Chapter 00051: The Ultimate Torture
# The Ultimate Torture
Chapter 51
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 51: The Ultimate Torture
"How bitter, how bitter."
In the workshop, Ji Jue groaned as he opened his eyes, dirt on his face, and crawled up from the floor mat.
"So bitter, I’m in so much pain."
To be honest, he had long prepared himself to endure hardships, but he never expected it would be this hard.
That short span of a week felt just like hell.
Professor Ye didn’t run a cram school filled with strict drills; quite the opposite.
She emphasized a balance between work and rest.
Besides having Ji Jue maintain his previous practices and continue using the pile of scraps in the warehouse, she only added two regular classes each day.
One hour of basic lessons covered the specific classifications and branches of the four essential elements, as well as the various fields of alchemy.
It discussed everything from the highest virtues to the applications of different runes in various situations.
Purely theoretical.
Ji Jue was eager to learn.
Then came the practical lessons—more disastrous than a natural calamity.
Under Professor Ye’s guidance, he analyzed and practiced with the waste products and leftovers in the warehouse.
She would thoroughly explain the process of creating each waste item and the problems it faced, precisely assessing Ji Jue’s abilities.
Then she would present him with problems that pushed him to his limits or slightly beyond, urging him to practice.
Carving spiritual circuits, etching multiple runes, and connecting the subsidiary virtues—all these were areas that weren’t covered in the textbooks but were exceptionally difficult in practice or prone to mistakes!
Thus, Ji Jue began to spiral into a cycle of failures.
He would try, fail, try again, fail again, and then keep trying until he finally succeeded once, only to face a new problem and start failing again.
It was bearable if he exhausted his spiritual energy, but the continuous psychological blows were relentless, causing him to feel anxious just by approaching the furnace.
Fear.
Even if it meant facing the old furnace in a duel, it would be better than this torment!
Yet under such pressure, his skills were genuinely improving by leaps and bounds, but the process was painfully torturous.
Just when Ji Jue finally managed to light up all twelve virtues after relying on sheer will against the scraps, a new course began.
"As a craftsman, you must understand the alchemical products, especially the ones you use," Professor Ye stated calmly.
"In general, a craftsman with ambition won’t use someone else’s work, not just out of confidence in their own skills but for many practical reasons."
On one hand, a craftsman knows their own creations inside out—their usage, limits, and where they can push boundaries without a hitch.
On the other hand… others' creations often hide numerous pitfalls!
Modern items might just have some monitoring and backdoor issues; your spiritual waves and physical conditions while using them could be tracked and exposed in their entirety.
That’s not too bad.
But what if one day, during a fight, your device suddenly shut down due to someone exploiting the backdoor? You’d be left waiting for doom.
And further back, during the Cataclysm, or even earlier… that was a stage for the most intense contests among craftsmen!
Before the incarnation of Taiyi, the industry was plagued by inferior quality creations from unscrupulous craftsmen, causing countless disasters.
Just looking at the artifacts unearthed today, it’s clear there are items that could suddenly endanger your life, others that can unexpectedly mutate, or those that curse your friends and family to their doom.
Some even harbor ancient spirits waiting to strike at night—anything could happen!
It opened Ji Jue’s eyes wide!
Professor Ye drilled warnings into his mind: whenever he encounters something unfamiliar yet seemingly powerful in the ancient ruins, rift worlds, or time voids, if he cannot understand it, he should simply avoid it, keeping his distance.
No matter how lucky one might be while trying, the unfortunate ones could end up dead without even realizing it.
Therefore, the immediate priority now was to understand the principles, materials, and effects of the alchemical items he carried, for instance, the fragment of the emperor's figurine hanging around Ji Jue’s neck—Ancient One’s Mouth.
While it was true that an emperor’s statue, as an official product of the Eternal Empire, wouldn’t be tampered with by any reckless craftsman, it must also be crafted with precision, highlighting the empire's majesty without a single flaw.
This was only the beginning of his hellish ordeal…
In the thumb-sized fragment, there were actually thousands of spiritual circuits, hundreds of miniature runes, and more than nine virtues.
Most of them were already out of commission, and the other blessings contained by the runes and virtues had all faded away, leaving just a single blessing.
Ji Jue reckoned that if the piece were whole, its complexity would exceed that of the fragment by a hundred times or even a thousand!
In a workshop, dozens of craftsmen could spend decades crafting something so symbolic, showcasing the lavishness and madness of the Eternal Empire.
For Ji Jue’s current skills, even attempting to recreate it was beyond him; merely understanding the structure and analyzing it was nearly costing him his life.
What was the difference between sending a middle school student who had just started math classes to analyze advanced calculus papers, and trying to interpret this two-page fragment? He needed to decipher what was written, how to calculate it, and why those calculations mattered.
“Just let me die…”
Ji Jue slumped onto the table, lamenting.
