"Ugh..why is it so difficult?!"

It had been over a week since I had returned from the ancient tomb, but I had yet to make any progress with programming my newly acquired battle-automata with the appropriate Spirit Engravings. Despite going to the great library belonging to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and the one at Wu Ling Academy and referring to the books, I was unable to replicate the complex patterns and symbols required to power and program the battle-automata.

"I really suck at this."

Glaring balefully at the Thallax-class battle puppet in front of me, I was on the verge of giving up. Closing my eyes briefly, I shook my head and turned away. Behind me, the Thallax-class battle puppet remained motionless and stationary, the Spirit Engravings not glowning at all. Evidently I had drawn something wrong, for despite copying the exact same diagrams from the books strewn over my desk, the battle puppet refused to be activated.

Looked like I had no choice but to approach Elder Tie for help.

Heaving a big sigh, I rose from my workbench and left the room assigned to me. Stretching myself, I packed the Thallax-class battle puppet into my spatial device, then I began my journey toward the Flame Volcano – in particular the part where the elders were residing in.

After a few minutes of walking, I reached Elder Tie's residence, which doubled as his office and workshop. Stopping at the gates, I rang the bell and waited at the intercom. When I heard the buzz, I immediately turned toward the intercom.

"Who is this?"

Elder Tie's familiar voice hissed out of the black grid. Leaning closer so that the machine could capture my voice, I spoke up.

"I'm Fei Wu. I'm here to ask for advice regarding Spirit Engraving."

"Oh, for your spatial device thing?"

I immediately felt a little guilty when Elder Tie asked about that. Now that I thought about it, I had gotten distracted and didn't pay much attention to my original project. I was supposed to be working on integrating my spatial device into a weapon, which was why I went to explore the ancient tomb in the first place.

Now that I had gotten the yin-based spherical spirit artifact, I could begin fusing it with the spatial device made from the Void Whale and the Ice Soul Python. However, I got too carried away with researching and experimenting with Sppirit Engravings on my newly acquired battle-automata that I had pushed my original project right to the back of my mind.

"Uh..well, actually..it's more to do with battle-automata."

"Battle-automata?" Elder Tie sounded like he was frowning in puzzlement. "Why do you want advice on battle-automata Spirit Engravings?"

"I got a bunch of them from the ancient tomb last week," I explained. There was no reason to hide it. Even though I didn't go around boasting and bragging about the spoils of war I had obtained, it wasn't because I was deliberately keeping it a secret. I merely spent too much time cooped up in my workshop whenever I wasn't going to school.

"Oh. Wait one." There was a slight pause, and then the automated gates swung open to allow me entry. "All right, come in. I'm in my workshop right now, so you should head here."

"Yes, Elder Tie."

Without any hesitation, I stepped through the open gates and toward the courtyard. Turning toward the direction of Elder Tie's workshop, I began making my way across a marble pathway that was surrounded on both sides by carefully tended plants. Either Elder Tie lavished a lot of care on them, or he was able to hire a full-time gardener to grow them. Knowing how rich the sect elders were, I was pretty sure it was the latter.

Sounds of smithing rang across the air as I neared the workshop. The door was slightly open, and I pulled it so that I could enter. A blast of heat washed over me, saturated with so much yang qi that I was almost taken by surprise. Even after spending so much time learning smithing, I still hadn't gotten used to the fiery interiors of most spirit furnaces.

"Ah, there you are." Straightening up from whatever piece of red-hot metal he was hammering, Elder Tie removed his safety goggles and smiled at me. He glanced around, as if half-expecting to see something behind me. "You were saying something about a battle-automata?"

"Yeah." I reached into my spatial device and pulled the one I was working on out. "I've been referring to books and stuff, but even though I did my best to replicate the Spirit Engravings, they don't seem to work."

"I see." Elder Tie approached the Thallax-class battle puppet, fascinated and excited. "Isn't this a Thallax-class battle puppet? It's supposed to originate from the Dark Age of Technology! You're saying you got this from the Nascent Soul Stage practitioner's tomb?!"

"Yeah," I affirmed as I watched the elderly man practically dance around the battle puppet. "And not just him. I've a lot more too."

