Chapter 55: Heaven-Made Craftsmanship
Chapter 55: Heaven-Made Craftsmanship
“Unicorn… Gundam?” Yang Xu’s voice was hoarse. Even he felt that the voice didn’t seem to be his own.
From the image, he could see that Li Yi indeed knew very little about puppets. For example, the two core components of a puppet—the “Steel Furnace” which served as the power source, and the “Puppeteer’s Touch” used for spiritual control—were not mentioned at all in this image.
But in other aspects, it reached the pinnacle!
Its external curves were the most agile streamlined form, with a low and stable center of gravity. Its body proportions were nearly perfect. Joints such as the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers, including the joint breaks and the size of the screw threads, subtly aligned with philosophical principles. It was easy to imagine its movements would be smooth and flowing. Even the magical pathways inside the puppet, which circulated energy, were orderly in density and clearly layered, matching the layout of a biological creature’s heart and blood vessels.
Even its appearance was fierce, sharp, and extremely impressive!
—Flawless. That was the only feeling Yang Xu had.
“This… this thing…”
Yang Xu stammered. He considered his own mastery of puppetry not outstanding, but his foundation was solid, with few weaknesses.
But after one glance at this image, he felt like a clueless child just starting school in many aspects!
“Sixty percent… no, more than sixty percent!” He quoted this number in his heart.
If he made a puppet based on this image, its price could be increased by a whole sixty percent!
“What do you think?”
After putting down the brush, Li Yi relaxed his expression, savoring the feeling during the drawing. He actually felt a bit unsatisfied.
He knew clearly in his heart that this was not a picture of a puppet. Clearly, it was a giant Rune!
Before starting the brushstroke, images like Gundam, Transformers, and even EVA still swirled in his mind. But the moment the brush tip touched the paper, all sounds vanished, and all thoughts dispersed.
There was only the Rune!
In the half year since arriving here, he had drawn far too many Runes.
From the simplest and most plain Dripping Rune that gathered drops into a stream, to the profound nine Great Dao Runes, the origin of all phenomena.
The number of failures was countless. On the surface, each day seemed to yield nothing.
But in reality, some invisible things had subtly seeped in, deep into the bone marrow.
Runes had become a memory deep within his muscles!
While drawing, with every stroke, Li Yi did not think of Gundam or puppets. His mind was entirely filled with the structure, layers, arrangement, and layout of Runes.
This image did somewhat resemble the Gundam frame from his memories, but that was only a skin. Its bones, marrow, and soul were all Runes.
“One day, you will thank your past self for working so hard.”
This sentence suddenly surfaced in Li Yi’s mind.
At this moment, he indeed felt grateful to his past self.
Each day of seemingly fruitless effort, like an endless darkness, when it finally erupted one day, even he himself was utterly shocked.
“Brother, how is this drawing exactly?”
An expert looks for the intricacies. Although Zhao Qin only watched for the spectacle, she also sensed a flavor of heaven-made perfection from the image. Seeing her brother’s stunned face, she unconsciously put away her dismissive attitude.
“On the left and right forearms here, there are slight protrusions. What are they for?”
Yang Xu trembled with excitement, his fingers groping chaotically as if caressing a beauty. He suddenly looked up and asked.
Zhao Qin noticed his tone was actually one of humble inquiry.
“My idea is to hide things like concealed darts or miniature Arcane Energy cannons in these two places.” Speaking wasn’t very intuitive, so Li Yi gestured with his hand. “When punching, as the opponent blocks, you can take them by surprise with a hidden dart! Also, there’s a spot on the back. During combat, you can pretend to be kneeling, and then from the spine…”
“So sneaky!” Zhao Qin stuck out her tongue.
“In combat, it’s life or death. There’s no sneaky or not sneaky. Only what is practical and what is not.” Li Yi shook his head, feeling quite speechless towards this unruly little girl.
“Having both grand, sky-reaching strokes and petty, ghostly tricks…” Yang Xu listened, cold sweat streaming down. The heartache was long gone, replaced by repeated praises for his own choice. “Hiring him for two thousand White Crystals is a huge bargain! Even doubling the price would be worth it!”
“Wait a moment!” A discordant voice interrupted the lively atmosphere.
It was Luo Yun.
“You all seem to have forgotten one thing.” Luo Yun wore a cold sneer, his voice sinister. “There’s a prerequisite for this puppet: someone must be able to operate it. Are you saying you can operate this metal puppet?”
“Yes.” Li Yi’s reply was casual.
“But, I can’t do it…” Luo Yun’s smile grew colder and more provocative. “Are you saying your spiritual power is above mine?”
“Yes.” Li Yi nodded, his expression stating it as a matter of course.
