Chapter 1407: Xingyun Puppe

"The first floor..." Luo Xuanqing turned to one of the managerial elders watching the commotion by the side and asked, "What will Zhang shi be challenging in the first floor?"

He knew that Zhang Xuan's strengths mainly lay in formations, beast taming, and spirit enchantment. As long as one of these three was the challenge for the first floor, the other party would be able to clear it with ease.

Turning his head, the managerial elder's eyes immediately twitched upon seeing Luo Xuanqing, and he hurriedly replied, "He's challenging celestial designer first!"

"Celestial designer... So, the one guarding the floor should be... Jiang Feifei?" Luo Xuanqing's face paled.

"The Inceptive Sage of the Celestial Designer Hall in the Sanctum of Sages is Jiang Feifei, so Zhang shi should be facing her," the managerial elder replied nervously.

"That's not good," Luo Xuanqing muttered anxiously.

A freshman like Zhang Xuan might not have heard of Jiang Feifei, but there was no one in the Inner Sanctum who did not know who she was.

In fact, the Soulbinding Golden Bead that he had intended to use against the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast back then had been forged by her.

As one of the top three Sage Clans, the geniuses of the Jiang Clan were in no way inferior to him, and Jiang Feifei's talent in the field of designing and creating artifacts was unmatched by any of her peers. The elders of the Sanctum of Sages' Celestial Designer Hall were full of praise for her, and they believed that there was a good chance that she could become a 9-star celestial designer in the next few decades!

Even though it might seem as if it would not make much of a difference, the sequencing of opponents in the Tower of Master Teachers mattered hugely. The challenger should always start with the easiest supporting occupation in order to boost their confidence before slowly moving on to the harder ones.

But with Jiang Feifei on the very first floor... it could be said that Zhang Xuan was facing hell mode right from the very start. There was no hope of victory at all!

It was doubtful whether his younger sister would be able to clear Jiang Feifei's trial or not, let alone Zhang Xuan!

And to face such an opponent on the very first floor was not confidence—it was blind recklessness!

In the midst of Luo Xuanqing's anxiety, he heard someone say, "Jiang Feifei has always been very strict on herself and those around her; she would never go easy on anyone. It seems like that fellow is going to be defeated right from the get-go."

Turning his head over, he saw an elder standing right next to Zhan shi, stroking his beard leisurely as he looked at the Tower of Master Teachers.

He was the managerial elder of the Celestial Designer Hall!

Clearly, he did not think that Zhang Xuan stood much of a match against Jiang Feifei.

Hearing those words, Luo Xuanqing's gaze slowly turned grim as he clenched his fists tightly. He could not help but sigh deeply as he thought, I don't know why that fellow is so eager to become an 8-star master teacher, but admittedly, he does possess both capability and wits. It's just a pity that my younger sister has an engagement with the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan, or else he would have been a good choice as well. It's truly a pity.

...

Entering the first floor of the Tower of Master Teachers, Zhang Xuan swiftly scanned his surroundings, and soon, he caught sight a young lady seated by the corner with a peculiar-looking artifact in her hands.

Her eyes were completely focused on the artifact, and with a small knife in her other hand, she seemed to be carving the artifact. The movements of her hands were so fluid that it almost felt like she was painting a beautiful picture.

Without raising her head, the young lady quietly said, "Wait there for a moment. I'll assess you after I'm done carving this."

"Very well." Zhang Xuan nodded as he waited patiently on the spot.

Even though the young lady had not looked up, it was not too hard to tell that she was likely a stunning beauty just by looking at her profile.

More importantly, she was actually a Saint 7-dan pinnacle expert, just like Zhang Chun!

Despite that, she still sat unreservedly on the ground, completely absorbed into her carving. Even Zhang Xuan was slightly impressed by the sheer intensity of her focus.

He lowered his head to take look at the object which she was carving, and while it was still too early to tell for sure, it seemed to be a small part of a celestial designer artifact.

