"Ah!"

A male disciple let out a pained cry as he was sent flying out of a Stone Gate, landing heavily on the ground.

Fang Ya shook her head and sighed. "Another disciple who doesn’t know his own limits."

She then turned to Bai Yuan. "Junior Brother, this is the Wooden Man Alley."

Bai Yuan gazed at the enormous, thirty-foot-tall Stone Gate before him.

The so-called Wooden Man Alley was, in essence, a place where the Divine Mansion Sect used automatons—wooden men—to help disciples with practical combat training.

Beyond the Stone Gate lay a maze-like alley, filled with automaton puppets crafted by master artisans.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Fang."

Bai Yuan said, cupping his fists in a salute.

Fang Ya explained, "Junior Brother Bai, this Wooden Man Alley is divided into nine sections, each separated by a Stone Gate. The wooden men’s strength increases with each section. Section One corresponds to the Skin Tempering realm, Section Two to Bone Forging, and so on. Don’t get greedy. Those wooden men don’t hold back, and quite a few of our brothers have been severely injured in this place."

Bai Yuan nodded.

He might not have known the way to the Wooden Man Alley, but he was intimately familiar with the wooden men inside.

"Junior Brother Bai, you could start from the second section to slowly get the hang of it."

Fang Ya reminded him.

"Well, I’ll take my leave here."

She gave a slight smile and, with a forthrightness usually seen in men, cupped her fists in a Jianghu salute before turning and disappearing behind a Stone Gate.

Just like You Shengnan, everyone in the Divine Mansion Sect was very busy.

Not long after Fang Ya left, another disciple was sent flying out of a Stone Gate by a wooden man. It looked like his injuries would take at least several days to heal.

For martial artists, live combat is unavoidable. It’s also the best way to fully master one’s Cultivation Technique. As such, almost no sect would have its disciples do nothing but train in seclusion. That was why the Wooden Man Alley was always crowded with disciples.

’Anyone who’s ever grinded in a game knows that if you want to farm mobs in peace, you first have to find a deserted spot.’

Section One.

Section Two.

Section Three.

Bai Yuan ventured deeper. The number of Divine Mansion Sect disciples around him dwindled, while the number of automaton puppets increased.

By the time he reached the Stone Gate to the fourth section, only a scattered few people remained.

’Perfect.’

Bai Yuan gazed in satisfaction at the countless automaton puppets before him. ’These are all Enhancement Points!’

The fourth section. This meant that these automaton puppets possessed the strength of the Strong Organ Pass realm.

Although the automaton puppets’ movements were slower than a human Martial Artist’s, their bodies were hard as iron and their strength was immense, making them anything but easy to deal with.

Bai Yuan slowly drew the Blood Tiger Scimitar from his waist.

’I already learned from Fang Ya that I don’t have to pay for any puppets I break here.’

’Excellent. I could grind in a place like this all night long.’

The Blood Tiger Scimitar flashed like a full moon as it slashed toward the nearest automaton puppet.

The instant Bai Yuan made his move, the automaton puppet, which had been standing as still as a statue, suddenly sprang to life, raising its mechanical arms to meet the Blood Tiger Scimitar.

CLANG!

A sharp ring echoed.

The automaton puppet didn’t budge an inch, but the immense force of the impact sent Bai Yuan stumbling back several steps.

’So this is the power of the Strong Organ Pass!’

’I was only able to kill Strong Internal Martial Masters before by relying on poison and sneak attacks, but those methods are completely useless against these automaton puppets.’

’To destroy these things, I’ll have to rely on pure, head-on strength.’

And so—

Bai Yuan decisively retreated through the Stone Gate and returned to the third section.

’Any seasoned gamer knows, when you run into a mob you can’t beat, the smartest thing to do is run away.’

Back in the third section of the Wooden Man Alley, he was completely in his element.

His Blood Tiger Saber, combined with the Tiger-Crane Form, practically turned him into a perpetual-motion mob-farming machine.

