Something's Not Right With You! (Thanks to the Alliance Leader 'Lover Brother I Love You')

"Something's not right."

Ten minutes later, Professor Ye took off her glasses, carefully wiped them with a velvet cloth, and delivered a definitive conclusion: "Very not right."

To be precise, ever since she became an apprentice, this was the first time she had felt something was this wrong!

Right in front of the two of them, the Little Cow and Horse—currently in its post-gorging "sage mode" after devouring over a hundred pounds of Boiled Chicken—was spinning its tires with a defiant attitude, provocatively wiggling its rear and mudguards.

After finishing a series of eighteen stunts, including cornering, hurdling, and riding on its hind wheels, it performed a [Cow-Horse-Human Transformation]! It shifted from a motorcycle into a mechanical monstrosity that couldn't quite be called human, nor could anyone say exactly what it was.

Five legs, two tails, one head, five eyes—three on the front, and two turn signals growing out of its rear... it was the epitome of abstract.

As for deeper observation and scanning, the equipment in the Workshop had already been used for that countless times.

"How about we take it apart and see?"

She proposed this sincerely, her tone earnest and her gaze growing dangerous. "We might discover some major project. If we can figure this out, it might lead to a significant breakthrough in modern alchemy!"

"No, no, Professor, don't!"

Ji Jue blocked her path desperately, tears streaming down his face. "This is one of our own... no, one of our own cow-horses. If it weren't for it, I would have died long ago."

He actually wanted to say, "Take it out on me, leave it alone."

But upon second thought, he realized with a heavy heart that his own research value seemed... no less than the Little Cow and Horse, perhaps even many times greater.

What if the Professor laughed to the heavens, saying she had been waiting for those exact words? Wouldn't Ji Jue be completely screwed?

Only the Little Cow and Horse remained carefree, performing stunts and spinning in circles to catch the chicken legs Ye Chun tossed at it. After she finished one bag, she placed an order for several more without hesitation and kept tossing! She was clearly plotting to join the Boiled Chicken God System, aiming to seize the throne of the second Chicken Leg God!

Unfortunately, there was only one believer.

And it was a silly dog with a hole in its brain...

"No matter how I look at it, it's just not right."

Professor Ye sighed softly and adjusted her glasses.

It wasn't that she couldn't understand what it was; in fact, she knew exactly what kind of thing this was.

One look was enough to identify it as a remnant of an Abomination.

After hearing Ji Jue describe the process of its formation, she understood completely—this was a mutant Abomination born from the infusion of countless lingering regrets and painful Spiritual Substance. Its essence was triggered by Ji Jue's ability, combined with alchemical operations he performed without any conscious awareness, eventually boiling down into a chaotic mess!

Of the four great elements of alchemy—Ascension, Transmutation, Purification—everything was a complete disaster.

The essence of Ascension is the sublimation of Spiritual Substance; the purpose of Transmutation is the refinement of blessings; and don't even mention Purification, there were more impurities than the devil knows what... except for Harmonization!

The only thing that integrated everything into one, the "Harmonization," had a completion rate that was earth-shattering and inexplicable!

It almost allowed it to break free from the limitations of Ji Jue's ability, becoming an independent living entity!

It was as absurd as a professor of hydroponics seeing a sprout of Chinese cabbage growing out of Dongcheng Dama's pickle jar in the middle of a freezing winter!

I understand the theory, but how on earth did you manage to execute such an abstract operation in practice?

What happened? How did you do it? How did you manage that?

She knew asking these questions was useless, so she went straight to the core, her sharp gaze fixed on Ji Jue. "Tell me, what exactly were you thinking at the time?"

"Uh..."

Ji Jue was stunned, speechless.

After a long period of contemplation, he seemed to finally recall. His pupils shook, and he stammered, "The situation was very dangerous, it was a matter of life and death. Seeing Wen Jie fall into a disadvantage, how could I, a righteous person, stand by? So I charged forward..."

Professor Ye interrupted him: "I asked what you were thinking at the time."

"At that time, I was full of determination, moving forward, wanting to contribute to justice..."

"I am asking you, at that time, what were you actually thinking?" Professor Ye interrupted again, enunciating each word, her patience wearing thin.

"..."

After struggling for a long time, Ji Jue looked away and shrank his head. "Because I was scared to death. My mind was full of thoughts about how I couldn't die like that. If I died, it would be a shame not to be able to eat Lu Ma's Boiled Chicken."

In the silence, the Workshop was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, save for the sound of chicken legs hitting the floor.

Professor Ye's eyelid twitched—once, twice, three times.

Case closed.

The damn case was finally closed.

She finally understood how a fucking mutant Abomination turned into this ghost of a thing. Despite being born from so much resentment and pain, it ended up having absolutely no lethality or threat!

The starting point was completely, utterly wrong!

This might truly be the most harmless Abomination and the most trashy Masterwork in history.

Because if this thing had a brain, it was probably filled with Boiled Chicken! And it was quite philanthropic, too—chicken breasts, chicken legs, chicken rears; one big mouth open, and it accepted all comers!

Perhaps for a fleeting moment, by sheer coincidence and the convergence of various factors, everything achieved a perfect unity and balance. After Lawrence died, the monster formed by Dragon Blood and pain was about to hatch.

And this button, inexplicably, fell into his hands because of Ji Jue's ability.

He could have created a Giant Beast to devour Yacheng, forged an endless Rust Army Sea, and used this power to achieve a genuine Masterwork!

Instead, he slapped his forehead and made a broken motorcycle that only wanted to eat chicken...

In the silence, Professor Ye took off her glasses, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Your caution is not misplaced, Ji Jue."

She sighed and said, "Never let anyone know that you were the one who made this thing. No, if it isn't necessary, absolutely do not show off its origin to anyone, do you understand? Otherwise, there will be massive trouble waiting for you..."

