"The Qianyuan Divine Dynasty has a divine minister named Zhang Qinghou. He is a Puppet Master—you can go ask him."
Gu Zhantian said.
"Thank you, Father Emperor, for informing me."
Gu Changge left Qianyuan Palace and searched the imperial city for the divine minister and elder named Zhang Qinghou.
Knock, knock, knock!
Gu Changge knocked on the gates of Zhang Mansion.
"Who might it be? So it is His Highness the Prince. May I ask what brings Your Highness here?"
Zhang Qinghou opened the gates, spotted Gu Changge, and spoke.
"I heard that Divine Minister Zhang is a Puppet Master. I happen to have some interest in puppets, so I came specifically to seek your guidance."
Gu Changge said.
"So that is the case."
Zhang Qinghou said.
"Please enter my humble residence, Your Highness. I will certainly tell you everything I know."
Thus, Gu Changge entered Zhang Mansion.
Zhang Mansion was extremely spacious, scarcely different from Gu Changge's Prince's Mansion. It contained many separate courtyards, inhabited by Zhang Qinghou's wives, daughters, and other family members, as well as the servants and attendants of Zhang Mansion.
Zhang Qinghou led Gu Changge into his own courtyard.
"May I ask why Your Highness has suddenly become interested in the path of puppets?"
Zhang Qinghou asked.
Naturally, Gu Changge could not say that it was because today's daily mission required him to create a puppet. He could only say, "I have just emerged from three months of secluded cultivation. For the time being, I am taking a break from cultivation and wanted to see whether there are other ways to raise my combat strength."
"So that is the case."
Zhang Qinghou said.
"The path of puppets may seem like a side road to some people."
"But if one walks this road to its ultimate end, carrying dozens of Emperor Grade and Quasi-Emperor Realm puppets—how could ordinary people possibly contend against such power?"
"So rest assured, Your Highness. If you take the art of puppets to its pinnacle, there is no need to fear being inferior to anyone."
"Then does Divine Minister Zhang know how to craft puppets?"
Gu Changge asked.
"Of course."
Zhang Qinghou said.
"To craft a puppet, one must follow specific blueprints, use certain spiritual materials and treasures, then refine them through special methods."
"The higher the grade of the spiritual materials used, the higher the grade of the resulting puppet, and the higher the limit of the realm it can reach."
"I have three puppet-crafting blueprints here: the Dragon Flame Puppet, the Purple Gold Puppet, and the Mysterious Silver Puppet. Which kind would Your Highness like?"
Zhang Qinghou asked.
"I will take the Dragon Flame Puppet."
Gu Changge said. Since he already possessed a Purple Gold Puppet and a Mysterious Silver Puppet, he chose the Dragon Flame Puppet.
"This is the blueprint for refining a Dragon Flame Puppet. Your Highness can use it to learn the spiritual materials required and the refining techniques."
Zhang Qinghou handed Gu Changge a somewhat yellowed parchment scroll.
"Then many thanks to Divine Minister Zhang."
Gu Changge said.
"No need for thanks. Your Highness is one of the candidates to inherit the Qianyuan Divine Dynasty. Your strength will benefit the entire Qianyuan Divine Dynasty."
Zhang Qinghou said.
Gu Changge returned to his Prince's Mansion and began studying how to craft the Dragon Flame Puppet.
"A Dragon Flame Puppet requires Crimson Flame Dragon Tendons and Flamebright Stone, then must be crafted using the Dragon Flame Secret Method..."
Gu Changge muttered as he read the contents of the parchment.
He then went to the Divine Dynasty Secret Treasury and retrieved the two spiritual materials, both of which were Emperor Grade Low Rank materials.
Gu Changge then followed the method for refining the Dragon Flame Puppet, communicating with the fire spiritual energy between heaven and earth, activating the Dragon Flame Secret Method, and beginning the refinement.
"Whew, I finally succeeded."
Half an hour later, Gu Changge finally refined three Emperor Grade Low Rank Dragon Flame Puppets. Three expressionless puppets in the form of young men stood at his side.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for exceeding the mission requirements: Craft an Emperor Grade puppet (3/1). Reward: 500 System Points."
The system prompt rang out.
These three Dragon Flame Puppets were all Emperor Grade Low Rank, Marrow Cleansing Realm beings. They possessed tremendous room for growth and could be raised as high as the Quasi-Emperor Realm.
Puppet inscriptions were engraved at the cores of the puppets. When they had not received combat orders, they would automatically absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth like cultivators.
After crafting the Dragon Flame Puppets, Gu Changge stored all three in his system inventory.
"Now, it is time to head out and gain experience."
Gu Changge said.
For this journey, Gu Changge decided not to bring his maidservants. After all, a beautiful woman was a source of calamity, and bringing maidservants along could easily cause unnecessary trouble.
To conceal his identity, Gu Changge did not even ride his White Jade Chariot this time, instead leaving the Qianyuan Divine Dynasty on foot.
To make traveling easier, Gu Changge used an Earth Evasion Talisman.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission: Use an Emperor Grade Talisman (1/1). Reward: 200 System Points."
Gu Changge opened his eyes and discovered that he was already within a mountain.
The mountain was packed with people, all rushing toward its summit.
Gu Changge casually grabbed a passerby who was running uphill and asked, "Brother, may I ask why so many people are running up the mountain?"
"Isn't that obvious? Today is the day Tianyuan Academy opens its doors to recruit disciples. Tianyuan Academy is located right on the mountaintop. If we are not running uphill, are we supposed to run downhill?"
The passerby whom he had stopped spoke with some displeasure.
"Tianyuan Academy?"
Gu Changge was somewhat puzzled. He had never heard of a force called Tianyuan Academy in the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.
"May I ask, is this the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland?"
Gu Changge asked again.
"Good grief, why have I run into someone as strange as you today? This is the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland. Enough, enough—do not delay me from taking Tianyuan Academy's entrance test."
The passerby had grown impatient. He shook free from Gu Changge's grasp and ran up the mountain.
"Good heavens, I never expected this Earth Evasion Talisman to be so powerful. It directly teleported me from the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland to the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland."
Gu Changge could not help saying.
Just then, the system prompt sounded again.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for triggering a random mission: Join Tianyuan Academy (0/1)."
Gu Changge followed the crowd and ran toward the mountaintop as well.
Tianyuan Academy stood within the Tianyuan Mountain Range. Founded by its ancestor, Great Emperor Tianyuan, it was one of the famous top forces in the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.
Yet unlike ordinary forces, which recruited disciples for their own benefit, Tianyuan Academy did so for all living beings under heaven. It claimed to "teach without discrimination"; not only humans, but all races could participate.
Tianyuan Academy had been established during the Savage Era. Though a single sect had only one Emperor, it had nurtured countless disciples. Quite a few Great Emperors, though not members of Tianyuan Academy, had received its cultivation and thus left behind their own inheritances there.
It could be said that Tianyuan Academy was one of the oldest and most historic forces on the Tianwu Continent.
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