Chapter Summaries

Li Chen, a reincarnated cultivator studying puppet arts, demonstrated his original Flying Disc control system to Instructor Zhao Bin. Zhao urged him to offer its blueprint to the sect, which could grant him official standing and access to secret arts.

• Li Chen listened as Instructor Zhao punished a clever student for praising Sword Cultivators and spellcasters over Puppet Masters.
• Li Chen explained to Zhao Bin why he considered cultivation through spells and spiritual roots lesser arts than the Puppet Master's Dao Path.
• Li Chen demonstrated how his Flying Disc used an original Control Array and instruction system to maneuver in every direction.
• Zhao Bin praised Li Chen's progress and urged him to submit the blueprint to the sect for a chance at official standing and a secret-art legacy.

Li Chen accepted Zhao Bin’s offer to take him to Yong City for an assessment, bringing him closer to learning the Creation Sect’s secret techniques. Back at his shop, Li Chen prepared to leave White Rock Ward and seek his fortune in the wider world.

• Li Chen offered Zhao Bin the Rotary-Wing Aircraft blueprints in exchange for a secret technique inheritance, but Zhao Bin told him to put them away and keep secret techniques from outsiders.
• Zhao Bin invited Li Chen to meet him at the academy gates on the first day of next month and travel with the apprentices to Yong City for their assessment.
• Li Chen returned to his repair shop and reflected on his orphaned past, his modest livelihood, and his desire to explore beyond White Rock Ward.
• Li Chen decided he would not spend his life in the ward and began packing his belongings, books, blueprints, spirit materials, and spirit stones for the journey.

Li Chen traveled with Zhao Bin and eighteen Heavenly Crafts Academy apprentices to Yong City, reflecting on the Puppeteer Dao Path and how it could combine with technology. Their journey was interrupted by an enemy attack, and Zhao Bin deployed mechanical scouts and combat puppets.

• Li Chen met the apprentices at Heavenly Crafts Academy and joined their trip to Yong City after Zhao Bin gave him permission.
• Zhao Xin teased Li Chen about selling his shop and suggested he planned to become a wealthy family's live-in son-in-law.
• The apprentices boarded Zhao Bin's motor carriage and set off for Yong City.
• Li Chen considered how puppeteers built mechanical creations and imagined reshaping their craft through scientific methods.
• Whistles and an explosion struck the bamboo grove ahead, prompting the driver to stop the carriage.
• Zhao Bin released spider-like mechanical devices and summoned two cloaked combat puppets.

Li Chen and the apprentices encountered an escaped Sword Cultivator slave while Master Zhao used his Combat Puppets to intercept him. The wounded cultivator broke into the carriage but was impaled by the Sharp Warrior Type Ten, leaving Zhao Bin in control of the confrontation.

• Li Chen examined Zhao Bin's Armored Warrior Puppet and Sharp Warrior Type Ten as the carriage traveled.
• After an explosion, Zhao Bin concealed himself and ordered the apprentices to stay in the carriage.
• An escaped Sword Cultivator slave, already badly wounded, charged from the bamboo grove toward the carriage.
• The Armored Warrior Puppet confronted the slave, who damaged it with Sword Qi and evaded the Sharp Warrior Type Ten's attack.
• The slave lunged into the carriage, where his movement faltered and the Sharp Warrior Type Ten stabbed through his chest from behind.

Zhao Bin and the apprentices reached the prefectural capital after a Lei Family Sword Slave attacked their carriage, and the family’s pursuers escorted them there to apologize. Lei Jincheng welcomed them to his residence, where Li Chen learned that the Lei Family’s guardian puppet, the Thunder God Giant Elephant, was a six-star masterpiece.

• Two Lei Family pursuers apologized to Zhao Bin for the escaped Sword Slave, collected the corpse, and offered to escort his party to the prefectural capital.
• Li Chen noticed palm-sized mechanical spiders near the carriage, realizing the Sword Cultivator had been struck by deadly poison.
• The party reached the capital before nightfall and went with the pursuers to the Lei Family residence.
• Lei Jincheng welcomed Zhao Bin and the apprentices with an invitation to a grand feast.
• Li Chen and the others admired the Thunder God Giant Elephant, and Zhao Bin identified it as the Lei Family’s six-star guardian puppet.

