Li Ziqian stared at the arm made entirely of black crystal, his expression conflicted. "Master, are you sure this arm can be used? Without bearings, gears, linkages, or a circuit system, how can it move?"
A'kui couldn't hold back his curiosity either, asking in a low voice, "Master, shouldn't you draw a design first, introduce us to your design philosophy, and then discuss it with our boss? Shouldn't you make a few prototypes for us to test? Frankly speaking, the thing you're holding now should be a sculpture, right? It doesn't even have an interface, how would you attach it to Boss's body?" He had lived half his life and never seen a sculpture come to life.
Qi Ze felt a gap of thousands or even tens of thousands of years between him and the people of the Black Eye Galaxy. How could he explain to them the difference between spirit tools and machines? After a moment of thought, he discarded the black crystal arm and took out a piece of ten-thousand-year-old catalpa wood from his Qiankun Bag, saying helplessly, "Anyway, I can't explain it clearly. You might as well see for yourselves. My way of manufacturing is completely different from yours, but I guarantee it's better than those machines."
Li Ziqian and A'kui exchanged a look, then both looked at the piece of wood in his hand.
Sculpting was one of the basic skills that Artificers learned first, and Qi Ze was already a master at it. He took out a sharp carving knife and sculpted a half-foot-tall wooden figure at an unimaginably fast speed, the shavings falling like snowflakes and emitting a unique fragrance.
Li Ziqian's focused gaze turned profound, as the wooden figure was an exact replica of him, wearing a coat, feet in military boots, and a hawk perched on his shoulder. Even though it hadn't been colored or eyes painted on yet, it already possessed the spirit of the original. That was him from back then, at his most spirited moment, full of ambition, and invincible.
He never expected the Master to have paid attention to his past self and captured his essence so accurately. A strange feeling welled up in Li Ziqian: a mixture of surprise and pleasure.
"Take a look, is this a sculpture?" Qi Ze shook the wooden figure.
Li Ziqian nodded. "Yes, it's a sculpture."
"Without my special processing, it's just a lifeless object." Qi Ze carved complex spirit inscriptions and formations on the surface of the wood sculpture as he spoke. In an instant, a dense pattern flashed with golden light and disappeared. He then opened a hidden compartment in the sculpture's abdomen and inserted a wood essence, continuing, "Now see if it's dead or alive, if it can move." He tapped the sculpture's forehead lightly, and the sculpture twisted its neck, lifted its legs, and walked around on the table. More miraculously, even the hawk perched on its shoulder flapped its wings and let out a long cry, as if it would fly to the sky at any moment.
"Boss, it's alive! It really came to life!" A'kui's voice trembled in shock. "It's just a piece of wood, why is it alive? No, I have to go to the hospital and get my eyes checked. I must be hallucinating!" He rubbed his eyes hard as he spoke, feeling as if his worldview had collapsed.
Li Ziqian, as the young master of the Li family, was more mentally resilient than A'kui. He stared at the wood sculpture for a long time before affirming, "Was it the characters carved later and that green crystal that brought it to life?"
"That's right. More accurately, it didn't come to life, it just gained a certain level of spirituality. To make it truly alive, you would have to attach a soul to it, that's what we call a spirit tool spirit." Qi Ze further explained, "I will use a special technique to forge limbs and a lower dantian for you. These are spirit tools. When you join them with your soul, you become the spirit tool spirit, and you can control these parts that don't belong to you at will. I can assure you, they are no different from your physical body, and even have stronger power. But the condition is that you must be able to control this power, rather than be devoured by it."
Li Ziqian thought for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. The limbs you make for me are not only attached to my body, but also connected to my soul, completely mine?"
"That's right, that's exactly it."
"This is good," Li Ziqian's lips slowly curved up as he emphasized, "This is the repair method I've always wanted, not to install a few parts for me, but to build me a new body, like a rebirth." He looked straight at the young man, his golden-brown cat eyes full of restrained excitement. "Master, thank you." Though a thousand words could only be summed up in thanks, there was no doubt that the Li family would be at the Master's disposal from now on.
"Gratitude can be less said, but payment can be made more promptly." Qi Ze took out the wood essence from the puppet's abdomen and placed it on the bookshelf.
"Master, can you give me this puppet?" Li Ziqian paused for a few seconds before quickly correcting himself. "No, can you sell it to me?"
"Can a trifle like this be sold? How many star coins are you offering?" Qi Ze's eyes lit up.
Li Ziqian wanted to laugh, but he held back. "What's your price? If it's painted, it should be a very lifelike work of art."
"How about this amount?" Qi Ze tentatively held up a palm.
"Alright, I'll transfer the money to you right away." Li Ziqian waved to A'kui, who finally snapped out of his shock and immediately sent over a sum of money. Tens of thousands of star coins for a puppet, if it was in the past, he would have thought Boss had gone crazy, but now, he didn't find it expensive at all. That was a living wooden puppet that could run and jump, and the hawk on its shoulder could fly. It didn't rely on electricity or remote control, but a magical force similar to elemental power!
