Chapter Summaries

Lei Dong learned that the Myriad Puppet Sect would hold its Puppet Competition in three years and found an opportunity to approach the sect’s Grand Elder through one of its declining affiliated lineages. He entered Myriad Flower Valley and located the old man he sought, leaving the man alarmed by his sudden appearance.

• Lei Dong learned that the Myriad Puppet Sect’s affiliated lineages selected disciples for the decade-long Puppet Competition, which was three years away.
• Lei Dong examined the mountain-guarding array and watched Gongsun Qing defeat Luo Hongqing’s puppet with a hidden cannon.
• Lei Dong entered the clan’s main courtyard and discovered that the attendants fanning the old man were lifelike puppets.
• Lei Dong appeared beside the courtyard lake, and the old man rose and demanded to know who was there.

Lei Dong persuaded Old Man Gongsun to help him join the Gongsun Family and enter the Myriad Puppet Sect’s puppet competition three years later. After Lei Dong cleared Old Man Gongsun’s meridians and helped him break through, he promised to protect the clan’s important members if the plan went awry, then demanded that Old Man Gongsun swallow a Nine Nether Soul Devouring Insect as proof of loyalty.

• Old Man Gongsun feared Lei Dong’s concealed power and waited nervously while Lei Dong silently admired the lotus flowers.
• Lei Dong struck Old Man Gongsun’s dantian with true essence, clearing his meridians and helping him break through to Foundation Establishment High-tier.
• Old Man Gongsun thanked Lei Dong and offered to do his bidding, while Lei Dong explained that he wanted to become a disciple of the clan and enter the Myriad Puppet Sect’s puppet competition in three years.
• Old Man Gongsun worried that helping Lei Dong could destroy his clan, so Lei Dong promised to protect its important members if the plan went wrong.
• Lei Dong offered Old Man Gongsun a reward and told him to swallow a Nine Nether Soul Devouring Insect to demonstrate his sincerity.

Lei Dong forced Old Man Gongsun to accept a Nine Nether Soul Devouring Insect and help him pose as Gongsun Dong, his long-lost son, for the Myriad Puppet Sect’s competition. After securing the Gongsun family’s puppet techniques, Lei Dong began designing and crafting a Transformer-inspired puppet.

• Old Man Gongsun swallowed the Nine Nether Soul Devouring Insect, and Lei Dong gave him a storage ring filled with valuable resources.
• Lei Dong told Old Man Gongsun to introduce him as his illegitimate son Gongsun Dong, and the old man agreed to arrange a convincing family history.
• Lei Dong disguised his cultivation as Qi Refining High Stage and received a Jade Slip containing the Gongsun family’s puppet techniques and materials.
• Old Man Gongsun began arranging Lei Dong’s return, while Lei Dong watched him for three days to confirm his loyalty.
• Lei Dong studied the Gongsun family’s Puppet Technique, designed a Bumblebee-inspired transforming puppet, and began crafting its components.

Lei Dong used yin fire to build Bumblebee, a Qi Refining-level Mechanism Puppet, and installed a simplified artifact spirit to control it. Bumblebee sprang to life, while Lei Dong planned to keep improving his yin fire and puppet-making skills.

• Lei Dong decided to study yin fire alongside the Mechanism Puppet Technique so he could eventually repair a Spirit Transmutation Puppet.
• Lei Dong used yin fire and his spiritual sense to assemble Bumblebee, a car-shaped Flying Boat puppet.
• Lei Dong considered how puppet cores and artifact spirits controlled puppets and compared the world’s technology with Earth’s.
• Lei Dong modified one of Old Man Gongsun’s simplified artifact spirits and installed it in Bumblebee.
• Lei Dong sent Bumblebee a command with his spiritual sense, and it began to move.

Lei Dong trained the Bumblebee puppet’s blank spirit in basic movements and began thinking of a more standardized, programming-based way to train puppets. With his month-long agreement with Old Man Gongsun nearly over, he attended the Gongsun Family gathering and was publicly welcomed back as Gongsun Dong.

• Lei Dong took control of the Bumblebee and taught its spirit to walk, then trained it in other movements and combat actions.
• Lei Dong compared spirit training to programming and considered applying standardized methods from his previous life to make puppet training more efficient.
• Lei Dong set aside the unfinished Bumblebee and went to meet Old Man Gongsun as their agreed month drew to a close.
• Old Man Gongsun hosted a gathering at Myriad Flower Valley to celebrate his breakthrough to the high stage of Foundation Establishment.
• Old Man Gongsun announced that he was welcoming his secretly raised son back into the family, warned the clan against disrespecting him, and introduced Lei Dong as Gongsun Dong.

