Chapter 154: 154 Chapter 153: Man and Machine

Whatever the case, most of the Blood Blades were satisfied with what they had. Tong Xue went for three Thallax-class battle puppets while Pang Feng chose two Castellax-class battle-automata. They really made choices that suited their personalities and skills.

After that was done, Elder Hai gathered all of us around.

"All right! Now that you've chosen your battle puppets, I shall begin to teach you to inscribe your personal Spirit Engraving on them. This is to ensure nobody else will be able to control your battle puppet. You will be engraving your own personal seal on your battle puppet, so to speak. It will obey only you and it is also a great countermeasure against theft."

Everyone nodded, enraptured, half-distracted by their newly obtained battle puppets. There were very few left, set aside for those Blood Blades still out on a mission, but Hai Rong packed them up. I grimaced, recalling earlier how I had to dump about six hundred of the battle-automata out of my spatial device, but fortunately my fellow Blood Blades were on hand to help me assemble them properly and neatly.

"Watch closely. I will be demonstrating how to carve your own command seal on these battle-automata."

As he said so, Elder Hai Mo proceeded to engrave a Spirit Diagram into the Thallax-class battle puppet in front of him. Even though he was quite far away, standing on a stage in front of two hundred Blood Blades, we were able to see the Spirit Diagram and his actions clearly thanks to the spirit projector that beamed his movements on a big screen.

It reminded me of the mass lectures conducted in universities in my previous timelines, where professors conducted lessons through Powerpoint slides projected on a gigantic screen. Well, this was more akin to a visualizer or a live recording.

Thankfully, my glasses also had a recording function, and I activated it, so that I could go through Elder Hai's motions one more time in case I missed anything. This wasn't an excuse to drift off and sleep in class, so I paid attention as best as I could, my eyes drilling into the screen intently and my mind trying to cram as much as it could.

After the demonstration, Elder Hai stepped back. The Thallax-class battle puppet didn't move, but the Spirit Engraving glowed with soulful life, blazing defiantly against the backdrop of white. Satisfied, Elder Hai turned to beam at us.
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"And that's how it's done. Now it's your turn."

"Heh…"

The crowd stirred with excitement, and then the Blood Blades began working enthusiastically on their battle puppets. I tried to mimic Elder Hai's actions, with some failure. Fortunately, with my glasses, I could play back the recordings and see where I went wrong, and meticulously execute the Spirit Engraving step by step.

"That's right…that's good. Hmm, not bad, but you might want to finetune the Engraving here. Ah! You made a minor mistake there! It should be rounder, not squarish."

While the Blood Blades worked on their individual battle-automata, Elder Hai went around to inspect and supervise them. He wasn't the only one. The more experienced elders, such as Elder Tie, and several other masters, upon finishing their Spirit Engravings, dispersed to help and assist the less seasoned disciples in carving their own personal seal.

"I wonder if this is correct?"

I stared at my Spirit Engraving on the first Castellax-class battle-automata I inscribed it on, feeling doubtful. Unlike Elder Hai's Thallax-class battle puppet, or the other battle-automata that were lighting up as my fellow disciples inscribed their personal seals on them, my Engraving showed no life.

"Ah…the problem is that you made a slight error in the core of your diagram. Also, you infused it with too much qi, overloading the Engraving. Relax, and don't be too tense."

Catching sight of my failure, Elder Hai walked over in a relaxed manner and informed me. I nodded gratefully and hurried to rectify my mistake. After several tries, I finally got the hang of it and was able to complete a soulfully glowing Spirit Engraving.

"Phew!"

"That took you long enough!" Tong Xue teased, having finished his three Thallax-class battle puppets a while ago. The guy was fast. I was only just starting on my second Castellax-class battle-automata.

Nearby, Pang Feng grunted. He was slightly faster than me, but he was still in the midst of carving his Spirit Seal in his second Castellax-class battle-automata.