Thinking about how he had questioned the Master's skills earlier, A'kui wished he could dig a hole and hide. Could components without bearings, gears, linkages, and circuit systems move? How could he ask such a stupid question? The Master must have been rolling his eyes inwardly. How could that low-end technology be compared to the Master's incredible techniques? The Master was a maker who had entered the realm of the divine.
What was the realm of the divine? Two words could summarize it - creation!
Seeing the Boss playing with the puppet again and again, A'kui couldn't help but feel a little excited. Tens of thousands of star coins, he could afford it. Could he also buy a wood carving from the Master? Not a person, but a Golden Peng! That was the god of the hawk tribe! As he encouraged himself, he was already brewing his arguments. However, Qi Ze's smartbrain rang, and a transfer message appeared in the backend.
"Do you have any other questions now? If you do, ask, I'll try to explain them clearly to you." Qi Ze's patience was directly proportional to how straightforward his clients were. Of course, if the client had a pretty face, he could also give a slight discount.
"No questions at all. Master, please repair me according to your own method, I'll fully cooperate." Li Ziqian had developed complete trust in Qi Ze. If there was anyone in this world who could restore him to his original state, besides Qi Ze, he couldn't think of anyone else.
"Alright," Qi Ze picked up the heavy black crystal arm again, fitting it to Li Ziqian's stump, and explained, "I'm just checking the effect. This arm really can't move, after all, it's just a prototype."
Li Ziqian, "...."
Meng Kui, "...."
In terms of persuasion, the Master was also god-level.
To make it easier to install the mechanical arm, Deng Feng had installed a bracket on Li Ziqian's shoulder. Qi Ze directly removed the bracket, revealing the wound that hadn't healed and was even continuously spewing out demonic aura. He gently rubbed it with his hand. The palm of his hand gathered the power of fusion, easily embedding the black crystal and the rotting flesh together. Because they were of the same origin, the fusion process was very fast. At first glance, it seemed as if the crystal and flesh had always been like this.
"The wound closed!" A'kui gasped. Due to the influence of radioactive elements, Boss's wound hadn't been able to heal. Almost every day, he had to endure the pain brought about by the decay of his flesh. The mechanical device covering the stump only increased this pain by several hundred times.
But now, these stubborn wounds had grown together with a piece of rock under the Master's gentle touch. This scene could only be described with the word "fantastic"! A'kui felt his worldview had shattered into pieces. While he rubbed his face hard, he asked in a trembling voice, "Boss, how do you feel? Is it painful?"
"No feeling." Li Ziqian's face was full of disbelief. "I can't feel my wound anymore!" After getting used to the soul-tearing pain, he suddenly couldn't feel the existence of the wound, which was a little hard for him to adjust to.
"Of course, you can't feel it now. Because this is just a muscle, I have to create meridians and bones for you. The combination of these three is a complete arm." Qi Ze thought for a moment and advised, "After the limb repair, the pain of the wound will disappear, but the pain of the demonic aura scouring the meridians will appear. That kind of pain is much worse than now, but it's only painful during advancement. As long as you can withstand it, you can enter a whole new realm."
He paused and continued, "If you can't hold out, you'll be blown to pieces by the surging demonic aura. So I'll give you a demon-absorbing stone. You have to wear it at all times to avoid leaving radiation contamination."
"I can hold out." Li Ziqian's smile was resolute. "Pain is not the same as pain. Desperate pain is unbearable even for a day; hopeful pain is not too long even for a lifetime. But Master has considered it very thoughtfully. To avoid any accidents, you'd better make me a few more demon-absorbing stones."
Qi Ze nodded in agreement. After thinking for a moment, he added, "I can give you one stone for free, but you'll have to pay extra for more."
"Of course." Li Ziqian smiled delightedly. Ever since he met the Master, he actually found greed to be a virtue.
"Master, can you sell me a wood carving? I don't want a puppet, I want a Golden Peng. Here are the pictures, I'll send them to you right away." A'kui cautiously probed.
"Sure, but there's no discount." Qi Ze took down the black crystal arm and placed it on the table.
"Why?" A'kui asked.
"Ugly people don't get discounts."
A'kui, "...."
Li Ziqian couldn't resist it anymore. He held his forehead with his remaining arm and burst out laughing. He realized he was completely mistaken. How could a Master like this be an old monster? Clearly, he was a capricious yet adorable teenager!
A'kui silently went to the corner of the wall, facing the cold-hearted Master and the even colder-hearted Boss with a weathered back.
