Merlin had intentionally cast his Wind-type spell to demonstrate his frightening speed, which caused these Glorious Wizards to be somewhat taken aback. With such incredible speed, he was essentially unable to be defeated.

Even these grand and lofty Ninth-level Glorious Wizards were deeply impressed.

"As expected of someone whom Wizard Mogan had selected. So, his Wind-type spell is amazingly great. Not even Ninth-level Spell Casters would be capable of catching up to his speed. He might not be a match for the Third Puppet but it shouldn't be a problem for him to survive."

"Since he wants to challenge, he might as well learn how powerful is this Third Puppet, which is comparable to a Ninth-level Spell Caster. It's not in the same league as the Second Puppet."

The crowd of Glorious Wizards heaved a sigh of relief after witnessing Merlin's speed. With such great speed, the Third Puppet would surely be unable to catch up to him. Merlin's safety was guaranteed, and he would not come to any harm even if he challenged the Third Puppet.

"Merlin of the Glorious Palace invites the Third Puppet to a challenge!"

The Third Puppet had a slightly smaller built than the Second Puppet. After it heard Merlin's voice, the Third Puppet stood up as a red glow flashed in its eyes. Like the Second Puppet, it was activated in an instant as it stood up.

Merlin could sense that the Third Puppet's gaze was directed at the nameplate he was wearing. The Third Puppet seemed to be confirming it before its icy voice rang out. "Identity verification approved!"

"Swoosh."

As soon as it spoke, the Third Puppet moved with such great speed that the wind whistled, causing Merlin's gaze to sharpen slightly.

"It's extraordinary indeed!"

Merlin had been vigilant from the start, so the instant the Third Puppet moved, the Wind Element around his body began to fluctuate. Following that, he dodged to one side lightly without making any sound. It was an incomparably graceful move.

This was the unique point of Traceless Wind, which was completely silent and fast at the same time. Merlin was very nimble and was supported by Traceless Wind in addition to the Pandora Demon Ability Flash Wind. As long as he did not encounter those Great Wizards, not even Ninth-level Wizards could restrain him if he wanted to escape.

Of course, this was assuming that there were no Binding spells. The Third Puppet was a puppet after all and did not possess powerful spells. Puppets simply relied on their fearsome strength, in addition to their speed and defense.

"Destructive Thunder!"

Merlin pointed with an outstretched hand and a thick thunderbolt crashed down heavily upon the Third Puppet's body. In addition, chilly wisps formed a layer of ice crystals on the puppet at an extreme pace.

"Rumble rumble."

The thunderbolt flickered, and the chill pressed on further. These two types of Fifth-level spells were able to defeat the Second Puppet. Bolt after bolt of thunder was a stunning sight.

Nevertheless, Merlin could feel that there was not even a scratch on the Third Puppet. When the thunder struck the Third Puppet's body, it was blocked by a layer of faint light.

As for the ice crystals, they were shattered instantly as the Third Puppet shivered once, falling to the ground as ice shards.

Soon, Merlin tried every trick he could think of, but nothing seemed to work against the Third Puppet. Luckily, he was fast and agile enough, so the Third Puppet's formidable strength and speed were of no threat to Merlin as it could not catch up with him.

"Wizard Merlin, the Third Puppet isn't easy to deal with. Why don't you surrender this time?"

"That's right, Wizard Merlin. You're too fast for the Third Puppet to get you but you don't dare to approach it either. Moreover, you have no way of handling the Third Puppet. Even if you drag this on for a long time, there won't be any results."

The other Glorious Wizards saw that Merlin's techniques were basically all used up, yet he was still unable to deal with the Third Puppet. It seemed that defeating the Second Puppet was already Merlin's limit.

Of course, it would still be an exaggeration to say that Merlin was on par with Ninth-level Spell Casters just based on these techniques. After all, Ninth-level Spell Casters would generally have a Binding spell. At that point, if Merlin was bound, he could no longer demonstrate his speed, and would thus be in relative danger.

Therefore, there were still certain limitations in sparring with a puppet. It was at best a point of reference.

"Swish."

Merlin rapidly put some distance between himself and the Third Puppet, then he stopped.

"The Third Puppet is formidable indeed. My spells aren't very effective against it, so I can only play my final card!"

Merlin raised both hands. A ball of flame flared up in his hand, but thereafter, lightning began to flash in the flames, emitting strange bursts of crackling.

Those Ninth-level Glorious Wizards had been talking and laughing before but when they saw the peculiar spell in Merlin's hands, they fell silent immediately. An expression of incredulity crept over their faces.

"This… This is spell fusion?"

"Spell fusion, honest-to-goodness spell fusion! Amazing, truly amazing. Wizard Mogan has made the right call in making Merlin his disciple, to think that he can fuse spells. Even if it's just the fusion of two spells, he's still a genius among geniuses. After all, Wizard Merlin is merely a Fifth-level Spell Caster!"

