"Using form to supplement form..."
Hearing this, Li Chen grew thoughtful as well.
The arts of the hundred crafts and the methods for making Mechanism Puppets in this world were genuine cultivation arts. Naturally, there was no question of ignorant, primitive superstition.
The reason for clothing Mechanism Beasts or Mechanism Automatons in lifelike painted skins was that doing so helped awaken artificial life's emotions and self-awareness, while also making it easier for others to accept them.
From a low-ranking Puppet Master's perspective, it also offered the benefits of strengthening defenses and reducing damage.
Thus, this technique was one of the Creation-Promotion Secret Arts, holding an indispensable place among the great divine abilities of the Dao of Creation.
The city's academy head, however, threw a bucket of cold water over their enthusiasm. "Most Puppet Masters and Puppeteers still have to weigh their choices. For a Combat Puppet worth over ten thousand Talisman Coins, the painted skin alone costs more than a thousand. Those used for higher-grade puppets are even more expensive."
Lei Jincheng said, "Not necessarily. If you become a skin-painting artisan, your real customers will be those who can afford your prices. There's no need to concern yourself with the views of cultivators at large."
Listening to their conversation, Li Chen said, "A single conversation with you is worth ten years of study. I have learned much."
Everything they said was plain truth, and it would be immensely helpful when Li Chen chose his future path.
Lei Jincheng smiled, then resumed appraising his mechanical creations with Zhao Bin.
This was an exchange between Master Artisans. Li Chen was still only a newly promoted Craftsman and had little to contribute, so he could only respectfully take the lowest seat and listen in silence.
As dusk approached, Zhao Bin took his leave of Lei Jincheng. He intended to buy some spiritual materials at the city's night market, then return to White Rock Ward first thing the next morning.
Li Chen also took the opportunity to bid farewell. Now that he had attained Craftsman status, it was time to set out and make his own way.
Lei Jincheng expressed regret but did not ask him to stay. He merely said, "There is no banquet under heaven that does not end. I won't keep you, worthy nephew. But if you remain in the city, do visit often."
Li Chen hurriedly said, "I will remember."
After leaving the Lei Residence, Li Chen and Zhao Bin headed to an inn to find lodgings. On the way, Zhao Bin said, "Li Chen, I never had a chance to speak earlier. Now there are a few things I'd like to tell you."
Li Chen promptly said, "Please go ahead, Master Artisan."
Zhao Bin said, "If you cultivate Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting in the future, don't start by thinking of how to profit from it. After all, it is a Creation-Promotion Secret Art passed down by our founding master, vast and profound, and no ordinary thing."
"What you truly need to do is settle your mind and study it deeply. Only then will it serve you for a lifetime."
These were the words of a seasoned elder. People who chased quick success and immediate profit were all too common. With such a secret art in their hands, they would surely think of turning it into money and achieving fame and success as quickly as possible.
Failing that, they would use it to earn money and lay the foundation for studying other skills in the future.
Hearing this, Li Chen sighed inwardly. He truly did want to disregard gains and losses and devote himself to studying this path, but given his status and circumstances, that was all but impossible.
When Zhao Bin saw that he had fallen silent rather than agreeing as he usually did, he immediately understood something of the situation.
But he fully understood these conflicting feelings, so he said no more on the subject and instead asked, "Do you know which other Creation-Promotion Secret Arts stand alongside Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting?"
Li Chen raised his head and answered, "Master Artisan, they should be Melt Gold, Temper Bone; Gather Essence, Condense Marrow; Five Elements Organ-Shaping; Knead Clay, Transform Flesh; and Draw Silk, Rejoin Meridians. All are explicitly recorded in Tale of Yan Shi."
Zhao Bin said, "Correct. Tale of Yan Shi does indeed record them. What you don't know, however, is that the complete Creation-Promotion Secret Arts should comprise nine: Melt Gold, Temper Bone; Gather Essence, Condense Marrow; Five Elements Organ-Shaping; Knead Clay, Transform Flesh; Draw Silk, Rejoin Meridians; Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting; Fill with Mercury as Blood; Capture Shadows, Refine Souls; and Awaken Spirituality. There is also a claim that beyond these nine great secret arts lies a tenth and ultimate secret art called 'Breathe Life into Being'!"
"Only with all these can one accomplish what was recorded in our founding master's biography: a creation assembled from leather, wood, glue, lacquer, white, black, vermilion, and blue pigments, with liver and gallbladder, heart and lungs, spleen and kidneys, intestines and stomach within, and sinews and bones, limbs and joints, skin and hair, teeth and tresses without, nothing lacking."
"In short, the ultimate creation sought by the Puppeteer Dao Path is one that, like us human cultivators, possesses human form, human functions, human intelligence, and even emotions and life."
"Now, do you understand the significance of the secret art of Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting?"
To think there are so many more Creation-Promotion Secret Arts!
Li Chen was deeply shaken. Hearing Zhao Bin's question, he suddenly understood.
That's right. Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting is the necessary means of fulfilling the condition of 'possessing human form'! It seems to focus on outward appearance, but it actually bridges what comes before and after. It is the foundation for granting puppet creations true life.
Artificially creating life... this is a thoroughly orthodox Body Deconstruction method and its corresponding Dao Fruit. The Creation-Promotion Secret Arts are the culmination of the guiding principles of the three deconstructions: Body Deconstruction, Brain Deconstruction, and Soul Deconstruction! The human body is composed of essence, qi, and spirit to begin with. Only by analyzing each in turn and delving into creation can one unravel the mysteries of life and creation!
Zhao Bin said with satisfaction, "It seems you understand its place and significance within our Puppeteer Dao Path without needing much prompting from me. Perhaps choosing this secret art will prove to be the right decision."
"However..." he continued earnestly, "this is, after all, a legacy rooted in the Creation-Promotion Secret Arts. It is vast and profound."
"Receiving the legacy does not mean you can ascend to heaven in a single step. Our sect has given you only a seed. What tree it grows into and what fruit it bears will still depend on your own efforts."
At this point, he seemed to hesitate before adding, "Moreover, there is a saying that has circulated for a long time. Even I don't know whether it is true."
Li Chen asked curiously, "What saying?"
Zhao Bin said quietly, "Our founding master once said that the Creation-Promotion Secret Arts were ill-omened..."
The following day was the sixteenth of the third month. Li Chen rose early to see Zhao Bin out of the city.
Standing at the city gates, he watched Zhao Bin mount a Mechanism Beast, a Wooden Horse, and ride away in a cloud of dust. He could not help feeling a touch of sorrow at their parting.
Now that Zhao Bin had left, he would not be returning to the Commandery Seat anytime soon.
These next few months were his busiest period. By the time the major examination arrived, Li Chen himself might already have left.
But soon, Li Chen's spirits lifted, filling him with satisfaction and ambition.
He had finally fulfilled his wish, obtaining a secret art bestowed by the Creation Sect and becoming a full-fledged Puppet Master with Craftsman status. Vast though Eastern Victory was, where could he not go?
"Oh? Isn't this young brother Li Chen? What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Just as Li Chen was about to head back, a group preparing to leave the city approached him. Someone among them recognized him and called out a greeting.
Li Chen turned to look and could not help smiling. "What a coincidence, Brother Huang. Are you heading out of the city?"
It was none other than Huang Yuan'an and the others, who had sold a Red-Eyed Boar Demon at the Market Fair some days earlier.