Chapter 1: Puppet Bead
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Puppet Bead
In the Zhou Family Marketplace, beside the Cold Iron Mine Cave, Lu Zhao sat cross-legged on a blue-green stone next to the Cold Pool. Ice crystals crept up from his cuffs. Within his Dantian, three streams of Magical Power were endlessly entangled, and every collision sent a dull ache through his meridians.
He pressed the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, silently reciting the principles of the Little Spirit Rain Technique. He guided the Water Attribute Spiritual Energy to slowly calm the turmoil within his Dantian, while from the bottom of the pool came the intermittent CRUNCH, CRUNCH of Spirit-Devouring Rats gnawing on ore.
’The Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation... It’s not so easy, after all.’ He gave a self-deprecating smile.
The surface of the water suddenly rippled.
About thirty feet away, a figure emerged from the mist, his black robes billowing. It was none other than the Zhou Family’s Steward—Zhou Ming.
"Mr. Lu, this is your third extension," Zhou Ming said in a low voice. "If you can’t turn in ten catties of Cold Iron Ore before 7:00 PM, then according to the rules, you’ll forfeit half a month’s salary."
He paused, giving Lu Zhao a meaningful look. "There are quite a few people eyeing that Cold Jade Pill of yours."
Lu Zhao stood up and poured a pile of ore from the Storage Bag at his waist. The amount was exactly nine and a half catties.
"A section of the mine tunnel collapsed yesterday after some Spirit-Devouring Rats gnawed through it. I’ll work harder tomorrow and will be sure to make up the difference."
Zhou Ming stared at the pile of ore and sighed. "Mr. Lu, you and I have known each other for years. There are some things I have to say."
"The path of Puppetry is deep and esoteric. Not only is it mentally taxing, but it’s also incredibly expensive. Even in my Zhou Family, no one has ever truly managed to set foot on this path."
"With your aptitude, if you had just focused on your cultivation, you wouldn’t be in this position."
He shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it. I’ll cover for you this time, but don’t let it happen again."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Ming turned and left, his figure quickly swallowed by the dense fog.
Lu Zhao was silent for a moment before turning away from the Cold Pool and heading toward his small courtyard in the Zhou Family Marketplace.
The courtyard was remote and simple, and it wasn’t built over a Spirit Vein, but it was his only sanctuary. This was one of the perks of being a Guest Elder for the Zhou Family.
「Back in his small courtyard, Lu Zhao’s thoughts began to drift.」 He thought back to seven years ago, when he wasn’t a Guest Elder for the Zhou Family, but a disciple of the Lu Family of Northern Plains County. Life had been quite comfortable back then.
But five years ago, a disaster that annihilated his clan changed his life, turning him from a family disciple into a Wanderer.
Three years ago, after enduring many hardships, he had come to the Zhou Family Marketplace. With his reasonably skilled Water Magic, he became a Lower-Rank Guest Minister for the Zhou Family. Each month, he only had to turn in ten catties of Cold Iron Ore in exchange for a Spirit Stone and a Cold Jade Pill.
His thoughts drifted even further back into the past.
Before that, he had been a materials science Ph.D. in another world. He died in a laboratory explosion due to an operational error. When he opened his eyes again, he had become Lu Zhao, a disciple from a side branch of the Lu Family, and began to learn about cultivation.
He lived like that for two peaceful years. Then, one afternoon five years ago, everything changed forever.
He remembered carrying a bamboo basket on his back, gathering Cyan Nether Stone Shards on the back mountain—a material used for refining puppet joints.
Suddenly, the earth trembled, and the Clan Protection Array was shattered with a deafening CRASH!
"Run! To the cliff cave on the back mountain!" His third uncle’s roar reached him, mingled with the gnawing sounds of a Demon Beast.
Hearing the shouts, he hastily cast the Water Mist Technique. The thin mist wasn’t even enough to cover his entire body. He stumbled into the cliff cave on the back mountain. Then he heard it.
BANG!
The cave he was hiding in collapsed. Curled up in a crevice, he listened to the screams of his clan members and the sound of a Demon Beast chewing on their skeletons. He was terrified.
He only crawled out of the ruins after everything had fallen deathly silent.
