Embers Are Taking Off

To the Celestial Chosen, the Regeneration tier was without question akin to a state of being reborn—an evolution, a recreation. Endless accumulation served as nourishment, metamorphosing into a unique form. And throughout this process came another period of development, like a toddler gradually growing into an adult, a new phase of rapid growth. Flesh, power, soul, abilities—all advanced side by side, bursting with vitality as all things strove forward. Fortunately, the culmination of this stage was no burial ground, but a brand-new countenance welcomed once development reached fruition. —This was the so-called Regeneration form! If walking in an ordinary appearance was the lingering remnant of the Celestial Chosen's former humanity, then the Regeneration form was the brand-new shape sought and forged after their soul and the Sovereign Virtue essence fused and sublimated. Just like Old Tom's ferocious three-headed, six-armed form; Plant Bro's "my body as a book containing disasters"; An Ning manifesting the Jade Horn Shadow; Uncle Lin dissolving into thick smoke, gathering and dispersing formlessly... Following different Sovereign Virtues led to varied forms. Even if there were occasional similarities, the details were bound to be worlds apart. Generally, a Celestial Chosen would have an intuition or premonition regarding their own form, but Ji Jue seemed to be the sole exception, without the slightest clue. He could only wait patiently. Still, most Regeneration forms followed certain patterns. For instance, the Celestial Chosen of the White Stag mostly took the form of beasts. The Chosen of the Vortex were generally grotesque, sometimes turning straight into some creature of myth. Those of Entropy were either wreathed in raging fire or crackling with lightning; the Ascension lineage featured the fusion or even bifurcation of matter and spirit; the Swarm lineage was covered in scales and crazed with bloodlust... Indeed, just like corruption. Or rather, corruption was an incomplete, impure, and uncontrollable Regeneration form forcibly catalyzed under the erosion and transformation of a Great Sin. That was precisely why it was impure, hard to control, and induced madness. The reflection of the soul manifested by Chunjun—cloaked in flames and crowned with seven horns—could to some extent also be regarded as a Regeneration form born from the Flame Tide. As for the Embers lineage, a substantial portion of their Regeneration forms involved the materialization of the body! Limbs, facial features, or internal organs—depending on the Chosen's accumulation and attainment, their level and rank differed, and they would even grow alongside the advancement of alchemy, as if carrying a masterwork on their person at all times. Considering how Non-Offensive claimed that "both hands and ten fingers forge all under heaven," when the time came, it would most likely be his hands. Maybe he could even sprout a few more arms... Right now, with just two hands, his efficiency and dexterity were already sky-high; if he grew arms all over his body, wouldn't his productivity go through the roof?! Once his Regeneration form stabilized, he could actively peel off a branch of Non-Offensive and transform Isis into a matrix relic. At that point— "Hehehe, heheh, hahaha..." Just imagining such a marvelous scene had Ji Jue drooling. In the midst of her busy work, Isis glanced back. She withdrew her gaze in disgust. Moron. Looking ahead to the future was delightful, but the key lay in the present. Having indulged enough in daydreams, Ji Jue plunged once more into the workshop's daily grind. With the completion of his masterwork, Ji Jue's reputation surged and expanded once more. Unlike before, when it was confined within the trade and limited circles, this was like a server-wide announcement blaring continuously on loudspeakers. And with special effects like dancing golden dragons and showering blossoms to boot—after all, in the entire Haizhou, any Celestial Chosen with eyes could see it: such a colossal Tianlu Manifestation in the skies over Xinquan! The Heaven-Shaking Bell had even been rung! Were you kidding?! As a heavyweight auspicious omen dropped from the heavens right at the pivotal juncture of the Association's transition—Delong stepping down and Gustav succeeding him—both Delong and Gustav, the old and new factions of the Association, spared no effort in publicizing it! Delong was beaming with joy, overjoyed. Welcoming good news on the very last day of his tenure provided a perfect ending to a lifetime of toil. Gustav also wore a rare smile; on his very first day in office, he got off to a flying start. What did this show? This showed that Embers was going to blow up, folks! Didn't this call for massive promotion? Didn't this demand aggressive publicity?! Beyond formal notices, the Ring of Taiyi provided extra encouragement and support. Ji Jue's access permissions in the Association's database had already been bumped up to the level of three Golden Ribbons in advance, and he had received a handsome sum of points. The envy and jealousy of his peers, not to mention negative emotions +999, went without saying. More importantly, it broke out into the mainstream! Anywhere connected to the Boundless Comm network, even the most isolated Celestial Chosen could see related coverage on the daily news headlines. Although information regarding the masterwork remained vague and Ji Jue had never disclosed specific details, no bitter haters jumped out to target him or dared make an issue of it. As one of the symbols of the Sovereign Descent of Embers, the Tianlu Manifestation was not just a manifestation of the Supreme Good in the mortal world; it also represented the authority of Grandmaster Tianlu! Anyone daring to cause trouble over this was either not yet born or had one foot in the grave. To Celestial Chosen unrelated to Embers, this heavyweight achievement was undeniably the finest testament to a craftsman's ability. Don't talk to me about genius, potential, lineage, or factions. "A promising future" and "a future right before your eyes" were two completely different things. The reality of "capable of