Chapter 115: The Traitor!
Jiang Zhe paused, then said,
"Actually, I'm more curious about this so-called 'Puppet Master' legacy."
Over a decade ago, during that massive raid, the fabricated identity of a "Puppet Master" played a crucial role.
It triggered the greed of an immortal elder, causing him to let his guard down.
That allowed the Hunyuan Umbrella, the Bloodblade of Transformation, and Oriana to get close to him, seize control of the surrounding space-time, and immobilize him. Oriana then delivered a decisive strike, which set the tone for their ultimate victory.
The "Puppet Master" profession was nothing more than a whimsical idea that popped into Jiang Zhe's mind when he saw the figure carved on the front of a "Sanctuary/Hero Emblem."
"Heard you lost your clan's inheritance?
Heard you revere puppets?
Heard your race has strong spiritual power?"
"Perfect. I think you should get to know the 'Puppet Master' profession."
What?
There's no such path in the spiritual practitioner systems of the Original Universe?
Exactly. No one ever said it really existed. It was just made up to fool these ignorant locals.
Still, Jiang Zhe vaguely remembered that when Luo Feng was picking treasures from the Broken East River's treasure vault, there were indeed puppet-related embryo artifacts. It seemed the "Puppet Master" profession might have actually existed.
It was a wild gamble — and it just happened to pay off.
Oriana hesitated, then cautiously suggested:
"Master, if the 'Puppet Master' legacy really exists, wouldn't switching to that path be a bit... inappropriate for you?"
Jiang Zhe looked at her with a strange expression.
"Who said I'm switching? I'm only focusing on control techniques and marksmanship. I have no interest in fiddling with other stuff."
"Then why do you want the legacy?"
Jiang Zhe replied,
"If the Puppet Master legacy really exists... don't you think it's perfect for you?"
"For me? But Master, I don't have spiritual energy."
Jiang Zhe asked,
"Are the Mechanical Race considered puppet masters?"
Oriana thought briefly, then nodded.
Jiang Zhe continued:
"Ori, you have the Mechanical Pioneer talent. The strong of the Mechanical Race are your best model. If the Puppet Master legacy is real, we can study its puppet creation methods and try combining them with mechanical technology."
He added,
"Of course, that's assuming the legacy actually exists — and we can get it."
Oriana nodded, then suddenly reminded him,
"Master, your teacher sent a message asking you to visit."
"Perfect. Let's see if he'll share some insider information."
In the main hall of the Holy Spirit Cathedral, inside the Virtual Universe
Jiang Zhe and his mentor sat facing each other.
After not meeting for more than ten years, the Holy Spirit King first asked about Jiang Zhe's recent experiences, then began assessing his progress.
Upon learning that Jiang Zhe had mastered 108 time laws — and was close to comprehending the time-based portion of the fourth diagram on the Cosmic Chaos Tablet — the teacher couldn't help but marvel at his prodigious talent.
Then, the Holy Spirit King personally tutored him on the spatial half of the fourth diagram.
Two months later, the lesson ended. Even Jiang Zhe's silver-armored clone learned a great deal.
"Sigh... You're improving way too fast! I've only just reached the sixth diagram myself. Teaching you the fourth one already pushed me to my limit," the Holy Spirit King lamented.
"Then, Teacher, you'd better become a Universe Venerable soon — or your poor disciple will be left all alone."
"You sly one," the Holy Spirit King chuckled. "Once you fully comprehend the fourth diagram, you'll need to specialize. Have you decided which path to take?"
Jiang Zhe replied,
"Thunder and Time — the Path of Fusion."
"I figured as much," the Holy Spirit King smiled. "That's actually what I was going to suggest. Our race holds the top-tier Thunder-Time fusion path in the universe. Choosing this will give you a smoother road ahead."
Jiang Zhe understood. His teacher was referring to the legendary Beast God Thunder Slate. He just didn't know how many pieces his teacher's clan had managed to collect to be so confident.
"Also, your talent has already drawn the attention of the company's upper echelon. A great being is on their way back to human territory — they'll meet you soon and take you as a disciple. This was decided when you passed the sixth level of the Sky Bridge."
"So, even though I've taught you all I can, don't worry — you'll have a mentor."