"It's that powerful?!" Ji Jue was shocked, then immediately overjoyed: "Could it be that it..."

"No, to everyone except you, its creator, it has no value whatsoever." Professor Ye retorted with an expressionless face: "What you should be worried about is your own personal safety!"

Half of it is an out-and-out Abomination, and the other half is a Masterwork of questionable authenticity. You took perfectly good Dragon Blood and randomly kneaded it into a mess; it should have been a luxury villa in the city center, but you, kid, went and turned it into a pile of trash.

It has completely become waste...

And it is a high-spec waste the likes of which have never been seen before!

A Little Lamb with Dragon Blood flowing through its veins that can hit speeds of four or five hundred kilometers per hour? What are you thinking? Do you know that one gram of Dragon Blood of this purity could be traded for a supercar of equal speed?

Do you know that in alchemy, even an ounce of Dragon Blood is enough to make a work that has reached its limit truly transform into a Masterwork? It could even push a Masterwork further!

Professor Ye said gloomily: "Once it is known that you turned such precious material, which so many craftsmen dream of, into a thing like this... you will have a kill order placed on you by every craftsman, Ji Jue. Even the current Grandmaster Heavenly Furnace might want to crush you to death."

Ji Jue was stunned and bewildered upon hearing this. Once he confirmed that the professor was not joking, his expression began to twitch. Thinking of who his greatest backer was now, he instinctively squeezed out a fawning smile and leaned in: "Thankfully, Teacher doesn't want to crush me. Teacher is the best!"

Ye Xian's expression froze.

She suddenly hesitated, wondering if she should just crush him after all.

Before he could do anything that would bring shame to the school... If it were discovered that such a disaster was her own student, she would never be able to hold her head high in the alchemy or education circles again!

Yet, at the same time, she felt the strangeness of fate more and more.

In alchemy, the most peak and greatest creations are called [Heavenly Mandate].

Because compared to the results of that creation, the craftsman himself is merely a catalyst for manifesting fortune, a substitute for the hand of fate... because the true result has long been ordained by the heavens. Long before it was born, long before the materials fell into the craftsman's furnace, it had already been chosen by the Heavenly Mandate from the void.

That is work completed by the heavens through your hands.

Every craftsman spends their life chasing that experience and result, as if bestowed by heaven. The self is not just one person, but the convergence of all causes and phenomena in this world; the fire in this furnace is created by the flow of Supreme Goodness, and the creation in this cauldron is achieved by Masterwork!

Precisely because of this, they call the top alchemical products Masterwork.

Unfortunately, for hundreds of years, countless craftsmen have passed the torch, the fire in the furnace spreading from one to many across the entire realm. While there are many results hailed as Masterwork, those truly worthy of being called creations of Heavenly Mandate are few and far between.

If, for the Path of Embers, everything in the mortal world is a forge of fate, then is this work of hers a part of a "Masterwork"?

Without a doubt, this is a genuine Chosen Conscription. The Chosen One beloved by the Embers is standing right before her eyes!

Craftsmen often say, [The Embers are generous, and fortune is infinite].

Among the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses, the Embers are indeed the most generous. For the Chosen One they love, they spare no cost and expect no return.

But unfortunately, there is a second half to that sentence.

--[The Embers are cruel and have no pity for the mediocre].

The more beloved a Chosen One is, the more hardships they will endure. Once the Chosen One's ability and performance cannot match the gifts they have received, the Embers' favor will retreat and dissipate without mercy.

At that time, even the things already obtained will be more likely to lose control and mutate into Abominations.

Just like those defective products that Ye Xian herself discarded in the warehouse; even if they were showered with love at the beginning, once a wrong step is taken or a slight mistake is made, they fall into the abyss.

Gathering dust for a long time, waiting with endurance, yet no one asks after them.

Until, in oblivion, they completely turn into dust.

The Path of Embers is such a cruel road. From the first day you step onto it, your own Masterwork forging has already begun... destined to have many storms and hardships waiting for you.

But after experiencing so many twists and trials, how many people can successfully reach the end of the Heavenly Mandate?

Professor Ye wiped her glasses and couldn't help but sigh: "Your life might be even more difficult than you anticipated, Ji Jue."

"Huh?"

Ji Jue was confused, reaching out to pat the Little Cow and Horse that was frantically licking him, not understanding.

In the silence, Ye Xian wanted to say something several times, but every time she saw those calm and happy eyes, she fell back into silence.

She had seen such eyes too many times.

On too many people.

For some, there is nothing better than a smooth, safe, and peaceful life.

But for others, that is not the case. Even if they say with their mouths that just getting by is fine and that being happy is what matters most, when it comes time to make a choice, they walk in the opposite direction, firm and without hesitation. Chasing after an ethereal light, stumbling along the way, finding joy in the struggle no matter how many hardships they face, and even if they know a dead end lies ahead, they never look back... Why would such a person need others to point fingers at them?

She sighed silently and only said: "No, it's nothing. I just feel that a life of accomplishment is waiting for you."

"Really?" Ji Jue's eyes lit up, his mouth curling into a smile that was harder to suppress than an AK.

"As long as you don't manage to get yourself killed, I suppose it's true?"

Professor Ye withdrew her gaze and walked toward the melting furnace ahead: "Let's go, it's time for class."

"Oh, oh, hooray!"

Ji Jue clenched his fist in a cheer and followed along, brimming with excitement.

He didn't hesitate, nor did he look back.

I did not expect the initial subscription count to be nearing twenty thousand; thank you all for your support!

Also, there are avatar frames being given away for the launch event, so don't forget to claim yours.

I'm still a little short on Monthly tickets, so please send them my way!