A Puppet Bolsters a Coward's Nerve!

"Awoo! Awoo!"

The Spirit Dog, dark yellow all over with fur like golden threads, let out a string of strange howls the moment it was released from the Beast Ring.

"That sounds like a wolf and a tiger, but nothing like a dog!"

Su Qing vaguely sensed that something was amiss and tried giving it commands.

"Shut up. Sit. Wag your tail."

He had never raised a dog in either this life or his last, but even if he had never eaten pork, had he not seen pigs run? Back in his previous life, dog owners could make little dogs perform all sorts of actions. This Spirit Dog was a spiritual beast, so it should have been even more capable, right?

Yet when he gave the command, the Spirit Dog merely shot him a sidelong glance before tearing around the courtyard gate in wild delight, impossible to catch.

It ran like lightning and darted about unpredictably. In the blink of an eye, it had circled the little courtyard several times and conveniently dribbled two drops of yellow urine into each of its four corners.

"It's quite fast. I just don't know whether it can carry a person. It's about the size of a foal from my previous life, so riding it shouldn't be much of a problem."

Su Qing muttered, stroking his chin.

Spirit Dogs could track, hunt beasts, and seek advantage and avoid harm. They were excellent helpers for Monster Hunters.

He had no intention of hunting monsters. He wanted this Spirit Dog partly to guard the house and courtyard, and partly to guard against Evil Entities.

That Headless Evil Spirit last night had come and gone without a trace, unnoticed even by the Wood Spirit Servants. Yet Pang Feifan's spirit dogs had barked fiercely all night. Perhaps, when it came to Evil Entities, a dog's nose was more perceptive than the Wood Spirit Servants' sight.

Seeing how nimbly the dog ran now, Su Qing began considering using it as a mount. It might not compare to an Iron-Footed Horse for long-distance travel, but for short bursts and darting through confined terrain, this little thing had some real skill.

"Stop! Get over here!"

Seeing the Spirit Dog about to leap onto the Armored War Bear, Su Qing's face darkened as he hastily shouted.

The Spirit Dog gave him no face at all. Its golden fur fluttered in the wind, its mouth kept whining, and in two or three bounds, it had jumped onto the Armored War Bear's shoulder.

Its dog eyes lowered as it looked at Su Qing, its gaze carrying a hint of provocation.

"Spiritual beasts really aren't as obedient as puppets!"

Having been looked down upon by a dog for the first time, Su Qing grew angry. His spiritual sense moved, and he was just about to activate the master-servant brand to make this Spirit Dog suffer and learn who was Elder Brother—

The Spirit Dog seemed to realize he was about to get serious. In a flash, it jumped down from the Armored War Bear. It leaped from a height of three zhang without the slightest injury, then wagged its glittering golden tail and came over with a shameless, fawning face.

"Good grief, you really know how to be a dog.

"Look at that fur of yours—golden and gleaming, so noble-looking. From today onward, I'll call you Little Gold!

"Hey, what are you howling for?

"Fuck, you can breathe fire too?"

Perhaps dissatisfied with its new name, the Spirit Dog stood where it was, opened its mouth wide, and puffed out its belly. A blazing fireball shot from its mouth.

If not for the Lizard Warrior at his side protecting its master in time, Su Qing would have been injured by the fireball. Close call.

In a fit of rage, Su Qing pinched the dog's mouth and slapped it from both sides.

"So breathing fire makes you special, huh? If you're so special, breathe some more and let me see!

"Don't ever point your dog mouth at me again, understand, Fire Egg?"

After being taught a lesson, the Spirit Dog lay on the ground and whimpered. It felt that Fire Egg was an even worse name than Little Gold, but it had no strength to resist.

Only after Su Qing tossed it a chunk of Tusked Boar meat did its mood recover.

After eating, it went to watch the busy Little People—the Wood Spirit Servants.

It clearly could not understand what these puppets were, but after Su Qing's lesson, it did not dare touch the Little People carelessly. It only felt that they bustled back and forth without pause and had not even eaten a mouthful of dog food. They were truly pitiful.

Hah, looks like I was sold to a stingy master. This dog will probably only get to Eat Something Good for this first meal.

The Spirit Dog's limited brain capacity began worrying about its future.

After dealing with it, Su Qing saw that it was behaving itself well enough, and for the moment, he had no time to bother with it.

The Headless Evil Spirit had delayed his progress last night. Today, he needed to make up for it.

Two Lizard Warriors carried over a huge vat of molten iron brewed from Profound Iron Essence.

Holding brushes as large as brooms, they began brushing it onto the iron-armored puppet from the bear's head downward.

Since this puppet was for his own use, Su Qing had no intention of cutting corners.