"This great being specializes in illusion, but their mastery of time laws is superb. You'll be in excellent hands."
Jiang Zhe bowed respectfully.
With his rate of growth, it was only natural he needed new teachers frequently.
Just as the Holy Spirit King was about to dismiss him, she suddenly remembered something.
"You gained quite a bit in the Ancient God World, didn't you?"
Jiang Zhe blinked, then nodded.
"Yes, you knew?"
"I guessed it was you. Did your metallic lifeform evolve to the World Lord level? Still, with just her, you managed to kill an immortal?"
Jiang Zhe shrugged.
Teacher, once you see a World Lord with 100x life gene level and a unique lifeform, you'll understand it's not impossible.
He also made a mental note to grind more resources in the Ancient God World and push Oriana to the next stage, closing any remaining gaps.
The Holy Spirit King didn't press further.
"All the senior executives stationed outside the Ancient God World know about it. Since you ruined the Millennium Festival, and the company stopped receiving tribute from the Ancient Gods, they had to investigate."
Seeing Jiang Zhe's expression change, she reassured him:
"Don't worry. Only I guessed it was you — and I immediately ordered the information sealed and offered them a way to fix the situation. It won't leak."
Jiang Zhe frowned.
"What about the company's 'Millennium Tribute'?"
The Holy Spirit King explained:
"Every thousand years, 30% of the Ancient God Blood produced goes to the Virtual Universe Company."
Jiang Zhe asked,
"Do I have to hand it over?"
"Yes, but not for free."
She continued,
"When you leave the Ancient God World, a company steward will take you to meet Lord Anming. He'll buy 30% of your Ancient God Blood at 300 points per unit. The remaining 70% you can sell to the company at the normal rate of 500 points each."
"Yes, Teacher. I'll remember that."
"Good. You may go."
"Wait — Teacher, I have a question about the Ancient God Clan..."
Original Region, Manor No. 114
In his study, Jiang Zhe closed the thick book in his hand and tossed it onto the desk. He gazed out the window, deep in thought.
On the book's cover, written in universal script, were the words: "Puppet Master's Secret Teachings."
"Struck gold by accident? Interesting."
This was the legacy of the Ancient God Clan — but it was heavily incomplete, containing only methods for training spiritual force. It lacked crucial content on puppet control, creation, or coordinated tactics.
In fact, the legacy in the company's possession might be more complete than what the Ancient God Clan has.
Long ago, the Ancient Gods were once a major subrace of humanity, with the potential to establish a sixth great human path — becoming a sacred land for spiritual cultivators.
Unfortunately, their leader — a Universe Master — sided with the wrong factions.
He dabbled in puppet tech from the Mechanical Race and soul techniques from the Insect Race, eventually conspiring to break away from the human race and go independent.
That betrayal was worse than anything Emperor Yan did later.
As a result, the Ancient God Continent was utterly destroyed. Its landmass shattered, its immortals annihilated. The remaining population was rounded up — and confined to what is now the Ancient God World.
"The core legacy of the Puppet Master lineage was lost forever when that Universe Master died."
"Yet, something strange happened... The broken continent fragments of the Ancient God World slowly reassembled. The production of Ancient God Blood still functions perfectly…"
"To uncover the secrets hidden in the Ancient God World, one would have to destroy it piece by piece."
"A massive cost... for an uncertain reward."
"That's why the Virtual Universe Company stopped trying. Instead, they turned the world into a training ground. Every thousand years, they harvest its resources, leaving 70% for the locals, and pushing their World Lords and Domain Lords to probe deeper — while watching them from the shadows, waiting to reap the final reward."
After reviewing the history of the Ancient God World, Jiang Zhe exited the Virtual Universe.
"Ori, prepare to leave. We're heading to the Pilgrimage Road."
On the long and dull journey, Jiang Zhe studied the map Oriana had compiled.
The Pilgrimage Road — the red zone defined by the Virtual Universe Company — spans nearly 500 billion kilometers in diameter and 300 billion kilometers in depth, containing 10,081 special relic points. The land masses range from hundreds to tens of thousands of kilometers across.
A continent the size of Earth would be considered average in this area.
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