That said, beneath Ji Jue's relentless whining and crying, the allowance needed for Project Juque was still set aside.
For the umpteenth time, starting from scratch, unsure if everything would be overturned and redone yet again... But as he leafed through the Haze inheritance, a new question suddenly popped into his head.
"Calamity beasts."
Ji Jue paused for an instant. He turned his head toward the inheritance piled high on the desk, unable to suppress his curiosity. "Why research calamity beasts, Berzuna?"
The workshop's final animation had truly been astounding. Turning inanimate objects into living beings might well have been a fruit of this line of research, but the question remained... why this direction?
Calamity beasts fell under the domain of biology, didn't they?
It didn't fit Haze at all!
Even if one wanted to take an indirect detour to achieve a breakthrough, wasn't this veering far too off course?
Honestly speaking, researching Fluid Alchemy would have been far more beneficial to the Haze legacy than calamity beasts.
Besides, Ji Jue genuinely harbored no sectarian prejudice. Compared to other craftsmen who guarded their legacies like forbidden treasures and wouldn't allow anyone else to touch so much as a scrap, he was practically irreverent and rebellious.
If you came over, kowtowed to him, and pledged to serve as a beast of burden under Ji Jue's banner from then on, he would have gladly taught you his adapted Fluid Alchemy—he still had Three-Phase held firmly in his grasp anyway.
Yet Berzuna had defected straight to the Profound?
What was the point?
At this thought, Ji Jue couldn't help but sigh.
He felt like his own future was pitch black.
They were all walking the path of uniting the many into one, but differences remained.
Take that Master Zhou from before, for instance. He had purely treated other craftsmen as tools and consumables, using the Convergence of Myriad Sources legacy to share his own burden and raise his floor.
Berzuna's idea had been even more radical and lunatic—he wanted to meld the craftsmen directly into the creations!
Enhance the creation's spirituality, bolster integration and the whole, command the multitude with the multitude... Setting aside whether it was orthodox or even feasible, and despite being utterly devoid of conscience, it still stemmed from the perspective of craftsmen.
As for Ji Jue, he had completely inverted their priorities.
Sorry, but the craftsmen are spare parts, too!
The project formed by the creations was the true core.
Only with Deus Ex Machina and the Lord of the Flies in hand did he possess the baseline conditions and potential for such a development... If this were ever truly realized one day, forget the Association—even the Profound probably wouldn't tolerate him.
When the Absolute Sentence squad came knocking on his door then, it might very well be an all-star dream team formed jointly by the Association and the Profound.
Still, if he was going to tremble in fear, he could wait until that day actually arrived. By then, Ji Jue might already be punching Tianlu and kicking Kanemoto—would he still fear something like that?
As things stood now...
"The one in need of research on calamity beasts wasn't Berzuna, but the Profound?"
Ji Jue rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
He couldn't understand. What did those bastards want with calamity beasts?
Though it was none of his damn business, everyone still shared some responsibility...
More importantly, after moonlighting once, Ji Jue felt like there was somewhat no turning back.
Side gigs were fantastic!
Cover your face, turn off the lights, rake in a fortune, and leave. As long as nobody caught you and no video footage leaked, weren't you still a pure and innocent craftsman?
Do that a few more times, and wouldn't the famine and deficit back home be completely patched up?
Calamity beasts, huh?
When the chance came, he'd find a few more Profound targets to hunt in the wild!
His mind made up, he instructed Isis to keep an eye out for news on this front. Ji Jue finished organizing the Haze inheritance, confirmed there were no omissions or issues, and finally shut the book.
"Don't forget to send a copy of this to Teacher, and send Lou Feng one... oh, send him two."
Ji Jue paused, adding, "Tell him that once he receives them, take the extra copy and deliver it to Hu Jian."
"Understood."
Isis nodded.
Unfortunately, in alchemical manuscripts, many spiritus structures required physical mediums to be fully presented, meaning the manuscripts themselves were alchemical creations. Only in this way could their essence be preserved without distortion of detail.
Otherwise, a simple email would have handled it. Why bother with all this hassle?
As his overseer, whenever Ji Jue ate meat, ol' Lou could at least share a couple sips of soup.
As for Hu Jian...
The crucible's Spirit of Creation had ultimately entrusted the entire Haze inheritance to Ji Jue, without even demanding a contract, making only a heartfelt plea.