Compared to the Armored War Bear he had purchased from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, which had only three layers of Profound Iron Essence painted onto it—

For the one he was refining himself, he planned to coat it to the absolute limit the Ironback Bear bones could bear: a full five thousand jin of Profound Iron Essence!

As a Tier-1 High-Grade puppet, the Armored War Bear's advantages over the Lizard Warrior lay in its larger body, strength comparable to a Tier-1 High-Grade Body Cultivator, and the Crimson Moon Demonic Light its eyes could release.

But what Su Qing valued more was its defensive power. Once it was fully coated in Profound Iron Essence, this war bear would be capable of withstanding Yellow Grade Mid-Grade spell bombardment. As long as high-grade spells were not too outrageous, it could endure several hits as well.

That way, he would be much safer while hiding inside the cavity in the war bear's chest.

"Bear One will be used for fighting and breaking through strongholds. Bear Two will serve as my mobile fortress!"

Brushing on Profound Iron Essence was pure manual labor. Though he had made modest gains in cultivating the Immovable Heavenly King Technique and his body grew stronger by the day, after brushing all morning, he was still drenched in sweat and exhausted.

Only when the sun had climbed high overhead and his stomach was empty did he call for the Wood Spirit Servants to begin serving the dishes.

Bear Blood Curd drenched in red chili oil, crispy fried pork chops, and vegetables and fruits carrying faint spirituality, cool and refreshing when eaten.

When this meal was served, Fire Egg's dog eyes shifted from Su Qing to the Wood Spirit Servants.

These Little People serve food?

Does this new master deserve such good food?

The dog's mind turned in a circle. Fire Egg wagged its tail, curled its dog mouth into a grin, and smiled so hard its skin wrinkled. Its obedient, ingratiating manner was something even Pang Feifan, who had raised it on milk and meat, had never seen.

"Woof woof~~ (If only I had met Master sooner! This dog—no, Fire Egg—from today onward, will follow the leader wherever Master points and is willing to be Master's lead dog!)"

"Woof woof~~ (Quick, give me a bite! I want bear blood—the spicy kind is the most satisfying! It won't taste good once it gets cold!)"

Watching Fire Egg wag its head and tail, Su Qing knew what it wanted even though he had never raised a dog.

He did not know how much a Spirit Dog should eat in a day, but he was not lacking for this mouthful of food. He had the Wood Spirit Servants prepare a special meal for it, making Fire Egg so happy that its tail wagged into an afterimage.

"Woof woof~~ (The Little People who serve food are so nice.)"

After the man and dog had eaten and drunk their fill, Fire Egg leaped onto Bear One's shoulder, struck a dashing pose, and kept its nose twitching as it remained alert at all times.

Since it had eaten its master's food, it had to stand its post properly. Unwilling to lose such excellent treatment, Fire Egg made up its mind that it absolutely could not disappoint its master.

Su Qing, however, was not having nearly as good a time.

After another busy afternoon, he finally finished brushing on all five thousand jin of Profound Iron Essence, leaving his back sore and his waist aching.

"Whoever wants to refine Armored War Bears in the future can go ahead. I'm not planning to make money off them!"

Compared to Lizard Warriors, which used fewer materials and took less time, the time needed to refine one Armored War Bear was enough for him to refine seven or eight Lizard Warriors. And the profit from seven or eight Lizard Warriors was far greater than that of a single Armored War Bear.

Purely in terms of cost-effectiveness, Su Qing had no desire to grind Armored War Bear proficiency.

With the coating fully applied, he hammered two Crimson Moon Stones the size of bowls into the giant bear's hollow eye sockets.

At this point, every step in refining this Armored War Bear was complete.

He stuffed several hundred Spirit Crystals into the energy supply points in its calves, then branded it with his spiritual sense to establish a connection and began the activation.

"Success or failure comes down to this one shake. Several days of hard work and several thousand Spirit Crystals—don't let it all go down the drain!"

Only now did Su Qing understand the thoughts of ordinary puppet masters at the moment they activated a puppet.

When the success rate was uncertain, activating a puppet was a gamble.

Succeed, and you made a small profit without losing out.

Fail, and you lost everything!

Fortunately.

His luck was good.

As the Spirit Crystals in its calves released spiritual power, the runes on Bear Two lit up one after another. Five thousand jin of Profound Iron Essence transformed into pure-black battle armor, with the armor around the chest's Hiding Cave especially thick and heavy.

Red light glowed from the bear's eyes. When it swept over Fire Egg, its golden fur stood on end and its body trembled without pause. It did not even dare remain atop Bear One anymore.

"Bear One, Bear Two, twelve Lizard Warriors, one Spirit Dog, and several talismans—with this lineup, making a trip through the Hunting Grounds should be no problem, right?"

For a moment, Su Qing's heroic spirit surged, and his courage swelled tremendously.