Three Phases

Once those words were out, Lou Feng fell silent. He stared at Ji Jue. His jaw hung slack. After setting aside his preconceived notions and genuinely pondering Ji Jue's question, the creation before him seemed... maybe... possibly... actually... *Hiss!* It really fucking didn't count! The primary materials were alloy, rubber, and microchips. The core technology consisted of an industrial exoskeleton and mature, preexisting supporting systems. Even the operating firmware was entirely self-developed... Well, an automated server had generated the code through a deus ex machina, but who could argue it wasn't self-developed? It was a standard industrial product through and through. It lacked any spiritus circuits or special materials, to say nothing of blessings or the aura of the Supreme Good. How could it qualify as an alchemical creation? Though the animus of creation within it was fully mature, it had not been artificially crafted. In fact, one could argue it wasn't strictly an animus of creation at all... By its very nature, it possessed the dual attributes of both a spiritus creature and an animus of creation. If someone truly wanted to press charges, the most they could allege was the suspected misuse of spiritus organisms. But that fell under the jurisdiction of Ascension and Vortex! And the Ascension lineage never policed anything—they barely had time to govern themselves. As for Vortex... Haha, the antics the Vortex lineage played were far wilder than anything artisans ever dreamed of! If one insisted on identifying the primary supervisory authority, well, let's see—the Security Bureau! Moreover, under jurisdictional principles, this was an internal Haizhou matter. Haian Industry and Haian Tech were registered in Yacheng's Beishan District and Chaocheng's Central District, respectively. The officials overseeing those jurisdictions were Wen Wen and Lou Yanyue. Even if someone kicked up an almighty fuss, the case would only end up on Warden Lyu's desk... All right, say no more: *Who stands before the court, and on what grounds do you accuse this magistrate?* This loophole was skirted so cleanly that even Gustav would shake his head, and the Absolute Sentence squad wouldn't even find a door to knock on! Besides, even if it danced on the edge, it remained well within the tacitly permitted bounds of the rules. Even if the Association showed no mercy and decided to tighten regulations, the first person to unleash a foul-mouthed tirade certainly wouldn't be Ji Jue! Frankly, the only risky element on the entire chassis was the vessel used to harbor the animus of creation. Yet right now, Ji Jue rummaged through the ashes for a good while before producing a tightly sealed, pristine case. Tearing open the seal, he retrieved a palm-sized motherboard. He tossed it to Lou Feng. Lou Feng caught it and immediately began reverse-engineering it without the slightest hesitation. The further he analyzed it, the more astonishing his expression grew. Unsurprisingly, beyond the standard motherboard materials, some spiritus conductors had been blended inside, but they were mostly common mercury and lead—the favorite mediums of Fluid Alchemy. Was it illegal to use mercury and lead in an industrial product? Which statute did that violate?! Environmental protection laws? Spiritus crystals had indeed been incorporated, but through an extraordinarily subtle and ingenious technique. The entire board contained less than 0.2 grams in total. On the one hand, this slashed costs to the absolute extreme; on the other, it fell far short of the Association's strict threshold defining an alchemical product, which required at least 0.41 grams per 200 grams of material! The quantity had been dialed down while purity and quality had been dialed up, which naturally raised the processing demands. That was likely one of the main reasons Ji Jue wanted to partner with the Lou family. With just a glance, Lou Feng identified four places in the manufacturing process where costs could be cut even further. Calculated this way, the most expensive component was actually the animus of creation derived from the Lord of the Flies. Yet if the final retail price failed to yield a profit margin of at least thirty times over, Lou Feng would spell his name backward! What truly kept him turning the motherboard over in his hands, scratching his head in utter bewilderment, was something else entirely... "How did you resolve the compatibility between the animus of creation and the vessel?" Gripping a spiritus probe, Lou Feng began dissecting the interior right then and there. Yet no matter how closely he looked, he couldn't find a single trace of an alchemical junction! True, certain areas showed suspected signs of processing, but there was no definitive evidence. The animus of creation had seamlessly fused with the entire motherboard, achieving flawless adaptation. It was as if it had been born that way—a completely natural integration! One had to understand: if there were so much as a single spiritus circuit or rune inside, the Association's regulatory division would hunt it down with a magnifying glass and slap restrictions on it. Yet here, the animus of creation seemed to have emerged directly from the motherboard itself, devoid of the slightest imperfection. How was that possible? Even Fluid Alchemy had to obey the fourfold principles of Ascension, Purification, Extraction, and Integration. How could it leave behind no trace at all? The longer he looked, the more Lou Feng's pupils contracted, trembling with suppressed shock. "How on earth did you pull this off?!" In response, he saw a cryptic smirk curve Ji Jue's lips. A gentle smile. "Want to learn?" Ji Jue's whisper drifted into his ear like a devil's temptation. "I can teach you." *Like hell I need your charity!