Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don't Call Me a Demon!-Chapter 352 - 247: Puppet Hall (Second Update)

Chapter 352: Chapter 247: Puppet Hall (Second Update)

Su Jie exchanged pleasantries with Chen Yun and Wu Bin for a while before he parted with them and arrived at Taoist Qiu’s residence.

After entering, Su Jie not only saw Taoist Qiu but also several Elders nearby.

They were together refining standard Magical Artifacts, and Taoist Qiu’s expertise in artifact refining was evident from the craftsmanship of the White Bone Sky Slaying Sword.

Many older Elders, apart from battling, possessed other special skills, such as Alchemy, Artifact Refining, talisman painting, and Array Drawing, among others.

For instance, the oldest among them, Tang Peiqing, was unrivaled in the entire Sect in both alchemy and poison making, while also being proficient in Artifact Refining and talisman painting.

The long passage of time had given him ample opportunity to study and hone his skills.

...

Elders like him, with rich experience and a multitude of skills, were considered treasures in any Sect.

“Disciple Su Jie, greets Master.”

Su Jie stepped forward and performed the disciple’s salute.

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Taoist Qiu put down his work and observed the changes in Su Jie’s aura, nodding with satisfaction.

“Very well, you indeed advanced to the Secret Realm within a week, living up to your word.”

“Disciple has been solely focused on cultivation, not daring to slack off in the slightest. With the Righteous Sects’ great power looming outside, advancing early to the Secret Realm also enables me to alleviate the Sect’s concerns sooner.”

Su Jie spoke with righteousness, sounding sincere.

Upon hearing this, the Elders nearby couldn’t help but praise him.

“Mr. Su, not only do you possess exceptional talents, but your heart is also top-notch!”

“Just a few days ago, I executed several cowards and traitors. If everyone shared Mr. Su’s mindset, we might have already flattened those Righteous Sects.”

“Mr. Su, come visit my place later, teach my disciples a lesson and show them what the proper ideological state for a member of the Ghost Ridge Palace should be.”

Now that Su Jie had advanced to the Secret Realm, he was considered an equal among these Elders, who now addressed him as a fellow cultivator.

The Elders being here at Taoist Qiu’s meant they had good relations with him and were not stingy with their acclaim.

“Hehe, Su Jie, you truly did not disappoint.”

Just then, a voice was heard.

A figure descended from the sky, wearing a black gold robe and a stern face—it was Zhang Junwei, the Sect Master of the Ghost Ridge Palace.

“Greeting the Sect Master.”

Su Jie turned and saluted with his hands clasped.

“Greeting the Sect Master.”

Taoist Qiu and the other Elders also rose to perform their salutations.

“I am here to find Su Jie, with such celestial phenomena and an Immortal Seed advancing, it’s been many years since our Ghost Ridge Palace experienced this.”

Zhang Junwei waved his hand, motioning Su Jie to come forward.

Su Jie quickly stepped forward, wondering what Zhang Junwei wanted with him.

“Sit first.”

Zhang Junwei’s face bore a harmonious smile as his eyes beheld Su Jie with increasing satisfaction.

“The words you spoke earlier were heard by my eyes. Lately, in our confrontations with the Righteous Sects, many Elders have fallen.

Now that you have advanced to become of the Secret Realm, it means you are qualified to undertake the responsibilities of the Secret Realm.

Here are the recently deceased Elders; their names are all here and their duties as well. You may select one to replace and assume command to maintain the Sect’s safety.”

Zhang Junwei took out a booklet and handed it to Su Jie.

Su Jie instantly understood Zhang Junwei’s intent; such level of power in the Secret Realm usually entailed significant duties.

However, positions of great responsibility were typically rare, like a single position for each eligible person. For instance, Tang Peiqing held the position of Alchemy Pavilion Master and also served as Artifact Refining Hall Master merely because of his wide range of skills and being the most experienced Elder in the Sect.

The Hall Master of the Command Hall was Zuo Xiping, a relative of Sect Master Zhang Junwei, thus holding the crucial position managing task distributions in the Command Hall.

Even Taoist Qiu served as the Deputy Master of the Refining Hall, one of the highest-ranking departments in the Ghost Ridge Palace, holding the same status as the Alchemy Pavilion, Punishment Hall, and the Command Hall, thus making it a highly authoritative position.

Under normal circumstances when Elders were still alive, these key positions would not be opened up.

Newly advanced Secret Realms could not take office and had to instruct disciples as Elders.

But due to the Sect wars, many Elders had fallen, leading to vacancies in these positions, which became prized targets for those Elders without official roles.

By giving Su Jie the choice, Zhang Junwei was clearly using his authority for personal reasons.

Of course, knowing this, the other Elders dared not say much.

Su Jie guessed that probably the fuss he made during his advancement was too great, and Zhang Junwei’s offer of a significant post was a kind of enticement.

The nearby Elders heard this, and aside from Taoist Qiu, who was smiling, the rest revealed a hint of envy.

Among them, there were those who had yet to hold any Sect duties.

Su Jie flipped through the booklet; he was not one to be overly idealistic. Holding a role with real authority was far better than being among the powerles…

“Sect Master, may I take up this position?”

Su Jie pointed to a page in the register and directly asked.

“Puppet Hall, you want to take up this position?”

Zhang Junwei was slightly startled. He hadn’t heard that Su Jie was skilled in puppetry techniques.

On the contrary, he had only heard that Su Jie was good at refining poisonous insects and also possessed a formidable female ghost.

