Hearing this, Zhou Chong merely sneered and handed the longsword over.
He wasn't afraid of the kid's sticky fingers; in fact, he was practically hoping Ji Jue would try to pocket the blade right in front of him. Zhou Chong wouldn't say a single word—he would just let the brat taste the wrath of Heavenly Hearing when the time came!
Unfortunately, this time Ji Jue's hands were scrupulously clean.
He handled it with utmost care, as if treading on thin ice.
With a soft clink, lightning seemed to flash in the dim chamber as faint light surfaced in the shadows.
A brilliant arc of radiant light leaped out from the empty air, agile as a bird.
The longsword was edgeless, coarse, and heavy. Wisps of inky blackness drifted along its spine, wrapping around the blade like an ethereal mist. Within that darkness, countless visions flickered into view and dissolved like phantoms, indistinct and fleeting. Yet even a glancing glimpse revealed the cataclysmic collapse of heaven and earth.
A hilt of five cun, a blade of three chi, weighing nine qiang—three jin and twelve liang.
Its length at the limit and its weight at the maximum, it ranked as a supreme build.
The moment it rested in his hands, passages from the *Discourse on Sword Physiognomy* that Professor Ye had tossed him back then surfaced in his mind. As his fingers brushed along the spine, he could feel its austere, imposing majesty.
Within the Heavenly Circuit framework of three above and six below—encompassing both the Azure Vault and the Yellow Springs—the essences of all Twelve Virtues were fully present, devoid of any shortcomings. And within it, numerous concise and distinct spiritus sequences seamlessly blended into one another, utterly flawless.
With the Path of Tianyuan at its core, it governed Aether, Mirror, and the Desolate Ruins.
Every blessing employed was an exceptionally rare treasure: Tianyuan's Receive the Chart and Talisman, Aether's Knowing Past and Future, Mirror's Phantasmagoric Shadow, and Desolate Ruins' Myriad Mortal Transformations.
Even more remarkably, linked through the Heavenly Circuit framework and tuned under Zhou Chong's hand, they had formed a blessing chain unlike anything Ji Jue had ever heard of...
Ji Jue's eyelids twitched. He looked up at Zhou Chong. "Such a masterpiece! Allow me to congratulate Master Zhou on earning another golden sash."
Zhou Chong merely stroked his beard, sneering smugly without replying.
*Did I need you to tell me that?*
*Why else would I let you have a look, if not for this?*
For so long, countless artisans had studied until their hair turned white and spent their family fortunes without ever achieving a fresh breakthrough on old records. Nowadays, the emergence of any new blessing chain was enough to become headline news across the Association.
The resulting fame was sufficient to turn any artisan into an overnight sensation, showered in wealth and honor. Setting aside the massive advantage it gave for climbing the ranks within the Association and the significant voice it earned within one's faction, just the patent royalties for the next forty years were enough for Zhou Chong to retire and count cash until his hands cramped.
Who worked quietly in the dark for so many years if not to shock the world with a grand flex one day?
The moment he imagined Ye Xian's expression upon hearing this news from her own student, Zhou Chong could hardly keep from throwing his head back and laughing at the sky.
The bitter resentment from seven years ago, when Ye Xian had cornered him at the symposium and left him no way to save face, vanished in an instant.
*Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west!*
*Never bully the elderly and poor!*
Yet before he could speak, he heard sounds of wonder and marvel from beside him.
"So that's how it is... I see, I see."
When Zhou Chong turned his head to look, his eyes practically popped out of his head.
In Ji Jue's hands, the aloof, fiercely unyielding blessed sword was being wielded as naturally as an extension of his own arm. As spiritus surged through it, the blade hummed with resonance.
With a casual sweep, an inky mark manifested in midair, lingering without fading, sharp and intimidating.
Not only that, but Ji Jue had even mobilized the dormant blessings, setting them into motion and variation. A wisp of dreamlike mist diffused from the void cleaved by the blade.
In a flash, everything in the room seemed to plunge once again into an infernal crucible.
Raging heat rippled outward, searing the soul.
Yet in the next instant, everything dissolved without a trace, as though it had never existed at all!
"I understand now," Ji Jue murmured with a sudden sigh of realization.
Though his own limitations prevented him from unleashing its true power, within a mere snap of the fingers, he had already followed the conversion of spiritus to grasp the structure and principles behind the blessing chain.
"Incredible. Truly incredible!"