It was an act of goodwill after all. Ji Jue truly didn't have the gall to take it for nothing, but neither did he have the time or energy to find apprentices and teach them by hand from scratch.
In any case, as long as an inheritance got passed down, that was enough, right?
Hadn't Hu Jian sworn an oath to Berzuna that he would ensure the Haze inheritance would not be lost?
Fine, then you do it!
Saves me the trouble.
*
And so, when Lou Feng received the package, he was completely dumbfounded.
Unable to comprehend.
Hu Jian? That Hu Jian... from the Transmutation lineage?
No, bro, weren't you two at each other's throats just a few days ago, ready to draw blades and fight to the death?
Whatever...
Writing it off as Ji Jue losing his mind again, Lou Feng gave the Haze inheritance a cursory browse, stuffed his own copy into his bag, picked up the other case, and went directly through the Star Core Association straight to Tianshu, walking openly and grandly into the Association's headquarters.
Then, under the bewildered stares of everyone around, he knocked on the door of Hu Jian's office.
Now, it was Hu Jian's turn to be dumbfounded.
"..."
In an office piled high with manuscripts of all kinds, Hu Jian looked as if he had aged a dozen years in just a few days. His hair was streaked with gray. Staring at the manuscripts in the case, he froze in a stupor.
Incomprehensible, unbelievable.
After a very long time, he reached out his hand.
It trembled slightly.
He turned the pages one by one, almost suspecting this was some excessively malicious mockery or practical joke. But it wasn't... The inheritance of the Haze lineage, from introductory theory to advanced research, barring a few exquisite applications that were lost forever with Berzuna's death, was almost all right here.
It was real, real, real...
He evaluated page after page, paused, and suddenly began rummaging through them. Pulling a middle page from two stacks of manuscripts, he located two figures and four frameworks. Cross-referencing and calculating for a long while, he discovered... it was all genuine!
Not a single wasted word, not a shred of fluff.
What was more, it held even more comprehensive knowledge than he had possessed as an apprentice laborer!
In the dead silence, he seemed to lose all strength, collapsing into his chair, unable to speak.
Lou Feng silently sipped his tea, then set down his teacup.
He politely rose to take his leave. "Since Master Hu has accepted it, I shall take my departure."
"Hold on!"
Hu Jian's voice startled even himself.
It was too loud.
He had lost control of his volume.
Lou Feng blinked, instinctively tensing up, thinking Hu Jian couldn't bear the humiliation and was about to draw steel. But when he turned around, he saw the man looking completely drained and devastated.
Several times, Hu Jian opened his mouth to speak, only to swallow his words, unable to produce a sound.
Until at last, with an exhausted sigh, he bowed his head.
From the bottom of his heart, he offered his gratitude:
"Please... please thank Mr. Ji on my behalf."
"..."
Lou Feng's expression twitched, and an overwhelming urge to swear surged within him.
Don't you two have cell phones?!
Can't you just talk to each other directly...
In the end, he could only nod helplessly.
"Alright."
He asked, "Is there anything else besides this?"
Hu Jian hesitated for a moment, gestured for him to wait, and then stood up, rummaging through his office. He tore through desks, cabinets, and even the papers on the floor, turning them into a chaotic mess.
Finally, stacks of manuscripts were compiled together once more.
There hadn't been time to draft a table of contents, nor were the revisions of details complete...
It was merely a preliminary draft.
His painstaking effort and achievements over the past six years—the latest edition of the Compendium of Historical Discussions on the Four Fundamentals of Alchemy—was all here.
"Lately... lately..."
He stacked the papers together neatly, bowed his head, and said, "Lately, matters have been chaotic, and inspiration has run dry. The hardship and torment are truly difficult to put into words. If he has the time, I would like to trouble Mr. Ji to give this his critique and corrections..."
He paused, steeling his resolve:
"Furthermore... it would be even better if he could grace it with a preface."
"...Say what?!"
Lou Feng froze, blurted out, and practically leapt out of his chair, glancing around wildly.
He wondered if he had walked straight into the White Tiger Hall.
No, bro, are you serious?!
Corrections?
A preface?
Him?
For you?
Lou Feng recognized every single word, but strung together, they made his vision go dark.
Corrections? A Golden Ribbon editing a Master's manuscript? And a manuscript you spent six or seven years of blood, sweat, and tears compiling?! If word got out, Ji Jue would look like a god, but where would you, Hu Jian, put your face?
And write you a preface on top of that?
Him?
