Chapter 64 Change Begins Here: Turning Waste into Treasure? No, It Was Always...

Although the sample had already been successfully created, Lin Zhao understood that the prototype was still light years away from an actual production line.

Therefore, in order to boost efficiency, he decisively proposed the idea of modeling and mold-making, intending to move toward mass production.

"Molds, you say..." Qigong Tianyu showed some resistance. "Sculpting the outer shell and the movement by hand, subduing the materials, competing for rewards, and inscribing the secret scripts—these are all foundational skills for every mysteriarch. According to your plan, once the parameters are set and production begins, churning out thousands or tens of thousands at once... what will the apprentices learn from that? If they lose the opportunity for manual practice, how can we cultivate truly outstanding mysteriarchs?"

"Indeed, indeed!" echoed the Seven Dwarfs, acting as his chorus. "All those materials could be used to train quite a few mysteriarch apprentices! If we use your method, sure, it's convenient, but wouldn't the materials go to waste?"

"That's right, and pandering to customers? There is no such thing as a subservient mysteriarch! It should be the people who want artifacts made who come begging the mysteriarch to craft them!"

"Precisely, and they had better bring gifts! If they don't bring gifts, their orders should be delayed for half a year or a year!" another puppet proudly declared.

"Only low-class mysteriarchs need to pander to customers. That must mean they are incapable of crafting fine arcane treasures and instruments!"

The Seven Dwarfs spouted these radical opinions, and the surrounding puppets in the audience nodded along. Though they had once been ordinary mortals of Qigong, they took immense pride in their mysteriarchs. How could noble, wealthy mysteriarchs possibly pander to other sorcerers?

Even though Qigong Tianyu no longer possessed a physical body, he still broke out in a cold sweat listening to this, and couldn't help scolding, "Shut your traps! It's only been a thousand years, how on earth did you all turn out like this?"

His disciples and his puppets had clearly been obedient and sensible in the past; why, upon waking up, had they turned into creatures more obnoxious than a Great Calamity?

"Alright, they've all been infected by the ideologies of the clans by now, yelling at them is useless," Lin Zhao said, resting his chin in his hand and eating a grape fed to him by Ji Yaoguang. "Just tell me, can it be done or not?"

"It can be done, of course," Qigong Tianyu sighed. "For the outer shell, I selected golden leaf bamboo, a specialty of the Di State, pieced together. For the internal material that receives spirituality, I chose dragonfish whiskers—the only spiritual material used, which is a specialty of the Pitch-Dark Sea and not very expensive. Then, we can use discarded conch shells that have lost their spirituality and can no longer transmit messages, repurposing them to convert spirituality into sound. It's a way of recycling waste that avoids relying on fragile mechanical structures, bringing the cost down to a minimum..."

It was his first time making something so crude, but as he spoke, a look of nostalgia crept into his expression: "I remember the first puppet I ever made was also cobbled together from these scraps and remnants. Back then, the Red Emperor Lord guarded the great marshes of heaven and earth. When He passed through the village, I followed the procession across mountains and rivers, cleaning the sacred vessels for them... In the blink of an eye, several thousand years have passed..."

"Why are the materials in the Sorcerer Nation so scarce? Hasn't that problem been solved in thousands of years?" Lin Zhao had heard about the resource issue many times, but since Ji Yaoguang was a walking logistics powerhouse, Lin Zhao had never actually suffered the hardship of resource scarcity.

As a master of materials science, Qigong Tianyu explained, "Materials are divided into three kinds: the first are those the Sorcerer Nation can cultivate, such as spirit beasts, fur-bearing trees, and plants; the second are those naturally generated by heaven and earth, such as ores, water, and fire; and the third are those obtained through conquest, like beast souls and ash..."

Simply put, over the past ten thousand years, the minable ores in the Sorcerer Nation had mostly been exhausted, so they now relied heavily on ores produced by various regional states. At the same time, because the Sorcerer Nation had recently contracted its strategic footprint, the jurisdictions of the various regional states had also shrunk, causing the production of ores and war supplies to plummet. Naturally, all kinds of prices had skyrocketed fiercely.