"Having seen the material of the muscle, I'll show you the meridians and bones. This is the Hell Dragon Tendon, and this is the Ten-thousand-year-old Jade Marrow. The Hell Dragon is a fierce beast that only lives in places full of demonic aura, surviving by devouring demonic aura. It's very powerful. At its peak, its strength can rival 4S, 5S, and even 6S special individuals." Qi Ze took out three items and placed them on the table in turn.
Li Ziqian couldn't imagine what a 6S level was like, but as long as the Master didn't want to explain, he wouldn't ask.
"I'm using good materials for you, so your starting point is very high. If you can endure the pain of advancement, you can completely reach a level above 4S." Qi Ze buried the dragon tendon and ten-thousand-year-old jade marrow one by one into the black crystal arm, demonstrating to Young Master Li, "Look, this is a complete arm. Of course, to make it a part of your body, it still needs to be refined by me. In this process, I need a drop of your heart's blood."
"No problem." Li Ziqian nodded without hesitation.
"Alright, when the time comes, I'll help you draw heart's blood." Qi Ze fused the complete arm at the stump and asked, "Do you feel anything this time?"
"Yes," Li Ziqian's expression was surprised. "I feel the existence of the arm, but not very clearly." As he spoke, he tried to move his fingertips.
A'kui hurried over to check. His cheeks flushed with excitement. "Boss, it really can move! It's grown together with your body. Now it's good, you no longer have to worry about it breaking! "
"Although it won't break, it's not very flexible and doesn't contain powerful force." Qi Ze's tone was calm. "After I refine it, it will be ten thousand times better than now. I'll make you another unrefined black crystal arm. You can make do with it for now. Anyway, I have a lot of materials in my place, enough to make you several bodies. But I have to state in advance that I can't find back your metal-type ability. Instead, it will be a dark-type ability."
"Dark type?" Li Ziqian raised one eyebrow in delight. "That's also good. From now on, I'm truly Erebus."
"I don't want to criticize, but that name is really ridiculous." Qi Ze added one more jab.
Li Ziqian, "...Master, you've already criticized me."
This time, it was A'kui's turn to laugh out loud -
Leaving the house, Yan Junyu pondered and decided to pay a visit to the Fifth Prince's Mansion. Once upon a time, he and the Fifth Prince, Helian Yue, were also very good friends. Their similar strengths and shared values and worldviews brought them closer. But as they grew older, the Fifth Prince developed peculiar feelings for Mu Ran, and Mu Ran seemed to be particularly different from others toward him, leading to a growing distance between them until they became strangers.
He thought he would be turned away by the Fifth Prince, but unexpectedly, he was quickly led into the parlor. The Fifth Prince was coughing as he took medicine, his face flushed with an abnormal redness.
"Are you sick?" Yan Junyu's expression was solemn. For special individuals, getting sick was a rare event, especially since the Fifth Prince was a 3S-level special individual, which was even more peculiar.
"Just got back from Takstar. I was ambushed by space pirates on the way and sustained some internal injuries. This is the fever caused by unhealed internal injuries. It'll be fine in a couple of days." The Fifth Prince waved his hand indifferently.
"I didn't hear anything about you being ambushed."
"I didn't know about you breaking through to 4S either." The Fifth Prince waved his hand. "But it doesn't matter. Why did you come here today? I know you, if it's not a particularly significant matter, you wouldn't take the initiative to visit me."
"Mu Ran personally built a T3 for you, right?" Yan Junyu chose his words carefully. "My T3 malfunctioned, so I want you to pay attention as well. If it's not necessary, you might as well put it in the warehouse. The royal family won't be stingy about buying you a high-grade mech."
"But Mu Ran built it for me by hand, it means something different." The Fifth Prince sneered. "You know my feelings for him, so why say these words? What are you implying? That Mu Ran has ulterior motives and tampered with your mech? We both know how much he likes you, he wouldn't harm you!"
Yan Junyu felt he couldn't communicate with his friend at all. Why did everyone say Mu Ran liked him so much? But in reality? In reality, he buried a life-threatening divine sense in the control panel to spy on his every move and unhesitatingly took control of the mech in a critical moment, almost causing him to die in a foreign land.
Was this Mu Ran's love? If love was like this, he would rather not have it.
"I can clearly tell you that there is something wrong with Mu Ran, and there is more wrong with the mech he makes. You have to be on guard against him!" Yan Junyu said sternly. "Don't let your emotions blind your reason. If Mu Ran really tampered with the high-grade mechs, no one would find out. He has enough reasons now to send the empire to hell."
"How did you find out?" the Fifth Prince pressed.
"I have my channels, of course." Yan Junyu spoke word by word. "Consider my position and Mu Ran's position. Who is an ally and who is an enemy, isn't it clear enough?"
