If it weren’t for the Soul Taming Seed Contracts Zhong Yi had with his Guardian Beasts, he would have been ineligible to enter the Second Level Divine Origin Slaughter Secret Realm. After all, Guardian Beasts like the Cloud Ridge World Dragon had already advanced to the Fantasy Tier.
The pilot of this Lion Puppet must also be bound by the corresponding rule restrictions.
Zhong Yi decided to see for himself what was so special about the person piloting this Lion Puppet.
The simplest way to see the person inside the Lion Puppet was to break it.
Once the Lion Puppet was broken, the person inside would naturally be revealed.
Zhong Yi dispatched Hong Ji and Ice Glaze, ordering them to directly engage the Lion Puppet.
The War Puppet that the Decaying Mist Owl had transformed into was ineffective against this Lion Puppet.
The curses released by the Decaying Mist Owl through its mist couldn’t penetrate the Lion Puppet’s interior.
The Lion Puppet was protected by profound runes, and the curses couldn’t get past them at all.
The War Puppets transformed from the Blood Thread Puppet and Fern Bone Puppet provided support from the sides, while Ice Glaze acted as the main attacker against the Lion Puppet.
Five ten-meter-long fox tails smashed mercilessly toward the Lion Puppet.
The five Ice Crystal Buddhas formed from the Ice Jade Fox Sculpture also all smashed their Ice Crystal Magical Artifacts against the Lion Puppet’s body.
Hong Ji, who was usually the main attacker, was instead transforming in the distance.
Three pairs of tentacles extended from her back and stabbed into the ground, anchoring Hong Ji firmly in place.
Immediately after, Hong Ji crossed her arms, and a massive amount of purplish-red cardiac muscle enveloped them.
After a full minute, the fleshy cannon barrel, over two meters in diameter, was finally loaded.
A barrage of sharp objects sourced from Demons—teeth, sharp horns, and the like—whistled through the air toward the Lion Puppet, which was being suppressed by Ice Glaze and the five Ice Crystal Buddhas.
Ice Glaze retreated at the opportune moment, leaving the five Ice Crystal Buddhas and the Lion Puppet to be engulfed by Hong Ji’s indiscriminate, spell-like assault.
Zhong Yi had specifically instructed Hong Ji not to use any of the Fantasy Tier materials she had absorbed.
The materials being fired as projectiles were mainly Extraordinary Tier.
There was also a small amount of Ordinary Level material that Hong Ji hadn’t had time to process and digest.
This was in case they accidentally destroyed the Lion Puppet and killed its pilot in the process.
If that happened, the Soul Soil would lose a genius from the Artifact Race.
Zhong Yi was very interested in the Artifact Race, a Race originating from the Demon Spirit Ecosystem that was capable of crafting Demonic Puppets.
A powerful member of the Artifact Race who could forge outstanding Demonic Puppets might not have the same status as a Creator.
But their money-making ability was in no way inferior to a Creator’s.
The five Ice Crystal Buddhas, condensed from the Ice Jade Fox Sculpture, didn’t have Life of their own.
Under Hong Ji’s torrential assault, the five Ice Crystal Buddhas continued to fulfill their duty, restricting the Lion Puppet’s movement.
After three long minutes of attacking, half of Hong Ji’s arms, which were composed of thick cardiac muscle, had been carbonized by the intense heat.
Hong Ji shook off the carbonized cardiac muscle, returned to her original state, and was panting slightly.
When the dust and smoke cleared, Zhong Yi was surprised to find that the Lion Puppet hadn’t been blasted to bits as he had expected. Only about half of its body was destroyed.
A boy with delicate features and a baby face stumbled out from within the Lion Puppet.
His large eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he rubbed his hands, his expression pained.
He then bit his lip and shouted toward Zhong Yi.
"You destroyed my hand! I can’t fight anymore."
"Go ahead and kill me."
"I have a total of 68 Divine Origin Value. If you kill me, you’ll get 34 points."
As he said this, a pained look was clearly visible on the boy’s face.
It was unclear whether he was heartbroken over the Lion Puppet or the 34 Divine Origin Value.
"This Lion Puppet... did you build it after entering this Secret Realm?"
Zhong Yi couldn’t resist asking, even though he already knew the answer.
The boy on the other side heard him and nodded.
"I crafted this Lion Puppet using my Lifebound Forging Material that I’ve been nurturing for a long time."
Hearing this, Zhong Yi’s sense of confusion grew even stronger.
Since the boy had forged the Lion Puppet from his Lifebound Forging Material, its destruction wouldn’t have any real impact on him.
Therefore, the boy could only be upset about the 34 Divine Origin Value.
’Why would a boy capable of forging such a Lion Puppet care about a mere 30-something Divine Origin Value?’
Zhong Yi couldn’t help but use All Things Exploration to inspect the boy before him.
[Name]: Yin Song
[Race]: Artifact Race
[Level]: Second Level
[Bloodline]: Unpaired Soul (Awaiting Awakening)
[Contract]: Available
[Contractual Relationship]: None
[Rule]: Precise Rule
[Fate Grid]: Orange
Abilities
[Heart Puppet Divine Communication]: Fuse with the piloted Demonic Puppet to stimulate its potential. Perfectly comprehend the materials needed to craft and upgrade the Demonic Puppet based on its feedback.
[Puppet Divine Heart]: Greatly increases the success rate when forging a Demonic Puppet and allows the forged Demonic Puppet to possess a considerable degree of intelligence.
Upon inspection, Zhong Yi discovered that the boy named Yin Song actually possessed an orange Fate Grid and had mastered a complete Rule.
However, Yin Song’s Bloodline was surprisingly in a state of awaiting awakening; he hadn’t awakened any Puppet Soul.
Zhong Yi had assumed that Yin Song, as a member of the Artifact Race, had awakened a lion-type Puppet Soul. He believed the boy had attached it to the crafted Lion Puppet, which would explain how it could be so sentient.
After seeing Yin Song’s Abilities, Zhong Yi understood why that was the case.
The Puppet Divine Heart Ability allowed Yin Song to greatly increase his success rate when forging a Demonic Puppet.
It also allowed him to imbue his forged Demonic Puppets with a considerable degree of intelligence.