"Especially with the Green Emperor's seat vacant," one puppet couldn't help glancing at Ji Yaoguang. "In the past, the production of various medicines and divine flora in His Greenwood Forests accounted for two-thirds of the Sorcerer Nation, which kept the prices of sacred wood and white wood in check. Our regional state has run a trade deficit for seven consecutive years. If this goes on, we won't even be able to pay the wages for the workshops."

Overall, the Sorcerer Nation's own resources were drying up, making the establishment of regional states a mutually beneficial arrangement. However, in recent years, the Sorcerer Nation had been bleeding the regional states dry to such an extent that resentment filled the air. Lin Zhao finally came to understand just how crucial Ji Yaoguang's status was within the Sorcerer Nation.

Qigong Tianyu didn't see anything wrong with this and lectured the puppets, "When are materials ever completely suitable? Those of us who are mysteriarchs should adapt to local conditions and achieve results. Use whatever amount is available, and turn the rotten into the miraculous—that is how one demonstrates true capability."

With that, as he looked back at the crude contraption, he couldn't help reaching out to touch the core of the spiritual communication prototype.

The next second, his spectral hand was seized by the Lord of Di State. "This is an important item of the Di State. Please do not grant it sentience!"

Qigong Tianyu looked slightly surprised. "Such an ordinary, non-spiritual instrument—if I don't grant it sentience, no one will be able to cultivate a vessel-spirit for it."

The Lord of Di State retorted speechlessly, "How many commoners can afford to maintain a spiritual instrument with a vessel-spirit? What I need are instruments that are easy to repair and easy to acquire. Things tainted with spirituality and vessel-spirits—are ordinary people even in a position to take them and hold onto them?"

Qigong Tianyu flushed slightly. "You make a valid point."

He withdrew his hand and prepared to continue explaining the basic principles of the instrument to the puppets beside him, as well as how to have ordinary people manufacture it.

Sensing the problem, Lin Zhao decisively said, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to take your puppets back. Help me find a few ordinary apprentices, bring along some experienced master craftsmen, and get the blueprints ready. We'll head back to the Di State to handle it; there's no need to waste time here."

These puppets had far too low creativity. They only knew how to follow instructions mechanically without using their own brains. It would be better to take people back, thoroughly master the blueprints and technology, and then discuss scaling up production.

The Lord of Qigong wore a melancholic expression. "Are you leaving just like that?"

Lin Zhao asked strangely, "Otherwise? Should I stay here to celebrate the New Year?"

The Lord of Qigong smiled bitterly. "If that were the case, of course I'd wish for nothing more, but... I may not last until that day."

The remaining spirituality in this thread of his remnant soul was running thin. If he continued to maintain this world, before long, he would dissipate into the Puppet Heaven and become a part of it.

"That's not really a problem, is it? You've been dead for a thousand years," Lin Zhao said casually. "By now, the Puppet Heaven no longer devours the Qigong State. You should leave with a clear conscience."

"What you say is true. Even the sun has returned..." The Lord of Qigong nodded, but dissatisfaction remained as he gazed at the small sun. "Yet I truly wish to see what the sun looks like when it shines upon the world!"

Then again, the little raven was far too small; it had probably just hatched and hadn't even grown all its feathers yet. How long would that take...

Lin Zhao glanced at him. "What disrespectful thoughts are you having?"

The Lord of Qigong smiled gently. "None at all. If we are leaving, I will prepare things for you."

Having been struck twice, he knew some things were better left unsaid.

...

Lin Zhao's previous requirement was a complete production line, including replaceable components, all detailed and labeled blueprints, and technical support.

On the planet where he had lived in his past life, even the most efficient team would have consumed a vast amount of time on installation and debugging.

However, this problem was easily solved by the Lord of Qigong.

