If a puppet wanted to exert power beyond its normal limits at the time of its forging, the first requirement was that the higher the grade of the spirit stones, the better.
However, that came with a prerequisite: the spirit-stone slots on the puppet had to be arranged properly. Otherwise, the moment the power between two spirit-stone slots began to circulate, they would collide and self-destruct first.
The second requirement was the material used to forge the puppet. To operate beyond its own strength, it had to withstand the impact of tremendous power.
The third was that the forging grandmaster had to provide an exceptionally powerful formation. This was also the core of a puppet; the deployment of power, offense, defense, and every other method were all driven by it.
This was not a matter of casually taking out any formation. The Stellar Dipper Formation within the Thousand-Net Ancient Ape, for example, was a secret never passed down to outsiders.
The fourth requirement was that the cultivator controlling the puppet had to possess powerful Divine Sense. Otherwise, no matter how formidable the puppet was when forged, it would not be able to display extraordinary combat power.
However, the fourth point could be replaced through another method: forging a powerful soul within the puppet. That could likewise take the master's place in controlling it.
Therefore, Li Yan felt that these Arhat statue puppets had fully met those conditions. The only thing he could not determine was whether there truly was some soul within the statue puppets.
Li Yan had long since mobilized his soul power to investigate, yet he had not discovered the aura of any soul at all.
Yet earlier, when Li Yan's Divine Sense had swept over the material of these statues, he had found no spiritual energy either.