Saying so, I produced a Castellax-class battle-automata from my spatial device. When he saw him materialize, Elder Tie's jaw dropped.

"That's..that's a Castellax-class battle-automata!" he spluttered. "You also fot this from the ancient tomb?!"

"Yup, that's right. I also tried the Spirit Engraving on this guy..took me a week to do it on both of them, and yet I still failed. I was hoping you know why."

"Ah.." Elder Tie nodded in understanding as he pulled back, a wry smile on his face. "For one thing, you cannot hope to restore a battle-automata with half a week's worth of Spirit Engraving. You were rushing the process."

"Half a week's worth? You mean there's a timing for these things? Aren't they completed when I finish inscribing the Spirit Engraving?"

I couldn't help but be confused. Elder Tie shook his head and then chopped the top of my head with his hand.

"Idiot! What did I teach you about Spirit Engraving? Have you forgotten all the basics already? It's not a simple process where you just draw symbols and diagrams! There is a method to it! And you also need to carefully infuse the Engravings with your spiritual energy! It's a meticulous task that requires a tremendous amount of time, effort and focus! There are no shortcuts to it! Judging from the tiny amount of qi in these Engravings, you obviously got too impatient and didn't put in the required amount of time and qi!"

"..oh."

So that was where I went wrong. Well, obviously. I wasn't some Mary Sue protagonist who could become a master Spirit Engraver just because the author said I was. Hell, I don't think the author ever described me as such. He probably ascribed more to the show, not tell model.

"To complete a battle-automata like this.." Elder Tie thumped the Thallax-class battle puppet with his hand. "You'll need to continue imbuing it with qi for about a month. About two hours or so everyday! I mean, you can try to speed it up, but you will run out of qi, and I know you have your own martial arts training so don't be too reckless with that."

"And the Castellax battle-automata will obviously take a bit more time.."

My shoulders slumped down and I sighed in resignation. Given how I had hundreds of Thallax-class battle puppets and about a hundred Castellax-class battle-automata, inscribing Spirit Engravings on all of them was not realistic nor practical.

"I guess I'll have to sell them after all.."

"Huh? You're giving up already? You just need a month or so! You're not that weak or impatient, are you?"

"Uh, no..you see.."

I reached into my spatial device and began bringing the battle puppets and battle-automata out one at a time. Elder Tie's eyes bulged when he saw the sight of me unceasingly taking them out and laying them out.

"I have a lot."

Even after the room was packed full of the battle puppets, I continued to take more out, but Elder Tie hurriedly waved his hands.

"Okay, I get it! Just how many do you have? A few hundred?!"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "About five hundred Thallax-class battle puppets and one hundred and twenty-one Castellax-class battle-automata."

"WTF?!"

Elder Tie practically screeched. I could only scratch my head sheepishly.

"Yeah, I found them all in the ancient tomb and brought them back. As I expected, there's no way I'll be able to Spirit Engrave all six hundred plus of them."

"If you sell them all, you'll be rich!" Elder Tie exclaimed, his eyes glazing over. "Hell, I'll even buy a few from you!"

To be honest, I wasn't going to sell all of them. Even though I intended to sell most of them because I was now aware that it wouldn't be practical to spend the next few years doing nothing but carve Spirit Engravings into the battle-automata, I was going to keep a few for myself. Probably four, maybe six of them at the most. And I might as well let go of all the Thallax-class battle puppets. I was only interested in the cooler-looking Castellax-class battle-automata.

This could be the beginning of a humble forge world. I could join the Martian Priesthood and be inducted into the Cult Mechanicus while leading my battle-automata round like some arrogant Archmagos of the Legio Cybernetica..

"Hello? Fei Wu?"

Elder Tie waved a hand in front of my face. I realized I was drifting off into my own world and getting obsessed with my favorite tabletop wargame. Coughing to cover up my embarrassment, I inquired of him.

"How many would you like to buy? And I'm thinking of selling most of them to the sect, anyway. Should I just approach the administrative building for that?"