Artisan Lei recounted how his ancestor built the Lei Family’s legacy, then Zhao Bin introduced Li Chen and his Flying Disc to the gathered experts. Li Chen revealed that its real value lay in his low-cost puppet-control method, the Swarm of Bees Technique, while keeping his deeper technological knowledge secret.

• Artisan Lei described how his ancestor had founded the Lei Family and created the Six-Star Puppet to protect it.
• Artisan Lei hosted the guests, and Zhao Bin later brought Li Chen before him to show his invention.
• Li Chen demonstrated the Flying Disc, which Artisan Lei and the other onlookers judged unremarkable as a rotary-wing device.
• Artisan Lei and the gathered experts realized the Flying Disc’s simple construction and low cost could make it useful in warfare.
• Li Chen explained that the Swarm of Bees Technique allowed low-tier Puppet Masters to control many inexpensive puppets, while concealing his knowledge of electronic computing and artificial intelligence.

Li Chen’s Swarm of Bees Technique earned the Lei Family’s help in submitting his device and Secret Art to the sect for evaluation. While awaiting the result, he stayed with the Lei Family and began preparing to travel as a rogue cultivator.

• Artisan Lei offered to submit Li Chen’s device and Secret Art under the Lei Family’s name, and Li Chen declined to become a family retainer because he planned to travel in the future.
• Zhao Bin reassured Li Chen that he would not offend the Lei Family and warned him that a rogue cultivator had to rely on his own value rather than loyalty or kindness.
• Artisan Lei told Li Chen that the sect had entered his offering on the evaluation roster for review by several grand artisans within the month.
• Li Chen agreed to stay with the Lei Family while awaiting the sect’s decision, and Zhao Bin went to arrange examinations for the academy apprentices.
• Li Chen bought spiritual materials at the Cultivators’ Trade Market and planned to use his savings to make a mechanism mount for his travels.

Li Chen bought materials and selected a Fang Tiger puppet at the Eastern Market, while arranging to modify his father’s storage ring for another purpose. On the way back, he spotted wounded rogue cultivators carrying a demonic beast’s corpse.

• Laifu guided Li Chen through the market and described the Lei Family’s shops.
• Li Chen compared spirit materials and considered replacing his parents’ damaged combat puppets.
• Li Chen decided to buy a Fang Tiger and repurpose his father’s Fierce Wolf storage ring for the Swarm of Bees Technique.
• Li Chen bought special spirit materials and commissioned modifications to the Fang Tiger and storage ring.
• Li Chen saw a group of wounded rogue cultivators carrying a demonic beast’s corpse and took an interest.

Li Chen watched Master Hong expertly butcher a Red-Eyed Boar Demon and learned how Demon Hunters sold their quarry. He bought thirty jin of lean meat to strengthen his physique, then the chapter ended with the demon’s spiritual materials and meat being auctioned.

• Li Chen observed Demon Hunters hire Master Hong to butcher their Red-Eyed Boar Demon and learned about the livelihoods of Rogue Cultivators.
• Master Hong used his true essence and precise knife work to peel the boar demon’s hide cleanly, earning praise from the crowd and the Demon Hunters.
• After Master Hong and his apprentices carved up the carcass, the Demon Hunter leader announced an auction of its spiritual materials, meat, and blood.
• Li Chen asked Laifu to have the household kitchen prepare dried meat and spent over a hundred Talisman Coins on thirty jin of lean meat for cultivation.

Li Chen assembled twelve Flying Disc puppets using his Earth-derived chips and Rune Script, then demonstrated his ability to control them together. He began fitting them with dart launchers, preparing the puppets for future use.

• Lin Cheng bought the Pig Demon's core for ten thousand Talisman Coins, and the Lei Family's manager bought its hide for twelve hundred.
• Li Chen returned to the Lei Family estate and assembled twelve Flying Disc puppets from custom-made components.
• Li Chen reflected on how he had used concepts from Earth to develop chips, an operating system, a compiler, and Rune Script for puppet and formation arts.
• Li Chen used his qi-guided control system to make all twelve Flying Discs hover and perform maneuvers together.
• Li Chen brought the Flying Discs down and began installing Mechanism Dart Launchers on them.

Li Chen built and tested Flying Disc puppets while reviewing the Puppet Dao’s cultivation principles and the Guiding Principles of the Three Deconstructions. Before returning to White Rock Ward, he discussed the Puppet Dao’s reliance on external power with Zhao Bin and learned that the sect’s True Disciples would soon verify his submitted diagrams.

