Lei Dong followed the sound and saw a woman in palace attire, her face as cold as frost, appearing to be in her early twenties. Her eyebrows framed a truly beautiful face. However, her expression was exceedingly severe, projecting an aura that made her seem unapproachable. Yet, her cultivation level commanded great admiration: mid-stage Foundation Establishment, seemingly on the cusp of high-stage Foundation Establishment. If she truly was under thirty, she would certainly be considered a genius of the highest order. In truth, Lei Dong admitted that at her age, he certainly hadn't possessed such a cultivation base. She was nearly on par with Dongfang Fu and Tantai Bingyun—a rarity, even within the vastness of Daqian Continent.

“Sister?” The young master from the Li family shuddered at the sound of her voice, lowering his head like a mouse seeing a cat, and meekly replied, “Yes.” He hastened to depart quickly.

“Hold it,” the woman commanded with another icy tone, stopping him. She spoke coldly, “How many times have I told you to be humble? The world is vast, filled with countless capable individuals. With your mere strength, just having entered the Foundation Establishment stage, to be so arrogant and overbearing—you risk bringing disaster upon yourself and perhaps even implicating the family. Ten lashes of the whip will suffice for now, to be settled upon our return. Furthermore, if you fail to secure a spot among the core disciples in this Puppet Competition, upon return, you will receive one hundred lashes and shall reflect in the Cliff of Contemplation behind the mountain for ten years.”

The young master Li’s face turned utterly pale, but he dared not offer the slightest rebuttal to his elder sister, only managing a sullen and miserable, “Yes, Sister, I have noted it.” Yet, inwardly, he seethed with resentment, directing all his grievances toward Lei Dong and his group, privately vowing to thoroughly deal with these ‘country folk’ should he ever get the chance.

Only after he departed did the woman in palace attire offer a graceful curtsy to Lei Dong and the others, her voice carrying a forced warmth. “This humble one is Li Chuchu of the Li family. My younger brother was thoughtless just now, and his words were undeniably offensive. Chu Chu offers my apologies on his behalf; I implore Senior Gongsun to overlook his transgression.”

Old Man Gongsun hurriedly stepped forward, weakly gesturing as if to support her. “How could I, how could I? You must be the renowned Miss Chuchu of the mighty Li family. Though this old man has passed seventy, our cultivation levels are comparable; this Elder truly doesn’t deserve the title of Senior.” Regarding the Li family, Old Man Gongsun desperately wished not to offend them, especially Li Chuchu, whose reputation was immense; at only twenty-six or twenty-seven, her cultivation was already nearing high-stage Foundation Establishment. It was rumored she was one of the top contenders for the championship in this Puppet Competition. Such innate talent and cultivation were remarkable achievements anywhere in Daqian Continent. In contrast, her younger brother paled considerably.

After the pleasantries, the palace-clad Li Chuchu turned her attention to Lei Dong, her gaze sweeping over him, revealing a faint hint of appreciation. “Seeing is indeed believing. Brother Gongsun, you are even more exceptional than the rumors suggest. At your mere age of twenty-eight, to have already reached early-stage Foundation Establishment is truly rare. The only pity is being born into the relatively resource-scarce Gongsun family. Had you been born into any major lineage, your current achievements might even surpass Chu Chu’s by a margin. Please forgive my young brother’s rashness.” With that, she executed another graceful bow.

Lei Dong inwardly mused that this woman was formidable. Not only was her cultivation superb, but her talent was also outstanding, and her dealings with people were so practiced and smooth. Such a figure, he surmised, might not appear once in several centuries, even in the Li family. She must surely have been trained with the express goal of becoming a family successor, a central pillar.

However, Lei Dong had seen and killed plenty of geniuses in his life, so he felt little awe. Still, he felt it inappropriate to be arrogant toward You Li [referring to the persona Gongsun Dong]. He returned a salute with confident ease. “Miss Chuchu is too kind. My father has never been harsh with me regarding resources for cultivation. It is simply that my own aptitude is duller than Miss Chuchu’s. I also take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Chuchu in advance on winning the Puppet Competition championship and being accepted as a direct disciple by the Grand Elder.”

“Thank you for your good wishes, Brother Gongsun. I also wish for Brother Gongsun to shatter the monopoly of the great families and secure a place among the top ten core disciples.” Li Chuchu allowed herself a rare, faint smile. “Let me share a small piece of inside information with you, Brother Gongsun. It is said that the current supervising Grand Elder once came from a minor family, struggling through countless hardships to climb to his present status. Of course, the family he belongs to now is one of the ten major houses. But because he remembers the suffering endured due to his origins—he was nearly killed during a competition—now that he holds power, he is determined to change this negative trend. Thus, he dispatched ten flying vessels under the guise of recruiting preparatory core disciples, taking along some talented youths from humble backgrounds. It is likely that the rules for this Puppet Competition will lean somewhat in favor of those from impoverished families. If Brother Gongsun’s methods are indeed as rumored, you have a high probability of joining the core disciples.”

