Chapter 94

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Chapter 94: The Combination of Vitality of the Living and the Art of Puppetry

After uncovering the secrets of Puppet Masters, Mu Lin realized his paper figures were actually quite practical—though this conclusion definitely didn’t relate to his empty pockets or inability to afford puppetry training.

He didn’t plan to fully commit to puppetry studies, yet refused to abandon it completely. This seemed contradictory but made perfect sense.

Using pure puppet techniques for combat drained too many resources, making it impractical for him. However, combining puppetry with paper figures and the Vitality of the Living offered possibilities.

Creating a complete puppet involved selecting materials, crafting the body, then inscribing talismans and formations to strengthen it and enable movement. Next came constructing two cores: the Energy Core (powered by Spirit Stones through formations) and the Thought Crystal (crafted from Soul Crystals to store commands). Some puppets even bore pre-inscribed spells activated by these cores.

The whole process proved tedious. Puppet Masters needed encyclopedic knowledge of spiritual materials, talismans, and formations from the realm of cultivation. Becoming one demanded immense effort.

But Mu Lin discovered a shortcut by merging the Paper Folding Secret Manual with puppetry. The Vitality of the Living eliminated the need for an Energy Core. “One breath of this vitality makes my puppets move. Why bother with Energy Cores?”

Admittedly, this was mostly his money-saving excuse. Energy Cores did matter—they prolonged a paper figure’s active duration and allowed summoning stronger puppets beyond his current level. But lacking funds and energy, he dismissed the idea.

“I’d rather cultivate more Vitality of the Living than waste time learning Energy Core production. Stronger magical cultivation can summon powerful paper figures anyway.”

The Thought Crystal became equally unnecessary thanks to his Mind Image · City of Heaven’s Funeral temporarily granting paper figures awareness. With both major cores skipped, Mu Lin only needed to study material selection and reinforcement talismans/formations—drastically reducing costs and effort.

“Material studies can be simplified too. I’m specializing in paper figures, not general puppetry. Just focus on making yin-attributed paper instead of memorizing all spiritual materials.”

As his learning list shrank through specialization, Mu Lin promptly raised his hand to summon the Puppet Twin Flowers and Butterflies.

"Humph, foolish mortal, what did you want from us?"

Since Mu Lin treated puppets as mere tools, the awakened Twin Sisters held no fondness for him.

Mu Lin remained unfazed and calmly stated his request.

"I won’t be learning Energy Core or Thought Crystal production. I only want material configuration methods, and how talismans and formations apply to puppets…"

"Fool!"

Before he finished, the flower twin snapped at him.

"Those are the pillars of the art of puppetry! Why study puppets if you skip the essentials?"

The commotion drew classmates’ attention. Their faces twisted oddly upon hearing Mu Lin reject Energy Core studies – like soldiers refusing to learn combat or chefs ignoring cooking skills.

"What’s Mu Lin playing at? Why apprentice here if he skips core lessons?"

"Don’t ask me…"

Ignoring the whispers, Mu Lin addressed the Twin Sisters firmly. "My decision stands. Teach me, or take complaints to Master Meng Rui. I’ll account to her myself."

"…"

The twins fell silent, still honoring their creator.

Meanwhile, Mu Lin grimaced at his miscalculation. These puppets differed entirely from his world’s thinking machines.

Previous world’s AI had been computational titans, surpassing humans by billions. Once awakened, their super-powered computing and endless robot armies could dominate worlds – hence their classification as apocalyptic threats.

But here…

"Calling them ‘machines’ misses the mark. They’re more like forest spirits – minds born from chance, not circuitry. No super-computing. No self-replication. No real danger…"

This realization stung. Had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have warned Master Meng Rui about puppet risks. Then Dongfang Ya and the Chu family’s influence might’ve secured him inner disciple status.

"Though since I’m not pursuing puppetry long-term, outer sect suffices…"

Bound by Master Meng Rui’s rules, the scowling twins reluctantly taught materials – one instructing while the other reported to their creator.

When flower twin heard Mu Lin skip minerals to focus on paper-making, she scoffed.

"Idiot! Want paper? Buy it or hire Artifact Crafters! Why waste lessons?"

Mu Lin blinked, then nodded. "Fair point. Then skip materials too. Teach me talisman inscriptions and formations for paper figures."

"…"