Top-Tier Torment

"Bitter, bitter."

In the workshop, Ji Jue opened his eyes, covered in dust and grime, crawled up from the bedroll, and wailed, "It's so hard! My life is so hard!"

To be honest, he had been prepared to suffer, but he had never imagined it would be this painful.

That short week had been nothing short of hell.

Professor Ye had not set up some kind of cram-school training camp. On the contrary, she placed great emphasis on balancing work and rest. Besides making Ji Jue maintain his previous exercises and continue consuming the pile of scrap and offcuts in the warehouse, she had only added two fixed classes each day.

One hour of basic lessons covering the specific classifications and branches of the Four Great Elements, the various fields of alchemy, and the applications of everything from Superior Virtue to Gift, as well as various Runes under different circumstances.

Pure theory.

Ji Jue devoured it like a starving man.

Then there was... the practical class, which was a disaster.

Under Professor Ye's guidance, he analyzed and practiced on the scrap and offcuts in the warehouse. Professor Ye would explain in detail the process and problems encountered when creating each piece of scrap, precisely and thoroughly assess Ji Jue's abilities, then give him a problem that had just reached his limits—or was just slightly beyond them—and make him practice it himself.

The carving of Spirit Essence Circuits, the inscription of multiple Runes, the connections between attached Supreme Goodness Emblems—all of these were problems and areas that the textbooks never covered, yet were extraordinarily difficult or prone to mishaps in practice!

As a result, Ji Jue began sinking into a vicious cycle of spectacular failures: trying, failing, trying again, failing again, then trying yet again, until he finally succeeded once—only to change problems and start failing all over again.

Excessive Spiritual Substance consumption was secondary. The psychological blows, however, kept coming without end. He simply could not stop. Now, whenever Ji Jue merely approached the furnace, the hook would instinctively clamp shut.

He was afraid.

Even if they made this damn furnace come alive and fight him, it would be better than tormenting him like this!

Although, under this kind of pressure, his level was indeed improving by leaps and bounds every day, the process was truly too torturous.

And just when Ji Jue had finally lit up all twelve Supreme Goodness Emblems by grinding through scrap and stuffing himself with dog food, a new course unexpectedly began.

"As an artisan, you must understand alchemical products, especially the things you use yourself."

Professor Ye spoke calmly. "Generally speaking, an ambitious artisan won't use another person's work. This is not merely because they trust their own skill. There are also more practical reasons."

For one thing, when it came to understanding, an item you made yourself was certainly superior to someone else's. How to use it, when it could be pushed beyond its normal limits, and where those limits lay would naturally be crystal clear.

For another... other people's things simply had too many land mines buried inside!

Modern things were still manageable. At worst, they would install a surveillance device and a back door. Your Spiritual Substance fluctuations, condition, specific physical state, and detailed ability effects during use would all be recorded, leaving you completely exposed to them... and that would still count as fine. If someone shut it down through the back door in the middle of a fight one day, leaving it useless, you could only wait for death.

But the further back one went—to the Era of Catastrophe, or even earlier—that was a spirited contest in the Quality Realm!

Before the Taiyi Ring existed, the industry was rotten, and the artisans' character was even worse. When it came to shamelessness, they were constantly creating new tricks and producing a hundred flowers in full bloom. Judging from the unearthed items alone, some began consuming your life after you used them for a while; some underwent Sin Mutation without warning; some cursed all your family and friends to death; some concealed a thousand-year-old ghost that crawled out at night to slaughter your whole family; and some concealed a thousand-year-old ghost that gradually eroded your soul, hoping to use your body for Rebirth...

It had truly opened Ji Jue's eyes!

Professor Ye had also pressed his head down and carved the warning deep into his heart: in ancient tombs, Rift Worlds, and the Time Ruins, if he encountered something unfamiliar that looked powerful, and he could not figure it out, he should simply go around it, stay far away, and never touch it no matter how powerful it was. Some lucky bastards could touch something a thousand times without trouble, while some unlucky ghosts died without even touching the thing.

Therefore, his most urgent task at present was to understand the principles, materials, and effects of the alchemical item he carried with him—in other words, the Emperor Figurine Fragment hanging around Ji Jue's neck, the Mouth of the Ancient One.

Of course, as a statue of the Emperor and an official, genuine figurine of the Eternal Empire, no artisan would have been bold enough to tamper with it. But likewise, to highlight the majesty of the Empire and the Emperor's dignity, it had to be crafted with exquisite precision, without the slightest flaw.

This was the beginning of hell...

Inside a fragment the size of a thumb were actually thousands of Spirit Essence Circuits, hundreds of miniature Runes, and more than nine Supreme Goodness Emblems... Most of them had already been ruined, and all the other Blessings bound and contained by the Runes and Emblems had dissipated. Only a single Blessing remained.

According to Ji Jue's estimate, if it had been intact, its complexity would have exceeded that of this fragment by a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold!

An entire workshop might have needed dozens of artisans to spend decades, sparing no expense or labor, to create such a symbolic object. The extravagance and madness of the Eternal Empire were plain to see.

At Ji Jue's current level, never mind imitating it—even interpreting and analyzing its structure was nearly enough to kill him.

What difference was there between asking a middle-school student who had only taken a few math classes to analyze a paper on advanced mathematics? And this was only two pages of fragments. He also had to understand what they meant, how to calculate them, and why they were calculated that way.