“Thank you for informing me, Miss Chuchu. I am deeply grateful.” Lei Dong stated with solemnity and offered another bow.

He privately reflected that Li Chuchu was indeed shrewd. Though young, her handling of social matters was extremely seasoned. Having recognized the potential in him, ‘Gongsun Dong,’ she was already making overtures to build an alliance. A small piece of intelligence was enough to foster gratitude and significantly improve goodwill—a very cost-effective transaction. It was just a pity that she was casting her appreciative gaze upon a blind man. Given the gulf in status between Lei Dong and her, there would likely be no further interaction between them.

After exchanging a few more formalities and casual remarks, Li Chuchu bowed and took her leave.

Lei Dong and the others were then led by the supervising disciples aboard the Wan Kui Sect’s flying vessel to their respective chambers. Given the vessel’s high speed, even accounting for acceleration and deceleration, the journey to the Wan Kui Sect would take only about an hour—barely enough time for a short rest. However, Lei Dong intended to seize every second to further study the Art of Puppetry. This wasn't for the upcoming competition, but rather to lay the groundwork for repairing his Divine Transformation Puppet.

For a cultivator, wasting no time was the foundation of success. Otherwise, even the most gifted would eventually fade into obscurity due to complacency, or perish somewhere unknown, merely a single step short of a breakthrough.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the smoothly gliding vessel shuddered gently, signaling arrival at their destination. Lei Dong concluded a short period of intense concentration, his expression showing slight satisfaction; this bout of contemplation had clearly brought new insights and progress.

Exiting the vessel, they were met with another reception. Lei Dong merely glanced around. Among the younger generation participating in the Puppet Competition, including himself, there were now twelve individuals who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Most were disciples from top-tier families, each sporting an air of seasoned maturity, deliberately cultivating an appearance of extraordinary bearing. They exchanged courteous greetings, pleasantries, and feigned camaraderie, but were likely calculating each other’s strengths, temperaments, and methods for defeat in their minds. This generation had a full twenty-four individuals qualified to contend for core disciple status. Since the rule had always been to select only ten, it meant more than half would be relegated to the ranks of inner disciples.

This outcome was something no one, including Lei Dong, was willing to accept. This showed that beneath the surface harmony and brotherly interactions, the tension was absolutely palpable. However, Lei Dong’s objective differed from the others. His aim in entering the core disciples was for the Art of the Divine Transformation Puppet. If he failed to secure a spot, Lei Dong might have to resort to riskier measures.

Naturally, as a rare disciple from a humble background, Lei Dong also drew considerable attention. Those cultivated by the collective strength of top families were never fools, nor were they guileless. Such individuals, regardless of their exceptional aptitude, could never survive the brutal competition within the most powerful families. Therefore, most who achieved this level possessed considerable skill and intelligence.

Lei Dong needed to blend in, avoiding undue notice and unforeseen trouble by acting too independently. Thus, he too adopted a countenance of spring-like geniality, interacting with others through a facade of humility and deference. As for those who were impatient—beginning to use private telepathic messages to threaten or bribe others after only a few words—Lei Dong largely ignored them. Were it not for that specific objective, given Lei Dong’s cultivation tier, why would he bother engaging in such tedious social maneuvering with these mere Foundation Establishment juniors? To speak plainly, he could likely swat away countless numbers of these Foundation Establishment cultivators with a single palm strike.

The rest arrived gradually. In less than half an hour, the twenty-four preparatory core disciples at the Foundation Establishment level were all present. Since the Puppet Competition was still half a year away, Lei Dong would need to stay at the Wan Kui Sect for this intervening period.

However, this year was different from previous ones: the twenty-four Foundation Establishment disciples were immediately settled into separate courtyards in the back mountains.

Moreover, the Wan Kui Sect made a highly unusual arrangement: a Nascent Soul initial-stage Elder would teach a puppetry course to these twenty-four disciples every fortnight. Furthermore, any preparatory disciple could apply for a batch of mid-to-high-grade materials suitable for Foundation Establishment puppets, to refine and replace their current puppet parts.

This measure provoked widespread complaints among the disciples from the great families. The reason was simple: their greatest advantage over the humble disciples lay in the superior materials used for their puppets, and the best materials were often priceless, unaffordable for smaller families like the Gongsun clan. Consequently, the disciples from humble backgrounds often suffered this disadvantage in the Puppet Competition.

Yet now, the Nascent Soul Elder’s puppetry courses were rapidly closing the knowledge gap in puppet refinement and control, while the provision of mid-to-high-grade materials significantly narrowed the disparity in the components they used. Clearly, this confirmed what Li Chuchu had hinted at: the rules were somewhat tilted toward the disciples from impoverished families.

This must be a maneuver orchestrated by the newly appointed Grand Elder.