In White Rock Ward, within the Yong Kingdom on the Eastern Victory Continent.
Li Chen sat on a small slope at the Heavenly Crafts Academy, listening through a window as a group of youths recited in unison in a spacious, brightly lit classroom.
"Yan Shi was a divine craftsman of ancient times, a maker of wondrous things. He once fashioned a mechanical man to perform as an entertainer. Its steps and bows were so ingenious as to seem real. Touch its head, and it sang in tune; lift its hand, and it danced to the beat. It could change in a thousand ways, doing whatever was desired. All was assembled from leather, wood, glue, lacquer, and pigments of white, black, vermilion, and blue. Within were liver and gallbladder, heart and lungs, spleen and kidneys, bowels and stomach; without were sinews and bones, limbs and joints, skin and hair, teeth and tresses. Nothing was lacking."
"The question was asked: can human ingenuity equal the work of creation?"
"Yan Shi answered: it can! And so he passed his teachings down to the world."
Li Chen's thoughts drifted despite himself, as though he had returned to those years long ago when he was still on Earth, one student among countless others.
But times had changed, and the world with them. Not only had many years slipped away, he had also crossed worlds and been reborn, living another life. He had become, in every sense, a lonely wanderer in this world of cultivation...
Just then, a particularly quick-witted-looking youth stood alone at the front of the classroom as punishment, his eyes brimming with tears as he put on a pitiful expression.
The middle-aged man at the front wore a thunderous expression and paid him no heed. Only after the entire preface to the Tale of Yan Shi had been recited did he begin his reprimand. "You are apprentices to Puppet Masters. From your earliest schooling, you have studied the patriarch's biography and practiced the hundred crafts. How dare you forget your roots?"
"Instructor Zhao, I know I was wrong!" the clever youth pleaded. "It was just a thoughtless remark. Please forgive me."
"Yes, Instructor Zhao, please forgive him," the other youths chimed in, pleading on his behalf.
The middle-aged man glared at the youth. "Go back and copy the biography and preface, through the first ten sections, ten times. Hand it to me before noon tomorrow!"
At this, the clever youth wilted like a shriveled eggplant, his head drooping. Still, he tried to bargain in a small voice. "That's so much. Could you make it a little less?"
The middle-aged man snapped, "One more word, and you'll copy it a hundred times!"
The clever youth trembled in fright. "Spare me, Instructor Zhao!"
"Hmph!" The middle-aged man turned and left.
"Ha! You're really done for this time!"
"The patriarch's biography and preface, through the first ten sections-that's at least three thousand characters. Ten copies makes thirty thousand."
"Hahahaha..."
Once the middle-aged man had gone, the youths who had just pleaded on their classmate's behalf scattered with a burst of noise, as rowdy as sheep let loose to graze.
The clever youth said dejectedly, "All I did was envy how dashing and unworldly Sword Cultivators and spellcasters are, with the mighty power of their divine abilities residing in themselves. Did it really warrant all this?"
"Did it really warrant all this?" someone whistled. "Try saying one more word in front of Instructor Zhao!"
"Exactly. Who doesn't know that divine abilities and spells, wondrous though they are, lack the marvel of the Great Dao's creation? Having mighty power reside in oneself is just a lie of the Outer Dao!"
"Our enemies and we cannot coexist. Your body's among Puppet Masters, but your heart's with the Outer Dao. Are you even human?"
"Why don't we report him and have Instructor Zhao make him copy it a few more times?"
"That's right! Make him copy it a few more times!"
The clever youth's expression grew even more miserable. He bowed repeatedly, hands clasped. "I might not be human, but you lot really are dogs... ah, no, I mean, have mercy on this humble fellow, my lords!"
The sight of classmates teasing one another felt deeply familiar to Li Chen, and a knowing smile rose to his face despite himself.
What a distant memory that was.
"What are you smiling at? Do you think he had a point, too?" A voice suddenly sounded beside Li Chen.