"You are all slow!" Tang Qi Hong complained. The three of us turned to stare at her and our jaws dropped. Somehow, Tang Qi Hong had already finished inscribing her personal Spirit Seal on all of her battle-automata, which included six Thallax-class battle puppets and four Castellax-class batlle-automata. Given how Tong Xue only had three Thallax-class battle puppets and finished a short while ago, it meant that Tang Qi Hong was faster than him by several times.

That girl really was a genius at Spirit Engraving and smithing.

It took a couple of hours, but finally every single Blood Blade finished carving their personal Spirit Engraving on their respective battle puppets to bind them to their individual will. I also managed to finish the fourth, just barely. I was slow, I know. It was unfortunate, but I didn't have the talent for Spirit Engraving and smithing, especially when compared to prodigies such as Tang Qi Hong and Liang Shao Yang.

The only thing I had going for me was hard work.

"Very good. Now no one will be able to steal your battle puppets."

Elder Hai was nodding in satisfaction, and then his expression turned grim.

"But now comes the hard part."

"…eh?"

Everyone stared at him, feeling a sense of dread. His expression not changing, Elder Hai continued sternly.

"The next step of Spirit Engraving for battle-automata is basically giving them power and life. Bestowing them a soul and allowing them to move. All we have done so far is the most minor of programming steps, basically claiming ownership by creating a sole administrator user account and sealing it to our biometrics…or spirit. But just because you have established ownership of the battle puppet doesn't mean it will be able to fight immediately. That's where the main Spirit Engraving comes in. To be honest, it's easier if I get the inner sect disciples to complete the next step, but…I think this will be a good lesson for all of you."

Even though he didn't say why, I could suspect the reason. Elder Hai had expressed his doubts and suspicions about the inner sect, particularly those directly under the control and influence of the other Great Elders. It would also mean granting people like Liang Shao Yang direct access to our battle-automata, something he was loathe to do.

That was why we had to do this the hard way.

"I'm sure you're aware of this, but engraving Spirit Diagrams in a battle-automata is a long, tedious and complex process. It will take you a month just to complete one Spirit Engraving on a single battle-automata. It's not a simple process of just drawing the Spirit Diagrams on their insides…" At this, I lowered my head sheepishly, remembering the reprimand I received from Elder Tie. Elder Hai was merely confirming what Elder Tie told me. "You also need to weave your own qi and spiritual power and will into the fabric of the Spirit Diagram, or it will remain inert."

"Yes~"

The Blood Blades chorused somewhat nonchalantly. They clearly had no idea just how difficult the process would be. I couldn't blame them. Ever since they joined the Blood Blades, the vast majority of them had stopped forging, smithing or Spirit Engraving, so that they could focus on sharpening their martial arts and combat skills. They just couldn't imagine the difficulty level, at least not until they actually tried it out themselves.

"Be prepared!" Elder Hai was grinning malevolently. This time, a few of the seasoned Blood Blade disciples felt chills run down their spines, having been in the sect long enough to recognize that ominous expression. "I will be driving you all very hard! For the sake of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!"

*

And just like that, another two months passed. By now, most of us had finished our Spirit Engravings on at least two of our battle-automata. I certainly did. The more talented ones, such as Tang Qi Hong, were able to complete three, but even a prodigy like Tang Qi Hong was unable to rush the process by much.

"Man, I want to finish Spirit Engraving all my battle-automata already!" Tang Qi Hong complained as she threw her head back, her long, golden hair tumbling past her back. She leaned back against her chair, kicking her legs restlessly.

"I know, right?" Tong Xue grumbled as he placed his head on his desk. "I'm sick of Spirit Engraving. I joined the Blood Blades for a reason!"

Lian Rou stared at the two of them, and then glanced at me. When she saw that I was wearing the same sullen, sour expression as the other two, she decided not to ask.

She shouldn't need to ask, though. It wasn't as if Elder Hai and the Blood Blades were keeping their acquisition of battle-automata a secret.

