Chapter 3080: You

In the courtyard, after patiently answering all the puppeteers' questions, Xu Jie then led the people away.

He wasn't a puppeteer either; staying would be useless, and everything that needed to be said and explained had already been said.

Soon after, a Heavenly Palace expert also came to the courtyard and posted Xu Jie's prepared rewards in a conspicuous spot there.

The many puppeteers hurried over to look, and upon seeing it, everyone stood dumbfounded on the spot.

"No………………Is the reward not written wrong?"

"This is way too generous; I've never seen this much money in my whole life."

"There's also Young Master Ye's spiritual food reward, and dry rations as well."

"What's there to say? Give it your all—this opportunity might come only once in a lifetime for us."

The rewards Xu Jie offered are absolutely what ignited these puppeteers' hearts.

Ye Zhangqing's spiritual food and dry rations reward is undoubtedly the most attractive, though the requirements are also very strict.

Only the top ten who deliver the most and highest-quality puppets are eligible.

Besides that, the other rewards are also eye‑catching for all the puppeteers.

As for the various materials needed to craft the puppets, they are provided by the Heavenly Palace—needless to say. Although there are quantity limits, the three‑to‑one ratio is already quite lenient.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Palace doesn't take the qualified puppets for free; it buys them at a price 30% above market value.

This is undoubtedly a chance for these puppeteers to make a big profit.

With such generous rewards laid before them, the many puppeteers couldn't afford to slack off; they all hurried into the private chambers and began working around the clock.

The chambers for crafting puppets are one person per room; though small, they have everything needed—'though the sparrow is small, it possesses all five viscera'—all required supplies are present.

Moreover, a dedicated Heavenly Palace expert is stationed in the courtyard to attend to any needs directly.

The many puppeteers really work nonstop; they are all cultivators, and though none are top‑tier experts, enduring ten days or half a month is no problem.

As the saying goes, 'under great rewards there must be brave men'; these puppeteers are truly giving it their all right now.

Each one is bringing out everything they've learned in their lifetime.

Meanwhile, the other human experts of the Immortal City Beyond the Heavens, under the Heavenly Palace's leadership, are also making preparations in other areas.

For a moment, it seemed only Ye Zhangqing had become leisurely.

That day, after everyone had eaten and taken a brief rest, Yue Linxian casually said.

"The Barbarian God Tribe has already gone to war with those primordial races; reportedly their strength is not weak."

"Hmm, but their numbers are few; the Barbarian God Tribe can handle it—it's just a matter of how long it will take."

"The demon race should arrive at the Immortal City Beyond the Heavens in about ten days or so; when the time comes………………"

As he spoke, everyone's gaze turned to Xu Jie; seeing this, Xu Jie guessed their meaning without them having to speak, and nodded.

"Rest assured, in seven more days it will be enough."

"Then that's fine."

Those puppeteers have already been working nonstop in the chambers for eight days; another seven days will make it the half‑month deadline.

Then it will be time for them to submit their results.

Given Xu Jie's current grasp of the situation, the progress is quite good, so he is confident.

Everything that needed preparation has been more or less ready; from now on we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye; on the appointed day, Xu Jie early in the morning led people to the courtyard where the puppeteers lived.

The number had already reached several thousand, and this was still the result after strict selection.

Although the puppeteers are a niche group, the Immortal Realm's population base here is huge, totaling over a hundred thousand.

However, ordinary puppeteers are useless to Xu Jie; with their skills they'd struggle to make demon‑race puppets that meet the requirements, so there's no point wasting resources on them.

Therefore, the puppeteers who can gather here are the very top tier of puppet masters in the Immortal Realm.

The many puppeteers had obviously received the news early, brought their own puppets, and were waiting for Xu Jie's arrival.

Bringing people with him, upon seeing the puppeteers in the courtyard, Xu Jie smiled and said.

"You've all worked hard; let's begin now."

Today's task is mainly to inspect the puppets everyone has crafted over the past half‑month.

As long as they meet the requirements, the Heavenly Palace will pay to buy them, and the due rewards will not be lacking.

Xu Jie, Zhao Zhengping, and two Heavenly Palace Celestial Officials began inspecting these demon‑race puppets at the same time.

"Appearance is fine; move a bit and show your aura."

The main points are appearance first, then whether the movements are natural, and finally the aura.

It must be said, these puppeteers have clearly given it their all, with not a trace of laziness.

The submitted demon‑race puppets have a high pass rate—basically only one in ten fails.

Xu Jie is naturally pleased with this; the number exceeds his expectations by a bit.

He didn't actually expect these puppets to turn the tide of war; as long as they cause some chaos and create opportunities for the human race, that's enough.

Just as each puppeteer finished inspecting his own puppet, Xu Jie's side saw a puppeteer step forward and take out the puppet he had crafted.

A sturdy, tiger‑type demon beast with a mighty bearing appeared before everyone.

Xu Jie nodded in satisfaction at first glance; judging by appearance alone, this puppet is top‑notch among the top‑notch, with no discernible flaw.

But right after, Xu Jie felt something was off—why did this puppet look so familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before?

That's just absurd.

He quickly pulled out the illustrated book of primordial demons, flipped it open, and there was this tiger‑shaped demon beast.

It clearly records that this is one of the primordial demon ancestors, speculated to be a certain tiger‑type demon beast, provisionally called the Tiger Ancestor.

Huh???

After reading the record, Xu Jie was stunned; he then disbelievingly compared it in detail, and finally confirmed that this puppet was truly crafted according to that Tiger Ancestor.

So, this puppet master right here, damn it, he actually refined a puppet of a primordial demon race ancestor?

He raised his head, looking at this puppet master with a strange gaze; the man looked middle-aged, his appearance was quite ordinary, but in Xu Jie's view, this person really had some audacity.

I told you to refine a demon race puppet, not to copy their ancestor's version!

Ordinary demon race puppets mixed into beast herds during war pose no problem; amid such chaos, no one would pay much attention to them.

But the problem is, can an ancestor be the same?

With such a huge beast herd, tens to hundreds of thousands of demon race members, how many ancestors could there possibly be?

You can count them on your fingers; damn it, you refined a puppet of a demon race ancestor—how could that possibly blend in?

On the battlefield, two identical demon race ancestors appear—you're not just spouting nonsense, are you?

Unable to help it, Xu Jie clenched his teeth secretly and asked this middle-aged man.

"What were you thinking, refining such a thing?"

Even if this meets the requirement, how can I approve it for you?