On the Weapon-Forging Platform, the gathered artifact refiners grumbled bitterly.
Quite a few of them cursed aloud.
They had gone through endless hardship to travel from all corners of the land, only to painstakingly refine puppets that the person offering the reward wouldn't even glance at before announcing they were eliminated.
What the hell was this, some kind of game?
"You haven't even looked at our puppets, sir! Aren't you being a little too high-handed?"
"Exactly! This is outrageous!"
"If you're going to be so arbitrary, how can this Puppet Assembly possibly be fair?"
The curses swept over them like a storm.
Pu Mingzhu only replied calmly, "Please don't get angry. My master is simply looking to purchase a puppet at this Puppet Assembly. It's not an artifact-refining competition, so what fairness or justice is there to speak of?"
Everyone fell silent at once.
That was true!
This was just a private offer, not a contest. Naturally, the buyer could purchase whichever puppet caught their eye.
But how could they accept being eliminated just like that?
They had nothing to say, but still glared furiously.
Pu Mingzhu smiled faintly. "You all came here hoping to trample the reputation of the Gongshu Clan and win two thousand spirit stones. Under ordinary circumstances, would any of you have had a chance to get your hands on that kind of money? Since you took the risk and came to compete, you must have been prepared to leave empty-handed, surely?"
If she'd been making a reasonable point before, now she was just slapping them in the face.
But the worst part was that she'd exposed exactly the little thought they couldn't admit to.
They were angry and embarrassed, yet there was nothing they could do. All they could do was gather up their puppets and storm off the Weapon-Forging Platform in a fury.
With Gongshu Xia here, they'd never had much hope in the first place.
But once they climbed down, they didn't leave. They stayed below to watch. They wanted to see what the other two had that let them stand alongside Gongshu Xia.
Gongshu Songting stroked his beard, beaming. "I thought this person had come to take the money and trample my Gongshu Clan's reputation. Who knew he'd hand over two thousand spirit stones, then another two thousand, and even force my son to show his face? That woman seems like a good sort!"
The other members of the Gongshu Clan who'd come to watch also wore smiles.
They'd all noticed that the two remaining competitors had some real skill, and there was a bit about them they couldn't quite understand.
But they had absolute faith in Gongshu Xia's fundamentals. The puppets he made were perfect!
On the platform,
Gongshu Xia was nodding off.
The Bamboo Hat Man stood as straight as ever.
Luo Qing rubbed his hands together, waiting to trample Gongshu Xia and become the new top puppet refiner.
All three were waiting for Pu Mingzhu to inspect their results.
Pu Mingzhu wasn't in a hurry. Instead, she walked a circle around the three of them, then stopped in front of the Bamboo Hat Man.
The Bamboo Hat Man lifted the gauzy veil of his hat a little and met her eyes.
Pu Mingzhu jolted in surprise and immediately took a step back.
Everyone's hearts gave a lurch.
This middle-aged woman had a powerful backer and had clearly seen a lot. Just who could have shocked her like that?
Before they could recover,
Pu Mingzhu had already turned to Luo Qing and Gongshu Xia. "You two have been eliminated as well!"
"What the hell?"
The smile vanished from Luo Qing's face in an instant, and fury surged across it before he could stop himself.
Even Gongshu Xia, who'd been dozing off the whole time, let out a puzzled "Hm?" He furrowed his brow slightly and studied Pu Mingzhu. Before this, he could have told himself that the person offering the reward simply didn't like his old man's work.
At least she'd inspected the puppet that time.
This time, she hadn't even looked.
How could anyone not suspect that this woman wanted to use the Gongshu Clan as a stepping stone to raise up a new puppet master?
Below the platform,
Gongshu Songting was a forthright man. He rolled up his sleeves and leapt onto the Weapon-Forging Platform, glaring at Pu Mingzhu. "Isn't your way of trampling the Gongshu Clan a little too underhanded? Four thousand spirit stones to trample our reputation twice. Don't you think you're treating every artifact refiner in the world like a fool?"
As he spoke, he swept his gaze across the crowd below.
The Gongshu Clan's head had gone up onto the platform without worrying about his status as clan head. The artifact refiners who'd just been eliminated without reason immediately found an outlet for their anger.
Their complaints erupted, and their curses were even harsher than before.
Luo Qing joined in, but after a couple of curses, he realized that whenever he got worked up, his Nanzhao accent slipped out. He quickly shut his mouth.
But his eyes were wide as copper bells, full of fury and contempt.
Gongshu Songting simply stood his ground. If the other party couldn't offer a reasonable explanation this time, he would not let her walk away unscathed.
The Gongshu Clan never formed factions. They strictly kept their members from acting arrogant or overbearing, and avoided trouble whenever they could. But that didn't mean they'd swallow their anger when trouble came to them.
She thought a mere four thousand spirit stones would let her trample all over the Gongshu Clan's reputation?
Dream on!
Pu Mingzhu didn't look the least bit rattled. She simply walked up to the Bamboo Hat Man. "Sir, would you mind taking off your hat?"
The Bamboo Hat Man gave a faint nod and removed it.
Beneath it was a head made entirely of wood.
