed in the air.
"You have done well to come this far.
I have waited many years for someone suitable to continue my cultivation journey.
I deem you suitable for it, but for now, I will only give you half of my cultivation method.
You will know where to find the rest after you achieve some success on the path."