Sleeper

In the Talisman Department classroom, Chen Mobai sat in a corner by the window, somewhat absent-minded.

After the class bell rang, the teacher on the podium placed a stack of corrected Talisman and then began announcing the grades.

"The first place winner in this Qi-inducing Talisman exam Zhuang Jialan."

The woman wearing glasses, sitting in the first row, stood up and went forward after hearing the teacher call her name, taking the Talisman she had handed in.

When she turned around and came down, Chen Mobai glanced at her briefly.

It's quite pretty.

A delicate nose, dimples when smiling, fair and radiant skin, glasses, and deliberately drawn long, thin eyebrows—she exudes an indescribable elegance, yet carries a touch of innocent allure.

"Second place, Si Guanyu."

Next up was another top student from their year who majored in Talisman.

Every gain has its loss. Thanks to Chai Lun's teachings, Chen Mobai consistently ranked among the top three in the Puppetry Department, and even won first place in the practical assembly class seven times in a row, earning him the reputation of a puppet prodigy.

However, in his other major course, Talisman making, he has consistently ranked near the bottom since the start of the semester due to the lack of effort he has put into it and his talent for drawing talismans is indeed only average.

If it weren't for three students who got in through connections and consistently ranked at the bottom, Chen Mobai would have been last in this year's class.

"Twenty-third place, Chen Mobai."

Upon hearing his name called, he immediately went up and took the "qi-guiding talisman" he had drawn from the teacher.

This is a first-grade high-quality Talisman. Its function is to guide spiritual energy to a specific location. It is usually placed on the meditation cushion during meditation to Auxiliary Cultivation.

At lower levels, you can raise your Spirit Energy Value by one level.

Because Chen Mobai had received basic training at the Vermillion Cinnabar Academy, he was able to keep up with the Talisman courses at the Wuqi Dao Academy.

This Qi-inducing talisman was drawn in a fairly standard manner, and the instructor gave it a passing grade of 60 points.

He had just taken his work and was about to leave when the teacher called him back.

The teacher's name was Gao Yu. Although he only had the Foundation Establishment, he was Third Grade talisman Talisman Master. His expertise in the Immortal Sect could be described as that of an expert in the Talisman.

He glanced at Chen Mobai and spoke with a tone of disappointment and frustration.

"I know you're obsessed with Puppetry, but you should know that Talisman are the true path."

"You are a smart child. You were able to Dao Initiation Academy through the proper entrance exam and have achieved some expertise in the niche Puppetry Technique. Your talent is beyond question, but I still hope that you can spend more time on Talisman courses."

"The limit of Puppetry Technique in the Immortal Sect is only the Third Tier Peak, while the Talisman inherited by my Immortal Sect can reach the Fifth Order at most, with enough power to pluck stars and seize the moon, which is not something that mere puppets can do."

Chen Mobai could only lower his head and agree. He couldn't very well say that he wasn't lazy, but simply didn't have that much talent.

This Qi-guiding talisman was the best one he selected after drawing a hundred of them. In the Sky River Realm, it could be considered a masterpiece.

Little did he know that in the first-year classes at the Wuqi Dao Academy, he could only be graded as a passer.

Because of his rising fame in the Puppetry Department, his poor performance in the Talisman class was not attributed to a lack of talent, but rather to Chen Mobai's lack of effort.

Everyone assumed he was obsessed with Puppetry and was only perfunctorily taking the Talisman course, only learning the relevant knowledge during class and never practicing afterwards.

Even so, her grades were still able to keep up with the rest of the class, and she had a good grasp of the basic knowledge points.

Teacher Gao Yu and even other classmates believed that as long as Chen Mobai focused his attention on the Talisman class, his grades could improve rapidly at any time, and he might even surpass the two geniuses Si Guanyu and Zhuang Jialan.

That is why, even though Chen Mobai's grades in Talisman classes were always among the lowest, no one dared to look down on him.

Some people even gave him a nickname.

The Sleeper.

After being criticized, Chen Mobai absentmindedly returned to his seat, completely unaware of the serious looks he was receiving from the two top students in the class.

Zhuang Jialan and Si Guanyu consistently ranked first and second in the Talisman class, but while competing with each other, they also kept a close eye on Chen Mobai.

They even believed that it was the pressure of the Sleeper potentially waking up at any moment that enabled them to progress so quickly.

They wanted to use this time to elevate themselves to a level that even Chen Mobai, when he turned back to focus on Talisman, could not reach.

But Chen Mobai's entire focus was now on the Performance Puppet that was about to be completed.

After 25 days of hard work, with his help, the Chai Lun finally completed all the parts. Now all that remains is to assemble it, upload his data model, and debug the functions.

The day has finally arrived.

Chen Mobai had finally had enough of his slow progress in Longevity Sutra.

After class, he was still in a daze, but he immediately packed up his textbooks, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and rushed out of the classroom.

This left the two top students, who had originally wanted to have a chat with him, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Really, I was thinking of asking him for this month's class fees."

Zhuang Jialan paused slightly, a little annoyed, as she watched Chen Mobai's departing figure.

"Let's use this as a cushion for him first."

Si Guanyu is a gentle and refined young man. He and Zhuang Jialan are the class monitor and committee member, respectively, and can be considered the leaders of this year's freshmen in the Talisman Department.

Chen Mobai was completely unaware of these things. After arriving at Chai Lun's workshop, he skillfully picked up a wrench and began to help the latter assemble the final limbs and head.

Time flies when you're fully immersed in something.

Before they knew it, it was already dark outside, Performance Puppet had reached its final stage.

"I'll demonstrate it once, and you can adjust it yourself if there are any problems later."

Chai Lun placed the assembled Faceless Puppet on a shelf that had been cleared out, then took out USB Drive containing Chen Mobai's body data and inserted it into the reserved slot.

Before the Performance Puppet's head could be closed, the circuitry extending from the main controller connected to a screen about 20 centimeters long and wide.

With his five fingers forming an illusion, Chai Lun quickly completed the data transfer.

Then, he guided Chen Mobai to import the cultivation method of the Pure Yang Scroll Qi Cultivation Chapter and begin the first adjustment.

The result was perfect.

The half-hour performance displayed all sorts of problems that Chen Mobai might encounter on the screen.

For example, when you are at the Qi Cultivation Level 6, the two meridians in your left hand are not strong enough. Before you break through, you need to warm and expand them first so that you can break through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer Refining in one go.

For example, the shortest and longest time required to complete the Three Yang Body can be varied within this range by setting certain conditions.

With the Chai Lun nearby, Chen Mobai couldn't easily set up a cultivation method that relied entirely on Spirit Stone, as it would be too short.

"Thank you for your hard work during this time, senior."

After practicing the Pure Yang Scroll Technique once and confirming that there were no problems, Chen Mobai was excited. He thanked the instructor and then paid the remaining balance.

When Chai Lun watched Chen Mobai take the Performance Puppet away, a hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes.