Chapter 00184: It Will Thank Me! (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, the Legendary Orange Cat)
# It Will Thank Me! (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, the Legendary Orange Cat)
Chapter 184
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 184: It Will Thank Me! (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, the Legendary Orange Cat)
The long night passed without notice.
Inside the temporary workshop in the carriage, when the alarm clock rang, Ji Jue finally realized the arrival of dawn.
Thanks to the physique of a Chosen One, staying up all night wasn’t a big deal.
Besides, he had rested quite a bit during the journey.
After a night of hard work, when the furnace opened again, a dazzling silver light illuminated his eyes.
“Mission accomplished!”
Ji Jue grinned: “Thanks, Ball Bro!”
[We’re brothers, no need to be so polite!] The Ghost Work Ball replied calmly: [Haven’t seen you in a while, your skills have improved.
With your current level, if you brush up on some theory, you might even be able to get a license.]
“Still a long way to go.”
Ji Jue shook his head.
He knew his own limits.
He wasn’t arrogant enough to think that a few months of practice would be enough to cross the threshold that had stumped countless people for years.
His skills were too lopsided.
Among all his techniques, aside from his ever-improving Disintegration Art, the one he had practiced the most was Fluid Alchemy.
After all, it was incredibly useful when working outside the workshop with Non-Aggression.
However, he couldn’t use it to apply for a license.
Although his modern alchemy skills weren’t bad, they were mostly focused on practical application.
It wasn’t entirely his own effort—over 90% of his progress came from the insights gained when the Mechanical Deus Ex Machina absorbed the essence of Shangshan.
His theoretical knowledge was still lacking, and he could only copy answers without understanding why certain numbers were used.
Among the four foundational skills, his proficiency in Purification and Integration was ridiculously high, almost at the level of Ascension.
However, Extraction, which required a balance of experience, theory, and practice, was still at the apprentice level.
To improve, he would have to grind relentlessly—there were no shortcuts.
Even if he somehow managed to get a license by sheer luck, he would only be able to produce knock-offs and pirated versions, completely hollow on the inside… Such a clownish role wasn’t something Ji Jue could tolerate, and Professor Ye would probably be tempted to clean house if she saw it.
Better to take it slow.
“Come here.”
Ji Jue beckoned with his finger, and the flowing mercury surged out of the furnace.
Without his control, it poured into the toolbox at his feet.
It looked no different from before it was put into the furnace, but after a night of purification, all impurities had been removed, and the bone-like texture was gone.
In its place was a faint glow on the surface of the mercury.
Under the light, it seemed like countless tiny crystals, refracting faint colors that shifted and flowed, as if containing infinite mysteries.
Ji Jue waved his hand and snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the dormant mercury erupted, forming an iron wall in front of him.
Unlike the pure metallic silver sheen of before, this iron wall was now slightly transparent, with a crystal-like texture.
[What the hell? Did you mess up?] The Ghost Work Ball was momentarily stunned before mocking: [I should’ve just let this blessing rot in the vortex.
What the hell did you make?]
After all, the Blessing of Metallic Quality was supposed to enhance the strength, hardness, and rigidity of any material, depending on the user’s understanding of the Path of Ruins and the amount of spiritual essence invested.
But one thing was certain: since it was called Metallic Quality, the closer it was to metal, the better! How did Ji Jue end up making something that looked like melted glass after a whole night of work?
“Try it and you’ll know.”
Ji Jue calmly waved his finger, and a thin, paper-like branch extended from the iron wall.
As spiritual essence was poured into it, it became increasingly transparent!
*Snap!*
An invisible force erupted in the air, and a tiny crack appeared on the thin mercury crystal.
Just as Ji Jue was about to smirk, the crystal snapped in half!
It fell to the ground and quickly disintegrated into scattered mercury droplets.
The product he had poured so much spiritual essence and effort into had been destroyed during the test?
“What the hell?”
[What the hell!] The Ghost Work Ball was even more shocked than Ji Jue: [What kind of strength is this?! What the hell did you take?]
To put some pressure on Ji Jue, even though it was just a strength test, it had used the same intensity and scale as Professor Ye’s usual tests.
Normally, even an iron wall would be reduced to powder with a single strike.
But the test object had actually maintained its form?
Moreover, during the strike, it had felt a slight resistance, as if something had been cut?
In other words, if the spiritual essence invested and the operator’s level were equal, that strike might have been completely ineffective…
[Something’s off, this structure… is it Minerva?] After a quick scan with its analysis module, the Ghost Work Ball realized: [When the hell did you learn this?]
“That’s a long story.”
Ji Jue instinctively touched his abdomen, but the familiar emblem was no longer there.
He sighed softly: Now that his horizons had broadened, he felt more and more that using the Minerva Sword to fight that lightning old man back then had been a waste—it was overkill.
During the forging and refining of the Blessing of Metallic Quality, he had deliberately imitated the crystal structure created by Sister Wen based on his own understanding.
