Outwardly all disciples remained respectful.

Perfectly respectful.

But inwardly…

'Why is he here again…'

'I just stood up… I have to kneel again…'

'My knees… my poor knees…'

'I haven't even finished my cultivation cycle…'

'I was eating… now I have to kneel mid-bite…'

'I want to poop...'

One disciple knelt so quickly that he almost dropped his bowl.

He caught it.

Barely.

Still kneeling.

Still greeting.

"Greetings, Legacy Disciple!"

Han Yu passed by.

Satisfied.

Behind him, the disciple slowly looked at his food.

Then sighed.

Cold now.

Another disciple whispered under his breath.

"…does he not cultivate?"

"…why is he always walking…"

"…does he enjoy this…"

The other replied quietly.

"…he definitely enjoys this…"

They both straightened immediately as Han Yu's gaze briefly passed over them.

"Greetings, Legacy Disciple!"

Han Yu continued walking.

Calm.

Collected.

Enjoying every second.

What they did not know… was that he was cultivating.

Constantly.

The waves of Eight Emotions energy generated by their reactions flowed into him continuously.

Respect.

Fear.

Frustration.

Confusion.

Even suppressed irritation.

All of it…

Was nourishment.

In six months alone, his Soul Qi had grown by another twenty percent.

Without effort.

Without risk.

Without tribulation.

The entire sect…

Was cultivating for him.

Han Yu looked ahead, his expression serene.

'This… is a very good life.' Han Yu thought.

His walk eventually led him away from the kneeling disciples and toward a place that felt far more natural to him than grand halls and ceremonial greetings.

The Puppet Peak.

The moment he crossed into its territory, the atmosphere shifted in a way that even he could feel immediately. The air here carried a different kind of energy. Instead of reverence and tension, there was focus. Intent. A constant hum of thought and creation. The sounds of carving tools, formation etching, and controlled bursts of Qi filled the surroundings.

Yet even here, where disciples were known to lose themselves completely in their work, something unusual happened.

They stopped.

One by one.

Heads lifted from intricate arrays. Hands paused mid-inscription. Even a disciple who had been half inside a dismantled puppet body slowly pulled himself out and stood upright.

Then, almost in unison, they greeted him.

"Greetings, Legacy Disciple Ju Fan!"

Unlike the forced stiffness he saw elsewhere, the greetings here carried something else.

Excitement.

Respect.

Genuine enthusiasm.

Han Yu nodded as he walked forward, his pace unhurried.

To the rest of the sect, Ju Fan was many things. A rising genius. A Legacy Disciple. The heir to the Second Kidney Peak. A favored individual under the Patriarch.

But here…

He was something more grounded.

He was one of them.

A puppet artisan.

And not just any artisan, but one who had helped solve a problem that had been troubling the sect for months.

A few disciples hurried forward, their eyes bright.

"Senior Brother Ju, we tested the new resonance stabilizer yesterday."

"It worked on three different samples!"

"Though the output still fluctuates slightly when the talc density increases…"

Han Yu listened, nodding thoughtfully as he responded with calm precision, his earlier leisurely demeanor replaced with focus.

"That is expected. Adjust the frequency modulation slightly lower before the third cycle. The variance should stabilize."

The disciples froze for a moment.

Then their expressions lit up.

"That makes sense!"

"We will test it immediately!"

They rushed off, nearly colliding with another group that had been waiting to speak with him.

Han Yu continued walking deeper into the peak, his surroundings filled with ongoing work. Puppets of various designs stood along the pathways, some complete, others half-assembled, their cores exposed, their arrays glowing faintly as disciples worked on them.

This place…

Felt alive.

In the past six months, Han Yu had not spent all his time counting wealth and reading apology letters, though he had done a considerable amount of that. He had also devoted a significant portion of his time to the matter of the mining puppets.

The disaster in the mines had left a deep mark on the sect.

Even now, large portions of the mine remained flooded. Efforts to drain the water and stabilize the structure were ongoing, but progress was slow. The damage had been extensive, and the risks remained high.

That incident had forced the sect to rethink its approach.

The cost of manpower, both in slaves and in disciples, had become too great. The potential for another collapse had made the elders cautious. After careful analysis, they had reached a conclusion.

Precision was needed.

Consistency was needed.

And most importantly, control was needed.

Puppets offered all of that.

Unlike human workers, they did not tire. They did not make careless mistakes. They could operate with exact parameters, following instructions with perfect consistency.

For the first time, the sect fully committed to the idea.

Resources were poured into the Puppet Peak.

Research was accelerated.

And Han Yu… Took full advantage of it.

With his companions safe and the immediate danger behind him, he had finally been able to dedicate himself completely to the work. His prior studies, combined with the knowledge gained from the mines, allowed him to push forward rapidly.

Elder Jurhanzi had been invaluable.

The two worked closely, often losing track of time as they refined designs, tested prototypes, and analyzed failures. Around them, other puppet artisans contributed, bringing their own expertise into the process.

The result was remarkable.

The mining puppet had reached a near-complete state.

It could now successfully extract Violet Spirit Quartz in seven out of ten attempts.

A seventy percent success rate.

Within the context of the mine's unpredictable geology, this was extraordinary.

The remaining failures were not due to flaws in the design, but due to natural variations in mineral composition. Certain sections of the mine contained irregular densities, unexpected layering, or unstable mineral formations that affected the resonance calculations.

Even then, the loss was acceptable.

In fact, when compared to human miners, it was superior.

Experienced cultivators rarely achieved a success rate above fifty percent in such conditions. Mistakes were common. Misjudgments happened.

The puppet…

Did not misjudge.

It simply adapted within its parameters.

And that alone made it invaluable.