Chapter 256: Chapter 219: 8 Years of Dormancy, Mortal Martial Artist, An Unconventional Puppet

No matter how he thought about it, he seemed to have hit a dead end. The existing twenty teams were the absolute limit. Any attempt to increase their number or alter their composition would either cross the bottom lines of the powerful families or result in pointless sacrifices.

But the efficiency... Lu Zhao recalled Zhao Xiaoshu’s words—that it had been "almost a year with no definite news"—and his heart stirred with frustration.

To clear his head, he left his abode and wandered aimlessly along the stone-paved roads inside the castle.

The Cultivators in the castle would all bow from a distance upon seeing him, their eyes filled with reverence.

This reverence stemmed not only from his status as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and his position as Commander, but also from the unfathomable depths of the methods he had displayed over the years.

But at this moment, Lu Zhao paid it no mind. He only felt a tinge of powerlessness. No matter how strong one was, it was all for naught if the target could not be found.

Before he knew it, he had wandered to a tall watchtower near the outer edge of Broken River Castle.

The view here was wide and open, allowing him to clearly look down upon the Cultivator settlement that depended on the castle for its survival. He could even see the silhouettes of mortal villages further in the distance.

His gaze swept casually over the area. In the settlement below, Cultivators were either hurrying along or trading at small stalls, haggling over a few Spirit Stones or several bottles of Pills.

The mortal villages, meanwhile, had more smoke rising from their kitchens. He could vaguely make out figures laboring in the fields or training on a crude drill ground.

Suddenly, Lu Zhao’s gaze locked onto a small, empty plot of land on the edge of a mortal village.

There, a dozen or so sturdy mortal men, wearing crude leather armor and wielding wooden clubs or rust-flecked iron blades, were practicing basic slashes and formations under the lead of a Martial Artist who appeared to be their captain.

Their movements were clumsy, and their strength was laughably weak in the eyes of a Cultivator. Sweat drenched their coarse linen clothes, yet their faces were set with an almost stubborn seriousness.

They were the lowest tier of Mortal Martial Artists. Here in the perilous Broken River Plains, their lives were as worthless as weeds; a single small-scale Demon Beast raid could wipe them all out.

And yet, at that very moment, as he watched the figures of those Mortal Martial Artists tumbling and shouting in the dust, striving to swing their crude weapons with some semblance of force, a long-dormant spark of inspiration suddenly flared to life in Lu Zhao’s mind!

’Martial Artists... Mortals... Fragile... Quantity...’ The words collided and combined rapidly in his mind.

An application for Puppets that he had long ignored—or perhaps, had never even seriously considered—suddenly split the fog in his mind like a bolt of lightning!

’Fragile... Quantity... Cost...’

Lu Zhao’s breathing suddenly grew ragged, and an irrepressible light flared in his eyes. He stared intently at the Mortal Martial Artists, as if he had just seen the key to breaking his current predicament!

’That’s it! That’s it! How did I not think of this sooner!’ He almost roared aloud, forcefully suppressing the excitement in his heart, but his fingers, hidden in his sleeves, had already turned white from how tightly he was clenching them.

’Refining powerful Combat Puppets requires High-Tier Materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and time! But what if I were to craft the most basic, most primitive Tier One Lower Grade Puppets, or even those Non-Tiered Puppets that don’t require Divine Sense and can be powered by Spiritual Sand alone?’

’Besides, the issue of Divine Sense is not entirely unsolvable. Mortals may not possess Divine Sense, but they do have Power of Spiritual Soul. I just need to have these mortals cultivate some visualization-based Martial Arts Techniques to strengthen their Spiritual Souls.’

’Then, if I simplify the Puppet’s design, they could be activated using just Spirit Stones, Spiritual Sand, and a basic exertion of Power of Spiritual Soul.’

’This type of Puppet wouldn’t need a sturdy shell to battle Demon Beasts to the death. It would only need basic offensive power, enough so that it wouldn’t be completely helpless against a Tier One Demon Beast.’

’Materials? Why would I need Middle and High Tier One Spiritual Materials? The most common Tier One Lower Grade Ironwood, or even Non-Tiered Spiritual Materials, would suffice!’

’Cost? A single Puppet like that might only cost a few, or perhaps a few dozen, Spiritual Sand! And they’re simple to craft. With my current skill in puppetry, coupled with the batch processing Technique from the Hundred Refinements Technique, I could absolutely mass-produce them!’

’Quantity! That’s the key!’ Lu Zhao’s heart pounded like a drum. ’Twenty teams led by Late-stage Qi Cultivators... their numbers are limited, and they move with caution and slowness.’

’But if I can craft hundreds, even thousands, of these Puppets and pair them with those Mortal Martial Artists, I could scatter them across the Wilderness in every direction, into every corner, like sowing seeds...’

’They wouldn’t need to kill Demon Beasts. They would only need to rely on their Puppets and numerical advantage to have the basic ability to protect themselves in the Wilderness. It wouldn’t even matter if the casualties were high.’

’I’ll just need to equip these mortal teams with Talismans that can automatically sense the auras of Demon Beasts. Once they detect aura fluctuations above a preset threshold, or discover specific large lairs or topographical features, they can return immediately. Then, I can send out the Cultivator teams. The efficiency will be exponentially higher!’

’Hundreds, even thousands of teams, spreading out all at once! The area of coverage will far exceed that of the twenty teams! The efficiency will increase exponentially!’

The idea spread through Lu Zhao’s mind like wildfire! The problem that had plagued him for years seemed, in this one moment, to have found an unprecedented, low-cost, high-coverage solution!

He spun around abruptly, no longer watching the Mortal Martial Artists still struggling in the dust, and strode purposefully toward his abode. His steps were resolute, filled with a long-lost power born of hope.

’Exploring the Wilderness... it’s all up to them now!’ A sharp light glinted in Lu Zhao’s eyes. ’As for materials, the one thing the castle’s Warehouse and those families have in spades is Tier One Lower Grade wood and Non-Tiered Spirit Iron!’

’What’s more, I can craft Non-Tiered and Tier One Lower Grade Puppets with my eyes closed!’

’The Sect sent me to the Broken River Plains to manage it... Fine. I will make this Broken River Plains into my own personal hunting ground for resources! And it all begins with these Mortal Martial Artists!’

The stone door to his abode boomed shut behind him, and Lu Zhao’s figure vanished into the deep shadows within.

This time, in seclusion, he would weave an unprecedented, colossal net for the Broken River Plains—and for his own path forward. A net comprised of countless ’mortals’.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.