291: Chapter 291 Spirit Control Technique

Tao Zhe displayed the complete translated text of the "Spirit Control Technique" on the big screen.

This Cultivation Technique was recorded on three rolls of animal skin scrolls, making it the longest and most detailed document among all the literature.

Judging by the handwriting and ink color, these three scrolls were handwritten originals.

The strokes were vigorous and powerful, the writing was extremely neat, and every character looked as though it had been carved on.

It was personally written by the Spirit Control Daoist, representing his lifelong ultimate arts.

"This Cultivation Technique is divided into upper and lower chapters," Tao Zhe pointed at the screen. "The upper chapter is called the "Creation Chapter", and the lower chapter is called the "Spirit Command Chapter"."

"The "Creation Chapter" talks about how to manufacture Puppets—that is, carriers that can be manipulated."

Tao Zhe switched to the translated content of the "Creation Chapter".

"According to the records in the scrolls, the manufacturing methods of Puppets are divided into two major categories. The first category is called "Natural Puppets"—which uses living things as Materials, through the infusion of spiritual power and the erasure of consciousness, turning a living thing into a Puppet. What the Spirit Control Daoist did in the Giant World was precisely this—he erased the autonomous consciousness of the humans in the Giant World, controlled their actions with spiritual power, and even made them grow larger and stronger through continuous feeding."

He turned a page.

"The second category is called "Man-made Puppets"—manufactured from scratch using Materials such as metals, Ore, and wood. The scrolls record the manufacturing methods of several kinds of Man-made Puppets, ranging from the simplest wooden Puppets and bronze figures to high-tier alloy battle Puppets, all with detailed blueprints and spirit pattern carving methods."

Su Mingyuan frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"What about the lower chapter?"

"The "Spirit Command Chapter" talks about how to manipulate these Puppets," Tao Zhe switched to the next part. "The core principle is—'using spiritual power as the bond, and Divine Sense as the guide, infusing the carrier so that the carrier acts like the fingers of one's own arms'. Using spiritual power and Divine Sense to connect, making the Puppet obey commands just like one's own arm."

Su Mingyuan nodded slightly, his expression showing little fluctuation.

"So this is a Cultivation Technique for manufacturing and manipulating Puppets," his tone was flat. "Is there anything special about this? We already know the Spirit Control Daoist can manipulate giants—this Cultivation Technique merely explains how he accomplished it."

He glanced at Tao Zhe.

"You specifically made me sit down to listen just now, just to tell me this?"

Tao Zhe did not rush to answer.

He looked into Su Mingyuan's eyes, an uncontrollable curve at the corners of his mouth.

Then he turned the "Spirit Command Chapter" to a certain passage and magnified it across the entire screen.

"Group Leader Su, take a look at this passage."

Su Mingyuan leaned in to look.

The translation of that text was—

"The Dao of command is not restricted to close quarters. Wherever spiritual power reaches, it can be manipulated from a hundred miles away. The stronger the Divine Sense, the farther the manipulation, and one does not need to be in the same place as the Puppet."

"Look at this passage again."

Tao Zhe turned another page.

"After the cultivation of the command-user becomes profound, a single thought can be divided into multiple wisps, and one person can control multiple Puppets. The Qi Refining Stage can simultaneously control three to five, the Foundation Establishment Stage can simultaneously control hundreds, and the Golden Core Stage—'ten thousand Puppets moving in unison, as controllable as pointing one's finger, forming the equivalent of a thousand armies'."

After reading these two passages, Su Mingyuan did not speak.

Tao Zhe's eyes became even brighter.

He turned around and said two words to everyone present.

"Mecha."

The master control room fell silent for an instant.

Tao Zhe's voice could not suppress his excitement, and his speech was twice as fast as usual.

"Think about it—if we apply the Spirit Control Technique to mecha."

He extended a finger.

"First, soldiers won't need to sit inside the mecha anymore."

This sentence was like a stone thrown into water.

Zhang Dabiao was the first to react.

Standing at the door, his entire body tensed up.

He remembered that day.

On the wasteland, he piloted the S-01 to negotiate with the Spirit Control Daoist.

The old man slapped down with a palm, directly scrapping the mecha's left arm, and he was tossed around inside the cockpit so violently that his neck almost snapped.

If that palm strike had been slightly heavier—or hit the cockpit—he would have died.

Not the mecha being scrapped, but him dying.

Mecha could be repaired, but a person couldn't.

And if they used the Spirit Control Technique to manipulate mecha—the controller could stand dozens of kilometers away, or even hundreds of kilometers away.

The mecha would be blown up, but the controller would be completely unharmed.

At most, losing one mecha.

No one would die.

Zhang Dabiao's fists clenched involuntarily.

Tao Zhe extended a second finger.

"Second—one person can simultaneously manipulate multiple mecha."

This sentence stunned everyone.

"It is written very clearly on the scrolls," Tao Zhe pointed at the text on the screen. "The higher the cultivation and the stronger the Divine Sense, the greater the number of Puppets that can be manipulated simultaneously. A First-Order Martial Artist might only be able to control one—but upon reaching a higher Realm, a person can simultaneously control three, five, or even a dozen or so."