"Even so, we still have to return to Tushan City eventually." Lian Rou finally spoke up awkwardly. "You seriously don't intend on sticking in school forever?"

"No, but…" Tang Qi Hong looked perturbed.

"If we go back, we'll have to attend the battle-automata lesson again. It's been two months!" Tong Xue grimaced at the mere thought. "I want it to end already!"

"Hey, you only have one Thallax-class battle puppet left to Spirit Engrave," I reminded him harshly. "I still have two Castellax-class battle-automata, and Qi Hong has three more Thallax-class battle puppets and four Castellax-class battle-automata."

"Why did I ever think it was a good idea to buy so many from you?" Tang Qi Hong groaned and glared at me resentfully. "You were pretty smart to sell most of them and keep only four for yourself."

"Not as smart as those who chose to have only two Castellax-class battle-automata," I muttered. Pang Feng was free of the battle-automata lessons, having finished programming both of his Castellax-class battle-automata. I felt jealous of him, but reminded myself that by the end of the year I would be having the last laugh.

Actually, by next year, Tang Qi Hong would be having the last laugh. She would have the most number of battle-automata out of any one of us, excluding the elders.

"Well, let's get this done and over with," I growled as a flash of determination took over. Rising to my feet, I followed Lian Rou out of the classroom. Tang Qi Hong and Tong Xue reluctantly followed us, but inwardly they agreed.

Less than an hour later, the Phoenix Express touched down on the landing pad inside Tushan City, and the Nine-Tailed Sect disciples disembarked. Tang Qi Hong, Tong Xue and I plodded sullenly toward the direction of the main sect hall, already dreading the lessons to follow. Lian Rou could only shake her head and sigh as she followed us to the Flame Volcano.

"You brought this upon yourself."

"Um, Tong Xue didn't. First Elder Hai was the one who dumped this on the Blood Blades." I shrugged. To be fair, the whole thing was my fault to begin with, but I wasn't going to admit that. "I mean, I agree with his decision, but that doesn't make our job any easier."

"…yeah, hmm…I don't know why he doesn't ask the inner sect disciples to do the Spirit Engravings instead. It'll be easier." Lian Rou looked thoughtful. Even though it was common knowledge that the Blood Blades received battle-automata, Elder Hai obviously did not tell anyone about his suspicions regarding certain elders and inner sect disciples. That would be a silly move, one that would create rifts within the sect and encourage inner strife.

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Heavens knew we couldn't afford to make any more enemies.

We continued on our path when three of the Great Elders suddenly showed up. Smiling, they approached Tang Qi Hong.

"Qi Hong! There you are! A quick word, if you don't mind?" one of them called out in a friendly manner.

"Great Elders." Tang Qi Hong swallowed, but nodded. Lian Rou, Tong Xue and I stepped back and bowed respectfully. Noticing our presence, a second Great Elder acknowledged our greeting before glancing at Tang Qi Hong.

"Were you in the middle of something?"

"Um, yes. I'm heading over to the main sect hall, to learn battle-automata from First Elder Hai." Tang Qi Hong replied honestly.

"Ah…that's right. I heard that you have about ten new battle puppets. Your combat strength has grown tremendously."

"Not bad, not bad."

"You really are the adopted daughter of the Sect Leader and Sect Lady."

The three Great Elders were praising a perplexed Tang Qi Hong. Tong Xue and I exchanged puzzled glances.

"Ever since Qi Hong acquired those battle puppets, her standing in the sect has risen," Lian Rou whispered, offering an explanation to me and Tong Xue. Both of us stared at her in surprise, but I guess I could understand.

Battle puppets and battle-automata were signifiers of status. They were extremely rare, valuable and powerful – a single middle-ranked battle-automata like the Castellax class was said to be able to fight on par with a Qi Fusion Stage practitioner (whatever that meant), which was why they were priced so highly. Anyone who possessed not one but many of them would be a force to be reckoned with. Tang Qi Hong essentially had a small army of her own.