"Receive the Chart and Talisman reinforces Tianyuan's control; Knowing Past and Future heightens perception to discern every detail; Phantasmagoric Shadow replaces reality; and Myriad Mortal Transformations spurs matter to adapt to change...
"More importantly, the numerous records inscribed during the forging serve as natural blueprints!
"With Tong Shan activating it, using telekinesis as a foundation, he can recreate natural disasters out of thin air, infinitely approaching the destruction that once took place. At the same time, Receive the Chart and Talisman and Phantasmagoric Shadow will shield him from harm. The four interlock seamlessly—an absolute, perfect match!"
*You son of a...*
Zhou Chong's grip tightened, inadvertently yanking out a whisker of his beard. His eyelids twitched frantically. *Those were my lines! Those were the exact words I was supposed to brag with!*
*Where the hell did you find the instruction manual?!*
*I haven't even written it yet!*
Watching his freshly forged creation fall into Ji Jue's hands, instantly spurred into action without the slightest resistance like an obedient darling, and seeing his painstakingly crafted blessing chain understood in principle and design within seconds...
His composure was crumbling, and cold sweat was breaking out.
*Damn it, this little bastard... don't tell me he's going to be just like Ye Xian, rushing straight home to churn out papers to screw me over?*
*Don't tell me that before I even hit the headlines, all the related papers will already be scooped up by this dog Ji Jue!*
*I haven't even gotten a bite of the meat, and the soup is already being slurped dry!*
The more Ji Jue analyzed and praised it, the more panicked and anxious Zhou Chong became.
Only after Ji Jue finished speaking with radiant excitement, still savoring the aftertaste as he cradled the sword, did he say, "I see that this blessing chain spans four paths, capturing the absolute essence of Tianyuan and Aether. Now it only lacks a good name. Why not call it..."
"...Heaven and Earth Are Ruthless!"
Losing the right to explain his own grand accomplishment was one thing, but seeing the naming rights about to be snatched away by Ji Jue's loose mouth was the last straw. Zhou Chong abandoned all dignity, snatched the longsword back, and cut Ji Jue off decisively:
"—The blessing chain's name is 'Heaven and Earth Are Ruthless'!"
It truly was a good name.
*Heaven and earth are ruthless; they treat the myriad things as straw dogs.*
Translated into plain terms, it meant that all living beings were equal—and all suffered the same disaster.
Ji Jue nodded. "Then for this sword, I think..."
"The sword's name is 'Huihao'!"
Zhou Chong glared at him, having never produced an answer or reaction so swiftly in his life.
He could no longer afford to act like a serene, detached grandmaster.
Any slower, and Ji Jue's grubby little paws would probably find their way onto his patent application...
Now, the look he cast toward Ji Jue was steeped in wariness. It was just like a top movie star eyeing some no-name nobody clinging to the red carpet, dragging out a stroll of a few meters into half an hour.
*How can you be so shameless about riding my coattails?!*
*Why don't you just roll up the red carpet and take it home with you?!*
Snatching the sword from Ji Jue's hands, Zhou Chong meticulously wiped away the dust and fingerprints on it, signaling that he had seen enough, looked enough, and that it was high time to quit.
*Stop freeloading!*
Seeing the old man so intensely on guard, Ji Jue let out a helpless sigh. Prejudice truly ran too deep.
He couldn't even praise the man without upsetting him!
After a moment's thought, he imitated Professor Ye's posture and demeanor, impassively adjusting a pair of nonexistent glasses and parting his lips as though about to speak.
Zhou Chong's posture instantly stiffened, his alertness redoubling.
*Just how deeply traumatized by Professor Ye was he in the past...?* Ji Jue felt a wave of sympathetic marvel, yet his hand showed no hesitation whatsoever as he decisively reached out.
"Congratulations to Master Zhou on reaching new heights and taking another step forward. Still, I wonder... could I perhaps share in some of this good fortune?"
With that, he rubbed his thumb and fingers together, raising an eyebrow in a clear hint.
An application form bearing Zhou Chong's signature was shoved into Ji Jue's hand at the speed of light, out of sheer dread that the kid would linger and cause more trouble.
The final signature was secured.
He had touched what he wanted to touch and freeloaded what he came to freeload; staying any longer after reaping all these benefits would simply be impolite.
He might get beaten up.
Ji Jue took a large step back, cupping his hands in farewell. "I've gained much today. Thank you for your guidance, Master Zhou. When time permits another day, I will surely visit again!"
