After hurriedly splashing water on his face, Ji Jue headed out the door and rushed toward Professor Ye's workshop.
For such a short distance, Little Niuma had barely revved its throttle before slamming on the brakes, its twin headlights glaring resentfully at him.
Lately, he hadn't even called it sweetheart or baby anymore. He spent every day holed up in the basement, and when he finally came out, he smelled like other vehicles. Now, when he finally deigned to drive it, the ride was over before it even began, and he had looked thoroughly bored the whole time...
*So love really does fade, doesn't it?*
Ji Jue slapped its hood, telling it to quit being so dramatic. "I literally just upgraded your suspension the day before yesterday! How are you already eyeing new nitrogen headlights?
"Browsing the net all day and night—God knows what you're looking at. If I don't rein you in, you'll be sneaking off to hook up with rideshare cars next!
"First chance I get, I'm unplugging the garage's ethernet cable."
After climbing the steps and pushing the door open, he saw Ye Chun, bleary-eyed and sleepy, lounging in the kitchen sipping milk tea in the sun, looking every bit like a free-range ornamental pet.
She always looked like this after phoning in a research paper...
Ji Jue shot her a look, silently asking what was going on.
Ye Chun shot an irritated glare right back: *You're busted! Hurry up and hand over the rice noodle rolls you're holding, and I'll put in a good word with Auntie to save your miserable hide!*
Unfortunately, aside from listing each other as second authors on papers, they shared absolutely zero telepathic understanding. They stared at each other for quite a while without discerning a single thing.
Until a helpless sigh drifted over from the study.
"Are you two done glaring at each other yet?"
Footsteps approached.
A visiting guest was being escorted out of the study. She appeared to be getting on in years, yet showed no signs of aging; her smile was genial, radiating the gentle warmth of an elder.
"Ji Jue?" She looked over curiously.
Ji Jue instantly abandoned his childish staring contest with Ye Chun—where whoever blinked first lost—and straightened his posture, nodding politely. "Hello."
"After all this time, this is our first time meeting."
The visitor smiled and offered a hand, introducing herself: "Lyu Yingyue."
"Uh..."
Ji Jue froze for a moment. He hadn't expected the Director of the Security Bureau—the current acting protector overseeing all anomalous matters in Haizhou—to suddenly spawn in his teacher's study. Flustered, he quickly shook her hand. "Greetings, Protector."
"Only acting, for now."
Lyu Yingyue smiled and shook her head, looking him over before nodding. "Quite the fine young man. Secretary Tong and Xiao Wen's descriptions were rather modest."
"You flatter me." Ji Jue kept his head slightly bowed, offering the reserved smile typical of a junior while sneaking glances at Professor Ye's reaction, completely unable to fathom what this big shot had up her sleeve.
"Well, then, I won't disturb you any longer," Lyu Yingyue said, turning to take her leave.
Unfortunately, she received no polite "take care" in return. Professor Ye maintained her perennial frosty expression. "You shouldn't have disturbed me in the first place."
"Now, that wouldn't do."
Lyu Yingyue chuckled. "When you're out in the world, you rely on friends. And friends like you are the best kind to rely on."
With a final nod, she pushed the door open and left.
"What was that about...?" Ji Jue asked.
"Just a mess of trivial affairs, though it does concern you somewhat."
Professor Ye gave him a pointed look, as if utterly resigned to the true nature of her pet roving explosive toad. How had he managed to cause trouble after being left unsupervised for just a single day, while still limping, no less?
"Me?"
Ji Jue was baffled, then searched his memory before an epiphany struck. "Yesterday's Shou—"
Professor Ye raised a hand, cutting him off.
There was no need to speak of such sordid business in front of Ye Chun.
"Lord Tao has passed away. The crisis in Quancheng has been settled, but trouble in Haizhou is mounting by the day. As long as Lyu Yingyue refuses to let go of the acting protector seat, Yacheng won't be able to escape the coming storm."
Hands clasped behind her back, she turned and walked into the study. "For the Security Bureau to catch wind of it means someone is stirring up trouble behind the scenes. Whether they find anything or not, it spells trouble.
"You handled things well. At a juncture like this, the less trouble, the better. And it means Lyu Yingyue owes me another favor."
Ji Jue kept his head lowered. Realizing he hadn't caused any trouble, he breathed a sigh of relief and offered an obsequious compliment: "It's all thanks to Teacher's excellent guidance."
"..."
Ye Xian glanced at him, her expression turning increasingly deadpan—*Did I teach you that?!*
Just imagining how her reputation in educational circles would be dragged through the mud with a "prized pupil" like Ji Jue around made her stomach ache...
Snatching someone like him into the Embers faction—the Embers truly must have thought life was too peaceful.
Bantering with this rascal would only ruin her mood, so she dispensed with the pleasantries and got straight to the point: "How is your physical condition?"
"Pretty much mostly healed up, though the aftereffects are a bit of a nuisance. I still can't put full power into my legs when running."
The overexertion in Quancheng had been far too severe.
On top of that, with the progression through Calling and into Metamorphosis, his body was in a constant state of flux. The damage from his injuries had provided a stimulus that accelerated the entire process, meaning he had not yet fully stabilized.
The Calling stage completed and enhanced one's abilities, while the Metamorphosis stage marked the beginning of another evolution for a Celestial Chosen's soul and body, bringing them one step closer to Sovereign Virtue.
This stage varied for everyone, with physical and spiritual aspects developing in different orders.
