All Set!

The instant the thought crossed his mind, Ji Jue heard it. A sword hum right beside his soul—Chunjun's response, its joyful song! When Ji Jue closed his eyes, he could feel that dreamlike stream of light encircling his soul, whirling and soaring as nimbly as a swimming fish in an endless cycle. The sword had been named; its spirituality was born! From now on, Chunjun was him, and he was Chunjun. [Hanxiang Nine Forms: Chunjun]—complete! The only problem was... The instant Ji Jue awakened Chunjun's spirit, billowing blood-fire surged from every inch of him, draping over flesh and soul alike. Just like a transformation— The soul-shadow manifested, blanketing the physical body and rewriting its essence. Amid the pungent stench of sulfur and ash, what stood in his place was an eerie, shifting figure enveloped in blood-fire, its features entirely indiscernible. Ceaseless, eternal wails and hysterical laughter seemed to rise from the flames without end. Right upon his chest, inside that deep, dark fissure, a fractured seed burned silently. Mingled within the scarlet blood-fire were wisps of pitch darkness. Why was there an extra color compared to before? At this moment, merely drawing breath dragged the entire workshop toward Great Sin, ceaselessly dispersing corruption. Where his feet stepped, charred black footprints were seared into the cast iron floor, flames rising perpetually above the scorched tracks. Spreading destruction, sowing blazing flames... Feeling the incomparably pure aura of Great Sin within his soul, alongside the abruptly crystal-clear call and resonance of the Vortex, Ji Jue's hair stood on end. What the hell was this?! Ji Jue broke into a sweat. Literal beads of flaming sweat were nearly dripping from his forehead. It defied all comprehension—Chunjun's spirituality, the reflection of his own soul... how was it a vile fiend?! Something wasn't right here! More importantly, corrupted to this degree, did this damn thing even count as Heavenly Work?! The answer: yes, it did. At least the Embers deemed it so. The proof was right there: the progress on his watch dial had reached a maxed-out [6], and within Ji Jue's matrix, an extra wisp of magnificent, dazzling brilliance had appeared without him realizing it. Airplanes, yachts, rocket carnivals—after splurging a fortune, Shangshan Embers had reclaimed the number-one spot on the leaderboard! Following [Crucible Blood] and [Unquenched Fuel], the final blessing required for the Metamorphosis tier had manifested in Ji Jue's soul at some point—[Heaven-Endowed Spirit]! The instant the blessing of Heaven-Endowed Spirit manifested, the final metamorphosis commenced within Ji Jue's soul and body. Ji Jue's returned soul expanded rapidly through flesh and blood. Guided and intertwined by the matrix, soul melded into every inch of Ji Jue's flesh, blending seamlessly until they were one. Crucible Blood surged, Unquenched Fuel circulated, and Heaven-Endowed Spirit rose. The three blessings of the Metamorphosis tier resonated with one another, countless threads of spiritus entwining back and forth, unified and indivisible! Thus, a wondrous change began brewing within his fully metamorphosed flesh and soul. Ji Jue could sense that he was now only a single step away from the Regeneration tier! Not only that, empowered by Heaven-Endowed Spirit, his soul strength rose rapidly, his prior depletion was completely restored in the blink of an eye, and countless insights surfaced in his mind as his thoughts turned. The world before his eyes looked brand new. It felt as if he could reach out and grasp the once-lofty, elusive essence of the Embers. Crucible Blood, Unquenched Fuel, Heaven-Endowed Spirit—with every one of these three blessings acquired, an artisan's floor was raised by a massive leap! Their ceiling was pushed to an inconceivable height. By this point, even if Ji Jue threw a piece of scrap iron into the furnace, abandoned all thought, and forged with his feet, he could casually produce something ordinary artisans could never dream of matching. It couldn't be helped. No matter how profound the path of the Embers had been in the past, alchemy had always relied far too heavily on fine execution. But with all three blessings gathered, creation became as instinctual as eating or drinking. The long, arduous ascetic path taken to assemble these three blessings, combined with their effects, yielded the ultimate qualitative leap. The timing of Ascension, the moment of Extraction, the juncture of Purification, the method of Integration... The profound mysteries that had once been elusive were now laid bare before him, crystal clear and as easy as turning over his hand! Not to mention, under the empowerment of Heaven-Endowed Spirit, his creations would naturally develop spirituality, unlocking boundless utility. From this day forth, even setting aside academic accomplishments and Heavenly Work achievements, Ji Jue could strut through the Association like an absolute menace on the strength of these three blessings alone. Even if his padding-filled papers got