*Don't you ever fucking come back!*
*What rotten luck!*
Zhou Chong looked as miserable as if someone had just died. He cast one final glare at Ji Jue and pointed toward the door.
It was a clear gesture telling him to hurry up and get the hell out.
He merely uttered one last sentence: "I don't owe her anything anymore."
Back in Quancheng, although his own grandson had been brutally thrashed by this dog Ji Jue, Ye Xian had ultimately saved Zhou Chong's life when Duan Mu rebelled. Over all these years of storms and turbulence, ups and downs, his moments of suffering loss and relishing triumph were beyond counting.
He wouldn't let a momentary grudge derail his career, nor did he want to remain permanently beholden to anyone over a past favor, looking up at Ye Xian's scornful gaze forever.
Still...
This time, he had suffered an absolute, utter loss!
Losing both the lady and the troops.
He had barely stood up to pedal a couple of times on his bicycle before the bicycle packed its bags and rode off on its own... What kind of nonsense was this?
He had initially thought he could just teach some trivial scraps, toss out a bit of pointer, and consider the old score settled. What a fine opportunity that would have been—if Ji Jue failed to learn, nobody could blame him.
Who would have guessed things would turn out like this?
It had happened in a single instant.
Just one instant where his guard dropped.
At the brink of the crucible exploding, when Zhou Chong was pouring everything into maintaining the Heavenly Circuit, that dog of a kid had seized the opportunity.
With just a single glance.
Yet from that single glance alone, by the time they reached the wrap-up, the fellow's operating logic and style had become completely different from before. He was no longer passive; by actively cooperating, he had observed even more variations and structures.
*A true transmission is but a single phrase; false teachings fill ten thousand books.*
Beyond a doubt, in that fleeting instant of catching a glimpse, that brat had touched upon the true essence and nature of the Convergence of All Sources.
More like... drawing parallels from other arts...
"...Converging Streams Form?"
Caressing the lingering marks on the crucible, reading the traces of Ji Jue's actions to analyze and deduce, Zhou Chong's fingers twitched involuntarily the moment understanding struck, clenching tight.
It was actually an art handed down from the former Nanyun lineage in the Thousand Islands of the Endless Sea!
And his mastery wasn't just superficial—he had already crossed the threshold!
*But didn't the Nanyun lineage fragment over internal strife more than forty years ago, with the main branch falling into the Profound? Where on earth did he learn it?*
*It couldn't possibly be that Kanemoto locked him in the workshop and taught him personally, could it?*
As thoughts raced through his mind, he was almost amused by his own guess.
Yet his expression grew increasingly somber.
He let out a silent sigh.
Even with that brief glimpse, it was impossible for the boy to have mastered the whole picture. But understanding was understanding, and knowing was knowing. Sometimes, all one lacked was that single spark of inspiration.
Even if the current Ye Xian disdained peering into his heritage, if Ji Jue managed to grow and improve in the future, he might well use it to pioneer a school of his own.
"After toiling for so many years, I thought I could finally take another step forward today."
In the silence, he gave a self-mocking smile. "Never did I imagine I'd end up serving as a stepping stone for someone else's future."
Outside the door, seeing Ji Jue depart, Zhou Cheng hobbled in on his plaster cast, repressing his displeasure as he asked in confusion, "You just gave it to him like that?"
Zhou Chong turned back to look at that face, as naive as a college student's, marked by such crystal-clear foolishness. He couldn't help but sigh again. *Did he really think all I gave him was a measly signature?*
"What else?" Zhou Chong retorted. "Years ago, when I had nowhere left to turn, Lord Tong gave me a helping hand, which led to the workshop and the stature I have today...
"When Lord Tong has a need, I naturally must rack my brains and pour in all my effort without slacking in the slightest. But if not for him today, what I owed would likely have been far greater.
"You always complain that I refuse to teach you the Convergence of All Sources. Let me ask you: if you had stood in his place today, would you have possessed even a third of his courage and decisiveness?"
Zhou Cheng froze, falling silent.
Several times he started to speak, but the words failed him.
"I just feel... the artisan examination isn't like other tests. Too much is tied up in it. You used your own reputation to guarantee him. What if he performs poorly and fails?"
"You should pray that he passes."
Zhou Chong waved his hand impatiently. "If he can't even pass an exam of current difficulty, you won't have any hope for the rest of your life."
