| PN | A-Level | 5
#Help! It's been three years, and the Puppet Master Association still refuses to certify me as a puppet masterQAQ#
Original Poster_1st Floor:【As the title suggests, I have been making puppets for nearly three years and have extensive experience, but the Puppet Masters Association refuses to certify me as a puppet master because my spiritual power is only at level D. What should I do?】
Autumn Wind_2nd Floor: 【There's no hope.】
Cold Noodles_3rd Floor: 【1, without the association's certification, you’re nothing.】
Just Go to Sleep_4th Floor: 【I envy you, at least you’ve learned how to make puppets. Since the association banned the information a year ago, I haven't even been able to learn how to make them. Boohoo.】
No One Dares Defy Me_5th Floor: 【Only level D spiritual power? Doesn't that mean all your dolls are idiots? Hahaha, give up already and change careers.】
Sticky Rice_6th Floor: 【What's with these people? Someone asks for help and you just make snide remarks? Don’t listen to them, OP! Even if the association doesn't certify you, you can still make money!】
Really? I Don't Believe It_7th Floor: 【Nonsense, an uncertified puppet master’s skill must be so low. No one would want their puppets. If they look pretty, they might sell cheaply on the black market.】
Big Shot Mindful_8th Floor: 【7th Floor, mind your words. Our Doctor isn't certified by the association either, but one of their puppets sells for over a hundred million star coins, and one even fetched ten billion on the black market. Are you calling that low-level?】
Doctor's Supporter_9th Floor: 【The Doctor is different.】
Buy Flowers for the Doctor_10th Floor: 【1, the Doctor is different.】
...
The thread quickly went off-topic. Qi Chao, seeing terms like "association certification" and "spiritual power," seemed to understand something. He exited the thread and began searching for these keywords.
The results were similarly vague, but by piecing them together, he started to form a general idea.
Firstly, on Blue Star, not everyone can become a puppet master.
Puppet Masters, in the process of creating puppets, must not only construct the physical shell but also establish the meridians. The meridians connect the puppet's heart and body, serving as essential channels for energy transport.
When creating these meridians, puppet makers must infuse their own spiritual power into them.
The higher the spiritual power, the higher the grade of the puppet, making it more intelligent. Conversely, lower spiritual power results in inferior, unintelligent puppets.
Decades ago, a puppet created by a certain puppet master fetched an astronomical price at an auction. This incredible profit enticed countless people to flood into the industry, frantically producing puppets.
This led to a vast disparity in quality, and before the association was established, Blue Star was flooded with countless substandard puppets.
These inferior puppets were hideous and bizarre in appearance, moved awkwardly, couldn't speak, and some couldn't even stand, only capable of moving their eyeballs. Such puppets had no market value and ended up in filthy garbage dumps.
However, those blinded by greed did not give up. They continued to irrationally mass-produce puppets day after day, dreaming of getting rich overnight.
Later, the resource known as the mother stone, essential for giving life to puppets, nearly became exhausted, and supply couldn't meet demand. This prompted the inhabitants of Blue Star to start rectifying the chaos, leading to the establishment of the Puppet Masters Association.
The association began certifying puppet masters, and the public preferred buying puppets made by certified professionals.
As a result, those who produced inferior puppets and couldn't make any money gradually left the market. Only the substandard puppets left in the garbage dumps remained, destined to sleep forever.
Nowadays, the Puppet Masters Association has founded professional academies and hosts major competitions. With countless puppet makers under its wing, it holds significant market power.
A year ago, it even restricted access to online resources for making puppets, monopolizing the entire puppet-making industry.
If a puppet master is not recognized by the association, they are effectively done for, and their future earnings are bleak. Of course, there are exceptions—some uncertified puppet masters do make big money, but these are extremely rare, with odds of one in millions.
Qi Chao sorted through Blue Star's complex history with a tumultuous heart, ultimately letting out a sigh.
The only aspect of this history that truly saddened him was the fate of those puppets forever asleep in garbage dumps. Created by those driven by greed, their lives ended before they even began and were discarded as mere trash.
Qi Chao turned his head to look at the blonde puppet beside him. Lan Luo was intently watching the projection, his expression lively and natural. If not for the ball joints at his wrists and knees, anyone would mistake him for an ordinary human child.
