Half a Year

After returning to the puppet scrapyard, Qin Fei settled into a busy routine.

With construction frequently underway in Shangyu Market lately, boulders and logs were being gathered everywhere.

As a result, demand for Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse soared, and their prices, which had finally settled down, began to rise again.

Left with no choice, Qin Fei could only make more Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse.

But after the Zhang Yu Motor Vehicle made its stunning debut, the number of orders reached unprecedented heights.

Qin Fei had to keep making Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse while also producing Zhang Yu Motor Vehicles. For a time, he simply couldn't keep up.

Fortunately, he made a breakthrough in the Divine Soul Sensing Chapter, and the strength of his Divine Sense nearly reached twice that of cultivators at the same realm.

The number of Technician Number Ones he could control also increased dramatically, easing the immediate crisis.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Fei finally paid back the Spirit Stones he owed the merchant guild.

By rights, with his ability to earn money, it shouldn't have taken so long.

But his expenses had been rather high too. He had scarcely gone without pills for cultivation.

On top of that, he had been reluctant to use the mid-grade Spirit Stones he had obtained earlier and had needed to keep some money on hand to buy materials. That was why it had taken so long.

Now, though, he was finally free of debt and light of heart.

It felt wonderful to finally start making a profit.

Faced with the flood of orders, Qin Fei instead stopped rushing.

He had never forgotten that he made puppets to earn resources and increase his cultivation speed.

If making puppets delayed his cultivation, wouldn't he be putting the cart before the horse?

Though he had had enough of being poor, he hadn't let profit go to his head. He remained determined to put cultivation first.

Qin Fei devoted half his time to practicing his Cultivation Practice Method and tempering his Divine Sense.

He divided the remaining time in two, spending one part making puppets and the other studying the scrapped ones.

Most of these puppets came from other Rogue Cultivators in Shangyu Market, and the ideas behind their construction were all manner of strange and unusual.

The spiritual patterns and arrays engraved within them came in every variety imaginable.

Qin Fei had seen three different versions of the same array drawn on different puppets.

Most astonishingly, the three arrays had been drawn in completely different ways, yet all achieved the same effect.

His interest piqued, he buried himself in their study.

With so many samples and all kinds of knowledge constantly challenging his understanding, Qin Fei's Puppet Technique improved rapidly without him even realizing it.

He was like a sponge, constantly soaking everything up.

Eventually, the moment a puppet was brought out, he could identify its strengths and weaknesses, explain how to make it, point out where it could be improved, and more.

He even succeeded in making a Heavenly Mystery Key, despite its exceptionally complicated blueprints.

But while Qin Fei devoted his attention to cultivation and the Puppet Technique, the merchant guild and Wang Hu were left to suffer.

Orders piled up at an explosive rate, and they could only keep placating their customers.

Later, they simply introduced a new policy: orders would only be accepted with full payment upfront and a willingness to wait at least two months.

As a result, Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse and Zhang Yu Motor Vehicles became rare commodities instead.

Anyone who managed to buy one could drive it around and enjoy the prestige.

Zhang Yu Motor Vehicles in particular had become a status symbol among Shangyu Market's upper class.

Rather than decreasing, orders increased, with the queue stretching directly into the new year.

Under these circumstances, half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Over those six months, Shangyu Market underwent earth-shaking changes.

Pitch-black walls towered into the clouds, their surfaces covered in iron spikes. From afar, they looked like a giant steel hedgehog crouching on the earth.

First-tier man-eating fish Demon Beasts were kept in the broad moat. Even a stone dropped into the water would be bitten to pieces in an instant.

The barbarian army was tied down by the three great cities and the major sects, leaving it no opportunity to retaliate against Shangyu Market.

Small-scale incursions had never stopped, however. But the great walls, strong as steel, kept them outside, and the raids that had once plagued the borders never happened again.

Combat between cultivators was forbidden in the city. Enforcement patrols could often be seen on the streets in groups of three or five, ready to seize anyone causing trouble on the spot.

The old, dilapidated buildings and houses that had fallen into disrepair were all torn down, replaced by rows of magnificent palaces and jade halls.

With the fighting continuing, batch after batch of puppets was brought to the scrapyard.

But the scrapyard was no longer as messy as before. It had instead been renovated, with a large area cleared for construction.

Cultivation was arduous, but one had to find sweetness amid the bitterness.

In a corner of the puppet scrapyard stood a newly built courtyard.

Beyond the courtyard gate was a small mountain piled up from stones, with water constantly flowing down it.

On either side were ponds and paths paved with bluestone slabs, along with some flowers and plants of unknown names.

Fish swam in the ponds, and a few lotus leaves could occasionally be seen floating on the surface.

A pavilion stood in the middle of the water, connected to the shore by a small marble bridge.

It was a veritable paradise away from the world.

Qin Fei had put a great deal of thought into this courtyard.

He had personally taken part in everything, from the design and remodeling to supervising the work.

Over the past six months, his cultivation had also made tremendous progress, and his Dantian was nearly full of spiritual power.

It seemed it wouldn't be long before he broke through to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining.

His Puppet Technique improved by the day, and even Qin Fei himself found it incredible.

Some puppets had been so badly damaged they were almost beyond use, yet after he repaired them with materials at hand, they gained a new lease on life.

This delighted Lin Man, and her opinion of Qin Fei improved even further.

As they spent more time together, she discovered that Qin Fei's thinking leaped beyond convention, as though unconstrained by the times. This made her even more curious about him.

Once a person became interested, it was hard to control.

Lin Man was a decisive woman. Once she understood her own heart, she resolutely confessed her feelings to Qin Fei.

But Qin Fei was single-mindedly focused on cultivation and had no plans to consider romance for the time being, so he turned her down tactfully.

After that, the two rarely saw each other. They only met when their monthly stipends were paid, and even then, they merely nodded to each other.

As for the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion, all the frantic crafting had raised it another two levels to lv5 and unlocked two rather good puppets.

There was just one thing that left Qin Fei somewhat helpless.

After the scrapyard was renovated, Tang Zhan, Old Zhang, and the others took a liking to it at first sight and often found all kinds of excuses to stay.

They also frequently came late at night to drink themselves drunk, leaving Qin Fei unable to cultivate. It was a real headache.

Tang Zhan was the worst of them. He had recently broken through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer and was full of vigor, yet he lacked the slightest dignity expected of a great Late Qi Refining cultivator. He had even picked up Old Zhang's bad habits and become frivolous.

Xu Meiniang had scolded him plenty for it.

And here they were again today, carrying wine and food. It looked as though they weren't planning to leave until they were drunk.

This time, however, Qin Fei showed them no mercy and chased them out.

They were rather unwilling to accept it, but after hearing Qin Fei's reason, every one of them grew extremely solemn.

Qin Fei had received a piece of news: a second attack concerning the merchant guild was coming.