Lei Dong posed as Old Man Gongsun’s son, Gongsun Dong, and won over the Gongsun Family and the gathered cultivators with his apparent talent and plans to join the Myriad Puppet Sect. He met the family’s young prodigy Gongsun Qing, who asked him to teach her cultivation.

• Lei Dong drew the crowd’s attention when Foundation Establishment cultivators recognized that his displayed cultivation was near the peak of Qi Refining.
• Old Man Gongsun introduced Lei Dong as his son, Gongsun Dong, and said he hoped he would become a Myriad Puppet Sect core disciple.
• The crowd and Gongsun Family members warmly welcomed Lei Dong, hoping to secure favor with a promising cultivator.
• Gongsun Qing called Lei Dong her Fourth Uncle and asked him to teach her how to advance in cultivation.
• Lei Dong told Gongsun Qing that she could only succeed through diligent cultivation.

Lei Dong demonstrated the remarkable combat and flying abilities of his puppet, the Hornet, winning over Gongsun Qing and impressing the gathered families. Old Man Gongsun secured agreement for Lei Dong to represent the family in the Puppet Tournament, while a jealous observer watched from the shadows.

• Gongsun Qing asked Lei Dong to show his puppet, and he agreed to demonstrate his Puppet Technique.
• Lei Dong summoned the bright yellow Hornet and controlled it to defeat Gongsun Qing’s Pink Maiden.
• Lei Dong transformed the Hornet into a flying car, took Gongsun Qing for a ride, and gave her its blueprints.
• Old Man Gongsun asked the guests to accept Lei Dong as the family’s representative in the Puppet Tournament, and no one objected.
• A jealous figure watched Lei Dong from the shadows, threatened by his arrival.

Luo Hongqing resented Lei Dong for taking his place in the puppet competition and persuaded his mother, Gongsun Rong, to help him injure Lei Dong. Lei Dong continued studying in seclusion until Gongsun Qing came to call for him.

• Luo Hongqing grew jealous of Lei Dong, who had claimed the Gongsun Family's second slot in the Myriad Puppet Sect tournament.
• Lei Dong joined the Gongsun Family as Gongsun Dong, studied its Puppet Techniques, and gained a reputation among rival families as a potential threat.
• Luo Hongqing complained to Gongsun Rong that Lei Dong had taken his opportunity and urged her to help him secure a tournament place.
• Gongsun Rong agreed to help Luo Hongqing injure Lei Dong, provided the attack did not endanger his life.
• Gongsun Qing called to Lei Dong outside his room while he was studying in seclusion.

Gongsun Qing brought Lei Dong a cultivated ginseng root and told him about a thousand-year-old He Shou Wu guarded by a Demon Snake, prompting him to join her and Luo Hongqing on an outing. In the ravine, masked cultivators ambushed them, and Lei Dong calmly prepared to deal with the attackers.

• Gongsun Qing gave Lei Dong a several-hundred-year-old ginseng root and asked him to help retrieve a thousand-year-old herb.
• Lei Dong realized Luo Hongqing was plotting against him but agreed to accompany him and Gongsun Qing, intending to teach her a lesson about the dangers of cultivation.
• The next morning, Lei Dong, Gongsun Qing, and Luo Hongqing traveled to a secluded ravine where Luo claimed the He Shou Wu grew.
• Masked cultivators sprang an ambush, and their black-robed Foundation Establishment leader threatened Gongsun Qing.
• Lei Dong reassured Gongsun Qing and dismissed the attackers as he prepared to face them.

Lei Dong faced an ambush by Rogue Cultivators and watched their threats turn into an attack. He effortlessly stopped Black Vajra’s whip and scattered Liu Sanniang’s knives, leaving the attackers stunned.

• Liu Sanniang and Black Vajra recognized Lei Dong and mocked him while the black-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator ordered them to cripple him.
• Gongsun Qing stepped in to protect Lei Dong, but he sent her safely away and she fainted.
• Liu Sanniang and Black Vajra charged Lei Dong with flying knives and a steel whip.
• Lei Dong halted Black Vajra’s whip with one finger and blew Liu Sanniang’s knives into the surrounding rocks.
• Lei Dong sighed at the stunned attackers and asked why they had chosen to do this.

Lei Dong revealed his Nascent Soul Realm power and killed the rogue cultivators who had ambushed him, then punished Luo Hongqing and spared Gongsun Rong. He returned to Myriad Flower Valley with Gongsun Rong and Gongsun Qing and explained what had happened to Old Man Gongsun.