"What position do you have?" the Fifth Prince used the sharpest words to hurt his friend. "There's more than one imperial prince in the empire, your Yan family doesn't have to bet everything on me. Mu Ran is now alone, the most suitable talent to recruit. Almost all the princes have sent him an olive branch. Why can't I? You tell me to be wary of him on one hand, and then protect him under your wing on the other. What are you trying to do? Ah, right! Because the past Mu Ran was too noble, too excellent, your self-esteem wouldn't allow you to become his subordinate, so you pretended to be indifferent to lure him in. Now he has nothing left, you can do whatever you want to him, controlling him, isolating him, and humiliating him with a lowly carbon-based being. You want to break his pride and turn him into your puppet, Yan Junyu. Your intentions are too disgusting!"
"Have you had enough of your shit talking? Qi Ze is indeed a carbon-based being, but he's not lowly at all, nor is he a tool I use to humiliate Mu Ran." The Fifth Prince said so many malicious speculations, but only this sentence stabbed deep into Yan Junyu's heart, causing him indescribable pain. "My warning is delivered. If you want to jump into Mu Ran's trap, that's your own business."
He stopped at the door and said solemnly, "I want you to swear that you won't tell Mu Ran about our conversation just now."
"Don't worry, I won't tell him." The Fifth Prince said in a hoarse voice. "I won't let him know how the person he loves deeply is guarding against him. He has nothing left, I won't let him fall into a more miserable situation."
"Miserable?" Yan Junyu was amused in anger, shook his head, and left the Fifth Prince's Mansion in large strides. Before he reached the outer hall, he saw Mu Ran walk in with a toolbox, a smile on his face like a spring breeze.
"Why are you here?" He showed a surprised expression.
"I heard Junyu broke through to 4S. I came to ask him for some advice." The Fifth Prince provided a suitable cover in time.
"Why don't you two take the opportunity to have a proper chat since you're together?" Mu Ran put down the toolbox and poured tea for the two.
"No, my grandfather asked me to send a few scrap mechs to Qi Ze for practice. I have to get them back to school before dark." Yan Junyu put on his military cap, looked deeply at the Fifth Prince for a moment, and then left. Behind him, the Fifth Prince finally showed a happy expression, eagerly leading Mu Ran to the inner courtyard to chat. Mu Ran, however, stared fixedly at Yan Junyu's back until he disappeared.
Leaving the Fifth Prince's Mansion, Yan Junyu's handsome face gradually turned cold. He could face Mu Ran with the most natural attitude, but he couldn't ignore the disgust and vigilance in his heart. For three years, or even longer, Mu Ran had been controlling him. With just a thought, he could put him in a fatal situation. How terrifying was that?
Seeing Mu Ran's gentle smile, and then remembering the devious thoughts hidden under this smile, Yan Junyu could only shudder. Subconsciously, he pushed Qi Ze's half-smiling expression deep into his mind and filled every corner of his heart with the youth's figure, finally feeling relaxed -
After Qi Ze and Young Master Li discussed the repair plan, he rushed to the Li residence to inspect the superpowered mech. The Li family head, who had originally planned to thoroughly investigate the Master's background, almost popped his eyes out. He never expected that the god-level Master his son spoke of was a minor carbon-based being!
Li Ziqian feared he would say something wrong to anger the Master, so he could only lead him to the repair bay.
"Is this Tianzhu?" Qi Ze looked at the 15-meter-tall mech and shook his head in regret. "Blown up quite thoroughly."
"I don't even know how I survived back then." Li Ziqian laughed bitterly. The cockpit of Tianzhu was completely blown up, a charred black hole in its chest, and the energy room on its back had also been damaged and fallen off, lost to this day. The shell was full of dents and cracks, completely lacking its former glory. If he put it on Takstar, it might have been sold as scrap metal.
"You can't call this repair, this is called remelting!" Qi Ze waved his hand decisively. "More money, it has to be more money."
Li Ziqian coughed, secretly thinking as expected.
"As long as it can be repaired, the price is whatever you say." He knew what words could make the Master happy.
Qi Ze immediately smiled widely, and after a little thought, he had a rough number in mind. However, he didn't want to say it for now, to avoid scaring Young Master Li away. He walked around the mech twice and asked, "This superpowered mech is called Tianzhu, the other few are called Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, Yaoguang?"
"There's no Yaoguang." The names of the six superpowered mechs had long spread throughout the galaxy, but the Master knew nothing about them. He was indeed not a person from the Black Eye Galaxy. Li Ziqian was even more convinced of his guess.
"That's not right! How can there be no Yaoguang?" Qi Ze was greatly surprised.
"Why can't Yaoguang be missing? What's the connection between Yaoguang and the previous names?" Li Ziqian pressed.
Qi Ze then remembered that the empire's cultural heritage had been broken, and they might not know which stars the seven stars of the Big Dipper were. But it was apparent that the creator of the six superpowered mechs, Mu Feixing, did know. This also meant that he originally planned to make seven superpowered mechs but ultimately lost to time.