When the Artisan Thinks, the Old Dog Laughs

Bottleneck.

That word was far too understated. It always made people think that their current predicament was only temporary—that the road had narrowed, and all they needed was perseverance and effort. But the key was that the word "bottleneck" was itself a conclusion drawn after the fact.

If one made it through and moved forward with ease, then looking back, one would sigh and say, "It was only a bottleneck—just a little hardship."

But for those who could not get through, it was an iron-walled city, a prison cage of despair.

An impassable barrier that remained beyond reach even after they had exhausted every ounce of strength struggling against it.

Ji Jue had experienced this kind of stagnation and confusion more than once. But he had far too many things to draw upon. Even when he had no solution at the moment, the insights of Fluid Alchemy, with its broad perspective, and the experience brought about by the Edge of Transformation always allowed him to pinpoint the right direction. Through systematic review and analysis, he could always find a solution.

But not this time.

Because there had never been any precedent!

The construction and design of Juque Engineering had evolved from the Nine Forms, yet it had already broken free of the Nine Forms' framework. The circulation and integration of Three-Phase Alchemy no longer fell within the scope of Fluid Alchemy, and his understanding of Fluid Alchemy could not solve his problem.

No, it was not that it could not solve the problem.

It was that Ji Jue did not know where the problem even was!

Breaking free of the Nine Forms' scope, taking Juque's structure and essence as reference, opening up another path, then climbing and exploring from that foundation—once the foundation was in place, the work naturally was