"This... how could I possibly accept this?"

Upon hearing Wang Xiu's sincere words, Lin Yue smiled shyly. He then discreetly slipped the two dozen Netherworld Incense sticks into his Space Ring.

"We're all brothers from the same sect; don't worry about such trifles!" Wang Xiu said with a light chuckle, clapping Lin Yue on the shoulder.

Lin Yue suddenly stared at Wang Xiu and asked curiously, "Are you... Brother Wang Xiu?"

Among the tens of thousands of disciples in the Immortal Sect, very few had actually seen Wang Xiu. He had only made one public appearance recently, when he was promoting the Immortal Sect Loan in front of the Task Hall. He usually kept a low profile, so it was perfectly normal for these disciples not to recognize him.

Wang Xiu nodded.

Lin Yue immediately exclaimed with joy, "So it really is you, Brother! Everyone says that not only are you handsome, but you also have a pure and kind heart. Meeting you today, I see your reputation is well-deserved!"

Hearing this, Wang Xiu couldn't help but laugh in surprise. "Are you talking about me? I wasn't aware I had such a good reputation. Shouldn't you all be calling me the disgrace of the Sanqing instead?"

Lin Yue's expression turned slightly awkward. "That's old news, Brother! Ever since you launched the Immortal Sect Loan, you've helped so many of our fellow disciples out of tight spots. Now that we have Spirit Stones, our strength is improving by leaps and bounds. It's an experience we've never had before! Everyone is truly grateful to you!"

Wang Xiu just smiled, neither confirming nor denying it. He knew his reputation among the younger disciples had improved considerably, but he didn't believe for a second that the entire Sanqing Immortal Sect was grateful to him.

After all, his Immortal Sect Loan primarily helped the lower-ranked disciples of each branch. As for the True Disciples and the Elders, while they might also be short on funds, their own methods of earning Spirit Stones were much faster than mining in the Ghost Immortal Blessed Land.

With the exception of those like Huang Yunchong, who disliked doing missions, of course.

Besides, the elders of the various branches held long-standing, deep-rooted prejudices against the Divination Sect. It was unlikely that such small favors would change their minds. At most, they might just become less resistant to the Divination Sect.

Still, it was a good start, so Wang Xiu wasn't in a hurry.

Suddenly, Lin Yue seemed to remember something. His gaze fell upon the figures behind Wang Xiu, and he couldn't conceal his surprise. "Brother, are those puppets...?"

Wang Xiu paused, glancing back at the magnificent Puppet Kingdom behind him. "Oh," he explained, "I've been quite interested in the Manipulation Sect's Puppetry Art, so I borrowed some classics from the Scripture Pavilion and taught myself for a while."

Hearing Wang Xiu's admission, Lin Yue's pupils constricted, his eyes filled with disbelief.

To be fair, even when he had seen Wang Xiu emerge from the forest, Lin Yue hadn't immediately connected him with the puppets. The Sanqing Immortal Sect now advocated unrestricted learning. Regardless of which branch a disciple belonged to, they could borrow books from any branch's collection in the Scripture Pavilion as long as they paid a certain amount of Spirit Stones. Many talented disciples, in addition to their own branch's techniques, would study the arts of other branches in case they were ever needed.

Yet the classics of the Manipulation Sect were famously the least borrowed. The reason was simple.

While the other branches focused on different fields, many of their principles were interconnected. For example, combining some of the Thunder Sect's arts with the Sword Sect's swordplay could create a whole new unique skill. All roads led to Rome, in a sense, so learning them wasn't overwhelmingly difficult. The Way of the Artificer from the Manipulation Sect, however, was completely unrelated to those other arts. If any connection had to be made, it might be a slight overlap with the Artifact Sect and the Formation Sect. Yet, the teachings of these two branches barely touched the core principles of an Artificer's craft.

In other words, to learn how to craft puppets, one needed knowledge of formations and materials. But even with a grasp of those two fields, the road to mastering the Puppetry Art was still a long one. And that wasn't even mentioning that Wang Xiu was neither a disciple of the Formation Sect nor the Artifact Sect. He was from the Divination Sect! The two fields were completely unrelated!

Yet, under such circumstances, Wang Xiu had not only chosen to study the Manipulation Sect's knowledge but had also managed to create this dense army of puppets through self-study alone.

How could this not sound like something out of a dream?

Lin Yue swallowed hard and asked, "Brother, may I take a look at those puppets?"

"Er..." Wang Xiu hesitated slightly but didn't refuse. "Sure!"

Hearing Wang Xiu agree, Lin Yue immediately shot into the air, swiftly arriving before the Netherworld Forest. With slightly trembling hands, he grabbed a Puppet Bird and began to examine it closely.

Before long, his breathing grew ragged and his pupils trembled, disbelief etched all over his face. "How is this possible? How could it be? How could it be so simple?"

The structure of this Puppet Bird wasn't complex. On the contrary, it was too simple. It was so simple it felt unreasonable, making Lin Yue question his entire understanding of the craft.

Anyone with a basic understanding of puppets knew that size didn't equate to power. In fact, the smaller the puppet, the more intricate and complex its internal structure tended to be. Constructing a mechanism within such a tiny space that could allow for free movement and task completion was exceptionally difficult.

If he were to design such a Puppet Bird according to his own knowledge, its structural complexity would be akin to a rich, vibrant landscape painting. The one in his hands, however, was like a simple sketch, outlined with just a few black and white strokes.

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