Garbage Collector's Life

"Your aunt's been busy with a military project lately and doesn't have time to keep an eye on you for now. But the materials and textbooks are ready—you can study on your own."

Early the next morning, when Ji Jue arrived at Professor Ye's workshop, he found three entire cabinets crammed full of reference materials and books. At the very back of the factory building was a warehouse Ye Chun had opened for him—and inside lay mountains upon mountains of scrap!

God knew how many years it had been since it was last cleaned.

Objects of every size had overflowed even the shelves. All kinds of crates were piled on the floor, nearly reaching the ceiling.

There were, among other things, incomprehensible machines and parts; a Bronze Giant Tree three Ji Jues tall; several hundred swords and blades that looked capable of hacking ten Ji Jues to death without losing their edge; bizarre ceramic urns that seeped bloody fluid from their cracks; ferocious masks whose eyeballs seemed to move; incomplete suits of armor; bronze statues melted into puddles; and a numberless multitude of fragments...

Ji Jue had barely taken two steps inside before the dust choked him back out.

Standing beside him, Ye Chun gleefully watched his misery. "Aunt said you can use anything in there for practice. If there's something you don't understand, look it up yourself. If you have questions, she'll come back between five and six in the afternoon when she has time, and you can ask her then.

"Don't worry. They're all discarded goods and leftover materials, but they've been processed and completely rendered harmless. They're perfect for a newcomer like you to practice with.

"According to Aunt, once you've used up this whole pile, you'll more or less be able to stand on your own."

But this scale was a little too outrageous!

Holding his breath, Ji Jue poked his head in for another look and was stunned by the terrifying quantity—enough to drown him ten times over. At this rate, wouldn't he have to spend the rest of his life in here?

The first obstacle in Ji Jue's path was the Bronze Great Book he had seen yesterday.

It was not thick. Once its front and back covers were removed, only twelve pages remained... twelve Emblem Totems of the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses!

All the relevant materials and indexes were in the cabinets.

The first step in Ji Jue's study of Alchemy was to re-engrave the emblems of all Twelve Supreme Goodnesses onto any material within one month.

That meant not only starting from scratch and gaining a fundamental grasp of the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses, but also reaching the required standard in all kinds of materials, Spiritual Substance engraving methods, and basic techniques.

Yesterday had still been easy mode—learn singing, dancing, and rap. Today was hell mode—go take on the Cinder King!

Life was impossible.

"Something's not right. Didn't the books say beginners should start by engraving basic Runes and Spirit Essence Circuits?" Ji Jue spent the entire morning flipping through books with a dirt-smudged face before realizing what was wrong.

Why had the difficulty suddenly shot up?

His head began to ache at once. "At this rate, wouldn't I still be unable to finish even if I worked until I died?"

"Ah, young people these days, every last one of them loves comfort and hates labor..."

Ye Chun lay on the sofa watching the show. She shook her head pretentiously, and even her sigh carried the air of an old-timer. "Did I have conditions like this back then?

"Don't fail to appreciate the blessings you're standing in, Little Ji! Almost every apprentice outside is taking out loans, working part-time, and paying to learn. In some places, even learning to cook requires you to be the master's Star Slave. Someone like you, who doesn't have to spend a single cent, gets things to learn, gets work to do, and even has so much free leftover material to practice on—you've got it pretty good!"

Ji Jue only wanted to roll his eyes. "I understand the logic, but could you stop talking like you're from some older generation?"

"Do you understand that the eldest sister is like a mother? Round it off, and wouldn't that make me half your elder?"

Ye Chun sprang up in indignation, hugging and stroking her cat plush pillow. "I know, you became a Chosen One. You have a bright future ahead of you. Aunt thinks highly of you. Yet you can't even bring yourself to call me Senior Sister... Go get your sister the chips beside the fridge!"

Rolling his eyes, Ji Jue brought over two bags of chips. He unceremoniously took half for himself, then grabbed some ice-cold Happy Water from the refrigerator as well. After guzzling it down, he turned and headed back to the center of the workshop.

The enormous furnace was still operating in silence. Tens of thousands of Spirit Essence Circuits extended from it like a vast net, overlapping, gathering, and converging beneath his feet.

This was the tool he would use for practice.

There were countless ways to process materials and objects in Alchemy. Flames and heat were merely the most common, and the most widely applicable, method.

Under high temperatures, most materials had their inherent properties stimulated, while their Spiritual Substance affinities were further enhanced, making them more suitable for Alchemical operations.

A beginner like Ji Jue was not worthy of such a high-end model at all. But apart from yesterday's simple probe set—which could only be used for entry-level learning and offered little help in advancing one's craft—the entire workshop had only this high-end equipment Professor Ye normally used.

It was so advanced that Ji Jue could not understand most of its functions, much less dare touch them. Even though many settings were unavailable to apprentices who had not undergone Spirit Essence Verification, the basic functions alone would be enough for him to puzzle over for months.

A Master-level High-Temperature Reactor was simply too extravagant for a rookie like him. Even more extravagant were the discarded goods, leftover materials, and garbage Professor Ye had processed in advance.

Even if it was garbage, it was garbage left over by a Master. Even if it had been discarded, most of it was only thrown away after being decisively destroyed because its strength or function fell short of requirements, or because some flaw had appeared.

