Even across every matrix, taking into account all specialized requirements, different variants, and even the strangest outliers, [Non-Offensive] belonged among the most extraordinary of them all.
As a tool meticulously engineered by the Mohists, its very existence was a gun aimed straight at the heart of the Empire, the shovel dug into the foundation of its walls, and the guillotine built to sever the Emperor's neck.
Not only did each of the four stages—Calling, Metamorphosis, Regeneration, and Exaltation—possess a chain formed of three distinct blessings, but once the Exaltation realm was reached, the four blessing chains could merge into one, undergoing yet another qualitative leap.
What was even more terrifying was that it still possessed interactions and synergies with the matrix [Universal Love], to say nothing of the existence of Celestial Crafts specifically forged for this purpose, such as 'Celestial Ghost', 'Universal Concord', and 'Rejection of Fate'.
The smaller the private workshop, the more ruthlessly heavy-handed they were with their ingredients—let alone those Mohist madmen who had carried their heads on their belts to wage war against the Emperor. They had crammed in potent components until it burst at the seams, and whatever wouldn't fit was fashioned into blessed creations, matrix relics, or even Sovereign Virtue Implements, intended to be wielded in tandem.
The tools and weapons crafted specifically for the hands of Non-Offensive were simply too numerous to count.
And as luck would have it, it had fallen into the hands of a freak like Ji Jue, who carried the inherited legacy of a Sage and commanded nine Sovereign Virtue Descents, covetable to who knew how many Great Calamities.
She didn't even dare imagine what kind of catastrophe Ji Jue might cause if he ever truly went off the deep end in the future.
What Ji Jue was currently demonstrating was the chain formed by the synergy of [Masterwork Nature], [Primacy of Mind], and [Sovereign Axis]—the premier, peerless sequence among all possible blessing combinations for Non-Offensive!
In accordance with the division of the four great ranks, the Mohists of old had directly named it 'Calling'—its meaning: wherever the hands of Non-Offensive reached, all things belonged to oneself!
Thus: all phenomena answer the call!
The precise micro-manipulation of Masterwork Nature, the spiritus augmentation and guidance granted by Primacy of Mind, coupled with the propagation and linkage of Sovereign Axis alongside the effects of Non-Offensive itself, allowed one to bypass all prerequisites and directly transmute and remodel whatever was being controlled.
The strength of the effect and the permutations of modification and transmutation depended entirely on the user's own mastery of alchemy. Yet among that band of mad Mohist artisans, could anyone favored by Non-Offensive possibly be lacking in skill? To say nothing of an anomaly like Ji Jue, who was fully versed across all three disciplines: Fluid Alchemy, modern alchemy, and corruption alchemy.
In front of her, his mentor, he was still holding back; who knew how many unhinged tricks he had yet to reveal?
When past adversaries faced a Mohist wielding Non-Offensive, all they had to watch out for was the artisan whipping up a bomb under their feet on a whim, how much lethal toxin was lurking in the breath they inhaled, or whether fire or frost would materialize out of thin air before their eyes.
Yet what Ji Jue's enemies would have to face were mechanical monstrosities animated by Deus Ex Machina, further reinforced with alchemy—tireless, fearless, and utterly devoid of dread toward death.
Right now was comparatively mild; the maximum range of Deus Ex Machina was only about a hundred meters, so at worst, one had to worry about whether dumb luck would grant them a passionate embrace with a kamikaze tanker truck.
Once Ji Jue expanded his bestowals even further in the future, it would be his opponents' turn to pray that no airplanes happened to be cruising through the troposphere overhead that day...
Just the thought of it made Professor Ye feel an uncharacteristic twinge of pity for whatever poor souls ended up in Ji Jue's crosshairs.
At the same time, her stomach ached faintly at the thought of all the blame she, as his teacher, would inevitably have to shoulder.
More importantly...
"This is an early work from the legendary Empire workshop 'Clock Tower.' Though it isn't a blessed creation, its historical value is substantial.
"Its price at the last auction was twenty-one million."
