Armored War Bear

Puppet masters faced heavy upfront investments. Refining Puppets carried the risk of failure, researching new puppets drained both wealth and energy, and if a new puppet failed to find buyers, they would lose everything.

Su Qing silently reflected that puppet masters had no shortage of hardships, but there was no need to say such things to Tang Wanqing.

"It's still easier to be a Spirit Butcher. Others hunt them, you butcher them, and just like that, dozens or even hundreds of Spirit Crystals roll in."

Watching Hu San wield his Meat Cutting Knife over the Ironback Bear, blade rising and falling, Su Qing smiled and sighed.

Seeing his somewhat thin and frail frame, Tang Wanqing burst into laughter.

"Not just anyone can be a butcher. You need the strength of a Tier 1 Body Refiner, and you must know the bodily structures of all kinds of demon beasts like the back of your hand. Draining blood, skinning, cutting meat, removing bones, extracting cores—every step has its own rules."

Su Qing nodded silently at her words, knowing that Tang Wanqing was right.

If one wanted to scrape out a living in the Cultivation world, no trade or profession was easy.

After all, the only people in this world who could avoid all productive work, be supplied with every kind of resource, and focus solely on advancing their cultivation and seeking longevity were those cultivation prodigies treasured by the major sects.

Once most cultivators understood their own aptitude and their likely limits in cultivation, they were no different from mortals. They merely wanted to live a little better in the present.

Yet even that was far from easy.

The harsh taxes imposed by the Major Powers, Robber Cultivators, Demonic Cultivators, evil entities, demon beasts—fortune and misfortune were always unpredictable, while danger constantly stalked them.

Cases like Ge Ling's, where merely losing a pair of legs caused a family's years of hard work to go down the drain, were far from rare.

Thinking of this, Su Qing looked again at the villagers picking scraps of meat and residue off the ground, and could not help feeling that he was already fortunate enough.

Perhaps the Ironback Bear was simply too large, or perhaps Hu San had not yet mastered his craft.

By the time dusk arrived, he had finally finished processing the Ironback Bear.

During that time, Su Qing had taken Ge Ling through more than an hour of rehabilitation training.

What pleased him was that the Spirit Lotus Legs truly deserved to be called a mature puppet certified by the system. At least during Ge Ling's Qi Refining stage, this pair of legs was more than enough for her.

Because the Spirit Lotus Legs were of sufficient quality, when Ge Changyuan stuffed the two thousand six hundred Spirit Crystals from selling the Mighty Ox into his hands, Su Qing accepted them with a clear conscience.

The Spirit Jade Lotus Root had not cost nearly that much, but when puppet masters made a sale, they never calculated only the cost of materials.

Not to mention that if someone else wanted him to refine a pair of Spirit Lotus Legs, the fee Su Qing charged would be far higher than this.

And having someone else travel through the night, while also owing Tang Wanqing a favor to hire her, was even less possible.

"This old man knows these Spirit Crystals are nowhere near enough to buy Ling'er these legs. Fellow Daoist Su, rest assured. Once this old man sells this year's harvest, I'll gather another four hundred Spirit Crystals and deliver them to you!"

Ge Changyuan knew what was good and what was bad. Seeing Su Qing accept the Spirit Crystals, he did not forget to add this.

Su Qing shook his head. He had no intention of making him bleed any further. The old man did not have an easy life; his wife was merely a mortal, and almost all the work in the fields rested on his shoulders alone.

If not for giving Ge Ling a good start, he could have moved out of the Spirit Field District and gone to the secular world, where life might have been better. But here in the Spirit Field District, after emptying their old savings and then selling an entire year's harvest to pay him, the family would not be able to survive the following year.

"Fellow Daoist, don't rush to thank me. I have an impertinent request. I see that quite a few people in this Spirit Field District are interested in my puppets.

"I don't wish to keep making round trips, so I was thinking that Fellow Daoist could run some errands for me in the future. If the villagers want puppets, have them give their deposits to you, and bring them to me. Once I've refined the puppets, Fellow Daoist can deliver them.

"I wouldn't dare make Fellow Daoist work for nothing. For every order, I'll give Fellow Daoist ten Spirit Crystals as compensation. What do you think?"

Su Qing spoke unhurriedly to Ge Changyuan.

His experience in Ge Family Village this time had made him realize the demand for puppets in the Spirit Field District.

Certainly, the spending power here was far inferior to that of cultivators in the Living Area and Central District, so high-end puppets had no market to speak of.

But there was a large population of cultivators, and without other puppet masters competing here, the villagers' vigorous demand for puppets was going unmet. They urgently needed a puppet master like him to come to their rescue!

