Good Timber and Craftsmen (Thanks to River-Between_Skinny-Tiger for the Alliance Leader)

Half an hour later.

In a corner of a bubble tea shop on the Tianmen University commercial street, Ji Jue stared at the nearly melted ice cubes in his cup, and then at Wen Wen, who sat across from him looking like a ghost ready to ascend to the afterlife.

Ever since they left the office, she had been in a state of total burnout, drifting as she walked, her soul practically halfway to the Empire.

In her short life, she had been forced to bear a weight of embarrassment too heavy to endure.

"Sister? Wen Jie? Are you alright?"

Ji Jue gathered his courage and waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Don't scare me like this."

It wasn't so much that he was worried about her—even if Tianmen University were blown to bits, she would be fine—but he was terrified that if she couldn't handle the shame, she might decide to take him down with her!

"...I want to die."

Wen Wen slumped over the table, finally reacting, her voice sounding like a vengeful spirit from the underworld weeping, mournful and lingering. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say anything!

Ahhhhh, I want to die! Just let me die..."

"I didn't know either!"

Ji Jue felt innocent, his head buzzing. "You suddenly pointed at my professor and told me she was an Alchemy Grandmaster; I was just as stunned as you! She's been mentoring me for two years, and I've never seen her wave her hand and change the world or blot out the sun, so how was I supposed to hide it?"

Besides, you didn't give me a chance to stop you!

Of course, he didn't dare say that last part out loud; if Wen Wen were to get embarrassed and angry enough to crush him on a whim, he'd be done for.

Although she certainly wouldn't do that, she had been so good to him—how could he possibly provoke her further?

She didn't punch Ji Jue into the sky along with half of Tianmen University, thereby destroying the dark history she would likely cringe at for the rest of her life.

After downing two liters of craft brew in one breath, Wen Wen finally caught her breath. She crossed her arms and scrutinized the cowering Ji Jue, and after confirming he wasn't actually laughing at her, she decided against using a memory-wiping spell.

Why is it that every time I run into you, you little brat, something goes wrong?

Is there something wrong with you?

Damn it, I'm still so annoyed! I want to give him a good beating!

I'll knock your head right off!

She Sighed and said gloomily, "It's a good thing I didn't drag you into the mud pit of the Security Bureau back then, or you'd be a liability now. Did you use up all the luck you'll ever have in your life on this?"

Ji Jue remained bewildered. "Huh?"

"Ye Xian, that's Ye Xian!

The youngest Grandmaster in the Federation in decades. She received the Taiyi Ring's Red Rating when she was twenty-four, and rumor has it she's only a step away from becoming a Grandmaster now. What do you think?" She shot him a sidelong glance and said irritably, "Anyway, you should just be happy you managed to latch onto such a powerful backer."

"Even if you say that, I don't really have a frame of reference," Ji Jue said with a bitter smile.

"Lawrence, you remember him, right?"

Wen Wen brought up an old friend everyone was familiar with. "If you were to swap Lawrence's medical achievements for alchemy... he'd probably have to struggle for another seventy or eighty years just to barely touch the footprints Professor Ye left behind at twenty-four."

"She's that insane?!" Ji Jue gasped.

He hadn't expected that Professor Ye, who was usually so quiet and unassuming, was secretly a powerhouse on the same level as Lawrence, just like Wen Wen?!

Truly terrifying!

Wen Wen rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was thinking without even needing to look. "Destructive power is a different matter. Although the Path of Embers doesn't have much offensive capability, someone like Professor Ye is respected wherever she goes, unlike someone like me who does the dirty work."

"I respect you too, Wen Jie, from the bottom of my heart!" Ji Jue declared loudly without hesitation, wishing he could tie a headband around his forehead with the words [LOYALTY!] written on it.

"Alright, stop the flattery. I've lost enough face today. If you really respect me, just don't go telling everyone, or I'll have to kill you and run off to the Empire to make a living."

Wen Wen Sighed and looked at him. "Grandmaster Ye is reliable, don't worry."

Ji Jue nodded.

That much was Natural and right.

He had spent far more time by Professor Ye's side than Wen Wen had.

In all fairness, Professor Ye wasn't the kind of saintly figure found in books who would sweep the floor carefully to avoid harming ants or cover lamps to protect moths. On the contrary, from the very first day he met her, he felt it... that undisguised coldness, harshness, arrogance, and even a complete lack of empathy.

In her world, there was no air for idiots to breathe.

More regrettably, in her eyes, the vast majority of people in this world were idiots.

As for Ji Jue?

He was the one among those many idiots who was willing to work hard to make himself slightly less of an idiot.

As the only person in her elective course who could grit his teeth and persist until he earned a passing grade, he had a deep understanding of that strictness.

However, to Ji Jue, all of these were practically virtues.

A teacher who would hold their nose and finish editing a pile of trash you wrote, providing feedback, reference materials, and direction—no matter how strict, bad-tempered, condescending, or demanding they were—was a teacher good enough to be enshrined in a temple.

As long as you could keep up with the pace, she would share everything she knew without reservation.

As long as you had talent, she wouldn't hesitate to use it, regardless of the scale, utilizing it to the fullest.

Otherwise, with the limited number of spots for Level Two Engineers at Tianmen every year, how could Ji Jue possibly compete with those pampered children of the elite who had power, status, and, goddammit, all the money in the world?

To put it bluntly, if he didn't have Professor Ye's Recommendation Letter, he wouldn't even be able to catch up if he sold his soul!

As for the price, being called a "Roll Dog" or a "striving-addict," or being collectively isolated and mocked by so-called classmates—Ji Jue truly felt nothing at all, nor did he have the time to care. I'm wandering in the ocean of knowledge, okay? Go play somewhere else!

