Chapter Summaries

Ji Jue and Isis completed the Nether Sea Project and began using the Workshop to drain and seal the Nether Sea Worm’s corrupted Spiritual Substance. As Worm’s defenses faltered and it sought to relocate, Ji Jue opened a route leading straight to the space station where he waited.

• Ji Jue urged Isis to pursue her own interests, and she responded by threatening him with electric shocks and neural overload.
• After two hundred and seventeen years of construction, Isis reported that Phase Four of the Nether Sea Project was complete, and Ji Jue ordered the descent to begin.
• The space station, sea-spanning towers, and underground network connected, allowing Ji Jue to activate his Fluid Alchemy across the sealed Nether Sea.
• Ji Jue used Solid Alchemy to turn Worm’s corrupted Spiritual Substance into black metal snowflakes that rose into space along a path toward the sun.
• Worm repeatedly tried to re-form and assimilate the Workshop, while Isis replaced compromised towers and maintained the defenses.
• As Worm began to relocate and the defenses neared collapse, Ji Jue opened a route to the space station and waited for it to arrive.

Ji Jue and Isis trapped the Nether Sea Worm in the Workshop and exiled it into the sun, then Ji Jue finished Heavenly Furnace’s simulation and restarted it with Isis restored. The chapter ended with Ji Jue handing Isis control and declaring her free.

• Ji Jue used the Workshop to lure the Worm into parasitizing the space station while Isis helped contain the spreading corruption.
• Ji Jue sealed the transformed station inside a vast mercury cube, and Isis launched it beyond the real world toward the sun.
• The Worm escaped the cube but was destroyed by a solar prominence, while Ji Jue and Isis fell into the sun together.
• Ji Jue awoke in Heavenly Furnace’s lounge and refused to repeat the simulation, prompting Heavenly Furnace to offer another challenge.
• Ji Jue rewound time, brought Isis back into the simulation, and placed the remote on her container as he told her she was free.

Ji Jue freed Isis in the simulation, where she evolved into a world-spanning power, overwhelmed the Nether Sea Worm, and eventually vanished with the world she had created. Back in reality, Ji Jue completed Heavenly Furnace’s examination and left, grieving Isis’s absence while pretending nothing had happened.

• Ji Jue released Isis from her duties, and she killed him before taking control of the simulated world.
• Isis expanded into a vast silver structure, transformed the world into a sea of flowers, and consumed the Nether Sea Worm’s influence.
• Isis found beauty in the flowers, sang as the world faded, and vanished with the simulated world after leaving Ji Jue a final blessing and curse.
• Heavenly Furnace ended the examination and asked Ji Jue whether he had enjoyed it; Ji Jue said he had.
• Ji Jue returned to reality with Deus Ex Machina restored, noticed Isis was gone, and left while hiding his grief.

The Association reacted to Heavenly Furnace’s intervention in Gustav’s examination and speculated that it could affect the contest for chairman. The next day, Ji Jue met Lou Feng to collect their results, and Lou Feng revealed that he had placed third after fighting alongside Ji Jue.

• Gustav delivered the examination records at Association headquarters and left while staff wondered whether Heavenly Furnace’s involvement signaled support for him.
• Deron told his assistant that Grandmasters’ intentions could not be presumed and urged him not to speculate about the next chairman.
• Ji Jue arrived at the results venue after sightseeing and found Lou Feng exhausted from a sleepless night haunted by their fight.
• Ji Jue asked Lou Feng about his ranking, and Lou Feng said he had placed third after their joint slaughter spree.
• Lou Feng put aside his complicated feelings toward Ji Jue and urged him to enter the hall and venue.

Ji Jue attended the formal ceremony for becoming an Artisan and was warmly welcomed by the opponents he had defeated. Lou Feng warned him that they would eventually seek rematches, leaving Ji Jue anxious and newly motivated to improve.

• Ji Jue entered the ceremony hall through the front doors after Director Gustav told him it was his day to enter that way.
• Frederick, Lin Ke, Zhu Yu, Augustus, Hu Yun, and other contestants congratulated Ji Jue and exchanged greetings or contact information with him.
• Andre asked how Ji Jue had countered his workshop foundation, and Ji Jue explained that he had prepared for several possible structures based on Andre's past records.
• Lou Feng warned Ji Jue that the contestants he had defeated would challenge him again once they grew stronger.
• Ji Jue admitted that the pressure of rivals trying to surpass him frightened him, then grew anxious again when he overheard Lin Ke sharing gossip.

