Chen Ping calmed his mind, his gaze locked on the skeleton of the wooden bird.

“Flight and reconnaissance are its core functions,” he muttered. “Attack capabilities? Useless. How much damage could a Wind Blade from a Low-grade puppet truly inflict? As for pecking attacks… completely negligible. And balance? As long as it flies, who cares if it’s a little slow?”

A sudden realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

He made his decision: he would inscribe only two types of marks.

First, the Torso Core: The “Spirit Gathering Mark” combined with the “Soul Control Mark.” These were the energy source and the control hub. Absolutely essential.

Second, the Main Wing Bones: The “Flowing Wind Mark.” This would drastically reduce weight while providing basic buoyancy and speed.

As for the “Wind Blade Mark”?

Discarded.

Combat was not this bird’s mission.

The “Sharp Metal Mark” for the beak? The “Stability Mark” for the legs?

He tossed them all out.

The goal was simple: make it fly and obey commands. That was enough.

With this shift in perspective, the path ahead became crystal clear. Chen Ping felt as if a massive boulder crushing his chest had finally been heaved away.

He picked up the final set of components, took a deep breath, and mentally discarded the complex diagrams from the Puppetry Primer. He focused his entire being on carving the simplified trio of core inscriptions.

This time, his mind was a void, free of distraction.

Qi flowed steadily to the tip of his carving knife. The grooves appeared with uniform depth, the lines smooth and rounded.

He carved the “Spirit Gathering Mark” and “Soul Control Mark” into the torso core in a single, fluid motion. There was not even a whisper of Qi turbulence.

Next, the wings. Inscribing the relatively simple “Flowing Wind Mark” on the main wing bones was effortless.

Less than an hour later, the inscriptions were complete.

The wooden bird skeleton stood quietly on the table. A faint spiritual light flowed through the carved grooves, the energy connecting seamlessly. The stagnation and conflict of Qi that had plagued his previous attempts were gone.

Final step: embed the Beast Soul Stone and imprint the Divine Sense.

Chen Ping picked up a Beast Soul Stone and carefully pressed it into the slot reserved in the torso core.

Click.

The moment it seated, the inscriptions flared. A soft, white glow surged along the grooves, washing over the entire frame. The wooden skeleton seemed to shudder, infused with sudden vitality, before the light withdrew inward, returning to a dormant calm.

Chen Ping knew this was the critical moment.

He concentrated, separating a fine thread of his Divine Sense. His hands moved in a blur, forming Hand Seals to trace a mysterious silver rune in the air.

This was the Divine Sense Restriction recorded in the Puppetry Primer—the key to establishing a master-servant link.

He pointed a finger.

The silver rune transformed into a stream of light, shooting precisely into the “Soul Control Mark” at the bird’s core.

Hummmm…

A low vibration resonated from the chassis. The embedded Beast Soul Stone released a gentle radiance that raced along the inscribed pathways, illuminating the puppet’s nervous system.

The lifeless wooden frame seemed pulled by invisible strings. Soft clicks echoed from its joints as they aligned.

Under Chen Ping’s intense gaze, the wooden wings—etched with the “Flowing Wind Mark”—twitched. It was a tentative, slight movement, like the first breath of someone waking from a coma.

Then, the spiritual light on the wings stabilized.

Flap… Flap…

The wings began to beat rhythmically.

At first, the movement was stiff and uncoordinated, like a toddler learning to walk. But seconds later, the frequency smoothed out.

A faint but distinct airflow began to swirl within the cramped hut, stirring the wood shavings scattered on the floor.

Supported by the steady lift, the bird—made of heavy ironwood and crafted with crude, simple geometry—wobbled.

Bit by bit, it left the table.

It was flying.

It hovered only a foot in the air. It tilted crookedly to the left. Its speed was so slow it looked like it was merely drifting.

But it had broken the shackles of gravity. It was suspended by its own power.

Chen Ping’s heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to burst out of his throat.

“Forward.”

The hovering bird paused, processing the command.

Clumsily, it adjusted its orientation. The wings beat with slightly more force, and it began to move. Slow, determined.

One foot. Two feet…

It sailed steadily forward.

Success!

No explosions. No loss of control. No pile of splintered wood.

It was a functionally simplified, completely handcrafted Tier 1 Low-grade flying puppet. The Wood Wind Falcon was born.

Watching the wooden contraption stumble through the air, looking clumsy and comical, Chen Ping let out a laugh. It was a silly, giddy sound.

Puppetry was infinitely harder than Alchemy.

He didn’t know if his talent for the craft was just poor, or if the profession itself was simply more demanding. Regardless, it had been a brutal grind.

And this was just a simplified prototype.

If he had attempted the full version—with its dense web of inscriptions requiring perfect synchronization—he would have gone mad. Just thinking about the complexity made his scalp tingle.

Forget it.

Whatever the flaws, he, Chen Ping, had finally crafted his first puppet beast.

This was a day worth remembering.

A smile broke across his face—the first genuine, burden-free smile he had worn in months. The mountains of Waste Residue, the endless failures, the sleepless nights of frustration… they all evaporated.

Only the pure, intoxicating rush of accomplishment remained.

He held out his hand.

The Wood Wind Falcon obediently lowered its altitude, wobbling as it descended to land on his palm. The rough texture of the wood felt incredibly grounding.

“The next step,” he whispered, his eyes gleaming with a calculating light, “is to refine new capabilities. To give this bird teeth.”

Technically, this simplified model probably didn’t even qualify as a true Tier 1 Low-grade puppet beast. It lacked combat ability.

Or perhaps it did? Who defined the standards?

The path of Puppetry was vast and deep.

But looking at the bird, Chen Ping felt his skepticism toward the Puppetry Primer solidify.

Why does a Tier 1 Low-grade blueprint require so many conflicting inscriptions?

It felt… wrong.

A primer should teach the basics, not demand perfection from the start.

His success today proved his theory: the book’s approach was flawed. It was too complex for a beginner, cluttered with unnecessary features that spiked the difficulty curve.

Simplifying the core functions was the correct path.

However, he also realized the Puppetry Primer was too low-level in another way. It lacked a systematic progression. The inscription combinations were inefficient, and the tolerance for error was nonexistent.

If he wanted to truly master this art, he couldn’t rely on this book forever.

“Yellow-grade Low-rank isn’t enough,” Chen Ping murmured, his fist clenching around the small wooden bird. “I need a real legacy. I need better secret arts.”

A new ambition took root in his heart, cold and solid. He would master this, but he would do it his way.