Automation

Puppet Soldiers were cheap and simple to make.

Though their combat power was weak, there was no problem using them as labor to make puppets.

In theory, since every Puppet Soldier was controlled by Qin Fei's Divine Sense, it was equivalent to having dozens of Qin Feis working at once.

There were no problems with either discipline or coordination among them.

The only problem was that the Puppet Soldiers might be unable to perform certain delicate tasks.

However, Qin Fei was confident he could improve them and increase their precision.

That way, fully automated production might not be impossible.

He put the idea into action at once, first taking out the Puppet Soldier blueprint to study it again.

Since Puppet Soldiers were only ungraded puppets, they were extremely simple for Qin Fei now.

Drawing on his own understanding and the requirements of puppet-making, he drew a new blueprint.

What he had not expected was that, as he finished the last stroke of the blueprint, a sudden disturbance arose in his sea of consciousness, and the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion appeared on its own.

[Self-created blueprint discovered and recorded. Please name it.]

I can actually create my own blueprints. Looks like I can mod them however I want from now on.

Delight spread across Qin Fei's face. He did not waste much time naming it and casually thought of a name.

"Technician Number One."

The information before him changed again, displaying the puppet's details.

[Technician Number One]

[Grade: first-tier puppet]

[Talent: natural affinity for machinery. Material processing efficiency +5%, assembly efficiency +5%, precision +5%]

For the next few days, Qin Fei stopped making Wooden Oxen and Flowing Horses altogether.

Wang Hu came by several times to press him for the goods, but Qin Fei put him off with all sorts of excuses, telling him only to wait a while longer.

Left with no choice, Wang Hu went to placate the customers.

Qin Fei, meanwhile, devoted himself to making Technician Number One, becoming so absorbed that he forgot everything else.

Hard work paid off. A few days later, more than fifty new puppets stood neatly before Qin Fei.

The room was packed so full that he could barely turn around.

Qin Fei did not mind. He directed the Puppet Soldiers to dig out a huge underground workshop and divide it into separate areas.

A material processing area, a refining area, an assembly area, an inscription area...

He then set up wards in each area to prevent probing. Though crude, they had the advantage of alerting him immediately if anyone tried to force their way through.

Once that was done, Qin Fei eagerly set all the Technician Number Ones to work.

The number of puppets a cultivator could control was usually related to their strength.

Since these were utility puppets, Qin Fei had deliberately kept Technician Number One's strength at the level of a mortal.

Even controlling fifty puppets at once was no problem.

Sometimes, however, a good idea was much harder to put into practice.

As Qin Fei envisioned it, all these puppets would be controlled by his Divine Sense, so they would surely work together in perfect harmony.

Instead, the puppets fell into a complete mess. When one area began work, the others stopped.

Controlling more than fifty puppets at once, each doing a different job, was like splitting his attention fifty ways.

Even though Qin Fei had broken through to the Middle Qi Refining Stage and his Divine Sense had grown considerably, he found it extremely taxing.

Qin Fei did not lose heart. He began by controlling a few puppets, then gradually increased their number once he could steadily perform delicate work with them.

To his surprise, the method proved extremely effective.

In just a few days, Qin Fei adapted to this way of working.

Thus, a strange sight could be seen.

In the sealed room, Qin Fei sat cross-legged on the ground, motionless, his eyes tightly shut.

Before him, dozens of puppets were each busy with their own tasks: refining, assembling, or inscribing array patterns.

In a single day, more than twenty completed Wooden Oxen and Flowing Horses lay before him. His work efficiency had increased more than twentyfold!

Even more pleasantly surprising, after spending so long dividing his attention among multiple tasks, Qin Fei felt that his Divine Sense seemed to have grown more refined, and even his thoughts moved somewhat faster than before.

It actually trains my Divine Sense. What an unexpected bonus.

There was just one thing he regretted. Ever since the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion had been upgraded, making a Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse gave him only one experience point.

Still, with production greatly increased, experience accumulated at a decent pace.

Ten days later.

