Lei Dong, originally aiming to avoid exposure, used very common materials for the Foundation Establishment-level puppet he refined, with a total value not exceeding one million spirit stones—a sum the Gongsun family could barely afford. The quality of the materials was nowhere near what the scions of major families used. But with this opportunity laid out before him, Lei Dong naturally would not pass it up. He proactively applied for a batch of materials and entered seclusion to replace the puppet's components.

This was done partly so that Lei Dong wouldn't appear too unusual, as if having superior materials available but deliberately choosing inferior ones. It was also to increase his odds of winning. Some might say, what chance of failure could a Nascent Soul expert have when pitting his puppet against those of the Foundation Establishment stage? But the situation was not that simple; this was a contest of puppets, not direct combat. The outcome of the battles between both parties was entirely decided by their mechanical creations. Moreover, these young disciples were no simpletons; large families with long inheritances usually possessed unique expertise in the art of puppetry, and having interacted with it since childhood, their mastery was quite profound.

And Lei Dong could not refine a puppet that far exceeded his own Foundation Establishment cultivation level’s control capacity, nor could he secretly intervene with a nudge or two to aid the puppet. Likewise, he was forbidden from projecting his divine sense into the puppet to assist in the fight.

It must be known that this Puppet Competition was highly valued by the Myriad Puppet Sect, as its purpose was to select outstanding disciples to inherit and greatly expand the legacy of mechanical puppetry. Therefore, some Elders, Grand Elders, and distinguished guests from the sect would personally observe the matches. Though Lei Dong was self-assured, he knew that trying any tricks in front of these figures was akin to courting death.

Thus, Lei Dong had long made up his mind: he would rather lose the puppet duel than reveal his true whereabouts. Otherwise, in a high-stakes event like the Puppet Competition, even if he managed to escape with his life, he would surely suffer devastating losses. Having access to superior materials for replacement was, naturally, something he greatly desired.

However, Lei Dong, being a Nascent Soul cultivator, couldn't claim he possessed no advantages whatsoever when playing with these younger cultivators. After four or five years of dedicated, meticulous study, Lei Dong’s understanding of puppetry, aided by his exceptional memory and comprehension, had become quite formidable. Standing at a different height meant that the angles and perspectives from which he viewed matters were inherently different.

Furthermore, Lei Dong's True Yin Fire technique had reached a level rarely attained by ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet, throughout history, there had been instances where Foundation Establishment cultivators achieved mastery over True Yin Fire or True Yang Fire. Heaven and earth are vast; there are always rare, miraculous opportunities. Consequently, Lei Dong considered this technique his trump card. Firstly, puppets quenched using this fire possessed a tempering standard no less than those refined by Golden Core experts. Secondly, Lei Dong had cleverly integrated the True Yin Fire technique into the puppet's combat strategy.

He believed the vast majority of puppets would struggle to withstand incineration by flames of the True Yin Fire caliber. Of course, this only applied to puppets not tempered by exceptionally potent flames. Should he face puppets refined using True Yin Fire or True Yang Fire themselves, those creations would not fear the scorching of the True Yin Fire as much.

However, the probability of encountering such a puppet was extremely small. This was because the Puppet Competition mandated that every component of a puppet must be personally refined by the contestant, with specialized personnel available to verify any lingering aura for authentication. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, unless blessed with immense fortune or a great encounter, obtaining a flame of Golden Core caliber was unlikely.

In addition, to bolster his chances of an inevitable victory, Lei Dong had prepared several supplementary measures. Lei Dong was extremely confident that if these hidden techniques were deployed, securing the top spot among the Core Disciples was assured. The only caveat was that these methods were overly unique; although still techniques falling within the limits of his actual strength, they would attract too much attention and carried the risk of exposure. Lei Dong would not use them unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, the lectures on puppetry delivered by the Nascent Soul expert had opened his eyes considerably. Issues he had pondered fruitlessly in independent study suddenly became clear after hearing the elder's explanations, bringing a genuine feeling of sudden enlightenment. This gave Lei Dong a unique perspective. If the Nascent Soul initial stage elder lecturing on stage were to fight him directly, he would certainly be no match. But in the art of puppetry, the elder's research was undeniably deep.

To observe a small part and understand the whole—this suggested that the Myriad Puppet Sect’s attainments in puppetry were truly extraordinary. If not for being hampered by the scarcity of materials, which prevented the mass production of high-tier puppets, the strength of the Myriad Puppet Sect could easily be ten times what it was now.

Over the subsequent six months, apart from minor ripples, everything proceeded quite smoothly. Lei Dong gained a substantial benefit during this period; at the very least, his mastery of mechanical puppetry had advanced significantly. Lei Dong mused that if he could acquire the Divine Transformation level mechanical puppetry techniques, even if he couldn't personally refine a Divine Transformation puppet, simple repair work, after dedicated study, should not pose a major issue.

