154 Chapter 153: Man and Machine (1/2)
Eventually, Elder Hai divided the battle-automata somewhat evenly among the disciples and masters of the Blood Blades. As there about two hundred Blood Blades, each of them had about three or less battle-automata. Some went for the Thallax-class battle puppets because they were more flexible, faster and more agile thanks to being jet-pack infantry who could jump, shoot, jump, while others preferred the much more robust and durable Castellax-class battle-automata that packed several more magnitudes of firepower.
Whatever the case, most of the Blood Blades were satisfied with what they had. Tong Xue went for three Thallax-class battle puppets while Pang Feng chose two Castellax-class battle-automata. They really made choices that suited their personalities and skills.
After that was done, Elder Hai gathered all of us around.
”All right! Now that you've chosen your battle puppets, I shall begin to teach you to inscribe your personal Spirit Engraving on them. This is to ensure nobody else will be able to control your battle puppet. You will be engraving your own personal seal on your battle puppet, so to speak. It will obey only you and it is also a great countermeasure against theft.”
Everyone nodded, enraptured, half-distracted by their newly obtained battle puppets. There were very few left, set aside for those Blood Blades still out on a mission, but Hai Rong packed them up. I grimaced, recalling earlier how I had to dump about six hundred of the battle-automata out of my spatial device, but fortunately my fellow Blood Blades were on hand to help me assemble them properly and neatly.
”Watch closely. I will be demonstrating how to carve your own command seal on these battle-automata.”
As he said so, Elder Hai Mo proceeded to engrave a Spirit Diagram into the Thallax-class battle puppet in front of him. Even though he was quite far away, standing on a stage in front of two hundred Blood Blades, we were able to see the Spirit Diagram and his actions clearly thanks to the spirit projector that beamed his movements on a big screen.
It reminded me of the mass lectures conducted in universities in my previous timelines, where professors conducted lessons through Powerpoint slides projected on a gigantic screen. Well, this was more akin to a visualizer or a live recording.
Thankfully, my glasses also had a recording function, and I activated it, so that I could go through Elder Hai's motions one more time in case I missed anything. This wasn't an excuse to drift off and sleep in class, so I paid attention as best as I could, my eyes drilling into the screen intently and my mind trying to cram as much as it could.
Honestly, I didn't need to do that. Elder Hai would upload this lecture on the online learning system and we could download the video later for our own learning purposes. That didn't mean we should slack off during the lecture, though.
After the demonstration, Elder Hai stepped back. The Thallax-class battle puppet didn't move, but the Spirit Engraving glowed with soulful life, blazing defiantly against the backdrop of white. Satisfied, Elder Hai turned to beam at us.
”And that's how it's done. Now it's your turn.”
”Heh…”
The crowd stirred with excitement, and then the Blood Blades began working enthusiastically on their battle puppets. I tried to mimic Elder Hai's actions, with some failure. Fortunately, with my glasses, I could play back the recordings and see where I went wrong, and meticulously execute the Spirit Engraving step by step.
”That's right…that's good. Hmm, not bad, but you might want to finetune the Engraving here. Ah! You made a minor mistake there! It should be rounder, not squarish.”
While the Blood Blades worked on their individual battle-automata, Elder Hai went around to inspect and supervise them. He wasn't the only one. The more experienced elders, such as Elder Tie, and several other masters, upon finishing their Spirit Engravings, dispersed to help and assist the less seasoned disciples in carving their own personal seal.
”I wonder if this is correct?”
I stared at my Spirit Engraving on the first Castellax-class battle-automata I inscribed it on, feeling doubtful. Unlike Elder Hai's Thallax-class battle puppet, or the other battle-automata that were lighting up as my fellow disciples inscribed their personal seals on them, my Engraving showed no life.
”Ah…the problem is that you made a slight error in the core of your diagram. Also, you infused it with too much qi, overloading the Engraving. Relax, and don't be too tense.”
Catching sight of my failure, Elder Hai walked over in a relaxed manner and informed me. I nodded gratefully and hurried to rectify my mistake. After several tries, I finally got the hang of it and was able to complete a soulfully glowing Spirit Engraving.
”Phew!”
”That took you long enough!” Tong Xue teased, having finished his three Thallax-class battle puppets a while ago. The guy was fast. I was only just starting on my second Castellax-class battle-automata.
Nearby, Pang Feng grunted. He was slightly faster than me, but he was still in the midst of carving his Spirit Seal in his second Castellax-class battle-automata.
”You are all slow!” Tang Qi Hong complained. The three of us turned to stare at her and our jaws dropped. Somehow, Tang Qi Hong had already finished inscribing her personal Spirit Seal on all of her battle-automata, which included six Thallax-class battle puppets and four Castellax-class batlle-automata. Given how Tong Xue only had three Thallax-class battle puppets and finished a short while ago, it meant that Tang Qi Hong was faster than him by several times.
That girl really was a genius at Spirit Engraving and smithing.
It took a couple of hours, but finally every single Blood Blade finished carving their personal Spirit Engraving on their respective battle puppets to bind them to their individual will. I also managed to finish the fourth, just barely. I was slow, I know. It was unfortunate, but I didn't have the talent for Spirit Engraving and smithing, especially when compared to prodigies such as Tang Qi Hong and Liang Shao Yang.
The only thing I had going for me was hard work.
”Very good. Now no one will be able to steal your battle puppets.”
Elder Hai was nodding in satisfaction, and then his expression turned grim.