Wang Hu left the small courtyard where Qin Fei lived, his face now numb.

Recently, he had come by every few days and taken away fifty or sixty Wooden Oxen and Flowing Horses each time.

It made him wonder whether another team of Puppet Masters was helping Qin Fei make them.

How could one person's work efficiency be so terrifying?

Soon, however, the enormous profits made him forget all about it.

As Wooden Oxen and Flowing Horses became widespread, their market price had now fallen back to forty Spirit Essences apiece.

Even so, he could earn ten Spirit Essences for every one he sold.

That was far easier than hunting in the mountains and fighting life-and-death battles.

The frenzied sales of recent days had also caused the number of Spirit Stones in Qin Fei's possession to skyrocket.

A full one hundred and forty-nine!

They were now piled up like a small mountain in his Storage Bag.

As many Spirit Stones as these are, they're only enough to make one Flame Martial Envoy. Success or failure hinges on this one attempt!

After all this time, the barbarians' "border raid" could happen at almost any moment. Qin Fei had run out of time.

Making the Flame Martial Envoy was now an urgent matter.

Qin Fei changed into a black robe to conceal his figure and headed toward the center of the market.

The materials he needed to buy this time were quite valuable. He did not dare buy them all from one shop, lest he draw covetous eyes.

Thus, he spent most of the day walking nearly the entire market before gathering all the materials.

The days passed, and the gate to the small courtyard never opened again.

The weather at Shangyu Market was changeable. Only a few days ago, the sky had been clear for ten thousand miles, but today it suddenly filled with dark clouds.

The sky rumbled, and before long, rain poured down in torrents.

The inner city's defensive grand array had been activated several days ago. It was a second-tier grand array, capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a Foundation Establishment Peak Stage cultivator.

Everyone in the outer city feared for their own safety and stayed indoors. Hardly a soul could be seen in the market, which was much more desolate than before.

Everyone knew the barbarians were coming.

Boom-

After several thunderous blasts sounded from the horizon, the outer city's symbolic wall came crashing down.

Hooves churned, and battle cries shook the heavens.

The first wave of Rogue Cultivators in the outer city had already clashed with the barbarians.

"Grandpa, will Brother Qin be all right?"

Zhang Youqing leaned against Old Zhang's leg and spoke with some concern.

Beside her stood a cold woman with an otherworldly bearing. She was none other than her Foundation Establishment Middle Stage master, Fairy Caiyi.

"Don't worry. That lad's very quick-witted. He'll be fine."

Old Zhang offered her a word of comfort, but his eyes were full of worry.

He had begged Fairy Caiyi to protect Qin Fei, but unfortunately she had refused. Now he could only pray silently in his heart:

Lad, don't you go dying.

Perhaps his luck was good. This time, the barbarians invaded from the northeast corner, quite far from Qin Fei's courtyard.

Yet even this remote place had now received a few special "guests."

"Is this the place?"

"That's right. He may only be at the Qi Refining Third Layer, but he's a Puppet Master. He must have some wealth."

"Good. We Three Sha of the Hu Clan will start making a name for ourselves here!"

All of them were at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and they saw no problem with three against one.

This was an old tradition in Shangyu Market, or rather, across the entire border.

During every barbarian "border raid," the greatest danger was not necessarily the barbarians themselves, but more likely the Rogue Cultivators within the city.

Once everything descended into chaos, every ox-demon and snake-spirit wanted to come out and grab a share.

On this bloodthirsty night, the "weak" seemed guilty by nature.

But they had overlooked a terrible fact: choosing the wrong target could cost them dearly as well.

They moved nimbly, and the low courtyard wall might as well not have been there.

After entering the courtyard, they could make out a figure sitting upright inside the little house under a dim yellow light.

They exchanged glances and moved into position.

One stood in front of the door, ready to burst in at any moment, while the other two guarded the windows to prevent an escape.

At the command, the man at the door smashed his way in.

What he had not expected was to be greeted by a pair of icy red eyes, utterly devoid of warmth.

They were not human eyes.