In a pile of rubble, he found half a scroll of the Little Spirit Rain Technique. It was his family’s best Cultivation Technique and the last memento the Lu Family left him.
That day, he witnessed firsthand the terror of a Tier Two Demon Beast.
The family’s three Late-stage Qi Cultivators and dozens of other clan members were like ants beneath its claws, crushed effortlessly.
And he had only survived by a stroke of luck, all because he had gone out to gather Puppet Materials.
...
The past was in the past. 「Back in the present」 Lu Zhao stepped into the cellar and began preparing to refine a puppet.
Lu Zhao picked up the carving knife. The moment its tip descended... A short while later, his hand suddenly froze.
The Cyan Pattern Wood had split, a fine crack running through it.
’Another half a Spirit Stone wasted...’ he sighed. This Cyan Pattern Wood was the main material for puppet refining. He had traded his private stash of Cold Iron Ore for it at the Black Market, and each piece was incredibly valuable.
Suddenly, the seven mouse-shaped puppets in the corner trembled slightly. Lu Zhao saw it and knew at once that someone was approaching.
He quickly pulled open the wooden cellar door. Seeing the lantern light of a Night Patrol Cultivator sweep across the ground, he let out a sigh of relief and went back down.
Back inside, he looked at the mouse-shaped puppets. These puppets were called Puppet Guards. Although they possessed no direct combat strength, they excelled at providing warnings and conducting surveillance.
They were the culmination of his years of painstaking research into puppetry.
He brought the knife down again. This time was quite different from the last; the carving knife began to emit a faint glow...
As he completed the third Spirit Pattern, a drop of pale cyan liquid suddenly seeped from the wood’s core—
"Cyan Marrow?!"
His pupils contracted. Forcing down his excitement, he continued to carve the Spirit Patterns. He had a premonition that he would succeed this time.
Seven years of failure, seven years of accumulation—today, he was finally about to produce his first Puppet Core capable of housing Divine Sense.
"Success..."
With trembling hands, he embedded the Mouse King’s Fang into the core.
The moment the last piece of mouse bone clicked into its joint, a pale cyan mist billowed from the Puppet Core!
"Puppet Mist!"
’A phenomenon that only appears for an Entry Tier Puppet!’
A palm-sized Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet lay quietly in his palm.
Seven years of toil, seven years of obsession, had finally become reality.
Just then, a cold and immense voice exploded in his mind:
"Tier One Lower Grade Puppet, achieved Entry Tier. Granting Tier One Puppet Inheritance."
BOOM!
A massive amount of information flooded into his Spiritual Soul!
Blueprints, Spirit Patterns, material identification, secret control techniques... Everything about Tier One Puppetry was branded deep within his consciousness!
After a long moment, Lu Zhao opened his eyes, a sharp glint bursting forth from within them!
Seven years of persistence, seven years of effort, had finally been rewarded!
His, Lu Zhao’s, great opportunity had finally arrived. He finally had a chance to change his fate.
He called out in his mind, ’Puppet Bead.’
A screen of light appeared before his eyes:
Name: Lu Zhao
Lifespan: 23 / 120
Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Third Layer (Middle-Grade Water Spirit Root)
Main Cultivation Method: Little Spirit Rain Technique (Incomplete, Lower Grade)
Magic: Water Bullet Technique, Water Curtain Technique, Ice Cone Technique, Breath Concealment Technique, Water Mist Technique
Supporting Skill:
Puppetry (Tier One Lower Grade)
Basic Spirit Control Array (Success Rate: 11%)
Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet
Materials: One catty of Cyan Pattern Wood, one spirit mouse corpse, one Tier One Early Stage demon mouse fang, half a catty of Cyan Cliff Stone
Fang Usage Count: 200
Abilities: Gnaw, Swiftness, Breaking Technique (Strength comparable to a Tier One Lower Grade Demon Beast)
Reward: Tier One Puppet Inheritance
Lu Zhao’s pupils quivered. The number of uses for the fang displayed on the light screen perfectly matched what was written in the books he had read.
This Puppet Bead hadn’t been granted out of thin air; it had been formed based on his own accumulated knowledge.