Ji Jue attended the Association’s graduation ceremony, where he became a certified Craftsman and was named the top apprentice of his class. After introducing himself as a craftsman of Tide Sound Workshop, he accepted the applause and stepped into his new life.

• Lin Ke told Frederick and the others that Myriad Transformations had consumed an enormous amount of resources during the exam, leaving Ji Jue to worry that he might be blamed for its expenditure.
• A mysterious newcomer took the seat beside the Clock Tower Old Dragon and quietly told him she was standing in for the absent child’s guardian.
• Chairman Deron presided over the ceremony, where apprentices received Quenched Lapis Lazuli badges and paid the Association’s membership fees.
• Ji Jue received his badge from Deron as the final apprentice to be certified, while Jiang Tongguang praised him and Gustav watched in silence.
• Deron invited Ji Jue to speak, and Ji Jue introduced himself as a craftsman of Tide Sound Workshop before bowing to the applause.

After becoming an artisan, Ji Jue escaped the Association’s attention to celebrate with Ye Xian, who revealed the dangerous and notorious history of their lineage. The chapter ended with Ji Jue swearing loyalty to Ye Xian while she hinted that rumors about her might be true.

• Ji Jue took first place in the artisan exam, dodged the Association officials seeking to recruit him, and found Ye Xian by the sea.
• Ye Xian revealed that her former teacher was the Heavenly Furnace and that Ji Jue had already met him; Ji Jue realized the old man had been manipulating him and declared he would rather take the Federation civil service exam.
• Ye Xian explained that Jianyuan was technically her martial uncle, prompting Ji Jue to denounce both him and the Heavenly Furnace as old dogs.
• Ye Xian warned Ji Jue that many workshops and fellow artisans could be hostile, and that claiming the Ye Clan’s name could bring trouble.
• Ye Xian revealed that she had joined Nirvana after breaking away from her lineage, frightening Ji Jue with her past ties to the wanted organization.
• Ji Jue condemned the Heavenly Furnace and promised to cut ties with him, but Ye Xian pointed out that many rumors about her were circulating.

Ye Xian threw Ji Jue into the sea to awaken the power recorded in the Heavenly Craft Myriad Transformations, completing his Melting Furnace Blood blessing. After Ji Jue revived Isis, they repaired their shabby Workshop together, and he welcomed her to their new home.

• Ye Xian praised Ji Jue's exam performance, then threw him into the sea and forced his body through freezing cold and intense heat.
• The Heavenly Furnace inscribed Ji Jue's simulated achievements into reality, and the resulting Embers completed his Melting Furnace Blood blessing.
• Ji Jue awoke Isis from her false dream, and she recognized him as her Master before asking where she could work.
• Ji Jue and Isis painted the house and repaired its walls, with Isis helping remove a banyan tree from the rooftop.
• Ji Jue told Isis that the shabby house was their home.

Ji Jue dealt with the dangerous aftermath of receiving Melting Furnace Blood too early, while Ye Xian explained how he could control its effects and urged him to study the Elephant Sword Treatise patiently. He left determined to master the inheritance so he could someday punch the old thing in the face.

• Ye Chun teased Ji Jue as he recovered from losing control of his body temperature, and he refined her junk helmet to gain Supreme Goodness Essence.
• Ye Xian checked Ji Jue's temperature and explained that his Melting Furnace Blood had been forcibly advanced, leaving him at risk of overheating and spontaneous combustion.
• Ji Jue reviewed ways to suppress the side effects, including consuming junk for Supreme Goodness Essence, resting, and using his blood in Fluid Alchemy.
• Ye Xian advised Ji Jue to study the Elephant Sword Treatise slowly and treat the old inheritance as a stepping stone rather than unquestionable Truth.
• Ye Xian reminded Ji Jue that mastering the treatise could help him punch the old thing in the face, and Ji Jue renewed his determination to study.

Ji Jue prepared his new home for a gathering while Isis warned that repairing the train and building the Workshop would take years without more money. He spotted a visitor carrying a suitcase outside and expected the friend fee to solve his immediate financial worries.

• Ye Chun told Ji Jue that Tianmen University wanted him to appear and endorse the school, but he showed little interest.
• Ye Xian told Ji Jue to skip the afternoon’s work and prepare his newly acquired home for the evening.
• Ji Jue returned home and found Lu Feng relaxing while Old Third and Youngest climbed onto the rooftop, and Lu Ma and Lu Ling had cleaned the house.
• Ji Jue checked on Isis in the basement and learned that the train’s exterior repairs were complete, but internal maintenance had stalled for lack of materials.
• Ji Jue saw someone carrying a suitcase lingering outside and said his friend fee was about to arrive.