• Li Chen assembled Flying Discs with firing needles and built two advanced scouting models equipped with high-end Eye Crystals.
• Li Chen reviewed the Dual-Certification Method and clarified how empirical and mental certification produced Dao fruits.
• Zhao Bin told Li Chen that three Creation Sect True Disciples would arrive in mid-March to verify his diagrams and instruct him.
• Zhao Bin tested Li Chen’s understanding of the difference between the Puppet Dao and the Outer Dao, and Li Chen said the key distinction was whether power came from within or outside.
• Zhao Bin argued that all cultivation draws on external forces and urged Li Chen to treat knowledge, rather than spells or Divine Abilities, as true power.

Li Chen prepared to pursue Demon Hunter work while balancing combat skills with his goal of becoming a recognized craftsman. When the Creation Sect’s Instructors arrived, Artisan Lei brought him to the Heavenly Crafts Academy for verification.

• Zhao Bin encouraged Li Chen to make a living while pursuing cultivation, and Li Chen decided that becoming a Demon Hunter would be a practical choice.
• Li Chen collected his two-star Mechanism Beast, practiced controlling it, gathered materials, and built connections with Rogue Cultivators.
• Li Chen met Huang Yuan'an and the other members of a six-person Demon Hunter team and reflected on the importance of gaining recognition as a craftsman.
• Huang Yuan'an tried to learn about Li Chen's background, but Li Chen revealed little and made no promises.
• On the fifteenth day of the third month, Artisan Lei told Li Chen that the Creation Sect's Instructors had arrived.
• Zhao Bin reassured Li Chen, and Artisan Lei took him and Zhao Bin to the Heavenly Crafts Academy for verification.

Li Chen completed the Creation Sect’s verification and was formally recognized as a Puppet Master, then learned he could choose one secret art as a reward for his contributions. The instructors presented three options, and the chapter left Li Chen considering Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting after discovering it was one of Yan Shi’s Creation-Promotion Secret Arts.

• Li Chen answered the instructors’ questions about developing the Flying Disc schematics and Swarm of Bees Technique, satisfying their verification.
• The Creation Sect granted Li Chen Puppet Master status, a craftsman’s stipend, a Puppet Master’s Robe, and a two-star Armored Warrior Combat Puppet.
• An instructor explained that Li Chen could choose one of three secret arts as a reward for his contribution.
• The instructor described Netherworld Illusory Sound, a powerful sound art with limited early effectiveness against nonliving targets, and Rotting Spring Poison, a dangerous art that could damage its practitioner’s health and appearance.
• The instructor introduced Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting, an art that could change puppets’ appearances and eventually a practitioner’s own, and Li Chen recognized it as one of Yan Shi’s Creation-Promotion Secret Arts.

Li Chen chose Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting over the other secret arts, hoping to follow Yan Shi’s path and become a Divine Artisan Creator. After swearing an oath to the Creation Sect, he received the true transmission and began absorbing its contents.

• Artisan Lei and Zhao Bin urged Li Chen to consider Netherworld Illusory Sound and warned him about the difficulty of mastering Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting.
• Li Chen rejected Rotting Spring Poison and chose Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting because it suited his interests and ambition to become a Divine Artisan Creator.
• The presiding instructor accepted Li Chen’s choice and had him sign for the legacy.
• Li Chen swore a primordial spirit oath to obey the High Sect’s rules, uphold proper conduct, and further the Puppet Master Order.
• Li Chen received the Jade Slip and absorbed the secret art’s true intent and written transmission.

Li Chen celebrated receiving Puppet Master status at the Lei Residence, where Lei Jincheng demonstrated how he fitted a Red-Eyed Boar Demon hide onto his Mechanism Beast Mountain Boar. The finished puppet looked nearly alive, and Zhao Bin explained how living skins could strengthen mechanical creations.

• Li Chen celebrated his new Puppet Master status with Lei Jincheng, Zhao Bin, and the academy head at the Lei Residence.
• Lei Jincheng showed them his nearly completed two-star Mechanism Beast Mountain Boar and the Red-Eyed Boar Demon hide he planned to use on it.
• Lei Jincheng prepared the hide and fitted it over the puppet, explaining the ordinary skin-painting process as Li Chen observed.
• Li Chen explained that Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting used a divine ability rather than secret medicine, and Lei Jincheng expressed hope to see him use it.
• Lei Jincheng completed the lifelike Mountain Boar, and Zhao Bin explained that living outer skins could improve a puppet's defense and reduce damage.

