A dozen minutes later, he had pounded all three ores into powder.

Since the weight had already been measured when he bought it and the proportions were just right, he directly mixed the metal powders and added 5 qian (approximately 15 grams) of pig iron powder.

After stirring thoroughly, a black iron ball appeared before my eyes.

Although the materials are all powders, after being mixed evenly, they form a metal sphere the size of a ping-pong ball.

"Eat it."

Chen Yi manipulated the puppet to open its mouth and swallow the iron ball.

"Click!"

The iron ball got stuck in the puppet's throat, but the next second, it forced itself to swallow it.

After all, it's a puppet, and it no longer has the ability to feel pain.

The next second, its appearance changed...

"Shhh~"

A faint friction sound emanated from its surface.

Chen Yi saw the damaged iron armor gradually loosen and fall off.

Instead, brightly colored new iron grew on the hardened skin.

These new iron pieces are somewhat thin, but according to the description in the "Iron Puppet Technique," they "can heal in a few days and become stronger over time," indicating that it is a slow process.

"I bought too few materials, and there are too many parts to repair. It seems I can't finish it in one go. Fortunately, tomorrow is still the 'Puppet' plan," Chen Yi murmured.

He has already received a lot of money from people ordering talismans, and he can start drawing a lot of talismans when the next talisman class comes around.

It's unlikely that Fu Xin would stop him from making money, since Chen Yi bought the talisman paper through a channel recommended by Fu Xin, and each stack was sold at a 30% discount.

As for the happiness charms he needs, he can draw them during breaks.

His current cultivation level has reached the bottleneck of perfect Qi Refining, but because his "Nine Yin Profound Scripture" has not yet been cultivated to "perfection", he still needs to consolidate it.

Fortunately, after the "Puppet" period ends, the period from 19:00 to 22:00 is still the time for practicing martial arts.

This is something that is done without fail every day, just like tempering one's Dao heart.

He went straight to the quiet room, the same place he always used.

"Senior Chen Yi, is it the same room as before?"

The female student who was in charge of receiving us still remembered Chen Yi.

He shook his head and said, "No, let's find a room with a fire-type spirit-gathering array."

"ah?"

The junior student was stunned for a moment.

She still remembered Chen Yi saying that the quiet room with the earth-elemental spirit-gathering array belonged to him during this period.

That was such a powerful statement.

For at least a month, the quiet room containing the earth-elemental spirit-gathering array remained empty during this period...

But now he doesn't want it anymore?

"What, no rooms available?" Chen Yi asked casually.

The junior quickly snapped out of her daze and pointed, "Yes, yes, this way!"

Soon after, Chen Yi arrived at a high-class quiet room that was equipped with a fire-type spirit-gathering array.

As soon as you open the door, the air that hits you is scorching hot.

The reason he changed his meditation room was that he had already mastered the "Rock-Solid Bone Forging Technique" to perfection, and there was not much room for improvement in a short period of time.

Since he condensed the Nine Yin Earth Fire True Spirit Qi, he seems to have a slight connection with "fire".

He took out the meditation cushion he had exchanged with Yu Qian and plopped down on it.

It must be said that this thing is really useful, and its effect is even more significant when paired with the Spirit Gathering Array.

"Fire-attribute spiritual energy is indeed suitable for my current situation," he thought to himself.

It has nothing to do with the Nine Yin Manual, since the spiritual energy truly suitable for this technique should be spiritual energy with yin and evil energy attached.

However, it is obvious that the school's meditation room does not have such a sinister spirit-gathering array.

Coincidentally, the Nine Yin Earth Fire True Spiritual Energy made him more sensitive to fire-type spiritual energy.

Cultivating here is like basking in the sunlight, your whole body feels hot, and the effect is indeed better than ordinary spirit-gathering arrays.

[Warning: The period for "Refining the Dao Heart" has begun...]

The system notification prompted Chen Yi to stop the practice.

He put away the prayer mat and left the quiet room.

The cultivation of one's Dao heart is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind.

During the time when Chen Yi devoted himself to cultivating the Nine Yin Mystic Scripture in the secret realm and raised his cultivation to the ninth level of Qi Refining, he did not neglect the tempering of his Dao heart.

Otherwise, if he doesn't temper his Dao heart for a month, his Dao heart realm is very likely to regress.

However, when he left the secret realm, his proficiency in the Dao Heart was much higher than when he entered.

It's clear he wasn't "slacking off"...

After tempering his Dao heart, he went to bed.

He entered that space again and comprehended a minor supernatural power.

If yesterday was a day of slight confusion, then today is the beginning to take shape...

After a long period of self-reflection, Chen Yi seemed to have truly gained some insights.

"laugh!"

A hazy figure appeared behind Chen Yi.

But because it was so blurry, he wasn't sure what the figure actually looked like.

All that is known is that this figure appears to have dark red flames flowing around its body...

[Warning: Your sleep period has ended. Please get up immediately!]

The system's voice woke Chen Yi.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

It's over so quickly?

It seems that the process of comprehending minor supernatural powers on one's own also takes a very long time.

Over the next few days, Chen Yi carried out his classes, part-time job, and spiritual practice plan in an orderly manner.

Part of the money earned from drawing talismans was used to buy metal materials to repair the armored golems, and another part was used to buy spiritual food to nourish the blood and qi. Although the expenses were large, it was barely manageable.

......

Before we knew it, it was the eve of the five-school joint exam.

"During the joint entrance examination of the five schools, the candidates will be randomly assigned to five different examination rooms. The list will be announced later."

Class teacher Liu Qing explained the rules and precautions for the joint examination to the students of Class 9.

"Teacher, what are the prizes for the five schools this time?" Hou Xiangheng asked, raising his hand.

As the class's gossip queen, he was naturally very curious about this.

Sun Yu also held a small notebook, preparing to write related articles.

He'd already thought of a title.

"The results of the five-school joint entrance exam have been announced. Who will win the grand prize?"

Next up is a rather controversial poll, which immediately sparked a lot of discussion.

Liu Qing glanced at Hou Xiangheng and said in a deep voice, "This time, our school is contributing a Nine Nether Grass as the prize."

Chen Yi: "???"

Nine Nether Grass? Could it be the one I brought back?

Schoolmaster Ma, that's truly a brilliant tactic!

It seems he can't use up all three Nine Nether Grasses, and he even took one out as a lucky charm for the joint entrance exam.

"As for the other four, Jiuding High School is a cauldron for alchemy, which can be considered a top-grade magic weapon."

The Azure Flame Eye Flesh is made from the eye flesh of the Azure Flame Demon Bull, a level 1 top-grade bloodline demon beast. It is named for its resemblance to an eye and eating it can enhance the cultivation of fire-attribute techniques.

The prize for Beastman High School is a copy of the White Bone Treasure Mirror, a decent book on crafting.

The prize from Shanhai High School is the Kan Water Jade, a rare and precious material for Foundation Establishment. It's said to be of very high quality and is the most expensive prize this time.

Liu Qing's words sparked a heated discussion among the students.

"Huh? Shanhai Middle School's academic performance has been worse than ours for the past few years, so why are they being so generous this time?"