Urban Invincible Overlord

Chapter 1528 - 1525: Advanced Puppet Master

In a secluded courtyard of the Zhong Family, Zhong Weiju was busy.

He was a direct lineage member of the Zhong Family in Yinzhou City. In his generation, there were many direct lineage members in the Zhong Family with excellent cultivation talents. In terms of cultivation talent alone, he could barely make it into the top ten.

However, firstly, he was part of the Zhong Family’s direct lineage, and secondly, besides his cultivation talent, he excelled in artifact refining and puppetry. Therefore, in his generation of the entire Zhong Family, his status was quite special, being cultivated by the Zhong Family’s high-ranking members to be part of the future core circle.

After entering the Core Formation thirty years ago, Zhong Weiju, aside from his cultivation, focused on advancing to the Divine Level Puppet Master realm.

In the Cultivation Realm, professions like Alchemists, Talisman Masters, Artifact Refiners, Puppet Masters, and Array Masters are divided into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Divine, and Immortal Levels.

Zhong Weiju was well aware that in the cultivation world, strength was the most important factor for survival.

Although his talent in artifact refining was higher, he initially pursued it only to support his puppetry.

Before reaching the Core Formation Stage, Zhong Weiju’s puppetry had already reached the advanced level, and the puppets he refined had superior combat power, several times stronger than his own.

Because of this, among the direct lineage members of the Zhong Family in his generation, although his cultivation talent wasn’t the highest, his combat power was among the top three.

Combined with his status as an Artifact Refiner, it was already assured that he would enter the Zhong Family’s highest decision-making circle in the future.

But Zhong Weiju’s ambitions went further.

He wanted to become the most authoritative leader of the family.

With his talent and aptitude in the field of puppetry, Zhong Weiju believed he had a chance to become a Divine Level Puppet Master in his lifetime. Once he entered the ranks of Divine Level Puppet Masters, he could refine Divine Grade Puppets.

Even the weakest Divine Grade First Rank Puppet had combat power exceeding that of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, and a Second Rank Divine Grade Puppet could suppress an early stage Nascent Soul Cultivator.

As for the highest grade Divine Grade Puppet, it was strong enough to contend head-on with a late-stage Nascent Soul powerhouse.

The key was that puppets were fearless of death, and under normal circumstances, their combat power during battles was slightly superior to cultivators.

Moreover, once someone becomes a Puppet Master, how could they possibly have only one puppet by their side?

In short, in the Cultivation World, once Talisman Masters, Array Masters, and Puppet Masters reach the Divine Level, they possess the highest combat power and are the most challenging to deal with.

In a secluded room in the courtyard.

A giant long snake lay coiled in front of Zhong Weiju.

The snake was lifelike, and at first glance, indistinguishable from a real snake, but upon closer inspection, it was found to be a mechanical Puppet Snake, crafted from special materials.

This Puppet Snake was Zhong Weiju’s work as he pursued becoming a Divine Level Puppet Master.

From the moment he conceived the idea of advancing to a Divine Level Puppet Master, Zhong Weiju had been preparing. Although the primary structure of this Puppet Snake was largely complete, through his constant testing, he discovered that its combat power fell far short of the standard for a Divine Grade Puppet.

"Is it ultimately because my realm is insufficient?"

A deep sense of disappointment emerged on Zhong Weiju’s face.

He originally thought that his talent in this area was exceptional and that he could bridge the gap with his early stage Core Formation cultivation to enter the ranks of Divine Level Puppet Masters, only to find out that he was too naive.

Professions in the cultivation world such as Alchemists, Artifact Refiners, Puppet Masters, Array Masters, and Talisman Masters, while enabling cultivators to acquire additional skills and combat methods, still have levels that are linked to one’s cultivation realm.

Under normal circumstances, any profession aiming to enter the Divine Level generally requires reaching Nascent Soul Stage cultivation.

Only Nascent Soul Cultivators can cultivate a sufficiently strong Primordial Spirit. In such a realm, one’s Dao Heart is firm, and their will is extraordinary, enabling them to accomplish tasks that low rank cultivators cannot.

The process for Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, for instance, requires controlling the fire’s temperature with sufficient mana when refining high-grade elixirs or magic artifacts. If left to someone else, the timing might not be grasped accurately, making seamless execution impossible, often resulting in failure.

Despite his disappointment, Zhong Weiju quickly adjusted his mindset.

He felt that he was not far from that critical step.

As long as he continued to strive, with the improvement of his realm, it was still hopeful for him to cross this threshold.

"Perhaps it’s just impatience. Now that I have early stage Core Formation cultivation and plenty of life span, there’s no rush. Next, I’ll focus on cultivation, striving to reach the middle stage of Core Formation soon. At that time, I’ll make another attempt to become a Divine Level Puppet Master." Zhong Weiju silently murmured, waved his hand, and collected the half-finished Puppet Snake.

Just as he put away the Puppet Snake, a sound came from the Sound Transmission Array in the secret room.

"Brother-in-law, there’s an urgent matter to discuss."

Zhong Weiju frowned slightly.

While he was in seclusion in the secret room, people from the household wouldn’t disturb him lightly.

Cui An was his brother-in-law. The fact that he could achieve his current status in Yinzhou City relied entirely on Zhong Weiju’s support, and he was extremely respectful and deferential to him, never daring to interrupt his cultivation on ordinary occasions.

Stepping outside, Zhong Weiju saw Cui An waiting anxiously there.

Zhong Weiju asked, "What’s the matter?"

Cui An quickly explained the situation, to which Zhong Weiju asked, puzzled, "Did this person not give their name?"

"No, Brother-in-law. This person seemed very arrogant, as if he didn’t put the Zhong Family in his eyes at all. I feared he might be someone important, so I didn’t dare delay and immediately came to find you," Cui An said.

Zhong Weiju thought for a moment and said, "Although our Zhong Family in the Southern Domain isn’t a major clan, with the backing of the Shang Qing Sect, ordinary cultivators wouldn’t dare to act presumptuously. Since this person behaved so arrogantly in front of you, he can’t be underestimated. Let’s go and see which immortal we’re dealing with."

Cui An secretly breathed a sigh of relief, fearing his brother-in-law would blame him.

However, that person indeed exerted a significant pressure, and based on his intuition, he felt that the individual wasn’t ordinary. Since the person specifically requested Zhong Weiju’s presence, he didn’t dare to dismiss it.

The two arrived at the top floor of Wangyue Tower. As they reached the doorway, an invisible force blocked their path.

Zhong Weiju, proficient in artifact refining and puppetry, also had some knowledge of formations. Coupled with his early stage Core Formation cultivation, upon seeing that they were blocked by an array set by someone, and that the person specifically requested to see him but didn’t disperse the magic array even after his arrival, he felt it underestimated him.

As the owner of Yinzhou City, Zhong Weiju felt he couldn’t lose face for the Zhong Family. He immediately waved his hand forward, intending to dismantle the Isolation Array.

"Pop!"

A powerful energy appeared in front of his palm, colliding with the Magic Array Boundary Wall, causing the entire Wangyue Tower to shake violently.

Cui An was startled and felt extremely distressed, wanting to remind his brother-in-law not to use force, lest they destroy Wangyue Tower, but he dared not speak.

Just then, Zhong Weiju wavered, stepping back several times, placing the hand behind him, trembling violently.

Cui An was shocked and worriedly asked, "Brother-in-law, are you okay?"

Zhong Weiju waved his hand dismissively.

At that moment, the Magic Array Boundary Wall dissipated into nothingness, and a cold voice came from upstairs, "Come up."