”But now comes the hard part.”
”…eh?”
Everyone stared at him, feeling a sense of dread. His expression not changing, Elder Hai continued sternly.
”The next step of Spirit Engraving for battle-automata is basically giving them power and life. Bestowing them a soul and allowing them to move. All we have done so far is the most minor of programming steps, basically claiming ownership by creating a sole administrator user account and sealing it to our biometrics…or spirit. But just because you have established ownership of the battle puppet doesn't mean it will be able to fight immediately. That's where the main Spirit Engraving comes in. To be honest, it's easier if I get the inner sect disciples to complete the next step, but…I think this will be a good lesson for all of you.”
Even though he didn't say why, I could suspect the reason. Elder Hai had expressed his doubts and suspicions about the inner sect, particularly those directly under the control and influence of the other Great Elders. It would also mean granting people like Liang Shao Yang direct access to our battle-automata, something he was loathe to do.
That was why we had to do this the hard way.
”I'm sure you're aware of this, but engraving Spirit Diagrams in a battle-automata is a long, tedious and complex process. It will take you a month just to complete one Spirit Engraving on a single battle-automata. It's not a simple process of just drawing the Spirit Diagrams on their insides…” At this, I lowered my head sheepishly, remembering the reprimand I received from Elder Tie. Elder Hai was merely confirming what Elder Tie told me. ”You also need to weave your own qi and spiritual power and will into the fabric of the Spirit Diagram, or it will remain inert.”
”Yes~”
The Blood Blades chorused somewhat nonchalantly. They clearly had no idea just how difficult the process would be. I couldn't blame them. Ever since they joined the Blood Blades, the vast majority of them had stopped forging, smithing or Spirit Engraving, so that they could focus on sharpening their martial arts and combat skills. They just couldn't imagine the difficulty level, at least not until they actually tried it out themselves.
”Be prepared!” Elder Hai was grinning malevolently. This time, a few of the seasoned Blood Blade disciples felt chills run down their spines, having been in the sect long enough to recognize that ominous expression. ”I will be driving you all very hard! For the sake of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!”
*
And just like that, another two months passed. By now, most of us had finished our Spirit Engravings on at least two of our battle-automata. I certainly did. The more talented ones, such as Tang Qi Hong, were able to complete three, but even a prodigy like Tang Qi Hong was unable to rush the process by much.
”Man, I want to finish Spirit Engraving all my battle-automata already!” Tang Qi Hong complained as she threw her head back, her long, golden hair tumbling past her back. She leaned back against her chair, kicking her legs restlessly.
”I know, right?” Tong Xue grumbled as he placed his head on his desk. ”I'm sick of Spirit Engraving. I joined the Blood Blades for a reason!”
Lian Rou stared at the two of them, and then glanced at me. When she saw that I was wearing the same sullen, sour expression as the other two, she decided not to ask.
She shouldn't need to ask, though. It wasn't as if Elder Hai and the Blood Blades were keeping their acquisition of battle-automata a secret.
”Even so, we still have to return to Tushan City eventually.” Lian Rou finally spoke up awkwardly. ”You seriously don't intend on sticking in school forever?”
”No, but…” Tang Qi Hong looked perturbed.
”If we go back, we'll have to attend the battle-automata lesson again. It's been two months!” Tong Xue grimaced at the mere thought. ”I want it to end already!”
”Hey, you only have one Thallax-class battle puppet left to Spirit Engrave,” I reminded him harshly. ”I still have two Castellax-class battle-automata, and Qi Hong has three more Thallax-class battle puppets and four Castellax-class battle-automata.”
”Why did I ever think it was a good idea to buy so many from you?” Tang Qi Hong groaned and glared at me resentfully. ”You were pretty smart to sell most of them and keep only four for yourself.”
”Not as smart as those who chose to have only two Castellax-class battle-automata,” I muttered. Pang Feng was free of the battle-automata lessons, having finished programming both of his Castellax-class battle-automata. I felt jealous of him, but reminded myself that by the end of the year I would be having the last laugh.
Actually, by next year, Tang Qi Hong would be having the last laugh. She would have the most number of battle-automata out of any one of us, excluding the elders.
”Well, let's get this done and over with,” I growled as a flash of determination took over. Rising to my feet, I followed Lian Rou out of the classroom. Tang Qi Hong and Tong Xue reluctantly followed us, but inwardly they agreed.
Less than an hour later, the Phoenix Express touched down on the landing pad inside Tushan City, and the Nine-Tailed Sect disciples disembarked. Tang Qi Hong, Tong Xue and I plodded sullenly toward the direction of the main sect hall, already dreading the lessons to follow. Lian Rou could only shake her head and sigh as she followed us to the Flame Volcano.
”You brought this upon yourself.”
”Um, Tong Xue didn't. First Elder Hai was the one who dumped this on the Blood Blades.” I shrugged. To be fair, the whole thing was my fault to begin with, but I wasn't going to admit that. ”I mean, I agree with his decision, but that doesn't make our job any easier.”
”…yeah, hmm…I don't know why he doesn't ask the inner sect disciples to do the Spirit Engravings instead. It'll be easier.” Lian Rou looked thoughtful. Even though it was common knowledge that the Blood Blades received battle-automata, Elder Hai obviously did not tell anyone about his suspicions regarding certain elders and inner sect disciples. That would be a silly move, one that would create rifts within the sect and encourage inner strife.