After taking the jade slip, Yang Kai immersed his consciousness inside to examine it, and discovered that it indeed contained the method for refining humanoid puppets that Master Troublesome had just explained. However, compared to his verbal explanation, the information in the jade slip was far more detailed and comprehensive.
It was like a pill recipe—what issues to watch out for during the refining process, when to use which materials, what problems might arise, and how to resolve them. Everything was laid out in the jade slip.
With such a jade slip, even figuring things out on one's own, refining a humanoid puppet would be no great difficulty—let alone the fact that Master Troublesome had personally explained the process as well.
While Master Troublesome was explaining the method for refining these humanoid puppets, Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators kept arriving from various directions, each handing a space ring to Xiang Shan before departing again.
One after another, all the Eighth-Order Town Masters had made the trip, and by then Xiang Shan had received several dozen space rings.
He handed these space rings to Li Xing and gave some instructions. Li Xing nodded slightly and walked straight toward a group of Artifact Refiners, saying aloud: "Please come to me one by one to collect the materials needed for refining the puppets."
The many Artifact Refiners heard this and quickly gathered toward Li Xing, soon surrounding him in a crowd.
Yang Kai did not go over. Instead, he walked toward Master Troublesome and asked: "Master, earlier when the Town Masters sent out the orders, they were collecting some materials—is it for refining these puppets?"
Master Troublesome nodded. "That's right."
Yang Kai was puzzled. "What's the purpose of mass-producing these things?"
Master Troublesome replied: "I'm not entirely clear on the specific purpose. I was only commissioned by Legion Commander Xiang Shan to teach the refining method. As for what he plans to do with these puppets—that's his own consideration. However, this refining method was something I stumbled upon and comprehended on a whim in my early years. It's lifelike enough, but not particularly useful for any real purpose. So I'd guess that these things, once produced, are at most suitable for creating a misleading front."
Yang Kai looked contemplative.
On the other side, while the Artifact Refiners were collecting their materials, Xiang Shan addressed them: "Once each of you has received your materials, return and refine diligently. Produce as many as you can."
The crowd roared their assent.
Yang Kai estimated that the reason he'd been summoned here was also because of his expertise in Artifact Refining. Now that he knew the situation, there was no need to stay any longer.
The other Artifact Refiners still had to wait in line to collect materials, but he didn't need to.
He said a few words to Master Troublesome, then turned and headed back toward Dawnbreak.
Once aboard Dawnbreak, Yang Kai began refining the humanoid puppet on the deck. At first, a few members of Dawn came over to watch out of curiosity, but before long they lost interest and went about their own business.
Three days later, the army set out again, continuing toward the Dayan theater. Their marching speed was moderate—neither fast nor slow.
Several more days passed, and Yang Kai's refining was nearing completion.
The fabrication of these humanoid puppets was not difficult. Anyone with at least a Master-level grasp of Artifact Refining could produce them with ease, let alone Yang Kai, who had already reached the Grandmaster level.
All the components had been refined to completion, and assembling them was naturally no challenge.
In a total of seven or eight days, a single puppet was finished.
On the deck, a group of Dawn members gathered around to watch with curiosity. Puppets were nothing unfamiliar to them—they had all encountered similar things at various points in their growth. Humanoid puppets were not exactly rare.
Judging by appearance alone, the humanoid puppet Yang Kai had refined was nothing special—it could even be called somewhat ugly, a mere human-shaped shell. Anyone with eyes could tell at a glance that this thing was not a living being.
Yang Kai was performing a final check, ensuring there were no oversights in his work.
Shen Ao stroked his chin and said: "Tell me, what do you think the higher-ups want these things for?"
Qi Taichu considered for a moment. "Perhaps to bolster the fighting strength of the Dayan Army? Come to think of it, when these things are activated, how strong can they actually be?"
Feng Ying shook her head. "I doubt they're meant to enhance the Dayan Army's strength. The art of puppetry is deep and profound. Even after refining a puppet, one must cultivate a special puppet-controlling method to fully unleash its capabilities. There are a few experts in puppet arts at Biluo Pass—these things might be of some use in their hands. But mass-producing them like this is clearly not intended for them, and besides, they didn't come along on this trip."
"If they're not to boost our strength, surely they're not just for decoration?" Ning Qizhi laughed. "Do the higher-ups expect to scare off the Ink Clan with these puppets?"
"I don't know whether they'll scare off the Ink Clan, but they might really just be for show." Yang Kai, still busy at work, interjected a remark.
Feng Ying asked: "Captain, do you have some thoughts on this?"