"Ah, certainly. They will help you with anything financial and business-related. I'll just take twelve Thallax-class battle puppets and two Castellax-class battle-automata. I'll pay you separately. Is Paypal all right?"

"Sure. You have my email address, right? That's my Paypal address."

"Excellent." Elder Tie beamed, and then cast a pleased gaze over the army of battle-automata. Realizing that they were occupying too much space, I hurriedly began to pack them up. However, before I did, I turned to Elder Tie.

"Perhaps you would want to choose the ones you want before I keep them?"

"Sure!"

It didn't take Elder Tie much time to pick. There wasn't any difference between the models, so he just picked the ones most convenient for him to store. Afterward, I retrieved the rest of the battle-automata, stuffing them into my spatial device.

"You really should get started on your original project," Elder Tie remarked when he spotted my spatial device and was reminded of the time I approached him for advice regarding it. "Don't get too distracted by Spirit Engraving with battle-automata. Tell you what, I'll personally teach and oversee your Spirit Engravings of your battle-automata once you've decided what to keep and what to sell. Since I've gotten some from you, I can demonstrate."

"Yes, Elder Tie."

"And I'll send you the cash online through Paypal by tonight. Remind me again if I forget to send it to you by tomorrow morning. There is no need to send me an invoice, I'll send it as friends. Otherwise Paypal will deduct a percentage of the money."

Given how battle-automata were expensive, even a small percentage of their cost would be a huge sum. I was grateful to Elder Tie for his understanding.

"How about we start right away?"

Elder Tie was rubbing his hands gleefully as he eyed the battle-automata he just purchased from me.

"Before that, do you mind if you help me with this?"

I retrieved the broken Castellax-class battle-automata that I found right outside the Sea of Fire that protected the core of the ancient tomb. The poor guy got totally thrashed and destroyed by Lei Yong Chun, Ling Qing Zhu and the others, and was in pretty bad shape. I had attempted to repair him by looking at the others, but his systems were simply too complex for me to piece together. In the end, I had given up and focused on Spirit Engraving, because if I couldn't even get that right, then even if I somehow repaired this fella, he would remain inert without the proper Spirit Engravings.

Fortunately, now that Elder Tie was willing to teach me Spirit Engraving for the battle-automata, I might as well get him repaired before I got to inscribing Spirit Engravings to him eventually. Besides, I also wanted to know if he was irreparable or not. Otherwise I would have to factor him into account when selling the rest of my battle-automata (I didn't want odd numbers). I could also use him for spare parts or other experiments if that was the case.

"Hmm.." Elder Tie observed the broken battle-automata thoughtfully, and then sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. Even with my skills, I'm afraid this poor battle-automata is beyond repair."

"Oh well..I was hoping this brave guy can be restored, but I guess that's harsh reality for you."

The Castellax-class battle-automata deserved to be rewarded for valiantly fighting to the last despite facing overwhelming odds. It would be a pity to see him die, but at least he would live on as spare parts.

The Omnissiah had plans for all of us, after all. Each one of us was a cog, ticking away and contributing to the greater whole of the Machine. That didn't mean I intended to replace my organic parts with cybernetic augmentation. I was not going to be a Skitarius or Tech-priest. I was going to be that psychic sorcerer who controls battle-automata with mind magic or psychic powers, just like a warlock from the Thousand Sons Legion.

"I guess I'll have to take him apart for spare parts."

"That will be a good idea." Elder Tie nodded. "And you can sell those individual components off for a good price, though. Even though the cerebral cortex is damaged, and the frame is broken beyond repair, the individual components are not. That crystalline Qi-control matrix, for example, can be installed in another battle-automata to grant a martial artist control of it. The mauler-bolt cannon mounted on its shoulder looks like it can be salvaged. The main qi battery also seems like it can be refitted in another machine."

"Qi battery?" I frowned. Qi Lin had told me that these battle-automata required Pure Yuan Pills or qi from the controller in order to execute attacks. That could very well be made up for using artificial qi from Wu Ling Academy's labs, but obviously I needed to show them a working battle-automata with a complete Spirit Engraving before I could convince them to sell me some (or even buy some). In any case, it was obvious that all that qi would be store in the qi battery.