He paused, his voice suddenly lowering.

"Think further ahead—if the cultivation is high enough, not only can it be remotely controlled, but the mecha can also autonomously execute commands. The controller gives a tactical intent, and the mecha completes it by itself."

"Just like—" he found an analogy everyone could understand, "just like how the Spirit Control Daoist manipulated those giants. He didn't need to command every single movement of every single giant one by one. He gave an intent to 'attack', and the giants would charge over by themselves."

"If our people learn the Spirit Control Technique and combine it with mecha—"

Tao Zhe did not finish his sentence.

But everyone understood.

A Martial Artist with sufficient cultivation sitting in the rear command post, simultaneously manipulating ten or twenty mecha to fight on the battlefield.

If a mecha was destroyed, they could just replace it with a new one.

The controller sat safely and securely hundreds of kilometers away.

This was not science fiction.

This was a technology already verified by the Spirit Control Daoist—he alone manipulated over a million giant Puppets, making them act in an orderly fashion like an army.

It was just that what he manipulated were giants.

While Great Xia wanted to manipulate mecha.

The master control room fell silent for about ten seconds.

Su Mingyuan was the first to speak.

"What is the threshold for Cultivation?"

Tao Zhe snapped back to his senses and flipped through a few pages.

"The minimum requirement for the "Spirit Command Chapter" is a First-Order Martial Artist—that is, Qi Refining entry. Being able to perceive spiritual power and use Divine Sense allows one to begin learning. However, a newly initiated First-Order Martial Artist can only achieve the most basic close-range single-target manipulation."

"To achieve remote control, at least a Second-Order Martial Artist is required."

"To achieve one person controlling multiple mecha, at least a Third-Order Martial Artist is required, which is the Middle Stage of Qi Refining."

"How many people above the First-Order do we currently have?" Su Mingyuan asked.

"Among the stationed troops in the Yaowu World, there are currently over two thousand three hundred people who have broken through to the First-Order through Cultivation. There are sixteen above the Second-Order, and two of the Third-Order."

Su Mingyuan did not speak.

He was thinking.

Over two thousand three hundred First-Order Martial Artists could begin learning the basics of the "Spirit Control Technique".

Sixteen Second-Order Martial Artists could theoretically achieve remote control.

Chen Rong and Lin Wan, Third-Order—if the records of the "Spirit Control Technique" were accurate, they might be able to simultaneously control five to ten mecha.

Great Xia's production capacity had already maxed out, and there were now three thousand mecha.

If each Third-Order Martial Artist could control ten—only three hundred Third-Order Martial Artists would be needed to allow three thousand mecha to enter the battlefield simultaneously, with not a single person sitting in the cockpit.

Zero casualties.

Of course, all of this was still just theory.

"Has Tianheng optimized this Cultivation Technique?" Su Mingyuan asked.

"Not yet," Tao Zhe said. "The complexity of the "Spirit Control Technique" far exceeds the previous "Rock-Shattering Strength" and "Iron Wall Skill"—just the spirit pattern structures in the "Creation Chapter" have over a thousand variants, and the Divine Sense application methods in the "Spirit Command Chapter" involve operations at the Soul level. My preliminary estimate is that complete digitization and optimization will take at least two to three weeks."

"First advance the digitization of the "Spirit Command Chapter"," Su Mingyuan said. "The "Creation Chapter" can be put on hold for now—we don't need to manufacture Puppets right now; we have ready-made mecha."

He stood up, walked to the door, and paused for a moment.

"At the same time, have Zhao Cheng prepare a training mecha, pre-setting spiritual power conduit circuits inside. Once the optimization of the "Spirit Command Chapter" is completed, arrange for practical testing."

"For the candidates for practical testing—do not use Chen Rong and Lin Wan for now. They are too strong, and the data tested out will not be representative. Find an ordinary soldier who has just broken through to the First-Order."

Zhang Dabiao had been listening at the door for a long time and suddenly interjected.

"Group Leader Su, if we're going to do practical testing—I want to try."

Su Mingyuan glanced at him.

Zhang Dabiao's expression was very serious.

"I was among the first batch of people to pilot mecha, and I'm also someone who has clashed head-on with the Spirit Control Daoist." His voice wasn't loud, but it was very steady. "That time, I almost died in the cockpit of the S-01. If in the future we really don't need to sit inside—I want to personally verify this matter."

Su Mingyuan looked at him for two seconds.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes."

He turned and walked away.

Zhang Dabiao stood at the door, looked at Su Mingyuan's back, and let out a chuckle.

Tao Zhe shook his head behind him, lowered his head, and continued organizing data.

He looked up and glanced outside the window—under the gray sky of the Giant World, the dark red haloes left behind by the five pangu nuclear bombs in the distance had completely dissipated.

That Nascent Soul Cultivator blown to death by the pangu nuclear bomb left behind a legacy sufficient to change the national destiny of Great Xia.