Chapter 00186: Scraps
# Scraps
Chapter 186
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 186: Scraps
"Seventeen seconds!"
"As expected of Brother Zhou!"
"Incredible!"
The moment Ji Jue pushed open the door, he was greeted by cheers and applause from the crowded lounge.
Everyone was gathered around, seemingly engrossed in some activity.
He couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Ever since leaving the workshop, he hadn't seen such dense spiritual energy fluctuations.
Each person in the room was emanating it, and almost everyone was adorned with multiple alchemical equipment pieces.
It was a dazzling sight.
However, the sound of the door opening without a knock caused everyone to turn and look at the unexpected guest, their faces filled with confusion.
Why was someone arriving so late?
"Wow, it's really lively here," Ji Jue said with a friendly smile as he closed the door behind him.
"What are you all playing?"
In the brief silence that followed, he heard a shocked roar that left everyone stunned.
"Ji Jue!!!"
Ji Jue looked up in surprise, his eyes scanning the room.
He instinctively took a deep breath.
This familiar feeling, this heartwarming call, and the heart-wrenching shout... it was all coming back to him!
In this foreign land where he had no one to rely on, Ji Jue felt so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, as if he had returned home.
I missed you, Old Lou!
Overjoyed, he strode forward and grabbed Lou Feng's hand, shaking it vigorously.
"Long time no see, Old Lou! How have you been?"
How do you think I've been?!
"Not well at all," Lou Feng replied, his face turning pale.
He instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but Ji Jue's grip was like iron, making it difficult to break free.
This only made him more furious—damn it, being a Non-Aggressor is impressive!
Though it really is impressive...
"Even if you're not well, I'm doing great!" Ji Jue exclaimed loudly.
"Aren't you happy for me?"
Lou Feng was so angry he almost laughed.
He no longer cared about maintaining the decorum he had upheld for twenty years and hissed through clenched teeth, "Why don't you just drop dead!"
"I'm also very happy to see you!" Ji Jue continued to smile warmly, shaking Lou Feng's hand and patting his shoulder enthusiastically.
"Ah, you've gained some weight! You've been eating well, haven't you? And you've gotten fairer too!"
Under the bewildered and strange gazes of those around them, Lou Feng's face couldn't hold back any longer.
On the sofa, the young man Zhou Cheng, who had just been surrounded by apprentices, glanced at the two with increasing curiosity.
"Aren't you going to introduce him?"
"Do I even need to?" Lou Feng sneered, pointing at the friendly face beside him.
"This is Ji Jue from the Tidesound Workshop. Haven't you all heard of him?"
In an instant, dead silence engulfed the room.
"Tidesound?" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Isn't that..."
Isn't that what?
No one spoke further.
It was as if the room had suddenly been thrown into an ice cellar, and everyone instinctively shrank back.
Then, as they looked at Ji Jue, their expressions subtly changed: wariness, doubt, shock, disdain...
And even undisguised hatred and resistance.
In just a few seconds, the range of emotions in their eyes was so rich it could have won an entire season of awards, leaving Ji Jue in awe.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel that his lineage's reputation in the industry was far from favorable.
"... Everyone here is a friend," Zhou Cheng forced a smile in the heavy atmosphere.
"Sit, everyone, sit."
Unfortunately, no one offered a seat, instead casting cold glances at Ji Jue.
Ji Jue, however, didn't care.
He simply dragged a chair over and sat down, completely unfazed by the hostility.
Lou Feng finally managed to break free and, sensing something was off, instinctively moved a bit further away.
Then a bit more.
"Ah, I've heard so much about you. I didn't expect you to be a disciple of the Tidesound Workshop," Zhou Cheng said casually, sizing up Ji Jue.
Noticing the weak spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from him and recalling that Lou Feng had mentioned Ji Jue had joined the workshop less than a year ago, Zhou Cheng seemed to relax slightly.
He picked up something from the table and offered it to Ji Jue.
"Want to give it a try?"
The people around them immediately perked up, clearly eager to see what would happen.
"I haven't seen this before. What is it?" Ji Jue asked, taking the object without hesitation and examining it in his hand.
He could hear the faint sneers from the crowd.
Country bumpkins will always be country bumpkins.
Zhou Cheng smiled.
"Just some small items released by the Taiyi Ring. They're for craftsmen to practice with, but they can also be a fun pastime."
Ji Jue looked at the cube-like object in his hand, feeling the intricate internal structure and the intermittent spiritual energy circuits that seemed to shift and change as it rotated.
After inputting some spiritual energy, the cube began to move on its own.
The internal circuits connected randomly, forming a complex spiritual energy lock.
Ji Jue was genuinely impressed.