• Lei Dong killed Black Vajra with a casual flick, and the surviving attackers froze in terror.
• Lei Dong ordered the group to take their own lives; when they fled, he killed the Qi Refining Cultivators and captured the black-robed Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who recognized him as a Nascent Soul old monster.
• Lei Dong revealed that Gongsun Rong had warned him not to let the attackers cripple his dantian, and he agreed to spare her but killed Luo Hongqing.
• Lei Dong sealed Gongsun Rong's soul for three years, carried her and Gongsun Qing back to Myriad Flower Valley, and flattened the valley where the ambush had occurred.
• Lei Dong told Old Man Gongsun what had happened, and Old Man Gongsun thanked him for sparing his daughter and the Gongsun Family.

Lei Dong, Gongsun Qing, and Old Man Gongsun boarded a Myriad Puppet Sect Flying Boat bound for the sect’s competition, where Lei Dong was expected to contend for a core disciple position. On board, an arrogant young man from the Li Clan mocked Gongsun Qing and challenged Lei Dong before another passenger intervened.

• Lei Dong and Gongsun Qing prepared to travel to the Myriad Puppet Sect competition after years of quiet cultivation and growing reputations.
• A luxurious Flying Boat arrived at Myriad Flower Valley, and Old Man Gongsun presented the customary gifts before boarding with Lei Dong and Gongsun Qing.
• Gongsun Qing asked Lei Dong about the Flying Boat’s cost, prompting a young Li Clan cultivator to boast about its price and capabilities.
• Old Man Gongsun warned Lei Dong that the young man belonged to the powerful Li Clan, and Lei Dong cautioned him not to address him as “Senior” during transmissions.
• The Li Clan youth mocked Lei Dong’s cultivation and puppet-making prospects, then blamed him for the detour the Li Clan had taken.
• An unidentified passenger coldly told the young man to stop bickering and return to his room to cultivate.

Lei Dong arrived at the Myriad Puppet Sect for the Puppet Competition, where the rules appeared to favor candidates from humble families. He settled in among the other candidates, preparing to compete for a core disciple position and gain access to the Spirit Transmutation Puppet Technique.

• Li Chuchu reprimanded her arrogant younger brother, then apologized to Lei Dong and Old Man Gongsun for his behavior.
• Li Chuchu told Lei Dong that the Grand Elder intended to improve opportunities for candidates from humble families, and Lei Dong thanked her for the information.
• Lei Dong studied Puppet Technique during the flight to the Myriad Puppet Sect, then joined the other Foundation Establishment candidates after landing.
• All twenty-four candidates received lodgings in a compound behind the mountain, with a Nascent Soul elder scheduled to teach them Puppet Technique twice a month.
• The Myriad Puppet Sect offered candidates mid- to high-grade puppet materials, narrowing the advantage held by disciples from great families.

Lei Dong prepared for the Myriad Puppet Sect’s competition by upgrading his puppet while keeping his Nascent Soul Realm strength concealed. After Gongsun Qing qualified as an Inner Sect Disciple, Lei Dong entered the seeded contestants’ matches and faced a young woman who attacked him by surprise.

• Lei Dong obtained better materials and improved his Foundation Establishment level puppet, planning to rely on his Puppet Technique and True Yin Fire without revealing his real strength.
• Over six months, Lei Dong advanced his knowledge of the Mechanism Puppet Technique and watched two more disciples break through to Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Nearly fifteen hundred disciples began the competition, while Lei Dong and the other Foundation Establishment Realm contestants qualified as seeded contestants after age checks.
• Gongsun Qing defeated her opponents and placed seventh in Group Sixteen, earning a place as an Inner Sect Disciple and bringing Old Man Gongsun to tears.
• Lei Dong drew a capable young woman as his opponent, and she sent her puppet rushing at him with a serrated blade while pretending to ask him to go easy.

Lei Dong advanced through the Myriad Puppet Sect’s Puppet Competition, winning with effortless movement and his evolving Great Yellow Bee before deliberately losing to Li Chuchu in the final. Though he secured second place and the status of core disciple, he was eager to return home, while Ghost Thorn had secretly mapped much of the sect.

• Lei Dong dodged a woman’s puppet and barrage of talismans, then kicked her out of the arena and won his first match.
• Lei Dong’s Great Yellow Bee adapted during its fight against a stronger puppet, and he stopped the opponent from using Yang Sha Heavenly Thunder against it.
• A Nascent Soul elder struck down the Golden Core cultivator who attacked Lei Dong after the explosion, and the referee declared Lei Dong the winner.
• Lei Dong won his subsequent matches and then deliberately lost to Li Chuchu in the final, finishing second and qualifying as a core disciple.
• Lei Dong politely fended off recruiting Aristocratic Clans while longing to return home, unaware of nothing: Ghost Thorn had already mapped most of the Myriad Puppet Sect.

Lei Dong used Ghost Thorn’s intelligence to plan a night raid on the Myriad Puppet Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, hoping to find the Spirit Transmutation Puppet Technique. He slipped past the pavilion’s defenses and reached a sealed entrance to the second floor, where an unfamiliar formation forced him to seek the Tournament Tower spirit’s help.