Unfortunately, he had only managed to create a pale imitation.
Even so, it had significantly increased the theoretical strength of the Metallic Quality.
It wasn’t just a metaphor to say it surpassed metal.
What looked like a sheet of mercury was actually divided into countless layers and components internally, mimicking the structure of metal crystals.
It isolated impacts and vibrations, preventing spiritual essence from eroding or spreading.
In other words, both physical and magical resistance had been pushed to their theoretical limits, fully utilizing the blessing.
According to Ji Jue’s calculations, if fully deployed, the mercury wall could withstand the impact of several kilograms of phlogiston explosives.
As for whether the people behind it would be shaken to death… that was another matter.
With this, his defensive shortcomings were temporarily addressed, and he didn’t need to worry about it for now.
After putting away the Ghost Work Ball, Ji Jue spent some time comforting the little ox-horse, which had been neglected all night after its earlier misbehavior.
He almost fed it all the white-cut chicken in the fridge, finally soothing its wounded heart.
“Be good, baby, I did all this for our future!”
Ji Jue sighed earnestly, stroking the dashboard: “I just made a mistake that any ordinary engineer would make… Don’t be mad, look, we’re already in Quancheng! There’s no telling how many materials and treasures are waiting for us here. You can have as much as you want! Of course, of course, I’ll feed you first! Who am I doing all this for? For you! For this family!”
The more he spoke, the quieter the little ox-horse’s honking became.
Ji Jue’s tone grew more serious and indignant: “Do you think I’m the kind of person who forgets about you when I see a fancy car? I’m doing all this to earn more money, so I can get you a new chassis sooner! If it weren’t for my endurance, how could we afford such good oil and lubricant? You really need to reflect on yourself. Don’t do this again, okay? Stay here and think about it. If you behave well, we might even discuss that winch you’ve been eyeing…”
With that, he left the little ox-horse, whose engine was whimpering, and strode toward the RV.
The Ghost Work Ball, which had witnessed the entire scene, hesitated several times, wanting to say something but holding back.
[Bro, if you keep being this much of a scumbag, I feel like you’re going to get run over by your own car someday…]
“Nonsense, what are you talking about?”
Ji Jue glared and retorted, “We’re pure love, the bond between man and car, understand? It’s going to thank me!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a grateful honk came from behind.
“See what I mean?”
[…]
The Ghost Work Ball, after brewing a string of curses, was left speechless.
“Also, what was that move earlier?”
Ji Jue suddenly remembered and asked suspiciously: “I didn’t see you use it back in the Rift. Are you playing mind games with me, bro?”
[Bullshit! I’m here to back you up, not to be your slave!] The Ghost Work Ball was furious.
Being subjected to such psychological manipulation was unbearable: [The preset command was to save your life, not to be your weapon!
Besides, you have to give me something to work with! But you pulled out… whatever that thing was, so ridiculously overpowered that all I could do was play dead!]
This was the first time the Ghost Work Ball had encountered such a bizarre temporary user.
Right from the start, it had been tricked by the Prophet, almost burning out its core.
Later, it encountered all sorts of monsters, either small fry that Ji Jue had already dealt with or heavyweight threats like the corrupted mercury.
It had been a series of humiliations.
Although Professor Ye had never lent it to anyone else since its creation, the Ghost Work Ball could tell: even among the Ember Chosen, Ji Jue was one of the most bizarre.
And look at all the shady stuff you’ve been doing!
The Ember’s standards were already low, but who the hell keeps digging a basement?
At this moment, after spinning through its database of curses, the Ghost Work Ball could only silently wish—you better die a horrible death!
“Finished already?”
Professor Ye was having breakfast in the RV.
When she saw Ji Jue come in, she pointed to a seat, and someone immediately brought over a plate, cutlery, freshly baked toast, hot tea, ham, and barbecued pork with greens.
It looked incredibly appetizing.
This only strengthened Ji Jue’s resolve to mooch meals here for the next few days!
“Not finished, and I don’t have any great ideas yet. I just did some preliminary processing. The fusion of the blessing and the mercury turned out quite well, and I can refine it further later.”
Ji Jue reported: “But aside from the main body, the processing consumed a lot of materials.”
“They’re just spare materials, no big deal.”
Professor Ye didn’t care.
The Ghost Work Ball wouldn’t hesitate to use the less important items, and it wouldn’t dare to take out the truly rare ones without her permission.
After putting down her teacup and wiping her hands, she picked up the Ghost Work Ball, seemingly reading its records, and hung it back on her thermos.
As for Ji Jue’s smelting and crafting, she simply nodded.
“Not bad.”
Ji Jue paused for a moment, a smile tugging at his lips, then continued eating.
After the meal, someone else took care of the cleanup, so Ji Jue didn’t need to fuss over being helpful.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Professor Ye picked up her thermos. “It’s been a while, time to go through the formalities and check in. Otherwise, our peers might think I’m looking down on them.”
Though, in reality, she did look down on them.