battered by his teacher Ye Xian, he would have the nerve to stand up and grumble, "Do you even know the worth of the Ember Trinity?" That was the confidence bestowed by Shangshan certification! As for his capabilities... With the final blessing of the Metamorphosis tier falling into place, the second blessing chain of [Matrix: Non-Offensive] was finally activated! At the theoretical limit, under absolutely ideal conditions, every major tier the Non-Offensive matrix crossed would assemble a foundational blessing chain. Each was named after one of the four major tiers. First Chain: [Beckoning]—capable of turning everything touched by Non-Offensive's bare hands into one's own! Through the blessings of Masterwork Nature, Primacy of Mind, and Sovereign Axis, Ji Jue could remotely apply the barehanded effects of Non-Offensive onto objects under Deus Ex Machina. He could perform transmutations, modifications, repairs, and enhancements out of thin air upon the targets of his Deus Ex Machina, turning mundane machinery into alchemical artifacts under his total control. And the Second Chain: [Metamorphosis]—its effect was even simpler and more brute-force! It diffused the effects of the Ember Trinity—Crucible Blood, Unquenched Fuel, and Heaven-Endowed Spirit—across all creations that had undergone [Beckoning]. Thereby... forcibly elevating the quality of matter, materials, and creations touched by spiritus by an entire tier! Trash became Common, Common became Fine, Fine became Rare, Rare became Epic... and even Epic, if Ji Jue put his back into it and drained his spiritus dry, could be elevated to Legendary! This was the god-tier technique forged through blood and sweat by the destitute Mohist brothers back in the day. They were all in the rebellion business; who had time to quietly farm and develop? Naturally, they used whatever was at hand and grabbed whatever they could find. You didn't mind the junk being trash, and the junk didn't mind you being broke. Either way, you made do, and once it was buffed up, it became a treasure! Where did this legacy of the Chosen Scavenger even come from... Ji Jue felt a headache coming on. He turned around and glanced about. He spotted Little Niuma lying nearby asleep. Little Niuma noticed him too; its heart tightened, and it instinctively pulled its neck in, trying to play dead. Yet it saw— Ji Jue abruptly point a finger. Instantly, he felt his spiritus surge like a tidal wave, rushing outward, and his mana bar plummeted by half! Little Niuma, who had been sprawled on the ground, shuddered violently despite itself and neighed toward the sky. Its beast-like steel visage opened its mouth and spat out a jet of dark purple fire into thin air. Its grayish-black chassis abruptly turned red-hot, involuntarily assuming its armor form... Yet now, the armor was completely reborn. Amid the flow of dragon blood, it transformed into pure vermilion, layers of scales covering its shell, glinting with cold light. Amid a sharp, crackling din, the outer shell fractured and sloughed off, and two brand-new arms sprouted out of nowhere! Even more exaggerated were the unrecognizably altered thrusters on its back—a pair of colossal wings pieced together from countless steel mechanisms, their sharp edges exposed and menacing. While spewing roaring flames, they shifted, incredibly forming two massive talons! In its wild excitement, Little Niuma casually scraped at the ground, and its talons gouged deep furrows straight into the workshop floor—a floor Ji Jue had reinforced countless times! Effortless, like a hot knife slicing through wax! And then, Isis sent it flying right out the door with a massive bitch-slap! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Isis didn't say a word, delivering one vicious slap after another in rapid succession! Even with the blessing sequence of Immovable as a Mountain rendering it invulnerable, and even bolstered by the metamorphosed dragon blood, Little Niuma didn't dare fight back. Completely stripped of its former swagger and ferocity, it scurried with its head in its paws. Unable to outrun her, it ended up strung up by a mechanical arm like a dog and thrashed. It could only struggle desperately, clattering and honking toward Ji Jue, begging for rescue. Help! Help! Help! Bro, save me! "..." Ji Jue's eye twitched. He took a subconscious step back, pretending not to hear—after all, when it came down to it, he was the one who had poked this hornet's nest. Who knew how much blood and sweat Isis had poured into building, maintaining, and running the workshop? He didn't dare utter a peep! What if he breathed too loudly, Isis noticed, and snapped, "I was so busy smacking him that I forgot to smack you"? Better to let Little Niuma take one for the team... Besides, he was doing this for the family too! Sigh, Isis, you'll understand me, right? And so, he squatted off to the side, doing his best to minimize his presence. Only after Isis had vented enough on Little Niuma, and silvery hands reached out from empty air to grab tools and begin sweeping, then dragged over all manner