Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 245 The Art of Puppetry Makes Great Contributions
Minister Wei wanted to say something: even if most of the money for the "retirement salary" came from the taxes deducted by officials, the increased salaries of officials still came from the national treasury. So, with this back and forth, wasn't it still the national treasury that was paying out?

However, over the past six months, he had come to understand his sect leader's temperament. Unless it was something that still needed to be discussed, anything that his elders proposed would inevitably be implemented.

If they disagree, that's easy. Of the last batch who disagreed, those who died were reportedly taken to mine in Baishi Mountain.

He wasn't that stubborn; he didn't want to gamble with his official position!

Moreover, how could a mortal dare to contend with a god?

Why not be a good paperhanger, work your way up to retirement, keep your official title, and then take advantage of the new policies to have a stable government salary in your old age?

Thus, with the Minister of Revenue, who was most qualified to raise objections, feigning inaction, Zhang Chengdao made preliminary arrangements for matters concerning the tax system and pensions to a dozen or so important officials, assigning specific tasks to the Grand Secretary and Zhao Shizhong, among others.

After finishing these tasks, Zhang Chengdao returned to Baishi Mountain to begin preparations for the Immortal Affinity Assembly on the first day of the first month.

Baishi Mountain has been relatively quiet lately, mainly because there are too few people. Many disciples are either attending classes or doing commissions or trial missions. The once bustling scene of people sitting and meditating close together by Tianchi Lake has disappeared.

Moreover, after Chang Ping'an and others reported that the content below the Foundation Establishment stage had been covered, Zhang Chengdao ordered all outer disciples to change from having to attend cultivation classes every day to attending only two classes every seven days, one taught by Chang Ping'an and the other by Murong Ruyan.

Well... the reputations of these two "lecturers" are extremely polarized...

In short, standing on the peak beside the deserted Heavenly Lake, Zhang Chengdao fell into deep thought.

First of all, the content of this year's Immortal Destiny Tournament trial must not be the same as last time, otherwise what's the difference between this and repeating last year's college entrance exam paper!
Furthermore, the previous trial had significant flaws. For instance, because participants knew they were in a trial, they naturally exercised restraint, failing to fully reflect their true nature. This is evident in the fact that the students from the Imperial Academy and the National University sent by Emperor Murong Zhen of Xiao Kingdom were able to pass the first trial.

Although Zhang Chengdao later added the Heart-Testing Trial, using the Heart Demon Illusion Technique which was impossible to cheat with as the final trial, and combined it with his "artificial selection" to filter out a group of people with questionable character and identity, this method was still subject to chance and could not fully assess the comprehensive qualities of the participants.

More importantly, the illusion used in the first trial last time was highly dependent on the cultivator's cultivation level.

Although Zhang Chengdao is now at the Nascent Soul stage, which is much stronger than when he was at the Core Formation stage, it is foreseeable that the number of participants in this Immortal Fate Gathering will be very large, probably far more than tens of thousands!
Although theoretically he could support a fantasy world that could accommodate tens of thousands of people, firstly, this would restrict him—he would have to ensure that the fantasy world was running at all times—and secondly, there would be absolutely no margin for error.

What if hundreds of thousands of people come?

Although the possibility is very low, after all, the group that can take time off work and afford long-distance travel is still a minority in this era. Even if most martial arts sects are included, there may not be that many people. But, what if?
If this fails at a crucial moment, then things will get really messed up!

Therefore, we need to consider other methods.

Ideally, it would be like the designs of prestigious sects in the fantasy worlds of some popular online novels, where the participants' memories are sealed or their consciousness is blurred, making them unaware that they are participating in a trial, believing it to be real life, thus obtaining the most authentic result. But...

If a Nascent Soul cultivator like him had this ability, why would he bother with the collective spiritual energy revival or the Immortal Fate Conference to recruit disciples?!

unless……

Create a more traditional small secret realm or small grotto world, and then let them conduct themselves in the "secret realm" for several days, such as competing for entry qualifications, completing "secret realm tasks", etc. The more complex the environment and the more challenging the trials, the more likely the participants will reveal their true nature.

But the problem is...

It seems highly unlikely that a Nascent Soul cultivator could conjure up a "secret realm" or some kind of "small cave world" with his bare hands!
Oh no, it's stuck again.

Just as he was racking his brains, a strange bird suddenly appeared overhead.

It was a wooden bird that made a "pattering" sound when it flew. Its wings, made of wooden feathers the size of fingernails, kept flapping against its hard body. The movements were very stiff and looked quite eerie.

Zhang Chengdao subconsciously grabbed the wooden bird carving in his hand and looked at it with a puzzled expression.

It is somewhat similar to the wooden puppet technique recorded in "Puppet Techniques, Part 1", but there are slight differences.

Because the wooden puppets created by the Wood Puppet Technique possess certain abilities. For example, like the Paper Puppet Technique, they can deliver messages, serve as mounts, or perform tasks such as digging, mining, and mowing grass.

