Chapter 73
Baek-Cheong slightly shifted the direction of the connected Divine Sense to the right.
Then the golem stepped forward with its right foot without a single creak.
When she shifted the direction to the left, the left foot moved in tandem.
Pulling the Divine Sense upward made it raise its head stiffly, and pressing it down firmly made it bow its waist in a polite greeting.
“Wow, how does it move like this?”
Admiration continuously welled up within Baek-Cheong.
Yuk-Muk had humbly called it a Plaything Puppet, but the complex principles of the Puppetry Art were fully compressed and contained within the small Girl Puppet.
It was an organic structure where even a beginner could directly control the spirit threads through Divine Sense, and the tension of the spirit threads would pull the joints to create physical movement.
As she controlled it this way and that, Baek-Cheong immediately noticed the limitation that all the doll’s joints were tied together and moved by a single strand of Divine Sense.
‘Wouldn’t it be able to move much more delicately if I just divided my Divine Sense and connected it to each joint separately?’
Baek-Cheong withdrew the Divine Sense connected to the Forehead Gem.
The Forehead Gem was ultimately nothing more than an auxiliary device for a Beginner.
This time, she thinly split her Divine Sense into two strands and connected them to the joints of the golem’s respective arms.
The two arms that had been moving together as one just a moment ago now operated separately, showing completely different movements on the left and right.
While she was at it, she haphazardly divided her Divine Sense into three strands, then five strands.
The more she increased the Strands of Divine Sense to subdivide control over the joints, the more the golem’s movements broke free from their stiff limitations, becoming noticeably precise and elegant.
Each and every limb of the Wooden Golem moved smoothly following the control of her Divine Sense.
Before long, it displayed incredibly natural and dynamic movements, as if it were alive.
“Is the golem a god?”
Before she knew it, her Divine Sense was touching every single joint permitted by the Plaything Puppet without exception.
On her palm, the small Girl Puppet tilted its head alluringly, reached out its arms smoothly to dance like a dancer, and took light, nimble steps; these diverse movements created the illusion of watching a real person’s movements.
“This is truly fascinating.”
After playing around, completely absorbed in Golem Control for a long while, Baek-Cheong completely forgot the fact that she was currently sitting in the middle of the Banquet Hall where the Clan’s important affairs were being discussed.
She was not even conscious of the gazes from her surroundings staring at her.
“Right, true Talent cannot be concealed.”
Meanwhile, Baek Mu-Jin silently watched his lovely daughter’s overflowing Talent.
Based on her quickly mastering a Technique/Spell early on and handling multiple techniques/spells at once, he knew she was born with extraordinary Talent even excluding her comprehension.
“In the past, I would have been in a rush to hide it. But at the very least, I have enough power to protect my daughter now”
Baek-Cheong’s realm was still merely at Qi Condensation, the Yeonha Baek Clan’s authority had risen, and they were receiving the protection of a Great Sect.
Not only that, but they had even established absolute dominance within Yeonha.
“However, the lightning energy is…”
The moment she manifested the lightning energy a while ago was out of the question.
Fortunately, those who worked in the Yeonha Baek Clan, especially in the Inner Hall, were people with verified identities, even down to the maidservants and servants, and he had given them an Earnest Warning through various methods.
“H-How could this be…”
Meanwhile, the Golem Master Yuk-Muk, who had been standing with his knees bent in front of Baek-Cheong, took a step back, unable to hide his astonishment.
Flowing a single crude strand of Divine Sense into a Plaything Puppet makes it move.
And she was instantaneously splitting the Divine Sense into multiple strands to control every joint.
These were a World of Difference that could not possibly be compared.
The bizarre sight of a Qi Condensation Kid, a mere youngster, freely dividing her Divine Sense to draw out the golem’s absolute limits.
It was a Talent that he simply could not believe, even as he witnessed it clearly with his own eyes as a Golden Core Cultivator who had devoted his entire life to polishing the Puppetry Art while being treated as a heretic.
Baek-Cheong, who had been deeply engrossed in Playing with Dolls for a long while, suddenly snapped back to her senses, raised her head, and stared up at Yuk-Muk.
“Excuse me, senior.”
“Yes? Y-Yes, yes.”
Astonishment seeped out from Yuk-Muk’s answering voice.
“What do I have to do to learn Puppetry Art?”
At Baek-Cheong’s bold question, Yuk-Muk’s eyes grew so large they looked like they would pop out.
Even the nearby rogue cultivators, who were tilting their liquor cups and vigilantly seeking an opportunity to catch the Clan Head’s eye, were startled by the audacious remark and subtly turned their heads to stare.
For the Clan Head’s precious Youngest daughter to openly request a Transmission of an art from a Rogue Cultivator she was meeting for the first time, who was attending as a guest, was a rude and bold act that deviated from the common sense of the Cultivation World.
However, the reaction of Yuk-Muk, who should have felt humiliated, was completely different from what the surrounding people expected.
His previously dim pupils flashed with a bizarre heat.
“To think you would take such deep interest in this lowly old man’s golem…!”
As if the emotions suppressed over long years had broken a dam, even his stuttering disappeared.
“Do you truly recognize the genuine beauty and profound mysteries of the golem all at once?”
Unlike a Golem Master whose emotions had dulled from handling golems for a long time, he carried an extremely agitated and overwhelming emotion fully in his voice.
“Senior called it a Plaything Puppet, but every one of its precise implemented movements made it a wonderful masterpiece.”
Baek-Cheong answered, mixing sincerity with pretense.
If things went well, it seemed she could learn the Puppetry Art for free.