Recognizing that, the Great Elders wanted to get in her good books, especially since they were aware how powerful Tang Qi Hong would become once she finished inscribing her tiny army with Spirit Engravings.

Tang Qi Hong had always been a genius at blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving, and now she had her own private military. Her stock was rising fast and the Great Elders didn't want to shoot themselves in the foot and be filled with regret.

"There are rumors that several of the Great Elders have suddenly switched sides and are now backing Qi Hong to succeed as the next sect leader instead of Liang Shao Yang." Lian Rou's voice was dripping with disapproval and scorn. She clearly didn't like the idea of her best friend being dragged into these politics.

"Really?" Tong Xue asked, surprised. For my part, I believed Lian Rou. As an inner sect disciple, she was more privy to the matters involving the Great Elders than either of us. Though I wondered the wisdom of sharing that information with Tong Xue, who doubled as a disciple of the Smart Shadow Sect. he would be happily gathering the intelligence of other sects for his primary sect, even if he was technically a member of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and a Blood Blade.

Not for the first time, I wondered if Tong Xue's loyalty to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was stronger than his loyalty to the Smart Shadow Sect. Good thing the Heaven and Earth Sect had been exterminated long ago, so I didn't have to make that choice.

"Ah, you must be the one who brought back all those battle-automata. Fei Wu, right?"

The first Great Elder suddenly noticed we were still there, and when his gaze fell on me, his eyes lit up in recognition.

"That's right, sir." I nodded. There was no point denying it.

"Good, good. I hear you're in the Blood Blades, correct? And you did a splendid job in the expedition to the Nascent Soul Stage practitioner's tomb two months ago, bringing back such valuable treasures!"

"Indeed!" the second Great Elder chimed in, delighted. He cast a gaze from the troubled Tang Qi Hong to me. "You two remind me of the current Sect Leader and Sect Lady! The resemblance is remarkable! I'm sure you both will bring the sect to greater heights!"

Wow, they were being pretty blatant about their motives now. Lian Rou wasn't mistaken when she told me and Tong Xue about their sudden change in stance. I heard that they had always been firmly behind Liang Shao Yang, but now they were clearly in the Tang Qi Hong camp. No doubt Lian Rou was correct that it had something to do with Tang Qi Hong being the owner of a sizeable amount of battle-automata.

And I was another owner of four Castellax-class battle-automata, which meant my worth and standing in the sect had also increased.

"Geez, Great Elders!" Tang Qi Hong turned red. "Our relationship isn't like that! Please don't say such embarrassing things!"

"Not yet," the third Great Elder said mischievously. "Give it time."

"Ugh! Stop teasing me! If there's nothing else, then I'll make a move first!"

Unable to endure the relentless teasing and obvious flattery, Tang Qi Hong tried to move away, her face burning crimson.

"Oh, about that…actually we have a request for you." the first Great Elder reached into his pocket and took out his cellphone. "We wanted to ask you if you're interested in taking up a mission from the Dark Asura Sect."

"The Dark Asura Sect?" Tang Qi Hong repeated incredulously. "What do they want?"

"They have requested that the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect forge them Spirit Artifacts," the second Great Elder explained. "The commanders of the Dark Asura Sect have personally submitted these custom-orders. They have asked for six Spirit Artifacts in total, and even provided the Spirit Materials necessary. Well, most of them, anyway. Fortunately, our sect has almost all the remainder of Spirit Materials required. You can get someone to obtain them for you." he glanced meaningfully at me, then turned back to Tang Qi Hong apologetically. "I'm sorry. We really didn't want to disturb you when you're so busy. But as you know, we can't turn them down so easily."

"I know," Tang Qi Hong replied, but she still looked flustered. Staring at her cellphone as she received the forwarded email from the first Great Elder, she swallowed nervously. "But why me? Wouldn't Liang Shao Yang or one of the other inner sect disciples be capable of carrying out this request?"

