Chapter 00038: The Call of the Liver
# The Call of the Liver
Chapter 38
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 38: The Call of the Liver
Having effortlessly crossed countless hardships he once anticipated, Ji Jue gazed at his creation, unable to hold back his joy.
Alongside his excitement, a hint of regret lingered in his heart.
Even for someone as capable as Ji Jue, such a creation felt utterly unimaginable and far-fetched.
Yet, compared to Professor Ye’s recent demonstration, he could only describe his own efforts as filled with mistakes, like an ugly duckling trying to mimic a swan's grace.
There was simply no comparison; he felt like he had been thrown so far behind that even the exhaust fumes of his rival were no longer visible.
But so what? Even something ugly can be adorable, and even something small can pack a great punch!
In the moment just after the fragment's self-destruction, Ji Jue did not merely absorb spiritual essence through his own soul and perception.
He vividly experienced the process and reasons behind his fifty-one failures and even felt firsthand the terrifying artistry that Professor Ye wielded, as if he had transformed into a true creator.
Every transformation soared from the furnace, and he needed only to reach out to seize it.
With a mere flick, he could recreate the universe.
This sudden enlightenment intoxicated him.
But more importantly, it was a precious experience more profound than any hands-on guidance.
In that brief, fleeting moment, it was as if a lighthouse had illuminated a dark night, guiding Ji Jue, still spinning in place, toward a clear path.
What he needed to do was to take advantage of this brilliant memory, still vivid in his heart, to charge forward with all his might!
Once more, he grasped the fragments.
Without a second thought for what he had just finished, Ji Jue retrieved the backup essence storage from his watch and once again began to engrave! Meanwhile, his other hand flipped open the massive bronze book beside the operation platform.
While the experience was fresh and the memories still clear, he sought to carve another emblem and totem from the Twelve Supreme Virtues.
The embodiment of energy’s birth and extinction, silence and eruption, elements and storms—the Supreme Virtue of **Entropy**!
Thus, he worked tirelessly until it was half-past midnight.
Ye Chun came for the sixth time to remind him that it was time to leave and rest, offering heartfelt advice like "You should take a break," "You’ve done enough, really. Many big shots can't even measure up to you," and "Stop overworking yourself!"
Despite her kind words, Ji Jue left the workshop, not a little reluctant, glancing back every few steps as he mounted his small steed and departed.
After more than five hours of overtime, he felt that the gains he had made far surpassed those from earlier in the day, even reaching dozens or hundreds of times greater than before.
Just before that fleeting fresh insight slipped away entirely, Ji Jue had poured all his effort into retaining some of those insights and more of his failures' experience.
In the end, he could not completely capture the totem of **Entropy**.
There were several moments when he felt he was on the verge, just steps away from success.
Yet as he pressed on, the harder he tried, the more he seemed to veer off course, feeling like a painter failing to depict a tiger and instead drawing a dog.
He knew that continuing to forge ahead might yield little more.
After fully digesting the experience shared by Professor Ye, he hummed a tune and whistled, purchasing a bowl of fried noodles from a street vendor, and then without hesitation… set out for home.
He hurried to wash up and sleep, eager to dive back into his studies the next day!
"Damn!"
But from the shadows, a minivan trailing not too far behind, a middle-aged man named Qi Qin stood rigidly, watching Ji Jue return home, disbelief written all over his face.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Hadn’t Ji Jue spent half the night twisting screws at the professor’s workshop? Shouldn’t he be taking some time to unwind? Hell, he was a university student—he could at least indulge a little, maybe even ask out that pretty sister he kept pining for!
Here he was, camera ready, yet Ji Jue decided to embrace labor instead?!
Were the other passers-by watching this unfold?
The man who had endured the long day alongside Ji Jue felt utterly defeated—this was so far from normal! The street vendor selling fried noodles, with her lively demeanor, was this boy’s only opportunity.
He could at least have looked her way! Even when she attempted to sweeten the deal, he wouldn’t budge!
What sort of human was he?!
No rush, no rush.
Patience is key to success, and waiting can capture more rewarding stories.
Taking a deep breath, Qi Qin managed to calm his frayed nerves, finally catching a glimpse of Ji Jue’s room light flickering off.
Only then did he get out of the van to relieve himself, buying a bowl of instant noodles afterward.
Fine.
At least peace had returned.
At least he could finally sleep well.
He closed his eyes.
Yet in the depths of the night, others remained wide awake.
“Damn!”
Inside the quiet workshop, after washing up, Ye Chun found herself just drying her hair as she yawned and tidied up.
But when she reached for a fragment on the table, she froze in place.
Like being struck by lightning.
Ye Chun vowed she had never seen her eyes this wide before!
