Ning Zhuo took out the Mengye Tiger for a re-examination.
The spiritual nature of the Mengye Tiger was extremely weak. Even with Ning Zhuo using the Life Hanging Divine Power to connect, it still elicited no response.
In this state, there’s simply no hope for the Mengye Tiger to engage in autonomous combat.
Ning Zhuo, however, was quite satisfied.
"Being able to seek help successfully is already a great fortune."
"If the Mengye Tiger were to be destroyed, the loss would surely be heartbreaking for me."
This time, Ning Zhuo took out the Mengye Tiger to reassess its mechanical construction.
As a result, he found that the mechanism design of the Mengye Tiger was exceptionally outstanding! Even with Ning Zhuo’s current master-level attainment in Mechanical Techniques, there seemed to be nothing requiring improvement.
The more Ning Zhuo delved into it, the more he realized the mechanical body of the Mengye Tiger possessed a kind of natural aesthetic.
"Initially, I pieced it together from scattered design diagrams. I never expected this level of design to be so excellent. Adding even a little would be too much, and reducing anything would be too little."
Therefore, Ning Zhuo’s next step to upgrade the Mengye Tiger would mainly involve working on the materials.
The mechanical body of the Mengye Tiger had undergone severe sandification and was practically unusable. Ning Zhuo planned to destroy the old body once a new one was molded.
Although some leftover scraps still held some value and could be sold for money,
such small gains were not worth it as they could easily leak many secrets of the Mengye Tiger. Ning Zhuo would not sacrifice the greater for the lesser.
"Perhaps I could use Nascent Soul Level treasure materials to refine a new body for the Mengye Tiger?"
Once this thought emerged, it became irresistible.
Ning Zhuo decided to give it a try.
Since the design was already set and required no modification, the choice of materials was essentially determined.
"But there are still some minor material tests that need to be conducted."
Ning Zhuo roughly estimated the amount of work and realized that it would take a considerable amount of time.
"It’s okay, this part I can delegate to Gongsun Yan. He can help me take care of most of the workload."
Ning Zhuo had changed from before—not only had his personal strength improved, but he also had many cultivators around him who could assist and share the workload.
Ning Zhuo put away the Mengye Tiger and took out Yuan Dasheng to begin his research.
This time, while seeking help from the Earth Guardian True Monarch, Ning Zhuo did not present Yuan Dasheng for the True Monarch to act upon again.
On one hand, they agreed on a single intervention. Two interventions would definitely incur a cost.
On the other hand, if Ning Zhuo presented two Spiritual Mechanical Puppets consecutively, it would be too conspicuous. It might prompt the Earth Guardian True Monarch to think of a certain exterminated sect. Such a risk should be avoided if possible.
Lastly, the issue with Yuan Dasheng was much simpler than that of the Mengye Tiger. Its spiritual nature had stabilized, and Ning Zhuo had identified the crux of the problem. He was confident in resolving it on his own.
Ning Zhuo then took out Xue Shuyu·Xie.
He carefully examined it up and down, gaining quite a bit in the process.
Throughout, various visions of modifications and directions flashed across his Divine Sea, triggering many inspirations.
"If this round of design is finalized, the combat power of Xue Shuyu·Xie might surpass Yuan Dasheng."
"If it were compared to the old body of the Mengye Tiger, it might end up on equal footing in terms of combat power."
The initial design of Xue Shuyu·Xie did not require much mental effort from Ning Zhuo and was rather ordinary.
This version of the Heavy Armored Blood Ape·Great Victory was also a result of Ning Zhuo’s time in Fire Persimmon Immortal City. Now, with Ning Zhuo’s greatly enhanced prowess, revisiting the previous design left him feeling it was full of flaws.
Ning Zhuo put away Xue Shuyu·Xie, stood up, and left the cultivation room, heading straight for the Martial Arts Array.
The Snow-colored Girl·Hui was not with him. Most of the time, Ning Zhuo left her in the Bluestone Cave Mansion, where she and Qing Chi accompanied and improved each other.
Upon arriving in the inner space of the Martial Arts Array, Ning Zhuo immediately saw the Snow-colored Girl·Hui and Qing Chi engaged in a practice battle.
"Young Master Ning Zhuo!" Qing Chi, noticing Ning Zhuo, was quite delighted and inadvertently exposed a flaw, nearly allowing the Snow-colored Girl·Hui to seize the opportunity to secure victory.
"Keep fighting, let me have a good look." Ning Zhuo nodded at Qing Chi, smiling in encouragement.
With Ning Zhuo’s encouragement, Qing Chi instantly brimmed with intense fighting spirit, turning to clash with the Snow-colored Girl·Hui with swift and fierce moves. Compared to before, the previous Qing Chi seemed as if underfed.
Snow-colored Girl·Hui: ?!
After all, she wasn’t human, merely a spiritual mechanical puppet. Caught off guard by Qing Chi’s transformation, she immediately found herself at a disadvantage.
However, the Snow-colored Girl·Hui’s nature was proud. Feeling humiliated, she immediately adopted a fearless combat style, enduring numerous attacks, yet managing to hold her ground, gradually restoring balance in this increasingly intense practice battle.
Ning Zhuo watched for a moment, nodding continually with satisfaction.
Qing Chi’s progress exceeded Ning Zhuo’s expectations.
"Little Qing naturally had a talent for martial combat; her strength only diminished after amnesia."
"Nonetheless, her body remains original, retaining much muscle memory."
"Her current state, resembling my past trial in the Xuan Armor Cave—it’s more like reviewing."
The difference is, Qing Chi’s body has memory, whereas Ning Zhuo absorbed a wealth of experience from demon cultivators, making it a case of the mind retaining memory.
In summary, it’s review, rather than new learning.
Thus, Qing Chi’s development in martial combat became quite apparent.
"The Snow-colored Girl·Hui progressed significantly too."
This is the advantage of spiritual mechanical artifacts—they inherently possess a certain degree of growth potential.
Qing Chi and the Snow-colored Girl·Hui could be said to mutually benefit each other.
The ongoing battle soon left them both breathless, approaching the limits of exhaustion.