It had already been a week since Nie Yan's fight took place, and Nie Gan had finally finished repairing the training ground's puppet's spirit stone socket. Right now, he was about to test it in a sparring session to see that there were indeed no flaws with its reparation.
As it was turned on, it immediately locked its target onto Nie Gan and his puppet, which he was controlling via the twelve wires. Although they were called wires, their width was so small that they were more akin to strings.
BANG! BANG!
The punches of the training puppet landed onto Nie Gan's puppet. While the training pupet was merely an automaton programmed with fixed, limited offensive sequences, due to the myriad ways into which these sequences could appear depending on variables such as proximity, it was hard to predict them. Needless to say, Nie Gan's control of his puppet was also a huge factor. He was barely capable of evading most of the strikes, but the rest he was unable to avoid.
Luckily, his puppet was of a higher caliber than this automaton puppet. Thus, its armor was durable enough so as to dissipate most of the impact's force to avoid damage. After all, it had been crafted by a genuine puppetmaster! The automaton puppet was probably crafted by an expert with decently high knowledge of the puppet dao, but not much experience when it came to actually crafting puppets.
Time after time, Nie Gan was forced back. The puppet was sent tumbling nonstop, forcing him to constantly control it to stand up. He felt so overwhelmed that he could not even command his puppet to counterattack the automaton. They continued fighting, Nie Gan constantly on the defensive.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he was panting and short of breath. Aware that he would eventually be struck himself by the automaton puppet of this continued, Nie Gan chose to step out of the training grounds. Upon seeing its target step out of the boundaries in which it was programmed to operate, the automaton puppet powered off.
After regaining his breath, he stood up and untied the wires from his fingers before storing his puppet away. His countenance was the expression of disappointment. Chuckling, he shook his head.
"I was too naïve. How can controlling such a complex machine be so easy?" He muttered in a self-deprecating tone. At this pace, he would absolutely be unable to contend against Nie Lan, much less against Nie Yan and Nie Shan.
"Well, that was lame, not gonna lie." A familiar voice rang out from behind him, causing him to turn around, slightly startled. Even though he had been busy fighting, his senses as a 5th stage Qi Condensation cultivator were not to be scoffed at. For someone to sneak up on him like that, their cultivation had to be higher by at least a couple of stages, unless they specialized in stealth techniques.
His eyes made contact with those of the man who had just spoken, causing him to sigh inwardly. It was Constable Duan. Although he had just met him some days ago,
"You saw it all, huh?" He asked, scratching his head, which he had forgotten to shave for quite some time, resulting in it being covered in short, black hair.
"Indeed. I had some matters to discuss. However, seeing your performance, that can probably wait.
"It's the puppet. The wires are not a problem, it's just that there are too many valves. I cannot rely on memory alone to activate the required combination of valves to perform every move I want mid-fight." Excused Nie Gan, slightly afraid that his poor performance would make Constable Duan have second thoughts about backing him in the Clan Assembly, which was only four months away.
Much his relief, however, the older man just shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.
"Par the course. As I see it, that's not a problem. It's just a matter of practice. Once your brain has reinforced the actions related to controlling the puppet, it will practically be an extension of yourself. It's really no different than with a sword or bow, it's just a more complex weapon, and will conversely take more time to master."
His words made sense to Nie Gan, and just as he was about to ask him what he wanted to discuss, he was given a stern look.
"However, your biggest fault lies not in the lack of practice." He uttered before he stepped forward, and with a nimble motion, pushed Nie Gan sideways, where his leg was placed, tripping him over. Nie Gan, who did not manage to avoid this sudden attack, was confused as to why he had done such a thing, but he knew better than to retaliate.
"As I suspected… You do not know how to fight."
His words stunned Nie Gan. Of course he did not know how to fight. Cultivators didn't really need to know martial arts for hand to hand combat unless they were body refiners. For Qi cultivators like himself, a good spell or magic treasure was enough to overpower 99% of martial arts. Even the most remarkable body refiners would have a hard time clashing head on against a good magic treasure.
"Uncle Xing always said that craftsmen like us forge the weapons, but we do not wield them."
"Well, that's not false. But you do not want to be a mediocre craftsman, no offense to Brother Xing, do you? You want to become a puppetmaster like those of ancient times. Now, I declare myself ignorant when it comes to how puppetmasters trained. However, I have a keen eye, and I'd dare say more actual battle experience than anyone else in this city, with the exception of the First Elder and the old fogeys. From what I saw, your greatest flaw is that you want to control your puppet to fight, even when you yourself do not know how to. This is impossible."