"According to rumors, only those top-notch Spell Casters, the freakiest prodigies, would be able to fuse spells, escalating their power. This is pure spell fusion. Although it can't compare to the fusion of Spell Models at the peak of Ninth-level spells, it's still very scary. To put it another way, Spell Casters who purely fuse spells are much rarer than Spell Casters who fuse Spell Models."

The flames and lightning in Merlin's hand were the fusion of his Fire-type spell and Thunder-type spell. Although it was just a small mass, it contained fearsome strength.

Moreover, Merlin was not about to use just one small projectile to face the Third Puppet. Around him, furious flames suddenly surged up. At the same time, the sky trembled with thunder and lightning, and bolt after bolt of terrifying thunder descended quickly, fusing with Merlin's Fire-type spell.

This was the first time Merlin had wielded spell fusion on such a large scale. Its force was alarming, and Merlin could even sense that the Mind Power of a few Great Wizards was focused on him.

"Go!"

Merlin saw that the Third Puppet was rushing toward him and did not hesitate at all. His Mind Power led the spell fusion, whistling as it charged toward the Third Puppet.

The Third Puppet unleashed a great roar and a faint layer of light appeared all over its body. Furthermore, a wave of force seemed to ripple from it. This oscillation of the air was generated when its power had reached a certain limit.

The Third Puppet did not even look as it brandished its fist, swinging it ferociously toward Merlin's spell fusion. That terrifying blast of force seemed able to break down any obstacle.

"Boom!"

The fusion of spells exploded in an instant. The frightening flames and thunder engulfed the Third Puppet, and one could even vaguely make out the Third Puppet's furious cries.

The might of spell fusion was able to erupt with multiplied power quickly. Merlin was unclear whether it could take on the Third Puppet. If the Third Puppet was still undefeated even after this, Merlin would be helpless with no choice but to announce that he had failed the challenge.

The scorching blast rippled outward in all directions. Even those Ninth-level Glorious Wizards suffered from faint palpitations in their hearts when they witnessed Merlin's spell fusion. They were each secretly making comparisons. If they ever were to encounter such fearsome spell fusion, would they be able to withstand it?

Perhaps the imagined outcome was not so great for some of the Glorious Wizards stared at Merlin with a somber light in their eyes.

The shockwave from the explosion of the spell fusion had a vast range, and the heat rippled outward in all directions. After the smoke and dust had dispersed, Merlin looked steadily at the place where the Third Puppet had been.

At the moment, the Third Puppet had collapsed to the ground, its body charred black.

"I've succeeded?"

Merlin was rather elated. Even though the Third Puppet could merely be used as a point of reference, this meant that at the very least, Merlin's offensive powers were not inferior to the average Ninth-level Spell Caster.

The power of spell fusion was terrifying, and this was just the fusion between Fire-type spell and Thunder-type spell, which was purely for attacking, with explosive and alarming strength.

Merlin still had the fusion of Wind-type and Ice-type spells. This variant of fusion was speedy and had formidable binding powers too. Putting everything together and with Merlin's abilities, they were completely on par with most Ninth-level Spell Casters.

Of course, when faced with the Third Puppet which had no Binding spells, Merlin had the upper hand.

"Tsss."

Upon witnessing the Third Puppet's fate, the surrounding Glorious Wizards felt a sense of incredulity. However, they had personally witnessed everything and had no choice but to believe their own eyes. Merlin was merely a Fifth-level Spell Caster. No matter how freakish or genius he was, they would have previously thought that it was inconceivable for him to defeat the Third Puppet.

However, the truth was now before their eyes. Merlin had truly defeated the Third Puppet which was comparable to a Ninth-level Spell Caster! Although it was a puppet and could not fully represent a Ninth-level Spell Caster, the astounding effect of Merlin's victory over the Third Puppet was still shocking.

Merlin paid no mind to the reactions of the surrounding Spell Casters. He was now Wizard Mogan's disciple and had no need to conceal anything. In the Glorious Palace, he could not be any safer.

The Third Puppet was now unable to move at all, but the material it was made of was still relatively undamaged. It was somewhat speechless as it looked at Merlin. Such a powerful impact had caused even the Third Puppet's internal structure to be damaged but it was still unharmed outside. It was enough to show that the material these puppets were made of was extremely sturdy.

"Alright, time to go to the Glorious Pavilion!"

Merlin had challenged the puppets merely as a quick test of his current capabilities. Now that he had passed the challenge, the Third Puppet was basically his limit.

As for the Fourth and Fifth Puppets, Merlin could forget about it for now. If he went and challenged them, he would surely lose. When faced with an opponent which was too powerful, there was no meaning to the challenge.

Thus, Merlin prepared to head to the Glorious Pavilion.

"Crack."

A strange sharp sound rang in everyone's ears. At the same time, the crowd turned their faces up to look at the sky. They saw that a vortex had appeared in the clear sky at an unknown time. Furthermore, in the eye of the vortex, a pitch-black, gigantic Spatial Gap was gradually emerging.