She lifted her teacup without expression, offering a friendly reminder: "You'd best be able to restore it to its original state."
Instantly, the smug smile froze on Ji Jue's face.
Dryly, he swallowed hard.
"It's... that expensive?!"
"I didn't spend a dime on it; I just took it along the way."
Ye Xian took a sip of strong tea and said nonchalantly, "Still, if it can't be restored, a certain lucky fellow who's made quite a fortune lately is going to go bankrupt."
*Click!*
A soft snap.
Under its master's command, the brass leopard scuttled back to its original position at lightning speed, reverting to its original form.
Not an iota off!
Even under a magnifying glass, not a single flaw could be found.
Tempered and reshaped, recursing to the source.
This wasn't merely the transformative effect brought by Deus Ex Machina; the wielder's alchemical mastery and meticulous precision were equally plain to see.
Acceptable. He had passed this test.
It saved her the trouble of checking his homework.
Ye Xian set down her teacup. "Now that your Calling chain is complete, the next step should be 'Metamorphosis.'"
Unlike the piecemeal completion during the Calling phase—where he had mooched off various Sovereign Virtues—as a matrix belonging to the Embers lineage, Non-Offensive's subsequent blessings in the Metamorphosis stage were exclusively from Embers.
Regardless of who the user was or their level of skill, anyone who came would receive the exact same three blessings.
They represented the three vital components of a Celestial Chosen, three crucial transformations:
Life, mind, and soul!
Namely: [Crucible Blood], [Unquenched Fuel], and [Heaven-Endowed Spirit].
The acquisition of each blessing marked a qualitative leap, transcending the mortal coil and advancing toward Regeneration. Once all three transformations were complete, it was like mounting three critical steps, enabling one to push open the gates of Regeneration.
All three were blessings that those of Embers dreamed of, yet they were also the insurmountable trials that had caused countless artisans—who had once harbored grandiose ambitions—to suffer crushing defeat and abandon their quests in bitter regret.
One had to come before two, and two before three.
If one could not obtain the foundational Crucible Blood, then Unquenched Fuel and Heaven-Endowed Spirit would never respond to the Celestial Chosen's invocation and plea.
And the method to obtain it was quite simple.
There was no need for cunning schemes, nor for groveling or seeking favors high and low. One only had to fulfill an artisan's proper duties.
All it took was sheer grind!
Through day and night of arduous forging and polishing, creating and laboring before the crucible, the artisan pierced through to the essence of alchemy. Day by day, as they came into contact with the transformation and conversion of countless Sovereign Virtue essences, the artisan's body would subtly undergo change as well.
Until finally, over a vast expanse of time, through uncounted creations and smeltings, those faint wisps of minute essence melted into the bloodstream until, one day, a complete metamorphosis occurred.
Thus was Crucible Blood forged.
From then on, the artisan's blood would be like the raging fire within a furnace, its temperature rivaling magma. During creation, infusing even a trace of it would trigger miraculous changes, vastly improving the completion and potency of whatever was in the crucible.
When stimulated to the fullest, it could even be used as fuel...
With each of the three blessings completed, the baseline quality of all future works would receive a qualitative leap. By the end, even an item crafted offhandedly would possess boundless wonders.
Logically speaking, with such a straightforward method, artisans should have flocked to it in droves.
Yet in truth, after countless practitioners had collapsed in exhaustion and given up midway, everyone had come to understand its true nature: for the mediocre, this was an ascetic ordeal that could not be completed in an entire lifetime!
If one spent their life working with scrap and leftovers, several hundred years wouldn't be enough to meet the requirements for Crucible Blood. And the further along one went, the harsher the conditions became, demanding creations that were ever more exquisite and rare.
Ultimately, the prerequisite for Heaven-Endowed Spirit was to follow Heaven's Mandate under a stroke of fortuitous serendipity and craft an unassailable masterwork of Celestial Craft. Artisans who could attain Crucible Blood were fewer than one in a hundred; those who could acquire Unquenched Fuel were fewer than one in a hundred of those. As for the final Heaven-Endowed Spirit, it could no longer be quantified by numbers.