Still, these things were from an earlier age, so perhaps..

"Is there any type of qi generator installed?" I asked. Elder Tie chuckled.

"Goodness, no. Remember, these ancient battle-automata are from a different time period. Even if it's called the Dark Age of Technology, it's not as if they were better than us. They had yet to invent qi generators or technology that could generate qi during that time."

Modern technology had advanced far ahead of that epoch by inventing qi generators. While they did not literally generate qi (that was the domain of the newly created artificial qi), they drew natural qi from the surroundings to power their machines. So electricity to power lights, or qi to fuel the movement of cars and other vehicles.

However, as powerful as they were, they obviously wasn't able to convert natural qi into attacks powerful enough to match the whatever realms or stages that martial artists insisted or categorizing. Drawing natural qi from the surroundings could power a car and made it move, but it wasn't enough to level a mountain. So these qi generators normally weren't weaponized. That wasn't to say they were never used for battle-automata – the battle puppets and training dummies in Wu Ling Academy operated on this principle, but they were far from being powerful enough to compete against true masters. That was why a master like Lei Yong Chun was strong enough to destroy an entire army of them by himself.

The production of artificial qi meant that they could, theoretically, be much more powerful than their predecessors who relied entirely on drawing natural qi from the surroudings to power their attacks and movements, but as I pointed out over and over again, volume of qi was just a single factor. Reality wasn't as simple as "more qi equals automatic victory." As much as xianxia stories loved to play up on the stages, realms and amount of qi, real life simply didn't abide by such neat categories or rigid rules. In the first place, strength and qi wasn't something you could easily measure, quantify and categorize conveniently.

But even so, modern technology allowed us to have machines and vehicles that operated without needing us to feed them Pure Yuan Pills or supply them with our own qi. While you could theoretically improve their performance by infusing them with more qi – indeed, most people actually do this, for example motorcyclists who amplified the speed of their motorbikes several times by infusing their vehicles with qi, or accelerating a computer's processing speed by injecting it with qi, or even something as simple as increasing the water pressure from a hose to put our fires – normal people could get away by using machines that did not require their wielder's qi. Otherwise, it would be a little ridiculous if you need a bus driver to be a martial artist, in order to supply his vehicle with the qi to move, or a chef to be a martial artist to increase the heat of his stove.

It seemed that people from the Dark Age of Technology weren't omnipotent and still lacked in certain areas compared to people living in the contemporary period. So we still had some progress that we could be proud of.

"All right." Breaking out of my thoughts, I packed the broken Castellax battle-automata up with the intention of dismantling him for parts later (or maybe use him to create an entirely new battle-automata or robot). "Then I will humbly request you to teaching me how to do Spirit Engravings for a battle-automata, Elder Tie."

Elder Tie grinned as he stroked his beard. "Leave it to me!"

*

After a long day in the workshop, I was finally released from my extra class. Exhausted and emotionally shattered, I trudged back toward my residence.

"Ugh..I really am not meant for Spirit Engraving or smithing, am I?"

Unfortunately, I had made Elder Tie mad because of my incompetence. It was times like this that I wished I was a competent protagonist with talent in whatever he did. At least in those stories, it never seemed like those Mary Sue protagonists ever get scolded by their masters. All they did was get praised for being a genius.

They had it easy, didn't they? And here I was, feeling absolutely useless after failing over and over again, and getting yelled at by an increasingly infuriated Elder Tie. Why did I ever think it would be easy?

Okay, perhaps I didn't think it would be easy, but I never imagined that it would be this difficult too. Why couldn't I get it right?

"This is the worst.."

Grumbling to myself, I pushed the door to my residence open and staggered in. Shutting the door and locking it, I then proceeded to my room before flopping down on my bed.

"Ugh..I really suck, don't I?"

Why couldn't I be like those guys? They made it seem so easy, but when I actually tried doing it in reality, it turned out to be super-difficult. Yet those guys were not only geniuses in martial artists, they were also prodigies in whatever secondary (or primary) fields, being unparalleled artificers or receptariers or alchemists or doctors.