After the morning, the camp was still bustling with activity.
Military vehicles came and went, and the patrols returning from their rounds looked weary.
A few people who had finished breakfast walked out of the dining hall.
When they saw Professor Ye and Ji Jue from a distance, their expressions changed slightly, and they hurried away with their heads down.
A few old-timers paused when they saw them but only nodded in acknowledgment without approaching.
Ji Jue couldn’t help but scratch his head.
It seemed their faction didn’t have the best reputation in the industry.
But that was to be expected.
If Professor Ye ever spoke gently and kindly to someone, Ji Jue would feel like he had stepped into some kind of rule-based horror story.
Now that they were here, he couldn’t help but peek outside.
He looked toward the direction of the Quancheng ruins.
Unfortunately, all he could see was a thick white fog, obscuring everything.
In the faint outlines, there seemed to be traces of buildings, but they were completely indistinct.
Professor Ye, without turning her head, said: “Don’t waste your effort. After so many years of engineering, from subconscious repulsion signals to the isolation of the Tianyuan system and the Ember’s blockade, nothing can be seen from the outside.”
“But wasn’t it said to have collapsed? I don’t see any signs of earthquakes or rifts.” Ji Jue was curious.
“That would be strange.”
Professor Ye shook her head: “The term ‘collapse’ is relative to the present world and space. It refers to the distance from Shangshan—the closer to Shangshan, the more sacred it is. The farther from Shangshan, the more demonic it becomes. Now, Quancheng is likely on the verge of breaking away from the present world and approaching the vortex. Although it’s still connected to the present world, it’s like a rift. It could fall in completely at any moment.”
If it just fell in, that would be one thing.
But Quancheng was so vast that if it completely collapsed into the vortex, it would likely tear a massive hole in the present world.
That would be a true disaster.
For so many years, it hadn’t risen, nor had it completely fallen.
It was stuck in this limbo, hanging over everyone’s heads like a sword.
In one word: uncomfortable.
If they could resolve this issue once and for all, it would be a tremendous boon.
But the question was: could they really resolve it?
Everyone had their doubts.
But the further Ji Jue followed Professor Ye, the more at ease he felt, though this sense of ease also puzzled him.
It was a completely subconscious feeling.
It was like stepping into a sanctuary.
Even though the Quancheng cavern was right before him, he instinctively felt protected.
Not just his mind, but even his spiritual essence had calmed down.
The spontaneous overflow and dissipation had ceased, and it now circulated obediently within his body.
It was like wading through deep water, feeling the resistance.
An invisible force permeated the air, suppressing all chaos and conflict, establishing order and rules.
Everything seemed clear and straightforward, with a clear basis.
It was as if an unseen eye hung high in the sky, watching over everything.
Witnessing all.
It was unapologetic, yet it was hard to feel any resentment or aversion toward it.
Within this domain, the flow of spiritual essence was traceable, and all abilities and blessings had restrained their fluctuations.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t be activated, but it was like sheathing a sword—every change would be known and understood.
Even suppressed!
Ji Jue had no doubt that such a powerful force wasn’t just for surveillance.
If there were any disturbances, they would likely be swiftly suppressed.
What shocked him even more was that, no matter how much he stretched his perception, he couldn’t sense the boundaries of this domain.
It was as if the entire area around Quancheng had been enveloped!
This was… too exaggerated…
“This is why I told you to get out more. Staying cooped up in Yacheng limits your perspective. If you stay in a small corner for too long, you’ll become narrow-minded and short-sighted.”
Professor Ye walked ahead, speaking calmly: “This is the Tianyuan system’s Circle Realm. If a Chosen One of the Transcendent rank has sufficient matrices and blessings, when they fully unleash their power, they can create a vast domain that can interfere with reality. You’ve seen it before, right?”
Ji Jue nodded.
He recalled the crystalline domain that had frozen the entire Jici Hospital when Sister Wen and Laurence had gone all out.
Covering reality with will, replacing phenomena with the soul, and eroding the world with the self… Reaching this level was like cutting open a raw gemstone to reveal its绝世 brilliance.
Ji Jue asked curiously: “But… maintaining such a vast Circle Realm every day, wouldn’t it be exhausting?”
“Who knows?” Professor Ye shook her head slightly. “For a Celestial, it’s probably just a bit of effort. Or maybe… they don’t care.”
A Celestial.
Ji Jue’s breath hitched.
He suddenly felt his sense of security rise again.
A Celestial… A being who had transcended the boundaries of mortals and gods, truly touching the mandate of heaven.
Their power and abilities were beyond ordinary imagination.
If a Celestial were to intervene, the Quancheng situation might not be hopeless!
His confidence surged.
Professor Ye, walking ahead, seemed to sense something.
She glanced back at him with a hint of pity but said nothing.
Ten minutes later, Ji Jue wanted to slap his past self.
What was he thinking?
Hopeless? More like completely screwed…
Better pack up and go home!
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(End of Chapter)