Zhou Cheng was stunned, his blood rushing to his head as he blurted out, "It's just an exam! I could also—"
"You can't."
Zhou Chong shook his head resolutely, cutting him off.
He said, "This year is different."
The Ring of Taiyi's artisan examination was held once every three years. At its highest, sixty-one people had passed, accounting for nearly a third of all candidates at the time.
That exam twenty-seven years ago had been hailed by artisans as a grace examination; countless people had leaped through the dragon's gate, and it was still talked about with relish to this day.
And when the number of passing candidates was at its lowest, not a single person had made it.
Zero.
Twenty-one years ago, over two hundred candidates were wiped out without exception!
Total annihilation...
The entire industry had been thrown into an uproar, artisans shocked to their cores. Even the Ring of Taiyi had shouldered immense pressure that year, but in the end, they still chose to publish the results.
The person who presided over that examination was one of the eight current directors of the Ring of Taiyi—the leader of the Lithogenesis School, Gustav Schmidt.
It was under his leadership that the Lithogenesis School, once a minor faction hovering in the middle ranks of the Association and known for riding the fence, had forged aggressively ahead. In a mere forty-odd years, they seized the laurels to become a director school, capable of standing on equal footing even with the Bio-Transmutation School, which boasted the largest membership.
Their core tenets were 'better to have nothing than settle for mediocrity' and 'better fewer but better.'
In his eyes, it was precisely because the Association indulged the proliferation of mediocrity and the unreasonable demands of the incompetent that it had grown increasingly bloated, degenerating into its current state.
Ever since he took on supervisory responsibilities, the rules within the Association had grown steadily harsher, leaving countless people groaning in misery.
Rumor had it that he even planned to propose a recurring assessment system for artisans. Even after obtaining an artisan license, one wouldn't be able to sit back and relax. Anyone who failed the evaluations and tests would be demoted in rank or have their license revoked altogether... If not for the fact that this was so radical that it even alarmed the Carrion Eater, who stepped in to steady the situation, the entire Association might have been turned upside down.
And according to rumors spreading this year, he had once again applied to preside over and oversee the examination. He intended to crack down with an iron fist, quelling the increasingly superficial and restless atmosphere among the apprentices to purge and discipline the Association.
Ordinary, mediocre talents scrambled to steer clear; who in their right mind would willingly rush in to throw their lives away?
Were they not afraid of being branded with the critique 'hopeless,' thereby losing all chance of passing for the rest of their lives?
It was seeking one's own doom.
It was said that Director Gustav detested so-called prodigies the most, along with those arrogant figures who flaunted their talent, flouted the rules, and considered themselves exceptions.
The rule requiring apprentices to train for no less than three years before their applications would even be accepted had been proposed by him.
Zhou Chong actually wanted to see whether Ye Xian, sending her precious student right under that man's nose, would be able to come away unscathed—and whether Gustav's unbending spine would dare push back against Ye Xian.
He was just getting ready to sit back and enjoy the show. How had his idiot grandson ended up wanting to jump onto the chopping block and crawl beneath the cleaver himself?
He truly never learned a single lesson!
"Stay on that limp for now."
Zhou Chong cast one last glance back at his defeated-looking grandson and waved him off coldly. "It wasn't easy for you to run into a little setback. Let's see just how long you can remember this pain."
As the saying went, one had to know shame before finding courage.
If the boy couldn't cast aside that meaningless stubbornness and pride, he might as well remain a useless bum for the rest of his days, living off a few workshop shares and being kept like a pet.
Zhou Chong swept his sleeves and departed.
He left Zhou Cheng standing dazed where he was.
After a long while, the boy scrambled to support himself on his crutches and hurried after him.
Outside the workshop, the sky was bright with stars and clear for ten thousand miles.
Beneath that same night sky, someone was driving a car, catching the evening breeze and singing leisurely, looking forward to the future. Someone was tossing and turning, eyes bloodshot, finally steeling their resolve. Someone was toiling through tedious trials under the workshop lights, caught between ancient scrolls and blazing crucibles. And someone was pushing open the door with supreme confidence, awaiting the arrival of their trial.
In the Federation, the Empire, the Mid-Continent, the Thousand Islands... beneath that same lofty night sky, stars shifted, casting radiant beams. Whenever someone occasionally looked up into the heights, the starlight illuminated eyes that were calm, or perhaps lost.
From beginning to end, the stars remained silent.
They only moved forward.
Chapter 257