However, apart from being able to fly, and constantly flying around randomly, this wooden bird doesn't seem to have any special abilities.

Moreover, this craftsmanship is clearly that of his fifth apprentice, Huang Wu, who is obsessed with carpentry, but...

Huang Wudiao's bird can actually fly!?
Wasn't he absolutely averse to learning paper puppetry? How come he suddenly had an epiphany and started learning wooden puppetry?
Just as he was thinking of this, Zhang Chengdao suddenly realized that he hadn't yet compiled the wooden puppet technique into a book!
And this little wooden bird...

Huang Wu actually figured it out on his own!?
Zhang Chengdao was pleasantly surprised.

As expected of a gold card holder, even skills that one hasn't learned before can be mastered!

Just as they caught the wooden bird, Huang Wu came running breathlessly to the edge of Tianchi Lake, apparently having chased after the bird. Huang Wu immediately spotted Zhang Chengdao standing against the wind atop the cliff. He quickly caught his breath, cupped his hands in greeting, and called out, "Master!"

"Ah."

Zhang Chengdao nodded as a greeting, then leaped off the cliff and landed beside the Heavenly Pool.

Once he reached Huang Wu's side, he handed over the wooden bird carving in his hand and asked, "Did you make this?"

Huang Wu carefully held the wooden bird by its wings and explained, "Master, please forgive my foolishness. It was a sudden inspiration of mine. I asked Senior Sister Tang about a spirit-gathering array and carved it onto this. Then I hid a lightness-enhancing talisman inside its belly... I didn't expect it to actually fly!"

"Oh……"

Zhang Chengdao nodded in sudden realization.

That's quite different from the wooden puppet technique.

If the wooden bird can only fly because it relies on a talisman, then it will naturally stop flying once the talisman's effect wears off.

However, engraving spirit-gathering arrays on spirit weapons is a common method of weapon crafting, so it seems that Huang Wu does indeed have some talent.

"If you are interested in this, you might as well read this manual."

As Zhang Chengdao spoke, he took out the book "Puppet Techniques, Part 1" from his backpack and said, "It explains the art of wooden puppets, which originates from the same source as weapon crafting. It may be of great benefit to your cultivation."

He had already thoroughly mastered the book "Puppet Techniques, Part 1," but the branches such as wooden puppetry, cloth puppetry, and iron puppetry required extremely high levels of personal craftsmanship, leaving him only able to sigh in despair.

But he understands the principles perfectly!

Therefore, giving this book to Huang Wu, if it can make him shine and contribute, then it won't be a waste.

Moreover, the newly upgraded backpack has a "Secret Manuals" option, which records all the secret manuals Zhang Chengdao has drawn and obtained after the upgrade of the [Academy]. If needed, he can simply make another copy; it will only consume some paper and ink.

Huang Wu scratched his head, took the manual, and asked in surprise, "This is 'Puppet Technique'? 'Puppet Technique' has something to do with weapon crafting!?"

He had studied literacy classes for a long time in the sect, and although he couldn't compare to those who could write poetry and prose like Murong Ruyan and Ye Shuyun, he still recognized these characters.

In fact, he had been reluctant to learn paper puppetry before because he was not very literate and found reading too difficult.

People who have been literate since childhood can hardly imagine the "fear" of recognizing words in life that illiterate people experience. This is a rather painful thing for many people who are not very literate.

Zhang Chengdao nodded: "Yes, puppetry, forging, and so on are all related to weapon crafting. To be honest, they can all be classified as weapon crafting. However, these techniques are so complex that it is not easy to master even one of them, so they have been separated and made into a separate discipline."

Huang Wu nodded in sudden realization, his interest piqued instantly: "So that's how it is... Then I, this disciple, will definitely study it carefully!"

Huang Wu took the manual and the wooden bird, then turned and left. Zhang Chengdao, on the other hand, stood there, looking thoughtfully at the wooden bird whose wings Huang Wu was pulling, which was still restless.

If you can't create a secret realm by hand, how about creating a "scenic area" manually?

Just after the White Stone Mountain was lifted up by Xunmu, a huge pit appeared underneath. The bottom of the pit was empty, and the area was large enough to serve as a "base".

Building is easy to create, since my cheat code is related to infrastructure, so creating a "starter village" shouldn't be a problem.

Even important NPCs can be played by disciples, who can also monitor the movements and behaviors of the participants. Most other NPCs can be replaced by puppets, saving time and effort.

Although he couldn't make wooden or iron golems himself, he was very good at making paper golems!

It's just paper dolls! How difficult can it be!

Since the selection of disciples is based on their aptitude and character, not their martial prowess, there's no need to design any "plots" that require combat. Paper puppets should be sufficient.

In this way, a "trial beginner village" can be created for participants to have an "immersive experience", and the progress can be played in real time from all angles!

This wave of puppetry was truly a masterpiece!

(End of this chapter)