The newcomer was the middle-aged man who had reprimanded the youths earlier. His name was Zhao Bin, and he was an instructor at the Heavenly Crafts Academy here in White Rock Ward.
Startled, Li Chen rose to greet him. "Greetings, Instructor Zhao."
Seeing Zhao Bin's displeased expression, he hurried to explain. "Instructor Zhao, I wasn't agreeing with him. History tells us that the immortal Dao originated with shamans, followed by external alchemy and then internal alchemy. The theories of yin and yang and the five elements share an unbroken lineage with today's cultivation, evolving into methods of refining qi through spiritual roots and slaying demons with flying swords. These are, in truth, lesser arts that arose later."
"Ever since the sages of antiquity severed the connection between earth and heaven, separating gods from mortals, the immortal Dao has been cut off. We cultivators seek only longevity and freedom. If we revere antiquity, we should trace our roots through the school of external alchemy, pursuing a method of ascending to immortality with a single dose. If we embrace the present, we should study the hundred crafts and the Mechanism Puppets of the Puppet Master's Dao Path."
"Even refining qi through spiritual roots is, in essence, borrowing the power of an external thing-the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It is much the same as taking elixirs."
"There are always people who believe that only having the mighty power of divine abilities reside in oneself counts as seeking the Dao. Sadly, that stems from an emotional perception rooted in biological instinct."
Zhao Bin asked, "Why do you say that?"
Li Chen replied, "First, ordinary people tend to imagine themselves as towering figures of immense power, cultivators who have attained the Dao. Having mighty power reside in oneself accords with their emotional instincts. Second, there is the need for security, the necessity of protecting one's Dao. There is an objective need to possess such power. But as the parable of the raft teaches, even the teachings should be relinquished, let alone what is not the teachings."
At these words, Zhao Bin's expression finally softened a little. "Li Chen, you truly are different from the others!"
"How have your studies been going lately?"
His gaze shifted to a spot not far behind Li Chen, where a mechanical device the size of a plate hovered above a treetop, emitting a faint hum.
It was a four-rotor aircraft Li Chen had made by combining his knowledge from his previous life with his cultivation in this one-the kind of drone commonly familiar to the public.
Li Chen said, "Thanks to my teachers, I've thoroughly mastered the craft behind this device. I've formally drawn up and recorded its design, turning it into a secret blueprint."
Zhao Bin said, "Give me a brief explanation."
Li Chen said, "I call it a four-rotor disc-shaped mechanical aircraft, or Flying Disc for short. It uses the aerodynamic principles of the Rotor Mechanism and is driven by a Spirit Essence Turbine."
Zhao Bin said, "Those are sold everywhere on the market and aren't worth mentioning. What interests me is your original control mechanism and instruction system."
Li Chen said, "I've now programmed its Control Array through a Basic Core, successfully implementing every function of the cores sold on the market. Please watch."
As he spoke, a faint glow gathered in his palm and his magical power surged. He remotely guided the Flying Disc through a series of maneuvers. Just as he had claimed, it moved with extraordinary agility, capable of turning and moving forward, backward, up, down, left, and right, at every angle.
Li Chen had assembled this mechanical device using everything he had learned. From its mechanical structure to its power system and Control Array, all were fruits of his own practice of the puppet arts. But the first few aspects truly were nothing worth mentioning. Only the instruction system was an original creation, developed with the knowledge of his previous life.
Zhao Bin praised him. "I haven't checked on your progress for more than half a year. I never expected you would actually get this far. Do you know why I told you to master this device thoroughly and turn it into a blueprint?"
Li Chen replied, "I don't."
Zhao Bin said solemnly, "Submit the blueprint as an offering to the sect. This is an excellent opportunity for you to be granted official standing and receive a legacy of secret arts!"
"Life is hard for a rogue cultivator." His words carried regret. "It's a pity you couldn't join our sect as a disciple back then. Otherwise, this blueprint alone would have been enough to get you into the inner sect, and you might even have had a chance to become a True Disciple."