* Lou Feng instinctively wanted to snap back, but his fingers reflexively tightened around the motherboard, freezing stiff. It seemed... he really did need it... A technique so tailor-made for his own research lay right before his eyes, yet he had never seen it before, never even conceived of it. No artisan could tolerate such a blind spot, nor could any resist so terrifying an allure. Before anger and rejection could surface, an uncontrollable hunger and turmoil welled up from the depths of his heart. Dazed, he looked at Ji Jue. Ji Jue looked back at him. Still smiling. There was no mockery in that smile, no mischievous spite. It was as calm and breezy as someone casually offering to pick up the tab for lunch, completely nonchalant. Whether it was an act, whether it was sincere, or whether some trap lay hidden underneath, Lou Feng couldn't tell. Yet it was precisely that indifferent composure that sent sharp pangs through his heart—infuriating him, yet filling him with an unspeakable thirst. Until an artisan's instinct utterly crushed his pride. Lou Feng closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and lowered his head. "Please teach me," he said. "I want it." *I can't hear you, speak up!* *What are you mumbling for? Go cook me a couple of dishes!* He had already braced himself for mockery, but Ji Jue merely reached into his pocket and produced a stack of notes transcribed just yesterday. "Then you'll need to be patient. There are quite a few prerequisite theories and required techniques, and they're somewhat scattered. I've never taught anyone before, so if you run into anything confusing, ask me anytime." With boundless patience, Ji Jue shoved notebook after notebook into his hands. "This part covers Fluid Alchemy techniques concerning spiritual bodies. "This part deals with the reverse application of Fluid Alchemy, related to the foundations of Solid Alchemy. "Time was tight, so I've only just finished adapting the theoretical framework for modern alchemy. There's still room for optimization, and the spiritus control requirements are fairly steep—ah, never mind that. Of course, you'll also need some background in Abso—*cough cough*, Ascension. After that, you can move on to this section." Pausing briefly, Ji Jue added a document stamped with the Security Bureau's confidentiality seal atop the small mountain of papers. Lou Feng picked it up instinctively and flipped through it, only to realize it had nothing to do with Embers. His brow furrowed. "What's... this?" "Uh, *cough cough*..." Ji Jue's gaze drifted elsewhere. "A structural analysis of a Vortex theory called 'Vortex Implantation.' It also includes notes written by an instructor named Lawrence. It has some value. In short, once you grasp the broad strokes, you should be able to master the principles behind this new technique." Fluid Alchemy to elevate matter through spiritus; Solid Alchemy to shackle spiritus through matter. The convergence of inside and outside, form and spirit, above and below. Layered with the concepts and logic of Vortex Implantation and reinforced by the blessings of the Barren Ruins, it yielded this bizarre result. That bastard Ji Jue had probably only just finished adapting this branch of Fluid Alchemy and was using him as a guinea pig! Yet Lou Feng didn't care in the slightest. So what if he was a guinea pig? Was the knowledge any less real? Countless people would pay fortunes for an opportunity like this without ever finding a way in. He wasn't about to be ungrateful! Forgetting his surroundings entirely, he began flipping through the pages right there on the spot. He scanned ten lines at a glance, seeking core concepts rather than exhaustive detail. He read with his questions in mind, searching for answers, until clarity dawned amid the crisscrossing theories. —Implant spiritus into matter, anchor them to one another through Fluid and Solid Alchemy, and use the elevation of spirituality to drive the enhancement of material properties; then, through those activated material properties, stabilize spirituality in turn. Ultimately, within a brief cyclical loop, a stable structure formed. At the same time, it could continuously absorb ambient spiritus from the surroundings to sustain the consumption of the animus of creation, nurturing, accumulating, undergoing metamorphosis, and growing even further... Until it developed into what lay before him. A completely natural integration. How could it not be natural? Aside from the initial sowing phase that employed alchemy, everything else was the spontaneous evolution of material properties and spirituality... capitalizing on the innate affinity between spiritus and matter to aggregate! In theory, as long as one found a spiritus-rich terrain, products like this could be churned out continuously in massive batches, almost like farming. Sow the seeds, then wait for the harvest. *Hiss...