After carefully studying the books, Ji Jue sorrowfully discovered that if the "garbage" tossed into that warehouse had been intact and put on the market, a poor bastard like him probably could not afford a single set even if he sold his blood and kidneys.

But looking on the bright side, if he really stepped in dog shit someday and became a Master, then selling a little scrap would be enough to let him eat and drink extravagantly for years, wouldn't it?

The moment he thought of that, he was filled with motivation once again.

Thinking of student loans, Yacheng's dog-shit employment environment over the years, prices, and the white-cut chicken Little Lamb ate every day, he practically wanted to lie sprawled over the furnace twenty-four hours a day.

With conditions this good and equipment this luxurious, if he still did not work hard, then he truly deserved Heaven's Punishment!

Bang!

After a muffled thud, Ye Chun looked up from the sofa at Ji Jue's soot-covered face. She sighed, looked away again, and was not surprised in the slightest.

He had already failed no fewer than several dozen times this afternoon alone.

An Alchemist's work was delicate, and did not consume much Spiritual Substance. But Ji Jue was a complete newbie, and after failing so many times in just a few hours, he was nearly drained dry.

Gritting his teeth, he put on a Fireproof Suit and used tongs to pull the copper sheet from the furnace. Only after it cooled did he discover the problem... In fact, it was exactly the same as most of his failures.

Spiritual Substance conflict.

Using Spiritual Substance to simulate circuits within metal and engrave Superior Virtue emblems was technical work.

Without the absolutely isolated theoretical environment of yesterday's Crystal Ball, actual practice was riddled with problems. Every detail was a pitfall; one lapse of attention, and the whole game was lost.

His own will, his control over Spiritual Substance, and even fluctuations in his emotions all had to remain within bounds. He also had to maintain absolute stability and focus. More importantly, he needed to understand how to handle changes in material properties and different circumstances.

It was experience gained only through painstaking grinding, with no shortcuts whatsoever.

"It would be great if I could extract it."

Ji Jue collapsed onto the sofa and sighed wearily.

"Huh?" Ye Chun did not understand.

"I mean, if I could extract the other Spiritual Substance or impurities before a Spiritual Substance conflict occurs." Ji Jue said, "Then it wouldn't be so troublesome."

"...Why don't you listen to the pig talk coming out of your own mouth?" Ye Chun did not even know whether she should laugh.

"Is it that difficult?"

"..."

Ye Chun sighed, climbed up, and picked up the little blackboard again. After adjusting her plain glasses, she said solemnly, "First, you need to understand that Spiritual Substance is an extremely complex and ever-changing thing. While its general properties are similar, there are probably several hundred major classifications, and sometimes the difference between them is greater than the difference between humans and pigs.

"Absolutely pure Spiritual Substance that exists in theory and contains no conflict almost always comes from Time Sand. It isn't something at your current level that you can even think about.

"Second, even absolutely pure Spiritual Substance undergoes different changes after Material Property Interference and processing.

"It's like mixing paint, dipping your brush in it, and painting on a canvas. Before the brush touches down, you must understand the consequences of different colors and brushstrokes blending together, rather than regretting it after one stroke and trying to peel every drop of turpentine and every pigment molecule from that stroke back off the canvas.

"Trying to extract Spiritual Substance after it has fused with a material requires control so outrageous that while it cannot be said to be theoretically impossible, actually doing it is nothing but a dream.

"Even the contemporary Grandmaster Heavenly Furnace might not necessarily be able to accomplish something so unimaginable."

Before putting down the blackboard, she gave her final conclusion. "Rather than thinking about that, it would be more realistic to dream that everyone in the Federation gives you one dollar, so you can become rich overnight."

"It's... that outrageous?"

Ji Jue stared dumbfoundedly, trying hard to remain calm.

He was not shocked by the difficulty involved, but horrified by what he had just realized... If merely stripping reacted Spiritual Substance from its carrier was so difficult, then after he had been corroded by Dragon Blood, his ability to return to his original state was not just as outrageous as turning back time?

He slowly lowered his head and looked at his watch. It continued ticking, as though it would never stop.

It had been able to precisely strip away every Sin Corruption structure and component when he was on the verge of Sin Corruption, restoring him to normal without any lingering consequences... What exactly was it?

No wonder Wen Jie had looked as though she had seen a ghost when she discovered he could reverse Sin Corruption!

It was probably easier for people to accept if he claimed he really could turn back time.

After encountering something so outrageous, Wen Jie had not immediately crushed him to death and studied him properly. That was truly boundless compassion, the heart of a bodhisattva!

Ji Jue could not help wanting to set up a Longevity Tablet for her at home.

Only...

He stared fiercely at the time, and the more he looked, the more extraordinary the watch seemed. It might be even more badass-plus than he had originally thought—and than he thought now.

Then the question was, if the watch alone was this badass, just how outrageous must its maker be?

After turning it over and over in his mind for a long time, he finally gathered his courage. While sneaking glances at Ye Chun's expression, he pretended to ask casually as he scrolled through his phone, "Senior Sister, do you know Sky Rail?"

"I do."

Ye Chun nodded without thinking.

She was still crunching chips as she spoke, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

A hamster more than capable of scaring Ji Jue's heart and lungs into stopping.