"Challenge?"

Merlin looked at the puppet. It did not seem to be kidding.

"Okay, challenge away."

Merlin was now filled with confidence. No matter what challenge it was, he would be able to pass it.

"Very well, the first challenge is, you must defeat six puppets like me! Remember, these puppets are all comparable to a peak Great Wizard!"

As soon as the puppet finished speaking, six fully-black puppets whizzed through the air from beyond. Merlin used his Mind Power to scan them, there was indeed no life force.

However, the material that formed these puppets' bodies was quite extraordinary. The puppets were not made from conventional materials typically used in puppet transfiguration but instead, a distinctive kind of metal.

"Can I start now?"

"Of course!"

Upon hearing the puppet's reply, Merlin's Magic Power gushed out of his body and swiftly transformed into a terrifying hurricane that hurled toward the six puppets.

This terrifying hurricane contained a potent shredding force that could be sensed even from the outside. It had far surpassed a Great Wizard, so even the mightiest existence below a Legend might not be able to withstand it. This force was already comparable to a Great Legend!

The hurricane advanced like a hot knife through butter, and ruthlessly swiped up the six puppets. In an instant, the potent shredding force immediately shredded the six puppets into smithereens. There was no resistance whatsoever.

"Did I pass the challenge?"

Merlin turned to look at the puppet beside him.

Inside the puppet's hollow eye sockets, a fiery-red glow appeared. The puppet was apparently quite stunned as it stuttered, "Of course, you've passed. Your spell is already comparable to a Great Legend's Maxim power. Are you a civilization-level prodigy?"

This puppet was extremely knowledgeable, and even knew about civilization-level prodigies.

Merlin grinned. Just as he was about to continue asking about the Spell Caster who had defeated this warship and created this colossal subspace, suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the six puppets who had been shredded into pieces by his hurricane earlier reassembling themselves from the countless smithereens. Soon, they were completely recovered, and looked undamaged.

"Recovered? What puppets are these?"

Merlin had seen many puppets including puppets more powerful than these but he had never seen puppets that could recover. This had exceeded his knowledge of puppets.

"Shatter!"

Without warning, Merlin wielded a mighty spell, and slammed downward. Immediately, the six newly-restored puppets were crushed into dust again.

However, this time, Merlin used his Mind Power to carefully observe these tiny smithereens. After a moment, the black smithereens began to vibrate, then, almost as if it was alive, rapidly reassembled together.

Every single piece, without exception, reassembled together. Subsequently, they turned into liquid, and fused rapidly. Soon, the puppets which were turned into dust, reappeared once again.

"Immortal?"

Merlin was astonished. In the Void Zone, there were some civilization tribes that were known to be "immortal" but they were not truly immortal, just harder to kill. Once their weak points were exposed, they could be killed easily.

Merlin carefully examined these puppets. They looked exactly like other ordinary puppets. The only difference was the material of their body, which Merlin had never seen before.

"Do you see it now? Master transfigured all of them using the special metal from the warship. It's called liquid memory metal. This metal is very unique. No matter how much impact it undergoes, it can still recover rapidly, and remain unblemished. It's truly difficult to kill them. Moreover, this metal can also withstand extremely hot and cold temperatures. Unless, you achieve the power level of a Legend and can unleash a fearsome Flame Maxim or other similar tactics to burn the liquid memory metal into ashes. Then, it'll not be able to recover and can be killed!"

Hearing the puppet's explanation, Merlin's interest was piqued by the liquid memory metal. Although the puppets transfigured from this metal was not truly immortal, their ability to recover was astonishing. If there were a big number of them, they would be a truly intimidating force to reckon with.

"The Atlan civilization is truly unique. That warship in particular, contains several battle tactics that impressed even Master. After some time, you'll come to understand it! Anyway, you've passed the first challenge. Come on, let's go and see what Master has left behind for you."

This puppet appeared to be in control of the entire independent subspace.

"Oh, right, so who's your Master actually?"

Upon hearing Merlin's question, the puppet paused, and stopped in its tracks. Turning its head around, it replied softly, "Master's name is but a single word, 'Origin'. Many of the Spell Casters back then called him Wizard Origin!"

"Origin?"

Merlin mumbled under his breath. Soon, he seemed to recall something, and raised his head abruptly with a look of astonishment.

"Do you mean the Origin Lord? One of the most ancient and most powerful Lord in the Spell Caster civilization? Later, unfortunately, he died in a battle with a foreign tribe!"

Merlin immediately recalled an ancient legend within the Spell Caster civilization. The history of the Spell Caster civilization did not date back very long, so the Origin Lord was one of the most ancient Lords.

Merlin had once asked the similarly-ancient Blackfire Lord. However, compared to the Origin Lord, the Blackfire Lord was less ancient. It seemed that the Origin Lord existed since the birth of the Spell Casters. Then, he gradually grew in power as they fought back against the gods.

In fact, some Wizards said that if the Origin Lord had survived until now, he might have become an ultimate existence.

The Origin Lord died a very long time ago but his legend still continued to live on within the Spell Caster civilization, to the point that even Merlin had heard of it. It was completely unfathomable that the secret of Ozmu Headquarters was linked to the Origin Lord.

"That's right, the Origin Lord! He had constructed this independent subspace, and defeated this Atlan civilization warship as well as left behind a series of challenges. If you manage to obtain everything left behind by the Origin Lord, then there's hope for you to become a Great Lord as well!"

The puppet left behind by the Origin Lord noticeably missed him quite dearly, and held a special affection for the Origin Lord.

Merlin's heart was thrilled. The Origin Lord was a very ancient and very powerful Lord. The items that he left behind must be extraordinary. Although Merlin had already met an Arcane Wizard, he was not an Arcane Wizard's disciple, so, he could not obtain more benefits.

This was different for the Origin Lord. The items he left behind were specifically intended to nurture Spell Casters. Naturally, he would leave behind something beneficial. Thus, Merlin was incredibly thrilled.

"I wonder what the Origin Lord left behind?"

Merlin murmured inaudibly as he followed behind the puppet. They continued to traverse the pitch-black subspace.

"The items left behind by the Origin Lord are of course exceptionally beneficial, even to a Great Wizard. You are the second person to pass the first challenge, so I hope you can continue to pass the second and perhaps even the third challenge."

The puppet's words revealed a lot of information. Apparently, the Origin Lord's challenge was just not a single challenge. There was a second and even a third challenge.

However, the most surprising bit of information to Merlin was that he was not the first person to pass the first challenge. He could not imagine who else would be able to defeat six puppets that were not only comparable to peak Great Wizards but were extremely tough to kill.

"Who was the first Wizard to pass that challenge?"

Merlin asked quietly.

"The first Wizard… He was also a very special Spell Caster. He was a rare Spatial Wizard! Nevertheless, he was not as skillful as you. It took some time for him to pass the challenge. I think his name is Kleis!"

"Kleis?"

An odd look flitted across Merlin's face. He did not expect that Kleis also passed the challenge. He wondered what item did Kleis received back then.

Thus, Merlin continued to follow behind the puppet, a look of anticipation plastered across his face.