Simon got up from bed as he normally would. Sleeping on a different bed did not really affect his sleeping patterns, but it still felt a bit strange. He would get used to it with time, as he would with anything else. In a three story mansion, Simon had more than enough s.p.a.ce to be alone and peaceful. Without Blue, he could relax and train without worrying over an unknown factor affecting his training and shouting while he is relaxing. All in all, the mansion was something that he desired very much, cheris.h.i.+ng it dearly. If he could sleep alone and wake up without an annoying voice blasting through his skull, he would be more than content.
"Hmmm… perfect place for my family." Simon navigated the mansion and smiled.
There were 10 bedrooms, a huge dining hall, a kitchen, library, three study rooms, and 10 bathrooms scattered around the mansion. Simon decided to take a room at the top of the mansion, complete with an en-suite bathroom for convenience.
Today would be the day for the Elder"s trials, so he hurried and made a breakfast that consisted of meat, bread, and spinach. After finis.h.i.+ng his food, he left the mansion and headed straight to the Main Hall.
"Greetings, Brother Hui." Wu Zhong greeted Simon at the gates, smiling warmly as he ushered Simon in.
"Is there anything important that I should know about the trial before it begins?" Simon asked. In truth, he did not know a clue about the trials. He did not want to run blindly into gunfire, so a simple question needed a simple answer.
"Hmmm...The trial involves a game of tactics and a duel. You just need to beat both components to officially become an elder. Once you do so, things will become much easier. With talent such as your own, you can easily become and immortal like me and sour high into the heavens."
"So I just need to prepare for a duel and a war game. Alright, I understand, Brother Wu." Simon clasped his hands and bowed his head slightly.
"Good, your brother Tian will do his trial after you finish yours. I wish you the best of luck in completing this trial successfully."
Before Simon could blink, everything turned back for a moment, as if a void had enshrouded him. And then suddenly, everything lit up again. This time, he was not in the main hall. He had arrived in an arena. Directly in front of him, a wooden automaton-like puppet armed with a hunting rifle.
"Huge Dong… I mean Hui Ge Dong! The first component of the elder"s trial is the puppet duel. You shall compete against an early Immortal stage puppet and beat it to become an elder. Fail and you will immediately be pulled out of the trial and be appointed as a deacon instead." The patriarch"s voice echoed throughout the arena, yet no faces could be seen.
"Hmmm… a hunting rifle? I wonder what mastery rank the puppet has achieved… I think I am only at the gold tier after training, but I"m more worried about his puppet having more cultivation and skill than me." Simon sweated slightly as he observed his unmoving opponent. It was like staring at a stone wall, only to realise that it would not respond.
"The duel begins when you shoot first."
BANG
Simon wasted no time in targeting the puppet"s forehead.
ZOOM
The puppet"s neck twisted to the right and it dodged the bullet by the length of an eyelash, s.h.i.+fting its stance and drawing its hunting rifle to shoot.
BANG
The puppet sent a bullet flying towards Simon"s chest.
"Not good!" Simon"s eyes opened widely and his face gave a distressed expression before he threw himself to the ground and narrowly dodged the bullet.
BANG BANG BANG
Simon now laid p.r.o.ne on the ground, taking advantage of his position to launch a flurry of bullets down the puppet"s direction.
However, the puppet s.h.i.+fted to the left and completely dodged the storm of bullets, reloading its gun and shooting another shot towards Simon.
"NOT SO FAST!" Simon shot the bullet with his own, modifying the trajectory of the attacking projectile ever so slightly, luckily causing it to miss him. He continued to rain down h.e.l.l on the puppet but the puppet continued to dodge and he failed to land any shots.
After a while, Simon began to feel tired, noticing that his energy reserves had already become half depleted.
"If it continues on any longer, I won"t be able to defeat this thing!" Simon bit his lip and aimed his gun at the puppet.
He just needed to hit the puppet in a vital area to kill it, but it was simply too agile to land a single shot. Even an ant is easier to hunt with his gun, at least they would not actively dodge like this. Every single shot that missed depleted some of Simon"s energy, therefore shortening the inevitable time before he had to give up. Thus, Simon needed to do something g quick before the agile opponent wins against him.
Even if a shot landed on the puppet"s legs, Simon would be more than satisfied. Landing a hit was an achievement in itself.
BANG
Simon aimed and missed again.
"Screw it, Inconsistent Gun Art is all I got." Simon then closed his eyes and aimed his gun randomly.
"Brother Wu, this junior brother seemed to have given up." One of the elders remarked upon looking at what Simon was doing.
"No, if you look clearly, you will notice that he is about to perform a profound art. Just watch." Another said while staring at the scene with an intent to study.
BANG
Simon shot at the ground.
The bullet ricocheted off of the hard surface and impacted the roof before finally deflecting towards the Puppet"s knee.
PUCHI
The puppet"s knee burst open, and wood chips flew in all directions. Simon had finally landed a hit against this puppet opponent. But would it be enough to defeat it? A puppet of the immortal stage is more than enough to destroy a group of nascent souls, so why would the puppet be considered weak?
Even with a single leg, the puppet could still shoot.
BANG
Simon felt a numb sensation across his left shoulder. He looked down and saw a deep red dripping from him and the scent of his own blood finally reaching this nostrils.
"AARGH!" Simon screamed before shooting his gun in all directions.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…
The shots rebounded and landed at various areas of the Puppet"s body. With every single shot, a nonessential limb was rendered half useless. But the time Simon had unloaded his first magazine, the puppet had come to resemble a termite infested tree with holes all over it.
But still, it stood with its gun loaded and aimed at Simon.
BANG
Simon narrowly dodged the bullet and ran towards the puppet.
BANG BANG BANG BANG
Simon closed his eyes and randomly fired his gun as fast as he possibly could, unloading a full drum mag into the puppet and leaving it as nothing. All that was left was a bolt action rifle that was so battered that not even a professional gun expert could identify it anymore. Simon had just destroyed so much.
Even if he could not aim and destroy the puppet with his raw skill, he had ways to compensate for the vast divide in power. If he could not aim, he would rely on his luck and hope to land every single hit on his opponent. At such an event where he misses a single shot, he would still have better aim than he would if he just shot without the a.s.sistance of the Inconsistent Gun Art.
"Hui Ge Dong, congratulations on completing component 1 of the Elder"s trial. You have shocked us deeply with your profound techniques and ingenuity." The patriarch remarked.
"Brother Hui defeated an Immortal stage puppet with his eyes closed, he is indeed worthy of being an elder." An elder spoke after watching the scene.
"Your next challenge will be one of tactical wits and cunning. As a general of a small military force, you will be given the task of destroying a small demonic sect that has been hara.s.sing our disciples in these recent weeks. Your soldiers will all be of the Foundation Building stage, but you will face 10 times the amount of men and will have to deal with a few core formation cultivators too. There has also been rumour that the sect leader is of the Nascent Soul stage. This task will be scored according to the time it takes for you to finish, the amount of demonic sect members killed and the amount of soldiers that survive. I wish you luck."
"Ah… I feel my luck increasing from those kind words…" Simon literally felt more lucky than he did a few minutes ago.
"I fully understand my task. I shall now complete it and prove my worth as an elder."