“Very well!” Luo Yun’s expression finally turned ugly, his eyes flashing with ferocity. “Then let me see if your spiritual power is truly that formidable?”
He took a deep breath. Between his lips and teeth, a magical lotus budded and bloomed in anger!
It was actually also—Divine Intent Lion’s Roar.
“Sister, you actually taught him Divine Intent Lion’s Roar?” Zhao Xu’s expression changed drastically. Looking at his pale-faced sister, he said angrily, “Have you forgotten what a great price we paid to obtain this secret art?”
“Li Yi, step back quickly! Don’t try to withstand it head-on!” He hurriedly warned.
Before his words faded, as if a brick shattered a mirror, a giant lion’s head shattered the Void, leaving countless marks in the air!
Its momentum was far less than when Zhao Qin performed it, but that mass of golden radiance was as condensed as the morning sun, faintly revealing vast power and fierceness, like a true radiant lion. Its power had increased more than twofold!
Li Yi raised an eyebrow, his expression turning cold and angry.
If the tiger doesn’t show its might, you think it’s a sick cat?
He hadn’t taken several previous provocations seriously, but this time, they actually dared to make a vicious move!
“Coming at just the right time!”
He lifted his hand. Crack! A Snap bloomed.
Between his fingers, a dark gray Ancient Alligator, like a Dragon rising from hibernation, roared wildly. Riding on towering black waves, it charged forward to meet the lion’s head.
In stark contrast to the golden lion head, its aura carried savagery, ferocity, and violence. It even seemed to have a wisp of wailing wraiths swirling around it, boiling with killing intent, chilling with ghostly winds!
As soon as this image appeared, it immediately attracted countless shocked gazes.
Boom!
The two spiritual forces collided. In an instant, thunder erupted in the Void!
The Ancient Alligator was fierce and tyrannical. With its massive jaws opening and closing, it actually bit the golden lion head into pieces!
“Ugh!”
Luo Yun cried out in pain, clutching his head, wailing incessantly.
The pain from spiritual clashes far surpassed physical pain, and the recovery time was longer.
“Luo Yun, are you okay?” Zhao Qin was greatly alarmed and hurried to support him, but was pushed away by the fair-faced youth.
“Zhao Xu, between the two of us, choose one!” Luo Yun, having lost face, shouted fiercely. “If you have him, then there’s no me!”
“I choose him!” Zhao Xu did not hesitate for a moment, saying calmly.
“Fine, very fine!” Having lost all face now, Luo Yun repeated “fine” several times. “Huo Qi, let’s go!”
Throwing down these words, he and the other person stormed out the door.
“Brother!”
Zhao Qin scolded, giving Li Yi a fierce glare, and also chased after them.
“Zhao Xu, you…” Li Yi was somewhat surprised.
“Don’t mind them!” Zhao Xu wore a dissatisfied expression, snorting lightly. “This Luo Yun, aside from slightly stronger spiritual power, knows nothing at all about the way of puppetry! That scoundrel not only had the audacity to demand a full three thousand White Crystals, but he also secretly learned my sister’s secret art—’Divine Intent Lion’s Roar’! Don’t worry, three-legged toads are hard to find, but Puppeteer assistants aren’t difficult!”
After this complaint, he got to the main topic and began to consult.
“At this position, I plan to install the ‘Steel Furnace’ as the power core. What do you think? Does it need any adjustments?”
“Give me the size and weight data for the Steel Furnace…” Li Yi didn’t slack off either, beginning to analyze seriously. “I suggest not placing it right in the center. Offset it slightly left or right to confuse the opponent. However, by doing this, the puppet’s weight distribution also needs adjustment; otherwise, the center of gravity will shift.”
“And also, this joint here, as an Energy Node, what do you think…”
…
For three full days and nights, Zhao Xu and Li Yi discussed, drafted plans, drank only plain water when thirsty, and took a few bites of steamed buns when hungry. It was no different from seclusion.
Zhao Xu was a Puppeteer, and the kind with solid theoretical foundations and a practical approach. After several exchanges, Li Yi’s understanding of puppets gradually deepened; he was no longer a complete outsider who knew nothing.
Furthermore, over these three days and nights, it was equivalent to personally designing a puppet. This kind of hands-on experience also benefited him greatly.
However, he only served as a consultant. Once the plan was finalized, the rest relied on the real Puppeteer; he couldn’t be of much help.
Besides, his ambition wasn’t here. Cultivation remained the main theme.
On this day, Zhao Xu came uninvited, his expression very ugly.
“There are two pieces of news…”
“One good news and one bad news?” Seeing his expression, Li Yi knew it couldn’t be anything good.
“One bad news, and an even worse piece of news…” A bitter smile appeared on Zhao Xu’s face.