"Think about it. It's like trying to teach someone to write when you are illiterate. Precisely because of this, the way you block and evade attacks is highly inefficient and leaves you with a lot of openings. If that puppet were an actual, breathing cultivator, you'd have been killed. Everybody knows that puppetmasters are vulnerable targets. Once their puppet has been bypassed, they're basically toast unless they have countermeasures or are body refiners."
His long sermon might feel unnecessary to anyone peeping on the conversation, but to Nie Gan, his words were like a bucket of cold water. He was deeply grateful for his analysis, and immediately knew that Constable Duan was only helping him out of good will and had no ill intentions.
"Thanks for your helf, Senior. I am deeply grateful." He said, standing up and cupping his fists at Constable Duan, who nodded to acknowledge his show of gratitude.
"But there's not enough time for me to learn how to fight before the Clan Assembly." He pointed out almost immediately after, thinking that maybe he could get some more help from Constable Duan, who seemed to be in a good mood.
"You scheming brat. Alright, alright. It's been a while since I taught someone how to fight. I might as well get myself one last disciple before I try to form my core. As for Brother Xing, worry not. He taught you the ins and outs of artificing, something that I couldn't have taught you. Similarly, I'll be teaching you something he can't." It was clear he had seen through Nie Gan's bait, but he did not seem to mind.
Truthfully, Nie Gan was only expecting some extra guidance, not for Constable Duan to offer himself to reach him personally. It was pretty uncommon for Foundation Establishment cultivators to accept disciples. This was because they had much more responsibilities than those at any other cultivation realm. Qi Condensation cultivators had some responsibilities, but not many, while Core Formation ones were basically free to do as they liked most of the time, so long as they made themselves present at crucial times.
His last words served to dispel every bit of reluctance on Nie Gan's part. After all, having multiple masters wasn't too strange for cultivators, and since both men seemed to trust each other, he took Constable Duan's word for it.
"I… Disciple Nie Gan greets Master Duan Gangzhi." He said, kowtowing to Constable Duan. This was the first time he referred to the older man by his given name.
"Very well. Right now I cannot continue instructing you as I have some paperwork to file at the Constabulary. However, tomorrow at dawn we can begin your lessons. I know that four months is a little tight, but so long as you know the essentials of fighting, you'll be far better than you are right now. I've seen Nie Yan and Nie Shan fight in hand to hand combat. They are nothing remarkable, so do not worry too much." A hint of disdain could vaguely be noticed in his tone when he spoke of Nie Gan's siblings. Before Nie Gan could answer, he rose from the ground and left the training grounds with his flying ability.
Nie Gan was left alone once again. However, the disappointment from earlier had instead turned into expectation. Having guidance from someone who knew more than oneself was always better. Otherwise, he'd be stumbling in the dark. Constable Duan's advice was like someone shouting from the exit to help him locate it. His teaching would be like someone handing him a torch to help him find the exit himself.
Right now, he was still feeling rather drained from his fight against the automaton puppet. Thus, he decided to take the rest of the day off. Nevertheless, before he went to his house to rest, he chose to go to the clan's Technique Repository. Something very specific about what Constable Duan had said had stuck with him.
"Once their puppet has been bypassed, they're basically toast unless they have countermeasures or are body refiners." His words echoed in his mind as he thought how he could solve that.
First, he thought about forging an armor for himself. However, he knew that while an armor would help him keep his life, it was not a very good option if what he wanted was to avoid severe injury. Due to this, he came to a conclusion.
"An armor is not like a shell. The purpose is not to block the impact, for that would severely restrict mobility and cause more injury if the body inside cannot sustain itself in the face of the kinetic forces that such an impact would create. Rather its purpose is to absorb the impact, redistribute the force across its surface as much as possible, and diminish the force that is transmitted to the body of the user. Many body refiners believe wearing armor will hamper mobility while proving useless. This is just pure stupidity. Their strength is also superior to an ordinary cultivator, so the mobility trade off is so negligible it's outrageous they even use this as an argument. One could even say that armor has less downsides to a body refiner than to a qi refiner."
These had been Uncle Xing's words after he asked him why a body refiner would wear armor if their body was already incredibly durable. Thanks to this episode, he had understood that armor was not a substitute for a strong body, and vice versa. They complemented one another. Hence, he chose to see if he could find a suitable body refinement technique.
