The Puppeteer Dao Path defined a Craftsman as someone capable of manufacturing Mechanism Devices and various puppet components, as well as assembling and modifying puppets.
A Master Artisan went a step further, possessing the ability to independently manufacture complete Mechanism Devices and various puppets, teach Craftsmen their skills, and make certain improvements to schematics.
When the Creation Sect assessed the abilities of its Puppet Masters, it usually tasked them with independently crafting Combat Puppets such as Armored Warriors or Keen Warriors. Only those who could independently craft Combat Puppets of such complexity were considered qualified.
There were three main hurdles to independently manufacturing Combat Puppets.
The first was the core that served as the puppet's brain-or, more precisely, the most important Computing Chip within that core.
The second was the Furnace and Spirit Pump that served as the puppet's heart and energy system.
The third consisted of the complete skeletal framework, transmission joints, meridians, sensing components, and so forth.
While still at the Craftsman level, all Puppet Masters had already dabbled in these subjects and understood some of their principles and manufacturing methods.
Some geniuses could even complete quite a few components on their own, achieving what was called "challenging a higher level."
The core alone, however, was a field that no genius in the Qi Refining Realm could tackle. Their cultivation foundations were insufficient; they could not bring their Divine Sense to a microscopic level and control the restrictions and magic arrays on the chips.
Thus, if they wished to dispense with Rune Brushes and mold-making to manufacture puppets independently, their cores would grow to the size of millstones-or even, more absurdly, houses.
Such cores required matching energy systems and supporting platforms, multiplying the puppets' size and throwing their energy consumption further out of balance, rendering them impractical.
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