Ever since modern alchemy came into being, there had only been a mere handful.
Therefore, when artisans attempted it, they would act according to their limits. Even if they could only obtain the Crucible Blood blessing, it was still worthwhile; moreover, there were plenty of blessing chains linked to Crucible Blood, so it was never too late to turn back.
Yet Non-Offensive was different.
It had only this single path forward, with no other choice!
This was the consequence of the Mohists having poured too much expectation and design into it: if one could not complete this crucial Metamorphosis, there was no point in even contemplating Regeneration and Exaltation.
The path of Non-Offensive was destined to be grueling. The mediocre stepped back; the incapable could never grasp it.
Only one in ten thousand—a Celestial Chosen in the truest, most literal sense—could truly master its essence.
And now, this test stood before Ji Jue...
And yet, this guy was still grinning like an idiot.
As though completely oblivious.
Yet that was impossible; Ji Jue couldn't possibly be ignorant of such common knowledge. He was simply used to it—or rather... the thought that he might fail to complete it had never even crossed his mind!
Ye Xian let out a silent sigh.
*Ah, the arrogance of Embers...*
"Ji Jue," she spoke up suddenly after a brief pause.
Ji Jue perked up, straightening his back and sitting up properly, awaiting instructions.
"No need to be so serious. No, never mind—you'd better stay serious."
To prevent him from immediately slouching back into a puddle on the chair, Ye Xian promptly reined herself in and corrected course: "There's something I need your assistance with.
"This isn't mandatory, nor is it free of complications."
She paused, sighing softly. "It might even have an irreversible impact on your life... This goes beyond the duties and rights between teacher and student. To be frank, it's asking too much.
"So, I hope you will consider it carefully."
Ji Jue was caught completely off guard.
Never had he seen Professor Ye look so cautious. His heart, which had just relaxed, leapt straight back into his throat, and he grew tense. "Professor, you're not planning to send me back to that old geezer Kanemoto, are you?!"
No way!
He would seriously pack his bags and bolt!
Answering him was Professor Ye's customary look as if gazing upon an idiot.
It instantly brightened his mood considerably.
*Whew, looks like that's a no.*
"Could it be..."
Recalling Lyu Yingyue's visit from earlier that morning, he immediately lowered his voice, leaned in slightly, and drew a finger across his neck. "You share a little... bone to pick with Xu Chaoxian, just like me?"
"..."
Professor Ye's gaze grew even sterner.
*Mm, looks like that's a no too.*
*Then what could it be?!*
Ji Jue's eyes lit up. "Could it be—"
Before he could finish, Professor Ye raised her hand and pinched her fingers together from across the space.
Clamping Ji Jue's blabbering mouth shut.
If she let him keep talking, master and apprentice would probably end up storming Midtown to seize the president's goddamned seat.
Seeing how utterly irreverent he was, she decided not to bring it up just yet.
Talking about it would only give her a headache.
"Whether you even qualify to participate in this matter is still up in the air. All you need to do is prepare yourself, think it over, and give me an answer when the time comes.
"Before that, there's one thing you must complete whether you're willing or not!"
She paused, then suddenly asked:
"How long have you been at the workshop?"
"Uhh..."
Ji Jue counted on his fingers, tallying it back and forth for quite some time, still a bit uncertain. He asked tentatively, "Four... four months?"
He had joined the workshop at the turn from summer to autumn, and now it was already transitioning from autumn to winter. Counting it all up, four months was about right.
These four months had been so damn much more thrilling than the entire first twenty years of his life.
He felt like he'd stirred up so much trouble!
Exhilarating!
As for how sensational and scandalous it would sound to the outside world for someone to advance from Calling to Metamorphosis in just four months, he was entirely oblivious.
"Mm, your progress is about there, and your theory and accumulated experience are sufficient. You'll also just make the cutoff for this year's final registration batch."
After pondering for a moment, Professor Ye nodded, raising her hand to point at Ji Jue.
As a teacher, she issued an order to her student:
"—You. Go take the exam and bring back an artisan license!"
Chapter 251