“Where are you in your suffering?”
From nearby, Ye Chun finally came ashore, relishing his misfortune. “When I was younger, I went through this for over a year!”
In truth, during the first week, Professor Ye realized her niece was clearly not cut out for this.
However, she didn’t stop; she ignored Ye Chun’s cries and little pearls of complaint.
For an entire year, she crammed everything a chosen one needed to know, learn, and understand—alchemy, identification, and all other general knowledge.
From junior high to university subjects, it was all stuffed into Ye Chun’s brain until it was ensured she could survive on her own.
Then, she swiftly devolved into a slug.
Every day was spent lazily, living as if she existed solely to indulge in expensive spicy shrimp-flavored chips, which was truly infuriating…and enviable!
“Hey, do you want some?” Ye Chun offered the chips from her hand.
Ji Jue rolled his eyes in anger.
Was he the type to crave her chips?
Yet, against his instincts, he found himself obediently opening his mouth.
“... I want some!”
“Alright, stop howling. Aunt is heading out today, so you get a day off.”
After feeding half a bag of chips to Ji Jue, Ye Chun sank back into the sofa, waving her hand. “Didn’t you say you were going to the Security Bureau? Don’t create more trouble now.”
“What do you mean by causing trouble? I’m a peaceful person, so much so that I fear hurting even the ants and cherish the moths fluttering around the light. I despise making trouble.”
Ji Jue sternly countered, and after washing up in the communal bathroom downstairs, he happily took his bag and headed out with a skip.
The sun was bright, and the wind was refreshing.
Praise freedom!
If tomorrow’s classes could be a bit easier, it would feel even freer!
He whistled and messaged Wen Wen before following the address he had, making his way to the bustling commercial district in the northern mountain area, repeatedly checking his location.
He looked up ahead.
Before him stood a massive shopping mall, bustling with people.
“Wow?”
Ji Jue scratched his head. “Is the Security Bureau this grounded?”
“Because Sister Wen said a livelier environment helps with mood.” Someone replied from behind.
Ji Jue jumped in surprise and turned to see a young child leaning on a cane.
They had short hair and a youthful face, looking like they were still in middle school, radiating an innocent vibe.
“Hello, are you Ji Jue Ge?” the newcomer politely asked.
“Ah?”
Ji Jue was taken aback, quickly recalling that this was the person he had seen following Wen Wen two days ago.
Feeling warm, he reached out. “May I ask your name?”
“An Ran, An as in safe, Ran as in then. You can call me Xiao An or Xiao Ran, Ji Jue Ge.” The child flashed a bright smile. “I just arrived too; let me take you up. Let’s go.”
Saying this, An Ran moved ahead, supported by the cane.
Ji Jue obediently followed, unable to resist pondering about the other’s gender...was it a boy or a girl?
“It's a boy.”
An Ran replied without looking back.
“Ah?”
Ji Jue was stunned.
Could this child truly read minds?
“I’m not one of the selected ones for Xinshu. My family has been White Deer for generations.”
An Ran turned back with a bright smile. “But generally speaking, everyone is curious during their first meeting. It might be that I'm not very mobile; my skin and physique aren’t very good, which makes it easy to confuse.”
No, no, no! This is not merely a skin or physique issue, right?
Ji Jue looked up, eyeing An Ran’s delicate face in the shop window reflection.
Something was wrong—the thoughts were slipping! Why was his heart racing like this?!
Following An Ran, he finally got to experience the grandeur of the Security Bureau.
Even though it was just the northern mountain district branch, they had taken over an entire floor of the mall and had a dedicated elevator.
According to An Ran, there were even more extravagant setups elsewhere.
The branch in the southern foothills built an entire over forty-story building, and the group leader, Lu Shenzhou, directly seized the most comprehensive and upscale twenty-four-hour gym in Yacheng…just thinking about it was a spiritual blow to Ji Jue, who was studying with a loan.
“It’s here.”
An Ran suddenly said in the elevator.
With a ding, the elevator slowly opened.
Then, a piercing scream filled the air.
It was like a nightmare...
.
Half a minute ago, in the lobby.
They called it a lobby, but it was essentially the lounge area for the Northern Mountain District’s Security Bureau members, complete with sofas, televisions, and unlimited free snacks—perfect for someone like Tong Hua, who could waste away twenty-four hours without a care.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, coming! The Quote King has arrived!”
Tong Hua squealed with excitement, waving her phone. “Today, I’ll perform a live rendition of Quote King’s phrases! My performance will surely not disappoint Quote King!”
Cameras turned on!
Recording started!
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
I, Tong Hua, will personally capture this glorious moment of Quote King today!
Ah, please give me some monthly votes!
There’s also a reading-related reward in the event, but the gap in monthly votes is still a bit large.
I really want some, sob sob sob.
(This chapter ends here.)