The fragment, battered by Ji Jue’s relentless efforts, had begun to reveal a faint crack.
More astonishing was the layer of pure white light emanating softly from it, glowing subtly even in the moonlight.
What shocked her further was that… in this barely palm-sized area, someone had crazily and obsessively carved over twenty Supreme Virtue emblems!
All transformations!
Earlier that afternoon, Ji Jue had still been a complete novice, utterly clueless about the furnace.
Yet in just four or five hours, he had surpassed the yearly progress of many other apprentices who had worked tirelessly.
But what was even more terrifying…
She could vaguely discern her aunt's style from the thin threads etched onto the surface?
Especially the last few totem emblems, the final arcs bore a striking similarity to her aunt’s unique signature… Did he really need to learn even this?!
“What are you here to learn?”
To forge counterfeits?
“Aunt, you need to come home!”
Suppressing her urge to scream, she dialed the phone. “There’s a weirdo!”
“… That's normal.”
Once she understood what had transpired, silence enveloped the other end of the line before calm evaluations returned, as if none of this were surprising.
Professor Ye responded, “Let him continue. No need to worry about extra stuff.”
With that, the call ended, leaving Ye Chun and the fragment to lock eyes in silence.
After a long time, turning to see her slight reflection in the glass, she dropped the fragment and couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.
“Damn it, monster.”
---
“What the heck?”
In the same deep night, in an old bedroom, Ji Jue suddenly sprang up from his bed after just closing his eyes.
Finally, he realized something felt off.
During the day, he was too focused on alchemy to notice…
Under the moonlight, he raised his right hand before him, inspecting carefully the dial that was faintly tinged with gold.
He squinted in disbelief, “Has the progress bar actually shown some movement?”
If memory served him well, that morning, this little section had shown no color at all.
Yet now, the very edges seemed to be gleaming with unmistakable gold.
It felt as though some slow-moving download software had finally sprung to life.
Though it was still merely at 1Kb or 2Kb speeds, he was at least free from the dreaded ‘Resource not responding’ or ‘Content unavailable for download.’
From 0% to 1%, he achieved that monumental leap from nothing to something!
Small and faint, yet so very noticeable.
“Yay!!!”
Ji Jue couldn’t help but raise his arms in jubilation. “Hooray!!!!”
But why?
Could it be that his progress in alchemy was somehow stimulating the growth of his abilities? But that didn’t make sense—two days ago, when he first engaged with alchemy, the progress dial hadn’t budged an inch!
As he lied back down, he pondered everything that happened throughout the day, the last vivid image being himself reaching in to extract the residual essence from the self-destructed fragments.
In the end, all the essence had been devoured by his capabilities!
“Wait, no way. Are you serious?!”
He sensed the light essence of the emblem spinning within his soul, utterly confused.
Only by absorbing the essence of alchemic items could he grow?
How ridiculous! This ability was like those characters in mobile games—grinding through dungeons and battling didn’t matter; he had to offer other gear and characters as “food” to level up.
Did he need to munch on several identical characters once he hit the max level?
Please, not when enhancing to +11 or +12, don’t start talking about gear destruction rates!
Ji Jue felt despair creeping over him in a world where growth required payment, longing to bang his head against the wall.
Hadn’t true legends promised not to follow such paths?
But inexplicably, his mind was flooded once more with the image of that warehouse filled with heaps of discarded items that had once made him despair, large enough to bury him multiple times over.
If he recalled correctly, Professor Ye mentioned those useless items were just there for him to practice with, right?
In that instant, Ji Jue was wide awake.
Looking toward the workshop direction, fire ignited in his eyes as if he were seeing a myriad of scantily clad maidens beckoning him to join their play.
What trash heap?!
That was valuable experience waiting to be claimed!
One word clouded his thoughts.
**Grind!**
From that day forth, the nightmare of the stalker began.
He had been busy completing the report until two in the morning before succumbing to sleep.
Yet the very next day, at half past five, he discovered… Ji Jue had already left!
He hadn’t even changed clothes or washed his hair—just a quick wash and a face brush, and then bought a bun at the corner!
Then, he was off to the factory!
That man was racing forward as if fearing he’d miss out on free eggs, leaving Qi Qin to feel like his worldview was shattering—what are you doing?
Dude, sleep for a while longer! I can’t sleep if you don’t!
Why dash to the factory so early? What’s the point?
He even bought coffee, diving headfirst into work?
In the wind, a distant sound trailed away…
Leaving the despairing middle-aged man frozen in disbelief.
He burst out laughing!
With the throttle fully twisted, Ji Jue grinned, speeding through the dawn.
A new day, a fresh start.
Time to joyfully get back to screwing bolts!
(End of Chapter)