Li Chen learned the deeper purpose of Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting and heard Zhao Bin warn that the Creation-Promotion Secret Arts were said to be ill-omened. After Zhao Bin departed, Li Chen set out to begin his new life as a Craftsman and met Huang Yuan'an at the city gates.

• Lei Jincheng and Zhao Bin discussed the costs and uses of painted skins, and Li Chen listened to their advice before leaving the Lei Residence with Zhao Bin.
• Zhao Bin urged Li Chen to study Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting deeply, then explained the nine Creation-Promotion Secret Arts and the rumored ultimate art, Breathe Life into Being.
• Li Chen realized Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting helped give puppet creations human form and formed part of a path toward artificial life.
• Zhao Bin warned Li Chen that the Creation-Promotion Secret Arts were said to be ill-omened, then left the city the next morning on a Wooden Horse.
• Li Chen watched Zhao Bin depart, reflected on his new Craftsman status, and encountered Huang Yuan'an and his companions as they prepared to leave the city.

Li Chen cautiously considered joining Demon Hunters and bought animal hides and supplies to pursue his craft. He began using the Creation Art to transform a rabbit skin over a wooden rabbit.

• Huang Yuan'an and his companions praised Li Chen's newly revealed artisan rank before leaving to hunt demons beyond Third Mountain in the eastern outskirts.
• Li Chen watched them depart and decided he would not rashly join their group, despite his interest in Demon Hunting.
• Li Chen visited the Hong Family Slaughterhouse and bought its available rabbit skins, then purchased timber and other supplies at the market.
• Li Chen rented a room at the inn and carved a lifelike wooden rabbit from the timber.
• Li Chen infused a rabbit skin with magical power and cast Creation Art, Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting, over the wooden rabbit.

Li Chen mastered the Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting technique, using it to give a wooden rabbit a lifelike hide before practicing until sunset. After hearing that Huang Yuan'an’s group had not returned, Li Chen went to the warehouse and began considering how to apply the art to a humanoid Combat Puppet.

• Li Chen used Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting to cover a wooden rabbit with hide and restore the damaged areas, giving it an unusually lifelike appearance.
• Li Chen repeatedly applied and removed the rabbit hide to practice the technique until sunset.
• At dinner, Li Chen overheard rogue cultivators discuss Huang Yuan'an’s group and learned they had not yet returned.
• Li Chen went to the warehouse and summoned the Creation Sect’s Armored Warrior Combat Puppet.
• Li Chen considered using the Creation-Promotion Secret Art to give the humanoid puppet a human exterior and reflected on cultivators who used human skin for their craft.

Li Chen continued practicing Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting until the expense of his research nearly exhausted his savings. Seeking income, he set out alone to hunt near an Imperial Road, where he began preparing to use his Flying Disc.

• Li Chen practiced fitting animal hides onto the Armored Warrior to develop lifelike painted skin.
• Li Chen heard that Huang Yuan'an and his companions had failed to return or pay their inn bill, but the innkeeper eventually gave their rooms to new guests.
• Li Chen realized his recent purchases for cultivation had cost over a thousand Talisman Coins and decided to earn more by hunting.
• Li Chen rode the Fang Tiger Mechanism Beast to a barren mountain five li beyond the city and chose to remain near the Imperial Road rather than enter the dangerous forests.
• Li Chen opened the Storage Ring holding the Flying Disc, which he called the Beehive.

Li Chen cautiously entered the wilderness and set a trap for a beast using a mechanical wooden rabbit. He caught and killed a Yellow Azure Beast, leaving him with his first successful hunt of the day.

• Li Chen scouted the forest with a reconnaissance Flying Disc and rode the Fang Tiger Mechanism Beast into the wilderness.
• Li Chen found fresh signs of a You Hound and chose a hollow as a possible ambush site.
• Li Chen fitted a wooden rabbit with a spring-loaded spike mechanism, set it as bait, and waited in a tree while scouting the area.
• After more than half a day, a Yellow Azure Beast approached and bit the mechanical rabbit, trapping its mouth on the spikes.
• Li Chen knocked down the Yellow Azure Beast with the Fang Tiger Mechanism Beast and killed it with his knife.