Sensing Qi Chao's gaze, Lan Luo tilted his head, his bright blue eyes filled with confusion.
Qi Chao smiled and ruffled the puppet's head. "It's nothing, keep watching."
"Mm!" Lan Luo's eyes curved into a beautiful arc as he nodded happily.
Compared to those inferior puppets, Lan Luo, an S-grade puppet, was much luckier and smarter.
Currently, the highest grade of puppets on Blue Star is S-grade, making Lan Luo top-tier. It's said that each S-grade puppet possesses a special ability, though Lan Luo didn't seem to have one.
Otherwise, the original owner wouldn't have bought him for just a few million.
Qi Chao withdrew his gaze from Lan Luo and, lost in thought, pondered that the puppet master who created Lan Luo must have had S-grade spiritual power.
How Impressive.
On Blue Star, spiritual power is innate and hard to change after birth. Qi Chao still didn't fully understand this abstract concept. The original owner had A-grade spiritual power, making him exceptional on Blue Star, where very few people exceed S-grade, and most are C-grade.
Qi Chao wondered what his own spiritual power level was and if it matched the original owner's.
If it was too low, it would be problematic. He wasn't concerned about the association certifying him; his main worry was that low spiritual power would result in significant flaws in the puppets he created.
Additionally, repairing puppets also required spiritual power. If his spiritual power was too low, he wouldn't be able to fix the cracks on Lan Luo's hand.
Although he could ask another puppet master for help, he only had thirty thousand star coins left, and repairing an S-grade puppet's cracks would cost at least a million. The more he thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed.
Qi Chao voiced his concerns to the system.
The system was equally uncertain: 【According to the system's analysis, spiritual power is related to the strength of one's soul. Your spiritual power should differ from the original owner's. If you're worried, you can go to a professional institution for testing.】
Qi Chao unconsciously furrowed his brows but quickly relaxed. Worrying now was pointless; he'd find out the result after testing at the institution tomorrow.
Going to the institution naturally meant leaving the house, and if he left tomorrow, Lan Luo would be left alone in the villa.
Ever since Lan Luo was bought by the original owner, he had been confined to the villa. Going outside, let alone to the garden to enjoy the sunlight, was a luxury he had never experienced.
A tinge of bitterness rose in Qi Chao’s heart. He hid his emotions and deliberately coughed to get Lan Luo’s attention. "How about Daddy takes Lan Luo out to play tomorrow?"
Lan Luo, who was watching the projection screen, scraped his fingertips against the sofa upon hearing this.
When he looked up, his clear eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation, his tone brimming with incredulous joy. "Really, Master?"
"Of course!" Seeing the little one’s eager expression, Qi Chao immediately confirmed, "Daddy will take you to the amusement park!"
Qi Chao’s family was poor when he was a child, and he rarely had the chance to play.
In nearly thirty years, he had only been to an amusement park once, and that time his parents were caught by security for sneaking in without tickets and spent a week in the police station.
It wasn’t a pleasant memory, but somehow, when thinking of fun places, the first thing that came to Qi Chao’s mind was that ordinary amusement park.
After booking appointments online for the testing institution and the amusement park, Qi Chao turned off the light brain and looked at his child. Lan Luo was still enthusiastically watching the boring educational cartoon.
Well, even though it wasn't as exciting as superheroes, as long as Lan Luo liked it, that was all that mattered. Qi Chao chuckled softly and went to the kitchen to make lunch.
After Qi Chao left, Lan Luo’s eyes darkened. Though he was still watching the projection screen, his demeanor grew noticeably restless. Why did they need to go out tomorrow? What was the purpose?
The blonde puppet still looked delicate on the outside, but his gaze resembled that of a bloodthirsty beast in the dark, cold and sticky, as if he could shed his disguise and devour his prey at any moment.
Lan Luo was the most impatient among the puppets created by his father. There were many times before his elder brother gave orders, Lan Luo had already killed the person. That was how his previous three owners had met their end.
His elder brother was angry. Lan Luo wasn’t afraid of him, but he feared his father.
If he lost control again, his father would be angry.
Lan Luo’s murderous intent slowly receded as he stared at the screen. If his master made him angry tomorrow, he would have a reason to kill him, and his father wouldn’t be mad.
