Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Hundred Arts Camp

The clamor of the Marketplace still echoed in his ears. Lu Zhao was about to enter his residence, his heart slightly eased by the acquisition of his materials, when something at his door suddenly made him tense.

A Talisman shimmering with a cyan glow, its edges as sharp as a blade, was embedded deep in the stone door. Its tail still trembled slightly, emitting a chilling Spiritual Qi.

Lu Zhao’s pupils contracted. He carefully plucked the Talisman free. It was warm to the touch, yet it radiated an unyielding, ice-cold intent—a summons from the Zhou Family.

He unfolded the Talisman. The Cinnabar Runes were written with forceful, elegant strokes:

"Honored Guest Elder Lu Zhao is ordered to report to the Artifact Repair Department of the ’Hundred Arts Camp,’ west of Changfeng County City, within three days. Delays will be met with severe punishment."

’A summons? The Hundred Arts Camp? The Artifact Repair Department?’

Lu Zhao’s brow furrowed. He had been with the Zhou Family for many years but had never heard of such a place. ’This "Hundred Arts Camp"... The name alone told him it was a place where the Zhou Family gathered its Cultivators skilled in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.’

「The next morning」

Lu Zhao was standing before a brand-new encampment west of Changfeng County City.

"Halt, you there!" a sharp shout came from the top of the wall. Two Late-stage Qi Cultivators with fierce auras stood with their hands on their swords, their sharp gazes sweeping down.

Lu Zhao took out the summons and infused it with Spiritual Power. A Red Flame Cloud Pattern Seal rose into the air.

"Lu Zhao? For the Artifact Repair Department?" The cultivator on the left verified the seal, his tone softening slightly. He waved a hand downward. "Open the side gate."

A small gate opened. A young, capable-looking cultivator in a short gray robe was already waiting inside. His eyes quickly swept over Lu Zhao’s Guest Minister Token and his travel-worn face.

"Mr. Lu? Follow me." He spoke quickly and turned to lead the way.

The camp’s interior was laid out in a strict, orderly grid. The paths were paved with slate, and the buildings on either side were all standardized stone houses with tightly shut doors. Occasionally, the CLANG of metal or the scent of herbs and talismans would drift out.

The air was thick with a sense of suppressed urgency.

"Steward Li," Lu Zhao said, quickening his pace to walk beside the guide. "I’m new here. I was wondering what this Hundred Arts Camp is... and what the Artifact Repair Department does?" His questions were direct, his gaze calm.

Steward Li didn’t break his stride. He glanced at Lu Zhao. "Don’t be anxious, Mr. Lu." He lowered his voice slightly. "It’s a long story."

He led Lu Zhao into a quieter alley before continuing, "The Hundred Arts Camp was established a month ago by the personal order of our Zhou Family’s Elder Ancestor, to prepare for the war against the Celestial Zhao Family!

"It was created specifically to gather every Cultivator of Hundred Arts from within the clan and among the Honored Guest Elders—all Cultivators of the four paths of Pills, Arrays, Talismans, and Artifacts have been brought here."

"To stake everything on one decisive battle, the Elder Ancestor has decided to go all-out in war preparations. This camp was established to supply the front lines! The Pill Department concocts medicine, the Talisman Department creates talismans, the Array Department sets up defenses, and the Artifact Department... naturally, it refines and repairs all kinds of Magical Artifacts!"

He paused, his gaze toward Lu Zhao growing more appraising. "Mr. Lu, your possession of an Entry Tier Puppetry Skill makes you a rare talent. Aside from a few Artifact Refining Masters, you are the only one in the camp who specializes in Puppets. That’s why you were assigned to the Artifact Department; it shows how much they value you."

His tone shifted, becoming a mix of reassurance and warning. "You can rest easy. Though wartime is dangerous, people like you with skills in the Hundred Arts are treasures to the camp. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, you will never be sent to the battlefield. You just need to stay here, refine your crafts in peace, and steadily produce what is needed. That in itself will be a Great Merit!"

Lu Zhao nodded. "I see. Thank you for the explanation, Steward Li."

Seeing Lu Zhao’s calm expression and lack of the expected resistance, Steward Li seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "I’ll take you to get registered and receive your Identity Token. As for the camp’s rules, the Director of Justice will announce them to everyone shortly."

「The next day, at 7:00 AM」

Lu Zhao pushed open his door. In the faint light of dawn, over a hundred people were already standing scattered across the huge training ground in the center of the barracks. The crowd was clearly divided into four distinct groups, separated by an invisible distance.

The "Camp Commander" Steward Li had mentioned had not yet appeared. Lu Zhao’s gaze, sharp as lightning, swept across the entire field.

The Pill Department had the fewest members, only about a dozen people. Most wore robes with the Zhou Family’s distinctive herbal patterns. Their auras were calm and reserved, faintly carrying the clean bitterness of medicinal herbs or the searing heat of pill flames. They formed their own small circle, conversing in low voices, their expressions holding the unique reserve and a trace of imperceptible arrogance common to clan cultivators.

The Array Department had a similar number of people as the Pill Department, also about a dozen. Their attire was varied; there were Zhou Family disciples as well as a few Honored Guest Elders whose auras were as deep and still as an abyss.

Most of them were silent, either resting with their eyes closed or tracing invisible lines in the air with their fingertips, their bodies faintly circulating obscure Spiritual Power fluctuations. Chen Moyang was among them. He was talking in a low voice with a stern-faced Zhou Family cultivator who also held an Array Disc, his brow slightly furrowed as if they were arguing about something.