He had never seen such a small gadget before.
It was like a randomly generated math puzzle.
The user had to solve the internal spiritual energy lock as quickly as possible, guiding the circuits to fill in the gaps.
At full operation, the four-layer nested structure made it quite challenging.
And more subtly, there was a hidden Taiyi emblem inside.
If it wasn't solved within a certain time, it would likely trigger some effect, resulting in a game over.
"Let me give it a try," Ji Jue said with a simple smile, lowering his head and twisting the object in his hands.
However, with each click and clack, the internal circuits connected and disconnected, never forming a complete pattern.
Finally, he sighed in resignation.
"It's too complicated. How could anyone solve this?" he lamented, playing along with the crowd's expectations.
"Are you all just messing with me?"
Instantly, suppressed laughter erupted.
"It is a bit difficult. Maybe it's a matter of skill," Zhou Cheng said with a smirk, taking the cube back and starting to solve it in front of Ji Jue.
His movements were swift and skilled, leaving everyone in awe.
But as he continued, his smile gradually stiffened.
He couldn't solve it.
No matter how he tried or calculated, something was always off.
The internal lock seemed to be constantly changing, as if it had come to life.
By the time he finally managed to solve the outermost layer, sweating and exhausted, he realized there were six more layers inside!
"What's wrong?" Ji Jue asked curiously, full of anticipation.
"What does it look like when it's solved? Can you show me? Or is it really a matter of skill?"
"..."
Zhou Cheng's face twitched.
"No way, no way, no way?" Ji Jue feigned shock.
"You can't solve it either? Is it really that hard?"
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted from Zhou Cheng's hands, startling everyone.
Thick smoke began to seep out from the cracks.
Zhou Cheng cried out in pain and instinctively let go.
The cube had turned red-hot.
Then, right in front of everyone, Ji Jue reached out and picked up the cube, completely unfazed by the furnace-like heat.
He casually twisted it left and right.
Amid the spreading heat, the mechanism suddenly clicked, and all the chaotic spiritual energy circuits reconnected perfectly.
Seven layers of spiritual energy locks, all solved in one go.
A faint glow lit up at his fingertips.
"I guess it should look like this, right?" Ji Jue smiled as he looked around.
"Did I do it correctly?"
Zhou Cheng's face twitched repeatedly.
He didn't speak.
The expressions of those around him grew even more peculiar.
This bastard came here to show off, didn't he?!
Ji Jue had no interest in explaining whether this was his first time playing with such a toy.
After all, it was just a toy.
Now, he understood why Professor Ye hadn't shown this to him before—it was too childish, something you shouldn't touch after leaving kindergarten.
And for someone like Ji Jue, who had been grinding non-stop, or for the Mechanical God Descendant... it was simply no challenge at all!
This kindergarten-level spiritual energy lock had already been surpassed by Ji Jue when he first started learning the art of disassembly.
Wait, thinking about it, what kind of hellish difficulty had he been living through every day?!
Ji Jue suddenly felt that at his age, he had been burdened with pressures and workloads that no apprentice should have to bear.
You guys, don't tell me you've been living like you're on vacation, playing games all day?
As they say, without comparison, there's no harm.
Ji Jue observed the relaxed atmosphere around him and suddenly felt a pang of envy, as if he had eaten a lemon.
But since everyone was being so open, he didn't need to play the gentleman anymore.
"What's wrong? Everyone?" Ji Jue leaned back in his chair, curious.
"Why so quiet? Don't like it? Any more tricks, intimidation tactics... feel free to bring them all out."
He couldn't wait.
"It's just a game, everyone's joking around," Zhou Cheng said, his expression stiff as he forced a smile.
"We're just getting to know each other. Maybe we'll help each other out in the future."
"How boring!" a woman standing behind him, who had been watching coldly, couldn't hold back her impatience.
"Why waste so much breath on him?"
She glanced at Ji Jue, not bothering to hide her disdain.
"These days, any stray cat or dog thinks they can become a craftsman just by joining a workshop..."
"Likewise," Ji Jue yawned, completely unfazed.
"Maybe he's relying on his looks?" the fat man beside her sneered.
"Could be a male concubine."
"And you? Relying on your ass?" Ji Jue smiled as he asked.
"Tight cheeks are an advantage, no need to be shy... after all, with your appearance, it's hard to find any other redeeming qualities."
"You little brat, you're asking for death!" the fat man's face turned red with anger.
"Don't forget where you came from, you maggot!"
"Sorry, who are you?" Ji Jue asked, uninterested.
"If you're looking for trouble, at least introduce yourself first."
"I..."
"Forget it, no need to pollute my ears with the name of some lowlife."
Ji Jue waved his hand dismissively, ignoring the angry and cold stares.