Are you throwing away a lifetime of reputation just to serve as Ji Jue's stepping stone? Leaving even the preface of your magnum opus for Ji Jue to make his grand entrance?
For a craftsman, this was more outrageous than kneeling down and kowtowing.
It was practically sacrificing your own academic career to elevate Ji Jue's status!
Was this some kind of insidious scheme?
He didn't even dare imagine it!
Yet Hu Jian had spoken in such a humble, submissive tone—what could Lou Feng do?
After his shock, numbness, and stupor subsided, his fingers trembled as he picked up the manuscript from the desk.
"I... I'll tell him."
"Thank you for the trouble."
Hu Jian nodded, stood up, and escorted him all the way out.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he escorted Lou Feng right to the Leyline Teleportation Substrate, watching him vanish before finally turning back toward his office.
As if a thousand-jin burden had been lifted from his shoulders, his steps were light.
Yet it was also as if he bore an invisible weight, trudging forward step by step in silent torment.
Having steeled his heart.
"What?"
Ji Jue stared blankly at the pile of papers in his hands. "He wants me to write a preface for him? What a pain..."
Heh, bark louder, why don't you?
Lou Feng's expression twitched, fighting the urge to brawl with this bastard right then and there. "What more do you want? Hu Jian put his own face under your boot to serve as a doormat. What, are you unhappy with his posture?"
"It's mainly that I don't have the time."
Ji Jue frowned and flipped through the manuscript casually, feeling only annoyance.
What was this supposed to be?
Repayment?
All this empty, pompous fluff—what was the point?
If he truly wanted to repay him, wouldn't gifting more materials and Blessings have been far sweeter than this?!
Besides, he genuinely felt he couldn't handle people like Hu Jian.
As an opponent, it was fine—just hammer him into dust cleanly and call it a day. But turning him into an ally? How to put it... it was honestly exhausting and a pain in the neck.
He always felt like the guy might suddenly break out into "together, with me, for the rest of our lives" or some nonsense at any moment...
Far too troublesome.
As for right now...
It was nothing more than writing a preface. Anyone could spout empty platitudes: reflect on the past, look toward the future, praise the achievements, encourage the readers, and express high hopes.
Pad it out, throw together a few hundred words, and call it a day.
With a sweep of his hand, Ji Jue knocked it out in one go.
Courtesy cost nothing and mutual flattery hurt no one. He simply took the perspective of his days as an apprentice, lavishing effusive praise on Hu Jian, followed by commendations for the Association, and capped off with acclaim for the wise leadership of President Gustav and Director Jiang.
Done.
As for the subsequent critique and corrections... from the vantage point of a Master looking down, all those years of painstaking work on the fundamentals had already been tempered a thousand times over. What was there left to correct?
Only, it looked a bit bashful and coquettish, like playing hard to get.
If you're going to teach the real stuff, why not teach a bit more?
What are you afraid of?
You've already thrown your reputation away; are you still scared your peers will badmouth you?
Ji Jue took a broad stroke of his pen and added an extra chapter to the Purification section. Grounded in his adapted Fluid Alchemy, he included six introductory techniques that could each be applied independently.
They were a bit complex and somewhat difficult, but once learned, they were genuinely practical, remaining useful from apprentice to craftsman and all the way to Master. They were just somewhat fragmented, and Ji Jue had never bothered to pad his academic record with them.
There, go learn, kids!
Back in my day, where would I have ever had opportunities like this...
After spending two hours finishing it up, Ji Jue patted his pants and took off.
Leaving behind the dumbfounded, miserable wretch Lou Feng, who stared at the manuscripts on the desk with an overwhelming urge to curse.
Fuck, I have to be your errand boy again?!
After spending half an hour cursing at thin air, Lou Feng ultimately pushed himself up reluctantly, set out with the manuscripts, and headed for Tianshu.
After receiving and reading through it, Hu Jian fell silent for a long time again.
Then, right in front of Lou Feng, he added the introductory applications of the Haze inheritance into the Transmutation section, and then inserted the fundamentals of the Transmutation lineage into the Integration section.
Lou Feng?
Lou Feng was already completely numb.
What the fuck are you two even trying to do?!
When the manuscript made its way back into Ji Jue's hands...
"Hey, you're adding stuff too?"
Ji Jue snorted, amused. He rolled up his sleeves and picked up the pen. "Fine, then I'll add some more too!"
And so, at this very moment, the nature of the game subtly shifted...
Chapter 683