• Lei Dong decided the end of the puppet competition was an ideal time to search the Scripture Pavilion while most guests were leaving.
• Lei Dong left a lifelike puppet in his room, concealed himself with the Heavenly Concealment Art, and crossed the sect under cover of darkness.
• Lei Dong evaded the Myriad Puppet Sect’s formations, mechanisms, and disguised Mechanism Puppets using what Ghost Thorn had discovered.
• Lei Dong reached the Scripture Pavilion and used his divine sense to scout its defenses, detecting a Nascent Soul Cultivator in a secret room.
• Lei Dong entered the first floor without alerting the guard and found texts and Jade Slips for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Lei Dong found the route to the second floor blocked by a sealed mechanism door and an unfamiliar formation, so he asked the Tournament Tower spirit for help.

Lei Dong arranged to enter the Scripture Pavilion so the Arena Spirit could copy the Nascent Soul Cultivator’s Soul Lock fluctuations and map the second floor. As Lei Dong searched for Puppet Technique materials, Li Chuchu secretly pointed him toward a Jade Slip, but a clash of divine senses erupted over it.

• The Arena Spirit explained how the Soul Lock worked and revealed that it could copy the divine sense fluctuations needed to open it.
• Lei Dong bribed a steward to secure access to the Scripture Pavilion’s second floor alongside the other top newcomers.
• The Arena Spirit recorded the Nascent Soul Cultivator’s fluctuations as the Soul Lock opened, then began mapping the second floor for Lei Dong.
• Li Chuchu told Lei Dong to take a gray Jade Slip as thanks for going easy on her in their final match.
• A domineering divine sense seized the Jade Slip, but another angry strand struck it, reclaimed the slip, and flung it toward Lei Dong.

Lei Dong watched Zhao Wu and Li Chuchu fight over the Jade Slip after Zhao, angered by Lei Dong’s deliberate loss to Li, tried to keep Li from receiving it. Li’s feelings for Lei Dong deepened, though he only wanted the puppet technique and a way to save the Heavenly Demon; Lei Dong finally ordered them to stop.

• Zhao Wu seized the Jade Slip with his divine sense, and Li Chuchu joined Lei Dong in resisting him.
• Zhao Wu blamed Lei Dong for wearing him down and then throwing the final match so Li Chuchu could win, and he accused Li of favoring Lei Dong.
• Li Chuchu denied Zhao Wu’s accusations and attacked him with divine-sense arrows.
• Li Chuchu recalled how Lei Dong’s maturity and decision to let her win had stirred affection in her, while Lei Dong remained focused on finding Life Divine Water for the Heavenly Demon.
• As Zhao Wu and Li Chuchu’s divine-sense fight escalated, Lei Dong told them both to stop.

Lei Dong protected Li Chuchu from Zhao Wu while keeping his true strength hidden, then used the clash to redirect Zhao Wu’s Yang Sha Heavenly Thunder. The blast broke open the entrance to the Scripture Pavilion’s Third Layer, and Elder Xiao turned his fury on Zhao Wu.

• Zhao Wu attacked Li Chuchu with his divine sense, and Lei Dong stepped in to defend her while concealing his strength from the Nascent Soul elder.
• Lei Dong’s steady defense impressed the Nascent Soul elder, who halted the Golden Core steward so he could continue observing.
• Zhao Wu summoned his puppet and fired a Yang Sha Heavenly Thunder at Lei Dong.
• Li Chuchu rushed to protect Lei Dong, and he joined his divine sense with hers to deflect the thunder into the Third Layer’s locked door.
• The blast tore a hole through the door, and Elder Xiao unleashed his rage on Zhao Wu as the Golden Core steward pleaded for mercy.

Lei Dong left the Scripture Pavilion with the Jade Slip Li Chuchu had given him and drew Elder Xiao’s interest as a prospective disciple. After meditating at his residence, he was about to sneak back into the pavilion when someone approached in a disturbed state.

• Elder Xiao expelled Elder Zhao’s kin from the Scripture Pavilion and ordered the remaining contestants to choose their texts quickly.
• Li Chuchu and Lei Dong recovered from their intimate fall, and Lei Dong used a sound-based spell to dispel her sudden desire.
• Li Chuchu insisted Lei Dong keep the Jade Slip, then left after warning him not to mistake her repayment for affection.
• Elder Xiao praised Lei Dong, questioned him about his spiritual sense, and offered to take him as a disciple; Lei Dong agreed to consider it and accepted Xiao’s Jade Slip of cultivation insights.
• Lei Dong returned to his residence, meditated until nightfall, and prepared to sneak into the Scripture Pavilion again before unsteady footsteps approached.