“Sect Master, I’ve always been interested in puppetry techniques, but I’ve never had the opportunity to study them before,”

Su Jie said with a smile. He thought that if he could become the Hall Master of the Puppet Hall, he might be able to refer to some of Blue Star’s technological blueprints and replicate related products in Ghost Ridge Palace.

“Hmm, that could work. Previously, the Hall Master Peng Tan’an was the only one in the sect skilled in puppetry techniques. Since you’re interested, I’ll entrust it to you.”

Zhang Junwei did not ponder further. Puppet Hall was just a marginal department within Ghost Ridge Palace, except for the sacrificed former Hall Master Peng Tan’an, it was left with some disciples interested in or talented in puppetry techniques.

In Ghost Ridge Palace, a sect filled with those playing with insects, it seldom attracted any attention.

The other Elders, seeing Su Jie’s choice, looked at each other in dismay.

Clearly, there were better positions available, yet Su Jie seemed oblivious to them.

Some Elders, still without positions, watched with envy and nearly wished they could take that role in Su Jie’s stead.

“Su Jie, think it over again. There are many important positions available,”

Taoist Qiu coughed lightly, worried his disciple didn’t understand the importance of the position and wanted Su Jie to choose another.

“Master, I have thought it through. I’m really interested in puppetry techniques, so I won’t change my decision.”

Su Jie shook his head, leaving Taoist Qiu speechless.

As for the Puppet Hall department, it virtually had no funds, and previously, it was just a place where Peng Tan’an, the Elder, entertained himself with no status within Ghost Ridge Palace.

Ghost Ridge Palace neither allocated funds to the Puppet Hall nor assigned any tasks, demanding no deliverables from the hall.

Had it not been for the fact that Peng Tan’an was a seasoned practitioner and had a cultivation at the Fourth Level of the Secret Realm, such a department would have been abolished by Ghost Ridge Palace long ago.

“Alright, you’ll be the Hall Master of the Puppet Hall from now on. I hope you work hard and continue the legacy of the Puppet Hall,”

Zhang Junwei handed Su Jie a token representing the identity of the Hall Master of the Puppet Hall and said somewhat nonchalantly.

“Sect Master, don’t worry, when the time comes, I’ll brandish an AK in my left hand and a Winchester in my right, and I will surely expand and strengthen the Puppet Hall to new heights,”

Su Jie stood up, full of momentum, his voice booming like thunder.

“Very ambitious, but what is an AK and a Winchester?”

Zhang Junwei looked puzzled, hearing these terms for the first time.

“Ah, those are types of weapons I’ve conceptualized, still in the idea stage, but perhaps I’ll design them in the future,”

Su Jie replied while scratching his head.

“Then I’ll look forward to your performance. As for funds, if you can achieve results, the sect will not be stingy in allocating funds,”

Zhang Junwei patted Su Jie’s shoulder and then turned to leave.

As the Sect Master, amidst external sieges, he had numerous matters to deal with. Taking the time to meet Su Jie was a significant sign of his regard for him.

“You, oh you. You could have chosen anything, but you chose the Puppet Hall. Do you even know puppetry techniques?”

No sooner had Zhang Junwei left than Taoist Qiu couldn’t help himself, looking at Su Jie as though disappointed.

These puppetry techniques, very few in the entire sect were proficient, transmitted only through Peng Tan’an’s lineage.

Naturally, Taoist Qiu did not know them either, and he didn’t believe Su Jie did.

“Master, I can learn it. I’m quite confident in my ability to learn. Just you wait and see, I’ll bring you something big when the time comes,”

As for puppetry techniques, although Su Jie had not studied them before, he had indeed practiced them.

The Thousand-Handed Centipede used to bombard Putuo Airport with an 800mm caliber biological cannon, could also be considered a form of puppetry technique, as it incorporated quite a bit of spiritual material.

Of course, the biological cannon of that scale relied more on the powerful physical division capabilities of the Thousand-Handed Centipede, powered entirely by Su Jie’s Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, and wasn’t considered orthodox puppetry.

“I don’t expect any surprises from you. Wouldn’t it be better if we just played with insects? Can puppetry even feed us?”

Taoist Qiu was quite dismissive and said bluntly, “That Peng Tan’an, I’ve dealt with him before, his puppetry is indeed skillful, some of his mechanical men and demon statues had some combat power. But in a fight, your master here would definitely win. I could simply wear him out.”

Su Jie knew that there probably wasn’t any exaggeration in Taoist Qiu’s words.

Puppet Masters use various spiritual materials to create combat puppets, controlling them through spiritual power for battle.

Generally, the stronger the combat puppet, the more precious the required spiritual materials, and the cost is extremely high.

Compared to Gu Masters, not far from Ghost Ridge Palace was Insect Valley, naturally convenient for sourcing materials. Even the most ordinary disciples could capture poisonous insects with virtually no cost involved.

While a Puppet Master labors to create expensive combat puppets, pitted against a Gu Master’s swarm of insects, even if both were completely lost, the Gu Master could quickly resupply in Insect Valley.

Whereas the Puppet Master would have to spend money and effort to rebuild anew, not that the Puppet Masters aren’t capable, but within Ghost Ridge Palace, their cost-effectiveness is clearly inferior to that of Gu Masters.

“Master, I know all that you’ve said, but I really want to study puppetry techniques. I feel they could be quite lucrative,”

Su Jie chuckled, sharing another perspective.