* The corner of Lou Feng's eye twitched frantically. "This is so fucking sinister!" Using this technique merely to forge compatible vessels for an animus of creation was an absolute waste of its potential. At its core, it used a mature spiritual body to extract material properties and fuel its own growth. If subjected to catalysis, it could execute a parasitic plunder bordering on body-snatching, devouring the host vessel down to the marrow step by step to complete itself. Once a technique like this turned unhinged—no, scrap 'once.' In the hands of a scoundrel like Ji Jue, the atrocities it could commit were beyond imagination! "How is it sinister?" Ji Jue wore an expression of righteous virtue. "'Reduce excess to replenish deficiency.' The way of balance. What's wrong with that?" *The problem is that you, you bastard, aren't balanced anywhere! Even if technology knows no good or evil, as if I don't fucking know whether you're good or evil!* If spiritus and matter remained in equilibrium, they could coexist. But if the two fell out of harmony, spiritus would plunder matter, verging on outright corruption... Just thinking about it made Lou Feng break into a cold sweat. If this guy ever stumbled upon an unclaimed leyline and planted something inside... things would get horrifyingly out of hand! Yet helplessly, holding these theories in his hands, his own mind began churning out inspirations and ideas that made his skin crawl. *If I applied it like this here, wouldn't it be even more depraved?* By the time he snapped out of it, cold sweat soaked his back. Once thought began to slide down that slope, the plunge into the abyss was never far off. "This thing... this thing... it..." Gripping the notes so hard the pages warped, Lou Feng spoke in a dry, raspy voice, unable to utter a single word of refusal. Everything Ji Jue had promised lay right in front of him, offered without the slightest pretense of haggling, accompanied by an even more advanced secret art rooted upon that foundation. Fluid Alchemy had been made completely open-source to him. What else could he say? Claim he was scared and run home? His master would travel thousands of miles just to slap him twice across the face and expel him from the lineage for being a disgrace! Artisans were ravenous creatures by nature; if a theory was useful, they used it, caring nothing for whether it was medicine or poison until they had digested it first. As for whether this was truly the inheritance of a Sage... What a joke. Could something so sinister, preposterous, unorthodox, and laced with so much catalysis theory from corruptive alchemy possibly be left behind by Quicksilver? In other words, this was purely a brand-new direction conceived and pioneered by Ji Jue himself, derived from his own studies during his adaptation of Fluid Alchemy! Even if it was only a foundation right now, it was enough to serve as an exclusive inheritance and establish a whole new branch within the Association. In the end, Lou Feng let out a helpless sigh. "Does it have a name?" "Hmm. Sowing spirit into matter, blending material and spiritual... calling it Barren Implantation works too, I suppose?" Ji Jue pondered for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "Looking at its essence, it moves from material properties to spirituality, from solid to fluid, dissolving into sublimation. Since Fluid Alchemy and Solid Alchemy already exist, let's just call it 'Gas Alchemy.'" Fluid, Solid, Gas. From this moment forth, all Three Phases were complete. Complementing one another, they stepped into an entirely new realm. Treading upon the stepping stones left by past Sages and digesting countless arts and secret heritages, Ji Jue had finally planted one foot into a brand-new sanctuary. The realm of a Master had swung its doors wide open to him. Whenever Ji Jue finished adapting Fluid Alchemy and founded his own school within the Association, the title of Master would be placed upon his head. Yet the moment Gas Alchemy was born, he required no permission or recognition whatsoever to push open that gate that seemed infinitely distant to Lou Feng. Both name and substance were already firmly in his grasp! The true disparity had finally revealed itself before Lou Feng's eyes. Yet he could hardly feel any jealousy anymore. Beyond exhaustion and fear, a faint numbness and relief quietly surfaced. So he had boarded a pirate ship—so be it. At least this pirate ship was ferocious, powerful, and fast. As for where it was sailing, that was no longer his to control. The moment he accepted that, he grew surprisingly calm. In the end, it was just a transaction: each taking what they needed. Without hesitation, he swallowed the bait Ji Jue had cast and asked, "Then what's the price?" "Don't worry, you won't be getting it for nothing." Ji Jue grinned. "Consider it an advance on your wages for the next five years. Aside from that... well, given the Lou family's scale, asking for a portion of Ascension Tallow and a Fulcrum of Constant Equilibrium isn't asking too much, is it?" Lou Feng fell silent, his face twitching violently. This shameless bastard truly knew how to open his maw! Ascension Tallow was a precious material of the Ascension lineage, extraordinarily rare. It served as the core in empowerment rituals akin to divine illumination, anointed onto the crown of the skull to break the bonds of matter, drawing the soul closer to the Supreme Good and granting unfathomable growth and comprehension. Its greatest value lay in the sheer purity of its essence: tiny droplets distilled from the qualitative transformation of boundless spiritus, accumulated gradually over vast stretches of time, and refined into an ointment-like consistency. A pure realization of philosophical enlightenment, yet free of any dogma or influence; a natural byproduct born when the soul ascended, completely untouched by pollution. It was