Clearly, Non-Offensive favored the elevation of the soul. As his soul underwent metamorphosis and growth, it drew in so much spiritus and essence that his physical body had ended up slightly weakened.
But this had little effect on Ji Jue. With the aid of Fluid Alchemy and quicksilver, he could basically maintain a powered exoskeleton twenty-four hours a day. Even running a full marathon wouldn't feel any different from sitting on a couch.
Once he got used to it, it was actually quite comfortable.
Heavy manual labor, which used to trouble him due to his limited physical stamina, was no longer an issue with the help of quicksilver.
Even the cane he carried in his hand was far from decorative.
It was composed of quicksilver carrying two diametrically opposed blessings: Metallic Quality and Form of Utmost Resilience. With them in hand, he didn't even need a toolbox.
Now, with a mere glance, Ye Xian could sense the discreet fluctuations of spiritus emanating from Ji Jue—threads of quicksilver flowing like veins beneath his jacket and clothes.
A myriad of intricate structures stood ready at any moment to transform into a powered exoskeleton or various tools, with two completely distinct blessings seamlessly unified under a single will.
What would seem to anyone else like crude, half-baked goods that were difficult to master shifted effortlessly at Ji Jue's whim, like a miracle.
"Sovereign Axis?"
She asked, understanding immediately. "You've gotten the hang of it so quickly?"
"For now, I've only just grasped the basics. There's still deep potential waiting to be tapped."
Even now, Ji Jue wouldn't dare claim he had fully mastered this blessing. Much like Masterwork Nature and Primacy of Mind, what it provided was merely a new direction and set of possibilities; how to apply it depended entirely on oneself.
Its ceiling was as high as its floor was low.
For any Celestial Chosen, its existence served as a vital nexus and cornerstone.
Like Ji Jue's previous two blessings, it offered no offensive or defensive capabilities on its own, functioning purely as support. Yet it was precisely this unique nature that brought about a complete qualitative transformation in him today.
The effect of Sovereign Axis was actually quite simple, just as its name implied: it turned oneself completely into the core of one's domain of control.
It enhanced his authority over everything belonging to him, including his own body, though its scope remained limited. It lacked the terrifying mastery granted by Tianyuan blessings like Golden Rule, Power over Life and Death, or Shifting Clouds and Rain, nor could it interfere with anything outside his ownership.
The only realm it could influence was what belonged to him.
Its emphasis was not on "sovereignty," but on "axis"!
Its function was straightforward: to bind himself and everything belonging to him into a single, indivisible whole. Through this, spiritus, blessings, and even matrix effects could circulate freely across the entire collective!
Whether the target was living or dead, complete or broken.
In other words...
Ji Jue could project all of his passive traits—Non-Offensive's barehanded transmutation, Masterwork Nature's micro-manipulation, and even the cognitive enhancement granted by Primacy of Mind—onto any creation under his control at will.
Just like right now.
When Ji Jue extended a hand and pointed at the antique grandfather clock in the corner.
*Deus Ex Machina, activate.*
Instantly, crisp clicking and grinding echoed from within the clock. Countless gears spun against each other, levers engaged, and the outer casing split apart and reassembled.
The upright clock suddenly bent forward at the waist. Before it could hit the ground, two beast-like limbs extended from the split casing, bracing against the floor.
The metal casing collapsed inward, wrapping snugly around an intricate skeleton, while the heavy pendulum snaked out behind it like a long tail.
The stained glass panels, crafted and pieced together with exquisite care, turned into intricate rosette patterns covering its body.
The brass feline raised its head and opened its jaws, revealing sharp fangs within.
In the span of a single snap, the heavy clock had transformed into a brass leopard prowling through the room. Lifelike, it sat beside Ji Jue, squinting in contentment as he stroked its back.
Its gemstone eyes caught the sunlight streaming through the window, refracting a dazzling glow.
Inanimate matter had been breathed into life.
By Ji Jue's own hands.
This was the second qualitative leap of Deus Ex Machina after being enriched by the three blessings of the Calling stage!
No longer reliant on the Emergency Survival Protocol, he could accomplish all of this through his own power and alchemy alone, expending only a fraction more spiritus than usual!
Even though she had anticipated it, Ye Xian couldn't help but fall silent at the sight.
Taking off her glasses, she let out a quiet sigh.
As his teacher, how could she fail to understand what had transpired? In fact, she understood it even better than Ji Jue did.
Blessings interacted and influenced one another. While there were combinations as incompatible as fire and water—like Primacy of Mind and Primacy of Matter, or Metallic Quality and Form of Utmost Resilience—there were also special pairings that complemented each other or even triggered qualitative leaps.
Take the Swarm's most infamous three-piece set: Blood Drinker, Protracted Battle, and Breaker of Strongholds. When these three blessings were combined, the lower one's health, the greater the destructive power; the greater the destructive power, the more health was leeched back... Anyone who used it sang its praises, while anyone on the receiving end cursed it to high heaven.
Take it a step further and combine them with other blessings, and they could form the chain effect: Wild Hunt. A death-defying berserker state that fought to the bitter end—anyone who crossed paths with such a monster would feel their skin crawl from head to toe, and man or ghost alike would get slapped around.
Judging whether a matrix was superior or not depended on the types of blessings it directed and locked in, as well as the number of blessing chains it could form.
Take her own Moxie matrix: it had only two blessing chains, maximizing the effects of severance and repulsion, which made it merely middling.
Ganjiang was the same.
Yes, utterly ordinary—so long as you adhered to conventional wisdom and viewed them separately...
Chapter 250