"What? You're coming with us to the Di State to sort this out?" Lin Zhao asked in shock. "You don't want your Qigong State anymore?"

"I don't. Besides, my puppets have already notified the clans of my death, and they unanimously agreed to seal off the news and maintain the appearance that I am still alive," Qigong Tianyu answered frankly. "They don't need me. Furthermore, I've been trapped in the Qigong State for three thousand years; am I not allowed to do something I enjoy before I die?"

What could Lin Zhao say to that? He glanced at the Lord of Di State.

The Lord of Di State smiled. "I naturally welcome it. Besides, my little brother knows some mind-soothing techniques; perhaps he can even buy the Lord of Qigong a few more days."

"Then let's go." Since the Lord of Di State agreed, Lin Zhao had no objections.

"Wait a moment, I'm bringing one more person." Qigong Tianyu beckoned. Soon, a youth in white robes, looking flustered and bewildered, walked over in a daze.

"Saa, you're alright?" Lin Zhao instantly recognized the youth he had met on the subway, which had been even more rudimentary than a green-skinned train.

Saa nodded, then shook his head, looking as though he had suffered a massive shock. "I felt like I was having a dream. In the dream, my mother and I found out that something was wrong with the Puppet Heaven. My mother said goodbye to me, and I went to report it to the Grand Inspector... Then I woke up with a start. It felt like I met the Lord of Qigong, and the Lord, he... he told me he wanted to borrow my body to live in for a while."

Qigong Tianyu smiled slightly. "Indeed. By residing in a living human body, I can last a few days longer. I will use his body to come with you, get this 'production line' sorted out, and then I can depart. He will still be able to go with you all to the Sorcerer Nation to participate in the Grand Selection, without missing a thing."

Perfect.

Lin Zhao couldn't help taking another look at Saaa. Good grief, how had he missed the fact that this youth possessed the protagonist aura? He had gone and picked up a portable grandfather figure!

Was he going to end up resurrecting Elder Yao—pardon, resurrecting the Lord of Qigong in the future?

Still, this was indeed a good method.

Lin Zhao smiled. "Then, I look forward to your guidance!"

...

Departing from the Puppet Heaven led them straight to the subway entrance. Ji Yaoguang looked at the crude hall and muttered quietly, "Father."

His voice was very low, but Lin Zhao, standing right beside him, heard it loud and clear and couldn't help laughing out loud.

"There's a subway for this stretch of the journey, so don't go bothering old uncle," Lin Zhao said, lightly patting the trunk of the ancient tree beside him with a teasing tone. "Be a good boy, understand?"

Ji Yaoguang sighed, the foliage and branches on his crown swaying gently as if weighed down by heavy thoughts. "Back when I was the Lord of the Divine Tree, not a single slip-up was allowed, and my Divine Father always used divine power to escort me back and forth through the Sorcerer Nation. Now that I am no longer the Divine Tree, he doesn't bother with me anymore."

Lin Zhao put an arm around his shoulders. "Not a single slip-up allowed? Then why don't you look at how massive of a slip-up you made back then! The fact that your old man didn't disown you is already the height of paternal love."

Ji Yaoguang fell speechless and pressed his head against A-Zhao's face.

A-Zhao pressed back, and the two of them clung to each other, seeking a good deal of comfort.

The Lord of Di State quietly found a place to sit. With a calm expression, he pretended not to see any of it.

Qigong Tianyu, residing inside the youth's body, felt his worldview shatter slightly. Unable to help himself, he asked via telepathy, "If I were also a sun, would Lord Chili Guang proactively seek me out like that?"

The Lord of Di State lifted his eyelids. "She would turn you into a totem and give you away to others rather than keep you around."

Qigong Tianyu fell into a depression and said no more.

A group of apprentices meeting the criteria, carrying simple bundles, walked in silently and went to report to Saaa.

Qigong Tianyu had wanted to dispatch his private train, but Lin Zhao decisively rejected the proposal.

Though the subway was crowded, it wasn't as conspicuous as a private train.