Artisan Lei told everyone about his ancestor's deeds.
As it turned out, the Lei Family had not originally come from the Commandery Seat of the Yong Kingdom. They had migrated there from elsewhere.
Back then, the Yong Kingdom had not been a safe rear region as it was now, but a battleground exposed on all sides, where demons ran rampant and enemies from other continents occasionally appeared to launch attacks. Slaughter and warfare were frequent.
The Lei Family's ancestor had possessed the grandest ambitions and keenest foresight among that group of pioneers.
He had gathered his former followers and rallied relatives and neighbors. Together, clad in rags and driving rough carts, they had carved out this territory. Rewarded for his achievements, he had received grants of land and wealth from the Creation Sect and ultimately become a Grand Artisan.
Yet after achieving fame and success, he had not sunk into a life of pleasure. Instead, he had conceived the idea of creating an heirloom that would bless generations to come.
"Time has proved this a far-sighted plan. Without this Six-Star Puppet standing guard, our Lei Family could never have grown and prospered to this day. As for those who mocked my ancestor for reaching beyond his grasp or not knowing how to enjoy life, their descendants have long since scattered into the wilderness, reduced to commoners or rogue cultivators. Some even perished along with their entire clans, leaving nothing behind."
After reflecting for a while, he apologized to everyone. "Old men do tend to ramble. You are all our guests-how could I keep you waiting? Come, take your seats."
The apprentices' stomachs had long been growling with hunger. Delighted, they immediately cast the deeds of Artisan Lei's ancestor beyond the nine heavens.
Li Chen, however, could not help giving Artisan Lei a few more looks.
Was this how the powerful clans in the Yong Kingdom-or elsewhere, for that matter-had all come into being?
He felt he was beginning to understand why the Lei Family had brought this guardian out to stand watch rather than hiding it in a treasury, away from outsiders' eyes.
During the feast, Artisan Lei set aside his lofty standing to treat them as equals, offering both apologies and compensation. Naturally, Zhao Bin could not refuse him face, and the matter of the runaway slave was put behind them.
Afterward, Lei Family servants arranged for everyone to stay in a separate courtyard. Li Chen was about to join them when Zhao Bin called him aside and brought him before Artisan Lei.
"Fellow Daoist Lei, this boy is the descendant of an old friend of mine. He has been bright and perceptive since childhood. This time, besides bringing the apprentices here for the Minor Examination, I also intended to let him see something of the world at the Commandery Seat. As it happens, he recently made a Mechanism Device, quite an ingenious little thing. Please take a look."
Artisan Lei sat in the seat of honor in the hall, a trace of surprise crossing his face. "Oh? Then I really must have a good look."
He could tell that Zhao Bin was eager to give Li Chen a helping hand.
Zhao Bin said, "Li Chen, why haven't you presented your Mechanism Device to Artisan Lei yet?"
Li Chen was rather surprised himself, but immediately complied. "Artisan Lei, please forgive the shortcomings of my humble work."
He then took out the one-star puppet he had crafted, the Flying Disc, and launched it on the spot.
"Hmm? This is the ingenious little creation Artisan Zhao mentioned?"
Several others were still in the hall: guest retainers and younger members of the Lei Family, as well as prominent figures from Yong City. They all leaned over to examine the Flying Disc Li Chen was demonstrating. Once they saw it clearly, meaningful expressions appeared on their faces.
After watching for a while, Artisan Lei mused, "To be honest, I cannot see anything remarkable about it."
The Eastern Victory Continent was a place where the Art of a Hundred Crafts flourished. This sort of rotary-wing mechanism was nothing particularly ingenious, so he naturally would not marvel at it like someone from ancient times.
One notable from the city could not help saying, "Indeed. Rotary-wing devices like these have existed since ancient times, but techniques such as magnetic levitation rendered them obsolete long ago."
With Artisan Zhao present, he could hardly disparage it too harshly, but he had all but called it an antique that belonged on a rubbish heap.
Li Chen felt a little rueful at those words.
Indeed, this sort of Rotary-Wing Aircraft had been a wildly popular high-tech gadget on Earth in his previous life. In a world that had already developed what it called magnetic levitation—actually antigravity technology—it truly was synonymous with being old and outdated.
Leaving aside which was superior, this world's cultivation civilization or his previous Earth's technological civilization, an ingenious little invention like this could not possibly astonish anyone. Naturally, there would be no scene where his kingly aura made everyone bow down in worship.
Still, since Li Chen dared to bring it out and had already succeeded in impressing Zhao Bin, it was certainly not that simple.
Li Chen said, "Its secret lies in..."
"Its simple construction and low cost!" A sharp gleam suddenly flashed in Artisan Lei's eyes as he interrupted Li Chen.
Another person added, "If that is truly the case, it could indeed qualify as a potent weapon of war."
"We Puppet Masters can control puppets with divine sense and magical power, but how can we bring the advantage of numbers into play?"
"Could that be where the true secret lies? Is this aircraft merely the surface, while what you really intend to offer the Creation Sect is something that works alongside it?"
After Artisan Lei spoke, the other members of the Lei Family and the city's notables joined in the discussion, each offering their own thoughts.
They came close to mentioning things like drone-swarm warfare, overlapping fields of fire, and carpet bombing.
Clearly, these Puppet Masters had genuine expertise. From the device's appearance and materials alone, they quickly deduced something of its workings.
"This can be difficult, but it can also be simple. All it needs is a technique I developed specifically to accompany it. And yes, that technique is what I truly intend to offer the Creation Sect. I call it the Swarm System, or alternatively, the Swarm of Bees Technique."
The words autonomous swarm command system flashed through Li Chen's mind, but in the end, he chose terms that people of this world would find easier to understand.
"The Swarm of Bees Technique?" Everyone understood at once, their expressions showing that their suspicions had been confirmed.
Li Chen explained, "As everyone knows, a person has three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls. There are inherent limits to dividing divine sense and controlling magical power. These are the constraints we Puppet Masters face when controlling Mechanism Puppets."
"Generally speaking, the more powerful a Puppet Master is, the more devices they can control simultaneously, and the finer their control becomes. High-tier puppets may involve such profound feats of creation as awakening artifact spirits or even creating artificial life. They can act independently, requiring only abstract instructions."
"But none of this has anything to do with low-tier Puppet Masters!"
"Without specialized techniques to assist them, low-tier Puppet Masters can scarcely achieve large-scale control on their own, and thus cannot exploit the simple construction and low cost of low-tier puppets."
"By chance, I discovered a certain pattern in the responses of a crystalline ore, and used it as the basis for developing this technique."
He then briefly explained the principles involved.
What none of those present knew-including Artisan Lei and Zhao Bin, the most accomplished Puppet Masters among them-was that Li Chen was still holding something back.
What he was demonstrating now was merely something he had constructed using what he had learned in this world, employing the principles of qi-momentum guidance.
What he treasured deep within his heart, and had yet to reveal to anyone, were the achievements of Earth's Third Industrial Revolution in electronic computing and information technology: mechanistic artificial intelligence architectures and electronic-chip-related products!
That was the true, unique secret art he had created by combining the fruits of his learning across two lives.
Concealing his talents this way, however, made his explanation seem seamless.
This world also had artificial intelligence, but its architecture was spiritual in nature, based on spirituality cultivated into entities such as artifact spirits.
He did not yet have the standing or strength to lead a revolution in the Dao Path of this field. There was no need to reveal too much at once and invite trouble upon himself.