Once again, there were three items.
A box, an object, and a sculpture.
Ye Zhongming opened the box. As expected, it was filled with the same brown stones that made up the flaming stone giants. The surfaces were too rough to discern any patterns, but they were smooth to the touch, neither scorching hot nor strangely cool.
The quantity was roughly the same as the stones obtained from the icy wasteland trial, suggesting this was a standard reward for each stage.
Not wasting time inspecting them further, Ye Zhongming turned to the second item.
In the first trial, the second reward had been the bizarre "Human Refining Furnace", which he hadn’t had time to examine. Now, he was genuinely curious about this one.
"Engraving Machine!"
This was a peculiar device with a circular platform and sixteen mechanical arms, each tipped with sharp alloy needles of varying thicknesses. Beside it were high-tech buttons with an unmistakably advanced aesthetic.
Human Refining Furnace. Engraving Machine.
Was there some connection between these two?Ye Zhongming glanced at the swampy, lake-filled terrain ahead and ordered the team to rest and recover. He wanted to study these two items—if they could be utilized, the journey ahead might become easier.
Though the pain had been lessened, the wounds wouldn’t fully heal immediately. The persistent, gnawing discomfort served as a constant reminder of the uncertain path ahead.
The Female Guard women comforted the more emotionally shaken Youth Army soldiers. Over time, the two groups had grown close—the youngsters treated like little brothers by these battle-hardened women. To outsiders, they were ruthless killers, but here, they radiated a maternal warmth that even they themselves thought had long vanished. This camaraderie did much to lift the team’s spirits.
Despite the casualties and injuries, every member had grown stronger through these trials. The Youth Army, in particular, had matured significantly, shedding the forced ferocity they’d adopted in Black Dragon City and replacing it with a quiet, lethal composure. Their eyes now gleamed with the unyielding focus of true elites.
Though their numbers had dwindled, these young warriors had surpassed the average combat prowess of Cloud Peak’s forces in just two battles, becoming fully-fledged mainline fighters.
"Swamps, puddles, lakes, reeds… What’s next? Mud men?" Xiao Min, on guard duty, muttered as she surveyed the terrain ahead.
"The terrain’s rough. If we rush, we’ll break formation." Xia Bai rarely spoke, so it was Red Hair who replied.
They had recovered the fastest, their injuries being relatively light.
"We’ll fight our way through."
Xia Bai’s voice was flat, but the other two were used to it. The fact that she’d spoken at all was a rare concession.
"This is so much harder than the Sea King Wheel trial." Xiao Min sighed.
"We’re also much stronger now." Xia Bai’s fingers twitched, her battlelust barely restrained. She was the only one who hadn’t treated her injuries—in fact, she resented her body’s natural healing, as it would "weaken" her combat efficiency later.
"Does that mean the Heavenly King Wheel will be terrifying?" Xiao Min giggled, her eyes gleaming with the same eager bloodlust as Xia Bai’s.
"I’m more interested in the abilities that’ll unlock when all three ruler artifacts are gathered."
"That’s just because you have faith in the boss."
The exchange drew a flicker of amusement from Xia Bai—until she suddenly whirled around, sensing an odd energy fluctuation from Ye Zhongming’s direction.
…………………………
Ye Zhongming stared at the stone cavalry before him, his lips twitching.
After some time studying the Human Refining Furnace, he’d discovered it was a device for crafting puppets—but with strict limitations.
It could only produce puppets from pre-set templates.
At first, Ye Zhongming had no idea what these "templates" were—until he recalled the two sculptures. Placing the stone cavalry statue and the flaming stone giant statue inside, the furnace’s available templates jumped from zero to two.
But templates alone weren’t enough. Materials were required. The core component was the stones from the two crates—one per puppet. The rest included magic crystals and various category-restricted items.
For example, crafting a stone cavalry required materials from riding-type lifeforms, binding agents, and special additives.
The specific items weren’t fixed, but the categories were—the resulting puppet’s strength scaled with the quality of materials and magic crystals used.
Ye Zhongming happened to have all the necessary materials. Eager to test the results, he inserted the components and a stone, initiating the refinement process.
The process was swift and smooth. After a burst of flames, the furnace opened—and out came a stone cavalry.
Yes, it appeared.
If Ye Zhongming hadn’t looked down, he might’ve missed it entirely.
What the hell? A lapdog cavalry?
Not even a large breed—just a medium-sized one at best!
A quick assessment confirmed it: this was a trash-tier stone cavalry, barely Level 3 in strength.
And he’d used top-tier materials for this! Including some Level 9 components just to see the effects!
Wasting materials that could’ve crafted gold-grade equipment… for this?!
Today might just be the most humiliating day of Ye Zhongming’s career as an Artisan.
But after a brief moment of disappointment, he controlled the Level 3 stone cavalry, directing it onto the Engraving Machine.