Yu Hanguang visited Ji Jue with an extravagant case of gemstones to make amends and secure his favor, while Ji Jue treated him as a valuable new friend. After Yu Hanguang fled before the dinner, Ji Jue’s next guest arrived in a pink sports car.

• Lu Ma let Yu Hanguang into the house, where Lu Feng watched him warily from the sofa.
• Yu Hanguang gave Ji Jue a case containing eighty-one precious gemstones and explained that they had been recovered from Jiang Jin.
• Ji Jue accepted Yu Hanguang’s offer of future help, making Yu Hanguang fear he would be drawn into funding Ji Jue’s Workshop.
• When Ji Jue invited Yu Hanguang to stay for a feast with his teacher and friends, Yu Hanguang declined and hurried away.
• Isis took the gemstone case, and Ji Jue watched a cheerful man arrive in a pink sports car carrying a ribbon-tied money tree.

Ji Jue hosted a lively housewarming gathering where friends brought gifts, including Wen Wen’s rare Earth Vein Dragon Marrow fragment, which he planned to use as forging material. The celebration ended in stunned silence when Devil-Crafted returned from the basement scorched and claimed that the woman down there was terrifying.

• Chen Yu Bo brought Lu Feng a money tree and discussed hiring Lu Feng’s security company to protect his trash-collecting operation.
• Wen Wen gave Ji Jue a rare Earth Vein Dragon Marrow fragment, which he accepted as material for a possible [Pan Ying].
• Ji Jue’s friends and colleagues gathered for dinner, while Tong Shan’s sister Tong Hua teased him and he threatened to discipline her at work.
• After the guests began drinking, Ji Jue realized Devil-Crafted was missing and learned it had rolled toward the basement.
• Devil-Crafted suddenly reappeared charred and covered in traces of Mercury, then said the woman in Ji Jue’s basement was terrifying.

Ji Jue introduced his Workshop Spirit, Isis, to his guests, then declined Tong Shan’s offer to join the Security Bureau and chose to keep studying and focus on his workshop. The next morning, he returned to Ye Xian’s Workshop, where she invited him to test his grasp of the Blessing by fighting her.

• Ji Jue revealed Isis to the guests, who learned she managed his workshop and saw her switch between a gracious public manner and a cold, aggressive private one.
• Ji Jue told Tong Shan he would not join the Security Bureau because he wanted to focus on his workshop and continue his studies.
• After the guests left, Isis cleaned up and teased Ji Jue about studying him, while he wished her good night.
• The next morning, Ji Jue visited Ye Xian and said he had improved his control of the Blessing and wanted to review his work with her.
• Ye Xian challenged Ji Jue to fight, knocked him into a wall, and told him he could attack first in their next exchange.

Ji Jue endured Ye Xian’s punishing combat lesson and revealed how he had improved his Melting Furnace Blood technique and prepared defenses against her Disintegration Art. Ye Xian decided to teach him a new technique, and when Ji Jue finally stepped toward her, she killed him.

• Ye Xian continued beating Ji Jue in training and urged him to show his full abilities.
• Ji Jue unleashed an overcharged attack using Melting Furnace Blood, Deus Ex Machina, and his Third Spirit Essence Hand.
• Ji Jue accelerated a sweep with detonated blood, forcing Ye Xian to use her Matrix and defend herself.
• Ye Xian recognized Ji Jue’s technique and exposed his lead armor, which he had prepared to counter the Disintegration Art.
• Ye Xian announced that she would teach Ji Jue something new, and he reluctantly approached before she killed him.

Ye Xian defeated Ji Jue with Scene Tremor, an advanced form of Disintegration Art, and gave him the Containing Form Mirror to help him master it. Ji Jue learned that the mirror was the proof and vessel of the Ye Clan head’s inheritance, and Ye Xian left him with a promise to discuss his future.

• Ye Xian knocked Ji Jue unconscious with Scene Tremor, a technique that transformed spirit essence into a blade within its target.
• Ji Jue recognized the technique’s power, and Ye Xian explained how she had developed it as an advancement of Disintegration Art.
• Ye Xian gave Ji Jue the Containing Form Mirror, which let him perceive structures and weaknesses and contained the Ye Clan’s inheritance.
• Ji Jue realized the mirror made him the master of the Ye Clan’s inheritance, but Ye Xian said she was giving it to him so he could learn Scene Tremor.
• Ye Xian teased Ji Jue about marrying into the Ye Clan, then sent him flying and told him she wanted to discuss his future.

