Inside the talisman classroom, Chen Mobai sat in a corner by the window, his mind somewhat absent.

After the class bell rang, the teacher on the podium placed a stack of corrected talismans and began to announce the grades.

“The first place in this Qi-guiding talisman test is Zhuang Jialan.”

The bespectacled woman sitting in the first row stood up and walked forward to receive her talisman upon hearing her name.

When she turned her head back, Chen Mobai stole a glance at her.

She was quite pretty.

Her petite nose, dimples when she smiled, coupled with her fair and radiant skin, glasses, and deliberately drawn long, curved eyebrows, gave her an indescribable elegance, with a hint of pure allure.

“The second place, Si Guanyu.”

The next one to go up was another top student majoring in talismans in their grade.

Every gain has a loss. Thanks to Chai Lun’s personal guidance, Chen Mobai’s puppetry grades have consistently ranked in the top three, and he has been first in practical assembly class seven times in a row, earning him the nickname of a puppetry prodigy.

However, in contrast, in the other major course of talismans, due to his lack of effort and mediocre talent in talisman drawing, he has been consistently at the bottom since the beginning of school.

If it weren’t for the three who got in through the back door and always ranked last, Chen Mobai would be the last in his grade.

“The twenty-third place, Chen Mobai.”

Upon hearing his name, he immediately went up to receive his “Qi-guiding talisman” from the teacher.

This is a first-grade top-quality talisman, which can guide spiritual energy to a certain location. It is usually used during meditation, placed on a cushion to assist in cultivation.

At the lower levels, it can increase the spiritual energy level by a small step.

Chen Mobai was able to keep up with the talisman course at the Daoist Academy because he had been tutored in the basics during his time at Danzhu Academy.

This Qi-guiding talisman was drawn in a standard manner, and the instructor gave it a passing grade of 60 points.

Just as he was about to leave with his work, the teacher called him back.

The teacher, named Gao Yu, although only at the Foundation Establishment stage, was a third-grade talisman maker. His achievements in talismans could be said to be at the expert level in the Immortal Gate.

He looked at Chen Mobai and spoke with a tone of disappointment.

“I know you are passionate about puppetry, but you should know that talismans are the true path.”

“You are a smart kid, able to formally enter the Daoist Academy and make some achievements in the unpopular puppetry. Your talent is unquestionable, but I still hope that you can spend more time on the talisman course.”

“The limit of puppetry in the Immortal Gate is only the third-grade peak, while our Immortal Gate’s inherited talismans can reach the fifth grade, powerful enough to pluck stars and seize the moon, which is not something mere puppets can achieve.”

Chen Mobai could only bow his head in agreement. He couldn’t say that he wasn’t trying hard, but his talent was just mediocre.

This Qi-guiding talisman was the best one he had selected after drawing a hundred of them. In the Tianhe realm, it could already be considered a fine product.

Who knew that in the first-grade class of the Daoist Academy, it could only be rated as passing.

Because his reputation in puppetry was rising, everyone attributed his poor performance in the talisman class to Chen Mobai’s lack of dedication, not his lack of talent.

Everyone thought he was obsessed with puppetry and only chose the talisman class as a formality, only learning the relevant knowledge during class and never practicing after class.

But even so, his grades were still able to keep up with the majority, and he understood all the basic knowledge points.

Including Teacher Gao Yu and even other students, they all believed that as long as Chen Mobai focused on the talisman class, his grades could soar at any time, possibly even surpassing the two geniuses, Si Guanyu and Zhuang Jialan.

For this reason, although Chen Mobai’s grades in the talisman class were always at the bottom, no one dared to look down on him.

Some even gave him a nickname.

The Sleeper.

After being criticized, Chen Mobai returned to his seat absentmindedly, completely unaware of the serious gazes of the two top students in the class.

Zhuang Jialan and Si Guanyu, who had long occupied the first and second places in the talisman class, were always paying attention to Chen Mobai while competing with each other.

They even believed that it was the pressure of this “Sleeper” who could wake up at any time that allowed them to progress so quickly.

They wanted to take advantage of this time to elevate themselves to a height that even if Chen Mobai turned his attention back to talismans, he would not be able to catch up.

But all of Chen Mobai’s attention was now on the puppet he was about to complete.

After twenty-five days of hard work, with his help, Chai Lun finally completed all the parts. Now all that was left was assembly, uploading his data model, and debugging functions.

The day had finally come.

Chen Mobai had had enough of his slow-progressing longevity sutra.

After class, the previously absent-minded him immediately packed up his textbooks, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and darted out of the classroom.

This left the two top students who wanted to talk to him looking at each other in dismay.

“Really, I was going to ask him for this month’s class fee.”

Zhuang Jialan stomped her foot a little annoyed as she watched Chen Mobai’s retreating figure.

“Let’s cover for him first.”Siguan Yu was a young man who appeared as gentle as jade. He and Zhuang Jialan, one as the class leader and the other as the committee member, were the decision-makers among the new students of the Talisman Department.

Chen Mobai was completely unaware of these matters. After arriving at Chai Lun’s workshop, he skillfully picked up a wrench and began to help assemble the final limbs and skull.

Time flew by as he immersed himself in the task.

Unbeknownst to him, it was already dark outside, and the puppet for the demonstration was nearing completion.

“I’ll demonstrate once, and you can adjust it yourself if there are any problems in the future.”

Chai Lun placed the assembled faceless puppet on a cleared rack, then took out a USB drive containing Chen Mobai’s body data and inserted it into the reserved slot.

The puppet’s skull was still open, and the main controller’s extended wiring was connected to a twenty-centimeter square screen.

Chai Lun’s fingers moved swiftly, creating a phantom-like effect as he quickly completed the data transfer.

Then, he guided Chen Mobai to input the Qi Refining technique from the Pure Yang Scroll and began the first debugging.

The result was perfect.

Half an hour of demonstration revealed all potential problems Chen Mobai might encounter on the screen.

For example, when reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining, the two meridians in his left hand were not robust enough. They needed to be nurtured and expanded before breaking through, allowing him to advance to the seventh level of Qi Refining in one go.

Another example was the shortest and longest time to complete the Three Yang Body. He could adjust the time within this range based on his own set conditions.

With Chai Lun by his side, Chen Mobai didn’t dare to set all his cultivation to use spirit stones, unsure of how much time it would save.

“You’ve worked hard during this period, senior.”

After practicing the Pure Yang Scroll once and confirming there were no issues, Chen Mobai was excited. He thanked Chai Lun and paid the remaining balance.

As Chai Lun watched Chen Mobai carry away the demonstration puppet, a hint of reluctance flashed in his eyes.