"You might as well let me die..."

Ji Jue lay sprawled across the table and groaned in despair.

"Is this all you've got?"

Ye Chun, who had finally made it through, gloated from the side. "When I was little, I lived like this for more than a year."

In truth, Professor Ye had realized during the very first week that her niece was completely unsuited for this. But she had never stopped. She had paid no attention at all to Ye Chun's wailing and Little Pearl.

Over the course of that entire year, she had stuffed everything a Chosen One needed to know, learn, understand, and comprehend—from alchemy and appraisal to every other form of general knowledge, and even every course from middle school through university—into Ye Chun's head in one go.

She had only stopped once she was certain Ye Chun would be able to support herself and live well on her own in the future.

After that, she had instantly degenerated into a Rice Bug.

Every day she idled around, looking as though people existed solely to make shrimp-flavored chips expensive. It was truly enough to make anyone envious... No, shameful!

"Here, do you want some?" Ye Chun held out the chips in her hand.

Ji Jue glared angrily. Do I look like the kind of person who craves your chips?

Then, subconsciously, he obediently opened his mouth.

"...Yes!"

"All right, stop howling. Auntie is heading out today, so I'm giving you the day off."

After feeding him half a bag of chips, Ye Chun—who felt she had already worked very hard today—lay back down on the sofa and waved her hand. "Didn't you say you were going to the Security Bureau? Don't cause any more trouble."

"What do you mean, cause trouble? I'm such a peaceful person. 'Sweeping the floor, I fear harming an ant's life; cherishing moths, I shield the lantern's gauze.' I hate causing trouble most of all."

Ji Jue solemnly retorted. After washing up briefly in the public bathroom downstairs, he shouldered his bag and happily headed out with Little Cow and Horse.

The sun was bright, and the breeze was fresh.

Praise freedom!

If tomorrow's lessons could be a little easier, that would be even more freedom!

He whistled, sent Wen Wen a message, and followed the address she had given him all the way to the busy commercial district in the North Mountain District, checking the address repeatedly.

He looked up.

Before him stood only a huge shopping mall, with people streaming in and out.

"Damn?"

Ji Jue scratched his head. "Is the Security Bureau really this down-to-earth?"

"Because Sister Wen said a livelier place would help your mood." Someone answered from behind him.

Ji Jue was startled. He saw the child leaning on a cane. With short hair reaching the ears and a tender face, the child looked as if they were still in middle school, their youthful air washing over him.

"Hello. Are you Brother Ji Jue?" the newcomer asked politely.

"Huh?"

Ji Jue froze for a moment, then realized this was the person he had seen at the scene the day before yesterday, the one following behind Wen Wen. He immediately became enthusiastic and extended his hand. "May I ask your name?"

"An Ran. An as in safe, Ran as in then. You can call me Little An or Little Ran, Brother Ji Jue." The child smiled brightly. "I just arrived too. I'll take you upstairs. Let's go."

With that, An Ran walked ahead, leaning on the cane.

Ji Jue obediently followed behind. But as he glanced at An Ran's back, he could not help wondering: Was this... a boy or a girl?

"I'm a boy."

An Ran, walking ahead without turning around, answered him.

"Huh?"

Ji Jue was stunned. Could this be the legendary mind-reader?

"I'm not a Heart Pivot Chosen One. Everyone in my family has been White Deer for generations."

An Ran turned back and gave him a cheerful smile. "But most people are curious the first time they meet me. Maybe it's because I can't exercise. My skin and constitution aren't very good, so it's easy to get confused."

No, no, no. This had absolutely nothing to do with skin or constitution, did it?

Ji Jue raised his eyes and looked at An Ran's exquisite cheeks reflected in the shop window. Oh no. My thoughts were starting to slide downhill... Why was his little heart pounding like that?!

Following behind An Ran, he finally got a sense of the Security Bureau's grandeur.

Even though this was only the North Mountain District Branch, it had directly rented out an entire floor of the shopping mall, complete with a private elevator. According to An Ran, there were places with even more exaggerated displays.

The South Foothills District Branch had directly found a place and built an entire building more than forty stories tall. Then the team leader, Lu Shenzhou, had abused public resources to open the largest, most comprehensive, and most awesome twenty-four-hour gym in all of Yacheng... Just thinking about it was a spiritual blow to a dirt-poor student class like Ji Jue's, who was paying for school with loans.

"We're here."

An Ran suddenly spoke in the elevator.

With a ding, the elevator slowly opened.

Then, piercing screams rushed toward them.

Like a Nightmare...

Half a minute earlier, in the lobby.

Calling it a lobby was inaccurate. It was entirely a rest area for members of the North Mountain District Security Bureau, complete with sofas, televisions, and all-you-can-eat free snacks—enough to keep a professional slacker like Tong Hua from leaving for twenty-four hours.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, he's here, he's here! Famous Quotes Bro is here!"

Tong Hua held up her phone and waved her fist excitedly, letting out a strange, thrilled cry. "Quack, today I'm going to perform Famous Quotes Bro's famous lines live!

"My performance definitely won't disappoint Famous Quotes Bro!"

Camera, on!

Recording, start!

Her eyes shone with anticipation.

I, Tong Hua, will personally record Famous Quotes Bro's glorious moment today!

Ah, please give me a monthly ticket!

There's also a reward tied to the event's theme, but the gap in monthly tickets is still a little large. I really want it—waaah!