He raised his Blood Tiger Scimitar and slashed at a Section Three automaton puppet. This time, there was no resistance. In both power and speed, he completely overwhelmed the puppet before him.

First slash, the puppet’s right arm snapped off.

Second slash, its legs were severed.

Third slash, its torso burst apart.

He sheathed his saber.

’Destroying one automaton puppet takes a total of four moves.’

Enhancement Points +50!

Bai Yuan stared at the notification on his panel and was overjoyed.

The automaton puppets in the third section were equivalent to Yijin Martial Masters.

’Anyone who’s killed a Yijin Martial Master knows you get almost a hundred Enhancement Points for one. These puppets are a lot weaker than a real person. All in all, killing people is still more profitable.’

’But the sheer number of puppets in the Wooden Man Alley makes up for their lower quality.’

"Excellent. Tonight, I’m going to fight to my heart’s content."

...

「Elsewhere.」

Fang Ya cut down the puppet in front of her and let out a long sigh of relief.

’These automatons in the Wooden Man Alley really are tough to deal with.’

This was her third month in the third section of the Wooden Man Alley, and she had finally defeated one of the puppets. She felt she had gained a great deal from the experience.

These automaton puppets feel no pain, so most Martial Artists are at a huge disadvantage during their first encounter.

Furthermore, to reduce maintenance costs, the Divine Mansion Sect had built every puppet with defenses that were top-tier for their respective level. Just defeating one was a challenge; actually damaging one was an even rarer occurrence.

Most disciples who trained in the Wooden Man Alley came to get accustomed to real combat. None of them would be so bored as to choose a puppet from a lower-level section; that would just be a waste of time.

’I wonder how Junior Brother Bai is doing?’

For some reason, Fang Ya thought of the new junior brother who had come to the Wooden Man Alley with her.

She remembered that Junior Brother Bai was also an Outer Disciple, so she stood on her tiptoes and scanned the area.

Finally, she spotted Bai Yuan’s figure not far away. He was locked in a difficult battle with an automaton puppet and looked to be in a sorry state.

Fang Ya couldn’t help but break into a knowing smile.

Her own first time in the Wooden Man Alley hadn’t been much better than his; she’d ended up covered in bruises.

’Keep at it, rookie.’

Fang Ya was in high spirits.

She didn’t disturb the diligent Junior Brother Bai, instead turning and leaving the Wooden Man Alley with a spring in her step.

「Late at night.」

The Wooden Man Alley was now almost completely empty of Divine Mansion Sect disciples.

Most Martial Artists chose to train during the day and apply medicine at night. This way, they could wake up at full health and continue training without accumulating any hidden injuries.

Bai Yuan made a full circuit of the area. Only after confirming that no one else was around did he dare to truly let loose.

...

「The next morning.」

"Elder, something terrible has happened!"

Elder Wang, who had been sleeping with a beautiful serving girl in his arms, was startled awake.

"Fuck! Ruining my sweet dream... Are you tired of living?"

No one would be in a good mood after being startled awake like that. The beautiful maid in his arms curled up like a frightened kitten.

The disciple outside the door knew his voice had been too loud and swallowed nervously.

"Elder, there’s been trouble at the Wooden Man Alley!"

Elder Wang’s brows furrowed; he was precisely the Elder in charge of the Divine Mansion Sect’s Wooden Man Alley.

"What happened?"

He was baffled. ’The Wooden Man Alley isn’t the Pill Hall. How could it get robbed?’

The Wooden Man Alley had stood for a thousand years without a single incident. The automaton puppets had no use beyond training.

"El... Elder, all the automaton puppets in the first three sections... they’ve been completely dismantled."

"What?!"

Elder Wang completely forgot about the beautiful maid in his arms. He shot up from the bed, and the woman beside him nearly tumbled to the floor.

He hastily threw on a robe and shoved the door open.

"Say that again?"

"The... the automaton puppets... they’ve all been dismantled!"