Making Puppets

"Our Qianyuan Divine Dynasty has a divine minister named Zhang Qinghou, who is a Puppet Master. You can go ask him."

Gu Zhantian said.

"Thank you, Father Emperor, for the information."

Gu Changge left Qianyuan Palace and searched the imperial city for the elder divine minister named Zhang Qinghou.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Gu Changge knocked on the door of Zhang Mansion.

"Who could it be? It's Your Highness the Prince. May I ask why Your Highness is here?"

Zhang Qinghou opened the door, saw Gu Changge, and said.

"I heard that Divine Minister Zhang is a Puppet Master. I happen to be interested in puppets and have come to seek your guidance."

Gu Changge said.

"So that's how it is."

Zhang Qinghou said.

"Your Highness, please come into my humble abode. I will tell you everything I know."

Thus, Gu Changge entered Zhang Mansion.

The Zhang Mansion was very spacious, almost as large as Gu Changge's Prince's Mansion. It had many courtyards where Zhang Qinghou's wives, concubines, and female relatives lived, as well as some maids and servants of the Zhang Mansion.

Zhang Qinghou led Gu Changge to his own courtyard.

"May I ask why Your Highness has suddenly become interested in the art of puppets?"

Zhang Qinghou asked.

Gu Changge naturally couldn't say that it was because today's daily task required him to craft a puppet. He could only say, "I just finished three months of secluded cultivation. I'm taking a break from my cultivation for now, so I wanted to see if there were any other ways to increase my combat power."

"So that's how it is."

Zhang Qinghou said.

"The art of puppets might be considered a minor path by some."

"But if one takes this path to its extreme, possessing dozens of Emperor Grade and Quasi-Emperor level puppets, how could ordinary people resist such power?"

"So Your Highness can rest assured, if you master the art of puppets, you don't have to worry about being weaker than anyone."

"Then, does Divine Minister Zhang know how to make puppets?"

Gu Changge asked.

"Naturally."

Zhang Qinghou said.

"To craft a puppet, one needs to follow specific blueprints, use some spiritual materials and treasures, and then refine it using a special refining method."

"The higher the grade of the spiritual materials and ingredients used, the higher the grade of the puppet produced, and the higher the potential realm the puppet can reach."

"I have three puppet crafting blueprints here: the Dragon Flame Puppet, the Purple Gold Puppet, and the Mysterious Silver Puppet. Which one would Your Highness like?"

Zhang Qinghou asked.

"I'll take the Dragon Flame Puppet."

Gu Changge said. Since he already had the Purple Gold Puppet and the Mysterious Silver Puppet, Gu Changge chose the Dragon Flame Puppet.

"This is the blueprint for refining the Dragon Flame Puppet. Your Highness can refer to the blueprint to know the spiritual materials and ingredients required for its refinement, as well as the refining techniques."

Zhang Qinghou handed a somewhat yellowed sheepskin scroll to Gu Changge.

"Thank you, Divine Minister Zhang."

Gu Changge said.

"You're welcome. Your Highness is one of the candidates for the successor of our Qianyuan Divine Dynasty. Your strength benefits the entire Qianyuan Divine Dynasty."

Zhang Qinghou said.

Gu Changge returned to his Prince's Mansion and began to study the crafting of the Dragon Flame Puppet.

"Dragon Flame Puppet requires Crimson Flame Dragon Sinew, Blazing Stone, and can be crafted using the Dragon Flame Secret Method..."

Gu Changge murmured as he looked at the contents of the sheepskin scroll.

He then went to the Divine Dynasty Secret Treasury and retrieved these two spiritual materials, both of which were Emperor Grade Low Rank materials.

Afterward, Gu Changge followed the method for refining the Dragon Flame Puppet, communicated with the fire spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and began to refine it using the Dragon Flame Secret Method.

"Phew, finally succeeded."

Half an hour later, Gu Changge finally succeeded in refining three Emperor Grade Low Rank Dragon Flame Puppets. Three expressionless puppets resembling young men stood beside him.

"Ding, congratulations to the Host for exceeding the mission requirements: Craft an Emperor Grade Puppet (3/1). Reward: 500 System Points."

The System's notification chimed.

These three Dragon Flame Puppets were all Emperor Grade Low Rank, existing at the Marrow Cleansing Realm, with immense room for growth, and could be elevated to the Quasi-Emperor Realm at their highest.

The core of the puppets is inscribed with puppet runes, and when not receiving combat commands, they automatically absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, just like cultivators.

After finishing the Dragon Flame Puppets, Gu Changge stored the three puppets in his system backpack.

"Now, it's time for me to go out and train."

Gu Changge said.

For this training trip, Gu Changge decided not to bring his maidservant. After all, beautiful women can cause trouble, and bringing his maidservant could easily lead to unnecessary problems.

To conceal his identity, Gu Changge didn't even use his White Jade Chariot this time. Instead, he left the Qianyuan Divine Dynasty on foot.

To facilitate his journey, Gu Changge used an Earth Evasion Talisman.

"Ding, congratulations to the Host for completing the mission: Use an Emperor-grade Talisman (1/1). Reward: 200 System Points."

Gu Changge opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of a mountain.

A crowd had gathered on the mountain, all rushing towards the 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 at the summit. Are we supposed to run down the mountain instead of up?"

The passerby he grabbed was somewhat displeased and immediately replied.

"Tianyuan Academy?"

Gu Changge was a little confused. He hadn't heard of a force called "Tianyuan Academy" in the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.

"Excuse me, is this the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland?"

Gu Changge asked again.

"Oh my, why am I meeting such a strange person today? This is the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland. Alright, alright, don't delay me from taking the entrance test for Tianyuan Academy."

The passerby he had grabbed was now impatient. He broke free from Gu Changge's hand and ran up the mountain.

"Good heavens, I didn't expect this Earth Evasion Talisman to be so powerful. It actually teleported me directly from the Southern Region of the Eastern Wasteland to the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland."

Gu Changge couldn't help but exclaim.

Just then, the System's prompt sounded again.

"Ding, congratulations to the Host for triggering a random mission: Join Tianyuan Academy (0/1)."

Gu Changge then followed the crowd and also ran towards the summit.

Tianyuan Academy is located on the Tianyuan Mountain Range and was founded by the progenitor, Great Emperor Tianyuan. It is one of the famous top forces in the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.

However, unlike ordinary forces that recruit disciples for themselves, Tianyuan Academy recruits for the sake of all living beings, claiming to "educate without discrimination." Not only humans but all races can participate.

Tianyuan Academy was established in the barbaric era. Although it has only had one Emperor in its history, it has cultivated numerous disciples. Many Emperors, although not officially part of Tianyuan Academy, received their training from it and thus left their legacies within the academy.

It can be said that Tianyuan Academy is one of the oldest and most historic forces on the Tianwu Continent.