of materials to patch up the damage, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. "Please move your ass, Sir," Isis said coldly from within the starlight projection, shooting a sidelong glance at Ji Jue, who was acting as if nothing had happened. "Do not get in the way." "Right, right, okay, okay—" Hanging his head, Ji Jue didn't dare say another word. Driven into the corner by a broom and dustpan, he squatted beside Little Niuma—they were sharing a table now, so to speak. Covered in scorch marks, Little Niuma wiped at its leaking engine oil. Its engine was still whimpering like a sob. It glanced back at him and let out a honk. It sounded like an indignant accusation: Why didn't you have the guts to throw down with her?! "Hey! I just didn't react in time, alright?" Ji Jue patted its front hood, gesturing wildly as he swore up and down: "We're sworn brothers through thick and thin! Would I really let you take the fall? Later, I'll teach her a lesson and show her how to—" "Hm?" From the shimmering starlight projection, a pair of cold eyes suddenly glanced back over. Ji Jue instantly froze. "...how to get some proper rest so she doesn't wear herself out! After all, she works so hard, doesn't she? Little Niuma, why can't you show her some consideration instead of making her mad?" "Honk!!!" Faster than him, Little Niuma stood up without hesitation, pointed a finger at Ji Jue, and ratted him out to Isis: He said he's gonna throw down with you! "Little Niuma, you little bastard—" Ji Jue stared, dumbfounded. For the first time in his life, he felt the bitterness and agony of being betrayed by his own creation. He could barely hold back his tears. "...Hmph!" Isis spared a dismissive glance at the two clowns before turning back to tidy up. She couldn't even be bothered! Only the forsaken Ji Jue sat where he was, quietly shedding pearly tears. Who could have imagined that an artisan who had just forged a Heavenly Work—someone who ought to be riding high on life—could fall to such depths in his own workshop? Life was simply unlivable... When he looked down and pulled out his phone, he discovered it had practically blown up with calls. Everyone who had seen the manifestation of the Heavenly Furnace appear in the sky over Xinquan was losing their minds. That included his dear peers. Especially Old Lou. Four missed calls, eight or nine sixty-second voice messages, and more kept pouring in... The phone chimed incessantly. He had to be thrilled, overjoyed, and genuinely happy for him, right? Ji Jue chuckled, not even bothering to open them, and simply sent out a mass broadcast: [Yup, it's Heavenly Work. Fluked my way through. Thanks for the congratulations! You guys keep at it too!] His phone erupted into a frantic buzzing storm again. Not just Lou Feng—countless people began dialing him frantically. Calls, messages, video chats, and spiritus communications flooded in one after another. Ji Jue muted them all with a single tap of Do Not Disturb. Unfortunately, when he personally called Ye Chun to share the good news, he discovered he had already been blacklisted. Not being able to tell his senior this wonderful news in person was truly a shame. His teacher, on the other hand, was as calm and breezy as ever, offering only a mild "Understood. Congratulations." It left Ji Jue feeling a bit disappointed; he had thought his teacher might be a little more excited. Still, in the end, Ji Jue did not mention Chunjun's abnormal changes. Back in his teacher's workshop, they had to set up the Clepsydra of Silence even to talk about related matters; discussing such things over the phone was practically courting death! Besides, Ji Jue didn't even know how to put it into words— What had he experienced at the very end of Chunjun's forging? And what on earth had taken place in that stretch of sea? What was that Border Realm shadow he had seen at the end? There was only one thing he could be certain of: the revival of the Flame Tide Calamity was real! Even now, Ji Jue could feel the faint, tenuous call it directed at him—and even an instinctual craving and impulse. Yet regarding something so important, he had no one to tell and no way to say it aloud. What else could he do? Offer himself up as evidence?! Even if he were willing to sacrifice himself to blow the whistle, what good would it do? He didn't even know where that stretch of sea was located! There was no way to search for it! "Hm? Wait..." Amid his scattered thoughts, Ji Jue suddenly froze. He subconsciously raised his arm and looked at Cousin on his wrist. The system panel of the Celestial Rail popped up unexpectedly. [Navigation data update initiated. Lost route reconnected. Station login complete—] And then, in the navigation log of the Doomsday Express, he saw a brand-new teleport point appear on the map. [Present-World Anchor: Primeval Sacrificial Temple]! "Huuuummm..." Pinching his chin, Ji Jue stared at the illuminated teleport point before him. He looked up toward the Doomsday Express, fully prepared and ready to go. Suddenly, he grinned. Aren't things looking up now?