Tianrui's eyes narrowed as he watched the wooden puppet's aura swell. The pressure was already monstrous far beyond anything a mere block of timber should be able to contain. His gut twisted.
"No way…" he muttered. "There's no way wood and those lines ,probably arrays are making a puppet this strong."
He called out:
"Nexus, come out for a second."
Golden light shimmered, and nexus's figure materialized again, bowing slightly.
"My lord."
Tianrui pointed at the blazing puppet. "Look, I'm no puppet-making genius. I'm a farmer. But I'm also a cultivator. And one of the first things you learn when practicing cultivation is this, everything has a limit."
"That is true, my lord," Nexus replied evenly.
"Then I know wood shouldn't be able to handle that kind of power. So what the hell am I looking at?"
Nexus turned its faceless head, golden lines pulsing. With a gesture, the wooden sword Tianrui had first created appeared in its hand. Nexus compared it to the glowing puppet, light running over both like a scanner.
"My lord," Nexus rumbled, "you are both right and wrong. From my analysis, the material density of this puppet differs drastically from that of the sword. The puppet's wood is… at least a billion times denser."
Tianrui blinked. His jaw fell open. "…A billion? your telling me this puppet is made of wood harder than diamond?"
"Yes, my lord."
"That doesn't even make sense!" Tianrui snapped, throwing his hands up. "Where the hell did that even come from?"
Nexus inclined its head slightly. "From you, my lord. The Simulator obeyed your intent. You commanded it to create the strongest construct possible with wood. Thus, it formed the hardest possible wood."
Tianrui froze, stunned into silence. His lips trembled before he finally muttered: "…I just wanted a damn puppet, not some cosmic miracle tree."
"But be at ease, my lord," Nexus continued. "What exists here is not beyond you. In reality, you can craft this kind of puppet. The difference lies in threshold. Its maximum power outside will not climb as endlessly as it does here."
Tianrui rubbed his temples, half in awe, half in exasperation.
"So basically… in this place, my imagination cheats reality. But out there? I'll still have limits."
"Yes, my lord," Nexus confirmed.
"That's… nice to hear."
Tianrui exhaled, tension easing from his shoulders.
Time passed. The puppet's aura, which had been rising like a storm, finally stabilized. Its blinding blue light condensed, flowing across its wooden frame like liquid lightning. Every joint glimmered with power, every carved line glowing like etched runes.
Tianrui stepped closer, curious.
"Hello," he said quietly.
The puppet stared back, blank and silent.
"So this one can't talk…" Tianrui muttered. "That's probably for the best."
He glanced at its limbs, at the veins of light running like rivers across its wooden skin. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "but I'm going to have to dismantle you."
With a single wave of his hand, intent surged. The puppet dissolved into motion, its body unraveling into thousands of perfectly carved components—joints and all—suspended in the void like a dismantled constellation.
Tianrui turned. "Nexus, come."
Golden light shimmered. "My lord," Nexus intoned, appearing at his side.
"You're going to help me reverse-engineer this with your scanning thingy" Tianrui said, eyes gleaming. "So get ready. We're about to spend a lot of time together."
"Yes, my lord," Nexus replied without hesitation.
Tianrui's grin widened—half excitement, half madness. "Then let's begin."
The scattered parts of the puppet rotated slowly around him, glimmering like stars. In the center of the white void, farmer Feng Tianrui the boy who had only ever tilled fields sat down with a godlike puppet at his side, ready to unravel the secrets of a construct no mortal had ever dreamed of.
Years passed by in the simulator
FENG FAMILY HOME
Zhenhai sat with arms folded, his brows furrowed as he stared at Tianrui's still form. The boy lay on the bed, chest rising and falling steadily. The physician's words echoed in his mind ,"He's fine. Probably just overworked."
Zhenhai clenched his jaw. 'Overworked?' That explanation felt hollow, but he had no better one.
The door burst open. Yuhua rushed in, Haoran close on her heels.
"What happened!?" Yuhua demanded, her face pale. "I closed the shop as soon as I heard—"
"Has he woken up yet?" Haoran asked, his voice tight with worry.
Zhenhai glanced back at them, seeing the fear in their eyes. "He stirred a little earlier," he admitted, "but then stopped."
Haoran's fists tightened. "Dad… I'm worried."
Zhenhai let out a long sigh. "Me too—"
But before he could finish, Tianrui's body jolted. His eyes snapped open.
"Tian!!!" all three shouted in relief.
But their joy died instantly.
Tianrui's eyes weren't normal. They were veiled in swirling qi, glowing faintly. His lips moved, but only broken whispers spilled out fragments of words, half-formed thoughts.
"Tian?" Yuhua's voice shook. "What's wrong, my son?"
"Dad, why's Tian acting like that?" Haoran's voice cracked.
"I… don't know." Zhenhai's frown deepened, every instinct screaming that this wasn't ordinary.
They watched, stunned, as Tianrui rose from the bed. He didn't look at them, didn't respond. His steps were steady, purposeful. He walked straight past them, out the door, into the cool morning air.
The family followed at a distance.
Tianrui went to the old shed at the edge of their land. His hands reached blindly for a piece of wood. Still mumbling, he traced his fingers along its surface. Then, with minute threads of qi shimmering around his hands, he began to carve.
Symbols appeared lines, curves, interlocking shapes etched not with a blade, but with pure intent. Each stroke glowed faintly as if branded by lightning itself.
Yuhua gasped. "Isn't that—?"
"It is," Zhenhai said grimly, eyes locked on the patterns.
"What is it? What's he doing?" Haoran asked, voice filled with confusion.
"Runes," Yuhua whispered.
"Runes?" Haoran blinked.
"Yes," Zhenhai said, his tone sharp with disbelief. "Like the ones used in formation work. But… they're different. Not the kind I've seen before."
Haoran gawked. "But Brother can't even cook properly, how the hell would he know runes!?"
"We'll find out when he's done," Zhenhai said, though his voice was low, uneasy. His eyes followed every motion of his son's glowing hands. "I think He's… in the middle of an epiphany."
And so they stood there, silent and trembling, as Tianrui continued etching symbols onto wood creating something none of them could even begin to imagine.