To be fair, maybe they did get scolded by their masters, but the authors conveniently gloss over those or didn't mention them because they didn't want to cover the parts where their protagonists were in a shameful state.

While I continued to wallow in self-pity (okay, it had everything to do with the author suffering from depression after screwing up in his independent study class for his preliminary exam in graduate school), my cellphone suddenly buzzed.

"Hmm?"

Picking up my cellphone, I saw that it was Zhu Jiao. Sitting up on the edge of my bed, I hit the green button and answered the call, only to wince when his voice blared out from the speaker.

"Fei Wu! Thank you so much!"

"What the hell, man? What is it, all of a sudden?" I snapped, pulling my cellphone to a distance away and massaging my ear in annoyance.

"Thanks to you, Qing Tan is all better now!"

"Oh? Is she? That's great to hear!" my foul mood dissipated immediately and I broke into a smile, my depression all forgotten. "So the Ultimate Yin Dragon Saliva worked?"

"Yeah! Like a charm! All that yin aura that always attacks her is now completely under control! She no longer suffers from them!"

I had passed the Ultimate Yin Dragon Saliva to Zhu Jiao a week ago, and he used it on Qing Tan immediately. Given that he was only telling me this now, he must have been observing his adopted sister for a week to ensure that the symptoms didn't relapse. I wasn't sure how frequent they were, but it seemed to be something that occurred once every few days. So if it hadn't relapsed after a whole week, then it seemed that it was successful.

"Well, keep me updated," I told him. "We still can't say for sure if it has totally cured your sister."

"I know." Zhu Jiao paused for a moment. "But still, I want to thank you. If it weren't for you, never mind a week, Qing Tan would still be suffering right now."

"Right."

I had literally given Zhu Jiao the Ultimate Yin Dragon Saliva for free. Since we were friends, I didn't want to be calculative, and it was an aside item I obtained alongside my Azure Lotus Sword and the spherical yin artifact I found in that icy cave protected by the Nine Thousand Yin Ice Hell Formation. So I wasn't that desperate for money or anything in return, and I wasn't going to ransom my best friend for an elixir that his suffering sister really, really needed.

Aware of how priceless of a gift I had handed over to him, Zhu Jiao sounded a little guilty. I mean, he was the standard protagonist, so he was used to getting whatever he needed for free, usually through convenient means. Even so, he wasn't going to take our friendship for granted.

"I owe you a meal. And Qing Tan wants to thank you personally, so if you could come over sometime, preferably for dinner.."

"Well, I would love to, but I'm pretty busy.." I glanced at my calendar and noted the dates. My schedule was filled with forging lessons, and now that I had this battle-automata project as an extra thing, I was only going to get busier.

"Yeah, I know. But let me know when your schedule clears up a little, okay? Qing Tan and I owe you big time. My whole family does. Father wants to thank you as well, and he's ready to throw a feast when you come over."

All the more reason not to go over, but whatever. It honestly wasn't a big deal, and Zhu Jiao's gratitude was making me feel awkward.

"I'll let you know. For now, keep an eye on your sister and let me know if anything happens. I'll definitely help if I can."

With that, I hung up and went back to dropping down on my bed.

*

The next day, I went straight to the sect admin building in Tushan City to sell the battle-automata I had.

"..did you say battle-automata?"

The lady receptionist at the counter was gaping at me when I revealed my hand. I nodded and began taking them out one by one in front of her.

"Yeah, these. The sect will buy them, right?"

The lady receptionist took a double take when she saw me taking them out one after the other, and when it became clear that I wasn't going to stop even after taking out more than a dozen of them, she frantically waved her hands.

"Wait! Stop! How many do you have?"

"Um, about five hundred Thallax-class battle puppets and a hundred and sixteen Castellax-class battle-automata."

"Waaaah! Okay, okay! Put them back in! Let's go to the back – there's more space there! Don't take them out here at the counter!"

"Sure."

While I put the battle-automata back, the lady receptionist was urgently calling someone with the desk phone and speaking rapidly. I strained my ears to eavesdrop, but before I could, someone called out to me.

"Whoa! Fei Wu, what's this?!"

"Oh, Qi Hong. Are you here to sell stuff as well?"