A few villagers pooling their money together could buy a Passion Puppet.

And that sort of puppet was not even meant for serious work. If he refined productivity tools such as Iron Horses and Wood Oxen, then earning the villagers' Spirit Crystals would truly not be difficult!

Only the risks of making round trips between the Living Area and the Spirit Field District were somewhat difficult to handle.

Su Qing was unwilling to take such risks himself, but Spirit Planters like Ge Changyuan were not the sort that ordinary Robber Cultivators would even look twice at. As long as the profits were high enough, Ge Changyuan would likely be willing to bear that bit of risk.

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, Ge Changyuan was somewhat tempted.

"How could I dare take Fellow Daoist Su's labor fee? Once the busy farming season is over, this old man needs to go to the Stall Area to sell some things from the fields anyway. I can bring things for Fellow Daoist along the way—it won't take much effort."

"One matter is one matter. Fellow Daoist will not be shorted a single Spirit Crystal that is rightfully yours. Then it's settled. I only hope Fellow Daoist will help promote my goods nearby in the coming days. My skills have improved now, and I can refine ordinary Tier 1 Lower grade puppets."

After reaching an agreement with Ge Changyuan, Su Qing finally stepped out of the house and saw Hu San selling demon beast blood for Tang Wanqing.

"Ironback Bear demon blood, two Spirit Crystals per pound! Nourishes blood and qi, strengthens the internal organs! Fellow Daoist Tang is kind-hearted and willing to let trash like us get a bargain. Otherwise, in the Market, this pound of demon blood would cost at least five Spirit Crystals."

Who knew how much commission Tang Wanqing had offered Hu San to make him promote it so enthusiastically.

But Hu San was not lying. If not for the Storage Bag being unable to hold any more, Tang Wanqing could have bundled this demon blood up and sold it at the Market for more than two Spirit Crystals per pound.

Su Qing still had room in his Storage Bag, and a bargain not taken was a bargain wasted. He not only bought over twenty pounds of bear blood, intending to have the Wood Spirit Servant make blood curd stew, but also bought all four bear paws, spending over six hundred Spirit Crystals in total.

He had never had the chance to eat bear paw in his previous life, and he wondered what a demon beast's bear paw tasted like.

"Why not buy some more demon beast meat? Even as a puppet master, you need to nourish that body of yours."

Ironback Bear meat cost seven or eight Spirit Crystals per pound. Although many villagers had been drawn over by Hu San, at most they bought some demon blood. Hardly anyone bought Ironback Bear meat.

Even the few villagers who had previously bought Su Qing's Passion Puppets had no intention of buying Ironback Bear meat. Clearly, they all understood the principle of saving where one should save and spending where one should spend.

Thinking that this batch of demon beast meat would inevitably be shaved down by the shops if sold at the Market, Tang Wanqing wanted Rich Dog Su Qing to buy more of it.

But Su Qing had no interest at all. He was no fool. He did need nourishment, but Ironback Bear meat was far more potent than Mighty Ox meat. Frail as he was, eating it would only leave him too weak to absorb the nourishment, with no other benefit.

But when he saw the beast bones that Hu San had cleaned with neat efficiency, he began to entertain an idea.

Beast Bone was a material widely used in Refining Puppets. The bones of a Tier-1 High-Grade Ironback Bear could serve as the primary material for refining a Tier-1 High-Grade puppet—the Armored War Bear.

He was now also a High-grade Tier 1 Puppet Master. As long as he went to the Market and bought the Blueprint for the Armored War Bear, he could attempt to refine one. Thus, he opened his mouth, hoping to get a bargain from Tang Wanqing.

Tang Wanqing, however, was not so easily fooled.

Though she did not know the exact value of Ironback Bear bones, she knew that they were one of puppet masters' favorite materials. Taking them back to the Market, she would not have to worry about failing to sell them for a good price.

But because she wanted to build a deeper friendship with Su Qing, after Su Qing offered two thousand two hundred Spirit Crystals, she went with the flow and sold him the Beast Bone.

"I've been indebted to Fellow Daoist Tang's care this time. Rest assured, if Fellow Daoist ever needs anything concerning puppets, I'll definitely give you the lowest price!"

Having gained an advantage, Su Qing did not hesitate to say a few pleasant words.

"Words alone won't do. Once I get the Passion Puppet business going, just don't take the chance to butcher me."

Tang Wanqing shot Su Qing a sidelong glance and spoke bluntly.

Su Qing waved his hands repeatedly, declaring that he was absolutely not the sort of unscrupulous merchant who raised prices at will.