practically the material manifestation of the soul's ascent—a treasure coveted by Celestial Chosen of the Ascension lineage. Forget an entire portion; even a single drop was enough to make people bash each other's brains out. As for the Fulcrum of Constant Equilibrium, it was the quintessence of the Barren Ruins lineage, the emblem of immutable matter. Pure primordial matter that contained no attributes, was incapable of undergoing any transformation, and remained entirely immune to external influence. Eternal stability and uniformity. Only under extremely rare circumstances did such a blank slate of matter ever form. Aside from enhancing the potential and shoring up the weaknesses of the Barren Ruins' Celestial Chosen, its primary application was leveraging its extreme stability to craft ultra-precise measuring instruments. Equally rare, equally niche, and possessed of an extraordinarily narrow range of uses. And when those two items were brought together, their greatest purpose was... "A Higher Beckoning?" Lou Feng blurted out the guess, only to shake his head immediately. True, those two materials, closest to Ascension and the Barren Ruins respectively, made ideal cores for a Higher Beckoning. But countless alternatives existed. Given Ji Jue's personality—caring only for data and outcomes rather than the process—he would never sacrifice cost-efficiency to chase quality for its own sake. Furthermore, a Higher Beckoning required only one or the other, not both. With both in hand, only a single possibility remained. Using their inherent properties to channel the primordial essence of Ascension and Barren Ruins—of soul and matter—into a specific entity, fashioning a structure infinitely approaching a genuine soul, thereby resonating with the Supreme Good! Only that warranted materials of such astronomical caliber. Lou Feng's eyes widened in realization, his voice laced with disbelief. "What on earth are you trying to bestow a fugue upon and anchor a spirit into?" *Has this bastard already begun dabbling in the realm of matrix relics?!* Ji Jue smiled, neither confirming nor denying. *Don't ask so many questions. Just tell me if you're giving them to me or not!* Lou Feng rolled his eyes, pulled out his phone, stepped aside, and dialed a number. He even routed the call through an encrypted Boundless Communications line. Otherwise, that scoundrel Ji Jue would eavesdrop on the whole thing and probably max out his bank card behind his back. "Grandpa, it's me... Yeah, the shortfall is pretty big. No need, I can handle it myself. I'll talk to Second Uncle. Also, there's... Yeah, okay. "I know. I want to mortgage my shares. Right, I don't see it as a loss—it stays within the family anyway. I've thought it through. I'll have to trouble Eldest Uncle to act as a witness when the time comes." Finishing the call, Lou Feng hung up and let out an agonizing sigh. He hadn't held many shares to begin with. When he became an artisan, his grandfather had gifted him a block, and now half of it was mortgaged away. As for the rest, looking at Haian Tech's terrifying rate of burning cash, he probably wouldn't keep hold of them for long either. Life was getting harder by the day. Yet why did this scoundrel's life look so flourishing? Oh, right—because he was enjoying it in Lou Feng's place! And Lou Feng himself had to bust his ass, slaving away like a beast of burden for the man's matrix relic... No, stop thinking about it! His fists were already clenching! "My family has Ascension Tallow. We only finished gathering a portion last month, and negotiations with the buyer fell through. I'll have it delivered straight to you shortly." He checked his wristwatch. "The Fulcrum of Constant Equilibrium will have to wait until tomorrow. Perpetual Bank has already closed its vaults for end-of-day settlement. It won't arrive from the Midtown vault until tomorrow morning." "Sounds good. I've waited this long; a few more days won't hurt." Ji Jue nodded and asked with a grin, "Seems the deal was worth it after all, eh?" "Thanks to you." With a sullen scowl, Lou Feng pocketed the materials Ji Jue had handed him. "I suppose I came away with something." "How's your health?" Ji Jue asked with concern. Seeing the hypocritical facade the scoundrel put on the moment he got what he wanted, Lou Feng sneered coldly. "Heh, still breathing. Don't trouble yourself worrying—I eat well, I sleep well." "No, what I mean is: your wages are paid, your health is fine, so why aren't you working yet?" Ji Jue's brow furrowed as he spoke in a measured tone: "Young Lou, I really have to say a few words to you. Sleeping? At your age, in your position, how can you still sleep? "Is today's spiritus supply secured? Have tomorrow's shortfalls been plugged? Is the organizational framework for this shoestring company set up? Has the product optimization finished? Has the workshop restructuring begun? Are the machines in place? "The company brought you on board to strive alongside us, not to treat this as a retirement home. How can you face all my painstaking efforts..." Silence. A long, stretching silence. Lou Feng stared expressionlessly at the bipedal creature before him. After a long moment, he suddenly broke into a relieved smile. Decisively, he rolled up his sleeves... *Motherfucker, I can't take this anymore!* On the very first day of work in his life, Lou Feng experienced an epiphany regarding the ultimate essence of corporate warfare: grab a hammer and a wrench, and beat the shit out of your business partner! He didn't win.