Tang Qi Hong stepped into the sect admin building, gaping at the battle-automata I was keeping into my spatial device. She shook her head in disbelief, ignoring my question and peering curiously at the stuff I was keeping.

"Are those battle-automata?!"

"Yep," I confirmed. Tang Qi Hong ogled me.

"Seriously?! Where did you get them from?!"

"Oh? I didn't tell you?" well, I clearly didn't, but that was more because I spent too much time cooped up in my workshop and training martial arts than going out to socialize with my classmates. "From the Nascent Soul Stage practitioner's tomb last week."

"EH?! Why didn't you tell me!?"

"You didn't ask."

Tang Qi Hong glared at me, and I quickly raised both my hands apologetically.

"Um, well..I never saw any reason to mention it.."

Tang Qi Hong shook her head again, still trying to digest the sight. She then noticed the receptionist behind me, who was speaking on the phone, and glanced around the lobby of the sect admin building, as if realizing where she was for the first time.

"Are you selling them off?"

"Yeah. I talked to Elder Tie yesterday, and it seems like it's too impractical and unrealistic for me to try and carve Spirit Engravings in each and every one of them. So I might as well sell most of what I have away."

Speaking of Elder Tie, he remained true to his word and send me payment last night. Good thing he did, because I wouldn't be able to open a claim with Paypal without an invoice and stuff. But then again, I knew Elder Tie well enough to trust him, so I wasn't worried about that.

"Sell me a few of them!"

Tang Qi Hong was grabbing hold of me and shaking my body. Even I didn't want to, I was forced to nod.

"Okay. How many do you want?"

"Um..six Thallax-class battle puppets and four Castellax-class battle-automata!"

"Oh? Okay.." I blinked, finding the specific numbers weird. "Yesterday, Elder Tie wanted twelve Thallax-class battle puppets and two Castellax-class battle-automata. Interesting."

"What, you don't know? This is the standard numbers according to the Force Organization Chart." Tang Qi Hong was already moving along, choosing the battle-automata she wanted. "One HQ and a mimimum of two Troops – those are the compulsory requirements for Primary Detachment." She patted her well-endowed chest. "We blacksmiths or puppet masters can be counted as the HQ. As for Thallax-class battle puppets, they come in a minimum of squads of three, but you can take up to twelve per squad if you want. So I can split mine to two squads of three, or take a single squad of six. Elder Tie probably plans to field them in squads of six, though."

Why did this sound so familiar?

"As for Castellax-class battle-automata, you can take a squad of one minimum, but you can also take up to six in a single squad. Most people run them in squads of two, though, and I suspect Elder Tie plans on doing so." She frowned. "It's unfortunate, but unless you're a Legio Cybernetica battlesmith, you probably are not allowed to take Castellax-class battle-automata as compulsory Troops. That's why Elder Tie wants so many Thallax-class battle puppets. Me, I'll just split my Thallax-class battle puppets into squads of three to fulfill the compulsory Troops requirement." She then turned to me. "If you plan on building a Legio Cybernetica army, then Castellax battle-automata will become your Troops slot. However, you must take a minimum of two per squad if that is the case. But you will gain specific benefits if you go down that route."

"Why is this starting to sound like a certain tabletop game?" I muttered under my breath. "And no one uses Force Organization Charts anymore.."

"Oh, right..it's a new Edition. But these battle-automat don't have rules for the new Edition, so you have to continue using 30K rules for them."

Was it my imagination, or was Tang Qi Hong breaking the fourth wall right now? Since when did we start fielding battle-automata as if we were Mechanicum Tech-priests? I was pretty sure we had moved into the contemporary period, having left the fires of the Heresy far behind in the past. Except there was no Heresy in this timeline..

"Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I take these!"

Tang Qi Hong looked satisfied as she picked out the six Thallax-class battle puppets and four Castellax-class battle-automata that she wanted.

"No, I don't," I assured her before I began to pack the rest of them up in my spatial device. Tang Qi Hong did the same.

"You don't mind receiving payment through Paypal, right?"

"Paypal is fine."

"All right! I'll send it to you in a bit!" -->>

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