*Crash*

Like a projectile, Wu Guang was blasted and crashed against the wall of the challenge room. He managed to infuse enough qi to avoid being heavily injured, but he still spat out a bit of blood.

His body was already bruised and battered from previous exchanges, and his rune cloth robes had begun tearing as well. How could have this happened? How could both his senses and experience fail to ascertain the danger he would encounter? These two questions constantly circled his mind, and the worst was that he knew the answer. It was his fault, or better said, it was his self-assured and arrogant mindset that led towards this situation.

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Reaching the ingeniously hidden place where he would have to fight against the golems did not take more than a few minutes. And thanks to the instructions from the rune plate, he did not have any trouble opening a disguised hatch that led into something resembling an underground training area. The area was big, almost a hundred feet towards each side, and about twenty feet underground. It was built in the same style as the Sect's dungeon he had visited a few times, and so he guessed that it was also a remnant building from the state that built the enormous capital now occupied by the Sect.

Still, there was a big difference in the materials used for this room. Previously Wu Guang had not encountered buildings made to suppress mindpower and even supposed that there were none on this island. He was mistaken, as the walls around him had that exact effect. Normally he should have gotten wary of such as it gutted half of his trump cards, but Wu Guang did not. The cause was easy, he simply did not think about the possibility of meeting golems that he could not win against openly.

So in place of preparing, he simply approached the only thing visible in the darkness, a rune plate, and activated it. A few words emerged on it, explaining that the challenge will start shortly. It also said that he would need to use his strength to beat the golems. "Whos strength I would use if not mine?" Wondering inwardly about this strange wording, Wu Guang finished reading and pressed the 'Begin' character below. He sensed that the rune plate sent a small current of qi checking his cultivation, and did not retrieve his hand until it was done. And then a few words that at first surprised and made him smirk appeared "Strenght and qi comparable to a 2nd level Soul realm cultivator". This was indeed good news, or at least it was until the next phrase appeared "Activating for 2nd level of the Soul realm test. 3 golems of 4th quality, 2 golems of 3rd quality, 1 golem of 2nd quality. Confirm to begin challenge". If Wu Guang knew what was the strength of these golems, he would have taken at least some measures before, but regretfully he had never heard about such categorization.

The fact that the challenge was meant for a Soul realm cultivator alarmed him a bit, but he still infused a bit of qi and activated the 'Begin' character again. The entire room suddenly illuminated with the bluish light of rune-lights, and the challenge officially started.

*Slam* *Slam* *Slam* *Slam*

Four successive loud sounds were heard. Three of them came from the sidewalls, with stone plates opening passages, probably for the golems. As for the fourth one, it came from above. The hatch that Wu Guang had used to enter closed by itself.

"So I can not leave until I win? That could have been expected" Wu Guang muttered and activated his senses to the maximum, concentrating on the three open passages. The material used for this slab was called 'Barrier Granite' and was a type of interference material formed by the interaction between natural energy and cooling lava. Apart from being capable to suppress mind power, it could also interfere with senses and was almost indestructible without having the strength of at least a Warrior realm cultivator. Now that the passages were open, Wu Guang managed to sense the golems that he was meant to fight.

"For heavens sake!" This was the only reaction Wu Guang could have after he sensed his golem opponents.

Three golems made from 'Corporeal Spirit Stone' and infused with the soul power of a 2nd level Soul realm cultivator. Albeit they would be hard to destroy and packed a serious strength, the material used greatly restricted their speed and so Wu Guang categorized them as not dangerous.

Two golems made from the same material but with the addition of copper lines infused with 3rd level soul power. More dangerous than the previous as the coper would help them operate quicker, but still, Wu Guang considered himself capable of matching them.

But the last one... A single made of 'Corporeal Spirit Stone' but with parts covered with the same 'Barrier Granite' as the room. Infused to the brim with 4th level Soul power.

Leaving aside that it could kill Wu Guang with a full-strength attack, the armored parts were impossible to destroy. Meaning that not only did Wu Guang would need to avoid all the attacks from it, but also could only attack a few open areas.

"This will be very hard" There was no medicine for regret and he had indeed ignored the warning signs, so Wu Guang had nothing to do except brace himself and prepare to fight for his life.

Regretfully for him, the problems did not stop there, as at the moment he intended to take out his weapons, Wu Guang found out that his storage ring was not responding.

"Fuck! So that is what it meant with fighting only with my strength? No weapons, no treasures? Only what I have on myself right now!" Albeit he cursed, he did not despair. Most of his techniques were meant for fighting without weapons, still, the fact that he could not utilize the statuette covered in lighting traps to at least deal with the hardest opponent as he wanted to was a real blow.