"Of all the inner sect disciples, your success rate is the highest," the third great elder replied. "And the quality of the spirit artifacts you forge is the best, surpassing even that of Liang Shao Yang's. He is still inexperienced when compared to you. Furthermore, we are currently in the midst of forging Spirit Engraved Gear for the Imperial Guard, and are unable to take on a new project right now. You should know the sheer quantity of Spirit Armaments that the Imperial Guard require. First Elder Hai Mo is also forging another complex device for the royal family while teaching the Blood Blades lessons on battle-automata Spirit Engravings at the same time. So you are the only one left."

"I understand," Tang Qi Hong replied helplessly as she studied the list.

"Don't worry," the first Great Elder assured her. "We will pay you handsomely for this project. You'll receive payment appropriate to the quality of the Spirit Artifacts you forge. You'll definitely be rewarded for taking up this request."

"All right…I will do it." Tang Qi Hong sighed heavily. Then she turned to me. "Wu, will you be free after the battle-automata lesson today?"

"I'm never free, but I will make myself available today if you need my help."

Seriously, do people think I laze around have nothing to do after my lessons? If there was nothing else, I would spend it working on my personal project or training my combat skills. But that didn't mean I wasn't flexible enough to rearrange my schedule if someone needed my help immediately after the lesson on battle-automata Spirit Engraving.

"Really? I mean, if you're busy…"

"No, they are not important. It's just normal training."

"Yeah, we won't die if we miss a day of training or two!" Tong Xue agreed with a smile. While I would normally disagree with him, I was glad that our opinions align today, so I also smiled and nodded.

"Exactly."

"If you say so." Tang Qi Hong consulted the list. "Well, we'll discuss this later, after the Spirit Engraving lesson. Let's hurry, or we'll be late."

We bade the three satisfied Great Elders farewell, and then quickly made our way to the main sect hall. Already a large group of Blood Blades were flooding the main sect hall, the majority of them having returned home from school just like us.

Lian Rou excused herself and went her separate way, leaving the three of us to merge with the crowd. As we fought our way to the front, I caught sight of Pang Feng. He waved to us, and the three of us fought through the mass of human bodies to join him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, perplexed. "You already finished the Spirit Engravings for your two Castellax-class battle-automata, right?"

"…that's right. I forgot." Pang Feng laughed sheepishly as he scratched his head. "Force of habit, I suppose?"

Actually, I suspected he had a more…personal reason for showing up. I could see the way he looked at Tang Qi Hong. He clearly still had a crush on her.

Well, so did I, but as of right now, our relationship was at an impasse. As much as I wanted to break the status quo, I already knew what would happen. Furthermore, after the pressure those three fair-weather Great Elders placed on Tang Qi Hong to be the next sect leader, she would be more determined than before to stay single and focus on that goal. Knowing Tang Qi Hong, she would give the reason that she could not afford to be distracted by men or romance because the whole sect was depending on her or something.

She had given me the same reason before, and she hadn't changed since then.

While we stepped into the main sect hall and disappeared into its interior, from the distance, someone watched us, completely unnoticed. At that time, I didn't sense his murderous gaze, but I was reconstructing this whole thing on hindsight, on retrospect.

Liang Shao Yang, accompanied by Hu Mei Er, had watched the entire exchange between the three Great Elders and Tang Qi Hong. His eyes never left his current rival, he continued to watch her as she entered the main sect hall. Even though he wasn't close enough to overhear their conversation, he could tell from their attitudes toward Tang Qi Hong that they were currently favoring her. He was also not deaf, having heard about her rise in status and power after acquiring a bunch of battle-automata, her close links to the Blood Blades, and had noticed the obvious shift of the Great Elders' attention from him to her in the last couple of months.

His eyes narrowed murderously as he pondered over the events, and even Hu Mei Er couldn't help but shudder when she caught sight of his cold, merciless gaze.

"Shao Yang?" she asked timidly.

Liang Shao Yang forced a smile as he looked at her. "Sorry, Mei Er. I will have to leave Tushan for a bit. I'll see you in my apartment tonight?"

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