If not for the two eyeballs carved from Sense-Shadow Jade set in its eye sockets, it looked like something a child might have made while playing around.
It was a puppet!
The one who'd competed alongside them in puppet refinement had actually been a puppet?
What kind of person used a puppet to refine puppets?
Could something controlled with such ease, almost indistinguishable from a real person, even be called a puppet?
In an instant, silence fell around the Weapon-Forging Platform.
The anger that had filled the artifact refiners' faces was gone, replaced by confusion and dismay.
The wooden head before them was made entirely of lifeless materials. How had it been refined to seem alive?
Their faith had crumbled!
Even Gongshu Songting was no exception. His mind roared, and the first half of his life—the half he'd always been proud of—now felt like a pile of muck.
Gongshu Xia's eyes, on the other hand, lit up. Excitement took hold of him, and he ignored everyone's stares as he rushed over and hugged the Wooden Head. "Brother! Brother! We agreed earlier that if I knelt to you, you'd teach me. You can't go back on your word!"
Everyone: "..."
Inside a private room at the Tea Pavilion,
Qin Muye watched the father and son's annotations change at lightning speed from another perspective.
Once he saw the details, he was dumbfounded.
Gongshu Xia's fate had changed in an instant from Subordinate Ninth Rank (19/20) to Fourth Rank (619/640). The annotation read: After independently comprehending a Puppet Refining Technique that rivaled the Thread-Crafter, he lost interest in artifact refinement once more and returned to the path of cultivation. Later, he tried to save his country from ruin and raise the Gongshu banner again, but was assassinated all the same, following in his father's footsteps.
Gongshu Songting's change was even more absurd. His fate shifted from Subordinate Second Rank (771/2560), Last Master Craftsman, to Third Rank (1/1280), Last Loyal Craftsman. The annotation said that after witnessing the Thread-Crafter, his Dao Heart was shaken. He was convinced he could never measure up and abandoned all hope of becoming a Divine Craftsman.
As for their fate, he'd still be assassinated during the great war because the enemy feared him.
Qin Muye: "..."
Wait, what?
Was your Dao Heart really that fragile?
That wave of fate changes gave Qin Muye 327 free attribute points outright.
He'd also gotten both fate skills, Divergent Path and Craftsman Heart.
[Divergent Path]: An old horse knows the way. You develop a hidden sense of direction toward a chosen target, and an instinct to correct yourself if you head the wrong way.
[Craftsman Heart]: Talent in every branch of artifact refinement increases to the genius level.
Now that was one hell of a passive!
Qin Muye grinned so widely his mouth nearly split. He hadn't expected the father and son to have such different mindsets.
One was so talented he left the easy questions blank and did only the Olympiad problems.
The other was a grand master of the field who saw a problem he couldn't understand and had his Dao Heart crumble on the spot.
Absolutely ridiculous.
With all these extra attribute points, he put them straight to use!
[Name]: Qin Muye
[Physique]: Eighth Rank (-57/40)
[Soul]: Fifth Rank (0/320)
[Fate Skills]: Thread-Crafter, Divergent Path, Craftsman Heart
[Available Attribute Points]: 133.33
He put it all into spirit, enough to push himself to Fifth Rank in soul, and left some points in reserve to shore up the progress of his relationship with Bai Yuji at any time.
Well, a man!
He could strategically avoid getting it up.
But he couldn't actually be impotent.
With a Fifth Rank soul, he was already on par with a Fifth Rank expert if they were judged solely by their spells. Among the same generation in a great clan, he'd count as a genius.
Of course, he couldn't compare with a freak like Li Xingluo. Bai Yuji seemed to be Fourth Rank, too.
And their physiques didn't hold them back. To truly reach their level, he'd have to make several more fates of the same rank crumble. That wouldn't be easy.
After all, this time he'd relied entirely on favorable timing and circumstances, as well as the special properties of the Thread-Crafter, to fool everyone.
On the Weapon-Forging Platform,
Pu Mingzhu glanced over the crowd. "Are you all satisfied with this result?"
Everyone looked at one another. Not a soul dared utter another word.
Only then did she turn to the Wooden Head with a smile. "Sir, I need to take the puppet to my master for inspection. Please wait a moment."
The Wooden Head made a gesture inviting her to proceed.
Pu Mingzhu smiled, formed a hand seal with her fingers, and cast a spell to send the puppet that had refined the puppet toward the top floor of the Sword-Viewing Tea Pavilion.
Qin Muye finally let out a faint smile.
He'd pulled off this act to perfection today.
If the Puppet Assembly had been about the puppets' combat strength, he probably wouldn't have made the top hundred. Just the task of carving battle techniques would've left him completely lost.
But since combat strength wasn't part of the contest, he'd managed to establish himself as the ultimate reclusive master.
Wouldn't that make Li Xingluo swoon?
Next, she'd surely treat him with the respect due to a worthy talent.
Qin Muye quickly switched to the new puppet's perspective.
It flew in through the window.
Sure enough, there was a gorgeous palace-dressed woman, her eyes full of longing.
But...
Qin Muye froze.
This wasn't Li Xingluo at all!
Auntie, who are you?
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