creating a masterwork" versus "having the potential to create a masterwork" was as different as heaven and earth. Anyone could paint a pie in the sky! But when you were starving, you needed real food in your belly! And now, fresh from the oven, the pie had arrived! Along with attention from all quarters came an endless blizzard of appointments and commissions, all sorts of contracts and promises. The overwhelming majority were filtered out by Ji Jue. As of now, his workshop didn't even have an official name, and the registration process wasn't even finished; all business was affiliated under his teacher's Chaosheng. All these inquiries and invitations were routed to Chaosheng's sole drudge, handyworker, errand-runner, receptionist, cook, assistant, and secretary. Who could have thought a salted fish could hold so many titles? Anyway, since you're herding one sheep, you might as well graze two. When you can get a free ride, why wouldn't you take it? After the lazy dog senior sister filtered them, ninety-nine percent of the orders and invitations were weeded out. Ji Jue looked over the rest; for those he found interesting, he gave a polite reply requesting postponement, and those he had no interest in were simply ignored. As for the scalper Old Tom, he was blacklisted once again—after all, at this stage, Ji Jue still intended to focus primarily on advanced study and had no desire to expend his energy on workshop business. The few exceptions were old friends from Yacheng. Ji Jue contracted all the production and maintenance of alchemical equipment for the Beishan Section. But Sister Wen's iron fists were invincible and never needed gear; Old Zhang was in his prime and relied entirely on muscle; Hanhan never went to the front lines and had heaps of stuff at home anyway; so the benefits meant for four were all stuffed into Xiao An's arms. Exquisitely crafted throwing knives used one and discarded one; a dazzling array of projectiles replenished by two crates for every one used; plus all sorts of clever little gadgets, hung all over his body. The poor kid had never been a pay-to-win warrior in his life, and still hadn't gotten used to it. Beyond that was the equipment maintenance for the First Department, for the friends he had met and cooperated with during the Quancheng campaign: Ji Liu's halberd, Ji Xue's daggers and armor, and Xu Guan's glasses and protective gear. Apart from that, he occasionally took on a few maintenance and repair jobs to keep his skills sharp. Income was sparse, while the financial shortfall grew ever larger. After all, research into the Nine Forms was a bottomless pit—not to mention, Deus Ex Machina had mouths to feed too! By now, having devoured all of his teacher's scrap, Ji Jue could only forage for food on his own. Fortunately, he had hauled back a massive hoard from the sacrificial temple last time, so in the short term there was no worry about sustenance, but what about after that? He couldn't very well go dig up another emperor's tomb, could he? What if the corpse reanimated? Life was just an endless tangle of threads, a messy jumble. One could only take it slow; haste wouldn't do. Spending the whole day clearing out the few mundane chores, he calmed his mind and centered his thoughts. After crafting a batch of mechanical spiders to steady his state, he began to focus on tempering Pan Ying once more. Methodical, step by step, single-minded. So much so that the process went so smoothly even he was surprised. The expected backlash and violent tremors were easily suppressed. Honed and tempered once again through this, the Pan Ying emerging from the furnace grew an inch longer, its sharp edge laid bare. Only, the jarring, violent dark red that once resembled bloodstains showed signs of fading and dimming after extensive spiritus honing and washing with the 'Liquefied Life' swiped from Water Ghost. From within it, a faint trace of crimson faintly emerged! Just as it once had in the hands of Lord Tianlu, though the gap in degree of completion was immeasurable. Yet Ji Jue couldn't help beaming with joy. After so much trial and error over all this time, he had finally managed to subdue the ferocity and malice bred from countless blood sacrifices, taking the very first step toward transforming Pan Ying into Sheng Xie! All that remained was time—and the remaining four of the Six Evils. Where the hell was he supposed to find those?! Ji Jue sighed, swinging the sword in his hand, itching for a fight. When you hold a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Holding the freshly retempered Pan Ying, didn't he need a test dummy for the blade? So, who would be the lucky child? Little Niuma? Huh? Where's Little Niuma?! Where did my great big truck go?! "Unfortunately, it ran off the moment Pan Ying left the furnace," Isis remarked with schadenfreude. "By now, it's probably already run sixty kilometers. If you head out right now, you might still catch it." "Catch it? Catch what? I'm no monster. I really don't get what it's so afraid of!" Ji Jue sheathed the sword, shaking his head. "Would I really be so deranged as to test a sword on it?" "Also, during your work hours, there were two missed calls—Priority One notifications, both from the Church of Chongguang. Just ten minutes and four minutes ago." Isis said, "After answering them, I intended to relay the message for you, but that Grand Elder seemed unwilling to speak to an outsider. He only asked me to pass word to you the moment you finished working. It seems there is an urgent matter." "The Church of Chongguang?" Ji Jue was slightly startled. He looked up at his wristwatch: 1:30 AM. At this hour, two consecutive calls? "Call back for me." "No need, the third call is coming in, sir," Isis said. "It seems extremely urgent. Connecting you now..." The dial tone cut off abruptly. "Grand Elder, this is Ji Jue. How may I help you?" Ji Jue greeted him. "Has there been an issue with the equipment Haian delivered? I—" "...Mr. Ji, I apologize for disturbing you so late at night." From the other end came a slightly raspy, haggard voice. "I have a vital favor to ask." Ji Jue immediately grew solemn and sat upright. "Please, go ahead."