“I wish to offer a Transmission of my life’s Secret Art to you, but…!”
Because Yuk-Muk had met an understanding person who sincerely asked to learn with sparkling eyes, his wrinkled eyes were on the verge of flushing red.
However, the Clan Head of the Baek Clan was implicitly applying pressure with his gaze.
“This is not a matter I can decide and offer a decision right away…”
Barely suppressing his boiling emotions, he opened the Spatial Treasure in his embrace once again.
Then, he took out a jade slip he had carefully stored inside and held it out to Baek-Cheong with extremely polite and trembling hands.
“If it is an introduction to the Puppetry Art, the contents of this jade slip will be sufficient for you. Although at a Superficial Level it is the most basic of basics, it will be of help in gaining knowledge as you encounter the Puppetry Art for the first time.”
Yuk-Muk’s attitude was not some trick with the hope of something in return.
It was closer to a pure tribute directed at a Genius Junior Disciple who had recognized his solitary path.
If he had been a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, he would have kidnapped her right away and made her his Disciple, but he had no choice but to hold back.
“Thank you!”
Baek-Cheong did not refuse the given gift and accepted the jade slip.
Because the manner in which they exchanged the jade slip was so refreshing and unhesitating, on the surface, it looked as if he was handing over an insignificant Cultivation Method.
However, knowledge of an art as thoroughly marginalized and rare in the Cultivation World as the Puppetry Art was an incredibly Precious Treasure where the seller could name their price, no matter how trivial an introductory text it was.
“Got it!”
However, Baek-Cheong did not care about the value of the jade slip at all.
She merely stored away the received jade slip, her eyes shining with the joy of having obtained a new Plaything.
“This is truly something to be thankful to Cultivator Yuk for so readily accepting our Youngest’s whining.”
Baek Mu-Jin, who had watched the situation until the end, set down his cup and conveyed his gratitude to Yuk-Muk in a gentle voice.
Even if it was a coincidence stemming from a flattering gift thrown to buy the Clan Head’s favor, the result that fell into his Youngest daughter’s hands was genuinely precious and coveted knowledge from the Yeonha Baek Clan’s perspective as well.
“This is an opportunity to draw Golden Core rogue cultivators into the Yeonha Baek Clan.”
Before long, Baek Mu-Yeong, who had been observing the conversation near the Seat of Honor and calculating inwardly, naturally stood up from his Seat.
Wearing his signature adept merchant’s smile, he approached Yuk-Muk’s side and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
Due to the chaotic noise of the Banquet Hall, Baek-Cheong could not hear from her Seat exactly what specific conversation and secret agreement passed between the two.
However, as soon as their short conversation ended, she could see a bright complexion and a deep light of gratitude surfacing clearly on Yuk-Muk’s face.
It was obvious that in exchange for handing over the precious jade slip to Baek-Cheong, Baek Mu-Yeong had secretly promised Yuk-Muk an unconventional and highly favorable Preferential Contract, the likes of which he had never experienced in his entire life.
The Yeonha Baek Clan’s thick network of connections was always built in such a manner.
A method of firmly solidifying relationships involved tying the other party within the Clan’s fence, ensuring that any received favor was met with a proper and overflowing reward, even if it meant carving their own bones.
And the eyes of the other Golden Core rogue cultivators, who had watched the series of events unfold in front of the Seat of Honor with bated breath, were flashing as if they had discovered an opportunity.
The Yeonha Baek Clan, which commanded the Southern Region, was showing immense goodwill with an open mind even toward the art of an old Rogue Cultivator treated as a heretic.
They could not help but think that if they offered even a fragment of the art they had polished their entire lives, a tremendous reward befitting it and the Baek Clan’s reassuring preferential treatment would immediately follow.
Above all, even for renowned rogue cultivators, it was a rule that the one who bowed and moved first to seize the initiative would monopolize better treatment and resources.
Before the harmonious banquet could even enter its final stages, the Golden Core rogue cultivators, who usually valued their face, vied with one another to set down their liquor cups and sprang up from their seats.
The white-haired Seo Un-Bong, who claimed to have devoted 400 years to the Vein Seeking Art that reads the Earth’s pulses, first stepped forward to the Seat of Honor with quick steps.
“Clan Head Baek! When it comes to exploring new spirit veins in the Clan’s Territory, This Old Man will dedicate the rest of his life and lend his strength until his bones shatter!”
And before he could even finish speaking, Jang Cheol-Ryu, who had made a name for himself as an Artificer, followed right behind him, breathing heavily.
“Here is a jade slip compiling my shallow foundational knowledge of dharma artifact Crafting! I will gladly share it for the learning of the Baek Clan’s young prodigies!”
After that, they rushed forward as if a dam had burst.
The Golden Core rogue cultivators threw away their face and flocked to the Seat of Honor, every last one of them.
And a rare spectacle unfolded as they clamored, offering to dedicate their Arts and loyalty to the Yeonha Baek Clan at a bargain price.
Even if they were not secret arts that would shake their very foundations.
introductory jade slips for various Arts that were hard to obtain in the market even with spirit stones, the locations of hidden rare medicinal herb colonies, and clues to undiscovered Secret Realms poured down at Baek Mu-Jin’s feet in succession like a mountain.
“Wow, this is truly crazy.”
Meanwhile, Baek-Cheong stared blankly at the bizarre sight of these tributes.
Her father was also adeptly handling the situation created by her uncle’s glib tongue, as he was fleecing them down to the bone.
She felt as if she were seeing at least a fragment of the Baek Clan’s true power.