Clack!

The brief chat ended with a crisp sound.

In the beer glass beside Wen Wen, a crystal-clear flower emerged, only to dissipate rapidly.

"Alright, I'm off."

Wen Wen stood up and waved goodbye. "Since you've latched onto a big shot, hold on tight. When you become a Grandmaster in the future, remember to look after me."

"In such a rush?"

Ji Jue was stunned. "Where are you going?"

"The weather's been damp lately, I'm feeling a bit inflamed."

Wen Wen turned her head away, hiding an expression she could no longer hold back, and struggled to maintain her poise and coolness. "I'm going to find a few blind fugitives and have a chat with them about life and ideals."

I'll tell them their Great-grandmother misses them from below, and I'll send them off to have a word with her!

With that, she strode away with high spirits.

Turning awkwardness into motivation, she went to add a few more nameless graves to the outskirts of Yacheng.

Half an hour later, Ji Jue, who had lingered in the milk tea shop until the very last drop was finished, finally shuffled back to the office with a heavy heart.

He steeled himself, pushed open the door, and squeezed out a warm, bright, and innocent smile, looking like a Samoyed covered in lipstick marks: "Professor, I'm back."

"Mm."

Behind the desk, the Professor, who was brewing her second cup of strong tea, looked up at him. She pointed to a chair, signaling him to sit. Before he could gather his thoughts, she asked out of the blue, "The one who received the Chosen Conscription last month—that was you?"

"...Ah?"

Ji Jue stiffened. He instinctively wanted to cover it up, but after a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded. "If there's no one else, then yes."

Now, it was the Professor's turn to be silent.

She bowed her head, gazing at the tea leaves rising and falling in the boiling water until the dust settled, as if pondering something, or perhaps just lost in thought.

After a long while, she let out a heavy sigh.

"You really... gave me quite a surprise."

"Ah?" Ji Jue was bewildered.

"I had originally planned to let you do two more years of drudgery, and when you started your graduate studies, I would see how things stood before considering whether to introduce you to the Embers Road. It seems that won't be necessary now..."

Professor Ye adjusted her glasses and said solemnly, "But before that, I must tell you: a Chosen One who can trigger the Nine Supreme Goodnesses' Advent will be fought over wherever they go. There is no need to tie yourself to my tree."

"I know Miss Wen might tell you that I'm very powerful or famous, but in reality, compared to the true colossal creatures, I am merely a peripheral figure doing research. Aside from teaching you how to be a craftsman, I have no other prospects to offer you—I can't even complete your Matrix."

"But if you are willing, those old things at the Security Bureau, the Grandmasters of the Taiyi Ring, the Chieftains of the Wild Bazaar, or even the Chongguang Church, Cosmos Heavy Industries, and Hope Hospital will offer sky-high prices. In four or five years, you might become another Su BiLuo, or perhaps another Wen Wen..."

"Don't say that, Professor!"

Ji Jue was so scared he shook his head vigorously. "I haven't even passed my Level 2 exam yet! Where do you expect me to go!"

It wasn't about rushing to show loyalty or latching onto a big shot; it was simply that after learning Professor Ye's true identity, Ji Jue hadn't considered any other options at all.

Not to mention places like the Security Bureau, which even Wen Jie herself called a mud pit. Other places might be incredibly impressive, powerful, and top-tier, but so what?

When he was penniless and unknown, had any of them ever spared him a glance?

Wasn't it the Professor before him who was willing to reach out and pull up a poor student who was good for nothing but "rolling"?

"I think it's quite good here with you." Ji Jue scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "At least, if I had to call someone else 'teacher,' I wouldn't be able to open my mouth."

"..."

Professor Ye didn't speak. She just drank her tea, unmoved and not looking at him any differently. Only when she exhaled did it sound like a sigh:

"That's why it's troublesome."

"Ah?"

Ji Jue was confused.

"You don't feel bad when a cheap wrench breaks, Ji Jue. Sometimes, it's easier to work with scrap materials."

The slightly aged Alchemy Grandmaster rubbed her brow and said slowly, "I originally thought you were just a mediocre talent who could put in some effort. Arranging your path would have been effortless; after all, even at your worst, you'd be better than you were before."

"But after realizing I had misjudged you, I began to regret it... It has been many years since I last touched a Masterwork Material."

It was like an old craftsman examining raw materials.

If it were merely a common stone, one could carve freely. If it broke, cracked, or was chiseled away, so be it—just toss it aside. Even if it succeeded, it would only be a trinket or a decoration; there would be no sense of achievement, nor any regret.

But if someone were to wrap a raw stone in red silk and hand it to her with great care, telling her that inside this stone lay a beautiful jade, peerless and moving, and asking her to carve it—

Which craftsman would not be anxious about the outcome?

"Don't worry, I'm just reflecting on myself. I haven't fallen so far as to send my own project to someone else."

Just as Ji Jue was feeling apprehensive, Ye Xian set down her teacup and finally rose to her feet. "The Twelve Supreme Goodnesses each have their own flaws, but the Embers Road is the most troublesome of all. Whether it is a blessing or a curse that you have stepped onto this path, no one can say for sure."

"But since the Heavenly Mandate placed you right under my nose from the beginning, let us see—whether a piece of raw material like you can be forged into a Masterwork!"

For a fleeting moment, Ji Jue froze, an instinctive chill running through his entire body.

He had always believed that he was long accustomed to Professor Ye's harshness and criticism, and that he could resolve even the most troublesome tasks step by step. Brave Ji Jue was not one to fear difficulty.

It was only just now that he realized the gaze cast upon him from behind those thick lenses held a sharpness that cut deeper than any chisel.

It told him:

The true tempering had not even begun!