Soon, he entered a giant basalt building that had three words written onto a plaque in flamboyant calligraphy at the entrance; "Cultivation Technique Repository".
While many smaller clans stored their cultivation techniques in their library, the Nie Clan was not so foolish as to do this. From the four Qi Condensation clan guards stationed at the entrance, it could be seen that the Cultivation Technique Repository was more heavily guarded than the library. In fact, external clansmen were not allowed inside the repository, but they could access the library. The likes of Constable Duan were an exception, but they were few and far between.
Lucky for Nie Gan, the guards did not obstruct him since they knew he was the son of the former Marquiss Nie Sang. Even if he was a bastard, he was still a clansman with the bloodline of Nie Clan.
Once inside, Nie Gan saw many hallways filled with scrolls and parchments. Most of these were clean and tidy but yellow with age, clearly indicating that some formation had been put in place to avoid dust gathering on them. Nine out of the ten hallways were dedicated to Qi cultivation. In the past, Nie Gan had gotten his own cultivation technique, the Earthly Tune Manual. It was a run of the mill cultivation technique, but it suited Nie Gan better than the others he had tried out.
It was also extremely average, meaning it came with no remarkable abilities, but it also provided a better cultivation speed when compared to those that did have such extras.
There was only one hallway reserved for body refinement, which was to be expected considering that the Nie Clan was primarily a clan of Qi cultivators. Nie Gan walked through it, eyeing the many scrolls and tomes. The names of each technique were written beneath the scrolls and onto the tome's spine, accompanied by a number from 1 to 3, which indicated the cultivation difficulty and strength of the technique in question. One was mortal, two was earthly, and three was quasi-immortal.
Only one of the tomes had the number 3 written on its spine, but when Nie Gan picked it up and opened it, he was shocked to see that it could only be cultivated to the 3rd stage of Qi Condensation. Only its first three pages contained writing, the rest were blank.
"The Dharmapala Sutra is widely available. All of the Marquis Clans have it, as well as the important clans in the Imperial Capital. It once belonged to the Dharmapala Sect, and it is still considered the very best body refinement technique in the world. Such a pity only its first stage was recovered. The other seventeen were lost when the Dharmapala Sect was erased from this world." Introduced a dwarve-like elder. His eyes were murky, missing several teeth, and needed a staff to walk, but his spiritual fluctuations were definitely those of the Foundation Establishment realm. Nevertheless, he was also evidently nearing the end of his life.
"Junior pays respects to the Sixth Elder." Hurriedly greeted Nie Gan, clasping his hands per the custom.
"I'm just an old man, no need for formalities. Nie Sang always spoke highly of you. He and I were very close once. I'm technically your Uncle, now that I think about it." Revealed the murky eyed Sixth Elder, the face of a woman coming to his mind. In spite of this, he quickly dispelled his thoughts of the past.
"What can I help you with?" He asked the still stunned Nie Gan, who had had no time to process his words.
"I… I am looking for a body refinement technique."
"Huh, silly me. I thought that you were looking for a formation manual." Sarcastically said the Sixth Elder, chuckling afterwards.
"Well, I am not actually intending to become a body refiner. Or rather, I do not plan to have body refinement as my main path. I wish to become a puppetmaster, but I need a strong body to keep my life in case my puppet is destroyed and I am attacked directly." Ellaborated Nie Gan.
The Sixth Elder raised an eyebrow upon hearing this explanation. He had met many eccentric individuals throughout his long life, but he had never met someone who openly stated they wanted to become a puppetmaster.
"In that case, you are probably looking for a low difficulty, decent enough technique, I presume?"
"Yes, Sixth Elder is very insightful." Nie Gan quickly nodded. He did not want to spend much time in body refinement, just the enough to obtain marginal gains that could increase his chances of survival in a true battle.
"I think I have just what you're looking for." The Sixth Elder flashed a complicit smile and went further down the hallway. Naturally, Nie Gan followed.
When they were about to reach the very end, the Sixth Elder stopped, picked up a random scroll with his chicken-like hand and handed it to Nie Gan to inspect. Upon unfurling it, three words were written on its upper portion.
"Beetle Imitation Technique"
"This must be a joke." Thought Nie Gan, looking at the Sixth Elder, only to find that his murky eyes were dead serious.