Albeit this both internal and voiced monologue took a full minute, during which Wu Guang did not drop his guard or stop monitoring the golems, the latter had not moved at all.

"Are they waiting for something?" Voicing a question that went unanswered Wu Guang made a probing step forwards.

As if that was the signal that the golems were waiting they instantly reacted. The weaker ones stomped heavily from their corridor, while the middle ones briskly ran out. As for the second quality like the rune plate referred to it rushed out with speed comparable to Wu Guang's maximum.

Thankfully golems could only use their bodies and could not utilize any techniques. After giving them a full examination Wu Guang found out that they were the cooperative work of two Grandmasters, a rune and a refining one. Leaving aside the materials, the runes on them were only 5 stroke ones and so they could only follow simple commands and had no real sentience. While visually they were carved as a full set of armor-covered bodies seven feet tall each.

*Swoosh*

While examining them, Wu Guang avoided the bumrush of the strongest golem.

He did not try to counterattack, preferring to seize the moment to find out its weak spots. Almost the entire armor was made of 'Barrier Granite' and so any attacks would fail to even make the slightest dent. Still, this was a test meant for a 2nd level Soul realm cultivator, so there should be a discernible weak point somewhere.

And there were, in fact, three of them. The first one was the connection between the arms and the body, unarmored and even a bit thinner than the rest. The second weak spot was the base of the head, as the stone helmet did not cover the neck. As for the third one, the reverse of the knees. This was always an obvious weakness in armor, and so the creators left it as well.

"The others are also armored and albeit their armor is made of the same material that the body, it will still be harder to break because of quantity. The weak spots should be the same, so I will concentrate on them" After finishing his analysis and avoiding an attempt by the strongest golem to grab him, Wu Guang disappeared from the spot. He ignored the stronger trio and decided to first finish with the weaker ones. This strategy was both solid and easy, as the weaker ones moved very slowly. They had only exited the passage as opposed to the strongest one that had already attempted two attacks.

Wu Guang did not activate his 'Flaming Body' as fire would not help him much against the stone. After arriving at the nearest of the golems he covered his fist with pure qi and punched below the helmet.

His attack connected with no trouble and the golem did not react in time, and so an instant later with a loud crunch the head was separated from the body.

"Fuck the..." Wu Guang's reaction was far different from the one expected after falling an opponent, but observing closely, it was easy to understand. The golem did not fall, and it did not fail to react. What Wu Guang assumed first to be an attempt to block was in reality a double punch directed to him. As for the head, it seemed that the golem was unaffected by losing it.

*BAM*

Without time to avoid, Wu Guang received the attack. Albeit he did react and covered his chest with qi as well the protective effect from the robes acted, he was still sent sliding back for a few feet.

He wasn't wounded, but the situation turned to the worse as the direction he had sent towards was where the two 3rd quality golems were.

Using 'Counting Steps' to escape from the two already raised fists, Wu Guang moved towards the opposite wall, opening space between him and his opponents.

"It seems that I will need to completely cripple them" Calming almost instantly, he changed his plan and prepared to attack the same golem he had before, intending to finish at least that one.

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For the next 15 minutes, Wu Guang moved around like a ghost, targetting the weaker golems. Initially, his plan was a success, with him easily destroying the arms and legs of the headless one. Judging from the lack of movement and that Wu Guang's senses did not catch any active soul power, it was done for.

Afterward, he targetted another one of the weaker ones, only to find that he was slowly but surely getting surrounded by the rest of the golems. Neither he did expect nor they should have any semblance of teamwork, but still, somehow they were working together to stop his movements. Still, only one could equal his speed while Wu Guangs reactions were far quicker, adding that he had gotten serious, he still managed to destroy the second one without suffering any damage.

Then it was when Wu Guang found out how come the golems suddenly got smarter after he destroyed the 1st one. It turned out that the soul power from the destroyed ones flowed into the 'Barrier Granite' of the floor, and via there towards the other golems. It would not increase their level, but it did increase their power as well as their acting capacity. This meant that if Wu Guang left the strongest one for the last, it would get even stronger, possibly to a level where Wu Guang could not contend with him.

Noticing this before it was too late was great, but this led to another problem, how could Wu Guang fight an opponent that was equal if not superior to him while being harassed by the four weaker ones?

The answer was that he could not do it without receiving damage, and so the situation turned rowdy. Wu Guang managed to destroy the legs of a medium-tier golem, only to receive a glancing blow from the strongest one.

Afterward, he destroyed the arms of the last weak one, but as he tried to avoid another attack from the strongest one, he got himself sandwiched between the medium-tier golems. Between his reaction speed and overall superiority to them, he did not suffer real damage but still was sent crashing against a wall.