During this time, two more peak Qi Refining disciples managed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, joining the ranks of Core Disciple reserves. Naturally, these two joining so close to the competition meant they would likely only serve as filler, relegated to the Inner Sect disciple category, posing no real threat.

The Puppet Competition soon commenced amid a lively celebration. Nearly fifteen hundred young disciples from various families took the stage. The majority belonged to the mid-Qi Refining stage, some were high-Qi Refining, and only a very small fraction were at the Foundation Establishment stage. This was entirely normal; cultivating to the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of thirty required an indispensable combination of aptitude, comprehension, outstanding cultivation methods, and abundant resources.

Lei Dong and the other twenty-five Foundation Establishment cultivators, being seed contestants, bypassed the initial rounds of selection. The only thing required was a verification of their bone age to confirm they hadn't exceeded thirty years of age. Lei Dong, however, possessed special means to pass this stage effortlessly. As for identity investigation and confirmation, those procedures had already been thoroughly carried out after the family submitted the entry lists. Lei Dong's assumed identity was thoroughly prepared, leaving no significant loopholes. Furthermore, in the history of the Myriad Puppet Sect, there had been numerous instances where illegitimate children were secretly cultivated and later presented for competition; this was not considered overly unusual.

Because of their status as Foundation Establishment seed contestants, Lei Dong and the others secured a place within the massive Puppet Competition arena, allowing them to observe the matches freely.

All participating disciples were uniformly divided into twenty-six groups based on their cultivation levels, with each group having slightly under sixty members. First, the top ten from each of these twenty-six groups would be determined. These top ten from each group would become Inner Sect disciples of the Myriad Puppet Sect; those ranked eleventh to fortieth would become Outer Sect disciples, and all subsequent rankings would be directly eliminated.

In past competitions, generally, one needed to reach the high-Qi Refining stage to aspire to be an Inner Sect disciple, while Core Disciples were almost exclusively Foundation Establishment cultivators, with rare exceptions. For instance, a peak Qi Refining cultivator miraculously surging into the Core Disciple ranks—an ultimate dark horse.

As a contestant representing the "Gongsun family," Lei Dong naturally paid attention to Group Sixteen, where Gongsun Qing was placed. This group was not significantly different from the others, hosting thirteen cultivators at the high-Qi Refining level, including Gongsun Qing. From this, it was evident that Gongsun Qing had a substantial chance of becoming an Inner Sect disciple.

Indeed, before Lei Dong’s arrival, Old Man Gongsun’s hopes for Gongsun Qing were limited to squeezing into the Inner Sect, with a success rate estimated at less than ten percent. But because Lei Dong frequently provided her with elixirs, and Old Man Gongsun, having benefited from Lei Dong, vigorously sought cultivation pills and puppet materials for his biological granddaughter, Gongsun Qing had spent—though not extravagantly—well over a million spirit stones on her new pink puppet, a feat the Gongsun family could hardly have managed before Lei Dong arrived.

As soon as the drawing concluded, various battles quickly commenced. As Lei Dong had anticipated, the puppet matches involving Qi Refining cultivators were frankly dull enough to induce sleep. Especially after Gongsun Qing, appearing sixth, effortlessly defeated a mid-Qi Refining opponent, Lei Dong simply closed his eyes to conserve energy.

After seven or eight days of decisive battles, the twenty-six group winners were finally determined. As for Gongsun Qing, she secured seventh place in Group Sixteen—a mediocre but expected result that smoothly propelled her into the ranks of Inner Sect disciples. At this moment, Old Man Gongsun’s eyes streamed with tears. He himself had participated in the Puppet Competition in his youth but hadn't even earned the title of Outer Sect disciple. Now, his granddaughter had achieved distinction, securing the status of an Inner Sect disciple, bringing honor to his ancestors—truly honoring their lineage. As for Lei Dong, no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't truly represent the Gongsun family.

With the group winners decided, it was time for the seed contestants like Lei Dong to step onto the stage.

The twenty-six group winners drew lots, pitting them against the twenty-six seed contestants in duels. Lei Dong casually drew a contest against a rather capable young woman. When both stood on the field, the young woman summoned a puppet with a pleasing appearance and began posing coquettishly toward Lei Dong: "Brother Gongsun, this little sister admits she is no match for you, but I am unwilling to surrender so early. Please be lenient, Brother Gongsun." However, before Lei Dong could speak, her puppet moved like a whirlwind. Though only ten-odd zhang separated them, in mere moments, it lunged toward Lei Dong, its circular serrated blade whining as it swung toward him. Such a sneak-attack maneuver was truly shameless.

But Lei Dong remained completely unmoved. Although he had restricted his visible power to the early Foundation Establishment stage, his neural reactions were still at the Nascent Soul level.