On the sofa, the blonde puppet’s demeanor became harmless once again, like a cute little kitten. He watched the projection screen intently, finding the educational cartoon far more interesting than any superhero show.
*****
Since they had to go to the institution for a spiritual power test first and the schedule was tight, Qi Chao got up early and started preparing.
Lan Luo woke up earlier than yesterday, seeming very eager for their outing. As he came downstairs, he kept excitedly looking at Qi Chao.
Qi Chao didn't think much of it; he assumed the puppet was looking forward to going to the amusement park. He was glad he had suggested it yesterday. He took out a cute brown bear backpack and filled it with some energy stones he had cut that morning.
The brown bear backpack was a free gift from yesterday's clothing purchase, and Qi Chao also packed some snacks inside in case Lan Luo got tired and needed a snack.
Lan Luo obediently put on the brown bear backpack. He was dressed in a checkered casual suit Qi Chao had bought yesterday, with a beret on his head. His slightly curled blonde hair peeked out from under the brim of the hat, making him look even more like a young nobleman from the 19th century artistic family.
Qi Chao couldn't help but be charmed. He lifted Lan Luo's hat and playfully tousled the puppet's hair. As Lan Luo snapped out of his daze and smiled warmly at Qi Chao, he suddenly felt a bit guilty.
"Lan Luo, your hair was messy. Daddy fixed it for you," Qi Chao said somewhat sheepishly as he put the hat back on.
There was just no way he could play a prank on such a well-behaved child.
Qi Chao sighed.
Meanwhile, the system in his sea of consciousness watched the demon puppet, who was now smiling brightly and adjusting his hat, and shuddered.
The host really seemed to be looking for trouble at every turn.
Unaware of this, Qi Chao buckled the safety belt for his obedient child and flew the aircraft to the spiritual power testing institution.
The testing institution was owned by the wealthiest individual on Blue Star. Yes, it was the original owner's father.
The original owner wasn't a good person, but his family members were each better than the next.
Qi Chao hadn't planned on coming to this institution. He hadn't figured out how to face the original owner's family yet.
Plus, if his spiritual power test results differed from the original owner's, he would need to come up with explanations, which was too troublesome. But when Qi Chao saw the price for the spiritual power test, he relented.
With only thirty thousand star coins in the original owner's pocket, if he didn't save, he wouldn't be able to take the puppet to the amusement park in the afternoon.
Qi Chao was particularly short of money right now, and making puppets was a huge expense.
He wasn't shameless enough to ask the original owner's family for money.
He decided to live in the moment, take the puppet out for a day of fun, and think about making money later.
The institution bore the billionaire's name, attracting many people who came here to test their spiritual power.
Due to his advance appointment and the reputation as the son of a billionaire, Qi Chao was ushered directly through the VIP channel at the testing facility.
The doctor assigned to Qi Chao was the vice president of the institution, who had postponed the morning meeting upon hearing that the billionaire's son was coming for a test.
The vice president had tested the billionaire's son a long time ago and was curious why Qi Chao needed to test his spiritual power again.
Although spiritual power was linked to intelligence, in daily life, testing it had little practical use since it was innate and difficult to change.
However, the vice president didn't ask unnecessary questions. Qi Chao was here for a test, so he would do his job professionally.
Qi Chao accepted the silver-white helmet and lay down on the bed with his eyes closed. The vice president instructed him to clear his mind, but Qi Chao decided to treat the test like a nap and drifted off.
The helmet seemed to have a massage function as Qi Chao's scalp tingled pleasantly. His mind was filled with a white light that quickly dissolved into sparkling fragments, which he found quite intriguing.
After the test ended, Qi Chao strangely felt a bit reluctant to leave. The vice president handed him the printed results and complimented him, "Your spiritual power is A-level, still top-notch on Blue Star. Well done, Mr. Qi."
Qi Chao breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could create puppets like the original owner.
Smiling his thanks, Qi Chao left the institution.
The vice president, satisfied with completing his task, stored the silver helmet in a cabinet and left the testing room with the documents.
Unbeknownst to anyone, locked inside the cabinet, the helmet sparked faintly in the darkness.
After a hiss of electrical current, a pungent smell of smoke dispersed into the air.
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