The mining puppets worked tirelessly, carving out a concealed chamber adjacent to one of the larger underground currents. The space was expanded slowly, its structure reinforced with formations to prevent collapse while maintaining the illusion of natural terrain.

Han Yu personally inspected it.

Adjusted it.

Refined it.

Once the space was ready, he added additional layers.

Formation arrays.

Subtle.

Hidden.

Designed to slow the flow of water just enough to reduce impact without drawing attention. Alongside this, he constructed a net mechanism, anchored securely within the chamber. It was not visible at first glance, but once activated, it would catch anything carried by the current.

Including people.

Han Yu stood within that chamber one day, observing the finished structure.

The water flowed steadily nearby.

The formations pulsed faintly.

The net remained hidden.

It was ready.

Mostly.

There were still risks.

Many of them.

Core Condensation cultivators could survive immersion in water for extended periods. Holding their breath for several minutes, even up to an hour in some cases, was not an issue for them.

But not all slaves were at that level.

Some were weaker.

Qi Refining realm cultivators.

For them, the situation was far more dangerous.

Drowning was a real possibility.

Han Yu’s gaze darkened slightly.

He could not eliminate that risk entirely.

But he could reduce it.

He deployed additional aquatic puppets within the river network, assigning them a secondary function. In addition to mapping and clearing routes, they would now assist in retrieval. Their purpose was simple.

Locate.

Assist.

Pull the weaker individuals toward safety as quickly as possible.

It was not perfect.

But it was something.

Then there was the issue of impact.

The water would not carry them gently.

The currents would push them against walls, rocks, and narrow passages. Injuries were inevitable.

Broken bones.

Internal damage.

Even death.

Han Yu understood this clearly.

And yet he could not stop.

This was the only path.

Eight months passed.

Eight months of continuous preparation.

Refinement.

Adjustment.

During that time, Han Yu did not neglect his other responsibilities.

His work with the mining puppets progressed significantly. The prototype developed alongside Elder Jurhanzi improved steadily, its efficiency increasing with each iteration. Where once it had taken dozens of attempts to extract a single piece of Violet Spirit Quartz, now it succeeded once every ten attempts.

That alone was a major breakthrough.

Jurhanzi was pleased.

More than that.

He was invested.

The elder dedicated more time to the project, offering insights, refining designs, and pushing the development further. From the outside, Ju Fan appeared to be a rising figure within Puppet Peak, contributing meaningfully to one of its most important projects.

That perception only strengthened Han Yu’s position.

At the same time, his own cultivation advanced.

The Freezing Abyss Glacial Art stabilized completely, its earlier fluctuations gone. Through consistent training and guidance from the Kidney Peak Head, Han Yu pushed it further, reaching intermediate mastery.

The difference was significant.

His control over Ice Qi improved.

His techniques became more fluid.

More refined.

In sparring sessions, his performance rose noticeably.

To the point where...

He began to consider something new.

Facing a Nascent Soul realm opponent.

Not a peak expert.

But a weaker one.

The possibility was there.

His master seemed to think so as well.

The pressure increased.

The suggestion became more direct.

"Prepare for the Inner Court advancement test."

Han Yu understood what that meant.

A duel.

Against an Inner Court disciple.

He could not delay it indefinitely.

And that only added urgency to his situation.

The plan.

The escape.

Everything had to be completed soon.

Han Yu stood once more before his jade slip, the fully developed map now spread before him.

Routes.

Rivers.

Chambers.

Connections.

All of it was there.

Months of work.

All leading to this.

His gaze hardened slightly.

The time for preparation was nearing its end.

And soon...

He would have to act.

Two more months passed.

By this point, Han Yu’s preparations had moved beyond theory and construction into refinement and validation. Every aspect of the plan had been built, expanded, and reinforced over the past year, but now came the most critical phase. It was no longer enough for the system to exist. It had to work under real conditions, with real variables, and without failure.

Han Yu began testing.

Carefully at first.

Then with increasing confidence.

The method he chose was indirect, ensuring that no suspicion would fall upon him. He selected isolated, unexplored sections of the mine, places that had already shown signs of instability and were rarely monitored closely. These locations provided the perfect environment to simulate natural collapses.

Using his puppets, Han Yu triggered controlled cave-ins.

The collapses were not large enough to draw immediate alarm, but sufficient to create openings that led into the underground water channels. Into these openings, he sent modified puppets, allowing them to be carried by the current.

He did not interfere.

He observed.

Through the linked formation plates and tracking arrays embedded within the puppets, Han Yu followed their paths in detail. Every turn, every acceleration, every point of impact was recorded and analyzed.

The results were... varied.

Some puppets followed the expected routes, arriving at the interception chamber with minimal deviation. Others were diverted by unexpected currents, pushed into narrower channels, or delayed by uneven terrain beneath the water.

Han Yu did not consider these failures.

He considered them corrections.

Each deviation revealed something new. A flaw in the route. A weakness in the design. A variable that had not been accounted for.

And each time, he adjusted. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He modified certain channels, widening them where necessary. He reinforced others to guide the flow more predictably. In some cases, he created entirely new connections between rivers, using his aquatic puppets to carve paths through softer sediment.

Slowly, steadily, the system improved.

The paths became more reliable.

The flow became more consistent.

And the probability of reaching the interception chamber increased with each iteration.

At the same time, Han Yu expanded his own access routes.

He created multiple hidden tunnels that connected directly to the chamber. These tunnels were narrow, carefully concealed, and positioned in such a way that they avoided all known monitoring points.