I really don't know whether the old face under the oxygen mask is shaking with rage or panicking right now.

Perhaps before he takes his last breath, everything he cares about will no longer belong to him.

By then, that unwilling-to-close-his-eyes-in-death expression, Wen Wen couldn't help but find it both funny and sad.

But thinking of the many struggles and the innocent involved as a result, she couldn't help wanting to rush over and completely grind that old thing into dust.

Look at the mess you've made, damn it!

"When can I finally kill off all this trash?"

She sighed, looking up and downing the celebratory and mournful liquor in one gulp.

Lei Wuye's loss would see everyone involved in the fray start a mad chase.

Or rather, that insatiable, fierce deer, having grown tired of Lei Wuye's decay, had already begun searching among countless prey for its next sacrifice...

Cliff City's dark side was about to become chaotic.

"Another round of bloody turmoil," Wen Wen said, looking up at the pitch-black sky, where the dense clouds hid moon and stars alike.

"Oh fuck, what kind of bloody turmoil is this..."

The next morning, Ji Jue looked at his doubled homework and groaned, his vision darkening, even the sun that had just risen in the sky lost its light.

The world became gloomy.

Per Professor Ye's instructions, since he had taken a full day off, Ji Jue should find the time to catch up on his progress.

Considering Ji Jue's initiative, supervision and review were unnecessary, but if he didn't do his exercises for one day he knew it, and if he didn't read for two days, Professor Ye would definitely know. By then, he might even have to add another Spiritual Defense class in the evening.

Why suffer through studying when you could instead suffer through punches?

Ye Chun, seeing this, was already at a loss for words about this weird mentor-apprentice relationship.

After all, such a free-spirited management and training method for apprentices was nothing less than an oddity across the craftsman community.

In a typical workshop, an apprentice with no special talents, from a family with no money, and with average abilities, wasn't much different from a salaryman: clock in the morning, clock out in the evening, assist the craftsman if the tuition was paid, teach you a thing or two on a good day, or just send you home quietly crying if they were in a bad mood.

Or there were those with extraordinary talents and astonishing brilliance, the teacher's pets with sharp minds who were often kept close, constantly listening to teachings, following commands, laboring daily from induction to burial. It was only after they became new craftsmen that they went on to enjoy other adulations and reverence.

However, Ji Jue was neither type.

To say he was valued, he indeed was; Professor Ye never refused to entertain Ji Jue's questions and curiosities whenever he was free; not to mention the leads on Non-attack and the inheritance of the Dissociation Technique.

But to say he wasn't valued, Professor Ye did seem a bit indifferent; after teaching the basics and providing direction, he left Ji Jue to his own devices to continue with his own projects, tossing the student into the storage and library to fiddle with the electric door on his own.

Progress unchecked, results unasked, not caring whether you got into trouble outside or if a sniper had you in their sights. Such that an apprentice raised at home was somehow given a wild charisma.

Yet, both seemed content in their way, indifferent to everything else.

"The basics of Ascension are in place, and for the Purification part, your understanding of Fluid Alchemy should suffice for now; you can make up classes later," Professor Ye said slowly after reviewing Ji Jue's reading notes. "The main focus for you now is 'extraction,' which is your real weak point. Besides practicing Dissociation Technique, spend the rest of your time going through this material."

The four foundations of Modern Alchemy: Ascension, Extraction, Purification, and Harmony.

Ascension is about endowing materials with spiritual qualities, such as turning stones to gold, making them lean towards the nature of Superior, so they can hold blessings.

Purification involves making the material more pure, filtering out impurities, blocking interference, so it can infinitely transition and evolve towards the purest form.

Harmony is about integrating all components, allowing multiple Spiritual Circuits to fully merge into a whole with Superior Blessing.

Extraction, on the other hand, is about transforming materials and blessings into a completely new state after they stimulate each other.

Simply put, in the words favored by the card players, it's called 'fusion.'

But how and when do you fuse two things together, with varying proportions, differing altitudes and positions, varying magnetic field strengths, and even personal character... all of these can lead to vastly different outcomes.

Even though Modern Alchemy already has an infinite array of formulas and the number grows each year through various explorations, it's still far from sufficient.

At a certain point, rote memorization is useless. Each craftsman should have their own understanding and insights in the process.

It's through a vast amount of practice and trying that you accumulate experience and allow instinct and perception to tell you what to do and when.

And this... is also the most costly aspect, bar none.

Ascension is easy to begin with but difficult to improve upon. Purification is a tedious and detailed process that requires utmost caution. Harmony requires an overarching control, ensuring each part fits perfectly, assisting each other without interference.

All of these share one thing in common: if you succeed, great, if not, be careful and try again. As long as you follow the process, you can't go wrong, and if you make a mistake, a couple of slaps will be a good reminder.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.