"I have no interest in dealing with people uglier than me."
Bullying in the locker room, huh?
He had seen it all before.
But... why did people always think that a kid with no family or friends would be an easy target?
Great, let's pick on him and squeeze some emotional value out of his tears!
Unfortunately, those who thought that way had never succeeded.
"Honestly, I don't get it," Ji Jue sighed, pinching his chin as he asked curiously.
"We've just met, so why such intense hostility towards a newcomer?"
No one answered.
In the cold, disdainful silence, only a few sneers could be heard.
Ji Jue didn't expect them to give him a clear answer, but he could figure it out himself.
"I suppose there must be some reason," he said, raising his hand and pointing at each face in turn.
Suddenly, he seemed to realize something.
"Could it be that your workshops or elders have all been beaten by my teacher?"
In an instant, the expressions of everyone in the lounge turned even uglier.
Including Zhou Cheng, who had been forcing a smile to maintain his composure.
He gritted his teeth.
"... Was it your proud theories being torn to shreds? Or your painstakingly crafted works being treated as trash? Or maybe you were just nameless losers who didn't even deserve to be remembered? Hmm, could it be all of the above?"
Ji Jue nodded, laughing happily.
"It's fine, it's normal for defeated dogs to bark and bully kids. I understand. When the master has a problem, the disciple steps in, right?"
He paused, then let out a regretful sigh.
"After all, your elders probably wouldn't dare to even fart in front of my teacher, right?"
Boom!
Across the table, Zhou Cheng could no longer contain his anger.
He slammed his fist on the table, causing spiritual energy to surge.
"Ji Jue, you'd better watch your mouth!"
"Huh? Did I say something wrong?" Ji Jue asked, puzzled.
"No need to overreact. After all, in my eyes, everyone here is barely even material... Do you pay attention to your tone when talking to scraps?"
"Of course, the old bastard Ye would raise a mad dog like you," the woman behind Zhou Cheng said, trembling with rage as she hissed through clenched teeth.
"A bastard like you needs to be taught some manners!"
Boom!
In a flash of silver light...
Then, two overlapping loud bangs echoed, and a gust of wind spread through the room.
The woman was gone, along with the fat man who had been stirring up trouble beside her.
They were sent flying, crashing into the wall.
Embedded!
Screams of pain and terror filled the air.
Blood spurted out.
In the falling dust, thick blood gushed from her face.
In her panicked screams, a gaping wound split open from her lips, flesh curling back.
"Tsk..."
Ji Jue lowered his gaze, looking at the silver light hanging from his fingertip.
The silver light, like a thread, ended in a hook-like shape, with a small piece of flesh dangling from it.
He frowned slightly.
It was still fresh, and he hadn't had time to adapt to controlling it, so he lacked finesse in the finer details.
He had originally planned to cut out her entire tongue...
"Ji Jue!!!" Zhou Cheng turned around in shock, his face turning red with rage as he realized what had happened.
"You dare to attack here?!"
"I think we're past the point of talking," Ji Jue said slowly, standing up.
He gestured, and the mercury from his toolbox surged out, glowing brilliantly.
He looked around the silent room and asked one last question.
"Before we proceed with the formalities and start fighting, I'll ask one more time: does anyone else want to back out?"
In the brief silence, the sound of swallowing could be heard.
Several people who didn't want to get involved took a step back, while others simply walked out the door, either to avoid trouble or to call for reinforcements.
But it didn't matter.
Ji Jue looked at the dozen or so remaining opponents, united in their hatred, and nodded in satisfaction.
What was it that Professor Ye had said?
He turned to Zhou Cheng, who was now right in front of him.
Suddenly, he smiled.
Zhou Cheng didn't have time to react, still trying to say something, to throw out a few threats.
But in an instant, Ji Jue had already closed the distance, not giving any warning.
In the accelerated perception of his transcendent vision, Zhou Cheng's cold face rapidly enlarged, filling his vision.
Without hesitation, Ji Jue swung his hand!
Slap!
The crisp sound of a slap echoed, accompanied by the sound of a jawbone cracking.
Zhou Cheng's vision went black, and he staggered, almost falling.
But before he could, Ji Jue grabbed his collar and mercilessly threw him towards the still-screaming fat man.
Zhou Cheng crashed into the fat man's stomach like a meteor, causing the fat man's eyes to bulge out of their sockets before he passed out completely.
Then, in the swirling dust, Zhou Cheng heard Ji Jue's voice, filled with realization.
"... Ah, I remember now. 'Endure humiliation, bear the burden for the greater good!'"
Ji Jue smiled warmly, assuring them, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to teach you all this lesson."
(End of Chapter)