The artifacts created by celestial designers were known for their exquisiteness. Every stroke of the knife from the young lady would cause a thin slice of metal to fall to the ground, and in just a few breaths, it had already formed a uniquely-shaped spare part. It connected perfectly with a larger artifact that she had before her, such that even the crevice between the two artifacts could not even be seen.

"What exquisite carving skills!" Zhang Xuan remarked in amazement.

Even though he did not have much experience with the work of a celestial designer, through the description of the books, he could tell that the carving skills of the young lady before him were top-notch, even among 8-star celestial designers!

To possess such skills at her age, it seemed like her title as the Inceptive Sage of the Celestial Designer Hall was not for show.

"I'm done!" After fixing the various spare parts together, the young lady heaved a sigh of relief before placing the item by the side. Following which, she stood up and said, "For the trial of the Tower of Master Teachers, you don't have to best me. All you need to do is display capability worthy of my recognition!"

This was not a celestial designer examination but a master teacher trial. As such, the requirement was not so demanding as to require the challenger to display skills surpassing that of the Inceptive Sage.

"However, I have very high expectations, so know that it won't be that easy to win my recognition!"

"Of course," Zhang Xuan replied with a smile. "There's no way it could be easy to win the recognition of someone who is capable of carving impeccably without drafting a blueprint beforehand."

Usually, celestial designers would first draft a blueprint before carving the various parts of their artifact so that they would have a rough idea of the dimensions. However, the young lady was actually able to carve a spare part impeccably without any hesitation in her movement or referring to any blueprints.

Putting aside the young lady's mastery as a celestial designer, just this feat in itself was sufficient to tell that she was a highly demanding person, possibly even a perfectionist.

So, how could it possibly be easy to clear the trial of a person like that?

"It's good that you understand that. As you can see, I'm a very busy person, and I still have a lot of things to do, so let's not waste any more time. I have a pile of materials over here, and we will both carve a puppet based on this blueprint I have over here. As long as the puppet you have created is able to withstand three hits from mine, it will be your victory."

As the young lady spoke, she flicked her hand, and a pile of materials, carving knives, and a blueprint materialized on the ground.

The blueprint was filled with many intricate details and words. Without scanning it with one's Spiritual Perception, it would be impossible to interpret the microscopic words and details on the blueprint.

Putting aside the drawings of the spare parts and their joints, just the sheer number of words on the blueprint totaled over several ten thousand!

How complex... Zhang Xuan frowned.

He had seen plenty of grade-8 blueprints, but this was the first time that he had seen one that was this intricate.

"This is the blueprint of the Xingyun Puppet," the young lady said with a nod. "It's a grade-8 puppet, wielding strength comparable to a Grand Dominion realm master teacher.

"The foundation of its design lies in the stellar sky. Every single one of its parts represents a star in the sky, and since there are countless stars in the sky, the number of parts it includes is innumerable as well. As such, even with the blueprint to refer to, it harnesses countless possibilities. The slightest difference in the carving of the part could result in a vast disparity in its final fighting prowess!"

At which point, the young lady lowered her head to glance at the blueprint before continuing on. "I should take roughly a day to finish carving this puppet. I'll give you three days after I'm done, and if you still haven't finished it by then, you will have failed my test.

"You should also know that time is one of the primary assessment criteria of a celestial designer's mastery, so three days is already the longest I can offer you."

After the young lady was done with her explanation, she grabbed one of the materials on the ground and raised her head, preparing to begin her crafting. However, the next moment, she suddenly froze on the spot.

Unbeknownst to her, the young man before her had conjured over a hundred swords at some point in time, and every single one of them was busy carving a material with its sword qi. In less than two breaths, a large heap of parts of varying sizes had piled up before the young man.

Then, the young man waved his hand.

Huala!

The freshly carved parts swiftly came together to form a puppet.

"Alright, I'm done!" Zhang Xuan said with a clap of his hand before raising his head to look at Jiang Feifei.