Surprises and Shocks
Tomorrow and tomorrow again—how many tomorrows could there be?
It was still the cramming enough to make his brains boil, and forging again and again; still the exacting demands and cruel punishments.
Ji Jue had once worried that he would not survive until tomorrow, or that he would be unable to endure. But now, he was gradually becoming accustomed to this endless torment.
No—he should have said he was thriving in it.
Perhaps Jianyuan had been right. Once Ji Jue no longer concealed his hatred and malice, even taking the initiative to unleash them, he had crossed the threshold and taken this craft into his grasp.
He did not even care whether that hatred was aimed at others or himself. If he wished to forge a true masterwork blade, why should he fear being cut by a double-edged sword? On the contrary, the more vicious and savage its cold gleam, the more exhilarated he ought to be!
Jianyuan paid no heed to whether Ji Jue slacked off, coasted along, or resisted in vain.
After that Secret Rite before the furnace, Ji Jue's alchemy progress began soaring once again. It rose practically while he ate and slept. Sometimes, even while staring blankly into space, inspiration would strike, and he would suddenly comprehend several crucial points.
And it was not only Fiendification Alchemy. The same was true of Modern Alchemy and Fluid Alchemy, even Solid Alchemy, for which he had only just begun to find a direction.
The price was that all the techniques he had learned over these past days had smoothly merged into the system and habits Ji Jue was gradually putting in order, becoming an inseparable part of them.
He could neither avoid them nor escape them, nor could he deny them.
Everything Jianyuan taught was