It was like a simple sketch. Yet with just a few strokes, the Puppet Bird's skeleton, blood, and very spirit were carved out.

How could this Puppet Bird possibly come to life with just a few simple lines? Lin Yue couldn't understand.

This delivered a profound and unimaginable shock to everything he had ever learned. He even began to question his own reality. Was the knowledge he had studied all his life right or wrong?

This was simply a divine stroke of genius! Perhaps this was the true meaning of the saying: the greatest truths are the simplest, and the greatest skill appears to be without effort.

…

"Amazing… Simply amazing…" Lin Yue cradled the Puppet Bird as if it were a fragile pearl, terrified of dropping it as he mumbled to himself.

Seeing Lin Yue in a daze, Wang Xiu smiled slightly. "They're just some crude trinkets, not worth mentioning."

Crude trinkets? Not worth mentioning?

"How can you say they're not worth mentioning?" The young Manipulation Sect disciple snapped out of his daze, his face flushed with excitement and shock. "Senior Brother, do you realize the impact this Puppet would have on the current world of Artificers if it were released?

"Such a simple structure! Yet it operates commands in an orderly fashion, and what's more…"

He paused, involuntarily sucking in a breath of cold air as he glanced at the dense throng of Puppets in the forest. "So many of them… so many Puppets with structures that could be called rudimentary, yet they move in perfect harmony… What is the core hub of their power systems? This completely defies the common sense of Puppetry!"

What was the common sense of Puppetry? The simpler a Puppet's construction, the simpler the tasks it could perform. Yet "coordination" and "cooperation" were concepts completely unrelated to simplicity. The dissonance was too great! Lin Yue felt like he was going mad.

He couldn't help but wonder. If he tried to construct a Puppet using this blueprint, could he create a similar one?

The answer was no, he couldn't. It would be impossible. The best he could create would be a lifeless lump of iron, completely immobile.

Wang Xiu was speechless.

Looking at the nearly frenzied Lin Yue, Wang Xiu's mouth twitched. Is it really that serious? Aren't they just the most basic kind of Puppets?

Fearing his junior brother might genuinely faint or even die from shock right in front of him, he quickly interrupted Lin Yue's reverie. "Junior Brother, it's getting late. Shouldn't we head back? If we're too late, Elder Jiang will have retired for the night, and you won't be able to get your Soul Pet today!"

At these words, Lin Yue suddenly snapped awake and slapped his forehead. "Look at me, I almost forgot what was important! Senior Brother, please, after you!"

「 」

On the way back.

"Senior Brother, I'm still very curious about those Puppets…"

"Ah, Junior Brother, is that majestic and powerful-looking chicken your newly captured Soul Pet?"

"You mean this thing? Oh, yes!"

"It looks quite lively. It must have given you quite a chase, right?"

"Senior Brother, you have a keen eye indeed! This thing is an incredible runner. It hops and jumps all over, but the most infuriating part… after running some distance, it would turn back, let out a crow, and taunt me! Tell me, isn't that obnoxious? But I finally caught the little menace!"

"Well… that does sound pretty obnoxious," Wang Xiu agreed.

「 」

From what Lin Yue said, Wang Xiu gathered a rough idea of what had occurred while he was in seclusion in the Netherworld Forest. He was a little surprised that so many Immortal Sect disciples had already paid their debts to claim their Soul Pets. Still, this wasn't bad news. For him, the faster the disciples repaid their debts, the faster the Spirit Stone Veins could be liquidated. As for the disciples, mining for a month or two in exchange for a Soul Pet wasn't a loss. In the long run, the assistance a Soul Pet could provide to their cultivation was significant.

Upon returning to the vicinity of Jiuli Hall, the scene before them grew lively. Watching the Immortal Sect disciples chase Devil Souls all over the hills, a smile couldn't help but touch Wang Xiu's lips.

"Well, Senior Brother, I'm off to find Elder Jiang and have my Soul Pet crafted! I'll visit the Divination Sect another day to seek your guidance!" Lin Yue said, clasping his hands in a bow.

"Go on then! Wait a moment!"

Wang Xiu nodded, then suddenly called him back.

Lin Yue asked, puzzled, "Is there something else, Senior Brother Wang Xiu?"

"About those Puppets," Wang Xiu said, "I'd rather not too many people know about them for the time being, so…"

Lin Yue understood instantly, giving Wang Xiu a knowing look. "Don't you worry, Senior Brother! In the Manipulation Sect, my lips are famously sealed! I promise to keep my mouth shut!"

Seeing his incredible confidence, Wang Xiu suddenly felt a pang of unease. Is this kid really reliable?

「 」

The sun set in the west as night deepened.

The Manipulation Sect was never crowded, and at dusk, it seemed even more deserted.

"Well now, Lin Yue, did you go get a Soul Pet too?"

Lin Yue had just returned to the Manipulation Sect, his mind still mulling over the sights from deep within the blessed land. He was somewhat lost in thought when he noticed a man approaching—it was Zhang Yang, a fellow Manipulation Sect disciple he knew well.

Zhang Yang sized up Lin Yue's chicken and teased, "A chicken? Hmm, it does look pretty majestic, though. Come on, let me have a look at your chicken!"

Lin Yue shot him a look and said mysteriously, "A chicken is nothing! You have no idea what incredible things I saw when I went to that blessed land to claim my Soul Pet!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yang's interest was piqued. "Oh? Tell me about it."

Lin Yue opened his mouth, but then he remembered Wang Xiu's warning and swallowed his words. "Never mind. I'm not telling you."

"Damn it!" Zhang Yang cursed.

Disciples of the Manipulation Sect dealt with parts and components all day long. No matter the Puppet, the precision of its components was highly demanding; they had to fit together perfectly, without the slightest gap. This led to a situation where almost every disciple in the Manipulation Sect suffered from a severe occupational hazard—obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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