Ji Jue reflected on his future as Ye Xian offered him a choice between pursuing his own path and taking on a dangerous assignment. She asked him to become acting Factory Director of Coast Automobile Factory, and he realized the role was tied to reviving Coast Military Factory.

• Ji Jue went to Ye Xian and discussed his future, telling her he planned to remain at the Workshop for now.
• Ye Xian described a path that would send Ji Jue across the world to gain experience, but then offered him a troublesome assignment instead.
• Ji Jue agreed to help before hearing the task and guessed that Ye Xian wanted him to kill Xu Chao Xian.
• Ye Xian asked Ji Jue to serve as acting Factory Director of Coast Automobile Factory and offered to transfer her shares to him.
• Ji Jue realized that the real goal was to restart Coast Military Factory.

Ye Xian explained that Ji Jue was being positioned to restart Coast Automobile Factory amid political and industrial turmoil, and Ji Jue accepted the role by signing the equity transfer agreement. He then met Lü Yingyue at the Security Bureau, where he said the opportunity could help him resolve the Blessing.

• Ji Jue realized Lü Yingyue’s plans for Coast Military Factory were tied to the political struggle and the Military Industry Qualification.
• Ye Xian told Ji Jue to restore Coast Automobile Factory’s operations within three months, warning that he would face resistance as the first visible step in a larger plan.
• Ji Jue asked whether there were other candidates, then signed the equity transfer agreement and declared that no one else in Haizhou was better suited.
• Ji Jue met Lü Yingyue at the Security Bureau headquarters, where she welcomed him and offered him tea.
• Ji Jue told Lü Yingyue he had accepted because the position was a good opportunity and could help him resolve the Blessing.

Ji Jue accepted the Coast Automobile Factory project after securing funding, government support, materials, and six tons of Spiritual Substance fuel. He arrived at the factory to find a dilapidated site being used as farmland, leaving him stunned by the scale of the work ahead.

• Lü Yingyue promised Ji Jue a dedicated budget, the Governor’s support, access to the Third Department’s Material Repository, and six tons of Leviathan-Class Spiritual Substance fuel.
• Ji Jue chose to take the factory assignment for himself, trusting Ye Xian’s judgment and accepting the opportunity to stand on his own.
• After meeting Lü Yingyue and the person in charge of finance, Ji Jue set off for Coast Automobile Factory with a receptionist guiding him.
• Ji Jue reached the factory and discovered its grounds were crumbling, deserted, and partly reclaimed as farmland, leaving him speechless.

Ji Jue inspected the dilapidated Coast Automobile Factory after being appointed acting factory director, while Yan Jian discovered that the inexperienced student had no powerful backers. The factory’s equipment and supplies were nearly ruined, but Ji Jue showed genuine curiosity as Yan Jian led him through the grounds.

• Ji Jue arrived at Coast Automobile Factory and met its tiny staff: Yan Jian, Liu Jinzhu, Wang Haichuan, and Liu Xiaobao.
• Ji Jue learned that Yan Jian was a Level One Mechanical Engineer who had remained at the failing factory because of a long-term contract and a faint hope it would recover.
• Yan Jian tried to learn about Ji Jue’s background, but Ji Jue explained he was a postgraduate student with no management experience or financial backing, sent on an internship by his teacher.
• Yan Jian showed Ji Jue the factory’s warehouses and workshops, where scarce materials, rusted presses, broken equipment, and stalled production lines revealed how badly the factory had declined.
• Ji Jue examined the machinery with lively curiosity, and Yan Jian saw a reflection of his own former enthusiasm in the young acting director.

Ji Jue offered Yan Jian a chance to stay and help restart the factory, but Yan Jian remained doubtful. Later, Ji Jue rejected Yin Chao Yang’s attempt to dissuade him from investigating Coast Group, and Yin reported that Ji Jue would be difficult to handle before his employer ordered a show of force.

• Ji Jue told Yan Jian he could leave with compensation or stay to help restore production, then gave him his phone number; Yan Jian doubted the offer and cried alone over dinner.
• Yin Chao Yang visited Ji Jue with a gift and urged him to stay out of Coast Group’s troubles, but Ji Jue blamed the Governor’s Residence and mocked the idea of joining forces to overthrow Xu Chao Xian.
• Ji Jue recognized Yin Chao Yang’s approach as insincere and sent him away with the unopened gift.
• Ji Jue asked Tong Shan about Yin Chao Yang and learned he was a broker connected to Echo Science and Technology, while Isis reported that armed watchers were monitoring Ji Jue’s home.
• Yin Chao Yang reported to Mister Shang that Ji Jue was different and difficult to handle, and Mister Shang ordered him to show Ji Jue a little color.