The Artifact Department had slightly more people, around twenty or so. One group consisted of familiar faces from the Zhou Family’s Artifact Refining Hall. They wore red-bronze aprons, with knotted muscles and thick knuckles, and were surrounded by the faint, dry heat of metal and the aura of Spirit Fire.

The other group was made up of Honored Guest Elders with more varied auras. Some specialized in forging Swords, others were skilled in crafting protective gear, and there were a few with sinister auras and shifty eyes who were obviously dabblers in unorthodox and peculiar crafts. Lu Zhao’s gaze swept over them, but he didn’t see any other Puppet Masters. ’It seems I really am the only one of my kind in the Artifact Department.’

As for the Talisman Department... they made up almost half the total number! A dense crowd of more than fifty people was squeezed together. The majority were Lower Grade Talisman Masters, many with looks of confusion and nervousness about being in this new place. There were also a few Tier One Middle-Grade Talisman Masters with composed auras and methodical movements, who were subtly surrounded by the others.

Lu Zhao walked silently to the back of the Artifact Department’s group and stood there. His cyan-gray Honored Guest Elder robe was quite conspicuous among the Artifact Refiners’ red-bronze aprons, attracting a few curious or scrutinizing gazes.

About fifteen minutes later, the space on the high platform at the front of the training ground distorted slightly, and an old man in a black, cloud-patterned robe with an archaic face and an indeterminate age appeared out of thin air.

He didn’t deliberately release any pressure, but when his eyes, as deep as a Cold Pool, swept over the crowd, everyone unconsciously held their breath. The murmuring ceased instantly.

"I am Zhou Qixuan, and I have the honor of serving as the Camp Commander of the Hundred Arts Camp." His voice wasn’t loud, yet it reached everyone’s ears clearly, carrying the authority and unchallengeable will of one long accustomed to high station. "I will state the camp’s rules only once."

His gaze swept slowly across the field, pausing on Lu Zhao for a brief moment before moving on.

"First, your only duty here is to refine! Pills, Talismans, Arrays, Artifacts—each department will perform its function! The camp’s Warehouse will distribute the required Spiritual Materials according to a quota. You need only hand over the finished products, meeting the required quality and quantity."

"The Warehouse will calculate the market price, deduct the cost of materials, and eighty percent of the remaining profit will be your reward! The more you refine, the more you earn!" Zhou Qixuan’s voice was decisive.

As soon as he said this, a suppressed commotion rippled through the crowd below. This meant that as long as one’s skills were proficient and their efficiency was high enough, the Spirit Stones they could earn here might far exceed what they could make outside! The eyes of many Talisman Masters were already gleaming.

"Second, all refining work must be registered and recorded! The item refined, the method used, the materials consumed, and the grade and quantity of the final product must all be recorded in detail and reported to your Department Chief before 3:00 PM every day.

"Anyone caught concealing, hoarding, cutting corners, or passing off substandard goods... will have their Cultivation crippled, be expelled from the Zhou Family, and never be employed again!" Zhou Qixuan’s voice suddenly turned cold, like ice scraping against bone.

"Third, these are wartime regulations. The camp is under martial law. Without orders, you are not to leave the encampment. Without orders, you are not to pry into other departments. Without orders, you are not to engage in private duels! Violators will be treated as traitors and killed on sight!" Those last three words carried a grim, bloody aura that sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

"Fourth, wartime conscription orders are absolute. If the front lines are in peril and you are needed to assist in defense or to refine special military supplies, there will be no shirking or delaying! The penalty for violation is the same as the last!" Zhou Qixuan paused, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over the crowd, lingering particularly on Lu Zhao and the few others with special skills. "Is that understood?"

"We obey the Camp Commander’s orders!" the crowd below replied in unison. Their voices were ragged and uneven, but no one dared to object.

Zhou Qixuan gave a slight nod, and with a flicker, his figure vanished from the high platform. The formless pressure dissipated with him, and a wave of suppressed exhales washed over the training ground.

"PHEW..." A burly Artifact Refiner next to Lu Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered under his breath, "’Killed on sight’... what the hell, did we join a military barracks or something..."

Lu Zhao paid him no mind, his thoughts racing. ’The Zhou Family has spared no expense this time. They’re dead set on efficiently squeezing every last drop of value from us "Hundred Arts Cultivators."’

’For me, this system is both an opportunity and a shackle. An opportunity to legally obtain large quantities of materials to practice and improve my Puppetry; a shackle because I am now completely bound to the Zhou Family’s war chariot, for better or for worse.’

The registration began, and the lines for each department started to move slowly. Lu Zhao was shuffling forward with the Artifact Department’s group when a low, surprised exclamation came from the Array Department’s line. "Mr. Lu? Is that you?"

Lu Zhao looked toward the voice and saw Chen Moyang leaning out from the Array Department’s line. His face lit up with the pleasant surprise of meeting an old acquaintance in a strange place, and he walked over quickly.

"Mr. Chen?" Lu Zhao was also taken aback for a moment, then he clasped his fist. "We haven’t seen each other since Cyan Rattan Stream. Have you been well?"

Chen Moyang approached, a wry smile on his face. "I didn’t expect you to be assigned to the Artifact Department, Mr. Lu." His gaze swept over the Guest Minister Token at Lu Zhao’s waist, then to the Artifact Department’s line, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

In his mind, while Lu Zhao’s Puppetry was certainly unusual, it still seemed a step removed from true Artifact Refining.

Lu Zhao’s expression remained calm. He just gave a quiet "Mm" and didn’t explain his status as the "only Entry Tier Puppet Master."

They exchanged a look of tacit understanding, each seeing the gravity and helplessness in the other’s eyes regarding the vortex of war they had been pulled into.

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